Why Study Ancient Rome

The Long Lasting Legacy Of Rome

Rome gave the world many things via it's empire.

When the Western empire fell in AD 476 that was not the end of Ancient Rome.  What the Romans achieved during the republican era and then under the Caesars means it is a civilisation that should be studied by anyone interested in the development and progress of humanity. Roman leaders like Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus stand out as historical figures. Indeed the life and death of Julius Caesar became the stuff of legends. The Romans even named two months of the year after those two men.

The Roman Empire

What makes Ancient Rome so worthy of being studied was the size and the duration of it's empire. At it's peak in the second century AD it was larger than that  of Alexander the Great. It lasted longer  as well, besides taking over much of the Macedonian empire with the notable exception of Persia.

The rivalry between Rome and Persia lasted for hundreds of years. Indeed the wars continued when the Western empire had collapsed and the Eastern empire wanted to defeat the Persians. The main consequences was that it made the spread of Islam easier. Islam would eventually overthrow the last vestige of the Eastern empire when the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople.