The Roman Empire in Europe - A Brief History

The first official territory outside italy claimed by the romans on the european mainland, not counting their still undefined holdings in spain, had been trans alpine gaul. In 22 b c, marcus agrippa divided the country into three separate provinces to better re economic and geographic divisions. North of our province was the wild interior of gallia cometa, or long haired gaul, long the setting of many a roman nightmare. Julius caesar finally banished those particular demons in the fifties b c, and brought everything east of the rhine, south of the english channel and west of the atlantic ocean under roman control.