Romans

The Roman Empire is a playable civilization in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome. The Romans control the empire from modern day Italy in the city of Rome, which was once one of the largest cities in the world. At its highest point the empire extended across large parts of Europe, some of North Africa and Asia Minor. The Romans in the game are primarily an offensive civilization but they also work well under defensive strategies due to their cheaper cost of constructing buildings and fortifications. Due to their availability to powerful Iron Age Technologies, they are a formidable fighting machine in most games since they produce some of the finest Infantry from the Barracks.

Features

 * Roman style
 * Swordsmen attack 33% faster
 * Buildings costs 15% less
 * Towers cost 50% less
 *  Helepolis attack 20% faster

History
The city of Rome was founded several thousand years ago and became a Republic in 590 BC. It quickly became a major power and controlled much of the Mediterranean after defeating Carthage. After several power struggles Rome became an Empire with the first Roman emperor being Augustus Caesar. The Roman Empire had the strongest and the most disciplined army in its time and was the dominant power in the area. One major feat of the Empire besides defeating Carthage was defeating Greece who were a major military power, one of the reasons the Romans thought they were descendents of the people of Troy, which was a city sacked by the Greeks in 1200 B.C and most of its population massacred. At its height it was a vast empire that ruled most of Europe, North Africa and the Middle-East at its pinnacle between 44 BC and 180 AD, often known as Pax Romana. The Roman Empire eventually began to decline as invasions from various Germanic tribes and the Huns increased and numerous civil wars began across the empire. The Roman Empire was split into an Eastern and Western half by Emperor Diocletian in 293 as the empire was seen as too big for one person to rule. The Western Empire fell in 476 while the Eastern Half, called the Byzantine Empire, survived another thousand years.