Roman Empire

Q: What are the dates of the Roman Empire?

The Roman Empire began in 27 BCE and, in the West, ended in 476 CE; in the East, it ended in 1453 CE.

Q: Who was the first emperor of Rome?

Augustus Caesar was the first emperor of Rome, reigning 27 BCE-14 CE.

Q: Who were the Five Good Emperors of Rome?

The Five Good Emperors of Rome were: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius who reigned between 96-180 CE.

Q: Why did the Roman Empire fall?

The Roman Empire in the West declined and fell in 476 CE for many reasons including: political instability, religious/cultural instability, government corruption, over-reliance on slave labor, mercenary armies, unemployment and inflation, and invasions by barbarian tribes. In the East, the empire fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 CE.

Joshua J. Mark

Definition

The Roman Empire, at its height (c. 117), was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization. Building upon the foundation laid by the Roman Republic, the empire became the largest and most powerful political and military entity in the world up to its time and expanded steadily until its fall, in the west, in 476.

More about: Roman Empire

Timeline

753 BCE
The legendary founding date of Rome.
212 BCE
The Romans conquer Saguntum from the Carthaginians.
206 BCE - 205 BCE
The Romans conquer Gades. End of the Carthaginian presence on the Iberian Peninsula.
191 BCE
Delphi comes under Roman control.
c. 191 BCE
The Achaean League signs a treaty of alliance with Rome.
188 BCE
Rome gives Samos its independence.
166 BCE
Rome gives dominion over the Cyclades to Athens.
c. 150 BCE
Macedonia becomes a Roman province.
150 BCE
The Lusitani are betrayed and slaughtered by the Romans.
148 BCE
Corcyra is made part of the Roman province of Macedonia.
146 BCE
Thessalonica is made the captial of the Roman province of Macedon.
146 BCE
End of the Third Punic War. Carthage is destroyed and its lands become the Roman province Africa.
146 BCE
Utica is made the capital of the Roman province of Africa.
133 BCE
Lydia and its captial Sardis comes under Roman rule.
129 BCE
Samos becomes part of the Roman province of Asia.
96 BCE
Cyrenaica becomes a Roman province.
74 BCE
The city of Cyrene comes under Roman control.
64 BCE
Tyre becomes a Roman colony.
64 BCE
Byblos conquered by the Roman general Pompey the Great.
63 BCE
Jerash in Jordan becomes part of the Roman province of Syria.
48 BCE
Butrint formally becomes a Roman colony.
44 BCE
Julius Caesar founds the Roman colony of Corinth.
41 BCE
Rome takes control over Naxos in the Cyclades.
37 BCE - 4 BCE
Reign of Herod the Great over Judea.
31 BCE
Octavian uses Corcyra as a Roman naval base.
30 BCE
Egypt becomes province of the Roman Empire.
30 BCE - 476 CE
Egypt remains a province of the Roman Empire.
27 BCE - 19 BCE
Cantabrian Wars: Roman conquest of the Iberian Penninsula.
27 BCE
Philippi gains the honorary title of Colonia Iulia Augusta Philippensis.
c. 27 BCE
Augustus makes Gortyn the capital of the Roman province of Crete & Cyrene.
16 Jan 27 BCE
Octavian is given the title "Augustus" by the Roman Senate, becoming Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor, ending the Roman Republic and beginning the Roman Empire.
25 BCE
Galatia is peacefully absorbed into the Roman Empire.
14 BCE - 96 CE
Rome launches an extensive cultural patronage and construction programme in Iberia.
6 Mar 12 BCE
Augustus Caesar is named High Priest (Pontifex Maximus), becoming the head of the College of Pontiffs in Rome and uniting religious and political authority in one man as emperor and beginning the tradition of a Roman Emperor holding the title of High Priest until the late 4th century.
1 CE - 100 CE
Mithraism spreads in the Roman empire.
6 CE
Publius Quinctilius Varus is made governor of Germania.
9 CE
The Rhine River is established as the boundary between the Latin and German speaking worlds, following the defeat of the Roman army, under the command of Varus, at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
24 Jan 41 CE
The Roman Emperor Caligula is assassinated in Rome by members of the Praetorian Guard with the support of the Senate.
43 CE
Romans invade Britain under Aulus Plautius.
43 CE - 47 CE
Romans conquer South Britain and claim the territory as part of Roman Empire.
43 CE
Claudius commences the Roman conquest of Britain.
44 CE
Caesarea made capital of imperial province.
47 CE - 50 CE
Londinium (London) founded, roads constructed.
51 CE
Briton rebel leader Caratacus defeated, rebellion crushed.
54 CE - 60 CE
Roman general Corbulo successfully campaigns in Armenia.
11 Feb 55 CE
The murder of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus by poison at a banquet in Rome one day before his 14th birthday, orchestrated by his stepbrother, Nero, to remove him as a rival for the seat of power. Britannicus' death secured Nero's ascension as Roman Emperor.
