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Rome

capital and largest city of Italy

470 dated entries naming Rome, drawn from 442 separate years between 771 BCE and 1998 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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8th century BC

  • 771 BCE771 BC—Traditional birth date of Romulus and Remus, Romulus as the traditional founder of Rome (according to Plutarch, possibly mythical).source
  • 713 BCE713 BC—Numa Pompilius, King of Rome, reforms the Roman calendar, introducing January and February and adding 5 days to the calendar.source

7th century BC

  • 673 BCETullus Hostilius becomes the third king of Rome.source
  • 640 BCEThe interregnum in Rome ends. Ancus Marcius becomes the fourth king of Romesource
  • 616 BCELucius Tarquinius Priscus becomes the legendary fifth king of Rome.source
  • 616 BCEAncus Marcius, legendary fourth king of Rome (or 617 BC)source

6th century BC

  • 600 BCEThe Etruscans seize possession of Rome, making it into a prosperous trade center. (approximate date)source
  • 575 BCETemples and public buildings start appearing in Rome. The main temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus is built.source
  • 509 BCESeptember 13—The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September.source
  • 508 BCEThe office of rex sacrorum is created in Rome to carry out the religious duties formerly held by the kings.source

5th century BC

  • 500 BCEThe She-wolf, with late 15th century or early 16th century additions (twins), is made. It is now kept at the Museo Capitolino in Rome (approximate date).source
  • 500 BCEVulca makes Apollo of Veii, from Portonaccio Temple, now kept at Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome.source
  • 495 BCEA temple is built on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills, in Rome, in honour of the god Mercury and was dedicated on 15 May.source
  • 494 BCEAt the end of the military campaigns, the plebs retire to the Sacred Mountain outside Rome in the Secession of the Plebs. To end the secession, the plebeians gain acceptance from the patricians that they may choose two leaders to whom they give the title of Tribunes. The office of the tribunate is thereby established.source
  • 460 BCEConflicts arise between the Roman patricians and plebeians. There is also a revolt by Rome's slaves. During the revolt, the Campidoglio is held by the slaves for a lengthy period, along with the most important temples of Rome. It is during this revolt that consul Publius Valerius Publicola dies. The revolt only ends with the arrival of an army from Tusculum, led by Tusculan dictator Lucius Mamilius. Meanwhile, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is appointed as consul to replace Publicola.source
  • 458 BCEThe 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.source
  • 454 BCEThe Roman Plebs, suffering from a number of economic and financial ills, force the city’s patricians to begin the reform and codification of the law. As a first act, a three-man commission is sent to Athens to study that city's laws.source
  • 451 BCEFollowing the report of a three-man commission into the design of Roman law, the patricians set up in Rome a Board of Ten, the Decemviri. The first Decemviri, composed entirely of patricians is led by consuls Appius Claudius Crassus and Titus Genucius Augurinus. The first ten codes of the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables are completed by the first Decemvirate.source
  • 450 BCEMyron makes a bronze statue called The Discus Thrower (Discobolus). A Roman copy is now kept at Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome (approximate date).source
  • 445 BCEA new law, the Lex Canuleia removes the ban on inter-marriage of the Roman classes, i.e. plebeian with patrician.source
  • 443 BCENo consuls are elected in Rome, but rather military tribunes with consular power are appointed in their stead. While only patricians could be consuls, some military tribunes were plebeians. These positions had responsibility for the census, a vital function in the financial administration of Rome. So to stop the plebeians from possibly gaining control of the census, the patricians remove from the consuls and tribunes the right to take the census, and rather entrust it to two magistrates, called censores who were to be chosen exclusively from the patricians in Rome.source
  • 439 BCESpurius Maelius, a wealthy Roman plebeian, tries to buy popular support with the aim of making himself king. During the severe famine affecting Rome, he buys up a large store of grain and sells it at a low price to the people of Rome – the first time this had been done in Rome. This leads Lucius Minucius, the patrician praefectus annonae ("president of the market"), to accuse Maelius of seeking to take over the government.source

4th century BC

  • 390 BCEJuly 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.source
  • 387 BCERome begins to rebuild after being invaded by the Gauls under Brennus.source
  • 381 BCEThe district of Tusculum is pacified after a revolt against Rome, and then conquered. After an expression of complete submission to Rome, Tusculum becomes the first "municipium cum suffragio", and thenceforth the city continues to hold the rank of a municipium.source
  • 379 BCERome sends colonists to Setia, the inhabitants complain that their numbers are too small. Publius and Gaius Manlius are assigned to the Volsicans for campaign. A defeat follows for the Romans after having been attacked in their camp and foraging parties being killed. The Roman soldiers do not waver even when they have no leader. A dictator is soon afterwards requested but the Volsicans do not know how to follow up a victory. At the end of the year the Parenestines inspire the Latin peoples to revolt.source
  • 367 BCEDuring the ten-year period that Gaius Licinius (Calvus) Stolo is tribune in Rome (376 BC to 367 BC) he does much to reduce the enmity between patricians and plebs by reforming a number of laws. During his term, he proposes the Lex Licinia Sextia, which restores the consulship to the plebs, requires a plebeian consul seat, limits the amount of public land that one person can hold, and regulates debts. The patricians oppose these laws, though they are now finally passed and take effect from 366 BC.source
  • 367 BCEThe temple to Concordia on the Forum Romanum in Rome is built by Marcus Furius Camillus.source
  • 365 BCEEtruscan actors stage the first theatrical performances in Rome.source
  • 360 BCEThe Gauls again reach the gates of Rome, but are beaten back.source
  • 350 BCEPraxiteles makes the Aphrodite of Knidos (approximate date). A composite of two similar Roman copies after the original marble is now kept at Musei Vaticani, Museo Pio Clementino, Gabinetto delle Maschere in Rome.source
  • 330 BCEThe Italian cities of Fondi and Privernum, led by Vitruvius Vaccus, launch a failed revolt against Rome.source
  • 330 BCELysippos makes a bronze statue called The scraper (Apoxyomenos) (approximate date). A Roman copy after the original statue is today kept at Musei Vaticani in Rome.source
  • 312 BCEThe 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.source

3rd century BC

  • 296 BCEThe temple to Bellona is erected at the south end of the prata Flaminia, later the Circus Flaminius, in Rome.source
  • 264 BCEThe temple to Vertumnus is built on the Aventine Hill in Rome.source
  • 220 BCEA bronze statue called Gallic Chieftain killing his wife and himself is made (approximate date). A Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome.source
  • 220 BCEA bronze statue called Dying Gallic trumpeter is made (possibly by Epigonus) (230-220 BC). A marble Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Capitolino in Rome.source

2nd century BC

  • 162 BCEWith the aid of the Greek statesman and historian Polybius, the son of the former Seleucid king Seleucus IV Philopator, Demetrius escapes from Rome, where he has been held as a hostage for many years, and returns to Syria to claim the throne from his cousin Antiochus V. In the resulting dispute, Antiochus V and his regent, Lysias, are overthrown and put to death. Demetrius then establishes himself on the Seleucid throne.source
  • 151 BCEAt 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.source
  • 147 BCEIn Lusitania, Hispania, the Celtic king Viriathus, rallies Lusitanian resistance to Rome.source
  • 144 BCEQuintus Marcius Rex starts construction of the Aqua Marcia aqueduct in Rome.source
  • 121 BCEThe 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.source
  • 111 BCEThe city of Rome is devastated by fire.source
  • 105 BCEAt Rome, the first official gladiator match is demonstrated by gladiators from Capua, as part of a training program for the military.source
  • 104 BCEJugurtha, king of Numidia (execution by Rome) (b. c. 160 BC)source

1st century BC

  • 92 BCEIn the first diplomatic contact between Rome and Parthia, Sulla meets with a Parthian envoy, resulting in the parties recognizing the Euphrates as a common frontier.source
  • 78 BCEIn Rome, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus becomes consul. He attempts to undermine the Sullan reforms, quarrels with his consular colleague, is sent to govern Transalpine Gaul, and initiates a rebellion against the Senate with his army there.source
  • 77 BCEMarcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman proconsul of Transalpine Gaul and leader of the Populares faction in the senate, is defeated by Quintus Lutatius Catulus at the Milvian bridge outside Rome. The remnants of the rebels are wiped out by Pompey in Etruria.source
  • 70 BCEAugust – In Rome, Cicero prosecutes former governor Verres; Verres exiles himself to Marseille before the trial is over.source
  • 66 BCECicero becomes praetor in Rome.source
  • 65 BCEIn response to the illegal exercise of citizen rights by foreigners, the Roman Senate passes the Lex Papia, which expels all foreigners from Romesource
  • 59 BCECaesar marries Calpurnia, in Rome.source
  • 55 BCEPompey's Theater, the first permanent (non-wooden) theatre in Rome is built. Built of stone on the Field of Mars, it included a temple to Venus Victorious, a public courtyard, and a meeting hall or curia in the far end near the "Sacred Area".source
  • 46 BCEApril 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."source
  • 44 BCEApril – Octavian returns from Apollonia in Dalmatia to Rome to take up Caesar's inheritance, against advice from Atia (his mother and Caesar's niece) and consul Antony.source
  • 44 BCEFebruary – Rome celebrates the festival of the Lupercal. Mark Antony twice presents Caesar with a royal diadem, urging him to take it and declare himself king. He refuses this offer and orders the crown to be placed in the Temple of Jupiter.source
  • 43 BCEJuly–August – Antony is again at the head of a large army; Octavian enters Rome in force without opposition. It is clear that Cicero's plan to divide them against each other has failed.source
  • 43 BCEMarch – Vibius Pansa set out to link up with Hirtius and Octavian, bringing four legions of recruits, having left one, the legio urbana, to defend Rome.source
  • 42 BCEMarcus Brutus begins to plunder the cities of Asia Minor, in order to obtain money and soldiers. The inhabitants of Lycia refuse to submit to Rome, and Brutus besieges Xanthus. After destroying their suburbs, the Xanthians withdraw into the heavily fortified city. The Roman legionaries (2,000 men) force the gate and fight their way into the forum. The citizens make a last stand by the temple of Sarpedon and, as night falls, the Roman army conquers the city.source
  • 40 BCEParthians conquer Jerusalem. Hyrcanus II is removed from power, while Antigonus the Hasmonean becomes king of Judea under Parthian rule. Herod the Great flees Jerusalem to Rome. There he is titled king of Judea by Mark Antony.source
  • 36 BCEMarcus Lepidus lands 12 legions from Africa and lays siege to Lilybaeum. He loses his army to Octavian when his men mutiny. Lepidus is kept in luxurious captivity in Rome until his death.source
  • 33 BCEMarcus Vipsanius Agrippa is self demoted to Aedile, and builds the Aqua Julia, one of the aqueducts on which Rome's water supply depends, as well as cleaning the Cloaca Maxima sewerage system.source
  • 29 BCEOctavian celebrates, in Rome, three triumphs on consecutive days (August 13, August 14, and August 15) to commemorate his victories in Illyricum, Actium and Egypt.source
  • 25 BCEEstimation: Rome, capital of the Roman Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Chang'an, capital of China.source
  • 22 BCEKing Artaxias II returns, with the support of the Parthians, to Armenia and claims the throne. Artavasdes I escapes to Rome, where Caesar Augustus receives him.source
  • 19 BCEIn Rome, Lucius Cornelius Balbus receives the honor of a triumph on the Forum Romanum, for his victories over the Garamantes in Africa.source
  • 19 BCEThe Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil is published after his death. The Aeneid is an epic poem in 12 books that tells the story of the foundation of Rome from the ashes of Troy.source
  • 12 BCEApproximate date – Pyramid of Cestius erected in Rome.source
  • 10 BCEThe Obelisk of Montecitorio is brought from Egypt to Rome by Emperor Augustus to be erected as a sundial gnomon of the Solarium Augusti. It is now in the Piazza Montecitorio.source
  • 8 BCEArminius, son of a Cheruscan chieftain, is taken as a hostage to Rome, where he receives a military education.source

