The influence of the Roman Empire has been widespread and profound, perhaps more so than any other empire or civilization. This volume begins with a brief summary of the Roman Empire and provides an account of the world and this geographic area in the years leading up to the empire. In an easy-to-follow format, Roman Empire covers the growth of Rome as a republic, the political and social forces that drove the transition to a dictatorship of caesars, the reasons for Rome's eventual decline, and what happened to the remnants of the empire.