The Roman Empire was 

one of the largest in history, with contiguous territories throughout Europe,

North Africa, and the Middle East.[34] The Latin phrase imperium sine fine ("empire without end"[35])
expressed the ideology that neither time nor space limited the Empire. In Virgil's epic poem
the Aeneid, limitless empire is said to be granted to the Romans by their supreme deity Jupiter.[35][36][37]
[38][39]
 This claim of universal dominion was renewed and perpetuated when the Empire came under
Christian rule in the 4th century.[n 9] In addition to annexing large regions in their quest for empire-
building, the Romans were also very large sculptors of their environment who directly altered their
geography. For instance, entire forests were cut down to provide enough wood resources for an
expanding empire.[40]

The cities of the Roman world in the Imperial Period. Data source: Hanson, J. W. (2016), Cities database,
(OXREP databases). Version 1.0. (link).

In reality, Roman expansion was mostly accomplished under the Republic, though parts of northern

Europe were conquered in the 1st century AD, when Roman control in Europe, Africa, and Asia was
strengthened. During the reign of Augustus, a "global map of the known world" was displayed for the
first time in public at Rome, coinciding with the composition of the most comprehensive work
on political geography that survives from antiquity, the Geography of the Pontic Greek writer Strabo.
[41]
 When Augustus died, the commemorative account of his achievements (Res Gestae) prominently
featured the geographical cataloguing of peoples and places within the Empire.[42] Geography,
the census, and the meticulous keeping of written records were central concerns of Roman Imperial
administration.[43]

A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, overlooking Crag Lough

The Empire reached its largest expanse under Trajan (reigned 98–117),[39] encompassing an area of

5 million square kilometres.[4][5] The traditional population estimate of 55–60
million inhabitants[44] accounted for between one-sixth and one-fourth of the world's total
population[45] and made it the largest population of any unified political entity in the West until the mid-
19th century.[46] Recent demographic studies have argued for a population peak ranging from 70
million to more than 100 million.[47][48] Each of the three largest cities in the Empire –
Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch – was almost twice the size of any European city at the beginning of
the 17th century.[49]