The Roman Empire (Latin: imperium romanum) was the post-Republican period of the

ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large

territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.[5] The term is used to describe
the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor, Augustus.

The 500-year-old Roman Republic, which preceded it, had been weakened and subverted
through several civil wars.[nb 2] Several events are commonly proposed to mark the transition
from Republic to Empire, including Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator
(44 BC), the Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC), and the Roman Senate's granting to
Octavian the honorific Augustus (4 January 27 BC).[nb 3] Roman expansion began in the
days of the Republic, but the empire reached its greatest extent under Emperor Trajan:
during his reign the Roman Empire controlled approximately 6.5 million km2[6] of land
surface. Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture
of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion,
architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed,
particularly Europe, and by means of European expansionism throughout the modern
world.

In the late 3rd century AD, Diocletian established the practice of dividing authority
between four co-emperors, in order to better secure the vast territory, putting an end to the
Crisis of the Third Century. During the following decades the empire was often divided
along an East/West axis. After the death of Theodosius I in 395 it was divided for the last
time.[7]

The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 as Romulus Augustus was forced to abdicate
by Odoacer.[8] The Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire ended in 1453 with the death of
Constantine XI and the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks led by Mehmed II