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• The Roman Empire began in 27BC when Augustus became the first official Roman emperor.
• At its height, the Roman Empire spanned as far west as northern England and as far east as Syria.
• The emperor was the leader of the Roman Empire and had powers similar to a king.
• The emperor was assisted in passing laws by the Senate.
• The Roman army was an important factor in helping them conquer and control their empire.

According to Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, the city of Rome was founded in April 753BC. and was formed from settlements gathered around the River Tiber.

The myth of Romulus and Remus was the Roman explanation for the creation of Rome. Romulus and Remus, two quarrelsome brothers who were raised by a wolf, could not agree on where to build a new city, so they consulted the birds to see which brother had the right idea. According to the myth Romulus won and built the city of Rome, which was named after him.

Early inhabitants and conflict

The early inhabitants of Rome were a mix of people from Latin and Sabine tribes. Over time, they made alliances with other cities which resulted in the creation of what is now known as modern-day Italy.

In the 3rd century BC, Rome’s most powerful rival was Carthage.

• Between 264BC and 146BC, the Romans fought three wars with Carthage, known as the Punic Wars.
• This resulted in the Romans winning control of Carthage’s overseas territories in North Africa, the Mediterranean and southern Europe.

By 58BC the Romans had an empire that stretched from the deserts of North Africa and Syria to Portugal. These lands outside of the boundaries of Rome became known as provinces. The provinces were ruled by Roman law.

Rome was originally ruled by a king from when it was founded, until 509BC when the king, Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown. Rome then became a republic and was ruled by several key groups, including:

• Two consuls who governed the country and were in charge of the army.
• The Senate, whose members were appointed by the consuls, raised money to pay for the running of the country and helped to decide foreign policy.
• Different assemblies in the Roman republic including:
  • The Comitia Centuriata - This was the assembly of the soldiers, they elected magistrates and passed laws.
  • The Comitia Tributa - This assembly was made up of all Roman citizens, and had the power to pass laws and elect magistrates.
  • The Concilium Plebis - This was the assembly of the plebeians - the ordinary people. It had the power to pass laws known as plebiscites and it elected tribunes.
• Tribunes represented the rights and views of plebeians in Rome. They had the power to block laws from consuls that they thought were unfair.

Following the end of the Roman republic, in the Roman Empire, power was held by the emperor. He was:

• head of the Senate
• head of the army
• Pontifex Maximus - as the chief high priest he acted as the head of Roman religion

The Senate and the assembly

Other groups in Rome such as the Senate or assembly had largely advisory roles to support the emperor in ruling the empire. The emperor had control of the powerful Roman army and also ruled over provinces which had been conquered by the Roman Empire.

During the time of the Roman Empire, the Senate had less power than the emperor, who had the right to make decisions alone. Senators were appointed by the emperor. To be chosen as a senator they needed to have been elected by Roman citizens to an official position such as magistrate. They administered decisions and laws introduced by the emperor, and oversaw law and order in Rome.

As the Roman Empire expanded, the emperor needed more money. This was collected through taxes from the provinces, which made Rome very wealthy.

The Roman army

When conquering new lands, the Romans often met fierce opposition. However, the Roman army was highly trained and well-equipped.

• The army was divided into legions of between 5,000 and 6,000 men
• Each legion was split into groups of around 80 to 100 men, which were known as cohorts or centuria

This organisation meant everyone knew their role and what was expected of them. The Roman army was very effective.

When they took over new land, the Romans also captured people and enslaved them. For example, during wars with Greece in 167BC, some historians have estimated that the Romans enslaved up to 150,000 people.

To control the empire, the Romans classed their provinces in two ways.

The first attempt by the Romans to invade Britain was made by Julius Caesar in 55BC. Caesar believed conquering Britain would show how powerful and successful he was as a leader. He was also frustrated that some Britons were helping people in Gaul resist Roman rule.

Caesar sailed to Britain from France and landed in Kent. He took 12,000 men with him, but British warriors were waiting. After a series of small battles, Caesar realised the invasion could not succeed.

Ships transporting his cavalry had been delayed leaving Gaul, then bad weather stopped them landing in Britain. The same bad weather badly damaged Roman ships that had transported men across the English Channel. The Romans were running out of food. Caesar ordered the ships to be repaired and defeated the British in a battle while the work was done.

Caesar returned to Britain the year after his first invasion. This time with far greater numbers of soldiers Roman historian Cassius Dio said this landing was more successful than the previous year because there was ‘no one daring to oppose him because of the number of his ships and the fact that they approached many points on the shore at the same time.’ After achieving some success against the British warriors, who began to retreat, Caesar was again hindered by bad weather.

