(II) For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire dominated half of Europe, most of the Middle East and largeareas of North Africa. Due to its sheer size and power, the Roman Empire was perhaps the greatest empire theworld has ever known. The history of the Roman Empire dates back to the year of 753 B.C., when a community of farmers gottogether and found the city of Rome. The city was to remain the heart of the Empire that would go on toinfluence the language, government and religion of all western countries today. Rome was a successful capitalpartly because of its location, being situated twenty-five kilometers from the sea and behind the steep hills.This gave Rome safety from outside attack as well as access to rich soil for agriculture. Rome was also locatedon the Italian Peninsula that extended into the Mediterranean Sea. This provided Roman ships the perfect portfrom which to launch attacks on the other Mediterranean cultures. In fact, the Romans were so confident inthe strength of their empire they referred to the Mediterranean as “our sea.” The borders of the Empire expanded with each victory, giving the Romans access to more resources. Forexample, they used lead from Britain, coal from France, grain from Egypt and marble from Greece. Throughoutthe Roman Empire, people were allowed to speak their own languages and follow their own customs, as longas they obeyed Roman law. The people conquered by Rome were granted Roman citizenship, whichguaranteed protection under the legal system and against outside threats. Roman citizens could also use theroads, the postal system and the fresh water facilities that the Romans constructed.Citizens of the Roman Empire were classified into three main classes. The power upper class was made upof the Senate and other government officials. The large middle class was comprised of the farmers, cityworkers and soldiers. The lowest class consisted of slave who were captured in war. The slaves, however, couldbe granted full Roman citizenship and end their slavery if they proved themselves to be hard-working and thisgave them motivation to work hard.At the height of the Empire, the city of Rome had a population of about one million people. Like mostcities built by the Romans, it was carefully planned and had facilities such as public baths, and efficientsewerage system, theaters and a coliseum for public entertainment. The coliseum in Rome could seat 50,000 people who would come to watch violent and bloody exhibitions. Sometimes warriors would fight to the death with swords and spears in front of huge audiences. On other occasions, lions from Africa were starved and putinto the arena with criminals slaves. Horse and chariot racing was also a favorite sport of the Romans and thebest competitors became public heroes. The most famous ruler of the Roman Empire was a man called Julius Caesar. He ruled from 58 B.C. untilhe was assassinated in 41 B.C. During his time, the Roman Empire expanded its borders into France and acrossNorthern Europe. Augustus was another great ruler who was emperor from 27 B.C. until 14 A.D. Augustuscreated a political environment that resulted in three hundred years of peace throughout the Empire. TheEmpire was at its greatest strength at around 100 A.D. During this time, it imported large quantities of silkfrom China, spices from India and ivory from Africa. The most significant threat to the Empire came from Christianity that started to spread from the MiddleEast. The Romans killed Jesus Christ in 30 A.D. for treason, but over time the religion he founded gainedpopularity. Christianity was forbidden in the Empire until 313 A.D., when Constantine allowed people free choice of religion. The enormous size of the empire was too much to control from Rome and during the fourthcentury, the Roman Empire began to crumble. By the year 476 the Roman Empire had collapsed.
40. The Roman Empire was powerful ____________.
(A) partly because Rome was a well-located city
(B) for over 1,500 years
(C) because it could rely on the strength of religion
(D) due to its history