Posible founding date forOstia, the port ofRome.
Constantine defeats Maxentius at Milvian Bridge.
The earliest knownTriumphal Archesare built inRomeby L.Sertinius.
A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome – Ray Laurence
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Naval commander Carausius (Marcus AureliusMausaeus Valerius Carausius) declares himself emperor inBritainand NorthernGaul.
St. Paul goes on missionary journeys acrossAsia MinorGreece, andRome.
The Baths ofCaracallainRomeare completed.
Official inauguration of the Theatre of Marcellus inRome.
Foedus Cassianus – treaty by Spurius Cassius Vecellinus with the Latin League after theBattleof Lake Regillus.
Year of the Four Emperors: CivilwarinRome.
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The castra praetoria, permanent camp of thePraetorian Guard, is built inRomeby Sejanus.
TheColosseumofRomeis damaged by earthquake.
Romanvictory over Samnites, Gauls and Umbrians at Sentinum.
RomedefeatsMacedonatBattleof Pydna.
Sulla moves theOlympic GamestoRomefor a single Olympiad.
Lars Porsenna,Etruscanking ofChiusi, lays siege toRome.
Augustuscreates the cohortes urbanae inRometo help maintain public order.
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Julius Caesars expeditions inBritain.
In general, the Optimates held with traditional political and social values which favored the power of the Senate of Rome and the prestige and superiority of the ruling class. The Populares, again generally speaking, favored reform and democratization of the Roman Republic. These opposing ideologies would famously clash in the form of three men who would, unwittingly, bring about the end of the Roman Republic.
Forum ofCaesarconstructed inRomebyJulius Caesaras another area to conduct judicial business. It is the best surviving of his monuments.
The firsttemplededicated toSaturnis constructed in theRomanForum ofRome.
First documented martydom in theColosseumofRome, that of St. Ignatius of Antioch.
He refused to answer the charges and directed his focus toward eliminating Pompey as a rival. Pompey and Caesar met inbattleat Pharsalus inGreecein 48 BCE where Caesars numerically inferior force defeated Pompeys greater one. Pompey himself fled toEgypt, expecting to find sanctuary there, but was assassinated upon his arrival. News of Caesars great victory against overwhelming numbers at Pharsalus had spread quickly and many former friends and allies of Pompey swiftly sided with Caesar, believing he was favored by the gods.
Romancommander MarcusClaudiusMarcellus lays seige to and ultimately sacksSyracuse.
Emperor Carausius assassinated by Allectus.
RomedeclareswaronCarthageafterHannibalsacks Saguntum in Spain. The SecondPunicWar begins.
ThecityofJerusalemis besieged and captured byRome; the SecondTempledestroyed.
Regal Period of ancientRomefrom Founding to Birth of the Republic.
Traditional date the office of the tribuni plebis is created inRome.
EtruscanVolsinii and their ally Sappinum unsuccessfully attacksRome.
GalliaNarbonensis becomes aRomanprovince.
TheEtruscans, to the north, provided a model for trade and urban luxury.Etruriawas also well situated for trade and the earlyRomans either learned the skills of trade from Etruscan example or were taught directly by the Etruscans who made incursions into the area around Rome sometime between 650 and 600 BCE (although their influence was felt much earlier). The extent of the role the Etruscans played in the development ofRomanculture and society is debated but there seems little doubt they had a significant impact at an early stage.
Rebuilding ofRome. Strongwallsaround the seven hills.
Still other theories concerning the name of the famous city suggest it came fromRumon, the ancient name for the Tiber River, and was simply a place-name given to the small trading centre established on its banks or that the name derived from anEtruscanword which could have designated one of their settlements.
Julius Caesar was now the most powerful man in Rome. He effectively ended the period of the Republic by having the Senate proclaim him dictator. His popularity among the people was enormous and his efforts to create a strong and stable central government meant increased prosperity for the city of Rome. He was assassinated by a group of Roman Senators in 44 BCE, however, precisely because of these achievements.
TheCircus MaximusinRomeis rebuilt and its capacity increased to 250,000.
Other legends claim the city was named after a woman,Roma, who traveled with Aeneas and the other survivors fromTroyafter that city fell. Upon landing on the banks of the Tiber River, Roma and the other women objected when the men wanted to move on. She led the women in the burning of the Trojan ships and so effectively stranded the Trojan survivors at the site which would eventually become Rome. Aeneas of Troy is featured in this legend and also, famously, inVirgilsAeneid, as a founder of Rome and the ancestor of Romulus and Remus, thus linking Rome with the grandeur and might which was once Troy.
Vespasianbegins construction of theColosseuminRome.
Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in southernItalyburying the towns ofPompeiiand Herculaneum in volcanic ash.
The (semi-mythological) seven kings ofRome: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tulus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.
