Latins settle on the Palatine.

Etruscans settle in Etruria, north of Palatine.Romulus and Remus born.

Palatine settlement had become a village of 1,000

Etruscans conquer Rome. Lucius Tarquinius first Etruscan ruler of Rome.

Etruscans dominate all of northern Italy, including Palatine.

Romans overthrow Tarquin the Proud and set up a republic.

12 Tables placed in Forum

Rome is leading power in central Italy.

Rome rules whole Italian penninsula.

1st Punic War 23 year war between Rome and Carthage. Rome won.

No one could be sold into slavery because of debt.

Cathage agrees to make peace and leave Sicily.

2nd Punic War Hannibal and elephants cross the Alps.

Hannibal and troops roam countryside for 15 years.

Hannibal unable to conquer Rome.

Rome attacks Carthage and Hannibal called home.

Hannibal defeated at Zama.

Carthage agrees to pay Rome and give up territories including Spain.

Third Punic War Rome burns Carthage and plows salt into fields.

Greek city-state of Corinth refuse to obey a Roman order.
Corinth burned to ground.

Rome adds Greece to areas under its rule.

Rome becomes leading power in the Mediterranean world.

Gap between rich and poor grows.

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus limited the amount of land you could own.

Tiberius runs for second term, although it was against the law.

Tiberius and hundreds of his followers killed.

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, brother of Tiberius, moved the city poor back to the country.

Gaius Gracchus killed by Senate

Gen. Gaius Marius set up professional army

Gen. Lucius Cornelius Sulla increase the power of the Senate

Sulla retires

Fire destroys much of Rome

Triumvirate: Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar shared power

Crassus dies

Caesar and Pompey Fight for power

Pompey Murdered

Julius Caesar Gains control after Pompey murdered

Julius Caesar Dictator of Rome

Julius Caesar murdered in Senate

Triumvirate:
Mark Antony, Ocatavian, and Marcus Aemillius Lepidus shared power

Ocatavian Sole Ruler of Roamn Empire

Ocatavian restored the Republic.
Offered to resign.

AUGUSTUS  First Emperor of Roman Empire Brought peace to Rome
Augustus was the first Emperor of Rome. Born Octavian, he changed his name to Augustus in 27 BC when he won the civil war that followed the death of Julius Caesar, and became emperor. Augustus was very clever. He created the Praetorian Guard to protect him, and set up a fire-fighting service in Rome. When Augustus died in AD 14, Romans couldn't remember what it had been like to live in a peaceful Republic, so they allowed Augustus' step son, Tiberius, to take power.

Tiberius reformed taxes and improved finacial state
Tiberius Claudius Nero was nominated by Augustus to be his successor and he ruled from AD 14 to AD 37. The historian Suetonius tells us that he was a large man with pimples and that he could push his forefinger through a ripe apple! Tiberius alledgedly hated crowds and was scared of thunder - in private Romans called him "Biberius Caldius Mero" which means "drunk, wine drowned boozer" when he died people jumped for joy and many shouted "Throw Tiberius in the Tiber!".
It was during the reign of Tiberius that a Jewish preacher known as Joshua ben Joseph, or Jesus the Christ was put to death in Jerusalem by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

Gaius/Caligula he was nicknamed after the tiny soldier’s boots caligae he wore as a child. Upon being made emperor he held a huge banquet for all the wealthiest citizens, gave three gold coins to all the citizens of Rome and added a fifth day of rest to the Saturnalia holiday. Suetonius wrote that the people of Rome thought their dreams had come true. To thank the gods for their good fortune the people sacrificed 160,000 animals in three months.
He repaired roads and began construction of two agueducts. The good times didn’t last long though and Gaius ruled openly as an autocrat - at one stage he even claimed to be a living god. Dozens were murdered or executed for treason. Roman historians hated him and so we will never know how "mad" Gaius really was but many strange tales are attributed to "Caligula" for instance the legions were ordered to collect seashells and he proposed his horse as a senator.
On 24th January AD 41, Caligula was murdered by the Praetorian guards - and even upon hearing of his death the people of Rome refused to celebrate openly lest it be a trick so that Caligula could see who was the happiest to see him dead.

