The most modern of these ancient civilizations is Ancient Rome which spanned from 625 B.C.E. to 476 C.E. At its peak, Ancient Rome had the largest empire the western world had ever seen. Ancient Rome has revolutionized the modern world by creating the modern law system, having a complex aqueduct system, and even creating concrete.

Until around 313 C.E., Ancient Rome was polytheistic with many major and minor gods. There were twelve main god and goddesses: Jupiter (god of lightning and ruler of the gods), Juno (wife of Jupiter and the goddess of childhood and fertility), Neptune (god of the sea), Pluto (god of the Underworld), Minvera (goddess of commerce and industry), Mars (god of war), Apollo (god of medicine and poetry), Diana (goddess of the moon and the hunt), Vesta (goddess of the hearth), Venus (goddess of love), Vulcan (god of fire and blacksmithing), and Janus (god of doorways). After Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in 313 C.E., Christianity and Judaism both became incredibly popular among the empire in conjunction to the Roman Pantheon.

Much of Ancient Roman culture came from the Ancient Greeks though they did have their own distinctions. The Ancient Romans participated heavily in sports, one in particular was the gladiators, mostly slaves who would compete to the death for the amusement of spectators. Although Ancient Romans created art, poetry, and statues, their culture was based strongly in military conquests and power.

The Ancient Roman government can be divided into three periods: the Period of Kings, Republican Rome, and Imperial Rome. From 625 B.C.E. to 510 B.C.E., Ancient Rome was a monarchy with a king. Starting in 510 B.C.E. to 31 B.C.E., Ancient Rome became a republic with the upper class running the government through the Roman Senate, although iit didn’t have much power. Decisions were complex processes and went through assemblies, tribunes, and magistrates. From 31 B.C.E. to the fall of Rome in 476 C.E., Ancient Rome became an absolute monarchy underneath the emperor though the Senate would still remain but only in name and without any power.

In the beginning, Ancient Rome was mainly centered in present-day Italy around the Tibet river. At it’s peak in 117 C.E., the Ancient Roman Empire included parts of modern-day Italy, Britain, Romania, Albania, Malta, Libya, Greece, Monaco, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Andorra, Egypt, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia, Cyprus, San Marino, Algeria, Netherlands, and Germany.

Ancient Rome revolutionized architecture with the creation of their large arches made of concrete, which were able to support much more weight than the civilizations before them. This allowed them to create their aqueducts and other feats of architecture, like the Colosseum. They also created roads, mills, and water-based power. The Ancient Romans also created the law process as its known today, which consists of a preliminary hearing, a prominent citizen presenting the case, and even the presentation of witnesses and evidence.