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Rome seizes the remaining Carthagian empire, establishing the Roman Province of Africa.
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Julius Caesar, the first and only dictator of Rome was assassinated in 44, ending Rome's days as a Republic and allowing the empire to take shape.
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Julius Caesar's great-nephew, Augustus, established the principate, returning power to the Senate and becoming emperor of Rome.
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Jesus, a key figure in both Christianity and Islam, is born around 4 BC (disputed).
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Claudius, the emperor at the time, began a 53-year campaign in taking control of Britain, annexing it as a new province as the campaign continues over several other emperors.
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Nero, the emperor at the time, sets fire to the city of Rome and soon kills himself, ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Roman emperors.
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After Nero's destruction of Rome and subsequent suicide, civil war tore across Rome, allowing Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian to rule in a single year.
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Trajan, declared by the Senate to be Optimus Princeps, meaning "best ruler", defeats the Parthians, bringing Rome to its highest reaches.
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The emperor at the time, Diocletian, split the Roman empire into Eastern and Western halves, each ruled by their own separate ruler while still maintaining their status as part of the overall Roman Empire.
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Constantine, an advocate for Christianity, officially tolerated the religion through the edict of Milan and allowed its proliferation throughout the region.
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Theodosius, the emperor at the time, established Nicene Christianity as the official state religion of Rome.
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The Germanic Visigoth people sack Western Rome for the first time in over 800 years.
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In a state of weakness, Germanic invader Odoacer defeats the Romans, leaving only the Eastern Roman Empire, known henceforth as the Byzantine empire.
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Although not a part of the Roman Empire, its successor in Eastern Europe falls almost 1,000 years after Western Rome.