Claudius, Tiberius's nephew  was found hiding behind a curtain and was immediately proclaimed as the emperor. Claudius was tall and handsome but it is said that he stammered, dribbled and twitched. Suetonius wrote that his own mother called him a monster and a letter written by Augustus orders that Claudius not be allowed outside for fear that people would laugh at him. Instead Claudius spent most of his time indoors studying and writing books.

Claudius was a popular and clever emperor who ruled from AD 41 to AD 54. Claudius decreed that slaves should not be put to death or abandoned by their owners when they became old and sick. Claudius created a council of ministers to help him rule and he encouraged senators to speak out against him if they disagreed with his actions, he even invited citizens from the provinces to become senators. He extended Roman citizenship, and setup ministries to handle government administration.

It was during Claudius’ reign that Britain was conquered in AD 43 and it is said that Claudius himself came to Britain to accept the surrender of the eleven Kings. Claudius was eventually betrayed by his fourth wife (his neice Aggripina)who killed him because she wanted her son (Nero) to become the next emperor.

Nero
Reports from Tacitus and Suetonius suggest that the only things that Nero was interested in were music, riding and orgies. He performed in public as an actor and singer wearing nothing but his dressing gown and slippers. During his many appearances the doors to the venue would be locked and guards patrolled the crowd threatening anyone who failed to cheer. Some members of the audience even feigned heart attacks to get carried out of the theatre. For two years AD 68-69 Nero toured Greece and he won many prizes at the Olympics for his acting and chariot racing. The Greeks must have genuinely liked him or had a good sense of humour as they called him "the new Apollo". In Rome though all of his travelling and his friendship with the Greeks would result in many plots against him being hatched. There were so many plots to get rid of Nero that he started to become more than a little paranoid and the number of executions and forced suicides increased dramatically. Nero even had his wife and mother murdered and one man was exciled because he was called Cassius, which was also one of the names of Caesars’ assassins. When half of Rome burnt to the ground he blamed it on the christians and then rebuilt half the city as his palace - leading many to suspect that he himself was the arsonist.

Nero began to lose control of the empire through a combination of slack government or because he was trying to to reduce the powers of the provincial governers. The result was a series of revolutions - Boudicca rose in Britain while the jews of Palestina (Judaea) rebelled and the German legions grew mutinous.

It was not until AD 68 though that the governor of Gaul, Vindex revolted and although he had no army he had the support of the governor of Spain - Sulpicius Galba. Upon hearing of the revolution in Gaul and support from Spain, Nero panicked and tried to get to Egypt. His "loyal" guard however deserted and he was declared public enemy of the state No 1. Nero committed suicide by stabbing himself in the throat with a dagger.

Year of the 4 Emperors
Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Saninus

Galba who refused to pay the traditional gift of money to the Praetorian guard and was assassinated in the Forum.

Otho who committed suicide when his army was defeated by Vitellius.

Vitellius himself was defeated by Vespasian’s army and dragged to the Forum to be murdered.

Flavian Emperors Vespasian, Titus, Domitian
Secured frontier regions.
Built the Coliseum

Titus Flavius Vespasian became emperor in December AD 69 and he turned the empire into a military dictatorship. He was a hard working man who put a stop to the wild parties and excesses of the previous emperors and managed to conquer new lands in Germany and Northern Britain.

Titus Titus whose declared ambition was to help someone everyday. During his short reign though Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the small town of Pompeii.

Domitian the cruelest and most brutal emperor of them all. Domitian did manage to conquer more of Scotland after the battle of Mons Graupius led by Agricola but he was soon to withdraw his troops from the area and in AD 86 two or three years after that victory at Mons Graupius a huge period of demolition was undertaken. Domitian was murdered by an ex slave in AD 96 he was the last of the emperors from the Flavian family.

