The Empire

Classical abbreviations from an online 1911 encyclopedia. The edition was scanned and not proofed, so there are errors.

This article attempts to define the period of ancient/classical history by contrasting it with what came before (pre-history) and what came after (Middle Ages).

A Roman emperor ruled Rome during the Imperial and Byzantine periods of ancient Roman history.

Julius Caesar's adoptive son, Octavian, as Augustus, was the first emperor of Rome. According to modern viewpoints, this or the assassination of Julius Caesar marked the official end of the Republic. Its collapse had been long and gradual. Some claim it started with the expansion begun during the Punic Wars. More traditionally, it begins with the Gracchi and their reforms.

Although a bit simplistic, there are four main divisions of Roman history that are named for some aspect of those in power: the period of kings or regal period, the period of neither anarchy nor tyranny known as the Republic, the period when the emperor ruled, known as the Imperial, and the period when the capital of government of the Roman...

The principate is the name we give the period of Roman history beginning with the dominance of one man, Augustus.

Pictures of most of the important Roman emperors fromcoins and other sources.

The term Roman Empire means two slightly different things in terms of the history of ancient Rome

During the Julio-Claudian era, the Roman Empire was still new and imperial succession strategies were being worked out.

A look at the origins of the name of Italy.

A comparison of two roughly equivalent empires, the Han Chinese and the Roman with information on the very limited studies made to date.