1st century

  • 2AD 2 – Following the death of Lucius Caesar, Augustus allows his stepson Tiberius back into Rome as a private citizen, after six years of enforced retirement on Rhodes.source
  • 5AD 5 – Rome acknowledges Cunobelinus, king of the Catuvellauni, as king of Britain.source
  • 6AD 6 – Due to a food shortage in Rome, Augustus doubles the grain rations distributed to the people, sends away his slave retinue, and places the senate in recess indefinitely.source
  • 15In Rome, the election of magistrates passes from the people to the Emperor and the Senate.source
  • 19Emperor Tiberius expels the Egyptians from Rome, and deports 4,000 Jews from Sicily.source
  • 26Emperor Tiberius retires to Capri, leaving the Praetorian Guard under Lucius Aelius Sejanus in charge of the Roman Empire and the city of Rome.source
  • 33Emperor Tiberius founds a credit bank in Rome.source
  • 52Ananias, a high priest in Jerusalem, is sent to Rome after being accused of violence.source
  • 62Paul of Tarsus is released from imprisonment in Rome (approximate date).source
  • 79June 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.source
  • 82Dio Chrysostom is banished from Rome, Italy, and Bithynia, after advising one of the Emperor's conspiring relatives.source
  • 90The Young Flavian Woman is made. It is now kept at Musei Capitolini, Rome (approximate date).source
  • 100Main hall, Trajan's Market, Rome, is made (until AD 112).source

2nd century

  • 107Lucius Licinius Sura and Quintus Sosius Senecio become consuls of Rome.source
  • 115The Pantheon of Agrippa is reconstructed in Rome.source
  • 130c. 130–138 – Antinous, from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, Italy, is made. It is now kept at Museo Gregoriano Egizio, Rome.source
  • 132Construction begins on the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome (known today as Castel Sant'Angelo).source
  • 141The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is constructed in Rome; the temple is dedicated to Empress Faustina the Elder.source
  • 148Emperor Antoninus Pius hosts a series of grand games, to celebrate Rome's 900th anniversary.source
  • 176The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is made. It is now kept at Museo Capitolini in Rome (approximate date).source
  • 177A systematic persecution of Christians begins in Rome; the followers take refuge in the catacombs.source
  • 180Rome creates a 4-mile wide buffer zone by the Danube.source
  • 191c. 191–192 – The sculpture of Commodus as Hercules, from Esquiline Hill, Rome, is made (it is now kept at Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome).source

3rd century

  • 228Domitius Ulpianus, a Roman jurist and prefect, is assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, in the presence of Emperor Severus Alexander. His curtailment of the privileges of the palace guard becomes Ulpianus' downfall, who in the course of a riot at Rome is murdered, between the soldiers and the mob.source
  • 245The philosopher Plotinus goes to live in Rome.source
  • 247Rome becomes 1,000 years old. The 1,000th anniversary is commemorated with the Ludi Saeculares festivals, celebrated throughout the Roman Empire.source
  • 250The Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus, depicting battle between the Romans and the Barbarians, is made for use in Rome (it is later moved to the collection of the National Roman Museum).source
  • 300Diocletian's Palace, Split, Croatia, is built. Its model is nowadays kept at the Museo della Civilta Romana, Rome.source

4th century

  • 308April: In Rome, Emperor Maximian attempts to depose his son Maxentius, but the soldiers in Rome side with Maxentius and force Maximian to flee to the court of Constantine I.source
  • 312October 29 – Constantine enters Rome; he stages a grand adventus in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber and decapitated.source
  • 315July 25 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum at Rome to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. As part of the ceremony Constantine is expected to make a sacrifice to Rome's traditional gods, but he refuses to do so.source
  • 320Construction begins on the Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome (approximate date).source
  • 325The Colossus of Constantine in the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Rome, is perhaps remodelled at about this date. (The remains are moved to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome, in the 15th century).source
  • 336Pope Mark dies at Rome, after an 11-month reign. No successor is immediately found.source
  • 340Constantinople, capital of Emperor Constantius II, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Rome, capital of his brother Constans I.source
  • 350June 3 – Nepotianus, Roman usurper, proclaims himself emperor and enters Rome with a group of gladiators.source
  • 355August 11 – Claudius Silvanus, accused of treason, proclaims himself Roman Emperor. After 28 days, Ursicinus arrives from Rome and has Silvanus murdered.source
  • 356Construction begins on the first basilica of Saint Peter in Rome.source
  • 357April 28 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnentius. He address the Senate and the Roman people.source
  • 358Constantius II recalls Pope Liberius to Rome, where he receives a joyous welcome from the Christians. Antipope Felix II prudently retires to his estate near Porto (Portugal).source
  • 380February 27 – Edict of Thessalonica: Theodosius I, with co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II, declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to trinitarian Christianity, in accordance with the patriarchs of Rome and Alexandria, implicitly rejecting the Arianism of the patriarch of Constantinople as heretical.source
  • 381Emperor Gratian moves the capital to Mediolanum (modern-day Milan). Because of his Christian beliefs, he eliminates Pontifex Maximus as Imperial title. Gratian also refuses the robe of office, insulting the pagan aristocrats of Rome.source
  • 384Quintus Aurelius Symmachus becomes urban prefect of Rome.source
  • 385Pope Siricius issues the Directa Decretal, proclaiming the primacy of Rome and the priestly obligation of celibacy.source
  • 387Magnus Maximus, usurping emperor of the West, invades Italy. Emperor Valentinian II, age 16, is forced out of Rome. He flees with his mother Justina and sisters to Thessaloniki (Thrace).source
  • 391Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, urban prefect of Rome, pleads for traditional cult practices. He petitions Theodosius I to re-open the pagan temples, but is opposed by Ambrose.source
  • 394In Rome, the sacred fire stops burning (see Vesta and Vestal Virgins).source
  • 395April 27 – Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto (without the knowledge or consent of Rufinus, Praetorian prefect of the East). His seven-year-old half-sister, Galla Placidia, is sent to Rome, where she spends her childhood in the household of Stilicho and his wife Serena.source
  • 397Emperor Honorius passes a law making barbarian styles of dress illegal in the city of Rome. As a result of this law, everybody in Rome is forbidden from wearing boots, trousers, animal skins, and long hair. This law is passed in response to the increasing popularity of barbarian fashions among the people of Rome.source
  • 398Gildonic Revolt: Gildo, a Berber serving as a high-ranking official (comes) in Mauretania, rebels against the Western Roman Empire. The Gildonic Revolt is instigated by a powerful official in the Eastern Roman Empire named Eutropius, who wishes to undermine his enemies in the Western Roman Empire by cutting off the grain supply to Rome. After Gildo takes much of North Africa and cuts off the grain supply to Rome, Flavius Stilicho returns to Italy to raise troops against the rebels. After a short campaign in the desert, he defeats Gildo. Gildo flees and commits suicide by hanging himself.source
  • 399The Emperor Honorius of the Western Roman Empire, who is only 15 years old, closes the gladiatorial schools in Rome, and legally ends munera (gladiator games).source
  • 400Resurrection and "Two Marys with Angel near the Empty Tomb", panel of a diptych, found in Rome, is made. It is now kept at Castello Sforzesco, Milan (approximate date).source

