slug: roman-province

label: Roman province

description: Roman administrative territorial entity

year_label: 206 BCE

text: The Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio secures Gades, thus making Roman control of Spain complete. With the effective withdrawal of the Carthaginians from Spain, Hispania becomes a Roman province.

title: 206 BC

year_label: 65 BCE

text: Pompey the Great subjugates the kingdom of Iberia and makes Colchis a Roman province.

title: 65 BC

year_label: 58 BCE

text: Cyprus becomes a Roman province.

title: 58 BC

section: Exploration & Expansion

title: 35 BC

year_label: 25 BCE

text: Galatia becomes a Roman province after the death of its king. The Roman troops stationed there are relocated to Egypt.

title: 25 BC

year_label: 23 BCE

text: The Nubians, led by queen Kandake Amanirenas, take the initiative against the Roman Empire, and attack the Roman province of Egypt moving towards Elephantine.

title: 23 BC

year_label: 15 BCE

text: The Raeti tribes of the Alps are subjugated by Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus and the new Roman province of Raetia is established with Chur (in modern-day Switzerland) as its capital. During the campaign, Roman triremes destroy the fleet of the Vindelici in the Battle of Lake Constance. Augsburg is founded as Augusta Vindelicorum; and Legio XXI Rapax is stationed at Regensburg in the new province.

title: 15 BC

year_label: 15 CE

text: Varna (Odessus), on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, is annexed to the Roman province of Moesia.

title: 10s

section: Events › 15 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 17 CE

text: Cappadocia (Asia Minor) becomes a Roman province.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 43 CE

text: Claudius annexes Lycia in Asia Minor, combining it with Pamphylia as a Roman province.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 43

year_label: 44 CE

text: Mauretania becomes a Roman province.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 44

year_label: 47 CE

text: Publius Ostorius Scapula replaces Aulus Plautius as governor of Britain. The south-east of the island is now a Roman province, while certain states on the south coast are ruled as a nominally independent client kingdom by Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, whose seat is probably at Fishbourne near Chichester. Ostorius immediately faces incursions from unconquered areas, which he puts down.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 47

section: Religion & Belief

text: Trajan divides Pannonia into two provinces, sometime between this year and 107.

title: AD 102

date: August 11

text: August 11 – The south-eastern part of Dacia (modern Romania) becomes a Roman province: Roman Dacia. The veterans of the legions are given land in the new province for their service in the Roman army.

title: AD 106

text: Emperor Hadrian visits the Roman province of North Africa, in order to inspect Legio III Augusta stationed at Lambaesis. For strategic reasons, the legionnaires are located in the Aurès Mountains.

title: AD 128

text: Mesopotamia is partitioned into two Roman provinces divided by the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Osroene.

title: AD 199

text: Edessa in Mesopotamia becomes a Roman province.

title: 212

text: Postumus wins over all the Roman provinces west of the Alps, including Gaul, Britain and Hispania.

title: 260

text: Victorinus is declared emperor of the Gallic Empire by the legions at Augusta Treverorum (Trier), following the murders of his predecessors. He is recognized by the provinces of Gaul and Britain, but Hispania might have reunited with the Roman Empire.

title: 268

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Emperor Jovian negotiates a disastrous peace with Persia, surrendering four of the five Roman provinces gained by Caesar Galerius in 298, and the cities Nisibis and Singara (Mesopotamia).

title: 363

text: Gratian, age 16, takes over the government at Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), but ministers wishing to retain the loyalty of the Illyrian army fear a usurper. They proclaim Valentinian's 4-year-old son Valentinian II co-emperor with his mother, Justina, as regent. Gratian reserves for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, and hands over Italy, Illyrium, Hispania and Africa to his stepmother, who makes Mediolanum (Milan) her residence.

title: 375

text: The Alans establish their rule in the Roman province of Lusitania (Portugal south of the Duero River and Spain).

title: AD 411

section: Health & Medicine

text: The city of Vindobona (Vienna) is struck by an epidemic that spreads through the Roman provinces. The disease is probably streptococcus or a form of scarlet fever with streptococcus pneumoniae (approximate date).

title: 455

section: Events › By topic › Medicine

text: King Theodoric the Great starts a 4-year campaign against the Byzantine Empire. The Ostrogoths ravage the Roman provinces (Moesia and Thrace), and threaten the capital of Constantinople itself.

title: 479


slug: roman-republic

label: Roman Republic

description: period of ancient Roman civilization (509 BC–27 BC)

year_label: 510 BCE

text: The reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, last king of the traditional seven Kings of Rome, concludes. The Kingdom of Rome falls and is replaced by the Roman Republic. (or 509 BC)

title: 510 BC

year_label: 509 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: The Roman monarchy is overthrown, and the Republican period begins (traditional date).

title: 509 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

section: Deaths

text: Lucius Junius Brutus, Roman consul and founder of the Roman Republic (traditional date)

title: 509 BC

year_label: 503 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Latin towns of Pometia and Cora, with the assistance of the Aurunci, revolt against Rome.

title: 503 BC

year_label: 496 BCE

text: The former Etruscan King of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, who had been exiled by the Romans in 509 BC, and his ally Octavius Mamilius, of Tusculum, together with the Latins are defeated by the Roman Republic army in the Battle of Lake Regillus, near Frascati. The outcome of this battle establishes Roman supremacy over the Latins.

title: 496 BC

year_label: 493 BCE

text: The Roman army, led by Postumus Cominius Auruncus defeats the Volsci and the Romans capture the towns of Longula, Pollusca and Corioli. Gaius Marcius distinguishes himself in the battle for Corioli, and earns the cognomen Coriolanus.

title: 493 BC

year_label: 488 BCE

text: Gaius Marcius Coriolanus and Attius Tullius, leading an army of the Volsci, besiege Rome. Coriolanus' mother and wife convince him to break off the siege. In recognition of the service of these women, a temple is erected in Rome dedicated to Fortuna. Subsequently, the Volsci and their allies the Aequi have a falling out, and their armies fight as a result, significantly diminishing the strength of each of them.

title: 488 BC

section: Events › By place › Rome

year_label: 487 BCE

text: Wars are fought between Rome and each of the Volsci and the Hernici. Rome prevails in both disputes.

title: 487 BC

year_label: 486 BCE

text: Rome enters into a new treaty with the Hernici.

title: 486 BC

year_label: 477 BCE

text: Roman forces in a stronghold on the Cremera River are defeated by an army of Veientes from the Etruscan city of Veii in the Battle of the Cremera.

title: 477 BC

year_label: 452 BCE

text: Sextus Quinctilius, consul of the Roman Republic, 453–452 BC, plague.

title: 452 BC

year_label: 446 BCE

text: In the Battle of Corbione, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus leads Roman troops to a victory over the Aequi of north-east Latium and the Volsci of southern Latium.

title: 446 BC

section: Births

text: Marcus Furius Camillus, Roman soldier and statesman (traditional date) (d. 365 BC)

title: 446 BC

year_label: 439 BCE

text: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is made dictator of the Roman Republic for a second time to deal with the Maelius controversy. He appoints Gaius Servilius Ahala as his Master of the Horse.

title: 439 BC

year_label: 435 BCE

text: Forces of the Roman Republic, led by dictator Quintus Servilius Priscus, captured the nearby city of Fidenae by tunneling in through the hill the town was built upon. He was awarded the cognomen 'Fidenas' as a reward for his success.

title: 435 BC

section: Events › By place › Italy

year_label: 431 BCE

text: The Romans defeat the Aequi and the Volsci at the Battle of Mount Algidus.

title: 431 BC

year_label: 412 BCE

text: The epidemic hits the Roman Republic and causes a food shortage.

title: 412 BC

year_label: 406 BCE

text: The Roman forces begin a decade-long siege against Veii.

title: 406 BC

year_label: 396 BCE

text: Marcus Furius Camillus is made dictator by the Romans. Camillus finally destroys the Etruscan city of Veii in southern Etruria as the town falls to Roman forces after what is said to be a 10 year siege. The capture of Veii and its surrounding territories marks the first major expansion of Rome which doubles its territory after this victory.

title: 396 BC

year_label: 390 BCE

date: July 18

text: July 18 – Battle of the Allia: Brennus, a chieftain of the Senones of the Adriatic coast of Italy, leads an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their attack on Rome. They capture the entire city of Rome except for the Capitoline Hill, which is successfully held against them. However, seeing their city devastated, the Romans attempt to buy their salvation from Brennus. The Romans agree to pay one thousand pounds weight of gold.

title: 390 BC

year_label: 378 BCE

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Servian Wall is constructed around Rome to prevent the city from being captured or sacked (see 390 BC). This is the first fortification that the Romans build around their home city.

title: 378 BC

year_label: 370 BCE

text: Marcus Valerius Corvus, Roman hero (d. c. 270 BC)

title: 370 BC

year_label: 366 BCE

text: Two additional aediles, called curule ("higher") aediles, are created in the Roman hierarchy. These are at first patricians; but those of the next year are plebeians and so on year by year alternately. They are elected in the assembly of the tribes, with the consul presiding.

title: 366 BC

year_label: 358 BCE

text: The Romans defeat the Volsci, annex most of their territory, and settle it with Roman colonists. The Romans also force the Latin League to renew its close alliance with Rome, an alliance which was weakened by Rome’s defeat at the hands of the Gauls in 390 BC.

title: 358 BC

year_label: 356 BCE

text: Gaius Marcius Rutilus is the first plebeian to be chosen as a dictator in Rome.

title: 356 BC

year_label: 354 BCE

text: Rome allies itself with the Samnites and they agree on a mutual defence pact.

title: 354 BC

year_label: 351 BCE

text: The Etruscans are badly defeated by the Romans and abandon their attacks on the city and sue for peace.

title: 351 BC

year_label: 350 BCE

text: The Gauls, once more threatening Rome, are decisively beaten by an army comprising Rome and its allies.

title: 350 BC

year_label: 348 BCE

section: Economy & Finance

text: Rome and Carthage make a trade agreement under which Carthage will not attack those Latin states which are faithful to Rome. This agreement demonstrates that Rome is now the dominant power in the Latin League.

title: 348 BC

year_label: 347 BCE

text: Coinage is introduced into Rome for the first time.

title: 347 BC

year_label: 343 BCE

text: First Samnite War began when Rome fought the confederated Samnites over disputed territory in the Middle Liris Valley.

title: 343 BC

year_label: 342 BCE

text: The Battle of Mount Gaurus is fought between the Romans and the Samnites. The battle is a success for the Romans, who, it is said, are led by Marcus Valerius Corvus. Fought at the foot of Mount Gaurus, near Cumae, it is the most notable engagement of the First Samnite War.

title: 342 BC

year_label: 341 BCE

text: The First Samnite War ends with Rome triumphant and the Samnites willing to make peace.

title: 341 BC

text: The Latin War ends with the Latin League being dissolved and the individual Latin cities having to accept Rome's terms. Many of the cities are incorporated into the Roman state. In making peace with the cities of the defeated Latin League, Rome offers liberal terms. The men of many of these cities are granted citizenship and, as a result, Rome gains friends rather than enemies.

