Download Roman timeline

1200 BCE – Latins, historical founders of Rome, settle on the Palatine River.
800 BCE – Romulus and Remus, mythic founders of Rome, are born.
800 BCE – Etruscans settle north of the Latin village on the Palatine.
600 BCE – Etruscans dominate all of northern Italy and influenced Latin culture.
509 BCE – Roman farmer-soldiers overthrow the Etruscans and establish a Republic.
275 BCE – Rome has gained control of the whole Italian peninsula.
264 BCE – Romans come into contact with the Carthaginians of North Africa, Spain, and
Sicily. Tension between them leads to the Punic Wars, which last about 120
years. Romans are victorious.
146 BCE – Romans demand allegiance from Greek city of Corinth and attack it. Romans
now are the ruling power of the Mediterranean region.
79 BCE – Roman Generals Pompey and Julius Caesar have different ideas about how Rome
should be ruled (aristocratic senators vs. one strong leader).
46 BCE – After raising an army and conquering Pompey, Julius Caesar becomes dictator of
Rome.
44 BCE – Caesar is killed by the senators who are suspicious of his ambition.
31 BCE – Civil war breaks out between Octavian (Casear’s adopted son) and Marc Antony.
Octavian wins. Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra commit suicide and
Octavian becomes absolute ruler of Rome, adding Egypt as a territory.
Octavian is renamed Caesar Augustus and expands the Empire to natural
defensible boundaries. The following period is called “Pax Romana,” a time of
peace and unity for the empire.
96 –186 CE - Period of the Five Good Emperors included:
an expansion of the empire to it’s greatest size
social reforms
public works
186-236 CE - Provinces revolt, civil war breaks out and there are 26 different emperors in 50
years, (25 removed by assassination)
284 CE - Emperor Diocletian declares himself a god, establishing the idea that the emperor’s
right to rule comes from the gods, not the people. He also split the empire in two
to make it easier to control.
312 CE - Emperor Constantine moved the capital from Rome to a Greek city, later renamed
Constantinople.
313 CE – Emperor Constantine establishes religious freedom, and later converts to
Christianity.