EuropeCapital: Rome27 BCE – 476

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire grew out of the Roman Republic and encompassed lands around the Mediterranean. Government, law, infrastructure, and Latin and Greek culture spread through armies, trade, and cities, while provincial communities retained their own traditions.

Languages: Latin, Ancient Greek, Aramaic, Punic, Coptic
Religions & worldviews: Roman polytheistic religion, Christianity, Mithraic cults, Jewish religious traditions

Culture on the map

Amber Road

The name Amber Road refers to various trading connections that carried amber south from the Baltic region to the Mediterranean. This is a schematic corridor through Central Europe, from the Baltic coast over the Moravian Gate and the Eastern Alps to Aquileia and Rome.

Legend

Overland trade
Trade by sea or river
Expedition by sea
Expedition over land

Moving dashes and arrowheads show the direction of travel; rings and diamonds are clickable stops.

Click a line or a stop for details.

Main line of the trade network; the actual paths varied by period.

Sources: Amber Road

Daily life

Daily life varied between town and countryside and by social position; free people, enslaved people and elites had very different opportunities. Baths and markets were important urban meeting places.

Economy

Agriculture underpinned the economy. Grain, oil and other goods circulated by sea and land; taxes and coerced labour supported the state.

Government

Emperors governed through provincial officials, armies and local urban elites. In 212 the Constitutio Antoniniana granted citizenship to almost all free inhabitants.

Religion and philosophy

Local and Mediterranean religious traditions coexisted across the empire. Christianity gained imperial support in the fourth century, while religious practices continued to vary by region.

Sources: Britannica: Roman Empire · UNESCO: Pont du Gard

Historical timeline

27 BCE – 14
Beginning of the Principate
Octavian, later Augustus, established a monarchical form of government within republican institutions.
64 – 64
Fire of Rome
A major fire affected parts of Rome; ancient sources differ on its scale and responsibility.
117 – 117
Territorial extent under Trajan
The empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, from Britannia to parts of Mesopotamia.
212 – 212
Constitutio Antoniniana
Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to almost all free inhabitants of the empire.
395 – 395
Administrative division
After the death of Theodosius I, eastern and western courts were governed separately on a lasting basis.
476
End of the Western Roman emperorship
Romulus Augustulus was deposed; the eastern empire continued.

Historical context

The empire built on republican institutions, but imperial power was sustained in practice by the army, court, urban elites and provincial officials. Incorporation brought taxation, infrastructure and legal frameworks, but also warfare, slavery and unequal access to political power. Cities with different languages and legal statuses remained important centres. Citizenship was gradually extended and in 212 CE granted to almost all free inhabitants, without ending social inequality.

The provinces were not merely recipients of Roman culture: local communities adopted practices selectively and influenced administration, religion and language. Latin dominated in many western areas, while Greek remained widespread in the east. Land and sea trade connected grain producers, mining districts and consumer cities, but supply depended on taxation and coerced labour. Imperial frontiers shifted through conquest, diplomacy, revolt and changing military resources.

From the third century CE, administrative reform and political struggles reshaped the empire; government from Constantinople continued after the western emperorship ended in 476. That date did not mark the immediate disappearance of Roman laws, cities or Latin culture in the west. In the east the empire developed further in a predominantly Greek-speaking form. Roman institutions, law and languages influenced later European and Mediterranean societies, with substantial regional differences.

Peoples & cultural heritage through the ages

27 BCE – 180

Early Empire

Romans
Greeks
Gauls
Egyptians

Citizenship, military service, and urban networks connected inhabitants of diverse provinces.

180 – 395

Later Empire

Romans
Syrian communities
North African communities
Germanic communities

Migration, military service, trade, and Christian communities changed the make-up and identity of cities and frontier regions.

395 – 476

Western Roman period

Latin-speaking provincial communities
Germanic foederati
Italian communities

Political fragmentation and migration increased, while the population remained regionally diverse.

