Rome: from city to empire
Twelve centuries in a few minutes: from the legendary founding of Rome through the Republic, the Punic Wars and Caesar to the Empire and its fall in the West.
The globe flies from place to place and the timeline from year to year. Every step has its own link — handy for showing it in class.
Tour steps
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753 BC The founding of Rome
According to Roman tradition, Romulus founds the city on the Palatine Hill in 753 BC. The date is legendary, but the Romans counted their years from it, “from the founding of the City”.
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509 BC The Republic
The Romans expel their last king, Tarquin the Proud. Power passes to two consuls elected each year and to the Senate: the Roman Republic begins.
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218 BC Hannibal in the Alps
Rome now rules Italy and is fighting Carthage for the western Mediterranean. In the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal crosses the Alps with his army and elephants and invades Italy.
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216 BC Cannae
At Cannae Hannibal surrounds and destroys a huge Roman army, one of the worst defeats in Roman history. Yet Rome refuses to yield and eventually wins the war.
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149 BC–146 BC The end of Carthage
In the Third Punic War the Romans besiege Carthage and destroy it in 146 BC. Rome becomes the dominant power of the whole Mediterranean.
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58 BC–50 BC Caesar in Gaul
Over eight years Julius Caesar conquers Gaul, the lands of today's France, Belgium and their neighbours. His victories bring him fame, wealth and a loyal army.
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44 BC The Ides of March
Having crossed the Rubicon and won a civil war, Caesar becomes dictator for life. On the Ides of March, 44 BC, senators conspire to kill him.
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31 BC Actium
Caesar's heir Octavian defeats the fleet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra off Actium. A year later Egypt becomes a Roman province.
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27 BC Augustus
The Senate grants Octavian the name Augustus. On paper the Republic survives, but in practice he is the first Roman emperor.
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9 The Teutoburg Forest
Germanic tribes led by Arminius wipe out three Roman legions under Varus. Rome gives up on conquering Germania, and the frontier stays on the Rhine for centuries.
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117 The peak under Trajan
By the death of the emperor Trajan in 117 the empire reaches its greatest extent: from Britain to Mesopotamia, from the Rhine and Danube to the Sahara.
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313–330 Constantine
The Edict of Milan in 313 allows Christians to practise their faith openly. In 330 the emperor Constantine makes Constantinople on the Bosporus his new capital.
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395 The empire divided
After the death of Theodosius I the empire is divided for good between his sons into West and East. The Eastern half, later called Byzantium, will last another thousand years.
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410–476 The fall of the West
In 410 Alaric's Visigoths sack Rome, the first time in eight centuries an enemy has taken the city. In 476 the Germanic commander Odoacer deposes Romulus Augustulus, the last Western emperor.