Download high-level roman history outline (expanded for fhs)

BRIEF OUTLINE OF ROMAN HISTORY
April 21, 753 BC
Monarchy, rule of kings (seven kings total through this era)
 Rome, a city of seven hills, founded by Romulus (and Remus) on the Palatine Hill
 During the monarchy, various religious institutions are established (by the second king, Numa Pompilius)
and certain major Roman landmarks are built (the great sewer system known as the Cloaca Maxima; the
Circus Maximus for chariot races)
 The 7th and last king, Tarquinius Superbus, is overthrown by a popular revolt led by Brutus and Collatinus,
who become the first two consuls of the new Republic
509 BC
Republic (Rēs Pūblica)
 Senātus Populusque Rōmānūs (“The Senate and the Roman People”) – SPQR
o Two consuls elected annually to serve as chief executives
o Cursus Honōrum – a series of elected offices (quaestor, praetor, consul)
 First two consuls of the Republic are Brutus and Collatinus
 Rome's greatest challenge came from the Carthage, a mercantile empire against which Rome fought 3
"Punic" Wars; the greatest Carthaginian general was Hannibal, who invaded Italy successfully but was
finally defeated in Africa in 202 BC at Zama
 Generations of civil strife, civil wars and governmental corruption bring about the eventual collapse of the
Republic
o Gracchi brothers (Tiberius tribune in 133 BC; Gaius in 123 & 122 BC) use their power to propose
radical land reforms that upset the status quo (planned to distribute public land to Roman poor)
o Marius v. Sulla (Colline Gate 82 BC) – Marius had privatized armies by paying soldiers himself
o 3rd Servile War: Spartacus leads a wide-scale slave rebellion (73-71 BC), put down by Crassus
o Caesar v. Pompey (Pharsalus in 48 BC)
o Octavian v. Antony and Cleopatra (Actium in 31 BC)
27 BC
Empire (Imperium), aka “Principate”
 Octavian assumes the title of Augustus, becoming Rome’s first princeps and the first (and longest-ruling) of
the Julio-Claudian dynasty of emperors; a lengthy era of relative peace and stability (Pax Romana) begins
 Titus inaugurates the Colosseum in 80 AD with 100 consecutive days of games
 Hadrian, one of the "Five Good Emperors" who ruled from 117-138 AD, builds a defensive wall in Britain
("Hadrian's Wall") and restores the Pantheon in Rome, adding a dome to the top
 In 313 AD, Constantine I ("the Great") issues the Edit of Milan, ending the persecution of Christians.
395 AD
Theodosius divides the empire into Western and Eastern Empires
 Constantinople (renamed Byzantium and now modern day Istanbul, Turkey) is the capital of the Eastern
Empire
 Milano becomes the capital of the Western Empire
476 AD
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
 Romulus Augustulus is the last emperor, deposed by Odoacer, king of the Visigoths
 Most of the empire had been overrun by Goths and other “barbarian” invaders
 In 533 AD, Eastern emperor Justinian publishes the world’s first law code, Corpus Iuris Civilis
1453 AD
Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire
 Ottoman Turks, led by Mehmet II, capture Constantinople