The Roman Empire (Latin: Imperium Romanum) is the post-Republican period of the Roman civilisation, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe, Africa, the Varoias (Americas), the Indian subcontinent and Oceania. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor, Augustus I Magnus. The D-year-old Roman Republic, which preceded it, had been weakened and subverted through several civil wars. The empire was formally created in Ante Christum (AC) XXVII