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ThePantheoninRomeis repaired bySeptimius SeverusandCaracalla.
Battleof Lake Regillus betweenRomeand the Latin League.
In the 2nd century BCE, the Gracchi brothers,Tiberiusand Gaius, two Roman tribunes, led amovement for land reform and political reform in general. Though the brothers were both killed in this cause, their efforts did spur legislative reforms and the rampant corruption of the Senate was curtailed (or, at least, the Senators became more discreet in their corrupt activities). By the time of theFirst Triumvirate, both the city and the Republic of Rome were in full flourish.
Arch ofAugustusbuilt inRometo commemorate victory over the Parthians.
The traditional date when theCircus MaximusofRomeis first laid out.
Ancient Rome: From The Republic to The Empire
Fire destroys theCircus MaximusinRome.
The last officialchariotrace is held in.
The firsttempleof the Dioscuri (Castor & Pollux) is dedicated inRomeby Aulus Postumius following his victory over the Latins at theBattleof Lake Regillus.
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Migration of Claudii from Sabine lands toRome.
TheColumnofMarcus Aureliusand Faustina is erected inRome. It depicts in relief sculpture the emperors campaigns across the Danube.
FirstRomanall-marble building is constructed, thetempleof Jupiter Stater inRome.
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TheRomanport ofOstiareaches its maximum size becoming a major urban centre.
Life of GaiusJulius Caesar, founder of theRoman Empire.
Life ofRomanemperorHadrian(Publius Aelius Hadrianus).
Possible year of Emperor Constantines birth.
Gallic Catastrophe: Duke Brennus of theCeltsdefeats the Romans at Allia, and subsequently sacksRome. Celts move off after ransom is paid.
Romantale of mythical twinsRomulus and Remusfirst recorded.
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Constantine Inamed caesar of the west.
Written byJoshua J. Mark, published on 02 September 2009 under the following license:Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms.
From the start, theRomans showed a talent for borrowing and improving upon the skills and concepts of other cultures. The Kingdom of Rome grew rapidly from a trading town to a prosperous city between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. When the last of the seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed in 509 BCE, his rival for power, Lucius Junius Brutus, reformed the system of government and established theRoman Republic.
SecondRomanTriumvirate:AntonyOctavian, and Lepidus (official approvement by Senate). Mass proscriptions includingCicero.
Constantine Ireduces the cohortes urbanae ofRome.
Myths and Legends – Rome, the Wolf, and Mars
As the Republic of Rome grew in power and prestige, the city of Rome began to suffer from the effects of corruption, greed and the over-reliance on foreign slave labor. Gangs of unemployed Romans, put out of work by the influx of slaves brought in through territorial conquests, hired themselves out as thugs to do the bidding of whatever wealthy Senator would pay them. The wealthy elite of the city, thePatricians, became ever richer at the expense of the working lower class, the Plebeians.
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Octavian,Antonyand Lepidus formed theSecond Triumvirateof Rome but, as with the first, these men were also equally ambitious. Lepidus was effectively neutralized when Antony and Octavian agreed that he should have Hispania and Africa to rule over and thereby kept him from any power play in Rome. It was agreed that Octavian would rule Roman lands in the west and Antony in the east.
Both Pompey and Caesar were great generals who, through their respective conquests, made Rome wealthy. Though the richest man in Rome (and, it has been argued, the richest in all of Roman history) Crassus longed for the same respect people accorded Pompey and Caesar for their military successes. In 53 BCE he lead a sizeable force against the Parthians at Carrhae, in modern dayTurkey, where he was killed when truce negotiations broke down.
Roman Underwear, Nudity, and Visual Display
The Via Appia, a famousRomanroad, is constructed.
EmperorCommodusis murdered, civilwarensues (until 197 CE).
The Baths ofNeroinRomeare extensively renovated and expanded byAlexanderSeverus and renamed Thermae Alexandrinae.
Originally a small town on the banks of the Tiber, Rome grew in size and strength, early on, through trade. The location of the city provided merchants with an easily navigable waterway on which to traffic their goods. The city was ruled by seven kings, from Romulus to Tarquin, as it grew in size and power.Greekculture andcivilization, which came to Rome via Greek colonies to the south, provided the earlyRomans with a model on which to build their own culture. From the Greeks they borrowed literacy andreligionas well as the fundamentals of architecture.
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, last king ofRome, dies in exile at Cumae.
ThePantheoninRomeis converted into a Christian church.
Allpoleisorcity-states inMagna Graeciacome underRomancontrol.
Four sisters in Ancient Rome – Ray Laurence
According to legend, AncientRomewas founded by the two brothers, and demi-gods,Romulus and Remus, on 21 April 753 BCE. The legend claims that, in an argument over who would rule thecity(or, in another version, where the city would be located) Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself. This story of the founding of Rome is the best known but it is not the only one.