title: 338 BC

text: A plebeian is chosen to be praetor of Rome for the first time.

title: 337 BC

text: Marcus Valerius Corvus is elected consul of the Roman Republic for the fourth time.

title: 335 BC

text: After a victory over the Samnites and Lucanians near Paestum, Alexander of Epirus makes a treaty with the Romans.

title: 332 BC

text: The Gallic tribe of the Senones and the Romans conclude a peace and enter upon a period of friendly relations which lasts the rest of the century.

title: 331 BC

text: The Samnite army captures Neapolis (present-day Naples). The Romans, who are meanwhile moving south while the Samnites are occupied with Tarentum, take the opportunity to recover Neapolis and, after a long siege, evict the Samnite garrison from the city and make it an ally of Rome.

title: 327 BC

text: Following their defeat by the Roman forces in Naples, the Samnites declare war on Rome starting the Second Samnite War. To help defeat the Samnites, the Romans make alliances with the peoples of Central Italy to the north of Samnium and with the Apulians to the southeast.

title: 326 BC

text: Continuing successes by Rome's armies against the Samnites forces the Samnites to sue for peace. However, the terms offered by Rome are so stringent that they are rejected by the Samnites and the war goes on.

title: 321 BC

text: The Romans, with an eye to capturing Apulia, send an army (led by dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus) to seize the town of Lucera from the Samnites. They are badly beaten in the Battle of Lautulae and the Samnites go on to reach within 32 kilometres of Rome.

title: 316 BC

text: The Samnites defeat a Roman army led by dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus at the Battle of Lautulae.

title: 315 BC

text: Success seems to be going the Samnites' way in their ongoing battles against the Romans. Campania is on the verge of deserting Rome. Peace is established between Rome and some Samnite towns.

title: 314 BC

text: The Samnites take Fregellae in Latium, the Roman dictator Gaius Poetelius Libo Visolus marches his army from Rome and moves to retake it, but the Samnites leave at night; Visolus places a garrison in the city.

title: 313 BC

text: The Second Samnite War continues, the Roman consuls Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus and Quintus Aemilius Barbula divide their command.

title: 311 BC

text: Rome deals with renewed trouble from the Etruscans, who are persuaded by the Samnites to cease their alliance with the Romans. In the Battle of Lake Vadimo, the Romans under Fabius Maximus Rullianus defeat the Etruscans.

title: 310 BC

text: The Samnites again rise against Rome. Lucius Papirius Cursor is appointed dictator for the second time and wins a great victory at Longula over the Samnites.

title: 309 BC

text: The Second Samnite War escalates when the tribes of the central Apennines, the Umbrians, Picentes, and Marsians join the war against Rome. However, Rome is able to control the uprising.

title: 308 BC

text: The Romans invade Iapygia and begin a siege of Silvium (garrisoned by the Samnites). Eventually, they take the city by storm, taking 5,000 prisoners. After the Siege of Silvium they invade Samnium itself, pillaging the countryside for five months.

title: 306 BC

text: The Samnites take Sora and Calatia, cities allied to the Romans, and enslave their inhabitants.

title: 306 BC

text: The second Samnite war formally ends with a peace agreement in which the Samnites obtain peace on terms that are severe but not as crushing as those agreed by the Romans with the Etruscans four years earlier. Under the peace, Rome gains no territory, but the Samnites renounce their hegemony over Campania. Rome is also successful in ending the revolts amongst the tribes surrounding Roman territory.

title: 304 BC

text: The citizens of Tarentum seek the help of the Spartan general, Cleonymus. He is able to pacify the Lucanians with the agreement of the Romans.

title: 303 BC

text: The Gallic tribe called the Senones, who have settled on the Adriatic coast north of Picenum, attack Arretium in Etruria. While attempting to relieve this allied city, the Romans under the command of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter suffer a costly defeat in the Battle of Arretium. Aroused by this disaster, a Roman army under Manius Curius Dentatus invades the Senones' territory, defeating them and driving them out of the Italian peninsula.

title: 284 BC

text: At the Battle of Lake Vadimo, Roman forces finally quell the allied Etruscans and Gauls. The Roman army is led by consul Publius Cornelius Dolabella. Rome is at last undisputed master of northern and central Italy.

title: 283 BC

text: The Battle of Populonia is fought between Rome and the Etruscans. The Romans are victorious and, as a result, the Etruscan threat to Rome is sharply diminished.

title: 282 BC

text: Cineas, a Thessalian serving as chief adviser to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, after visiting Rome attempts, without success, to dissuade Pyrrhus from invading southern Italy.

title: 281 BC

text: Responding to an appeal from Tarentum, King Pyrrhus of Epirus uses his army of over 20,000 men against the Romans. In the Battle of Heraclea he defeats a Roman army led by consul Publius Valerius Laevinus. Pyrrhus's judicious use of his elephants plays a large part in his victory. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii and the Messapians as well as the Greek cities of Crotone and Locri join Pyrrhus.

title: 280 BC

text: The Carthaginians and the Romans agree to support each other against a common foe. The Carthaginians give Rome money and ships in their fight against Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus.

title: 279 BC

text: When Pyrrhus returns from Sicily, he finds himself vastly outnumbered by a superior Roman army under the command of consul Manius Curius Dentatus. After the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum, Roman commander and statesman, Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, negotiates a peace with Pyrrhus, after which Pyrrhus decides to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus, which results in the loss of all his Italian holdings.

title: 275 BC

text: The Romans under Manius Curius Dentatus conquer the Lucanians.

title: 274 BC

text: Impressed by Rome's defeat of Pyrrhus of Epirus, Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus sends a friendly embassy. The visit is reciprocated.

title: 273 BC

text: Pyrrhus' departure from southern Italy three years earlier leads to the Samnites finally being conquered by the Romans. With the surrender of Tarentum, the cities of Magna Graecia in southern Italy come under Roman influence and become Roman allies. Rome now effectively dominates all of the Italian peninsula.

title: 272 BC

text: Pyrrhus of Epirus, king of the Molossians (from c. 297 BC), Epirus (306–301 and 297–272 BC) and Macedon (288–284 and 273–272 BC); involved in disputes in southern Italy against Rome and in Sicily (b. 318 BC)

title: 272 BC

text: Rome's subjugation of Italy is completed by the recapture of Rhegium (southern Italy) from the Mamertines and the defeat of the Brutians, the Lucanians, the Calabrians and the Samnites. The town of Rhegium is then restored by the Romans to its Greek inhabitants.

title: 270 BC

text: Marcus Valerius Corvus, Roman hero (b. c. 370 BC)

title: 270 BC

text: Calabria and Messapia are annexed by the Roman Republic.

title: 266 BC

text: Hiero II threatens to renew his attack on the Mamertines. They appeal to Carthage and receive the support of a Carthaginian garrison. The Mamertines also appeal to the Romans who are also willing to help.

title: 265 BC

text: The Battle of Messana (265-264 BCE) takes place as the first military clash between the Roman Republic and Carthage.

title: 265 BC

text: The Romans under the consul Manius Valerius Messalla secure the alliance of Hiero II of Syracuse. The treaty with Rome restricts Hiero's kingdom to southeast Sicily and the eastern coast of Sicily as far as Tauromenium. From this date until his death, Hiero remains loyal to the Romans.

title: 263 BC

text: Rome besieges the city of Agrigentum which is held by Carthage under the command of Hannibal Gisco. Rome's siege involves both consular armies – a total of four Roman legions – and takes several months to resolve. The garrison of Agrigentum manages to call for reinforcements and a Carthaginian relief force commanded by Hanno comes to the rescue and destroys the Roman supply base at Erbessus. Nevertheless, after a few skirmishes, the battle of Agrigentum is fought and won by Rome, and the city falls. Gisco manages to escape to Carthage in the late stages of the battle.

title: 262 BC

text: The Romans, determined to win control of Sicily from Carthage, build a fleet based on the model of a captured Carthaginian quinquereme.

title: 261 BC

text: The Roman advance continues westward from Agrigentum with their forces relieving the besieged cities of Segesta and Macella. These cities have sided with the Roman cause, and have come under Carthaginian attack for doing so.

title: 260 BC

text: The Carthaginians under Hamilcar take advantage of their victory at Thermae in Sicily by counterattacking the Romans and seizing Enna. Hamilcar continues south to Camarina, in Syracusan territory, to try to convince the Syracusans to rejoin the Carthaginian side.

title: 259 BC

text: The Romans are able to regain the initiative in Sicily against Carthage by retaking Enna and Camarina. In central Sicily, they take the town of Mytistraton, which they have attacked twice previously. The Romans also move in the north by marching across the northern coast toward Panormus, but are not able to take the city due to the city's heavily fortified walls.

title: 258 BC

text: The Romans attack Sardinia and try to capture it from the Carthaginians.

title: 257 BC

text: Rome aims for a quick end to hostilities in the First Punic War and decides to invade the Carthaginian colonies in Northern Africa to force the enemy to accept terms. A major fleet is built, including transports for the army and its equipment, and warships for their protection. Carthage under Hamilcar tries to intervene but a force under the Roman general and consul Marcus Atilius Regulus and his colleague Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus defeat the Carthaginian fleet in the Battle of Cape Ecnomus off the southern coast of Sicily.

title: 256 BC

text: The Battle of Adis (or Adys) is fought near the city of that name, 40 mi km southeast of Carthage, between Carthaginian forces and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. The Romans inflict a crushing defeat upon the Carthaginians, and the latter then sue for peace. The ensuing negotiations between the parties lead to Regulus demanding Carthage agree to an unconditional surrender, cede Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia to Rome, renounce the use of their navy, pay an indemnity, and sign a vassal-like treaty. These terms are so harsh that the people of Carthage resolve to keep fighting.

title: 255 BC

text: A Roman army led by consuls Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina and Aulus Atilius Calatinus capture Panormus in Sicily.

title: 254 BC

text: The Romans lose control of the Sicilian city of Agrigentum to the Carthaginians.

title: 254 BC

text: A second Roman war fleet of 150 ships is wrecked on the voyage from Lilybaeum (in Sicily) to Rome.

title: 253 BC

text: The Romans, led by Lucius Caecilius Metellus, attack the Carthaginian held port city of Panormus after taking Kephalodon. After fierce fighting in the Battle of Panormus, the Carthaginians, led by Hasdrubal (the Fair), are defeated and the city falls.

title: 251 BC

text: In the Punic War, the Romans shift their attention to the southwest of Sicily. They send a naval expedition toward the Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum. En route, the Romans seize and burn the Carthaginian held cities of Selinous and Heraclea Minoa. The Romans then begin the siege of Lilybaeum.

title: 250 BC

text: With Hamilcar Barca wearing the Romans down in Sicily, the Romans, by private subscription, build another fleet with the aim of regaining command of the sea.