19 Apr 65 CE
The Pisonian Conspiracy, a plot to kill Roman Emperor Nero, is betrayed by the freedman Milichus who was hoping for a handsome reward for informing on his former master and the others involved. Nero ordered the conspirators to either commit suicide or be executed, including the philosopher Seneca the Younger, while others were exiled, such as the stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus.
68 CE - 69 CE
Year of the Four Emperors: Civil war in Rome.
9 Jun 68 CE
Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide after being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate. His death ends the Julio-Claudian dynasty and leads to the Year of the Four Emperors.
16 Apr 73 CE
The mountain fortress of Masada, in present-day Israel, falls to the Romans after a long siege during the First Jewish Revolt. After breaking through the wall with a battering ram, the Romans found the 960 Jewish defenders had killed themselves rather than be taken prisoner.
75 CE - 77 CE
Romans defeat the last of the Northern tribes; Roman conquest of Britain complete.
76 CE - 138 CE
Life of Emperor Hadrian.
85 CE - 86 CE
Dacians invade Moesia and defeat the Romans.
86 CE
The Roman general Cornelius Fuscus invades Dacia. He is ambushed and his army is annihilated.
88 CE
Resolved to avenge Fuscus' defeat, Domitian sends another army to Dacia under Tettius Iulianus. This general is victorious on the mountainous pass of Tapae, in the south-west of modern Romania.
27 Jan 98 CE
Trajan succeeds Nerva as Roman Emperor, reigning until 117, and now recognized as the second of the "Five Good Emperors.".
101 CE - 106 CE
Trajan conquers Dacia.
106 CE
Jerash in Jordan becomes part of the Roman province of Arabia.
115 CE - 117 CE
Rome occupies Mesopotamia.
116 CE
Invasion and annexation of the Fertile Crescent region by Rome under Trajan.
11 Aug 117 CE - 10 Jul 138 CE
Reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian.
121 CE - 125 CE
First trip of Hadrian around the Empire: Gaul, Germania, Noricum, Britain, Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, Asia, Greece, Moesia, Dacia, and Pannonia.
26 Apr 121 CE - 17 Mar 180 CE
Life of Marcus Aurelius.
25 Feb 138 CE
Roman Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son and successor, ensuring a smooth transition of power after his death in July of that same year. Antoninus Pius would do the same in adopting Marcus Aurelius, the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome.
10 Jul 138 CE
Roman Emperor Hadrian dies at the age of 62 at his villa near Naples, in the region of modern-Italy, most likely from heart failure, naming Antoninus Pius as his successor and continuing the line of the "Five Good Emperors of Rome" that ended with Pius' successor, Marcus Aurelius.
142 CE
The Antonine Wall built under Antoninus Pius, north of Hadrian's Wall.
165 CE - 167 CE
Plague epidemic in the Roman empire.
167 CE
Marcomanni sack Aquileia.
167 CE - 180 CE
Marcomannic Wars.
168 CE
Germanic tribes cross the Danube into the Roman Empire.
17 Mar 180 CE
Commodus becomes Emperor of Rome following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius. Famously depicted as a villain in the popular film Gladiator, Commodus ruled poorly and was assassinated in 192.
192 CE
Emperor Commodus is murdered, civil war ensues (until 197 CE).
195 CE
First Parthian war.
197 CE - 198 CE
Second Parthian war.
198 CE - 209 CE
Reign of Caracalla with his father Septimius Severus.
200 CE
Completion of the Roman road system.
c. 204 CE - 270 CE
Life of Plotinus.
209 CE - Dec 211 CE
Reign of Caracalla with his father Septimius Severus and his brother Geta (Feb - Dec 211 only with Geta).
4 Feb 211 CE
Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies of illness while on campaign in Britain. His sons Caracalla and Geta succeed him as co-emperors until December 211 when Caracalla has Geta assassinated, along with an estimated 20,000 of his supporters and friends, to assume full control of the Roman Empire.
212 CE
Caracalla's edict grants Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire.
212 CE
Rome withdraws from region of Scotland.
212 CE
Roman citizenship granted to all inhabitants of the empire.
8 Apr 217 CE
Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated while traveling between Edessa and Carrhae on campaign against the Parthian Empire. Stopping on the road to relieve himself, he was stabbed by the soldier Justin Martialis, most likely acting on orders from Praetorian prefect Macrinus, who succeeded Caracalla three days later.
232 CE
Emperor Maximinus Thrax commands a legion in Egypt.
234 CE
Emperor Maximinus Thrax is governor of Mesopotamia.
238 CE
Year of the Six Emperors in the Roman Empire.
242 CE
Osroene, with its capital at Edessa, is made into a Roman province.
