The Roman Empire

Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands.

The power of the monarch passed to two annually elected magistrates called consuls; they also served as commanders in chief of the army. The magistrates, though elected by the people, were drawn largely from the Senate, which was dominated by the patricians, or the descendants of the original senators from the time of Romulus. 

After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The long and triumphant reign of its first emperor, Augustus, began a golden age of peace and prosperity; by contrast, the empire’s decline and fall by the fifth century A.D. was one of the most dramatic implosions in the history of human civilization. Rome’s era as a monarchy ended in 509 B.C. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-rome

Rome imploded because it ran out of money and couldn’t afford its welfare and military costs. They had consumed much and produced little.  As garrisons were reduced, local tribes saw their chance to gain independence and they we successful enough to get the Roman soldiers to go home.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader