When did the Romans start and end?

Answer 1

The term Roman Empire is often used by historians to indicate the period of rule by emperors which followed the Roman Republic. This started in 27 BC when Augustus became the first Roman emperor. The conventional date given by historians for the end of the western part of the Roman Empire is 476 AD, the year when the last emperor of the west, Romulus Augustus, was deposed. The western part of the Roman Empire fell under the weight of the invasions by Germanic peoples. The eastern part of the Roman Empire was not affected by these invasions and continued to exist until 29 May 1453, when its capital city, Constantinople was taken by the Ottoman Turks. Historians use the term Byzantine Empire to indicate the eastern part of the Roman Empire after the fall of the western part. The Romans continued to call it Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire intended as conquest of lands started earlier, during the Roman Republic. In fact, much of Rome's imperialistic expansion occurred during the Republic. Rome's expansion into central and southern Italy occurred from the mid-4th century BC to the early 3rd century BC. She took over Sicily in 241 BC and Sardinia and Corsica in 238 BC from the Carthaginians. The expansion beyond Italy and the islands near Italy started in 216 BC when Rome took southern Spain from the Carthaginians.