"The Roman Republic"

"The Roman Republic"

Ancient history has never been my forte; the immense amount of civilizations, the countless number of rises and falls, and what seemed to be constant war during the time period has always been difficult for me fully emerge myself in academically. For that reason, I do not have a "favorite" empire and I am unsure as to which would be most interesting to learn about. However, the Roman Empire otherwise known as the Roman Republic is probably the most well known empire in Western Society and serves as a good starting point for this new academic endeavor I am embarking on. The empire was in existence for 500 years, and for nearly half of it its sheer dominance was unprecedented and felt throughout the world. My research stated that the empire began its downward slope during the reigns of Aurelian and Diocletian. The empire consisted of Eastern Europe in nearly its entirety and began to be attacked from all sides. Reading this caused me to pose the question, did the empire fall simply because it was too large to protect during its time? It must have been difficult to maintain proper protection for its people during that time period. I would like to fully understand the rise and fall of the Roman Republic as well as all the other empires we will study during this class this semester. http://www.roman-empire.net/decline/decl-index.html