Early Rome was governed by kings, but after only seven of them had ruled, the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves. They then instead had a council known as the ‘senate’ which ruled over them. From this point on one speaks of the ‘Roman Republic’. Rome also saw the rise and fall of some of the greatest emperors in human civilization, like Julius Caesar, Trajan and Augustus. But eventually, the empire of Rome became so vast that it simply was not possible to bring it within a single rule. The Roman empire in the end was overrun by millions of barbarians from the north and east of Europe.