Perhaps the most significant battle of the invasion took place at the River Thames. British tribal leader Cassivellaunus had put sharpened wooden spikes both in the river and on the shore to try and slow down the Romans.

Caesar’s cavalry easily passed through the defences and defeated Cassivellaunus’ men. Caesar did not want to stay in Britain during the winter, so negotiated a peace settlement with Cassivellaunus.

This opened up trading opportunities between the Roman Empire and Britain to increase the wealth of the empire. Although he hadn’t conquered Britain, this invasion was seen as a success. Caesar had made up for the failure of the previous year and shown his success as a military leader.

Nearly 100 years after Caesar’s invasions, Emperor Claudius decided to invade Britain. He had similar motives to Caesar. The British were still supporting resistance in Gaul against Roman occupation, and he wanted to show that he was a successful leader.

In AD43 he had been emperor for 2 years, so wanted to show he could control and expand the empire. He sent General Aulus Plautius to lead the invasion. This time the Romans were successful. There were several reasons for this:

• British tribes had been fighting against each other in the years before the invasion, so they were weakened in being able to face the strength of the Roman army.
• The Romans landed in three separate places on the south coast, making them harder to defeat.
• The invading force was well armed. Roman historian writer Cassius Dio wrote that they had ‘extensive equipment, including elephants.’
• British tribes were not expecting an invasion, so were not prepared as they had been when Caesar arrived in Britain.
• As some trading links had been established between Britain and Rome, some tribes were willing to seek a peace agreement with Plautius.

Claudius travelled to Britain once it was clear the invasion was going to succeed. He accepted the surrender of several tribal leaders and returned to Rome victorious.

Later, the Romans tried to conquer Scotland but were unsuccessful. The landscape of Scotland meant Scottish warriors could go into hiding and launch attacks on the Romans.

Hadrian's wall

Emperor Hadrian visited Britain in AD122 and ordered that a wall should be built near the modern-day border between Scotland and England, which marked the northern edge of the empire. He said he wanted the wall to ‘separate the barbarians from the Romans’.

Hadrian’s policy as emperor was to try and preserve the Roman Empire, fearing if it continued to grow it would be too difficult to control. This was a change from previous emperors who had concentrated on trying to conquer new territory to show their success.

• Boudica was married to the king of the Iceni tribe, Presutagus.
• She lived in what is now Norfolk, East Anglia.
• Presutagus had an agreement with the Romans that his family would inherit his land when he died.
• The Romans broke their agreement when Presutagus died in AD61, attacking Boudica and her two daughters, and seizing their land.

Queen Boudica raised an army against the Romans, and she and her rebel army raided the Roman capital city of Colchester, killing thousands of people and destroying anything that represented Rome. They also burned Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) to the ground. It is estimated that Boudica’s army killed up to 70,000 Romans.

Boudica’s rebellion meant the Romans had to move soldiers from their efforts fighting against Druids to try and conquer Anglesey. Tacitus, who was a Roman politician and historian, wrote ‘the sudden revolt’ meant they had to go and deal with Boudica.

Boudica and her army were defeated at the Battle of Watling Street. Roman writer Tacitus said the Roman army was brutal in dealing with Boudica’s supporters. He said ‘by some accounts, little less than eighty thousand Britons fell, at a cost of some four hundred Romans killed and a not much greater number of wounded.’

Historians can't be certain how Boudica died. Tacitus wrote that she took poison to end her life after realising that her army was defeated.

The economy of Rome prospered during the Empire because resources could be taken from the provinces to Rome. For example, in Britain there were silver, lead and copper mines. The provinces also had to pay taxes which increased Rome’s wealth.

There were many reasons the economy did well:

• The Romans mined precious metals, using techniques that were not improved upon until the 1800s.
• Wealthy Romans owned huge agricultural estates called latifundia which were worked on by enslaved people. Their farming methods, such as irrigation, water mills, manure and mechanical reapers, were technologically advanced compared to previous civilisations.
• They built straight, paved roads such as Watling Street in Britain. It ran from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire.

Trade and Britain

• Imports into Britain included Samian ware pottery and Rhineland glass, olive oil and salted fish from the Mediterranean region, and wine from the Loire Valley in France.
• Exports from Britain included huge amounts of metal such as lead, silver, tin, iron, wheat and, cloth.
• Enslaved people were also forcibly moved around the empire to work for the Romans.