
Connected stories
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
Start here
Begin with the big picture

Classical · 27 BCE – 476 CE
The Roman Empire
Rome grew from one city into an empire that shaped the world.
Read storyExplore further
Continue through connected stories

Classical · 509 BCE – 27 BCE
The Roman Republic
Before the emperors, Rome's republic expanded across the Mediterranean. Explore the institutions, conquests and civil wars that led to the rise of Augustus and imperial rule.
Read story
Classical · 264 BCE – 133 BCE
The Punic Wars
Rome's wars with Carthage transformed the Republic into the dominant power of the Mediterranean. Follow the rivalry that laid much of the groundwork for the later empire.
Read story
Classical · 330 CE – 1453 CE
The Byzantine Empire
Roman imperial history continued in the east after the fall of the Western Empire. Follow the government, law and culture of the eastern Roman Empire through more than a thousand years of change.
Read story
Classical · 376 CE – 800 CE
The Fall of Rome to Early Medieval Europe
Explore how the Western Roman Empire fragmented into successor kingdoms and how a new medieval world emerged, from the Gothic arrival at the Danube to Charlemagne's coronation.
Read story