Roman Timeline

Roman Timeline
by Seth Vitco
Tuesday, December 3, 13

Founding of Rome
753 B. C.
This year is the
traditional date for the
founding of Rome by
Romulus. While there
is some skepticism
regarding the tale of
Romulus and Remus,
this date is generally
accepted as the start of
the Roman civilization.

Under the rule of
Romulus, Rome was
a refuge for
criminals, outcasts,
and fugitives.
Romulus also
presided the
kidnapping and
captivation of the
Sabines women.
Reign of Romulus
753 - 715 B. C.

Numa Pompilius was
the second king of
Rome. During his rule,
he promoted the
construction of
numerous temples and
shrines, and even
formed and early
version of the senate.
Reign of Numa Pompilius
715 - 653 B. C.

The Roman Senate was
one of the was one of
the most important
Roman civil structures.
Originally little more
than an advisory council
to the king, it grew in
power and inﬂuence
later on.
Formation of Roman Senate
715 B. C.

Tullus Hostilius was the
third king of Rome. His
very existence is
controversial, but he was
said to be a very violent
warmonger, leading to the
“Hostillius” following his
name.
Reign of Tullus Hostillius
673 B. C.

Ancus Marcius was
Rome’s fourth king.
According to Livy,
he successfully
made war against
the Latins, and
founded the Roman
port of Ostia.
Reign of Ancus Marcius
642 B. C.

Reign of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus
616 - 579 B. C.
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or
Tarquin the Elder, was the
ﬁfth king of Rome. He was
responsible the construction of
The Circus Maximus and the
Optimus Maximus.

Reign of Servius Tullius
578 - 535 B. C.
Servius Tullius was the
sixth king of Rome. He
made many
improvements to Rome’s
defenses, and was
responsible for clearly
deﬁning the cities
boundaries.

Reign of Tarquin the Proud
535 - 509 B.C.
Tarquin the Proud was the
seventh and ﬁnal king of
Rome. He was arrogant,
lofty, and cruel, and had
came to power by the
murder of his predecessor.
He was so hated that he was
exiled from Rome, and
monarchy was abolished as
a form of government.

Formation of Roman Republic
509 B.C.
After the overthrow of
Roman monarchy, a
new government was
needed. Thus, the
republic was formed.
In a republic, the
people elect a council
of leaders. This
council then votes on
important decisions.
This system is
designed to keep all
powers in balance.

Ofﬁce of Dictator Created
501 B.C.
In 501 BC, the Roman
government instituted
the special ofﬁce of
dictator. In the case of
an emergency, the
Roman Senate. The
Dictator possessed a
large amount of power,
but was forced to give
up his position at the
end of the crisis.

Secession of the Plebs
494 B.C.
As a political
statement, many
plebeians, or
“plebs”simply left cities
in masse in an attempt
to gain higher social
standing. Following
this, Plebeians were
elected as tribunes, an
important ofﬁce in the
Roman government.

Interclass Marriage Permitted
445 B.C.
Up until this point,
Patricians and Plebeians
married strictly within their
own circles. However, this
law was abolished in 445
BC. This promoted greater
unity between the two social
groups.

Rome sacks Veii
396 B.C.
In a violent conclusion to
the long conﬂict with the
Etruscans, Rome ﬁnally
sacked the Etruscan
capital of Veii after a ten
year siege.

Samnite Wars
343 - 290 B.C.
During this period of
time, Rome fought the
Samnite tribes in a bid
for land. The war
eventually ended with
the defeat of the
Samnites.

Pyrrhic War
280-275 B.C.
The Pyrrhic War was a Mediterranean
conﬂict which occurred due to many
complex sociopolitical reasons. It took
place between a Roman/Carthaginian
alliance and Greek city states. It ended
with Rome controlling much more
territory and establishing itself as a
strong power in the Mediterranean.
While some city states won victories over
Rome, they were incredibly costly. This
has led to the phrase, “Pyrrhic Victory”

Punic Wars
246 - 146 B.C.
The Punic Wars were a series of
conﬂicts between Rome and
Carthage. These events mainly
occurred because of commercial
reasons. Although the Romans
were stronger on lands than the
Carthaginians, the Carthaginian
general Hannibal used war
elephants to overcome this. While
he was successful for a time, he
was unable to capture Rome, and
the scheme failed. Eventually, the
Romans razed Carthage and
ended its glory.

Rule of Gaius Marius
107 - 86 B.C.
Gaius Marius was a Roman
Statesman who served as
Consul for a long period of
time. He was known for his
many improvements to Rome’s
military and his defeat of the
invading Germanic tribes. His
life and legacy played an
important role in Rome’s
transformation from republic to
empire.

Rule of Pompey
55-51 B.C.
Although Pompey’s reign
was a short one, he made
some contributions to
Rome. He often is
remembered for his role in
the First Triumvirate,
where he cleared the
Mediterranean Sea of
pirates. Unfortunately, he
was eventually killed by
assassins in league with
Julius Caesar.

Servile War
73-71 B.C.
The Servile War, also known
as the Gladiator’s war, or the
War of Spartacus, was a large
scale slave rebellion in the
Roman Empire. While the
had been other such
revolutions, this one is
remembered for being the
only such revolt to occur in
Italy itself. While the war was
unsuccessful, the legacy of its
bold leader, Spartacus, lives
on.

