At its height around 100 AD, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain in the Northwest to Egypt in the Southeast.
To get a sense for how big that is, it’s helpful to compare it to the contemporary United States. The Roman provinces of Britain and Egypt were about as far apart as the American states of Florida and Washington. One obvious difference is that the Roman empire had the Mediterranean in the middle of it, which helped to move people and supplies over vast distances.
Still, it’s remarkable that emperors operating many centuries before the railroad and the telegraph — to say nothing of airplanes and the internet — were able to hold together such a vast domain for so long.
Roman trade routes extended far beyond the boundaries of the Empire.
The division of Rome’s legions across the Empire.
The rise, split, and fall of the Roman Empire.
The Christianization of the Roman Empire
An Empire Divided
Can you tell I really, really like maps?
Via Vox which has tons of additional maps. If by “tons” one means “about forty all told”.