The Roman Empire spanned from Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland to the coastlands of North Africa; and from the Iberian Peninsula of Spain to the far reaches of the Middle East. This ancient empire can be argued to have survived until the Fifteenth Century, when it fell with the Byzantine Empire. During the long years of Roman conquest, only one other Mediterranean superpower, Carthage, was able to announce itself as equal in military might to the Italian conquerors. The Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage left Rome as the supreme Mediterranean power and decided the foundation of western civilization.
(Map of West and East Rome around 395 AD created by Geuiwogbil, via Creative Commons)
