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Ancient Roman culture affected vast numbers of people across the known world of its time, beginning with the rise of the Roman Republic (509-27 BCE) and throughout the duration of the Roman Empire (27 BCE - c. 476 CE in the West and 1453 CE in the East). The Roman Empire at its height (c. 122 CE) extended from Italy to Britain down to Greece and North Africa to Egypt, the Levant, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia into Central Asia. Roman civilization, language, and customs influenced the lives of the people in all these regions and continues to resonate in the present day through its various legacies.

The Republic was based on separate branches of government, which provided greater stability & fair governance than the old monarchy had.

The praetor was eventually replaced by two consuls who acted on the laws written by the Roman Senate which were interpreted by eight judges; the Republic was therefore based on separate branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial – which provided greater stability and fair governance than the old monarchy had. Laws were enacted in the interests of all the people, not just the elite. The most famous law code was the Twelve Tables, written in 449 BCE, which guaranteed equality of everyone before the law regardless of social class. Roman law and administration created a stable society, which became strong enough to expand through conquest. After the Punic Wars with Carthage (264-146 BCE), Rome became the superpower of the Mediterranean and expanded further. It became an empire under Augustus Caesar (r. 27 BCE - 14 CE), the first Roman emperor.

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