-
753 BCE
Founding of Rome
753 BCE Marks the legendary founding date of Rome.
According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by the two brothers Romulus and Remus, on 21 April 753. The legend claims that, in an argument over who would rule the city (or, in another version, where the city would be located) -
509 BCE
Founding of Republic
The Romans established a form of government. It all began when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan conquerors in 509 B.C.E. Centered north of Rome, the Etruscans had ruled over the Romans for hundreds of years. Once free, the Romans established a republic, a government in which citizens elected representatives to rule on their behalf. A republic is quite different from a democracy, in which every citizen is expected to play an active role in governing the state. -
Period: 264 BCE to 241 BCE
First Punic War
First Punic War, also called First Carthaginian War, (264–241 bce) first of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire that resulted in the destruction of Carthage. -
Period: 218 BCE to 201 BCE
Second Punic War
Second Punic War, also called Second Carthaginian War, second (218–201 bce) in a series of wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire that resulted in Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. -
Period: 149 BCE to 146 BCE
Third Punic War
Third Punic War, also called Third Carthaginian War, (149–146 bce), third of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) Empire that resulted in the final destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. -
60 BCE
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate is a term historians use for an informal political alliance between three prominent men of the late Roman Republic: Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. -
44 BCE
Death of Caesar
Julius Caesar, the ”dictator for life” of the Roman Empire, is murdered by his own senators at a meeting in a hall next to Pompey’s Theatre. The conspiracy against Caesar encompassed as many as sixty noblemen, including Caesar’s own protege, Marcus Brutus. -
31 BCE
Battle of Actium
At the Battle of Actium, off the western coast of Greece, Roman leader Octavian wins a decisive victory against the forces of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Before their forces suffered final defeat, Antony and Cleopatra broke though the enemy lines and fled to Egypt, where they would commit suicide the following year. -
68
Death of Nero
On June 9, a desperate Nero was informed that forces loyal to the Senate were closing on the Imperial palace to arrest him, so he stabbed himself in the neck. His ineffectual attempt did not kill him, however, and his personal secretary had to finish him off. According to Suetonius, he died with the words "What a great artist dies with me!" -
180
Death of Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180. His son Commodus became emperor and soon ended the northern military efforts. Marcus Aurelius, however, is not best remembered for the wars he waged, but for his contemplative nature and his rule driven by reason. -
Period: 272 to 327
Life of Constantine
Constantine was the last significant emperor of what we traditionally think of as the Roman Empire. And it was during his reign and due mostly to his actions that the empire was transformed from old to new. In fact, the steps that he took were responsible for extending the Roman Empire's life far beyond what it would have been without his reforms. Not that he had much choice; he simply examined events as they were happening and reacted in the best way possible to preserve it. -
476
Fall of Rome
In September 476 AD, the last Roman emperor of the west, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by a Germanic prince called Odovacar, who had won control of the remnants of the Roman army of Italy. He then sent the western imperial regalia to Constantinople.