Ancient World Timeline | Greek Timeline | Roman Timeline
Browse through this ancient Roman timeline to examine more than a millennium of Roman history.
Preceding the period of the Roman kings, during the Bronze Age, Greek cultures came into contact with Italic ones. By the Iron Age (at some point in time between c.1000-c.800 B.C.), there were huts in Rome, Etruscans extending their civilization into Campania, and Greek colonists on the Italic Peninsula.
Famous Romans | Roman Glossary
1. Roman Kings
Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum, by Natalia Bauer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
In the legendary period, there were 7 kings of Rome, some Roman, but others Sabine or Etruscan. Not only did the cultures mingle, but they started to compete for territory and alliances. Rome expanded, extending to about 350 square miles during this period, but the Romans didn't care for their monarchs and got rid of them.
Learn more through the Legendary Roman Period Timeline.
2. Early Roman Republic
The Roman Republic began after the Romans deposed their last king, in about 510 B.C., and lasted until a new form of monarchy began, the principate, under Augustus, at the very end of the 1st century B.C. This Republican period lasted about 500 years. After about 300 B.C., the dates become reasonably reliable.
The early period of the Roman Republic was all about expanding and building Rome into a world power to be reckoned with. The early period ended with the start of the Punic Wars.
Learn more through the Early Republican Rome Timeline.
3. Late Republican Period
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The Late Republican Period continues Rome's expansion, but it's easy -- with hindsight -- to see it as a downward spiral. Instead of the great sense of patriotism and working together for the good of the republic that was celebrated in the legendary heroes, individuals began to gather power and use it to their advantage. While the Gracchi may have had the interests of the lower classes in mind, their reforms were divisive: It's hard to rob Paul to pay Peter without bloodshed. Marius reformed the army, but between him and his enemy Sulla, there was a bloodbath in Rome. A relative by marriage of Marius, Julius Caesar created civil war in Rome. While he was dictator, a conspiracy of his fellow consuls assassinated him, putting an end to the Late Republican Period.
Learn more through the Late Republic Timeline.
4. Principate
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During the time of the first imperial dynasty, the Julio-Claudians, Jesus was crucified, Caligula lived licentiously, Claudius died of a poison mushroom at the hand of his wife, supposedly, and was succeeded by her son, a would-be performer, Nero, who committed assisted-suicide to avoid being murdered. The next dynasty was the Flavian, associated with destruction in Jerusalem. Under Trajan, the Roman Empire reached its greatest expanse. After him came the wall-builder Hadrian and the philosopher king Marcus Aurelius. Problems of administering so large an empire led to the next stage.
Learn more through the Principate - 1st Imperial Period Timeline.
5. The Dominate
NS Gill
When Diocletian came to power, the Roman Empire was already too big for one emperor to handle. Diocletian started the tetrarchy or system of 4 rulers, two subordinates (Caesars) and two full-fledged emperors (Augusti). The Roman Empire was split between an eastern and a western section. It was during the Dominate that Christianity went from a persecuted sect to the national religion. During the Dominate, barbarians attacked Rome and the Roman Empire. The city of Rome was sacked, but by that time, the capital of the Empire was no longer in the city. Constantinople was the eastern capital, so when the last emperor of the west, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed, there was still a Roman Empire, but it was headquartered in the East. The next phase was the Byzantine Empire, which lasted until 1453, when the Turks sacked Constantinople.
Learn more through the Dominate - 2nd Imperial Period Timeline.
