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753 BCE
Rome Founded
According to the legends, Romulus and Remus, were abandoned as infants and were found on the shores of the Tigris and raised by a she-wolf. Romulus kills his twin brother Remus over a dispute on which of the seven hills the city should be built. -
Period: 753 BCE to 510 BCE
Regal Period
The age of kings featured seven kings who ruled Rome; starting with Romulus and ending with three Etruscan rulers the last of which was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus who was forcefully removed by a popular uprising, forever tainting the title of Rex. -
509 BCE
Founding of the Republic
After Tarquin was overthrown Rome established governing body ruled by 2 consuls annuals and the a senate of patricians- a powerful aristocracy families who controlled the politics and society, and eventually the plebians who represented the farmers, artisans, and the working class. -
Period: 509 BCE to 27 BCE
The Roman Republic
Rome expanded its control through the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean, placating the Etruscans and defeating Carthage in the west, Greece and the Seleucid Empire to the east, and eventually Egypt. Rome demanded subjugation by her allies and revolts were met with brutal force.
The late Republic (133 BCE) suffered from domestic turmoil including issues of citizenship among its allies, conflicts between the patricians and reformist plebeian policy, and land. -
390 BCE
Gauls Invade Rome
The Gauls were a Celtic people who extended their powers past the Po Valley and through Etruria, sacking Rome. -
264 BCE
First Punic Wars
264-241 BCE was a time when conflicts between Rome and Carthage over the island of Sicily, rich in wheat, and their respective protectorates and allies. The ongoing battles would exhaust both powers. Carthage loses Sicily and is forced to pay a ruinous financial fine. Rome, establishes its first colony and province and seize Syracuse and Sardinia as well. With new provinces, Rome will be burdened with the need of powerful navy, and an increasingly expensive bureaucracy. -
218 BCE
Second Punic War
Hannibal invades Spain and marched into the Italian peninsula through the Italian Alps. Winning major battles along the way despite losing half of his troops, the war came with devastating costs and human life. Hannibal was finally defeated at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE and Carthage was defeated subject to fines, give up its army, and possessions. -
149 BCE
Third Punic War
On the persistence of Scipio Aemilianus, Rome invades Carthage after the later defended their merchants against Numidian pirates, Rome's ally. Carthage is destroyed and burned and its people are killed or enslaves, and Rome gains control of all of north Africa. -
146 BCE
Battle of Corinth
Rome sends troops to quell the uprising of Greeks, in a series of Macedonian Wars, defeating the Seleucid Empire, Macedonians, Greeks, and destroying Corinth. With the annihilation of Carthage, Rome dominates the Mediterranean. Additionally, Roman culture adopts and finds an affinity for Egypt and its resources, and Greek drama. -
132 BCE
Tiberius Gracchus Assassinated
133 BCE Tiberius renounces his patrician heritage and represents the plebeians as tribune. His progressive land reform would have redistributed state land from the wealthy to the people but his unwillingness for compromise broke with political norms and made him popular among the plebs, but threatened the senate. He was assassinated by the senate in the name of tyranny. -
123 BCE
Gaius Gracchi Tribunate
Following in his brother's steps, Gaius Gracchus. A great orator was elected tribunate. He proposed judicial and land reform, and created grain subsidies to manage inflating costs. In 122, after losing his bid for a third term. His political opponents raised an army and a bounty was put on him paid in Gaius' head's weight in gold. The killings of the Gracchus Brothers set the precedent for the next 100 years of civil war.