The language that emerged as the lingua franca of the Roman Empire during its expansion was Latin. Latin evolved from the Italic dialects spoken by the ancient Latins in the region of Latium, centered around Rome. As the Roman Empire expanded, Latin became the dominant language, facilitating communication across diverse cultures and regions. It served as the official language of administration, law, and military, influencing many languages that followed. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Latin continued to be used in academic and ecclesiastical contexts, eventually evolving into the Romance languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.