Did the Roman Empire start from modern day Rome, Italy?

Although the foundation of Rome is based on myths and legends, the history of the city is extremely rich and interesting. Read all about it. read more

During its peak in the second century, the Roman Empire took up a good deal of the European continent as well as parts of western Asia and northern Africa. This sizable, multi-continent spanning empire began close to nine centuries earlier as a small city in modern day Italy on the Tiber River. read more

But later on, as the Roman Empire expanded,"Roman" came to mean anyone from Italy and later anyone from the Roman Empire, as everyone was granted citizenship. But to answer the question, no, the Italians of today are not exclusively the same people as the original Romans. read more

Roman Empire was immediately succeeded by Byzantine Empire to a much smaller extent and then by the Ottoman Empire. With the fall of Roman Empire, there emerged a Germanic regime encompassing most of the Franco-Germanic (more accurately entire central) part of Europe, known as the Holy Roman Empire (not to be confused with Roman Empire). read more

Vulgar Latin, the language spoken by the Roman people, started to change slowly when the Roman Empire fell and communications became difficult. The new conquerors sometimes adopted the local Roman customs (e.g., Italy, Spain) and sometimes not (e.g., England), however they always influenced the spoken language. read more