title: 246 BC

text: The Roman consul and commander, Gaius Lutatius Catulus, blockades the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum with a fleet of 200 ships.

title: 242 BC

text: March 10 – Battle of the Aegates: The Carthaginian fleet sent to relieve the Roman blockade of the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum is totally defeated near the Aegates Islands off western Sicily by the Roman fleet led by Roman consul and commander Gaius Lutatius Catulus. The result is a decisive Roman victory which forces an end to the protracted First Punic War, to Rome's distinct advantage.

title: 241 BC

text: Rome takes over full control of Sicily and stations a legion there.

title: 240 BC

text: Carthage is besieged by the mercenary armies, while the city of Utica revolts and attempts to secede from Carthage. Carthage appeals to Hiero II of Syracuse and to Rome for aid against the mercenaries. However, the mercenary leaders reject the efforts of Roman mediators.

title: 239 BC

text: The Romans declare war on the Carthaginians over which state controls Sardinia. However, Carthage defers to Rome rather than enter yet another war and gives up any claim to Sardinia.

title: 238 BC

text: Nevertheless, Hamilcar Barca leads a Carthaginian army in an invasion of the Iberian Peninsula with the aim of building a base from which war with Rome can be renewed. By skillful generalship and able diplomacy, Hamilcar extends Carthaginian dominion over many Spanish tribes.

title: 237 BC

text: Scipio Africanus, Roman general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic (approximate date) (d. 183 BC)

title: 236 BC

text: In Rome, the consul Titus Manlius Torquatus presides over the first ever closing of the gates of the Temple of Janus, signifying peace.

title: 235 BC

text: Corsica, Sardinia and Liguria rebel unsuccessfully against Rome.

title: 234 BC

text: Despite the opposition of the Roman Senate and of his own father, the Roman political leader Gaius Flaminius wins the passage of a measure to distribute land among the plebeians. The Romans decide to parcel out land north of Rome (the Ager Gallicus) into small holdings for its poorer citizens whose farms have fallen into ruin during the First Punic War.

title: 232 BC

text: The Romans send envoys to Massilia (modern Marseille, France) to negotiate with the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca who is based there.

title: 231 BC

text: With Roman merchants being killed by the Illyrian pirates, envoys are sent by Rome to Illyria. After the Roman ambassador Lucius Coruncanius and the Issaean ambassador Cleemporus are murdered at sea by Illyrian soldiers after causing offence to Queen Teuta, Roman forces occupy the island of Corcyra with the aim of humbling Teuta.

title: 230 BC

text: Adherbal, admiral of the Carthaginian fleet who has battled for domination of the Mediterranean Sea for Carthage in the First Punic War against Rome

title: 230 BC

text: The First Illyrian War started when the Roman Senate dispatched an army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus to Illyria. Rome forced the withdrawal of Illyrian garrisons in the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Pharos and establishes a protectorate over these Greek towns.

title: 229 BC

text: The Illyrian queen Teuta's governor, Demetrius of Pharos has little alternative but to surrender to the overwhelming Roman force. In return, the Romans award him a considerable part of Teuta's holdings to counter-balance the power of Teuta. Meanwhile, the Roman army lands further north at Apollonia. The combined Roman army and fleet proceed northward together, subduing one town after another and besieging Shkodra, the Illyrian capital.

title: 228 BC

text: Queen Teuta of Illyria finally surrenders to Roman forces and is forced by the Romans to accept an ignominious peace. The Romans allow her to continue her reign but restrict her to a narrow region around the Illyrian capital, Shkodra, deprive her of all her other territory, and forbid her to sail an armed ship below Lissus just south of the capital. They also require her to pay an annual tribute and to acknowledge the final authority of Rome.

title: 227 BC

text: A formidable host of Gauls, some of them from across the Alps, threaten Rome.

title: 226 BC

text: A coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes (Taurini, Taurisces, Insubres, Lingones, Salasses, Agones, and Boii), reinforced by large numbers of Transalpine adventurers called Gaesatae (Gaesati), invade Italy. Avoiding the Romans at Ariminum, the Gauls cross the Apennines into Etruria and plunder the country.

title: 225 BC

text: Gaius Atilius Regulus, consul of the Roman Republic (Battle of Telamon).

title: 225 BC

text: The Romans, led by Consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, decisively defeat the coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes at the Battle of Telamon thus extending Roman influence over northern Italy. On the Roman side Gaius Atilius Regulus, commander of the Roman cavalry, is killed in the battle. On the Gallic side, one of the leaders, Concolitanus, is captured in battle, while the leader of the Gaesatae, Aneroëstes, kills himself when the battle is lost.

title: 224 BC

text: After taking Acerrae Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus marches on Mediolanum (modern Milan), another stronghold of the Insubres, which also falls into Roman hands, upon which the chieftains of the Insubres lose all hope and surrendered unconditionally. Thus the Romans succeeded in conquering the largest independent Celtic tribe in Italy and firmly established their hegemony over the Po Valley, then the most productive agricultural region in the peninsula.

title: 222 BC

text: Gaius Flaminius builds a second race track for Rome, the Circus Flaminius.

title: 221 BC

text: Together with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece.

title: 220 BC

text: The Romans extend their area of domination around the head of the Adriatic Sea as far as the peninsula of Histria by the conquest of peoples who dwell to the east of the Veneti. Thus, with the exception of Liguria and the upper valley of the Po River, all Italy south of the Alps is brought within the Roman sphere.

title: 219 BC

text: Gaius Flaminius, Roman consul and general

title: 217 BC

text: August 2 – The Battle of Cannae (east of Naples) ends in victory for Hannibal whose 50,000-man army defeats a Roman force of 86,000 led by consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus (who is killed in the battle) and Gaius Terentius Varro. 50,000-70,000 Roman troops are killed, making this perhaps the deadliest one-day battle in all history.

title: 216 BC

text: The Carthaginian general, Hannibal, is denied any reinforcements from Spain for his forces now based in Italy by the activities of the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, who, in a battle at Dertosa near the Ebro River effectively stop the Carthaginian general, Hasdrubal's attempt to break through to Italy.

title: 215 BC

text: A Carthaginian invasion fleet bound for Sardinia is delayed by bad weather giving the Romans the time to organize an intervention; the Roman general Titus Manlius Torquatus, one of it original conquerors, is sent to Sardinia with an army.

title: 215 BC

text: The Roman law, Lex Oppia, is instituted by Gaius Oppius, a tribune of the plebs during the consulship of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. The Lex Oppia is the first of a series of sumptuary laws introduced in Rome. It not only restricts women's wealth, but also their displaying it.

title: 215 BC

text: Carthage persuades Syracuse to revolt against Rome and ally itself with Carthage instead.

title: 214 BC

text: Archimedes's war machines repel the Roman army that is invading Syracuse.

title: 213 BC

text: Casilinum and Arpi are recovered by the Romans from Hannibal.

title: 213 BC

text: After being stopped twice by the Romans in his attempts to invade Illyria by sea, and constrained by the Roman commander Marcus Valerius Laevinus' fleet in the Adriatic, Philip V of Macedon keeps his activities in Illyria land based. Keeping clear of the coast, he takes Dassaretis, Atintani and Parthini, and the town of Dimale.

title: 212 BC

text: The Roman soldiers billeted in Tarentum so alienate the citizens of the city that conspirators admit the Carthaginian general Hannibal to the city. The conspirators then defeat the Roman contingent in it. Hannibal keeps control of his troops so that looting is limited to Roman houses. The citadel in Tarentum remains under Roman control, which denies Hannibal the use of the harbour.

title: 212 BC

text: Archimedes of Syracuse, Greek mathematician and scientist, who has calculated formulae for the areas and volumes of spheres, cylinders, parabolas and other plane and solid figures. He has also founded the science of hydrostatics, including the principle of the upthrust on a floating body which has led to his cry, "Eureka". Thirdly, he has invented siege-engines for use against the Romans and the Archimedean screw to raise water (b. c. 287 BC)

title: 212 BC

text: The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Barca returns to Spain after his victory over the rebellious Numidians. He then manages to turn the tide against the Romans in Spain, with the Roman generals Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus killed in separate battles—Publius on the upper Baetis (Guadalquivir) and Gnaeus in the hinterland of Carthago Nova (Cartagena). The Carthaginians recover all their territory south of the Ebro.

title: 211 BC

text: Following the death of his father, Publius Cornelius Scipio, and his uncle, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, at the hands of the Carthaginians, the young Publius Cornelius Scipio takes over command of the Roman troops in Spain. His appointment reflects the Roman Senate's dissatisfaction with the cautious strategy of the propraetor, Gaius Claudius Nero, then commander in Spain north of the Ebro.

title: 210 BC

text: The Romans under Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus capture Tarentum (modern Taranto), which the Carthaginian general Hannibal has held for three years.

title: 209 BC

text: The Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio defeat the Carthaginians under their commander Hasdrubal Barca at Baecula (Bailen) in Baetica. As a result, Hasdrubal Barca decides to cross the Pyrenees with his remaining troops into Transalpine Gaul, with the intention of joining his brother Hannibal in Italy.

title: 208 BC

text: The Roman consul Gaius Claudius Nero fights an indecisive battle with the Carthaginian general Hannibal at Grumentum. Nero is unable to stop Hannibal's advance into Canusium. Nevertheless, he rapidly marches the elite parts of his army some one hundred kilometres north to reinforce the army of Marcus Livius Salinator.

title: 207 BC

text: Hasdrubal Barca, Carthaginian general who has unsuccessfully attempted to sustain Carthage's military ascendancy on the Spanish peninsula in the face of Roman attacks (b. 245 BC)

title: 207 BC

text: In the Battle of Ilipa (Alcalá del Río, near Seville) in Spain, the Carthaginian generals, Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco, are defeated by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio. Mago retreats to Gades (modern Cádiz) and then sails for the Balearic Islands.

title: 206 BC

text: Philip V of Macedon makes a temporary peace (the Peace of Phoenice) with Rome on favourable terms for Macedonia ending the First Macedonian War. The treaty formally acknowledges the favourable position of Macedonia, including their capture of Illyria, but in return Philip effectively repudiates his alliance with Hannibal.

title: 205 BC

text: Having lost his alliance with the Numidian chief Masinissa, the Carthaginian general, Hasdrubal Gisco, finds a new ally in the Numidian king Syphax, who marries Sophonisba, Hasdrubal's daughter, who, until his defection to Rome, has been betrothed to Masinissa.

title: 204 BC

text: The Roman general, Publius Cornelius Scipio, while undertaking peace negotiations with the Carthaginians at Utica, makes a surprise attack on the Carthaginian camp and destroys it. Then, sweeping down on the forces that the Carthaginians and their allies, the Numidians, are trying to muster on the Great Plains near the upper Bagradas River (in modern Tunisia), he smashes that army in the Battle of the Great Plains. The Numidian king, Syphax, and the Carthaginian leader, Hasdrubal Gisco, manage to escape separately.

