Early History Of The Roman Empire
753 BC
The city of Rome was founded by Romulus after he killed his brother Remus and named it after himself. Romulus built his city on top of Palatine Hill, which is one of seven hills in that district. He then invited people to come and stay there, providing they paid taxes.
The city had many grand features which included: theaters, gym,taverns, baths, and many brothels. The Roman Empire had their own God’s they worshiped who, mostly seems to come from Greek mythology.
750 BC
Tarpeia besieged cities, and handed it over to the Sabines
c. 715 BC – The Roman King Numa Pompilius created a 12-month calendar.
700 BC – Near Rome, the Etruscan civilization began.
659 BC – The enemy city of Alba Longa is destroyed by the Romans.
616 BC – The first Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus established a Forum and a Circus Maximum.
c. 600 BC – Cloaca Maxima sewer system was probably first built around this year.
578 BC – Servius Tullius became the next Etruscan king of Rome
565 BC – Servian Walls were built.
534 BC – King Servius was assassinated.
510 BC – Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol was completed and consecrated.
509 BC – Lucius Junius Brutus founded the republic and expelled the Etruscans and Tarquin the Proud from Rome.
508 BC – A Treaty was made between Rome and Carthage.
507 BC – A war against the Etruscans began, with hero Horatio
Republic[edit]
499 BC – A battle against foreign tribes commences, including the construction of the Temple of Castor and Pollux.
396 BC – The Etruscan city of Veio is defeated by the Romans.
390 BC – the Gauls attempt to invade Rome, including the famous story of the quacking geese.
380 BC – The once destroyed Severian wall is reconstructed.
312 BC – The Via Appia and Aqua Appia are constructed.
264 – 241 BC – The period of the First Punic War
220 BC – Via Flamina is constructed.
218 – 202 BC – The Second Punic War
168 BC – The Romans have a great victory in the Macedonian War, conquering Greece.
149 – 146 BC – The Third Punic War
133 BC – 120 BC – Gracchi brothers are controversially killed.
71 BC – Spartacus is killed and his rebel army destroyed.
60 BC – Pompey, Crassus and Caesar rule Rome jointly.
51 BC – Caesar conquers Gaul
Imperial city[edit]
49 BC – Caesar crosses the Rubicon in order to take Rome.
44 BC – Caesar elects himself dictator, and in March is killed by Brutus and Cassius
27 BC – Augustus is made Rome’s first emperor.
13 BC – The Ara Pacis is constituted since Augustus secured his empire.
42 AD – The apostle St Peter arrives in Rome.
64 AD – Rome burns, and by popular myth, was caused by Emperor Nero, who apparently fiddled when it happened.
c. 65 AD – Christians are first persecuted and killed by Nero.
67 AD – St Peter is crucified in Rome, and similarly St Paul is executed.
72 AD – Work on the Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum) begins.
125 AD – Emperor Hadrian has the Pantheon reconstructed to more or less how it is today.
212 AD – All the inhabitants of the empire are granted citizenship.
216 AD – Work on the Baths of Caracalla is finally over, as the building gets completed.
247 AD – The first millennium of Rome is celebrated.
270 AD – The Aurelian wall is begun.
284 AD – The Roman Empire is divided into Eastern and Western ones.
Early Medieval period[edit]
312 AD – Constantine the Great achieves winning the Roman Empire after the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
313 AD – Constantine The Great, First Emperor to tolerate Christianity in the Roman Empire. People were forced to convert to Christianity and all the shrines were ordered to be destroyed. Some people even had to pay taxes and non Christians had to pay for the upkeep of the city.
c. 320 AD – The First St. Peter’s Basilica is constructed.
380 AD – The Christian emperor Theodosius makes Christianity the official religion of Rome, persecuting pagans and destroying temples.
395 AD – Ravenna becomes the capital of the Western Roman Empire, whilst Constantinople that of the east.
410 AD – Rome is sacked by the Goths.
422 AD – The Church of Santa Sabina is founded.
455 AD – Rome is even more destructively sacked by the Vandals (thus the word vandalism was coined).
476 AD – The Western Empire falls, and Constantinople becomes the sole capital of the remaining Roman Empire.
496 AD – The first pope to achieve the Pontifex Maximus is Anastasius II.
C. 590 – 604 AD – Pope Gregory the Great makes the Christian church exceedingly strong.
609 AD – The Pantheon becomes a Christian church.
630 AD – The Church of Sant’ Agnese is the first Roman church to be constructed in Byzantine style.
725 AD – The King Ine of Wessex is the first man to create a hostel for pilgrims to Rome.
778 AD – Charlemagne conquers Italy and Rome.
800 AD – Charlemagne is crowned the emperor in St. Peter’s Basilica.
880 – 932 AD – A rare occasion, the city is governed by women, Theodora and later her daughter Marozia.
