For about 500 years, the area of Rome was ruled by a series of kings as it grew in strength and power. Around the year 509 B.C., the last king was overthrown, and Rome became a republic.

For 500 years, the republic system mostly worked. But then a series of civil wars divided the people.

In 59 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar, a politician and military general, used the chaos to take power. Serving as consul, Caesar made new laws that benefitted his troops and other regular citizens.

Caesar marched his loyal army into Rome. It was an illegal act that started a civil war, which Caesar would eventually win.

For the rest of its existence, Rome was ruled by emperors who were not elected, they reigned for life.

Some emperors, like Claudius, were good at their jobs; others, like Nero and Caligula, were so cruel that even their guards turned against them.

By A.D. 117, the Roman Empire included what’s now France, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, parts of northern Africa, England, Romania, and more.

At one point, one out of every four people in the world lived under Rome’s control.

Most people in the city of Rome lived in crowded apartment buildings called insulae that were five to seven stories high.

Roman citizens enjoyed relaxing, but enslaved people in ancient Rome had a much more difficult life. Many worked in fields, mines, and on ships.

Today, the city of Rome is the capital of Italy, with around three million people.

Visitors can still see many ancient Roman ruins, from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum.

Romans spoke Latin, the language that modern French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian are based on.

Romans sometimes filled the Colosseum with water and held naval battles inside.