The Roman Empire was one of the largest empires in history. It began more than two thousand years ago with the founding of the city of Rome in the country now called Italy. The early Roman empire was influenced by two neighbouring peoples - the Etruscans and the Greeks.
According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BCE by twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. It was built on seven hills beside the River Tiber on the borders of the kingdom of Etruria.
The Etruscan people lived in a group of city-states in Northern Italy. Under their rule, Rome became a large city. It continued to be ruled by the Etruscans until 509 BCE when the Roman nobles through out the Etruscan king called Tarquin the Proud.
The Romans were also heavily influenced by the Greeks. The Greeks had founded cities across Southern Italy. Many of the cities were wealthy, with fine houses and extravagant temples.
The Romans fought many wars and gradually conquered more and more land. They built towns and roads and spread their way of life throughout the lands they ruled. In 286 BCE, they defeated the Etruscans, the Gauls and the Samnites, and during the Pyrrhic Wars, they fought and defeated King Pyrrhus of Greece to gain control of all of Italy.
At the height of their empire, in the 2nd century CE, the whole of the Mediterranean area was ruled by the Romans. In 43 CE the Romans invaded Britain. The Roman Empire was so vast, and it became hard to rule. It suffered attacks from tribes called the Goths in the North and the Persians in the East. There were also civil wars in Rome as the Army Generals struggled for power.
As foretold in the Qur'an in the beginning of Surah ar-Room and also in the Sunnah, the Romans were eventually defeated by an Eastern empire known as the Byzantines.
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