History of the Mediterranean region Alexandria. Mesopotamia became a fringe border region between the Roman Empire and the Persians. When Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Mediterranean sea began to be called "Mare Nostrum" (Latin: "Our Sea") by the Romans. Their empire was centered on this sea and all the area was full of commerce and naval development. For the first time in history, an entire sea (the Mediterranean) was free of piracy. For several centuries, the Mediterranean was a "Roman Lake", surrounded on all sides by the empire. The empire began to crumble, however, in the fifth century and Rome collapsed after 476 CE.
Now That's What I Call Music (original UK album) † Never appeared on any of the numbered "NOW" albums but did appear on Now 1983 in the 10th Anniversary Series. †† Later appeared on "NOW 2". Now That's What I Call Music (original UK album) Now That's What I Call Music (also simply titled Now or Now 1) is the first album from the popular "Now!" series that was released in the United Kingdom on 28 November 1983. Initial pressings were released on vinyl and audio cassette. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album and series, the album was re-released on CD for the first time in 2009.