From a small agricultural community on the Italian peninsula was born a culture that would evolve into one of the largest and most influential empires in the ancient world. For more than 500 years, Rome was the most powerful and advanced civilization the world had ever known, ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to deplorable. A Quick Guide To ANCIENT ROME chronicles the spectacular and sordid history of the Roman Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to its eventual fall around 537 AD.