961 AD – King Otto the Great of Germany becomes in Rome the world’s first Holy Roman Emperor
High Middle Ages[edit]
1084 AD – The city of Rome is attacked by the Normans
1108 AD – The church of San Clemente is in this year rebuilt.
1140 AD – The church of Santa Maria in Trastevere is restored.
1200 AD – The city becomes an independent commune
1232 AD – The cloisters in the Basilica of St. John Lateran are finished.
1300 AD – Pope Boniface VIII proclaims the First Holy Year.
1309 AD – The Papacy is moved to Avignon under Pope Clement V
1347 AD – The patriot and rebel Cola di Rienzo tries to restore the Roman Republic.
1348 AD – Just like across Italy and parts of Europe, the Black Death strikes Rome.
Roman Renaissance[edit]
1377 AD – The Papacy returns to Rome with Pope Gregory XI.
1409–1415 AD – For a short while, the Papacy moves over to Pisa.
1417 AD – The Great Schism of the 14th century is ended by Pope Martin V
1444 AD – Bramante is born.
1452 AD – Old St. Peter’s Basilica is demolished and a new one is begun.
1475 AD – Painter Michelangelo is born.
1483 AD – Raphael is born.
1486 AD – The Palazzo della Cancelleria is built.
1506 AD – The first significant works on the New St. Peter’s Basilica re begun with Pope Julius II
1508 AD – Michelangelo paints the famous Sistine Chapel
1519 AD – The famous frescos of the Villa Farnesina are finally completed.
1527 AD – Charles V’s troops attack Rome, looting and ruining the city.
1547 AD – Michelangelo is appointed by Pope Paul III as the main architect of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Baroque period[edit]
1568 AD – The Jesuits build the early Baroque church of the Gesu.
1571 AD – Caravaggio is born.
1585 AD – Rome’s streets are re-planned by Pope Sixtus V
1595 AD – The frescos in the Palazzo Farnese are begun by Annibale Carracci
1600 AD – Giordano Bruno (philosopher) is burned at the stake for his heresies.
1624 AD – Apollo and Daphne, the sculpture by Bernini, is made in this year.
1626 AD – New St. Peter’s Basilica is finally completed.
1633 AD – Galileo is condemned for heresy.
1651 AD – Piazza Navona is fully re-designed by Bernini.
1656 AD – Bernini’s colonnades in St. Peter’s Square are begun.
1657 AD – Borromini finishes his work in Sant’ Agnese in Agone.
1694 AD – The Palazzo di Montecitorio is finished.
1721 AD – The English prince and pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie is born in the city.
1732 AD – Work on the Trevi Fountain begins.
1734 AD – The Palazzo Nuovo is made by Pope Clement XII the world’s first public museum.
1735 AD – This is the year in which Rome’s Spanish Steps are designed.
1751 AD – The Views of Rome by Piranesi revives interest in Rome’s classical ruins.
1762 AD – The Trevi Fountain is completed.
1792 AD – Pope Clement XIII tomb by Canova is completed.
1797 AD – Napoleon Bonaparte has Rome captured.
1799 AD – Napoleon is driven out of Rome and Italy by the Russians and the Austrians
19th century and Risorgimento[edit]
1800–1801 AD – Napoleon retakes Italy and Rome.
1807 AD – Garibaldi is born.
1816 AD – Work on the Piazza del Popolo begins.
1820 AD – There are a series of revolts in Rome and the rest of Italy.
1821 AD – The British poet Keats dies in Rome.
1848 AD – Uprisings in Rome.
1849 AD – The Pope is restored to power in the city, with French help.
1860 AD – Garibaldi and his famous 1,000 soldiers take Naples and Sicily.
1861 AD – The Kingdom of Italy is founded with Turin as its capital.
1870 AD – Rome is made part of the Italian kingdom.
20th century and Modern Rome[edit]
1911 AD – The Vittorio Emanuele monument is completed.
1915 AD – Italy enters the World War I
1922 AD – March on Rome
1926 AD – Any party opposing Fascism is banned.
1929 AD – A separate country, the Vatican City is created with the Lateran Treaty.
1940 AD – EUR begins, and the nation enters World War II.
1944 AD – Rome is liberated by the Allied troops from the Germans.
1946 AD – A National Referendum states that Italy becomes a Republic.
1957 AD – Treaty of Rome
1960 AD – Rome hosts the Olympic Games with great success.
1962 AD – Roman Catholic church reforms are brought about with the Second Vatican Council.
1978 AD – Italian prime minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped and later killed by the Brigate Rosse; Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II are made popes in this year.
c. 1978 – 1990 AD – Years of Lead.
1981 AD – An assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II is made this year in St. Peter’s Basilica Square.
1990 AD – Rome hosts the football (soccer) World Cup.
1993 AD – Francesco Rutelli becomes the first elected mayor of Rome.
2000 AD- The city enters the New Millennium, featuring a new Holy Year, or the Jubilee.
2004 AD – A new constitution of the EU signed in Rome.
2005 AD – Pope John Paul II dies in Rome, and Pope Benedict XVI takes his place.