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753 BCE
Founding of Rome
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509 BCE
Rome becomes a republic
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146 BCE
Rome invades Greece
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44 BCE
Julius Caesar, Roman consul (the highest elected official in Rome), is assassinated
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27 BCE
Start of the rule of Augustus; Rome moves towards becoming an empire
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64
The Great Fire of Rome destroys most of the city
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79
The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroys the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing 16,000 people
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80
The Colosseum opens
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395
The Roman Empire is permanently divided into two parts; the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire.
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451
Last strong military campaign of Roman army
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476
'Barbarian' forces remove the last Western emperor from power, marking an end to the Western Roman Empire.