Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome began as a small town in Italy and grew into a huge empire that ruled lands across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for hundreds of years. At its peak, around 60 million people — about one in five humans alive at the time — lived under Roman rule.

Rome did not start as an empire. For its first few centuries it was a republic, which means it had no king. Instead, citizens elected leaders called senators to make decisions. This is one reason the saying 'all roads lead to Rome' came about — Rome was the centre of everything.

Romans loved entertainment. Huge crowds of up to 50,000 people packed into the Colosseum to watch shows and gladiator contests. Romans were also brilliant builders and engineers. They invented a kind of concrete so strong that some of their buildings still stand after 2,000 years.

Aqueducts were one of Rome's cleverest ideas. These were long channels, sometimes carried high on stone arches, that brought fresh water from faraway hills into the city. The water flowed gently downhill the whole way, feeding fountains, public baths, and even toilets.

Later, Rome was led by emperors. The very first was Augustus. Rome's armies were called legions — well-trained soldiers who marched huge distances and built forts wherever they went. These soldiers helped spread Roman roads, towns, and language across the whole empire.

After many centuries the empire grew too large to defend. In 476 CE the last emperor in the west was removed from power, and the western Roman Empire came to an end. But Roman ideas about law, building, and government never disappeared — they still shape our world today.