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The Roman Republic began when the last Roman King was overthrown. Elected senators then began to make all of the important decisions. Roman hatred of kings is also the reason why future Roman leaders would refuse to call themselves kings.
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The city of Rome was raided by Gallic tribes while it was completely undefended. This made the Romans vow that this would be the last time the city was invaded, but the Goths would sack Rome nearly 800 years later.
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The Roman Republic ended the Third Punic War by sacking Carthage. This marked a high point in the Roman Republic's expansion since they finally defeated their greatest rival.
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Tiberius was a Roman politician who attempted to start political reforms in the Republic. He was later murdered by rival senators, marking the first time a Roman politician had been murdered for political reasons. This could be considered the start of corruption in the Republican government.
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After marching his troops on Rome and winning a civil war, Caesar declared himself dictator for life. He then began to create a new system of government that answered directly to him
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Octavian became the first Roman Emperor, which marked the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire.
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The Emperor Diocletian decided that the Roman Empire was too large to manage. He divided the Empire into two parts, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire.
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The Emperor Constantine moved the Roman Capital to Byzantium and renamed the city to Constantinople. This meant that the majority of Rome's resources would be moved to the Eastern Empire
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The Visigoths invaded the Western Roman Empire and eventually marched into Italy itself. This was the first time in nearly 800 years that the walls of Rome had been breached.
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The last Western Roman Emperor was deposed and replaced by an Ostrogothic Warlord. This meant the end for the Western Roman Empire as it was replaced by fractured Germanic Kingdoms
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The Republic was created when the kings of the Roman Monarchy were overthrown and replaced by elected senators. After a period of increasing corruption and instability, Julius Caesar became dictator and tried to turn the Republic into an empire. Augustus took power and finished the transformation, permanently changing the Republic into a dictatorship. The Empire lasted a long time, but it eventual declined until the Western Empire finally fell from barbarian invasions.
