Ancient Rome was an Italic civilization that began on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's population) and covering 6.5 million square kilometers (2.5 million sq mi) during its height between the first and second centuries AD.
In its approximately 12 centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate Southern and Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, and parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. Rome was preponderant throughout the Mediterranean region and was one of the most powerful entities of the ancient world. It is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world.
Ancient Rome typically refers to the state and civilization of Rome during antiquity as a whole.
Ancient Rome may also refer to:
Ancient Rome is an oil on canvas painting by Giovanni Paolo Panini. It is owned by and on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Panini painted the piece as a pendant painting to Modern Rome for the Count de Stainville in 1757. The painting depicts many of the most significant architectural sites and sculptures from Ancient Rome, such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Laocoön and His Sons, and Farnese Hercules. Both Panini and Panini's patron the Count de Stainville make an appearance in the work. Panini sits in the armchair and the Count de Stainville stands holding a guidebook.
Media related to Ancient Rome (Giovanni Paolo Pannini) at Wikimedia Commons