As Greek power in the Mediterranean Sea began to wane about two centuries before the time of Jesus, a new force was on the rise.  From decidedly humble beginnings, the mighty Roman Empire rose up from servitude to dominance over nearly all of Western Europe.

     While Greek expansion looked to the east, the Romans extended their hegemony north and influenced European society in profound and lasting ways.  An empire of builders, the Romans created awesome structures that still stand as a reminder of their engineering prowess.  The great legacy of Rome on the modern world is the Christian religion and the language of Latin.  Approximately one third of the seven billion people on Earth are still Christian and Latin provides the basis of most European langauge.

     Roman History is split rather conveniently in two major periods.  The first half of Rome's story was during the time of the Republic, and the second portion was the age of Imperial Rome.