The Roman Empire was the post-Roman Republic period of the ancient Roman civilization, and lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empireās existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, or āRoman Peaceā. Following Octavianās victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased, including territories around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, Africa and Asia. At its height (c. 117 AD), it was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization. By 285 AD the empire had grown too vast to be ruled from the central government at Rome and so was divided by Emperor Diocletian into a Western and an Eastern Empire. The Roman Empire began when Augustus Caesar became the first emperor of Rome and ended, in the west, when the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by the Germanic King Odoacer, in 476 AD. In the east, it continued as the Byzantine Empire until the death of Constantine XI and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The influence of the Roman Empire on western civilization was profound in its lasting contributions to virtually every aspect of western culture.
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