5th century

  • 401December 19 – Pope Anastasius I dies at Rome after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by Innocent I as the 40th pope proclaiming his universal power over the whole of Christendom.source
  • 403Emperor 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.source
  • 404January 1 – Last known gladiator fight in Rome: This date is usually given as the date of the martyrdom of Saint Telemachus, a Christian monk who was stoned by the crowd for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in a Roman amphitheatre.source
  • 406Stained glass is used for the first time in churches in Rome.source
  • 407Roman Civil war of 407–415:Constantine III, a general (magister militum), declares himself Roman emperor. To extend his dominion over Gaul and Spain, he takes practically all the Roman garrisons from Britain and crosses the English Channel. Constantine occupies Arles and establishes tenuous authority over Gaul, sharing control with marauding "barbarians". This is generally seen as the beginning of Rome's withdrawal from Britain.source
  • 408September – 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.source
  • 409The 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.source
  • 415Autumn – Wallia, brother of Athaulf, becomes king of the Visigoths. He accepts a peace treaty with emperor Honorius, in return for a supply of 600,000 measures of grain. After the negotiations he sends Placidia to Rome with hostages.source
  • 416Priscus 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).source
  • 417March 12 – Innocent I dies after a 16-year reign in which he has restored relations between the sees of Rome and Antioch, enforced celibacy of the clergy, and maintained the right of the bishop of Rome to judge appeals from other churches. Innocent is succeeded by Zosimus as the 41st pope.source
  • 418Eulalius is elected antipope of Rome. He claims in a letter to Honorius his recognition as pope.source
  • 422The walls of Rome's Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) crack during an earthquake.source
  • 432The Basilica of Saint Sabina at the Aventine (Rome) is finished by Priest Petrus of Illyria.source
  • 434Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum) in the service of Emperor Valentinian III, begins to hold power in Rome (this will continue for 20 years). He allows the Huns to settle in Pannonia, along the Sava River.source
  • 435King Genseric concludes a peace treaty with the Romans, under which the Vandals retain Mauretania and a part of Numidia as foederati (allies under a special treaty) of Rome.source
  • 438The last gladiatorial fights are held in the Colosseum in Rome.source
  • 440Flavius 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.source
  • 443The Burgundians sign a peace treaty with Rome, agreeing to serve as foederati in the Roman army. They begin to move from the Upper Rhine and Flavius Aetius, commander-in-chief (magister militum), gives them land in the Geneva area (Maxima Sequanorum).source
  • 452The Huns under Attila invade Northern Italy. Emperor Valentinian III flees from Ravenna to Rome, and sends Pope Leo I to persuade Attila to return to the Hungarian Plain. The cities of Aquileia, Padua and Verona are destroyed by the Huns. Milan is saved because Attila is offered a huge amount of gold. Flavius Aetius (magister militum) is unable to raise a new army against him.source
  • 452Rome is threatened by Attila but not attacked, due to a last-minute effort by Leo I. Threatened by news of reinforcements from the Eastern Roman Empire and the plague breaking out among the Huns, Attila is persuaded to withdraw.source
  • 455March 16 – Emperor Valentinian III, age 35, is assassinated by two Hunnic retainers of the late Flavius Aetius, while training with the bow on the Campus Martius (Rome), ending the Theodosian dynasty. His primicerius sacri cubiculi, Heraclius, is also murdered.source
  • 461November 10 – Pope Leo I dies at Rome, age 61 (approximate), after a 21-year reign in which he has resisted Manichaeism and defended the Church against Nestorianism. He is succeeded by Hilarius as the 46th pope.source
  • 465Ricimer, de facto ruler, establishes political control for 2 years from his residence in Rome.source
  • 467April 12 – Emperor Leo I has his general Anthemius elected emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He allies himself with Ricimer, de facto ruler of Rome, and marries Anthemius's daughter Alypia to him, to strengthen the relationship and end the hostilities between the Eastern and Western Empire.source
  • 468February 29 – Pope Hilarius dies at Rome after a 6½-year reign, and is succeeded by Simplicius as the 47th pope.source
  • 470The church of Santo Stefano Rotondo at Rome is consecrated (approximate date).source
  • 472July 11 – Anthemius, besieged in the part of Rome he controls until his troops are defeated, is caught while fleeing the city disguised as a supplicant in the Old St. Peter's Basilica (or at the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere), and later beheaded by Gundobad or Ricimer. Ricimer proclaims Olybrius emperor. Ricimer's nephew, the Burgundian general Gundobad, assumes command of the Western army and holds de facto power in the Empire.source
  • 480Emperor Zeno officially dissolves the east/west co-emperorship, ruling as the first sole emperor of Rome in 85 years. The position of emperor is never again divided.source
  • 483March 10 – Pope Simplicius dies at Rome after a 15-year reign, and is succeeded by Felix III as the 48th pope; Rome is without a pope for 10 days in the interim. Felix III is a widower with two children.source
  • 485Peter the Fuller, patriarch of Antioch, is condemned and excommunicated by a synod of Western bishops at Rome.source
  • 496November 21 – Gelasius I dies after a 4-year reign, and is succeeded by the Rome-born Anastasius II as the 50th pope.source
  • 498November 22 – Anastasius is succeeded by Symmachus as the 51st pope, in the official papal selection in the Lateran Palace (Rome). Meanwhile, Antipope Laurentius is elected "pope" in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, causing a schism.source
  • 499March 1 – During a synod in Rome, which is attended by 72 bishops and all of the Roman clergy, Pope Symmachus makes Antipope Laurentius bishop of the diocese of Nocera in Campania.source

6th century

  • 514July 19 – Pope Symmachus dies at Rome after a tenure of 15 years, 7 months and 27 days. He is succeeded by Hormisdas.source
  • 520Pope Pelagius II of Rome (d. 589)source
  • 523August 6 – Pope Hormisdas dies at Rome after a tenure of 9 years and 17 days, in which he has been instrumental in ending the Acacian Schism. He is succeeded by John I as the 53rd pope.source
  • 525The Arian baptistery of Santa Maria is built in Ripa (Rome).source
  • 525Dionysius Exiguus, Scythian theologian-mathematician, inaugurates the practice of using A.D. (Anno Domini) in Rome for calendar dates after the birth of Jesus Christ, a system which has been supported by subsequent studies. Dionysius also produces his tables for computing the date of "Cyclus Paschalis" (Easter Tables).source
  • 530September 22 – Pope Felix IV dies at Rome after a tenure of four years, two months and 13 days, in which he has condemned semi-pelagianism. He is succeeded by Boniface II, who becomes the 55th pope.source
  • 532October 17 – Pope Boniface II dies in Rome after a tenure of two years, four months and six days.source
  • 533January 2 – After an interregnum of 2 months and 15 days, Pope John II becomes the 56th pope of Rome, and the first to adopt a regnal name upon elevation to the papacy (his birth name, Mercurius, being of pagan origin).source
  • 535May 8 – Pope John II dies in Rome after a two-year reign, and is succeeded by Agapetus I as the 57th pope. Agapetus is sent by King Theodahad on an embassy to Constantinople.source
  • 537Vitiges sets up seven camps, overlooking the main gates and access routes to the city, in order to starve it out. He blocks the Roman aqueducts that are supplying Rome with water, necessary both for drinking and for operating the corn mills.source
  • 538March 12 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges of the Ostrogoths ends his siege (after 374 days) and abandons Rome. He retreats with his Gothic army northeast along the Via Flaminia.source
  • 542March – Totila bypasses Rome and begins his expedition in Southern Italy. He captures Beneventum and receives the submission of the provinces of Apulia, Lucania and Bruttium.source
  • 544Belisarius defeats the Gothic army under King Totila, who unsuccessfully besieges the city of Otranto (southern Italy). After their retreat, the Byzantines march towards the city of Rome.source
  • 546December 17 – Sack of Rome: After almost a year's siege, the capture of a grain fleet sent by the exiled Pope Vigilius near the mouth of the Tiber, and failure of troops of the Byzantine Empire under Belisarius to relieve the city, the Ostrogoths under King Totila plunder Rome and destroy its fortifications. He then withdraws to Apulia (Southern Italy).source
  • 549Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under Totila besiege Rome for the third time, after Belisarius has returned to Constantinople. He offers a peace agreement, but this is rejected by Emperor Justinian I.source
  • 550January 16 – Gothic War: The Ostrogoths under king Totila recapture Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.source
  • 555June 7 – Pope Vigilius dies at Syracuse on his journey back home. His body is brought to Rome and buried in the San Martino ai Monti.source
  • 556April 16 – The diplomatic representative (apocrisiarius) to Constantinople is elected as Pope Pelagius I, succeeding Vigilius as the 60th pope of Rome.source
  • 561March 4 – Pope Pelagius I dies in Rome after a five-year reign, and is succeeded by John III as the 61st pope.source
  • 568Emperor Justin II and his wife Sophia send the Cross of Justin II ("Vatican Cross") to Rome, to improve the relations with the Byzantine Empire.source
  • 573Pope John III is forced by the Lombards to retire from Rome, and takes up residence at the Catacombs along the Via Appia (approximate date).source
  • 574July 13 – Pope John III dies at Rome after a 13-year tenure. The Holy See becomes sede vacante until June of the following year.source
  • 579July 30 – Pope Benedict I dies after a 4-year reign, and is succeeded by Pelagius II as the 63rd pope. During the Lombard siege of Rome, he labors to solve the problems of famine.source
  • 589The plague hits Rome, and its victims include Pope Pelagius II.source
  • 590February 7 – Pope Pelagius II falls victim to the plague that devastated Rome. He is succeeded by Gregory I, age 50, as the 64th pope, and the first from a monastic background.source
  • 597Emperor Maurice writes his last will, in which he describes his ideas for governing the Byzantine Empire (his eldest son, Theodosius, will rule the East from Constantinople, and his second son, Tiberius, the West from Rome).source
  • 600Rome continues as part of the Byzantine Empire. The Italian mainland is divided into independent cities and duchies.source

7th century

  • 601The Lombards under King Agilulf expand into Northern Italy, establishing a settlement with the Franks and maintaining intermittent relationships with Rome.source
  • 604March 12 – Pope Gregory I (the Great) dies at Rome, after a 14-year tenure. He has laid the foundations which claim papal absolutism, pioneered the conversion of Britain to Roman Catholicism and enunciated what will come to be known as the "seven deadly sins". Gregory is succeeded by Sabinian as the 65th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 606February 22 – Sabinian dies at Rome after a two-year reign, and will not be replaced until 607.source
  • 607February 19 – The vacancy (sede vacante) that has existed on the papal throne, since the death last year of Sabinian, ends with the election of a Rome-born deacon of the Catholic Church. Pope Boniface III is appointed as the 66th pope, but dies the same year.source
  • 608August 1 – The Column of Phocas at Rome is dedicated in honour of Phocas. The Corinthian column has a height of 13.6 m (44 ft).source
  • 609May 13 – The Pantheon in Rome is consecrated as "St. Mary and the Martyrs" (informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda") by Pope Boniface IV (or 610).source
  • 618November 8 – Pope Adeodatus I dies in Rome after a 3-year reign, in which he has reversed the policies of his predecessors, Boniface IV and Gregory I, who favored monks over the secular clergy. Adeodatus will not be replaced until next year.source
  • 625October 25 – Pope Boniface V dies at Rome after a 6-year reign. He is succeeded by Honorius I as the 70th pope.source
  • 638October 12 – Pope Honorius I dies at Rome after a 13-year reign, and is succeeded by Severinus, but the Byzantine emperor Heraclius will delay the new pope's consecration until May 640.source
  • 643Maurikios names himself dux of Rome, and revolts against exarch Isaac (Exarchate of Ravenna). He declares Rome's independence from the Exarchate and from the Byzantine Empire.source
  • 649Constans II orders Olympius, exarch of the Exarchate of Ravenna, to arrest Pope Martin I on the ostensible grounds that the pope's election has not been submitted to the emperor for approval, but in fact because of the Lateran Council of 649's condemnation of Monothelitism and the Type of Constans. Olympius attempts to gain the support of the citizens of Rome and the bishops, with little success, and perhaps considers the assassination of the Pope.source
  • 653June 17 – Pope Martin I is arrested in the Lateran in Rome, along with Maximus the Confessor, on the orders of Emperor Constans II, and taken to imprisonment in Constantinople.source
  • 657June 1 – Pope Eugene I dies at Rome after a reign of nearly 2½ years. He is succeeded by Vitalian as the 76th pope.source
  • 663Constans II visits Rome for 12 days (the only emperor to set foot in Rome for two centuries), and is received with great honor by Pope Vitalian. Constans gives the order to strip buildings, including the Pantheon, of their ornaments, which will be carried back to Constantinople.source
  • 664Synod of Whitby: King Oswiu of Northumbria calls for a meeting at Whitby Abbey to settle the church practices in his kingdom—those of the Celtic Church (of Wales, Scotland and the north of England – preached by Irish missionaries) or the Roman Church (of the south of England). The matters discussed include how to calculate the date of Easter. It is decided to follow the practice of Rome. As a result, many Irish clergy leave Northumbria and return to Ireland.source
  • 666Emperor Constans II grants the request of Bishop Maurus of Ravenna, allowing the city to consecrate its bishop without approval from Rome (approximate date).source
  • 667Wighard, archbishop of Canterbury, dies of the bubonic plague while returning from his consecration in Rome.source
  • 676June 17 – Pope Adeodatus II dies at Rome after a reign of 4 years. He is succeeded by Donus as the 78th pope.source
  • 681January 10 – Pope Agatho dies at Rome of plague after a 2½-year reign, in which he has persuaded Constantine IV to abolish the tax heretofore levied at the consecration of a newly elected pope.source
  • 683June 28 – Pope Leo II dies at Rome 10 months after being consecrated.source
  • 685May 8 – Pope Benedict II dies at Rome after a reign of less than 11 months. He is succeeded by John V as the 82nd pope.source
  • 686August 2 – Pope John V dies at Rome after a 12-month reign, in which he has made handsome donations to the poor. He is succeeded by Conon I as the 83rd pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 686August 2 – John V, pope of Rome (b. 635)source
  • 687September 21 – Pope Conon I dies at Rome after a 1-year reign, and is succeeded by Sergius I as the 84th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 688King Caedwalla of Wessex abdicates the throne and departs on a pilgrimage to Rome, possibly because of the wounds he suffered while fighting on the Isle of Wight. The power vacuum is filled by Ine, son of his second cousin, sub-king Coenred of Dorset.source
  • 689Cædwalla of Wessex arrives in Rome and is baptised by pope Sergius I, taking the name Peter. He dies 10 days later and is buried at St. Peter's Basilica.source
  • 698Council of Aquileia: The bishops of the diocese of Aquileia decide to end the Schism of the Three Chapters and return to communion with Rome.source