The secondPantheonbuilding inRomeis hit by lightning and destroyed by fire.
Military engineer and architectVitruviuspublishes his De Architectura.
The Campus Martius baths inRomeare constructed and donated to the people by Agrippa.
The three men were equally ambitious and, vying for power, were able to keep each other in check while helping to make Rome prosper. Crassus was the richest man in Rome and was corrupt to the point of forcing wealthy citizens to pay him `safety money. If the citizen paid, Crassus would not burn down that persons house but, if no money was forthcoming, the fire would be lighted and Crassus would then charge a fee to send men to put the fire out. Although the motive behind the origin of these fire brigades was far from noble, Crassus did effectively create the first fire department which would, later, prove of great value to the city.
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RomeputsDelosunder the jurisdiction ofAthensand makes the island a free port.
First reference to the Flavian Amphitheatre as theColosseumby the Venerable Bede.
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Agrippa defeats the naval fleet of SextusPompeyin thebattleof Naulochos.
Mark, Joshua J. Ancient Rome.Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 02, 2009.
Digging History 4: The Ancient Metropolis
Reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, last king ofRome.
Unofficial persecution of Christians inRome.
Though Rome owed its prosperity to trade in the early years, it was war which would make the city a powerful force in the ancient world. The wars with the North African city ofCarthage(known as thePunic Wars, 264-146 BCE) consolidated Romes power and helped the city grow in wealth and prestige. Rome and Carthage were rivals in trade in the Western Mediterranean and, with Carthage defeated, Rome held almost absolute dominance over the region; though there were still incursions by pirates which prevented complete Roman control of the sea.
Mark, Joshua J. Ancient Rome.Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 02 Sep 2009. Web. 02 May 2018.
Construction is finally completed on theColosseumofRomein the reign ofDomitian.
Even so, Rome found itself divided across class lines. The ruling class called themselves Optimates (the best men) while the lower classes, or those who sympathized with them, were known as the Populares (the people). These names were applied simply to those who held a certain political ideology; they were not strict political parties nor were all of the ruling class Optimates nor all of the lower classes Populares.
TheColosseuminRomeis officially opened byTituswith a 100 daygladiatorspectacular.
Antonys involvement with the Egyptian queenCleopatra VII, however, upset the balance Octavian had hoped to maintain and the two went to war. Antony andCleopatras combined forces were defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE and both later took their own lives. Octavian emerged as the sole power in Rome. In 27 BCE he was granted extraordinary powers by the Senate and took the name ofAugustus, the first Emperor of Rome. Historians are in agreement that this is the point at which the history of Rome ends and the history of theRoman Empirebegins.
First treaty betweenRomeandCarthage.
The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Ancient Rome
The legendary founding date ofRome.
Trajanscolumnis constructed inRomewhich commemorates the emperors campaigns inDacia.
Gaius Marius reforms theRoman army.
Pompeyand Crassus are made consuls.
TheRomansadopt theGreekgod ofby stealing his sacred snake fromEpidaurusand setting up atempleon the Tiber Island.
Ravenna becomes the capital of the Western.
The firstPantheonis built inRomeand dedicated by Marcus Agrippa.
Establishment of various Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean,GreeceEgypt, and at least thecityofRome.
Pompey the Greatbuilds the first permanent stone theatre inRome.
With Crassus gone, the First Triumvirate disintegrated and Pompey and Caesar declared war on each other. Pompey tried to eliminate his rival through legal means and had the Senate order Caesar to Rome to stand trial on assorted charges. Instead of returning to the city in humility to face these charges, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with his army in 49 BCE andentered Rome at the head of it.
Third SamniteWarbetweenRomeand the Samnite people.
A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level.
Mark, J. J. (2009, September 02). Ancient Rome.Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
Decemvirate and Publication of Twelve Tables ofRoman Law.
Alaric I theVisigothbesiegesRome. As ransom, Rome pays 5,000 pounds ofgold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet, and 3,000 pounds ofpepper.
The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius among them, seemed to fear that Caesar was becoming too powerful and that he might eventually abolish the Senate. Following his death, his right-hand man, and cousin,Marcus AntoniusMark Antony) joined forces with Caesars nephew and heir, Gaius Octavius Thurinus (Octavian) and Caesars friend, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, to defeat the forces of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Phillippi in 42 BCE.
Marcus Licinius Crassusand his political rival,Gnaeus Pompeius MagnusPompey the Great) joined with another, younger, politician, GaiusJulius Caesar, to form what modern historians call the First Triumvirate of Rome (though the Romans of the time never used that term, nor did the three men who comprised the triumvirate).CrassusandPompeyboth held the Optimate political line whileCaesarwas a Populare.
The firstPantheoninRomeis destroyed by fire.