250 CE
Thessalonica is made a Roman colony.
260 CE
Shapur I captures the Roman emperor Valerian at Edessa.
261 CE
Thugga is made a Roman colonia.
262 CE - 266 CE
Odaenathus expels Persian garrisons and restores Syria and Armenia to the Roman Empire. Odaenathus invades Mesopotamia, and inflicts two defeats upon Shapur I, which ends with the sack of Ctesiphon.
Sep 270 CE - c. Sep 275 CE
Reign of Roman emperor Aurelian.
271 CE
Aurelian defends the Roman Empire against Juthungi, Alamanni, and Marcomanni incursions.
272 CE - 273 CE
Aurelian successfully campaigns against Palmyra.
285 CE
The Roman empire is split into the Western and Eastern Roman empires.
23 Feb 303 CE
Roman Emperor Diocletian orders the church at Nicomedia razed to the ground, all documents held there burned, and anything of value seized, beginning eight years of the Great Persecution (Diocletianic Persecution) of Christians in the Roman Empire.
312 CE
Roman emperor Constantine I tolerates Christianity.
27 Oct 312 CE
According to tradition, on the evening before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge between Constantine I and Maxentius over who would rule the Roman Empire, Constantine received a vision from God telling him to put "the heavenly sign" on the shields of his soldiers for victory. Constantine believed the vision, had the shields painted with the sign (probably the Chi-Rho) and won the battle. The event is often referenced as the Vision of the Cross.
28 Oct 312 CE
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge is fought between emperors Constantine I and Maxentius for control of the Roman Empire, ending in a victory for Constantine I who, in gratitude for a vision of victory he claimed to have received from God the night before, ends the persecution of Christians and, eventually, paves the way for Christianity to become the state religion.
7 Mar 321 CE
Roman Emperor Constantine I declares "The Venerable Day of the Sun" a day of rest, thereby establishing Sunday and the tradition of not working on the first day of the week.
337 CE
Ascension of Constantius II.
337 CE
Death of Emperor Constantine I.
19 Feb 356 CE
Roman Emperor Constantius II issues his decree ordering the closure of all pagan temples in the Roman Empire and prohibiting pagan rites associated with the former state religion of Rome. Contrary to popular opinion, this decree did not result in the immediate closure of pagan sites which took some time to go into effect.
361 CE
Death of Constantius II.
5 Mar 363 CE
Roman Emperor Julian marches from Antioch with 90,000 troops to invade the Sassanian Empire, ignoring bad omens, and is later mortally wounded, dying in June 363.
367 CE
Picts, Scots, Saxons, and Franks attack the Roman Empire.
376 CE
The Visigoths are fleeing the Huns, entering the Eastern Roman Empire.
9 Aug 378 CE
The Battle of Adrianople is fought near Adrianople (modern-day Edirne, Turkey) during the Gothic War of 376-382 between the Goths and their allies under Fritigern and the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire under Emperor Valens, ending in a resounding victory for the Goths and the death of Valens. The battle is often cited as the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire.
391 CE
Emperor Theodosius I closes pagan temples.
1 Jan 404 CE
Christian Roman Emperor Honorius bans gladiatorial games after Saint Telemachus is stoned to death in an amphitheater when he tries to break up a fight between gladiators. Honorius' ban ends the traditional games in the Roman Empire.
410 CE
Rome withdraws forces from Britain.
410 CE
The Romans withdraw from Britain.
24 Aug 410 CE
The traditional date given for the sack of Rome by the Visigoths under their king Alaric I. Rome was no longer the administrative capital of the Western Roman Empire but still held symbolic meaning and its sack was an enormous blow to the morale of the people, considered by modern historians as a pivotal event in the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.
426 CE
Roman Emperor Theodosius II orders closure of Epidaurus sanctuary.
439 CE
Vandals take Carthage from the Western Roman Empire and make it their new capital.
16 Mar 455 CE
Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III is assassinated by two of his bodyguards while practicing archery in the Campus Martius in Rome. His assassins were formerly in the service of General Flavius Aetius and killed him to avenge their general's death.
523 CE
Emperor Justinian seizes Caesarea.
565 CE
Death of Justinian I after 38 years ruling the Roman Empire.
17 Feb 1776 CE
The first volume of Edward Gibbon's monumental work *The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire* is published and becomes an instant best-seller and the most influential work on the Roman Empire up through the 20th century. The six volumes were published between 1776-1789.