Guy de la Bedoyere

They turned being Roman into an idea, a way of life, that anyone could have – under certain conditions of course, like being prepared to accept the emperor’s authority without question.

R ome started out as nothing more than a village, but the Romans and their Empire became one of the most important – possibly the most important – of the ancient civilisations

Of course, the original Romans did, but over time their Empire became made of conquered peoples who were awarded Roman status and privileges and who often fought to get them. People in the Roman Empire saw themselves as Roman, while they proudly maintained their own national and ethnic heritages.