title: 203 BC

text: Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, Roman general and statesman whose cautious delaying tactics (which have led to his surname Cunctator, meaning "delayer") during the early stages of the Second Punic War have given Rome time to recover its strength and take the offensive against the invading Carthaginian army of Hannibal (b. c. 275 BC)

title: 203 BC

text: Mago Barca, Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War against Rome who has accompanied his brother Hannibal on the invasion of Italy (b. 243 BC)

title: 203 BC

text: Accused of treason by the Carthaginians after being defeated by the Romans at the Battle of the Great Plains, Hasdrubal Gisco commits suicide to avoid being lynched by a Carthaginian mob.

title: 202 BC

text: On Hannibal's advice, Carthage sues for peace with the Romans, ending the Second Punic War. Carthage is reduced to a client state of Rome. In the peace treaty between Carthage and Rome, Carthage surrenders all her Mediterranean possessions to Rome, including her Iberian territories. The Carthaginians agree to pay Rome 200 talents per year for 50 years, allow Masinissa to rule Numidia as an independent kingdom, make no war without Rome's permission, and destroy all but 10 of the Carthaginian warships.

title: 201 BC

text: The Roman general Gnaeus Baebius Tamphilus attacks the Insubres in Gaul, but loses over 6,700 soldiers in the process.

title: 199 BC

text: After his election to the consulship, Titus Quinctius Flamininus is chosen to replace Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus as the leading Roman general in Macedonia. He then crosses into Macedonia with his army. Flamininus realizes that future peace depends on breaking the power of king Philip V of Macedon, not merely humbling him. He secures the backing of the Achaean League and then opens peace negotiations with Philip at Nicaea in Locris. Though peace proposals are submitted to the Roman Senate, the talks break down, and fighting resumes.

title: 198 BC

text: The Spartan ruler, Nabis, acquires the important city of Argos from Philip V of Macedon, as the price of his alliance with the Macedonians. Nabis then defects to the Romans in the expectation of being able to hold on to his conquest.

title: 197 BC

text: The Insubres, Gauls of the Po Valley, believed by the Romans to have been incited to revolt by Carthage, are finally defeated.

title: 196 BC

text: Because of his administrative and constitutional reforms in Carthage, Hannibal becomes unpopular with an important faction of the Carthaginian nobility and he is denounced to the Romans for inciting the Seleucid king Antiochus III to take up arms against the Romans. Rome demands that Carthage surrender Hannibal. However, Hannibal voluntarily goes into exile.

title: 195 BC

text: Terence or Publius Terentius Afer, Roman comic playwright (approximate date) (d. 159 BC)

title: 195 BC

text: After checking the ambitions of Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, the Roman forces under proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus finally withdraw from Greece.

title: 194 BC

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum appeals to Rome for help against the Seleucid king Antiochus III who is threatening to conquer Greece. The Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus supports the Roman championship of Greek autonomy in Anatolia.

title: 193 BC

text: The Achaeans respond to Sparta's renewed interest in recovering lost territory by sending an envoy to Rome with a request for help. In response, the Roman Senate sends the praetor Atilius with a navy, as well as an embassy headed by Titus Quinctius Flamininus.

title: 192 BC

text: The Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio and Cato the Elder cut the Seleucid king Antiochus III off from his reinforcements in Thrace and outflank his position at the pass of Thermopylae in the Battle of Thermopylae. With the remainder of his troops, Antiochus flees to Chalcis on Euboea and from there he retreats by sea to Ephesus.

title: 191 BC

text: The Battle of the Eurymedon is fought between a Seleucid fleet and ships from Rhodes and Pergamum, who are allied with the Roman Republic. The Seleucids are led by the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal. The Rhodians and their allies are victorious and Hannibal's fleet is forced to flee.

title: 190 BC

text: Cato the Elder criticizes the consul Marcus Fulvius Nobilior for giving awards to Roman soldiers for doing ordinary tasks, such as digging wells.

title: 189 BC

text: The Romans under consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso, along with a Pergamene army under Eumenes II, defeat the Galatians in Anatolia and make them subjects of Pergamum.

title: 189 BC

text: The continuing quarrels among the Greek cities and leagues increases the conviction in Rome that there will be no peace in Greece until Rome takes full control.

title: 188 BC

text: The rapid spread of the Bacchanalia cult throughout the Roman Republic, which, it is claimed, indulges in all kinds of crimes and political conspiracies at its nocturnal meetings, leads to the Roman Senate issuing a decree, the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, by which the Bacchanalia are prohibited throughout all Italy except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate.

title: 186 BC

text: The Roman general Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius are accused by Cato the Elder and his supporters of having received bribes from the late Seleucid king Antiochus III. Scipio defies his accusers, reminds the Romans of their debt to him, and retires to his country house at Liternum in Campania. However, Cato is successful in breaking the political influence of Lucius Scipio and Scipio Africanus.

title: 185 BC

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, leading general and politician of the Roman Republic. As consul he will be the commander of the final siege and destruction of Carthage and will be the leader of the senators opposed to the Gracchi (d. 129 BC)

title: 185 BC

text: Cato the Elder, along with his colleague, Lucius Valerius Flaccus, are elected censors in Rome. Already the champion of the ancient, austere Roman way of life, Cato inaugurates a puritanical campaign. He aims at preserving the mos maiorum ("ancestral custom") and combating all Greek influences, which he believes are undermining the older Roman standards of morality. He passes measures taxing luxury and strictly revises the list of persons eligible for the Senate. Abuses by tax gatherers are brought under control, and public building is promoted as a worthy cause.

title: 184 BC

text: The Roman general Scipio Africanus dies at Liternum in Campania.

title: 183 BC

text: Hannibal, Carthaginian statesman, military commander and tactician, one of history's great military leaders, who has commanded the Carthaginian forces against Rome in the Second Punic War (b. 247 BC)

title: 183 BC

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major, Roman statesman and general, famous for his victory over the Carthaginian leader Hannibal in the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, which ended the Second Punic War and gave him the surname Africanus (b. 236 BC)

title: 183 BC

text: Rome founds a colony at Aquileia, on the narrow strip of land between the mountains and the lagoons, as a frontier fortress to check the advance of the Illyrians.

title: 181 BC

text: Rome completes its subjugation of all of Italy with the defeat of the Ligurians in a battle near modern Genoa. Rome deports 40,000 Ligurians to other areas of the Republic.

title: 180 BC

text: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus goes to Hispania as Roman governor to deal with uprisings there.

title: 179 BC

text: Philip V, king of Macedonia from 221 BC, whose attempt to extend Macedonian influence throughout Greece has occurred at a time of growing Roman involvement in Greek affairs and resulted in his military defeat by Rome (b. 238 BC)

title: 179 BC

text: In Rome, the praetor Lucius Postumius Albinus celebrates a triumph after conquering the Vaccaei and Lusitani during his time as Roman commander in the province of Hispania Ulterior.

title: 178 BC

text: After two military campaigns, the Romans finally subdue the Illyrian tribe of the Histri.

title: 177 BC

text: The Roman general, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, subdues Sardinia, enslaving some of the population.

title: 176 BC

text: King Seleucus IV of Syria arranges for the exchange of his brother Antiochus for Demetrius, the son of Seleucus IV, who has been a hostage in Rome following the Treaty of Apamea in 188 BC. However, Seleucus IV is assassinated by his chief minister Heliodorus, who then seizes the Syrian throne.

title: 175 BC

text: Titus Quinctius Flamininus, Roman general and statesman whose skillful diplomacy has enabled him to establish a Roman protectorate over Greece (b. c. 227 BC) (approximate date)

title: 174 BC

text: Publius Aelius Paetus, Roman consul and censor

title: 174 BC

text: Antiochus IV pays the remainder of the war indemnity that has been imposed by the Romans on Antiochus III in the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC).

title: 173 BC

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum travels to Rome to warn the Roman Senate of the danger from Perseus of Macedon. On his return from Rome, Eumenes II is nearly killed at Delphi and Perseus is suspected of being the instigator.

title: 172 BC

text: Epirus joins Macedonia in the latter's fight against Rome. However, the leagues of southern Greece remain neutral.

title: 171 BC

text: In Thessaly, King Perseus of Macedon repulses a Roman army which is commanded by Aulus Hostilius Mancinus. Meanwhile, the Thracian city of Abdera is sacked by Roman and Pergamese troops.

title: 170 BC

text: Lucius Accius (or Lucius Attius), Roman tragic poet and literary scholar (d. c. 86 BC)

title: 170 BC

text: Macedonian forces led by Perseus of Macedon trap a Roman army led by Consul Quintus Marcius Phillipus near Tempe, but the Macedonians fail to take advantage of their resulting superior tactical position.

title: 169 BC

text: Quintus Ennius, Roman epic poet, dramatist, and satirist, the most influential of the early Latin poets – and often called the founder of Roman literature or the father of Roman poetry. His epic Annales, a poem telling the story of Rome from the wanderings of Aeneas to Ennius' own time, remains the national epic until it is later eclipsed by Virgil's Aeneid.

title: 169 BC

text: The king of Illyria, Gentius, is defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under Lucius Anicius Gallus and then brought to Rome as a captive to be interned in Iguvium. This loss removes Illyria as an important ally for Macedonia and effectively weakens Perseus of Macedon in his battle with Rome.

title: 168 BC

text: Private documents collected by the Romans when they capture Perseus of Macedon incriminate political leaders of the Achaean League. Many influential Greeks are deported to Rome.

title: 167 BC

text: Gaius Claudius Pulcher, Roman consul in 177 BC

title: 167 BC

text: The Roman playwright Terence's Andria (The Girl from Andros) is first performed.

title: 166 BC

text: The Roman playwright Terence's play Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law) is first performed.

title: 165 BC

text: The Egyptian King Ptolemy VI Philometor is expelled from Alexandria by his brother Ptolemy VIII Euergetes and flees to Rome to seek support.

title: 164 BC

text: The Roman playwright Terence's play Heauton Timorumenos ("The Self-Tormentor") is first performed.

title: 163 BC

text: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Roman politician, who, as a plebeian tribune, will cause political turmoil in the Republic through his attempts to legislate agrarian reforms; his political ideals will eventually lead to his death at the hands of supporters of the conservative faction (Optimates) of the Roman Senate (d. 132 BC)

title: 163 BC

text: The Roman playwright Terence's plays Eunuchus (The Eunuch) and Phormio are first performed.

title: 161 BC

text: The Roman playwright Terence's play Adelphoe (The Brothers) is first performed at the funeral of the Roman general, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus.

title: 160 BC

text: Gaius Laelius, Roman general and politician who was involved in Rome's victory during the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage (approximate date)

title: 160 BC

text: Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur, politician of the Roman Republic and an early authority on Roman law (d. 88 BC) (approximate date)

title: 159 BC

text: Publius Terentius Afer (Terence), Roman comic dramatist, the author of six verse comedies that are long regarded as models of pure Latin (b. c. 195 BC) (approximate date).

