Rome. The state that turned from tiny settlements around the Palatine Hill in central Italy into a gigantic empire that ruled most of western europe and mediteranean for centouries and formed the framework for todays states. Let us get into the journey from Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, to the last one of the Byzantine Empire. Passing great and bad emperors, golden and tourboulente ages. The map shows the territory controlled by the ruler at the end of his reign. Sometimes two or more emperors ruled together, which is marked with a white line between their names. Images are from Wikipedia.