8th century

  • 701September 8 – Pope Sergius I dies at Rome after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by John VI as the 85th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 703Wilfrid, Anglo-Saxon bishop, travels to Rome again, and is supported in his struggle to retain his see of York by the pope. On his way Wilfrid stops in Frisia (modern Netherlands), to visit Willibrord.source
  • 706February 15 – Emperor Justinian II presides over the public humiliation of his predecessors, Leontios and Tiberios III, and their chief associates in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, after which they are executed. Patriarch Kallinikos I is also deposed, blinded and exiled to Rome, and succeeded by Kyros.source
  • 707October 18 – Pope John VII dies at Rome after a 19-month reign. A prolonged sede vacante exists, until the ratification of the election of Sisinnius by the Exarch of Ravenna, in early 708.source
  • 709Kings Swæfred and Sigeheard of Essex share power with Offa. He abdicates the throne in order to become a monk in Rome, along with Coenred. Saelred rules jointly with Swæfberht the sub-kingdom of Middlesex.source
  • 726King Ine of Wessex resigns his crown, and travels on a pilgrimage to Rome. He is succeeded by his brother-in-law (and probably distant cousin) Æthelheard.source
  • 727July – Pope Gregory II condemns iconoclasm at Rome, causing Italy to break with the Byzantine Empire. He becomes the virtual temporal ruler of most Byzantine possessions.source
  • 728King Liutprand of the Lombards occupies all of the Exarchate of Ravenna. He advances towards Rome along the Via Cassia, and is met at the city of Sutri by Pope Gregory II, near the borders of the Duchy of Rome. Liutprand signs the Donation of Sutri, by which parts of Latium are given to the papacy (the first extension of papal territory in Italy). This marks the historical foundation of the Papal States.source
  • 731February 11 – Pope Gregory II dies at Rome after a 16-year reign, in which he has fought Iconoclasm. He is succeeded by the Syrian-born cleric Gregory III, as the 90th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 738Boniface visits Rome, and is made papal legate of the Frankish Kingdom. He establishes many bishoprics in Bavaria.source
  • 739The Lombards under King Liutprand sack the Exarchate of Ravenna, and threaten Rome. Pope Gregory III asks Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, to help fight the Lombards (he also requests assistance in fighting the Byzantines and the Arabs). Liutprand signs a peace accord, and pulls back his forces to Pavia. After the pope's appeal to the Franks, a relationship begins that will continue as the Frankish Kingdom gains power.source
  • 741November 28 – Pope Gregory III dies at Rome, after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by Zachary, as the 91st pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 747August 15 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo, and withdraws from public life. He retires to a monastery near Rome, being tonsured by Pope Zachary, and leaves his brother Pepin the Short as sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.source
  • 751King Aistulf of the Lombards captures Ravenna and the Romagna, ending the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. The last exarch Eutychius is killed by the Lombards. Aistulf threatens Rome, claiming a capitation tax. Pope Zachary, alarmed, appeals for aid from the Byzantine Empire, but his request is declined.source
  • 752March 22 – Pope Zachary dies at Rome after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Stephen, but he dies four days after, and is not considered legitimate because he was not consecrated.source
  • 753November – Stephen II crosses the passes of the Alps to Gaul. He leaves Rome unprotected, under threat of a siege from the Lombards.source
  • 754Summer – The Franks under Pepin III invade Italy, and defeat the Lombards under King Aistulf, in the Susa Valley (Piedmont). He enforces the terms, including cession of the Exarchate of Ravenna to Rome.source
  • 757April 26 – Pope Stephen II dies at Rome after a 5-year reign, in which he has freed the papacy from Byzantine rule. Stephen allies with Pepin III against the Lombards, and becomes the first temporal sovereign of the Papal States. He is succeeded by his brother Paul I, as the 93rd pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 761Construction is completed on the 108-room Castello di Lunghezza outside of Rome, Italy.source
  • 767June 28 – Pope Paul I dies at Rome after a 10-year reign, in which he has protested against Constantine V's revival of Iconoclasm at Constantinople. He gives refuge to Greek monks who were expelled from the Byzantine Empire, and moves the relics of many saints from the catacombs to Roman churches. Duke Toto of Nepi has his layman brother elected to succeed Paul, under the name Constantine II.source
  • 768August 7 – Pope Stephen III succeeds Paul I as the 94th pope of the Catholic Church. The antipope Constantine II is overthrown at Rome, through intervention by King Desiderius of the Lombards, after a brief reign (see 767).source
  • 771Charlemagne repudiates his Lombard wife Desiderata, daughter of Desiderius, after one year of marriage. He marries the 13-year-old Swabian girl Hildegard, who will bear him nine children. Desiderius, furious at Charlemagne, plans a punitive campaign against the Franks and Rome.source
  • 772King Desiderius of the Lombards, enraged by the repudiation by Charlemagne of his daughter Desiderata, proclaims Gerberga's sons lawful heirs to the Frankish throne. He attacks Pope Adrian I for refusing to crown them, and invades the Duchy of the Pentapolis. Desiderius marches on Rome, and Adrian turns to the Franks for military support.source
  • 774King Charlemagne conquers the Lombard Kingdom, and establishes Frankish rule in Pavia, Venetia, Istria, Emilia, Tuscany, and Corsica. Charlemagne visits Rome; he confirms the Donation of Pepin (see 756) while insisting on his own sovereignty. Pope Adrian I grants him the title of patrician. Charlemagne puts down immediate insurrections in Friuli.source
  • 795December 25 – Pope Adrian I, age 95, dies after a 23-year reign, and is succeeded by Leo III as the 96th pope of Rome.source
  • 798King Sigeric I of Essex abdicates and departs for a pilgrimage to Rome. He is succeeded by his son Sigered.source
  • 799April 25 – Pope Leo III is physically attacked by a band of aristocratic conspirators, under the leadership of a public official who is a nephew of the late Pope Adrian I. After mistreatment and attempted disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, Leo flees to the court of King Charlemagne at Paderborn (modern Germany) to seek protection. He sends him back with Frankish agents, and restores him to the papal throne.source
  • 800December 25 – Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III as Charles I, with the title "Emperor of the Romans". The coronation takes place during Mass at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, on Christmas Day. The Frankish Empire is formed in Western Europe, which is not recognized by Empress Irene at Constantinople. This triggers a series of disputes with the Byzantines around who is officially ruling the former Western Roman Empire.source

