Ancient Rome was a seaboard of civilization., the Romans extended and strengthened the Mediterranean network created by the ancient Greek traders and settlers. Roman civilization remained dependent on the sea as its principal axis of communication and trade and along which travelled influences and people. Documented evidence shows that the Romans started as a small community of peasants, lacking in fertile soils, metals, and unprovided with port (Sacks, Murray, and Lisa 53). .
There is a common belief that they were essentially peaceful people, who acquired empire by mere accident and made their conquests in the course of self-defense. With time, they became warlike by necessity, as they had no other way of gaining wealth except at the expense of their neighbors. Roman power fast spread and once imposed, it survived by winning or forcing collaboration of local elites: magistrates of conquered communities, and chieftains of tribes. The empire is often said to have "fallen", though it would be fairer to say that it was gradually transformed out of existence. .
A critical analysis of its political system reveals that the Roman Empire was a victim of its own success. Excluded peoples wanted to get inside, not just as raiders but also as settlers out to share in imperial prosperity. Due to their large numbers, their pressure was irresistible. While the Germanic and Slavic peoples brought new and culturally enriching heritage, their arrival contributed to a long, slow process of change. The political and cultural fragmentation gradually elevated the power of small kingdoms in place of rule from Rome (Spielvogel 94). Latin speech broke up into mutually unintelligible languages, and during the period of intensive colonization of the empire from the outside, the whole of the Roman world came to seem more variegated than before. At around 718 A.D. the Roman Empire collapsed to invaders from Arabia, the least suspected region to be harboring a threat (Sacks, Murray, and Lisa 54).