title: 159 BC

text: At the request of the Romans, Ariarathes V, king of Cappadocia, rejects a proposal from the Seleucid king, Demetrius I, for him to marry the sister of Demetrius I. In response, Seleucid forces attack Cappadocia and remove Ariarathes V from the Cappadocian throne. Demetrius I then replaces him with Orophernes Nicephorus, a supposed son of the late king, Ariarathes IV. With Ariarathes V deprived of his kingdom, he flees to Rome.

title: 158 BC

text: The Carthaginians, prevented by their treaty with Rome from engaging in armed resistance, but equally guaranteed against any loss of territory, appeal to Rome against the depredations of King Masinissa of Numidia. The Roman censor Marcus Porcius Cato heads a commission which arbitrates a truce between Carthage and her former ally, Masinissa.

title: 157 BC

text: Gaius Marius, Roman general, consul (approximate year) (d. 86 BC)

title: 157 BC

text: Under the command of Punicus and then Caesarus, the Lusitani, a Hispanic tribe, reach a point near modern day Gibraltar. Here they are defeated by the Roman praetor Lucius Mummius.

title: 155 BC

text: The Lusitanians harry the inhabitants of the Roman provinces in Hispania. At the same time, the Celtiberians of Numantia on the Douro revolt against their Roman occupation.

title: 154 BC

text: Lucius Aelius Stilo Praeconinus, Roman philologist (d. 74 BC)

title: 154 BC

text: Gaius Gracchus, Roman politician, younger brother of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who, like him, will pursue a popular political agenda that ultimately ends in his death (d. 121 BC)

title: 154 BC

text: The uprisings in Rome's Hispanic provinces oblige the year's consuls to take office earlier than the traditional date of 15 March, a change that becomes permanent. Some suggest that, as a consequence, January 1 becomes the first day of the Roman year.

title: 153 BC

text: Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman statesman, consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor; as a praetor, he has been governor of Sicily in 191 BC.

title: 152 BC

text: Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus, Roman jurist, son of Cato the Elder by his first wife, Licinia.

title: 152 BC

text: The Carthaginian debt to Rome is fully repaid, meaning that, according to Carthage, the treaty with Rome, which was put in place at the end of the Second Punic War, is no longer in force. The Romans do not agree with this interpretation. Instead they view the treaty as a permanent declaration of Carthaginian subordination to Rome.

title: 151 BC

text: At Polybius' request, Scipio Aemilianus manages to gain the support of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (whose son has married Scipio's sister Aemilia) for a proposal to release (and return to Greece) the 300 Achaean internees who are still being held without trial after being deported to Rome in 167 BC.

title: 151 BC

text: Scipio Aemilianus is sent by the Roman general, Lucius Licinius Lucullus, to Numidia to obtain some elephants from the Numidian king Masinissa, the friend of his grandfather Scipio Africanus. While there, he witnesses a great but indecisive battle between the Numidians and the Carthaginians. The latter then ask Scipio Aemilianus to arrange a settlement, but the negotiations break down.

title: 150 BC

text: The Third Punic War begins. The Romans land an army in Africa to begin the Battle of Carthage.

title: 149 BC

text: With the defeat of Andriscus in the Battle of Pydna by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, Macedon is reorganized as a Roman province by 146 BC.

title: 148 BC

text: Spring – Carthage falls to Roman forces under Scipio Aemilianus and the city is completely destroyed. End of the Third Punic War.

title: 146 BC

text: The Lusitanian War ends when the rebellion collapses after the assassination of Viriathus by a Roman agent.

title: 139 BC

text: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus the Roman tribune (assassination) (b. 168 BC)

title: 133 BC

text: The Kingdom of Pergamon becomes the Roman Province of Asia upon the defeat of Aristonicus, pretender to the Attalid throne, by M. Perperna.

title: 129 BC

text: Fregellae's revolt against Rome begins in Latium. Later the city is captured and destroyed by the Romans.

title: 124 BC

text: Gaius Gracchus elected Roman tribune for the first time. He waits until after his re-election the following year before pushing forward the various civil and agrarian reforms that his brother championed in 133 BC.

title: 123 BC

text: The Roman Senate passes the motion senatus consultum ultimum, which the consul Lucius Opimius interprets as giving him unlimited power to preserve the Republic. He gathers an armed force of Senators and their supporters to confront Gaius Gracchus. A pitched battle is fought inside Rome, resulting in the death of Gracchus and many of his followers.

title: 121 BC

text: The Teutons and the Cimbri migrate south and west to the Danube valley where they encounter the expanding Roman Republic (approximate date).

title: 120 BC

text: A Roman army under Marcus Junius Silanus is defeated by the Cimbri and Teutones near the river Rhône.

title: 109 BC

text: Roman forces under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus defeat the forces of Jugurtha of Numidia at the Battle of the Muthul, with Gaius Marius as a subordinate.

title: 108 BC

text: Cyrene is left to the people of the Roman Republic by its ruler Ptolemy Apion.

title: 96 BC

text: Pompeii is annexed by the Roman Republic.

title: 89 BC

text: The Social War ends with the defeat of the Italian allies by the Romans.

title: 88 BC

text: The Roman forces of Lucius Cornelius Sulla defeat the Pontic forces of Archelaus in the Battle of Chaeronea.

title: 86 BC

text: Lucius Licinius Murena, the Roman governor of Asia, clashes with the Pontic forces of Mithridates VI, starting the Second Mithridatic War.

title: 83 BC

text: Sulla is appointed dictator, executes his political enemies in a series of proscriptions, and implements aristocratic reforms to the Roman government.

title: 81 BC

text: On the Iberian Peninsula, in the Roman province of Hispania Citerior, the rebel forces of Quintus Sertorius defeat the republican army of Pompey the Great at the Battle of Lauron.

title: 76 BC

text: At the Battle of Saguntum the republican forces on the Iberian Peninsula and the Sertorian rebels fight each other to a draw. Quintus Sertorius is forced to withdraw leaving the battlefield to Pompey and Metellus (the republican commanders).

title: 75 BC

text: In the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior a republican army under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius defeats an army of Sertorian rebels at the Battle of Italica.

title: 75 BC

text: Nicomedes IV of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to Rome on his death (75/4 BC). Angered by the arrangement, Mithridates VI of Pontus declares war on Rome and invades Bithynia, Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, thus starting the Third Mithridatic War.

title: 75 BC

text: In the Roman province of Hispania Citerior an army of Sertorian rebels under Quintus Sertorius himself defeats a republican army under Pompey the Great at the Battle of Sucro.

title: 75 BC

text: In the Roman province of Hispania Citerior a republican army under Pompey the Great defeats an army of Sertorian rebels at the Battle of Valentia.

title: 75 BC

text: In Rome, the tribune Quintus Opimius speaks out against Sullan restrictions on the tribunate, in orations noted for sarcasm against conservatives.

title: 75 BC

text: Third Mithridatic War: Battle of Cyzicus: Roman forces under Lucius Lucullus defeat the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus.

title: 74 BC

text: Parthians and Romans re-establish Euphrates as a frontier.

title: 69 BC

text: October 6 – Roman Republic troops under Lucius Lucullus defeat the army of Tigranes II of Armenia in the Battle of Tigranocerta, and capture Tigranocerta, capital of Armenia.

title: 69 BC

text: Catiline accused of conspiring against the Roman Republic with Autronius and the younger Sulla (also in 63 BC during the consulship of Cicero).

title: 66 BC

text: Gaius Asinius Pollio, Roman orator, poet and historian (d. AD 4)

title: 65 BC

text: Pompey conquers the people of Phonecia, Coele-Syria, and Judea for the Roman Republic.

title: 63 BC

text: Second Catilinarian Conspiracy against the Roman Republic is foiled by Cicero.

title: 63 BC

text: The three Roman politician-generals of the First Triumvirate — Caesar, Pompey and Crassus — meet at the Luca Conference at the town of Luca (modern Lucca, in Tuscany), near Pisa, where they renewed their fraying political alliance, and further cemented the three men's increasing consolidation of power in the Roman Republic.

title: 56 BC

text: Mithridates IV, claimant to the throne of Parthia, supported by Aulus Gabinius, Roman governor of Syria, is defeated by Surena, general under Orodes, in the Battle of Seleucia.

title: 55 BC

text: The Roman Republic takes control of Judea (approximate date).

title: 50 BC

text: Treaty of Brundisium: The Triumvirs agrees to divide the Roman Republic into spheres of influence. Gaius Octavian styles himself "Imperator Caesar" and takes control of the Western provinces. Mark Antony is given the Eastern provinces; the River Drin, the boundary between the provinces Illyricum and Macedonia, is to serve as their frontier. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus controls Hispania and Africa. The treaty is cemented by the marriage of Antony and Octavia the Younger.

title: 40 BC

text: August 1 – Octavian Caesar captures Alexandria. This marks the official annexation of Ancient Egypt to the Roman Republic. Cleopatra evacuates her court and treasury to Berenice on the west coast of the Red Sea, but king Malchus of Nabatea attacks from the desert and burns the Egyptian ships.

title: 30 BC

text: Augustus initiates a census of the Roman Republic for the first time since 69 BC.

title: 28 BC

text: Augustus' first census of the Roman Empire (formerly the Roman Republic) reports a total of 4,063,000 citizens.

title: 27 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic/Empire

text: May 1 – Emperor Diocletian abdicates and retires to his palace at Salona (modern Split) on the Adriatic coast, after a reign of nearly 21 years, in which the last vestiges of republican government have disappeared.

title: 305

text: Spring – Italo-Norman forces under King Roger II of Sicily invade the Papal States to force Pope Lucius II to accept his truce, but the patrician Giordano Pierleoni, brother of the late Antipope Anacletus II, leads the Roman populace to proclaim a constitutional republic free of papal authority with regard to civil rule. Pierleoni takes over the papal capital, and establishes the Commune of Rome in the style of the old Roman Republic.

title: 1144

text: Spring – Arnold of Brescia, an Italian priest from Lombardy, turns Rome into a republic with a government patterned on that of the Roman Republic. Arnold becomes the intellectual leader of the Commune of Rome, calling for liberties and democratic rights after the deposition of Giordano Pierleoni.

title: 1145


slug: roman-senate

label: Roman Senate

description: political institution in ancient Rome

year_label: 459 BCE

text: The Aequi occupied Tusculum. In response to the threat, the Roman Senate decided to send an army to help the allied city, under the command of consul Lucius Cornelius Maluginensis. In addition, the consul Fabius Vibulanus, who was at that point besieging Antium, moved his forces to attack Tusculum. The Tusculans were able to recapture their city. A truce was then arranged with the Aequi.

title: 459 BC

year_label: 458 BCE

text: The Roman general Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is summoned by the Roman Senate to defend the city from attack by the approaching Aequi. He is named dictator of Rome for six months. He goes on to defeat the enemy in a single day at the Battle of Mount Algidus and celebrates a triumph in Rome. Sixteen days after the battle, he resigns his dictatorship and returns to his farm.