Religion, worldview & philosophy

Roman religion encompassed household rites, public sacrifice, ancestral practices and cults of deities with varied origins. Emperor worship and state ceremonies helped express political loyalty, but took different forms in different places. In the provinces, deities were sometimes associated with Roman names without fully displacing local traditions. Jewish communities maintained their own religious institutions, while new cults circulated through soldiers, travellers and urban networks.

Christian communities emerged in the first centuries CE and developed within a religiously diverse empire. Imperial measures against Christians were local and periodic; from the fourth century Christianity received imperial support and eventually became the dominant state religion, while older practices did not disappear at once. Theological differences and church politics continued. Everyday belief varied by region, social position and access to religious institutions.

Art movements

🎨 Roman architecture and engineeringfirst century BCE to fifth century CE
Arches, vaults and concrete enabled large bathhouses, basilicas, aqueducts and amphitheatres. Buildings served administrative and social functions and adapted to local building traditions. Their monumental scale reflected both technical knowledge and the deployment of wealth and labour.
🎨 Portraiture and relief sculptureRepublic and imperial period
Portrait statues, funerary reliefs and triumphal monuments represented family, office and military achievement. Styles ranged from emphatically individual features to idealised imperial images. Reliefs document public self-presentation and political messages, not necessarily a complete or balanced account of the events depicted.
🎨 Mosaic and wall paintingfirst century BCE to fifth century CE
Floor mosaics and painted interiors decorated homes, bathhouses and public buildings. Subjects ranged from mythology and landscapes to everyday activities, with strong regional variation in materials and technique. Surviving examples mainly come from wealthy buildings and therefore do not fully represent all Roman domestic cultures.

Traditions & customs

SaturnaliaFestival
The December festival included sacrifices, feasts, and a temporary relaxation of social conventions.
Roman gamesFestival
Public games included chariot racing and theatre; gladiatorial combat became a popular urban spectacle, especially during the imperial period.
Triumphal processionRitual
A triumph was a state-granted procession for a victorious commander.
Bathing at the thermaeCustom
Public bath complexes were used for bathing, personal care, and socialising.

Cuisine & culinary history

Roman eating habits varied greatly by income and province. Grain, olives, wine, pulses, and fish products were widely used; texts and archaeology reveal regional trade and varied meals.

Culinary history

Grain, olives, wine, pulses and fish products were important parts of eating patterns, but meals varied greatly by income and region. The state organised grain supplies for parts of the urban population, while households cooked or bought food from vendors. Olive oil, garum and wine circulated through extensive trade networks. Archaeological evidence from amphorae and cooking equipment complements texts, which often privilege elite cuisine.

Meals had a social role in household offerings, hospitality and banquets, and food choices reflected status and occasion. Cookery books such as the work attributed to Apicius show elaborate recipes but are not direct guides to the daily diet of every inhabitant. Provincial crops and techniques influenced cuisines across the empire. After political change, many Mediterranean products and methods persisted as regional food cultures continued to develop.

Grain supplies from Italy, Sicily, and North Africa
Olive oil and wine production around the Mediterranean
Provincial ingredients and trade networks
Greco-Roman cookbooks such as that of Apicius

PulsMain course
A porridge made from grain, often spelt, was a simple Roman dish.
Origin: Ancient Roman staple food
GarumSide dish
Fermented fish sauce was used to flavour many dishes.
Origin: Roman Mediterranean production and trade
MoretumSide dish
A mixture of cheese, herbs, garlic, and oil was eaten with bread.
Origin: Roman agricultural and culinary tradition
LibumBread
A cheese-and-flour offering cake, also described as a simple baked food.
Origin: Roman recipe in Cato's De agri cultura

Wonders & heritage

Colosseum70 – 80
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafac. 100 – 200

Historical figures

Julius Caesar100 BCE – 44 BCE

Events

Assassination of Julius Caesar15 March 44 BCE · Politics & state formation
Eruption of Vesuvius79 · Natural disaster
First Council of Nicaea325 · Religion & reform
Sack of Rome by the Visigoths24 August 410 · War & conflict

All events →

Conflicts & fossils

Sources: Roman Empire — Encyclopaedia Britannica · Roman Empire — Wikipedia

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