Caesar Forms the Triumvirate
60 B.C.
Julius Caesar, an ambitious
Roman statesman, formed
the ﬁrst ever Triumvirate to
govern the Roman republic.
It was composed of Julius
Caesar, Pompey and
Crassus, all powerful
political ﬁgures. With the
death of Crassus and
Pompey in 53-52 BC,
however, Caesar was left the
sole power in Rome.

Caesar Fights Gallic Wars
58-50 B.C.
During this time,
Caesar made several
successful campaigns
against barbarians in
Gaul, Germania, and
Britannia. He received
much admiration for
his exploits, and his
campaigns are
remembered even
today.

Caesar Crosses the Rubicon
49 B.C.When Caesar returned
home from his campaigns,
he was required legally to
give up his power, as only
the civil magistrates could
command the military
within Rome itself. The
Rubicon river marked this
boundary. After some
careful thinking, Caesar
decided to cross the river,
effectively invading Rome
itself. Thus, a civil war
begun, with Caesar being
opposed by Pompey and
the Optimates.

Caesar Pursues the Optimates
48-45 B.C.
During this time,
Caesar and his armey
chased Pompey and
the Optimates
throughout the
Mediterranean,
eventually cornering
and defeating them in
Egypt. Thus, Caesar
effectively became the
permanent dictator of
Rome.

Assassination of Caesar
44 B.C.
Caesar’s insatiable hunger
for power began to worry
many senators. With the
people blinded by their love
of Caesar, some feared he
would become a king, as in
the days of old. Feeling that
there was no other suitable
option they stabbed Caesar
to death, under the
direction of Brutus.

Third Roman Civil War
44-42 B.C.
The Third Roman Civil took
place between Brutus and
Cassius (who strived to
preserve the Roman
Republic), and Octavian and
Marc Antony (who wished to
fulﬁll Caesar’s legacy). The
war ended with the victory of
Octavian and Antony.

Suicide of Anthony and Cleopatra
30 B.C.
Due to disputes over
who should be Caesar’s
heir, Octavian and
Antony became quite
hostile. After suffering
many defeats at the
hands of Augustus,
Antony and Cleopatra
committed suicide in
Egypt, rather than be
shamed at the hands of
Augustus. After this,
Egypt was annexed as a
Roman province.

End of Roman Republic
27 B.C.
Although Augustus did not claim to be
emperor, he had power equal to one.
He made sure to carefully edge his way
into dictatorship, still allowing the
Roman Republic to function normally.
Eventually, his popularity was so great
that he was able to declare himself
emperor with virtually no protest.

Birth of Christ
~3 B.C.
Truly, this event may be
the most important in
history. The coming of
Christ was a blessing
from God that has
saved all true believers,
and is one which we do
not deserve.

Rule of Tiberius
14-37 A.D.
Tiberius, the stepson of
Octavian, was the next
emperor of Rome. He was
said to be one of the greatest
Roman generals of all time,
conquering many of the
barbarian tribes in Europe.
Despite this, he was
remembered as being a dark,
gloomy, and solemn man.

Rule of Caligula
37-41 A.D.
Caligula was an insane and
dangerous man. While he
appeared to be a suitable ruler
at ﬁrst, he soon degenerated
into madness, spawning
frightening tales of his
disturbing actions. After only
four years, he was assassinated
by the Praetorian Guard.

Rule of Nero
54-68 A.D.
Nero was a vile and wicked
Roman emperor. He abused
his power and committed
many atrocities, thus gaining
enemies in the government.
He eventually was so hated
that he was killed by his own
men. Even today, Nero
remains a despised ﬁgure.

Rule of Trajan
98-117 A.D.
Trajan was a kind, noble, and
just emperor who was loved by
his subjects. He worked hard to
improve standards of living for
the Roman people, and was
mourned after his death. Even
the christians admired him as a
“virtuous pagan.”

Split of the Roman Empire
285 A.D.
Because the Roman Empire was
growing to such an extent, it was
becoming difﬁcult to mange. In
285, Emperor Diocletian split
the empire in to east and west so
that it would be easier to
oversee.

Diocletian persecutes Christians
303 B.C.
Diocletian was a ruthless,
ambitious, and callous leader.
He strongly disliked
Christians, and began a
period of merciless
persecution during his reign.

Constantine Legalizes Christianity
313 A.D.
After he experienced a vision
from God, the Roman
emperor Constantine
converted to Christianity and
legalized it under the Edict of
Milan.

Edict of Thessalonica
380 A.D.
Despite the Edict of Milan,
many citizens of the Roman
Empire remained pagans. In
380, emperor Theodosius I
instituted the Edict of
Thessalonica, which legally
required all Roman citizens to
be Christians.

Fall of Rome
476 A.D.
In the early 400’s, Rome began to
decline. The city decayed with
political corruption and a lack of
leadership, while barbarian tribes
eroded its borders. Although
Rome was sacked many times,
476 is the traditional date for the
fall of the Western Roman
Empire. (The Eastern Empire
continued on

Rule of Justinian
527-565 A.D.
Justinian the First, commonly
known as Justinian the Great,
was a famous emperor of the
Eastern Roman Empire. He
undertook many restoration
projects in Constantinople,
including the construction of
the Hagia Sophia and his
revision of Roman Law.
Under his rule, Byzantine
culture blossomed.

Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire
1453 A.D.
Although the Western Roman
Empire was destroyed, the
Eastern Roman Empire
continued on. By the middle
ages, however, Constantinople
was repeatedly attacked by the
Ottoman Empire. In 1453,
Constantinople fell to the
Turks, and the last bastion of
the Roman Empire was
destroyed.

Roman Timeline

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