title: 458 BC

year_label: 312 BCE

text: The Roman censor, Appius Claudius Caecus, a patrician, enters office and begins construction of the Appian Way (the Via Appia) between Rome and Capua. He also embarks on a program of political reform, including the distribution of the landless citizens of Rome among the tribes, which at this time constitute basic political units. Appius also admits sons of freedmen into the Roman Senate. He also asserts the right of freed slaves to hold office.

title: 312 BC

year_label: 282 BCE

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: The Magna Graecia city of Thurii appeals to Rome for help against the native Italian tribes. Though the Roman Senate hesitates, the plebeian Assembly decides to respond. Thurii is saved, but Tarentum, jealous of Rome's interference, attacks and sinks some Roman ships entering its harbour. Roman envoys, sent to protest, are mistreated.

title: 282 BC

year_label: 258 BCE

text: Gaius Duilius Nepos, the Roman commander who has won a major naval victory over the Carthaginians is made censor with Lucius Cornelius Scipio. The election of a novus homo (i.e. the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or be elected as consul) to the censorship is a very rare honor.

title: 258 BC

year_label: 250 BCE

text: According to tradition (Horace, Odes, iii. 5), after the defeat of the Carthaginians at the Battle of Panormus, the Carthaginians release Marcus Atilius Regulus from prison and he is sent to Rome on parole to negotiate a peace or an exchange of prisoners. However, on his arrival, he strongly urges the Roman Senate to refuse both proposals and continue fighting. After this he then honours his parole by returning to Carthage where he is executed by being placed in a spiked barrel, which is then let roll down a hill.

title: 250 BC

year_label: 232 BCE

text: Despite the opposition of the Roman Senate and of his own father, the Roman political leader Gaius Flaminius wins the passage of a measure to distribute land among the plebeians. The Romans decide to parcel out land north of Rome (the Ager Gallicus) into small holdings for its poorer citizens whose farms have fallen into ruin during the First Punic War.

title: 232 BC

year_label: 229 BCE

text: The First Illyrian War started when the Roman Senate dispatched an army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus to Illyria. Rome forced the withdrawal of Illyrian garrisons in the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Pharos and establishes a protectorate over these Greek towns.

title: 229 BC

section: Events › By place › Illyria

year_label: 217 BCE

text: Gaius Flaminius' supporters in the Senate begin to lose power to the more aristocratic factions as the Romans fear Hannibal is about to besiege their city. The Senate appoint Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as dictator.

title: 217 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

text: Following the death of his father, Publius Cornelius Scipio, and his uncle, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, at the hands of the Carthaginians, the young Publius Cornelius Scipio takes over command of the Roman troops in Spain. His appointment reflects the Roman Senate's dissatisfaction with the cautious strategy of the propraetor, Gaius Claudius Nero, then commander in Spain north of the Ebro.

title: 210 BC

year_label: 205 BCE

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio boldly determines to disregard Hannibal in Italy and political opposition in the Roman Senate and rather decides to strike at the Carthaginian holdings in North Africa. Scipio crosses to Sicily with an army consisting partly of volunteers as the Roman Senate would not provide him with an army.

title: 205 BC

year_label: 199 BCE

text: Scipio Africanus becomes censor and princeps Senatus (the titular head of the Roman Senate).

title: 199 BC

year_label: 198 BCE

text: After his election to the consulship, Titus Quinctius Flamininus is chosen to replace Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus as the leading Roman general in Macedonia. He then crosses into Macedonia with his army. Flamininus realizes that future peace depends on breaking the power of king Philip V of Macedon, not merely humbling him. He secures the backing of the Achaean League and then opens peace negotiations with Philip at Nicaea in Locris. Though peace proposals are submitted to the Roman Senate, the talks break down, and fighting resumes.

title: 198 BC

year_label: 192 BCE

text: The Achaeans respond to Sparta's renewed interest in recovering lost territory by sending an envoy to Rome with a request for help. In response, the Roman Senate sends the praetor Atilius with a navy, as well as an embassy headed by Titus Quinctius Flamininus.

title: 192 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 191 BCE

text: Scipio Africanus persuades the Roman Senate to continue the war against Antiochus III by making him the chief commander and allowing him and his brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, to follow Antiochus into Anatolia.

title: 191 BC

year_label: 186 BCE

text: The rapid spread of the Bacchanalia cult throughout the Roman Republic, which, it is claimed, indulges in all kinds of crimes and political conspiracies at its nocturnal meetings, leads to the Roman Senate issuing a decree, the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, by which the Bacchanalia are prohibited throughout all Italy except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate.

title: 186 BC

year_label: 181 BCE

text: Pharnaces I of Pontus decides to attack both Eumenes II of Pergamum and Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and therefore invades Galatia with a large force. Eumenes leads an army to oppose him, however, hostilities are soon suspended following the arrival of Roman deputies, who have been appointed by the Roman Senate to inquire into the matters in dispute. Negotiations take place at Pergamum but are inconclusive, with Pharnaces' demands being rejected by the Romans as unreasonable. As a consequence, the war between Pontus and Pergamum and Cappadocia is renewed.

title: 181 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 175 BCE

text: During this period of uncertainty in Syria, the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy VI, lays claim to Coele Syria, Palestine, and Phoenicia, which the Seleucid king Antiochus III has previously conquered. Both the Syrian and Egyptian parties appeal to Rome for help, but the Roman Senate refuses to take sides.

title: 175 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 172 BCE

text: The peace treaty at the end of the Second Punic War requires that all border disputes involving Carthage be arbitrated by the Roman Senate and requires Carthage to get explicit Roman approval before going to war. As a result, envoys from Carthage appear before the Roman Senate to request resolution of a boundary dispute with Numidia. The dispute is decided in Numidia's favour.

title: 172 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

text: Eumenes II of Pergamum travels to Rome to warn the Roman Senate of the danger from Perseus of Macedon. On his return from Rome, Eumenes II is nearly killed at Delphi and Perseus is suspected of being the instigator.

title: 172 BC

year_label: 171 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The first Roman colony outside Italy is founded at Carteia in southern Hispania after Iberian-born descendants of Roman soldiers appear before the Roman Senate to request a town to live in and are given Carteia, which is named Colonia Libertinorum Carteia.

title: 171 BC

year_label: 167 BCE

text: On his way back to Rome, the Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paulus is ordered by the Roman Senate to inflict a brutal revenge on Epirus for being an ally of Macedonia. Seventy towns in Epirus are destroyed, and at least 100,000 citizens are sold into slavery. These actions take place despite the fact that Epirus has not aided Perseus in his war with Rome.

title: 167 BC

year_label: 163 BCE

text: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Roman politician, who, as a plebeian tribune, will cause political turmoil in the Republic through his attempts to legislate agrarian reforms; his political ideals will eventually lead to his death at the hands of supporters of the conservative faction (Optimates) of the Roman Senate (d. 132 BC)

title: 163 BC

year_label: 161 BCE

text: Envoys of Judas Maccabeus conclude a treaty of friendship with the Roman Senate.

title: 161 BC

section: Events › by side › Roman Republic

text: Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, now king of Cyrenaica, convinces the Roman Senate to back his claim for control of Cyprus, but the Egyptian king Ptolemy VI Philometor ignores this threat, and after Ptolemy VIII Euergetes' attempt to conquer the island fails, the Roman Senate disengages from the dispute.

title: 161 BC

section: Events › by side › Egypt

year_label: 160 BCE

text: Demetrius I defeats and kills the rebel general Timarchus and is recognized as king of the Seleucid empire by the Roman Senate. Demetrius acquires his surname of Soter (meaning Saviour) from the Babylonians, for delivering them from the tyranny of Timarchus. The Seleucid empire is temporarily united again.

title: 160 BC

year_label: 150 BCE

text: Nicomedes, the son of king Prusias II of Bithynia, who has been sent to Rome to argue for smaller reparations arising from his father's unsuccessful war against Pergamum, gains the support of the Roman Senate to the point where Prusias sends an emissary with secret orders to assassinate Nicomedes. However, the emissary reveals the plot to Nicomedes and persuades him to rebel against his father.

title: 150 BC

text: The Roman Senate shows displeasure with Carthage's decision to wage war against its neighbour without Roman consent, and tells Carthage that in order to avoid a war it has to "satisfy the Roman People". The Roman censor, Cato the Elder, urges the destruction of Carthage and the Roman Senate orders the gathering of an army.

title: 150 BC

year_label: 133 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, is elected tribune of the people. He attempts to pass a law to redistribute the public land to benefit small landowners. Opposed by wealthier factions in the Roman Senate, he is killed by a group of senators and their followers that same year.

title: 133 BC

year_label: 131 BCE

text: The Roman censor Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus attempts to remove the tribune Gaius Atinius Labeo Macerio from the Senate, the angry Atinius drags him to be thrown off the Tarpeian Rock, and Metellus is only saved by the intervention of other senators.

title: 131 BC

year_label: 121 BCE

text: The Roman Senate passes the motion senatus consultum ultimum, which the consul Lucius Opimius interprets as giving him unlimited power to preserve the Republic. He gathers an armed force of Senators and their supporters to confront Gaius Gracchus. A pitched battle is fought inside Rome, resulting in the death of Gracchus and many of his followers.

title: 121 BC

year_label: 112 BCE

text: The Roman Senate declares war against Jugurtha following the Siege of Cirta (ends 105 BC).

title: 112 BC

year_label: 111 BCE

text: Jugurtha, king of Numidia, bribes the commander Lucius Calpurnius Bestia and Roman friends to secure easy terms. He is given a safe conduct to Rome in order to account for his actions in the Roman Senate. Jugurtha contemptuously bribes his way through all difficulties.

title: 111 BC

text: A decree of the Roman Senate bans human sacrifices.

title: 97 BC

text: The Senate sends Publius Servilius Vatia to Cilicia as governor, where he fights a successful campaign against the Piracy in southern Anatolia (Lycia, Pamphylia and Isauria), he is thereafter known by the agnomen Isauricus.

title: 78 BC

text: Nicomedes IV, last king of Bithynia bequeaths his kingdom to the Roman Senate upon his death (75/4 BC)

title: 74 BC

text: Autumn – Spartacus and his followers withdraw to the Bruttium peninsula. At one juncture he contemplates attacking Rome – but moves south. The Senate sends Marcus Licinius Crassus against Spartacus.

title: 72 BC

text: In response to the illegal exercise of citizen rights by foreigners, the Roman Senate passes the Lex Papia, which expels all foreigners from Rome

title: 65 BC

text: The Senate recalls Julius Caesar and rescinds his authority. Caesar breaks alliance with Pompey.

title: 50 BC

text: January 1 – The Roman Senate receives a proposal from Julius Caesar that he and Pompey should lay down their commands simultaneously. The Senate responds that Caesar must immediately surrender his command.

title: 49 BC

section: Events › By place and Date › Roman Republic

text: April 20 – Cicero, in Rome, writes to Varro "If our voices are no longer heard in the Senate and in the Forum, let us follow the example of the ancient sages and serve our country through our writings, concentrating on questions of ethics and constitutional law."