9th century

  • 806King Eardwulf of Northumbria is expelled from his kingdom by his rival Ælfwald II, who takes the throne. Eardwulf flees to the Frankish court of Charlemagne, and later visits Pope Leo III in Rome.source
  • 810Anastasius, antipope of Rome (approximate date)source
  • 816June 12 – Pope Leo III dies after a 20-year reign, and is succeeded by Pope Stephen IV as the 97th pope of Rome.source
  • 817January 24 – Pope Stephen IV dies at Rome after a 7-month reign, and is succeeded by Paschal I as the 98th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 823April 5 – Lothair I, eldest son of Emperor Louis I, is crowned co-emperor again by Pope Paschal I at Rome (initiating the papal practice of handing the imperial sword over, as a symbol of temporal power in the Holy Roman Empire).source
  • 824November 11 – The Constitutio Romana, drawn up between King Lothair I of Italy, Louis the Pious, since 817, and Pope Eugene II, establishes the authority of the Holy Roman Emperors over the papacy of Rome.source
  • 827October 10 – Pope Valentine dies just after a two-month reign, and is succeeded by Gregory IV as the 101st pope of Rome.source
  • 831Ansgar is consecrated; he travels to Rome to receive the pallium from Pope Gregory IV.source
  • 844June 15 – Louis II, eldest son of Emperor Lothair I, is crowned king at Rome by Pope Sergius II, and becomes co-ruler of Middle Francia, and over Lombardy, Friuli, and Tuscany in Italy.source
  • 847April 10 – Leo IV is consecrated 103rd pope of Rome (where he was born c.790). Because of the sense of urgency driven by the previous year's Arab raid against Rome, he is consecrated without waiting for the consent of the Holy Roman Emperor. He will reign until 855.source
  • 848Pope Leo IV builds (on the opposite of the Tiber River) the Leonine City, a fortified three-kilometre wall that encircles the Vatican Hill and Borgo, to defend Rome.source
  • 849Summer – Battle of Ostia: A Saracen Arab fleet from Sardinia sets sail towards Rome. In response, Pope Leo IV forms a coalition of maritime Italian cities, including Naples, Amalfi and Gaeta, led by Admiral Caesar — which is assembled off the re-fortified port of Ostia — and repels the Saracen marauders. Their navy is scattered, resulting in many sunken vessels. Rome is saved from plunder and the expansion of the Aghlabids.source
  • 850King Louis II, the eldest son of Lothair I, is crowned joint emperor by Pope Leo IV at Rome, and becomes co-ruler of the Middle Frankish Kingdom.source
  • 854King Æthelwulf of Wessex sends his two youngest sons, Alfred and Æthelred, on a pilgrimage to Rome.source
  • 855Spring – King Æthelwulf of Wessex decides to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, accompanied by his youngest son Alfred (age 6) and a large retinue. He divides the kingdom between his two eldest sons; Æthelbald receives the western part of Wessex, while Æthelberht becomes ruler over Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex.source
  • 858April 17 – Pope Benedict III dies after a 3-year reign, in which he has intervened in a political conflict between the sons of Emperor Lothair I. He is succeeded by Nicholas I, as the 105th pope of Rome.source
  • 864Spring – Emperor Louis II (the Younger) marches with a Frankish army against Rome. While en route to the papal city, he becomes ill, and decides to make peace with Pope Nicholas I.source
  • 866Boris I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire, sends a diplomatic mission, led by the Bulgarian nobleman Peter, to Rome, in an effort to renew ties with the West.source
  • 867November 13 – Pope Nicholas I dies after a 9-year reign. He is succeeded by Adrian II (also referred to as Hadrian II), as the 106th pope of Rome.source
  • 869August 8 – Lothair II, King of Middle Francia (Lotharingia), dies at Piacenza, on his way home from meeting Pope Adrian II at Rome, to get assent for a divorce. Lotharingia is subsequently divided between Lothair's uncles, Charles the Bald of France and Louis the German.source
  • 872December 14 – Pope Adrian II dies (at age 80), after a 5-year reign. He is succeeded by John VIII, as the 107th pope of Rome.source
  • 872December 14 – Adrian II, pope of Rome (b. 792)source
  • 875December 29 – King Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, travels to Italy. He receives the Imperial Regalia at Pavia, and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor as Charles II at Rome.source
  • 878The excommunication of Formosus is lifted, after he has promised never to return to Rome. He will become Pope in 891.source
  • 878Anastasius Bibliothecarius, antipope of Rome (approximate date)source
  • 881February 12 – King Charles the Fat, the third son of the late Louis the German, is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John VIII at Rome.source
  • 882December 16 – Pope John VIII is assassinated at Rome after a 10-year reign, probably the victim of a political conspiracy. He is succeeded by Marinus I, as the 108th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 883King Charles the Fat travels to Nonantola (Northern Italy), where he meets Pope Marinus I. He receives complaints of Guy II of Spoleto, who is the official "protector" of Rome, and invades the Papal States. King Charles orders Guy to appear before a tribunal.source
  • 884May 15 – Pope Marinus I dies at Rome, after a reign of less than 1½ years. He is succeeded by Adrian III (also referred to as Hadrian III), as the 109th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 885Summer – Charles the Fat designates his illegitimate son Bernard as his heir, ignoring the claims of his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia (illegitimate son of Carloman of Bavaria), and Charles the Simple (5-year-old son of King Louis the Stammerer). The Frankish bishops protest, so Charles summons Pope Adrian III to an assembly in Worms, to resolve the issue. Adrian leaves Rome in the hands of Bishop John of Pavia and heads to Germany, but dies on the way, just after crossing the River Po.source
  • 895Arnulf of Carinthia crosses the Po River and divides his army in two: one corps (Swabian) proceeds to Florence (via Bologna), while the other corps (Franks) moves through the Lunigiana to the precincts of Rome.source
  • 896April 4 – Pope Formosus dies at Rome, after a four-year reign. He is succeeded by Boniface VI, as the 112th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 896February – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of an East Frankish expeditionary army. He storms Rome (the Leonine City), and has himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Formosus at St. Peter's. Arnulf sets out to establish his authority in Spoleto, but suffers a stroke; he is forced to call off the campaign, and returns to Bavaria.source
  • 897Spring – King Lambert II travels to Rome with his mother, Queen Ageltrude and brother Guy IV, Lombard duke of Spoleto, to meet Pope Stephen VI to receive reconfirmation of his imperial title. Guy is murdered on the Tiber by agents of Alberic I, a Frankish nobleman with political interests. He seizes Spoleto (possibly at the instigation of King Berengar I) and sets himself up as duke.source
  • 898John IX holds councils at Rome and Ravenna to rehabilitate the late Pope Formosus. He condemns the Cadaver Synod of the late Pope Stephen VI, and restores the clergymen who were deposed by Stephen's faction.source

10th century

  • 901February – King Louis III (the Blind) is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict IV at Rome. His rival Berengar I seeks refuge in Bavaria at the court of King Louis IV (the Child).source
  • 903July – Pope Benedict IV dies after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by Leo V as the 118th pope of the Catholic Church. Leo is imprisoned and tortured by Antipope Christopher after a reign of just 1 month. Christopher makes himself the new pope of Rome.source
  • 904January 29 – Pope Sergius III succeeds Leo V and the deposed Antipope Christopher (both of whom are murdered or exiled) as the 119th pope of the Catholic Church. The ascension of Sergius marks the beginning of the Pornocracy ('rule of the whores'), which will last for 150 years. During this time, the clergy will be sidelined and rule over Rome is dominated by the Roman nobility.source
  • 911April 14 – Pope Sergius III dies at Rome after a 7-year reign. He is succeeded by Anastasius III as the 120th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 913Summer – Pope Anastasius III dies at Rome after a 2-year reign. He is succeeded by Lando as the 121st pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 914March or April – Pope Lando dies at Rome after a reign of less than a year. He is succeeded by John X, archbishop of Ravenna, as the 122nd pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 915December 3 – John X crowns the Italian sovereign Berengar I as the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. Berengar returns to northern Italy, where Friuli is threatened by the Hungarians.source
  • 925Alberic I, duke of Spoleto, attempts to seize Rome on his own account. Pope John X organizes an uprising and expels him. Alberic flees to Orte, where he sends out messengers calling on the Magyars for assistance. But a mob in Orte, informed by papal agents, rises up and murders Alberic (approximate date).source
  • 927Summer – The Hungarians fight in Rome, helping Margrave Peter against Pope John X. They then go to southern Italy, and conquer the cities of Taranto and Oria.source
  • 927September 14 – Cele Dabhaill mac Scannal, Irish preacher and abbot, dies on his pilgrimage at Rome.source
  • 928King Hywel Dda (the Good) of Deheubarth makes a pilgrimage to Rome, he becomes the first Welsh ruler to undertake such a trip. Hywel begins the codification of medieval Welsh law and mints his own coinage.source
  • 929Pope Leo VI dies at Rome after a 7-month reign. He is succeeded (probably handpicked–by Marozia from the Tusculani family) by Stephen VII as the 124th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 931March – 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.source
  • 932Summer – Alberic II leads an uprising at Rome against his stepfather Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, after he is insulted at the wedding of his mother, Marozia. Alberic seizes the Lateran Palace, and Hugh escapes with an escort out of the city. Marozia is captured and put in prison. Alberic takes control of the city and appoints himself as the ruler (princeps) of Rome.source
  • 933Spring – Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, launches an expedition to Rome to remove the Roman ruler (princeps) Alberic II and avenge his humiliation (see 932). It fails, however, as Roman civic militias repel the Lombard army. Hugh ravages the Italian countryside, before he withdraws to Pavia.source
  • 935Winter (probable year) – Pope John XI, the son of de facto Roman ruler Marozia, dies at Rome after a four-year reign, aged between 25 and 27.source
  • 936Summer – Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, dispatches his son and co-ruler Lothair II with a third expedition to Rome to dislodge Alberic II. Assault after assault is repulsed by the Roman civic militia. At length, weakened by an epidemic, the Lombard nobles press on Hugh to accept a peace treaty mediated by Odo of Cluny.source
  • 939July 13 – Pope Leo VII dies at Rome after a 3½-year reign. He is succeeded by Stephen VIII as the 127th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 941Fall – Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, leads a fourth expedition to Rome to dislodge Alberic II. He proceeds to Lazio, preparing a campaign to capture the papal capital. Again the attacks fail and Hugh retreats to Milan.source
  • 942Fall – Pope Stephen VIII tries to negotiate a peace that will end the feud between Alberic II, de facto ruler of Rome, and Hugh of Provence (his stepfather) but he dies after a 3-year reign. Stephen is succeeded by Marinus II as the 128th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 946Summer – Pope Marinus II dies at Rome after a four-year reign. He is succeeded by Agapetus II and elected with the support of the Roman despot Alberic II. Agapetus is installed as the 129th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 950Page with Joshua Leading the Israelites, from the Joshua Roll, is made in Constantinople. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome (approximate date).source
  • 951Otto I dispatches an embassy to Rome to apply for an imperial coronation with Pope Agapetus II – but Prince Alberic II makes it clear that this is not possible (afraid of Otto's growing power), and opposes the request.source
  • 954Duke Alberic II, princeps and ruler of Rome, dies after a 22-year reign. On his deathbed he nominates his son Octavianus as his successor.source
  • 955November 8 – Pope Agapetus II dies after a 9-year reign. He is succeeded by John XII, aged around 19 and the son of Alberic II (the late ruler of Rome), as the 130th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 960June/July – Adalbert II, co-ruler and the son of King Berengar II, with the support of Duke Hugh of Tuscany, invades the Papal States under Pope John XII. With Lombard forces closing in on Rome, a papal delegation is sent to King Otto I (the Great) to appeal for assistance.source
  • 961Summer – Otto I leads an expeditionary force into northern Italy through the Brenner Pass at Trento, to assist the beleaguered young Pope John XII. He proceeds towards Pavia – King Berengar II sends his son and co-ruler Adalbert II from Rome at the head of a large army to seize control of the Upper Adige and contest Otto's entry.source
  • 962February 2 – King Otto I (the Great) is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII at the Old St. Peter's Basilica, ending Rome's feudal anarchy. Otto's wife Adelaide is anointed as empress; the East Frankish Kingdom and the Kingdom of Italy are unified into a common realm, called the Roman Empire.source
  • 963November – Otto arrives at Rome; Pope John XII and Adalbert II (co-ruler of Italy) flee to Campania, taking with them most of the Papal treasury. The Roman citizens warmly receive Otto as a 'liberator'.source
  • 964Spring – King Adalbert II returns to the mainland of Italy, and occupies the environs of Spoleto. Emperor Otto I ('the Great') leaves Rome with his army, and lays siege to the fortress city of Spoleto.source
  • 966Fall – Otto the Great, Holy Roman Emperor, departs for a third expedition in Italy and fights in Lombardy against the partisans under Adalbert II of Ivrea. In November an imperial counter-coup in Rome takes control of Castel Sant'Angelo.source
  • 967Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the new government under Pope John XIII. He asserts his rights in the city, and insists on the occasional presence of an imperial judge, alongside the papal court. The era of Roman independence is over. Grado becomes the patriarchal and metropolitan church of the whole of the Veneto.source
  • 969Summer – Pope John XIII convenes a synod at Rome. He raises the bishopric of Benevento to Archbishopric of Benevento. The city is made a metropolitan see over 10 bishoprics in Byzantine Capitanata (Southern Italy).source
  • 972April 14 – Otto II (the Red), joint-ruler and son of Otto I (the Great), marries the Byzantine princess Theophanu (niece or granddaughter of John I). She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII at Rome. Creating an alliance between the Ottonian Dynasty and the Byzantine Empire (called the Tzimiscian Peace).source
  • 973January 19 – Pope Benedict VI is consecrated as the 134th pope of the Catholic Church. He is installed at Rome with the approval of Otto I and becomes a puppet ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. The Roman aristocracy resents Otto's dominance in Roman civil and ecclesiastical affairs.source
  • 974Summer – Pope Benedict VI is imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo at Rome, where he is strangled to death through the influence of the powerful Crescentii family. Crescentius I (the Elder), Italian politician and aristocrat, engineers an election and replaces Benedict with his own candidate Franco, who ascends under the title anti-Pope Boniface VII.source
  • 981Spring – Emperor Otto II (the Red) leads the imperial court to Rome, making the city his imperial capital, and receives nobles from all parts of Western Europe. Otto makes plans to conquer Byzantine Italy.source
  • 983December 7 – Otto II dies from a fever in his palace at Rome after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by his 3-year-old son, Otto III.source
  • 984August 20 – Pope John XIV dies a prisoner in the Castel Sant'Angelo at Rome after a 1-year reign, having either been murdered or starved to death.source
  • 985July 20 – Anti-Pope Boniface VII dies under suspicious circumstances at Rome. He is succeeded by John XV as the 137th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 989Winter – Theophanu arrives with her son, King Otto III in Rome to meet John XV. Crescentius II (the Younger) offers his submission to the Holy Roman Empire, in return for which she confirms his title as patrician of Rome.source
  • 996Spring – King Otto III starts his first expedition to Italy from Regensburg, and proceeds over the Brenner Pass. News of Otto's arrival prompts Crescentius II (the Younger), patrician (the de facto ruler) of Rome, to invite Pope John XV (exiled in Tuscany) back to Rome. Otto arrives in Verona, and receives ambassadors of Doge Pietro II Orseolo of Venice.source
  • 997Spring – Pope Gregory V is exiled during a rebellion led by Crescentius II (the Younger), patrician (the de facto ruler) of Rome. The Crescentii family appoints Giovanni Filagato (former tutor of Otto III) as an antipope under the name John XVI (or XVII), until 998.source
  • 998Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescentius II (the Younger) and his followers barricade themselves in Castel Sant'Angelo. Otto's former tutor John Philagathos (Antipope John XVI), who tries to escape into Campania, is pursued by German troops and captured. He is horribly mutilated – his ears, nose and tongue cut off and his eyes are gouged out. Crescentius surrenders at his stronghold and is beheaded. Otto reinstates his cousin, Gregory V, as pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 999February 18 – Pope Gregory V dies after a 3-year pontificate in which the Crescentii family forced him to flee Rome. He is succeeded by Sylvester II as the 139th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1000In continental Europe, the Holy Roman Empire established itself as the most powerful state. The Holy Roman Emperor Otto III made a pilgrimage from Rome to Aachen and Gniezno (Gnesen), stopping at Regensburg, Meissen, Magdeburg, and Gniezno. The Congress of Gniezno (with Bolesław I the Brave) was part of his pilgrimage. In Rome, he built the basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola, to host the relics of St. Bartholomew.source

