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Period: 106 BCE to 43 BCE
Cicero
Cicero was a well known politician. He was also a great lawyer, scholar, statesman, and author. Do to his ability to speak, he was called the greatest orator of his time. -
99 BCE
Lucretius
This famous poet was a true user of Epicureanism. When he wrote, "On the Nature of Things," he hoped to reform the moral declines in their society. -
79 BCE
The Destruction of Pompeii
Pompeii was a city that was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius, a volcano, on August 24, AD 79. People died from breathing poison gas, cinders, and ash. In three days, the city was completely buried. In 1748, Archaeologists discovered the city. They also discovered people that were petrified by the ash over time. -
Period: 70 BCE to 19 BCE
Virgil
Virgil was called "The Homer of Rome." He was considered Rome's greatest poet. His epic poem, Aeneid, he considered Rome to be an ideal state. In his poem, he believed that Rome's destiny was to rule the entire world. -
Period: 65 BCE to 8 BCE
Horace
After Virgil's death, Horace, a good friend of Virgil's, wrote the poem, "Poet of the Augustan Age." In it he speaks of how great Rome is. However, he also includes the dangers of Roman society. -
59 BCE
Livy
Livy was a historian who lived during the Augustan period. In about 142 volumes, he recorded the history of Rome so far. However, his writings are mostly mythological legends. His works showed the virtues in tradition and their belief in patriotism. These ideals, he believed was what made Rome great. -
55 BCE
Tacitus
Tacitus was a historian that covered the history of Rome, in his works Annals, in a more pessimistic view. He covered Rome's history from Augustus' death to the reign of Nero. -
Period: 43 BCE to 17
Ovid
Ovid was a poet that was completely different from Horace and Virgil. He focused solely on myths and love. In his best work, Metamorphoses, he made two hundred myths that coincided with each other. By doing this he created all of them as part of one story. However, Augustus banned his works from three libraries and banned Ovid from the city. This happened do to his lack of control and self restraint. -
Period: 31 BCE to 180
Pax Romana
During Octavian's reign, the empire stretched from the eastern area where the Persian empire once ruled to Britain and western Europe. This time of peace lasted for two centuries and the empire prospered in trade, communications, and in culture. -
26 BCE
Pontius Pilate.
Pontius Pilate was the roman governor of Judea province. After Judas betrayed Jesus, guards took Jesus to be judged by Pilate. Pilate found no evidence of Jesus' conviction but sentence Him to die do to public unrest among the Jews. -
4 BCE
Paul the Apostle
Saul, as he was called before his conversion, was born from the Jewish house of Taurus. He then became a Pharisee and started to persecute Christians. However, while on his way to Damascus, he was blinded by God and then became a Christian. He then spread the gospel all over Rome until his imprisonment and execution in the city of Rome. -
3 BCE
Seneca
Seneca was the tutor to emperor Nero himself. He was a strong believer in Stoicism. He was also an amazing thinker and writer. -
Period: 3 to 45
Jesus Christ
He was born in the province of Judea when Augustus was in power. At age thirty, he began to teach the gospel of God. Religious leaders began to persecute him until he was sentence to die on the cross. -
Period: 3 to 476
The Huns
The Huns, a nomadic tribe that ravaged the Chinese empire, started to attack Rome as it crossed from Asia to Europe. -
14
Tiberius
Tiberius was the emperor of Rome at the time of Jesus. When Jesus was taken to Pilate, the Jews said that Jesus was putting himself in a position higher Tiberius as a sense of insubordination. -
Period: 27 to 14
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus' Reign
Octavian, most commonly known as Augustus, was the great nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. Unlike Caesar, Augustus gave some powers to the Senate. He fired all corrupted officials and replaced them with better qualified officials. He created a fire station, police, a postal service, and underwent many building projects. He was also known as Rome's first emperor. -
36
Stephen
After Jesus' death and resurrection, the Christian community began to be persecuted. Stephen, one of Jesus' disciples, was stoned to death in Jerusalem. Stephen then became the first Christian martyr. -
