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==Monarchs and Emperors==
In the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it is commonly viewed that Europe entered a dark age, where few historical documents are known and the Roman economic and political systems had collapsed. However, what is also obvious is that very soon after the collapse of the Roman Empire, local rulers and monarchs that arose began to emulate and adopt Roman governmental traditions and laws.<ref>For example, Roman laws influenced some Germanic tribes in governance and law practice, eventually shaping what became adopted and codified later. See: Stein, Peter. 1999. ''Roman Law in European History.'' New York: Cambridge University Press, pg. 31.</ref>
[[File:Statue-Augustus.jpg|thumbnail|250px|left|Augustus Caesar]]
We see that the Roman Empire did, in fact, continue in the form of the Byzantine Empire in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Here, the rulers titled themselves as emperors in a similar manner to the Roman Empire and saw themselves as carrying Roman traditions. In Western Europe, Charlemagne (742-814) was the first monarch to unite much of the region after the fall of the Roman Empire. The title he took as he achieved this was “Emperor of the Romans” and was crowned in Rome, symbolic of past Roman authority.<ref>Story, Joanna, ed. 2005. ''Charlemagne: Empire and Society.'' Manchester ; New York: Manchester University Press,pg. 53.</ref> Similar traditions were also present in Slavic and Germanic cultures, with the titles of Tsar and Kaiser deriving from the word Caesar, denoting an imperial title or ruler with central authority.<ref>Stevenson, Tom. 2014. ''Julius Caesar and the Transformation of the Roman Republic.'' New York: Rutledge, pg. 5.</ref> The ideals of an orderly state with strong central government were ideals rulers in Russia and Europe tried to emulate.
One of the biggest influences, however, came later in the Middle Ages (late 11th century) after the discovery of the Roman Digest, which was a compilation of Roman laws. This discovery led to a number of European countries adopting it as part of their common law that governed day-to-day matters. In fact, this discovery led to the founding of the first university in Europe, the University of Bologna, initially to study Roman law. <ref>For a discussion on the Digest see: Stein, Peter. 1999. ''Roman Law in European History.'' New York: Cambridge University Press, pg. 44.</ref> One example influence of Roman law is the right to return faulty purchases by buyers used today in many countries.<ref>Watson, Alan. 2009. ''The Digest of Justinian: Volume 3: The Digest of Justinian.Volume 3''. Philadelphia, Pa: University of Pennsylvania Press, pg. 385.</ref> The Napoleonic code in France is still influential today in the French government and even around the world, as it asserted individual rights pertaining to a wide range of subjects including commercial and legal areas, which at its core is based on Roman laws.<ref> Tarr, G. Alan. 2014. ''Judicial Process and Judicial Policymaking.'' Sixth edition. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, pg. 7.</ref>
