Roman Expansion

Roman Expansion began when Rome first formed a Republic and created the Republican Army.  The height of Roman Expansion occured under the Rule of the Emperor Trajan.  Under his leadership the Roman Empire controlled an almost inconcievable 6,500,000 km of surface land (like square miles).  During the 3rd century Diocletian came up with the idea of dividing Roman authority between four co-emperors so Rome could control its massive amount of territory with more ease and efficiency.  Roman Expansion greatly contributed to the Romanization/Latinization of many cultures. 

   The affects of Roman Expansion can still be seen today.  Roman culture is still reflected in many cultures today and many cultures still speak languages that are latin based such as french, Italian and portuguese to name a few.  Also many coutries still practice Roman Catholicism.  The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 and the Eastern Roman Empire (modern day Turkey) did not collapse until 1453.