early Greek and Roman civilization By batemansavannah 1600 BCE Minoan civilization as its height 594 BCE Solon appointed archon 509 BCE the Romans establish a republic 460 BCE age or Pericles marks the height of democracy in Athens 431 BCE pelopennesian war begins 331 BCE Alexander the great conquers the Persian empire 323 BCE the Hellenistic age begins 218 BCE the Carthaginian general Hannibal invades Italy during the Punic wars 133 BCE dominance in the Mediterranean passes from Greece to Rome 27 the roman republic ends. Augustus founds the roman empire 284 Diocletian divides the roman empire into two parts 312 the capital of the roman empire moves eastward to Constantinople 392 Christianity becomes the official roman religion 476 odoacer a Germanic leader unseats the last roman emperor