Rome's greatest achievement was to move beyond the limited political process of city-states and develop a world state with the diverse nations of the Mediterranean. In the 8th century BC the peasant communities, together with the Etruscan cities to the south of the Greek cities, were absorbed by the Romans. During this century, the Romans acquired architectural styles and skills in road construction, sanitation, hydraulic engineering to include underground pipelines. In the sixth century, Rome evolved into a republic, landowners, aristocrats and patricians overthrew the Etruscan king, and religion ruled the people, dictating the laws and legitimizing the rule of the patricians. As they evolved, the Romans loosened the grip between religion and politics and gradually implemented a constitutional system similar to the Greek one with interests in rational, secular politics and law. The sudden growth of the constitution came from a conflict known as the “Struggle of the Orders” between patricians and plebeians (commoners). The patricians owned most of the land and controlled the army. There was constant fighting between plebeians and patricians due to grievances leading to slavery and discord with the patricians. However, they knew that Rome could not do without plebeians due to the continuous wars on the Italian peninsula. In the 5th century the plebeians gained the right to form their own assembly and slowly achieved legal equality. Following the plebeian revolt, around 450 BC, the first Roman code of laws (called the Twelve Tables) was written. The plebeians received some protection against the unfair practices of the patricians. However, despite numerous reforms, Rome...... half of the newspaper ......17 “Martin Luther” was confronted with the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences. He posted notices on church doors denouncing corrupt practices. He lived believing that good works alone could not earn salvation. The Reformation spread throughout Northern Europe. The Catholic Church had no choice but to respond to the Protestant Reformation and did so in the late 1530s through the Spanish reformer “Loyola”. He formed a new religious order, was the founder of the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, and they became the force of the Catholic Church. This was known as the Counter-Reformation. It was interesting to read and learn how each civilization had similarities. namely, Christianity, economic expansions and influential cultures, even today we can see the influence of the past operating in the 21st century, changing over time.