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Period: 31 to 31
31 BCE (Battle of Actium)
A naval battle off a promontory in the north of Acarnania, on the western coast of Greece, where Octavian, by his decisive victory over Mark Antony, became the undisputed master of the Roman world. -
Period: 44 to 44
44 BCE (Death of Caesar)
Julius Caesar was assassinated by about 40 Roman senators on the "ides of March" (March 15) 44 BCE. Caesar's death resulted in a long series of civil wars that ended in the death of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire. -
Period: 60 to 60
60 BCE (First Triumvirate)
The First Triumvirate was a political alliance that made its members the most powerful men in Rome. It was successful largely because all three men had tremendous political clout, but each brought something unique to the alliance as well. -
Period: 68 to 68
68 CE (Death of Nero)
Nero's reign and his death destabilized the Empire. His low tax policy, combined with his lavish spending, had led to an economic recession. He had also alienated the elites in Rome and elsewhere. -
Period: 121 to 121
121 CE (Death of Marcus Aurelius)
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the Five Good Emperors of Rome. His reign marked the end of a period of internal tranquility and good government. After his death, the empire quickly descended into civil war. -
Period: 264 to 146
264 to 146 BCE (Punic Wars)
Punic Wars, a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian empire, resulting in the destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. -
Period: 272 to 327
272 to 327 CE (Life of Constantine)
Constantine was an emperor of the Roman Empire. He is most noted for his official conversion to Christianity and the shift of power in the empire to the east, which began the empire's transformation into the Byzantine Empire. -
Period: 476 to 476
476 CE (Fall of Rome)
By 476, the position of Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military, political, or financial power, and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman. -
Period: 509 to 509
509 BCE (Founding of Republic)
Romans overthrew Tarquin the Proud, the Etruscan king. They set up a Republic where people choose their rulers. This idea of a government chosen by the people would be a model for the founders of the United States. -
Period: 753 to 753
753 BCE (Founding of Rome)
Ancient Rome was founded by the two brothers, Romulus and Remus, on 21 April 753 BCE. It is said that in an argument over who would rule the city, Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself.