

They had fine engineering and built roads, cities, and outstanding buildings. They developed the best army in the world at the time and ruled by force. In order to control their large empire, the Romans developed ideas about law and government. Its capital was Constantinople, which is now called Istanbul. The eastern part was the Eastern Roman Empire.

On the other hand, the eastern half, consisting of the Balkans, Anatolia, The Levant and Egypt, continued for about 1000 morw years though the Levant and Egypt were lost to the Arabs in the 8th century. The western half of the Roman Empire lasted for about 500 years until the barbarian general Odoacer defeated its final emperor, Romulus Augustus. The main language of the Roman Empire was Latin, with Greek as an important secondary language, especially in the eastern provinces. Many modern lands were once part of the Roman Empire such as Britain (not Scotland), Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Egypt, Levant, Crimea, Switzerland and the northern coast of Africa. Rome was first ruled by Roman kings, later by the Roman Republic and then by an emperor. The empire was the third stage of Ancient Rome. After the fall of Western Roman Empire to the Germanic kings in 476 AD, marked the end of the classical antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The empire started in 27 BC, when Octavian became Emperor Augustus. Its capital was Rome, and its empire was based in the Mediterranean area. The Roman Empire was the largest empire of the ancient world.
