Annotated Timeline: Ancient Rome 1200 BCE - 121 BCE

  • Transition to the Iron Age
    1200 BCE

    Transition to the Iron Age

    Around this time, the late Bronze Age collapses and Mediterranean civilizations begin to develop. There was also a famine in Asia around this time which would lead to migration.
  • Etruscans
    1000 BCE

    Etruscans

    Around 1000 BCE the Etruscans move into northern Italy, near the Po Valley. They were considered to be the rivals of the Greeks.
  • Start of Rome
    753 BCE

    Start of Rome

    Rome was founded by the mythical twins Romulus and Remus at Palatine Hill.
  • Etruscans Peak
    700 BCE

    Etruscans Peak

    Around 700 BCE, the Etruscan power peaks and they control northern Italy.
  • Cloaca Maxima (Sewers)
    510 BCE

    Cloaca Maxima (Sewers)

    Rome constructs the first sewers, helping to remove the swampy water of the area as well as sewage, to help the city expand.
  • Roman Republic
    509 BCE

    Roman Republic

    The Roman Republic starts in 509 BCE after the last of the seven kings are defeated (Etruscans).
  • Roman Forum
    500 BCE

    Roman Forum

    The Forum was gradually built over the years, and began being used around 500 BCE. It does have ties with the mythical creators of Rome, with Romulus being buried underneath it.
  • Circus Maximus
    500 BCE

    Circus Maximus

    The Circus Maximus was built in the 6th century for chariot racing and gladiator fighting. It is believed to be the oldest public space in Rome.
  • 12 Tables
    451 BCE

    12 Tables

    Rome creates an early set of laws and is the first piece of literature to come from Rome.
  • Gaul sacks Rome
    387 BCE

    Gaul sacks Rome

    The first sack of Rome, the Gauls and the Romans met on the River Allia. The Gauls pillaged the city and the remaining Romans, fortified on Capitoline Hill, agreed to pay 1,000 pounds of gold for the Gauls to leave the city.
  • Period: 343 BCE to 290 BCE

    Samnite Wars

    The Samnite Wars, between the Romans and the Samnites, led to the expansion of Roman control over most of the Italian peninsula.
  • Second Punic War
    218 BCE

    Second Punic War

    Hannibal of Carthage attacks Rome and invades Italy.
  • Battle of Zama
    202 BCE

    Battle of Zama

    The Romans, led by Scipio Africanus, defeated the Carthaginians, who were commanded by Hannibal. It was the last battle of the Second Punic War and ended Carthage's power to oppose Rome.
  • 3rd Punic War
    146 BCE

    3rd Punic War

    The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage and the Roman Republic. Rome won with the help of Scorpio the Younger.
  • Tiberius Gracchus Dies
    133 BCE

    Tiberius Gracchus Dies

    After being a military tribune, quastor, and tribune of the plebs, Tiberius wanted political reform in for the common people of Rome. The rich did not like this, nor the fact that he would veto and block unfavorable laws and money (or that he overthrew Octavious), so when he ran for a second time for tribune, the Senate was unhappy and scared. They were told he wanted the crown and then mobbed and killed him and 300 others. This also lead to the taboo of hurting a tribune to be broken.
  • Gaius Gracchus Dies
    121 BCE

    Gaius Gracchus Dies

    Picking up the reforms where his brother left off, Gaius was seen as an emotional and explosive politician. He was also a quastor and tribune. He passed retroactive laws and appealed to the poor. He was popular and elected to a second term as tribune. He wanted those not in Rome to also have citizenship but the senate didn't like that. When he was away, the senate turned the poor against Gaius. he ran for a third term but lost. He led a mob to the capital but was arrested and killed.