Five Good Emporors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Plus
Built aqueducts, bridges, and harbors.
Extended citizenship to provinces.
Cut dishonesty in business and government.

Nerva

Trajan Trajan was the first non-Roman to be emperor to come from a provincial (Spain) family and during his leadership the empire reached its greatest extent. In AD 105-106 Trajan conquered Dacia with an army of 120,000 legionaries. A monument over 100 feet in diameter and dedicated to Mars the Avenger still stands in Romania commemorating the campaign. On his return to Rome Trajan organised 117 days of games to celebrate his victory. He built a new forum which included two libraries and more than 150 shops and offices and Trajan’s column. He constructed a new bathhouse and to please the plebeians he increased the annona and added a new welfare benefit to support the poor children.
AD 114 saw Trajan invade Armenia and in the following year he conquered the Persian empire. He was the first Roman general to see the Persian Gulf and he was also the last since it was impossible for him to hold together such a huge empire. In AD 116 there were rebellions in Persia and Jews revolted throughout Europe. Trajan set out to return to Rome but he died from a stroke on the way.

Hadrian was another Spaniard and was Trajan's adopted son. He spent most of his reign touring the Roman Empire, which made him realize that the Empire was too spread out to run or defend properly. He therefore abandoned Trajan's conquests in Parthia and  ordered a number of walls to be built around the Empire. The most lasting legacy of these borders is Hadrian's wall. He travelled constantly to ensure that the empire was well defended and secure.

Antoninus Pius

Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

Marcus Aurelius kind, intelligent, and devoted to duty.

Marcus Aurelius Died 

Commodius, son of Marcus Aurelius,  was cruel and hated.

Commodius strangled by bodygurads

Pertinax

Didius Julianus

Septimius Srevus

Caracalla

Macrinus

Elagabalus

Serverus Alexander

Maximinus Thrax

Gordian I and II

BalBinus & Pupienus

Gordian III

Phillip the Arab

Decius

Trebonianus Gallus

Aemilianus

VALERIAN & GALLIENUS

GALLIENUS

Claudius Gothicus

Aurelian

Tacitus

Probus

Carus

Carus & Numerian

Diocletian was the commander of Numerian's imperial guard, and came to power after assassinating him. He realised he couldn't rule such a big empire on his own, so he divided it in two, giving the western half to his friend Maximian while he ruled the richer Eastern part. In AD 305, Diocletian abdicated and retired to a castle in Split, Croatia. from public life, forcing Maximian to abdicate with him. He was the only emperor ever to leave the throne voluntarily.

Constantine (E & W) was the son of Chonstantius Chlorus. His troops declared him emperor in Britian in AD 306. In the long civil war that followed, he defeated all his major rivals. He believed that his success was due to the god of the Christians, and in gratitude he made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, and moved the capital of the empire to the Greek city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. When he died, he divided the empire between his three sons.

Constantine I accepts Christianity along with 3,000 soldiers.

Edict of Milan: Religious freedom made Christianity legal.

Constantine I (312 AD - 337 AD)  moved capital from Rome to Constaniople

Canstantinus II (E)

Constantine II  (W)

Constans (W)

Canstantinus II (E & W)

Julian (E & W)

Jovian (E & W)

Valens (E)

Valetineian (W)

Gratian (W)

Valentinian II (W)

Theodosius (E)

Germanic group defeats Roman Legions

Emperor Theodosius makes Christianity the official religion of the Rome Empire.

Eugenius (W)

Theodosius (E & W)

Arcadius (E)

Honorius (E)

Rome had grown weak

Rhine River freezes and Germans cross.

Theodosius II

Alaric, Germanic chief, invades Rome.

John (W)

Valentinian III (W)

Marcian (E)

Petronius Maximus (W)

Avitus (W)

Majorian (W)

Leo I (E)

Libius Severus (W)

Anthemius (W)

Olybrius (W)

Leo I (E)

Libius Severus (W)

Julius Nepos (W)

Zeno the Isuarian

Romulus August