While UV rays can cause skin cancer, because skin cancer usually affects people after they have had children, it likely had little effect on the evolution of skin color because evolution favors changes that improve reproductive success.
The only problem was that I couldn't remember where I had heard that. In fact, I wasn't all that sure that I was right. I know that the Roman Empire lasted rougly 500 years but how about the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Ottomons, etc. I thought that it would be interesting to explore different empires and see how long they lasted. In another article, I talk about the definition of civilization..
The Roman Empire was the largest empire of the ancient world. Its capital was Rome, and its empire was based in the Mediterranean. The Empire dates from 27 BC, when Octavian became the Emperor, Augustus, till it fell in 476 AD, marking the end of the Ancient World and the beginning of the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages. The empire was the third stage of Ancient Rome. Rome was first ruled by Roman kings, then by the Roman Republic, then by an emperor. Many modern lands were once part of the Roman Empi