In 49 bc, Caesars civil war started. In 27 bc, Augustus won and made himself the first Roman emperor, and that is how the Roman Empire began. Augustus ruled from 27 bc to 14 ad. He died on August 19 in 14 AD. After Augustus was Claudius, Augustus’s great nephew. Claudius conquered Britain, which was a pretty big deal because many other Roman generals tried to do it, but failed. He died in 54 AD. Next, was Nero. He was known to be the worst emperor. Nero wanted to show his power, so he created the Colossus of Nero. He built it in the city center, so everyone could see the 100ft tall bronze statue. In 68 ad, Nero committed suicide. Than there was a civil war that lasted until 69 ad. In 69 ad was The Year of the Four Emperors. It was a time of great accomplishments. After that year in 117 ad, Hadrian took over. He was the first emperor to visit every city in the empire. When we were in Turkey we went to visit his temple in a place called Ephesus! He died of a heart attack in 138 ad. In 306 ad, was Constantine the Great. He built a new city called Constantinople (modern day Istanbul, Turkey). The last great Roman emperor was Justinian. He wrote all the many laws in one book.