753 BC
Monarchy 753 – 510 BC
Rome is ruled by series of seven kings, starting with Romulus and ending with Tarquinius Superbus.
509 BC
Early Republic 509 – 265 BC
After throwing off the yolk of the kings, Rome becomes a republic with officials that are elected yearly. They also fight some wars with surrounding tribes.
264 BC
The Punic Wars 264 – 146 BC
By 264 BC, Rome dominated most of the Italian peninsula. The three Punic Wars with Carthage saw them Rome more of a regional power with the Mediterranean Sea under their sphere of influence.
145 BC
The Late Republic
Gradually the institutions of the Republic were eroded by firebrands like the Gracchi Brothers, Marius, and Sulla. There was also unrest in the form of the Social War.
63 BC
The Fall of the Republic
Over the course of 40 years, the Republic completed disintegrated at the hands of Caesar and the First Triumvirate and Octavian and the Second Triumvirate.
27 BC
The Julio-Claudian Emperors
Augustus (the former Octavian) started a short lived dynasty that started peacefully and ended in flames and chaos.
69 AD
The Flavian Emperors
After the tumultuous year of 69 AD when there 4 fours, Rome settled into a groove again with the Flavian dynasty started by Vespasian and continued by his two sons.
96 AD
The Good Emperors
Arguably the height of Roman power, the Roman emperors starting with Nerva and ending with Marcus Aurelius expanded the empire.
180 AD
The Severan Dynasty
After Marcus Aurelius’ deadbeat son, Commodus, ruled for a few years and couple of short-lived emperors in 193 AD, the Severans took control of Rome until 235 AD.
235 AD
The Crisis of the 3rd Century
In the 60 years between 235 and 284 AD, no less 20 emperors ruled Rome most lasting no more than a couple of years. In the early part of this period, significant portions of the empire broke off but were reconquered by Aurelian near the end of the crisis.
284 AD
The Tetrarchy and the Constantinian Dynasty
Diocletian save Rome from the tail spin it was in by establishing the Tetrarchy, where four emperors simultaneously ruled different parts of the empire. One of the tetrarchs, Constantine, abolished this new form of government and established a short-lived but influential dynasty most noted for legalizing Christianity.
364 AD
The Gradual Decline of the Empire
Two dynasties (the Valentinian and Theodosian) plus a handful of puppet emperors reigned during this period. Rome suffered one attack after another from barbarian tribes from the eastern steppes. This is when Christianity really solidified it’s hold on the spiritual life of the empire.
476 AD
The Fall of the Western Empire
While the Byzantines continued on in the east, the (western) Roman Empire as we know it ceased to exist after more than 1200 years.