<P> References to interpreters indicate the continuing use of local languages other than Greek and Latin, particularly in Egypt, where Coptic predominated, and in military settings along the Rhine and Danube . Roman jurists also show a concern for local languages such as Punic, Gaulish, and Aramaic in assuring the correct understanding and application of laws and oaths . In the province of Africa, Libyco - Berber and Punic were used in inscriptions and for legends on coins during the time of Tiberius (1st century AD). Libyco - Berber and Punic inscriptions appear on public buildings into the 2nd century, some bilingual with Latin . In Syria, Palmyrene soldiers even used their dialect of Aramaic for inscriptions, in a striking exception to the rule that Latin was the language of the military . </P> <P> The Babatha Archive is a suggestive example of multilingualism in the Empire . These papyri, named for a Jewish woman in the province of Arabia and dating from 93 to 132 AD, mostly employ Aramaic, the local language, written in Greek characters with Semitic and Latin influences; a petition to the Roman governor, however, was written in Greek . </P> <P> The dominance of Latin among the literate elite may obscure the continuity of spoken languages, since all cultures within the Roman Empire were predominantly oral . In the West, Latin, referred to in its spoken form as Vulgar Latin, gradually replaced Celtic and Italic languages that were related to it by a shared Indo - European origin . Commonalities in syntax and vocabulary facilitated the adoption of Latin . </P> <P> After the decentralization of political power in late antiquity, Latin developed locally into branches that became the Romance languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian, and a large number of minor languages and dialects . Today, more than 900 million people are native speakers worldwide . </P>

Under which emperor did the empire reach its greatest geographical extent