They lasted for four times the history of the United States. That's not unimpressive even if they had some bloody pastimes.
And the Romans provided the groundwork for all of Western Civilization.
that deserves big paragraph outlining all the morally wrong things they did including basic lack of respect for human life, subordinate position of women, etc etc etc. Or you mean scientific and art stuff? Even for that, price tag is a bit too high IMHO.