title: 46 BC

text: March 15 (the Ides of March) – Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is assassinated by a group of senators, amongst them Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Caesar's Massilian naval commander, Decimus Brutus.

title: 44 BC

text: Consuls: Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Aulus Hirtius. The Roman Senate confirms Octavian as propraetor with joint responsibility for the campaign against Antony. Hirtius and Octavian mobilize troops for the march to Mutina, while Pansa continues the levy. Embassy dispatched to treat with Antony.

title: 43 BC

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes consul for the second time. His partner is Lucius Volcatius Tullus. Octavian delivers a speech; de summa Republica in the Roman Senate, in which he subjects the Donations.

title: 33 BC

text: July – The Roman Senate declares war upon Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Octavian Caesar is proclaimed dux and the West - Gallic and Spanish provinces, Africa, Sicily and Sardinia - swear an oath (sacramentum) of loyalty to him. In order to assure this oath, Octavian forces the high priest of the Vestal Virgins in Rome to hand over Antony's will, which contains information about the Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms and plans to build a tomb in Alexandria for him and Cleopatra.

title: 32 BC

text: The Roman Senate grants Octavian Caesar imperium maius (supreme command) of the Roman armed forces (Around 28 legions).

title: 28 BC

text: January 16 – Octavian formally returns full power to the Senate; they give him the titles of Princeps and Augustus. He accepts this honor, having declined the alternative title of Romulus, thus becoming first Roman emperor.

title: 27 BC

text: The Ara Pacis Augustae ("Altar of Augustan Peace") is commissioned by the Roman Senate to honor the triumphal return of Emperor Augustus from Hispania and Gaul.

title: 13 BC

text: January 30 – The Ara Pacis ("Altar of Augustan Peace"), which was voted for by the Senate four years earlier, is dedicated.

title: 0s BC

text: Sextilis, the eighth month of the early Julian calendar, is renamed Augustus (August) by a decree of the Roman Senate in honor of Augustus.

title: 0s BC

text: February 5 – Augustus is proclaimed pater patriae ("father of the country") by the Roman Senate. This bestowed title is the logical consequence and final proof of Augustus' supreme position as princeps, the first in charge over the Roman state.

title: 0s BC

text: The Senate passes a senatus consultum restricting the reduced Vigintisexviri to the Ordo Equester.

title: 10s

text: In Rome, the election of magistrates passes from the people to the Emperor and the Senate.

title: 10s

text: Emperor Tiberius is forced to order an investigation and a public trial in the Roman Senate, for the murder of Germanicus. Fearing he will be found guilty, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso commits suicide.

title: 20s

text: Lucius Aelius Sejanus begins to dominate the Roman Senate and Tiberius, after the death of Drusus.

title: 20s

text: The Senate expels actors from Rome.

title: 20s

text: March 18 – The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius's will, and proclaims Caligula as Roman Emperor, nullifying the joint claim of Tiberius Gemellus. Caligula's attempt to have himself deified creates friction between himself and the Senate.

title: 30s

text: January 25 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as emperor by the Senate.

title: 40s

text: The Senate holds consultations regarding real estate speculation in Rome.

title: 40s

text: Gallic nobles are admitted to the Roman Senate. Claudius grants the rights of citizenship to the Aedui.

title: 40s

text: Agrippina the Younger charges Octavia's first fiancé, Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, with incest. He is brought before the Senate, and sentenced to death.

title: 40s

text: Claudius secures a senatorial decree that gives jurisdiction in financial cases to imperial procurators. This marks a significant strengthening of imperial powers at the expense of the Senate.

title: 50s

text: Envoys from Cilicia come to Rome to accuse their late governor, Cossutianus Capito, of extortion; the Roman Senate is supported in the case by Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus.

title: 50s

text: Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus retires from the Roman Senate. He openly shows his disgust at the behaviour of Nero regarding the murder of Agrippina.

title: 50s

text: June 9 – The Roman Senate accepts Servius Sulpicius Galba, as Roman Emperor.

title: AD 68

text: June 23 – Emperor Vespasian dies of fever from diarrhea; his last words on his deathbed are: "I think I'm turning into a god." Titus succeeds his father as Roman emperor. Titus' Jewish mistress, Berenice, comes to join him in Rome, but he exiles her to please the Senate.

title: AD 79

text: September 14 – Domitian succeeds his brother Titus as emperor. Domitian is not a soldier like his two predecessors, and his administration is directed towards the reinforcement of a monarchy. By taking the title of Dominus ("lord"), he scandalizes the senatorial aristocracy. Romanisation progresses in the provinces, and life in the cities is greatly improved. Many provincials – Spanish, Gallic, and African – become Senators.

title: AD 81

text: Domitian appoints himself censor for life, which gives him the right to control the Senate. His totalitarian tendencies put the senatorial aristocracy firmly in opposition to him.

title: AD 85

text: Sextus Julius Sparsus gains power in the Roman Senate (approximate date).

title: AD 87

text: Emperor Domitian rebuilds and rededicates the Curia Julia (meeting place of the Roman Senate), which had burned down in AD 64.

title: AD 94

text: Domitian executes senators out of paranoiac fears that they are plotting to kill him.

title: AD 95

text: Nerva is declared emperor by the Roman Senate as the new ruler of the Roman Empire. He recalls citizens exiled by Domitian; this is the beginning of the Era of the Five Good Emperors. The Antonines Dynasty starts.

title: AD 96

text: Trajan sends laureatae to the Roman Senate on account of his victories and being conqueror of Parthia.

title: AD 116

text: Plot of the consuls: Hadrian executes four senators, all former consuls, who had been shown to have plotted against him. His relations with the Senate are strained.

title: AD 118

text: Reorganization of the Imperial Council: Central administration is reinforced, and administrative positions are entrusted to knights, according to a very strict hierarchy. Under the reorganization, the Roman Senate is excluded from controlling the business of state.

title: AD 131

text: Antoninus Pius succeeds Hadrian as Roman Emperor, and asks the Senate to confer divine honors for Hadrian.

title: AD 138

text: Marcus Aurelius, a Spaniard like Trajan and Hadrian, is a stoical disciple of Epictetus, and an energetic man of action. He pursues the policy of his predecessor and maintains good relations with the Senate. As a legislator, he endeavors to create new principles of morality and humanity, particularly favoring women and slaves.

title: AD 161

text: Avidius Cassius fails in seeking support for his rebellion and is assassinated by Roman officers. They sent his head to Aurelius, who persuades the Senate to pardon Cassius's family.

title: AD 175

text: Emperor Commodus escapes death at the hands of assassins, who have attacked him at the instigation of his sister Lucilla and a large group of senators. He puts many distinguished Romans to death on charges of being implicated in the conspiracy; Lucilla is exiled to Capri.

title: AD 182

text: December 31 – Emperor Commodus alarms the Senate, by appearing dressed as a gladiator for his new consulship on January 1. His mistress Marcia finds her name on the imperial execution list, and hires champion wrestler Narcissus to assassinate Commodus; the Antonines Dynasty ends.

title: AD 192

text: January 1 – Year of the Five Emperors: The Roman Senate chooses Publius Helvius Pertinax, against his will, to succeed the late Commodus as Emperor. Pertinax is forced to reorganize the handling of finances, which were wrecked under Commodus, to reestablish discipline in the Roman army, and to suspend the food programs established by Trajan, provoking the ire of the Praetorian Guard.

title: AD 193

text: Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 195

text: Septimius Severus returns to Rome and has about 30 of Albinus's supporters in the Senate executed. After his victory he declares himself the adopted son of the late Marcus Aurelius.

title: AD 197

text: February 4 – Emperor Septimius Severus, having fallen ill, dies in Eboracum (modern-day York) while on campaign in Britain after an 18-year reign. He is later deified by the Senate. His sons Caracalla and Geta succeed him as joint Roman emperors.

title: 211

text: Alexander Severus succeeds Elagabalus. He is only 13 years old; his mother, Julia Avita Mamaea, governs the Roman Empire with the help of Domitius Ulpianus and a council composed of 16 senators.

title: 222

text: The Roman Senate appoints a twenty-man committee to co-ordinate operations against Maximinus.

title: 236

text: Emperor Maximinus Thrax campaigns on the rivers Danube and Rhine in Germania, defeating the Alemanni, and never visits Rome. He is accepted by the Roman Senate, but taxes the rich aristocracy heavily, and engenders such hostility among them, that they plot against him. He had a road rebuilt in what is now the Golan Heights, between 236 and 237.

title: 237

text: Philip the Arab is recognized by the Roman Senate as the new Roman Emperor with the honorific Augustus. He nominates his son Philippus, age 6, with the title of Caesar and makes him heir to the throne; gives his brother Priscus supreme power (rector Orientis) in the Eastern provinces; and begins construction of the city of Shahba (Syria) in the province of his birth.

title: 244

text: Aemilianus is proclaimed "enemy of the State" by the Roman Senate. Trebonianus Gallus is defeated at Interamna Nahars (Umbria); he flees with Volusianus to the north, but at Foligno they are killed by their own troops.

title: 253

text: November/December – Marcus Claudius Tacitus is proclaimed Emperor by the imperial field army (other sources give him as proclaimed September 25 by the Senate). His half brother Marcus Annius Florianus becomes praetorian prefect.

title: 275

text: Florianus becomes Roman Emperor with the support of the Senate, but a general in the east, Marcus Aurelius Probus, usurps power against him. Florianus breaks off his campaign against the Goths and marches east from the Bosporus with support from the Roman legions in Britain, Gaul, Spain and Italy.

title: 276

text: Probus enters Rome, to have his position as Emperor ratified by the Senate.

title: 277

text: October 28 – Maxentius, son of former Western Emperor Maximian, leads a revolt by the Praetorian Guard and members of the Senate in Rome, and is proclaimed Emperor. Southern Italy supports Maxentius, as do Africa, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. Maxentius recalls Maximian from retirement, who joins his son in Rome.

title: 306

text: April 28 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnentius. He address the Senate and the Roman people.

title: 357

text: Emperor Gratian refuses the divine attributes of the Imperial cult and removes the Altar of Victory from the Senate.

title: 382

text: September – Rex Alaric I of the Visigoths crosses the Julian Alps with an army of 30,000 men, and marches into the Roman heartland. He lays siege to Rome, and Gothic auxiliaries desert to join Alaric's forces. After much bargaining, the Senate agrees to pay him a ransom of 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, and 3,000 hides dyed scarlet.

title: 408

text: The Visigothic king Alaric I lays siege to Rome a second time, bringing the inhabitants close to starvation. Emperor Honorius, safe in inaccessible Ravenna, refuses to negotiate for peace, despite repeated offers from Alaric, who then comes to terms with the Senate and sets up a rival emperor, Priscus Attalus, prefect (praefectus urbi) of the city.

title: 409

text: Following the defeat of Constantine III, the Burgundians and the Gallic nobility proclaim Jovinus, Gallo-Roman senator, emperor of the Western Roman Empire at Mogontiacum (modern Mainz).

