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The Map Archive provides a comprehensive collection of Ancient Roman maps online. We have a range of thematic Ancient Rome maps that tell the story of the Classical civilization of Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire graphically. Legend has it that Rome was founded in 753 BCE by Romulus and Remus, and soon developed from a small cluster of villages sprawling across seven hills on the River Tiber into a substantial city. Once the people of Rome had overthrown their monarchy in 509 BCE they evolved into a republic, ruled by the Senate and two annually elected magistrates, or consuls. From the 4th century BCE Rome became a notable military power, expanding control throughout Italy and conquering the rival city-state of Carthage in the Punic Wars, which ended in 146 BCE. But as Rome expanded, the Republic was beset by a series of civil wars and strife between dominant leaders such as Julius Caesar, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus, which ultimately led to the assassination of Julius Caesar and the eventual victory of his heir, Octavian, over his rival Mark Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Octavian became the Emperor Augustus in 27 BCE, ushering in the Imperial period, when Rome expanded its borders, and dominated most of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. For the first two centuries of Empire, the Pax Romana – a period of peace and prosperity – prevailed. But unity and harmony began to disintegrate in the 4th century CE and the Roman Empire, increasingly threatened by the incursions of ‘barbarians’ (nomadic warriors) from beyond its borders, eventually collapsed and disintegrated in the late 5th century CE.
In antiquity, the maps of Greece and Rome laid the foundation for Western cartography, blending geographical knowledge with myth and legend. In the Hellenistic period that significant advances were made, notably with the works of Eratosthenes, whose calculations provided estimations of Earth’s circumference. During the Roman era,the landmark work of Ptolemy, “Geography,” compiled in the 2nd century AD, synthesized existing knowledge, offering a systematic approach to mapmaking. These early maps of Greece and Rome laid the groundwork for the evolution of cartography, shaping the way we perceive and navigate the world today.
Beginning as a small city-state in central Italy, Rome gradually expanded its influence through military conquest and strategic alliances. The conquest of the Italian peninsula was followed by campaigns across the Mediterranean, incorporating territories from Gaul to Greece and beyond. Through a combination of military prowess, political diplomacy, and administrative efficiency, Rome established one of the largest empires in history, and the gradual expansion of its territory is traced in a series of maps in the Map Archive Ancient Rome collection.
Greek city-states and Roman provinces represent distinct political and administrative structures of the ancient Mediterranean world. Greek city-states, such as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth, which are shown in the Map Archive’s Classical Greece collection, were independent entities characterized by their own governments, laws, and foreign policies. In contrast, Roman provinces were territories conquered by the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire and can be seen in the Map Archive’s Ancient Rome collection. Governed by appointed officials, provinces were subject to centralised Roman law and administration, with varying degrees of autonomy depending on their strategic and economic significance.
In the Greek and Roman world, cities, temples, and landmarks served as focal points of civic life, religious worship, and cultural identity, and many maps of these features, as well as city plans, can be found in the Map Archive’s Greek and Roman collections. From the Acropolis in Athens to the Forum Romanum in Rome, these ancient landmarks not only stood as testaments to human ingenuity but also embodied the aspirations, beliefs, and values of their respective civilizations.
Ancient Greeks and Romans represented geography on their maps with a mix of observation, mythology, and basic geometry, often focusing on descriptive narratives rather than precise measurements. While modern cartography emphasizes scientific accuracy and detailed topographical features, ancient maps reflected cultural and political biases, with borders shifting according to imperial ambitions and religious beliefs.???
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