The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) was founded under the direction of Theodor Mommsen in 1835. By the First World War, the majority of the known Latin inscriptions of antique provenance had already been published. International recognition was accorded to the achievements first of Mommsen and then particularly of his pupils, working in collaboration with scholars from the countries where the inscriptions were found. Since that time, the Corpus has been considered to be the authoritative documentation of the epigraphic heritage of Roman antiquity. It is a useful tool for reasarch on Roamn life and history. The CIL collects all Latin inscriptions from the whole territory of the former Imperium Romanum, ordering them geographically and systematically.