title: AD 411

text: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), returns as triumphator back to Rome, after several years' fighting the Burgundians and Visigoths in Gaul. He is honoured by a statue erected by the Senate, and by order of Emperor Valentinian III.

title: 440

text: The Huns, on a military campaign along the Danube and the Great Morava, destroy the city of Naissus (modern Serbia). They have mastered siege technology and are able to capture fortified cities. The Roman Senate agrees to pay Attila a tribute of 700 pounds of gold per year.

title: AD 442

text: Bishop Germanus of Auxerre visits Ravenna, seeking to soften imperial hostility towards the Bagaudae. On his arrival at the capital, empress-mother Galla Placidia sends him a silver dish with a choice selection of prepared dainties—all vegetarian, out of respect for the bishop's strict diet. Germanus petitions the Senate for leniency for the citizens of Armorica (Brittany).

title: 446

text: March 17 – Petronius Maximus, former domesticus ("elite bodyguard") of Aetius, becomes (with support of the Roman Senate) emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He secures the throne by bribing officials of the imperial palace. Maximus consolidates his power by a forced marriage with Licinia Eudoxia, widow of Valentinian III.

title: 455

text: Summer – Capua is destroyed by the Vandals. Ricimer is unable to end piracy in the western Mediterranean. Backed by his popularity, he gains the consent of the Senate for an expedition against Avitus.

title: 456

text: November 19 – Libius Severus, Roman senator from Lucania, is declared emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

title: 461

text: Glycerius is exiled to Dalmatia (Balkans) and becomes bishop of Salona. Neither the Senate nor the Gallo-Roman aristocracy decide to resist, and Nepos accepts the imperial purple.

title: 474

text: The Roman Senate petitions Zeno to recognize Nepos as deposed and take the sole emperorship himself, abolishing the 81-year-long east/west division of the empire and recognizing Odoacer's authority in Italy. Zeno declines the first request, but names Odoacer Patricius, investing his rule with Imperial legitimacy.

title: 476

text: December 9 – Odoacer occupies Dalmatia and prosecutes Nepos's killers. He later establishes his political power with the co-operation of the Roman Senate.

title: 480

text: The Roman Senate sends an embassy to Constantinople, with a gift (3,000 pounds of gold) to Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, along with a plea for help against the Lombards.

title: 580

text: March – Pope Stephen VII dies after a three-year reign. He is succeeded by John XI (at the age of 20) as the 125th pope of the Catholic Church. His mother Marozia is the powerful senatrix and patricia of Rome.

title: 931

text: Fall – Otto III makes Rome the administrative capital of the Holy Roman Empire and begins the construction of his imperial palace on the Palatine Hill. He restores the ancient Roman Senate to its position of prominence and adopts the title of "Emperor of the Romans". To this Otto adds the apostolic devotion formula servus Jesu Christi ('Servant of Jesus Christ').

title: 998


slug: roman-triumph

label: Roman triumph

description: Ancient Roman ceremony

year_label: 509 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Forces of Veii and Tarquinii, led by the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, are defeated in the Battle of Silva Arsia by the Roman army. Consul Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first republican triumph on March 1.

title: 509 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 458 BCE

text: The Roman general Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is summoned by the Roman Senate to defend the city from attack by the approaching Aequi. He is named dictator of Rome for six months. He goes on to defeat the enemy in a single day at the Battle of Mount Algidus and celebrates a triumph in Rome. Sixteen days after the battle, he resigns his dictatorship and returns to his farm.

title: 458 BC

year_label: 155 BCE

text: As part of the Roman efforts to fully conquer and occupy the whole of Illyria, a Roman army under consul Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum attacks the Dalmatians for the first time and conquers the Dalmatian capital of Delminium. As a result, the Dalmatians are compelled to pay tribute to Rome, which puts an end to the first Dalmatian war. In recognition of his victory, Corculum is granted a triumph in Rome.

title: 155 BC

year_label: 129 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: C. Sempronius Tuditanus celebrates his triumph over the Iapydes of Illyria.

title: 129 BC

section: Events › By place › The Roman Republic

year_label: 104 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Rome enacts a state of emergency, as the way to Italy lays open to the Germanic invaders. Gaius Marius, the conqueror of Jugurtha, is elected consul for the second time. He celebrates his triumph over Jugurtha, who is led in the procession and thrown into the Tullianum where he dies of starvation.

title: 104 BC

year_label: 63 BCE

section: Culture & Society

text: Lucullus holds a triumph, then retires from war and politics to live a life of refined luxury.

title: 63 BC

year_label: 61 BCE

text: Pompey returns to Rome with a triumph in honor of his for victories in the eastern provinces.

title: 61 BC

year_label: 46 BCE

text: Caesar celebrates his Gallic Triumph, after which Vercingetorix is executed. The celebrations run for forty days in Rome, and include public banquets, plays and gladiatorial games.

title: 46 BC

text: Vercingetorix, Gaulish king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe (executed at the end of a triumph)

title: 46 BC

year_label: 30 BCE

text: The remaining children of Cleopatra are spared by Octavian and taken back in triumph; Octavia Minor raises Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene and Ptolemy Philadelphus in her household in Rome.

title: 30 BC

year_label: 29 BCE

text: Octavian celebrates, in Rome, three triumphs on consecutive days (August 13, August 14, and August 15) to commemorate his victories in Illyricum, Actium and Egypt.

title: 29 BC

year_label: 19 BCE

section: Religion & Belief

text: In Rome, Lucius Cornelius Balbus receives the honor of a triumph on the Forum Romanum, for his victories over the Garamantes in Africa.

title: 19 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

year_label: 13 BCE

text: The Ara Pacis Augustae ("Altar of Augustan Peace") is commissioned by the Roman Senate to honor the triumphal return of Emperor Augustus from Hispania and Gaul.

title: 13 BC

year_label: 17 CE

date: May 26

text: May 26 – Germanicus returns to Rome as a conquering hero; he celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti and other Germanic tribes west of the Elbe.

title: 10s

section: Events › 17 AD › Roman Empire

year_label: 44 CE

text: Emperor Claudius returns from his British campaign in triumph, the south-east part of Britannia now held by the Roman Empire, but the war will rage for another decade and a half.

title: 40s

section: Timeline › AD 44

year_label: 51 CE

text: The captured Caratacus is exhibited in chains in Claudius' triumph in Rome, but his dignified demeanour persuades the emperor to spare his life and allow his family to live free in the capital for a short period of time.

title: 50s

section: Events › 51 AD › Britain

year_label: 71 CE

text: Titus is awarded with a triumph, accompanied by Vespasian and his brother Titus Flavius Domitian. In the parade are Jewish prisoners and treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem, including the Menorah and the Pentateuch. The leader of the Zealots, Simon Bar Giora, is lashed and strangled in the Forum.

title: AD 71

year_label: 84 CE

text: Emperor Domitian recalls Agricola back to Rome, where he is rewarded with a triumph and the governorship of the Roman province of Africa, but he declines it.

title: AD 84

date: December 23

text: December 23 – Marcus Aurelius and Commodus enter Rome after a campaign north of the Alps, and receive a triumph for their victories over the Germanic tribes.

title: AD 176

text: Emperor Alexander Severus celebrates a triumph in Rome to observe his "victory" the previous year over the Persians (in reality, Severus Alexander advanced towards Ctesiphon in 233, but as corroborated by Herodian, his armies suffered a humiliating defeat against Ardashir I). He is soon summoned to the Rhine frontier, where the Alamanni invade what is now modern-day Swabia. German tribes destroy Roman forts, and plunder the countryside at the Limes Germanicus.

title: 233

text: Rome greets Aurelian as Restitutor Orbis ("Restorer of the World") and accords him a magnificent triumph (victory procession), which is graced by his captives Zenobia, Tetricus I, and his son Tetricus II.

title: 274

text: Emperor Probus returns to Rome, where he celebrates his triumph over the Vandals and the usurpers (Bonosus, Julius Saturninus and Proculus).

title: 281

text: Eutropius, Roman general (magister militum), celebrates his victory over the Huns ("the wolves of the North") in a parade through Constantinople (see 395).

title: 398

text: Emperor Honorius and Stilicho are honored with a triumphal march, for the victories against the Goths and Vandals. This becomes the last victory celebrated in Rome.

title: 403

text: Priscus Attalus, Roman usurper, is forced to participate in a triumph celebrated by Emperor Honorius, in the streets of Rome. After the festivities, he is exiled to the Lipari Islands (north of Sicily).

title: 416

title: 440

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Summer – Belisarius arrives in Constantinople and is permitted by Emperor Justinian I to celebrate a triumph, the first non-imperial triumph for over 500 years. In the procession the spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem and the Vandal treasure are paraded.

title: 534

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: May

text: May – In Constantinople and throughout the Byzantine Empire, Michael II celebrates the festival of Triumph to mark his return to the capital after defeating the rebellion of Thomas the Slav

title: 824

section: Events › By date


slug: roman-usurper

label: Roman usurper

description: usurpers of the Roman Empire

section: Births

text: Avidius Cassius, Roman general and usurper (d. 175)

title: AD 130

text: Gaius Petronius Magnus, Roman consul and usurper

title: 235

text: Roman usurper Proculus starts a rebellion at Lugdunum (Lyon, France), and proclaims himself emperor.

title: 280

title: 281

date: June 30

text: June 30 – Nepotianus, Roman usurper;

title: 350

text: Emperor Valentinian I is engaged in operations against the Alamanni, Quadi and Sarmatians, while his subordinates are dealing with the Roman usurper Firmus in Africa and the Picts in Britain.

title: 372

text: Gratian, age 16, takes over the government at Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), but ministers wishing to retain the loyalty of the Illyrian army fear a usurper. They proclaim Valentinian's 4-year-old son Valentinian II co-emperor with his mother, Justina, as regent. Gratian reserves for himself the administration of the Gallic provinces, and hands over Italy, Illyrium, Hispania and Africa to his stepmother, who makes Mediolanum (Milan) her residence.

title: 375

date: September 6

text: September 6 – Eugenius, Roman usurper

title: 394

text: Gratian, Roman usurper, is installed as emperor after the death of Marcus. According to Orosius, he is a native Briton of the urban aristocracy.

title: 407

text: King Ataulf leads the Goths into Gaul at the instigation of Honorius, who promises to recognise a Visigothic Kingdom if he defeats the several usurpers who threaten the Roman Empire.

title: AD 411

date: September 18

text: September 18 – Constantine III, Roman usurper

title: AD 411

text: Roman civil war: Summer – Joannes, Roman usurper, is defeated at the fortified city of Ravenna and brought to Aquileia. After a humiliating parade on a donkey and the insults of the populace, he is executed.

title: 425

text: Romanus, Roman usurper in the West Roman Empire (executed)

title: 470

text: The Visigoths capture the city of Dertosa in Catalonia. They arrest and execute the Roman usurper Peter, sending his head as a trophy to Zaragoza (Spain).

title: 506