11th century

  • 1001Ermengol I, Count of Urgell makes his second voyage to Rome.source
  • 1002January 23 – Emperor Otto III dies, at the age of 22, of smallpox at Castle of Paterno (near Rome) after a 19-year reign. He leaves no son, nor a surviving brother who can succeed by hereditary right to the throne. Otto is buried in Aachen Cathedral alongside the body of Charlemagne.source
  • 1003November 6 – John XVII dies after a pontificate of about 7 months and is buried in the Lateran Basilica at Rome.source
  • 1004Spring – Pope John XVIII begins his reign as the 141st pope of the Catholic Church at Rome (until 1009).source
  • 1007Ælfheah of Canterbury travels to Rome to receive his pallium – symbol of his status as an archbishop – from Pope John XVIII.source
  • 1012John II Crescentius, consul and patrician of Romesource
  • 1012May 12 – Pope Sergius IV dies after a 3-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by Benedict VIII as the 143rd pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1014February 14 – King Henry II arrives at Rome and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor together with his wife Cunigunde by Pope Benedict VIII in St. Peter's Basilica. Henry establishes the Diocese of Bobbio (Northern Italy) and returns to Germany.source
  • 1022Spring – Emperor Henry II divides his army into three columns and descends through Rome onto Capua after the Lombard states of Southern Italy had switched their allegiance to the Byzantinians in the wake of the battle of Cannae four years earlier. The bulk of the expeditionary force (20,000 men) led by Henry, makes its way down the Adriatic coast.source
  • 1024April 9 – Pope Benedict VIII, formerly Theophylact II, Count of Tusculum, dies after a reign of 12 years at Rome.source
  • 1024December 17 – The monastery of Grottaferrata, outside of Rome, is consecrated by Pope John XIX and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.source
  • 1027March 26 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II ("the Elder") and his wife Gisela of Swabia as Holy Roman Emperor and Empress, respectively, in Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Cnut the Great, King of Denmark and England, attends the coronation, proving his position as sole ruler of the Danish North Sea Empire.source
  • 1032October – Pope John XIX dies after an 8-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by his nephew Benedict IX as the 145th pope of the Catholic Church, while (probably) still in his teens.source
  • 1036Pope Benedict IX is briefly forced out of Rome, but returns with the help of the elder Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor.source
  • 1037May – Conrad II, with Pavian assistance, lays siege to Milan at the Porta Romana side, but the city holds out. In Rome, Pope Benedict IX deposes Aribert as archbishop.source
  • 1044September – A second Roman uprising forces Pope Benedict IX out of Rome. He is succeeded by the new elected (anti)-Pope Sylvester III (until 1045).source
  • 1046Summer – Ex-Pope Benedict IX gives up a renewed attempt to reclaim the papal throne in Rome; Sylvester III reasserts his claim.source
  • 1047November – Benedict IX, with support of Boniface III, Margrave of Tuscany, seizes the Lateran Palace in Rome.source
  • 1048July 16 – At orders of Henry III, German troops under Boniface III, Margrave of Tuscany ("of Canossa"), enter Rome and expel Pope Benedict IX.source
  • 1050Macbeth, King of Scotland, makes a pilgrimage to Rome.source
  • 1055April 13 – Pope Victor II succeeds Leo IX as the 153rd pope of the Catholic Church in Rome (until 1057).source
  • 1059January 24 – Pope Nicholas II succeeds Stephen IX as the 155th pope of the Catholic Church. He is installed in Rome in opposition to Antipope Benedict X – the brother of the late Pope Benedict IX (deposed in 1048).source
  • 1061July 27 – Pope Nicholas II dies after a 2-year pontificate at Florence. He is succeeded by Alexander II as the 156th pope of the Catholic Church in Rome.source
  • 1073Pope Alexander II dies after a 11½-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by Gregory VII as the 157th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1075February – Pope Gregory VII holds a council in the Lateran Palace at Rome. He publishes a decree against laymen investiture (an act which will later cause the Investiture Controversy).source
  • 1076February 22 – Gregory VII pronounces a sentence of excommunication against Henry IV at Rome. He is excluded from the Catholic Church, and all the bishops named by Henry are excommunicated.source
  • 1082Winter – Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, leads an expedition into Italy and besieges Rome. He gains entry and a synod is agreed upon by the Romans to rule on the dispute between Henry and Pope Gregory VII.source
  • 1083Summer – Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor besieges Pope Gregory VII in Castel Sant'Angelo at Rome.source
  • 1084March 31 – Emperor Henry IV besieges Rome and enters the city. He is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Antipope Clement III in Rome and receives the patrician authority.source
  • 1088March 12 – Pope Urban II (Urbanus) succeeds Victor III as the 159th pope of the Catholic Church in Rome.source
  • 1095Victor IV (Octavian), antipope of Rome (d. 1164)source
  • 1096August – Hugh ("the Great"), count of Vermandois (a brother of King Philip I), departs to join the First Crusade. He travels with a small army via the Alps to Rome. While sailing the Adriatic Sea from Bari to Dyrrachium his fleet is reduced by shipwreck. Hugh's own ship is stranded on the shore near Epirus.source
  • 1097October – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, goes into exile. Conflicts between him and William II result in Anselm leaving England and heading for Rome. William confiscates Anselm's land.source
  • 1098August 1 – Adhemar of Le Puy (or Aimar), French bishop and nominal leader of the First Crusade, dies during an epidemic (probably typhus). With this, Rome's direct control over the Crusade effectively ends.source
  • 1099July 29 – Pope Urban II (Urbanus) dies after a 9-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by Paschal II as the 160th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1100September 8 – Antipope Clement III dies at Civita Castellana after a 20-year reign in opposition to the legitimate popes Gregory VII, Victor III and Urban II. Supporters of Emperor Henry IV in Rome choose Theodoric as his successor.source
  • 1100September 8 – Clement III, antipope of Romesource