37
Josephus
He was a historian that recorded the uprisings between the Romans and the Jews in AD 66. He even said that it was foolish for the Jews to fight against the might of the Romans. -
45
Plutarch
Plutarch might've been known as the best writer in the empire. He mostly wrote biographies that compered the Greeks and the Romans. "Parallel Lives of Illustrious Greeks and Romans," a book he wrote, is a good piece of literature and it also has great historic data. -
54
Nero
Nero was the Roman emperor during the start of Christianity. Although he was the culprit that set fire to the city of Rome, he instead blamed the Christians. This in turn started a series of cruel and fatal persecutions of Christianity. -
55
Galen
An expert in medicine, Galen experimented with animals. He studied the heart, lungs, blood, and arteries of the animals. The encyclopedia he wrote became very accepted in the Middle Ages. -
60
Juvenal
After Augustus' death, poets and writers became more pessimistic than before. Juvenal, one of those poets, wrote satires about the moral and social problems of Rome. -
70
The Destruction of Jerusalem
The rebellion of the Jews came to an end when Titus, while commanding an army, attacked and destroyed Jerusalem. The Jews then wandered throughout the world and were persecuted none stop. -
70
Titus
Titus was the commander of the Roman legion that plundered and destroyed Jerusalem. -
80
The Colosseum
The Colosseum had a height of over 160 feet and covered six acres. The construction began during the time of Emperor Vespasian but ended when his son, Titus, was in power. The stands could hold 50,000 people and they all didn't have to pay an entrance fee. The stadium had trap doors for animals to be put into it. The Romans also flooded the arena to reenact naval battles. This was also the place where Christians were martyred. -
85
Ptolemy
Ptolemy was an alexandrian mathematician and astronomer. He was the man who claimed the sun, moon, and stars all traveled around the earth and that the earth was the center of the universe. -
121
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius was another strong believer in Stoicism. He was a scholar, administrator, philosopher, and he was known to be the last of the "good Roman Emperor. His death marked the end of Pax Romana. -
160
Polycarp's Death
In a church in Smyrna, the bishop Polycarp was arrested and tried for believing in christianity. After much debate, a crown seized Polycarp and burned him at the stake. Polycarp believed that when he died for his faith, Christ would reward him with a "crown of life." -
284
Diocletian
The last, but the largest, persecution of Christians was under emperor Diocletian. He removed Christians from the army, burned the scriptures, and destroyed churches. -
306
Constantine
Constantine was a Roman emperor that converted to Christianity. After defeating his foe, Constantine converted to Christianity. By doing this, Rome started to protect the faith and the church was restored. He also made Sunday a holiday and gave funds to many church's' construction. -
313
The Edict of Milan
The Edict of Milan stopped a three hundred attempt to destroy the Christian faith. -
325
Arius
Arius made false claims that test the Christ's divinity. His works, Arianism, was branded as heresy by the Council of Nicaea. -
325
The Council of Nicaea
The council was developed was headed by emperor Constantine. This council formed to discuss the issue of Arius. -
378
The Visigoths
As the Huns pillaged, many Germanic Tribes started to settle in Roman territories. The Visigoths settled in the eastern part of the empire. They soon rebelled however and in 378 they defeated the Roman army and killed the emperor. -
379
Theodosius I
Theodosius I was the roman emperor that edicted Christianity as the main religion of Rome and the end of the fourth century. He was also the emperor that divided the empire between his two sons in 395 AD. -
395
Alaric
Alaric was the leader of the Visigoths when they pillaged the city of Rome. They then settled in Spain. -
406
Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun was a leader of the Huns. He was nicknamed the "Scourge of God." -
445
The Vandals
Two years after the Huns' failed attempt to attack Rome, A Germanic tribe called the Vandals plundered Rome. -
476
The Fall of Rome
In AD 476, the Western Roman empire collapsed and a non roman was placed on the throne.
