Roman Empire

By rj101
  • Period: 751 BCE to 506 BCE

    The Roman Kingdom (753 BCE – 509 BCE)

  • 750 BCE

    753 BCE Traditional founding of Rome by Romulus.

  • 509 BCE

    753–509 BCE Rome is ruled by a series of Etruscan kings.

  • 509 BCE

    Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

    Rome becomes a republic after the last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, is overthrown. The Roman government is led by elected officials like consuls and senators.
  • Period: 509 BCE to 25 BCE

    The Roman Republic (509 BCE – 27 BCE)

  • 264 BCE

    264–146 BCE: Punic Wars

    Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage. Rome eventually defeats Carthage and becomes the dominant power in the western Mediterranean.
  • 96 BCE

    96–180 CE Five Good Emperors

    The period of the "Five Good Emperors"—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—marked by relative peace and prosperity.
  • 42 BCE

    44 BCE: Assassination of Julius Caesar

    marking the end of the Roman Republic’s stability.
  • 31 BCE

    Battle of Actium.

    Octavian (later Augustus) defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra, leading to the consolidation of power under one ruler.
  • 27 BCE

    Augustus

    Octavian is given the title Augustus by the Senate, marking the official start of the Roman Empire. Augustus rules as the first emperor.
  • Period: 18 BCE to 476 BCE

    The Roman Empire (27 BCE – 476 CE)

  • 64

    64 CE Death of Augustus

    His stepson Tiberius becomes emperor.
    64 CE: The Great Fire of Rome during Emperor Nero's reign. Nero is later blamed for the persecution of Christians.
  • 69

    69 CE Year of the Four Emperors

    a brief period of civil war following Nero's death.
    96–180 CE: The period of the "Five Good Emperors"—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—marked by relative peace and prosperity.
  • 117

    117 CE Emperor Trajan

    At its greatest extent under Emperor Trajan, the Roman Empire stretches from Britain in the west to Mesopotamia in the east.
  • Period: 232 to 284

    Crisis of the Third Century (235 CE – 284 CE)

    The Crisis of the Third Century, a period of military anarchy, civil wars, and economic decline, nearly leads to the collapse of the empire.
  • 280

    Tetrarchy

    Diocletian rises to power in 284 CE and reforms the empire, creating the Tetrarchy, a system of rule by four co-emperors to stabilize the empire.
  • Period: 281 to 475

    Dominate (284 CE – 476 CE)

  • 313

    313 CE: Emperor Constantine the Great issues

    313 CE: Emperor Constantine the Great issues the Edict of Milan, granting religious tolerance to Christians and marking the beginning of the Christianization of the empire.
  • 323

    324 CE: Constantine reunifies

    324 CE: Constantine reunifies the empire under his sole rule and moves the capital to Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).
  • 380

    Emperor Theodosius

    380 CE: Emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
  • 395

    Upon Theodosius’s death

    395 CE: Upon Theodosius’s death, the Roman Empire is permanently divided into the Western Roman Empire (based in Rome) and the Eastern Roman Empire (based in Constantinople).
  • 410

    The Visigoths

    410 CE: The Visigoths, led by Alaric, sack Rome, signaling the empire's vulnerability.
  • Period: 410 to 474

    The Fall of the Western Roman Empire