12th century

  • 1105Bohemond I, Norman prince of Antioch, arrives in Apulia (Southern Italy) after an absence of 9 years. He travels to Rome and meets Pope Paschal II. His cousin, Roger II becomes count of Sicily.source
  • 1105Winter – Sylvester IV is elected as antipope in Rome by members of the Roman aristocracy, with support of Henry V.source
  • 1116Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona ("the Great"), sails to Rome in an effort to gain support from the Italian states and a licence from Pope Paschal II for his crusade against the Moors in Spain.source
  • 1121April 22 – Antipope Gregory VIII (supported by Emperor Henry V) is arrested by papal troops at Sutri. He is taken to Rome and imprisoned in the Septizonium.source
  • 1123March 18 – The First Council of the Lateran convenes in Rome; it confirms the 1122 Concordat of Worms and demands clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church.source
  • 1133Spring – A German expeditionary force, led by King Lothair III, marches into northern Italy, and arrives at Rome, after a 6-month journey across the Alps. Accompanied by Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot and Doctor of the Church, Lothair is crowned by Pope Innocent II as Holy Roman Emperor at the Church of the Lateran, on June 4. He receives as papal fiefs the vast estates of Matilda, former margravine of Tuscany, which he secures for his daughter Gertrude of Süpplingenburg and her husband, Duke Henry X (the Proud) of Bavaria.source
  • 1140June 3 – Pierre Abelard, a French theologian, is condemned for heresy by the Council of Sens. He sets out for Rome to present his defense to Pope Innocent II.source
  • 1143September 23 – Pope Innocent II dies at Rome after a 13-year pontificate. He is succeeded by Celestine II as the 165th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1145Spring – 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.source
  • 1155June 18 – King Frederick Barbarossa is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.source
  • 1164April 20 – Antipope Victor IV dies at Rome and is succeeded by Paschal III, who has gained election through the influence of Archchancellor Rainald of Dassel.source
  • 1164April 20 – Victor IV, antipope of Rome (b. 1095)source
  • 1166Autumn – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa begins his fourth Italian campaign, hoping to secure the claim of Antipope Paschal III in Rome and the coronation of his wife Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, as Holy Roman Empress.source
  • 1167May 29 – Battle of Monte Porzio: The army of the Commune of Rome is defeated by German forces under Frederick I and the local princes; Alexander III leaves Rome. Frederick proceeds to Rome, where he is crowned by Antipope Paschal III for the second time. A sudden outbreak of pestilence kills many of his advisors and knights.source
  • 1168September 20 – Antipope Paschal III dies at Rome after a 4-year reign. Giovanni di Struma is elected as his successor and will reign as Antipope Callixtus III with support from Emperor Frederick I.source
  • 1168September 20 – Paschal III, antipope of Rome (b. 1110)source
  • 1177August 1 – The Holy Roman Empire renounces any claims on the territory of Rome.source
  • 1181August 30 – Pope Alexander III dies after a 22-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by the Tuscany-born Lucius III as the 171st pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1187December 17 – Gregory VIII dies after holding the papacy for only 57 days. He is succeeded by Clement III as the 174th pope of Rome.source
  • 1187October – Josias, archbishop of Tyre, arrives in Rome and informs the Papal Court of the disaster of the Christian slaughter at Hattin by Saladin.source
  • 1191April 15 – Henry VI, son of the late Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa), is crowned as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, together with his wife Constance by Pope Celestine III, on Easter Monday at Rome. Henry marches south and begins a campaign in Apulia. He besieges Naples, but encounters the resistance of Sicilian forces under Margaritus of Brindisi, who come to support the city's defense. Tusculum is destroyed by the rebel army of the Commune of Rome, on April 17.source
  • 1191March 20 – Pope Clement III dies at Rome after a pontificate of less than 3½ years. He is succeeded by the 85-year-old Celestine III as the 175th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1198January 8 – Pope Celestine III dies at Rome, after a pontificate of nearly 7 years. He is succeeded by Innocent III, as the 176th pope of the Catholic Church. Shortly after he lays an interdict on Laon, in an attempt to create independent beliefs there. This will be followed by interdicts against France in 1199, and Normandy in 1203.source
  • 1199Summer – Pope Innocent III calls for a fourth Crusade at Rome. Due to the preaching of Fulk of Neuilly, an army is organized at a tournament held at Ecry-sur-Aisne by Theobald III, count of Champagne, on November 28.source

13th century

  • 1201Autumn – Prince Alexios Angelos, son of the deposed, blinded and imprisoned late Emperor Isaac II Angelos, escapes from Constantinople. He makes his way to Sicily and then Rome where he is turned away by Pope Innocent III. Next, Alexios travels to the court of his brother-in-law, Philip of Swabia, the King of Germany, who receives him well.source
  • 1209October 21 – Innocent III crowns Otto IV as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in St. Peter's Basilica at Rome.source
  • 1215November 11–30 – The Fourth Council of the Lateran (or "Great Council") convened by Innocent III ends at Rome and approves the papal proposal for a Fifth Crusade in Palestine. The Pope promulgates a canon against clerical participation in trial by ordeal, replacing it by compurgation.source
  • 1217April 9 – Peter II of Courtenay is crowned emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople at Rome, by Pope Honorius III. Shortly after his coronation, Peter borrows some ships from the Venetians, promising in return to conquer Durazzo for them. He fails in this enterprise and seeks to make his way to Constantinople by land. On the journey, he is seized by troops of Theodore Komnenos Doukas, despot of Epirus, and is put in prison.source
  • 1220November 22 – Frederick II is crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome by Pope Honorius III. He makes Sicily an absolute monarchy and adopts Palermo as its principal seat.source
  • 1225July 25 – Emperor Frederick II takes an oath at San Germano (near Cassino) and promises to depart on a Crusade (the Sixth Crusade), for the Near East in August 1227. He sends 1000 knights to the Levant and provides Rome with 100,000 ounces of gold, to be forfeited to the Catholic Church should he break his vow. These funds will be returned to Frederick once he arrives at Acre.source
  • 1227March 18 – Pope Honorius III dies at Rome after a pontificate of nearly 11 years. He is succeeded by Gregory IX as the 178th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1229Council of Toulouse: The Catholic Church permanently establishes the Inquisition, in the charge of the Dominican Order in Rome.source
  • 1232August – Gregory IX is forced to remain in his summer residence at Anagni by Lombard forces from Rome.source
  • 1234November – Pope Gregory IX proclaims war on the city of Rome after a local revolt forces him into exile. He issues the papal bull Rachel suum videns, calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land.source
  • 1237November 27 – Battle of Cortenuova: Frederick II defeats the forces of the Lombard League; about 5,000 Lombards are captured. Frederick makes a triumphal entry into the allied city of Cremona in the manner of an ancient Roman emperor, with the captured carroccio (later sent to the commune of Rome), and an elephant. During the winter campaign, Frederick captures the Piedmontese cities of Lodi, Novara, Vercelli, Chieri, and Savona.source
  • 1239Summer – A German expeditionary force under Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, invades the Romagna and Tuscany, hoping to capture Rome. He appoints his 21-year-old son, Enzo of Sardinia, as imperial vicar general for Northern Italy. Frederick also threatens with war against Venice, which has sent ships to blockade the harbors on Sicily. In order to finance his growing need for arms, he institutes an administrative reorganization of the Holy Roman Empire (among others, the formation of 10 vice regencies in Italy).source
  • 1244June 7 – Pope Innocent IV is driven from Rome by imperial forces of Emperor Frederick II, and travels secretly in disguise to Sutri. Genoese galleys prepared by his relatives are waiting for him at the port of Civitavecchia to take him to Genoa.source
  • 1253October – Pope Innocent IV returns to Rome, after being deposed for 9 years by former Emperor Frederick II, whose clash forms an important chapter in the conflict between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire.source
  • 1263The Bonsignori firm gains the full market of the transfer of fiscal revenue from the papal estates to Rome.source
  • 1276June 22 – Innocent V dies after a 5-month reign at Rome. He is succeeded by Adrian V (or Hadrian) as the 186th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1277April – John XXI sends a papal embassy to Constantinople to force Michael VIII Palaiologos, his 18-year-old son and heir Andronikos and Patriarch John XI Bekkos to reaffirm their allegiance to the Union of Lyon in the Palace of Blachernae. Michael refuses to accept a religious union of the Greek Orthodox Church with Rome.source
  • 1287June – Rabban Bar Sauma, Chinese Nestorian monk and diplomat, travels from Constantinople to Italy. There he arrives in Naples and witnesses a sea battle in the harbour between the Aragonese and the Angevin fleets. Bar Sauma goes to Rome, but arrives too late to meet Pope Honorius IV, who recently died. He instead is engaged in negotiations with the cardinals, who are in a conclave to elect a successor, and visits the St. Peter's Basilica. Bar Sauma goes to Genoa, where he receives a warm welcome.source
  • 1288The oldest surviving bell, in the clocks atop the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is built.source
  • 1292April 4 – Nicholas IV dies after a 4-year pontificate in Rome. The cardinals assemble at Perugia to elect a new pope (1292–1294 papal election).source
  • 1297May 3 – Stefano Colonna, Italian chief magistrate and papal official, captures the treasure of the tomb of Caecilia Metella near Rome, which is sent by the rival Caetani family to Pope Boniface VIII.source
  • 1298After a year's siege, the revolting Italian commune of Palestrina near Rome surrenders to the Papal forces, razed to the ground and salted by order of Boniface VIII, in an act of debellatio.source

14th century

  • 1309March 9 – Pope Clement V officially transfers the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Pontiff from Rome to the French city of Avignon, his residence and at this time part of the Kingdom of Arles, starting the Avignon Papacy. Since 1305, the papal court had been at Poitiers, and the move is justified by violence in Rome. The papal seat becomes part of the Holy Roman Empire, and its absence from Rome is referred to as the "Babylonian captivity of the Papacy".source
  • 1313June 13 – Pope Clement V declares Naples to be under papal protection. He names King Robert the Wise of Naples, "Senator of Rome".source
  • 1314May 1 – The 1314–1316 papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Clement V begins at Carpentras Cathedral in Provence with 23 cardinals in attendance, of whom the votes of 16 are necessary to elect a new Pontiff. The cardinals are divided into three factions, none of which have more than eight people, with a group from Italy (led by Guillaume de Mandagot), who want to move the papacy back to Rome; nine from Gascony, most of whom are relatives of Pope Clement (led by Arnaud de Pellegrue); and five from Provence (led by Berengar Fredol).source
  • 1328May 12 – Antipope Nicholas V is consecrated at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by the bishop of Venice.source
  • 1349September 9 – 1349 Apennine earthquakes. An earthquake in Rome causes extensive damage, including the collapse of the southern exterior facade of the Colosseum.source
  • 1354October 8 – Cola di Rienzo, self-proclaimed "tribune" of Rome, is killed by an angry mob.source
  • 1355April 5 – Charles IV is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.source
  • 1362The English Hospice of the Most Holy Trinity and St Thomas is founded in Rome. It goes on to become the English College, a centre for training English priests in Rome.source
  • 1368October 17 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Urban V meet at Viterbo in Italy and make plans to enter Rome together after the Pope's travel from Avignon.source
  • 1368October 21 – Charles greets Pope Urban at Monte Mario, and the two ride together to a welcome in Rome.source
  • 1370December 20 – The 200th Roman Catholic pontiff, Pope Urban V, dies in Avignon after eight years, the first five of which were in Rome.source
  • 1376June 18 – Saint Catherine of Siena, now the Roman Catholic patron saint of Italy, visits Pope Gregory XI in Avignon in France, to attempt to persuade him to make peace with Florence, and move the Papacy back to Rome.source
  • 1377January 17 – Pope Gregory XI moves the papacy back from Avignon to Rome.source
  • 1378March 27 – Pope Gregory XI dies at the Vatican in Rome after a little more than seven years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and shortly after moving the church leadership back to Rome from the French city of Avignon. Officials of Rome begin a campaign of intimidation to prevent the Roman Catholic cardinals, a majority of whom are French, from electing a French cardinal as Gregory's successor.source

