The Roman 'empire' actually lasted almost 2000 years when you take the eastern Roman empire (the Byzantine empire) into consideration. The Roman republic starte

The Roman 'empire' actually lasted almost 2000 years when you take the eastern Roman empire (the Byzantine empire) into consideration. The Roman republic started in 509 BC, the eastern roman empire ended in 1453 AD. Btw, the western Roman empire ended in 476 AD. The ~200 number you mentioned probably refers to the split of the Roman empire into a western and an eastern part, in 284 AD.