Ancient Rome--Audrey Mazziotti

Romulus and Remus

753 BCE

Romulus and Remus were sons of a god. A king felt threatened by them so he put them in a river. A wolf found them then took care of them. Then shepherds took care of them. Remus ended up taken captive as a prisoner. Romulus came to save him. Romulus and Remus ruled over the land and split it. However, they had a dispute, and Romulus killed Remus. Romulus then founded the city of Rome.

Rome Established a Republic

509 BCE

The Etruscans had ruled over Rome for hundreds of years. In 509 BC, the Romans overthrew them. The Romans established a republic in which the citizens elect representatives. The representatives ruled on their behalf.

First Punic War

264 BCE

In 264 BC the First Punic War started between Carthage and the Roman Republic. The war was fought for the islands of Corsica and Sicily. The Romans defeated Carthage and captured both islands.

Second Punic War

218 BCE

The Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome. The Carthigians were led by Hannibal, and the Romans were led by Scipio Africanus. Africanus attacked Carthage and defeated Hannibal.

Third Punic War

146 BCE

The Third Punic War was fought between Rome and Carthage. Carthage broke a treaty with the Romans by declaring war on Numidia. The Romans sent an army to Carthage which started the war. The Romans defeated Carthage and sold them into slavery.

Pompey in the East

67 BCE

Pompey traveled to the east to defeat the pirates in the Mediterranean. He defeated the pirates in three months. He was the first Roman to lead an army to the Euphrates river. He established two Roman provinces called Syria and Bithynia-Ponus. He also greatly expanded Cilicia.

Conquest in Gaul

58 BCE

The Gallic Wars started in 58 BC and went until 50 BC. There was internal division within the tribes of Gaul which made it easier for a victory for Rome. Julius Ceasar won and conquering Gaul allowed the security of the border of the river Rhine.

Julius Caesar's Death

44 BCE

A group of Roman Senators murdered Julius Caesar on the Ides of March. He died from twenty-three stab wounds. After Caesar's death, a civil war broke out among Rome.

Monarchy Reintroduced

31 BCE

The Roman Republic was demolished because of the expansion of the empire. After civil wars were fought throughout the empire, Augustus was declared as the victor. He brought back monarchy and was the ruler.

Jesus' Birth

4 BCE

In 4 BC Jesus was born to a carpenter and his wife in Bethlehem. His parents could not find a room in an inn due to the massive amount of people in town as a result of Caesar Augustus's census, so Jesus was born in a stable.

Nero and the Fire

64

There were rumors that Nero started a fire that destroyed fourteen districts in Rome. Nero blamed the Christians for the fire and began Christian persecution. Some Christians were dressed in animal skins and torn apart by dogs. Others were burned to death in pyres which provided light to Nero's parties.

Jewish Temple Burned

70

Zealots were rebelling in 66 AD, and Nero was furious. He dispatched an army to restore order. However, Nero died later that year. The Romans wanted to bring Jerusalem under control. In 70 AD, Roman legions burned and destroyed the Jewish temple.

Pax Romana Ends

180

Pax Romana ended after Marcus Aurelius died. Most emperors after him did not rule for a very long time. A lot of them were assassinated usually by their guard. Rome was unstable and had trouble defeating tribes.

The Roman Empire Divides

284

Diocletian split the Roman empire in two and gave the other part to Maximian. He kept the eastern part and gave the western part to his co-emperor. Diocletian wanted to split the empire in two because of how big Rome had gotten. It was easier in the war and battle aspect when it came to how far troops would have to travel.

The Edict of Milan

313

The day before a battle, Constantine said that he had a vision of a cross that told him he would win the battle. The next day, he went to battle and won in 312 AD. From that day forward, he was a Christian and allowed Christians to worship freely. He created the Edict of Milan in 313 AD which gave freedom of worship to citizens of the Roman Empire.

Constantinople

330

Constantine renamed Byzantium Constantinople and made it the capital. It was known as his "New Rome" which was a Christian city with great wealth and beautiful architecture. The city had some advantages which were being easy to defend, had an excellent harbor, and was closer to the center of the empire.

Battle of Adrianople

378

The Visigoths and Ostrogoths immigrated to the Roman Republic. However, they soon revolted and the Visigoths quickly made a fortress at Adrianople. Roman commanders told the soldiers to charge, but the Ostrogoth horsemen came quickly. The Romans were defeated and lost about 40,000 men.

Visigoths Defeat Rome

410

The Visigoths, led by their king Alaric, sacked Rome. Rebel slaves, a suborned official, or an unknown party opened the gates of Rome to the Visigoths. They stormed the city of Rome, destroyed it, and overran it.

Attila the Hun

434

Attila the Hun united the tribes of the Huns and became their sole leader. He was an aggressive leader and led the Huns in countless battles against Rome and other barbarian groups. While invading Europe, he destroyed anyone who came along the way.

The Fall of Rome

476

Military, economic, political, and social problems led to the fall of Rome. There were Germanic invasions, and the Roman army was weakened. There were also heavy taxes, and the population declined. The government was oppressive, the officials were corrupt, and a divided empire. There was an erosion of traditional value and "Bread and circuses." The Huns were very powerful and were able to defeat the Romans in 476 AD.