Ancient Rome was a civilization that was founded on the Italian Peninsula in the 9th century BC. The city of Rome grew from settlements around a fort on the river Tiber. The civilization was started from a small agricultural community which later grew into a large empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. In its 12 centuries of existence, the civilization shifted from a monarchy to a republic to an autocratic empire.

According to a legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by Romulus and Remus. The two were descendants of the Trojan prince Aeneas. Legend has it that the two were raised by a she-wolf. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of architecture, law, art and language in the Western world. Its history continues to have a major influence on the modern world.

The Roman Republic was established around 509 BC. The Roman Empire reached its peak in the 2nd century, during the reign of Trajan. Its dominion spanned about 2.5 million square miles. The City of Rome was located on Seven Hills. The city had many monumental structures like the Colosseum, the Forum of Trajan and the Pantheon. Latin was the native language of Romans. The Roman society was strictly hierarchical. Slaves were at the bottom of the social structure while free-born citizens were at its top. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrants, the Roman Empire went into decline in the 5th century AD.

A large number of movie DVDs and CDs on Ancient Roman civilization are available in the markets of the UK. Some DVDs and CDs come with features like Interactive Menus, Scene Selections and Ask the Experts. "Lost Treasures Of The Ancient World - Ancient Rome," "Ancient Rome - The Rise and Fall Of An Empire," and "Rome - The Eternal City," are among the popular movies that depict the ancient Roman civilization in detail. Just go through a few of them and have a feel of the ancient Roman civilization.