What allowed Rome to retain such a large empire for so long and what caused the loss of the western half of the empire? Rome’s empire persisted for so long because of its rulers’ willingness to adopt new structures, such as the principate and Diocletian’s [dy-oh-KLEE-shunz] Tetrarchy.

In order to control their large empire, the Romans developed important ideas about law and government. They developed the best army in the world at that time, and ruled by force. They had fine engineering, and built roads, cities, and outstanding buildings.

How did the Roman Empire maintain its power? The powerful and well known Roman army was another key factor in maintaining the empire. The Roman army was large, well equipped, well trained, disciplined and skilled military force that was stationed throughout the empire to prevent uprisings and crush rebellion.

Although a confrontation between them would have been an epic battle for the ages, the Vikings and Romans never fought each other. Through its military conquests, the Roman Empire expanded as quickly as its mighty armies could mow down enemy soldiers and march through newly conquered lands.

Slavery in Great Britain existed prior to the Roman occupation and until the 12th century, when chattel slavery disappeared, at least for a time, following the Norman Conquest.

Britain was the most dominant between 1640 and 1807 when the British slave trade was abolished. It is estimated that Britain transported 3.1 million Africans (of whom 2.7 million arrived) to the British colonies in the Caribbean, North and South America and to other countries.

1794

The exact number of Africans, free or enslaved, in eighteenth century France is not known, but the highest rough estimates suggest that there were between 4,000 to 5,000 entering and leaving the country throughout the century.

The enslavement of African Americans was the curse of early American life, and Texas was no exception. The Mexican government was opposed to slavery, but even so, there were 5000 slaves in Texas by the time of the Texas Revolution in 1836.