15th century

  • 1406May 21 – Pope Innocent VII issues the bull Piae Postulatio to protect the charity and hospice of Santa Maria dell'Anima (Saint Mary of the Soul), located in Rome and serving the German-speaking community.source
  • 1406November 30 – Cardinal Angelo Correr of is elected as Pope after a 12-day conclave in Rome to select a successor to Pope Innocent VII, who died on November 6. Correr, the Patriarch of Constantinople takes the regnal name of Pope Gregory XII as the 205th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.source
  • 1409March 25 – On the day of the Feast of the Annunciation, the Council of Pisa opens at the Cathedral of Pisa with 22 cardinals, four patriarchs and 80 bishops to seek an end to the Western Schism and resolve the conflict between Pope Gregory XII of the Rome and Antipope Benedict XIII of Avignon.source
  • 1413June 8 – King Ladislaus of Naples and his troops conquer and sack the city of Rome and drive out the Antipope John XXIII.source
  • 1433May 31 – Sigismund is crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. The Imperial throne has been vacant for more than 52 years since the death of Sigismund's father, Charles IV, in 1378.source
  • 1441April 26 — Pope Eugene IV orders the transfer of the Council of Florence to Romesource
  • 1443September 28 – Pope Eugene IV returns to Rome for the first time in more than nine years, after having been forced to flee on June 4, 1434.source
  • 1447March 19 – The coronation of Tommaso Parentucelli as Pope Nicholas V takes place in Rome. The crown is placed upon his head by Cardinal Prospero Colonna, who had come within two votes of being selected as the Pope on March 5.source
  • 1447March 4 – The papal conclave opens at the Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome with 18 of the 24 living members of the College of Cardinals arriving to select a new Pope With 12 votes necessary for the require two-thirds needed for an election, Cardinal Prospero Colonna receives 10 and Cardinal Domenico Capranica gets 8.source
  • 1448July 25 – The Council of Basel, opposed to the Pope at Rome, moves to Lausanne and holds its first session, presided over by the antipope Felix V.source
  • 1450December 23 – In Rome, the collapse of the Ponte Sant'Angelo, a bridge over the Via Giulia and the subsequent stampede combine to kill more than 300 people, most of whom were on a pilgrimage to the Holy See.source
  • 1452March 19 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, becomes the last to be crowned in Rome.source
  • 1455April 4 – The papal conclave to replace the late Pope Nicholas V begins. For the first time, the conclave is held at the Apostolic Palace in Rome. In the first rounds of ballots, the two front-running candidates are Cardinal Latino Orsini and Cardinal Prospero Colonna, and Colonna receives a plurality of votes, but not the required two-thirds majority.source
  • 1458September 3 – The coronation of Pope Pius II by Cardinal Prospero Colonna takes place on the front steps of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.source
  • 1466December 12 – The Albanian General Skanderbeg arrives in Rome to offer his aid to the Christian League in the defense of Italy against the Ottoman Empire.source
  • 1467January 7 – At Rome, Pope Paul II holds a secret papal consistory, with the Albanian general Skanderbeg, to ask the cardinals assembled to provide Skanderbeg with 5,000 ducats (equivalent to 17.5 kg lb of gold based on the worth of a ducat of 3.5g of gold). While the cardinals respond that 5,000 ducats is insufficient, the Pope explains that the additional money will have to wait until the war in Italy is concluded.source
  • 1475June 15 – The Vatican Library in Rome is created by the papal bull Ad decorem militantis ecclesiae and names Bartolomeo Platina as the first librarian for the Vatican.source
  • 1492May 31 – Pope Innocent VIII and members of the College of Cardinals meet at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome with diplomatic envoys sent by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. The envoys present the Pope a gift, said to be the Holy Lance, from the Sultan, along with the Sultan's proposal, payment of 120,000 crowns of gold and an annual subsidy of 45,000 ducats in return for the continued imprisonment of Cem Sultan, a half-brother of Bayezid and a rival claimant to the throne.source
  • 1494December 31 – King Charles VIII of France and the French Army peacefully march into Rome after being granted free passage by Pope Alexander VI.source
  • 1494November 17 – Italian War of 1494–98: The armies of King Charles VIII of France enter Florence. Charles is dissuaded from destroying the city by the Florentine leader, Girolamo Savonarola, who had recently taken control from the Medici family. After being persuaded that he has a divine role of reformation of the Roman Catholic Church, King Charles spares Florence from destruction and leaves the city on November 28, guiding his troops onward toward Rome.source
  • 1495January 28 – Prince Cem Sultan, brother of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II, imprisoned since 1482 after being captured by the Knights Hospitaller, and held captive in Rome since 1489, is released from to French custody by Pope Alexander VI at the request of King Charles of France.source
  • 1498November 26 – Pope Alexander VI orders the demolition of the historic Meta Romuli pyramid in Rome in order to clear the way for the building of the new road to the Tiber Bridge.source

16th century

  • 1501January 17 – Cesar Borgia returns triumphantly to Rome, from Romagna.source
  • 1506January 14 – The classical statue of Laocoön and His Sons is unearthed in Rome. On the recommendation of Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo, Pope Julius II purchases it, and places it on public display in the Vatican a month later.source
  • 1523November 26 – At Santa Maria in Via Lata, Cardinal Marco Cornaro carries out the coronation of Pope Clement at the church of Santa Maria in Via Lata in Rome.source
  • 1527May 6 – Sack of Rome: Spanish and German troops led by the Duke of Bourbon sack Rome, forcing the Medici Pope Clement VII to make peace with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, marking the end of the High Renaissance. The Pope grows a beard in mourning.source
  • 1529January 28 – Peter Vannes, the Italian-born envoy for England's King Henry VIII, arrives in Rome on a mission to get Pope Clement VII to give a dispensation for King Henry to divorce one wife and marry another, with both marriages to be declared valid. The mission fails.source
  • 1530October 8 – A flood engulfs Rome.source
  • 1536The Italian War of 1536–1538 resumes between Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Francis seizes control of Savoy, and captures Turin. Charles triumphally enters Rome, following the Via Triumphalis, and delivers a speech before the Pope and College of Cardinals, publicly challenging the king of France to a duel.source
  • 1550February 7 – After a 10-week conclave in Rome to elect a new Pope, Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, Bishop of Palestrina, is selected on the 61st ballot after Reginald Pole of England falls two votes short of winning. Ciocchi del Monte takes the name Pope Julius III and is crowned the next day, succeeding the late Pope Paul III.source
  • 1552November 18 – Simeon Sulaka arrives in Rome from the Middle Eastern city of Mosul and brings a letter asking Pope Julius III to appoint him as the Patriarch of the Church of the East, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church.source
  • 1559September 5 – The papal conclave to elect a new pope opens 18 days after the death of Pope Paul IV at the Apostolic Palace in Rome with 47 of the 55 Roman Catholic cardinals present. The conclave lasts 101 days before a successor to Pope Paul is elected.source
  • 1584July 5 – The Maronite College is established in Rome.source
  • 1591November 4 – The coronation of Pope Innocent IX takes place in Rome as Cardinal Andreas von Österreich places the crown on the head of Giovanni Facchinetti.source
  • 1595November 17 – In the remodeling of the Church of Saint Sylvester in Rome, the ashes of Pope Anterus are discovered almost 1,360 years after his death. Anterus had served as Pope for six weeks before dying on January 3, 236.source
  • 1597December 23 – The Roman Catholic order of the Congregatio Patrum Doctrinae Christianae, which will later be more commonly known as the Christian Doctrine Fathers, is approved by Pope Clement VIII. Founded on September 29, 1592, the order continues to operate more than four centuries later and is headquartered in Rome.source

17th century

  • 1603August 17 – The Accademia dei Lincei, the oldest scientific academy in the world, is founded in Rome by Federico Cesi.source
  • 1605March 14 – The March–April 1605 papal conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals to elect a successor to Pope Clement VIII opens at the Vatican in Rome, 11 days after Clement's death. Sixty-one of the 69 cardinals meet behind closed doors for the rest of the month. Discussion becomes heated, with shouting and jostling.source
  • 1615November 3 – Japanese diplomat Hasekura Tsunenaga and his delegation are received by Pope Paul V in Rome, and present a request for trade between the Roman Catholic Church and the Japanese shogunatesource
  • 1615September 20 – Japanese diplomat Hasekura Tsunenaga and his entourage become the first officials from Japan to visit Italy, and are received in Rome by Cardinal Burgeciosource
  • 1633January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, where he is quarantined for 22 days because of an outbreak of the plague.source
  • 1659January 31 – Giovanna De Grandis is arrested in Rome and charged with trafficking the lethal Aqua Tofana poison. On February 2, she implicates the mastermind of the poisoners, Gironima Spana, starting the case of the Spana Prosecution that eventually leads to the arrest and trial of 40 people.source
  • 1664February 2 – Jesuit missionary Johann Grueber arrives in Rome after a 214-day journey that had started in Beijing, proving that commerce can be had between Europe and Asia by land rather than ship.source
  • 1666January 17 – The Chair of Saint Peter (Cathedra Petri, designed by Bernini) is set above the altar in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.source

18th century

  • 1799September 29 – The Second Roman Republic, a puppet state formed by the French Army after they dissolve the Papal States and the occupation of Rome, is dissolved 19 months after its creation on February 15, 1798.source

19th century

  • 1810February 17 – Napoleon I decrees that Rome would become the second capital of the French Empire.source
  • 1871October 5 – The Società degli Spettroscopisti Italiani (laterSocietà Astronomica Italiana) is established in Rome, the first scientific organisation in the world dedicated to astrophysics.source
  • 1886April 24 – Father Augustine Tolton, the first Roman Catholic priest from the United States to identify himself publicly as African American, is ordained in Rome.source

20th century

  • 1936May 9 – Speaking in Rome, Benito Mussolini announces the foundation of the empire, as Italian East Africa is formed from the Italian territories of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland.source
  • 1957March 25 – The Treaty of Rome (Patto di Roma) establishes the European Economic Community (EEC; predecessor of the European Union) between Italy, France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.source
  • 1960September 18 – The first international Summer Paralympics open in Rome under the title "9th International Stoke Mandeville Games", the first quadrennial paralympic event outside of England.source
  • 1983June 22 – Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican girl, mysteriously disappears in Rome while returning home from a music lesson. The disappearance of the girl led to many speculations involving international terrorism, Italian organized crime, and even a plot inside the Vatican to cover a sexual scandal inside the Holy See. Because of all these theories, the Orlandi case would later become Italy's most famous mystery.source
  • 1985June 14 – TWA Flight 847, carrying 153 passengers from Athens to Rome, is hijacked by a Hezbollah fringe group. One passenger, U.S. Navy Petty Officer Robert Stethem, is killed. Greek police arrest a 65-year-old Lebanese suspect on September 21, 2019.source
  • 1998July 17 – Rome Statute: at a conference in Rome, 120 countries vote to create a permanent International Criminal Court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.source

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