All dates are BC unless otherwise stated.
753 The foundation of Rome.
509 The downfall of the monarchy, and the establishment of the Republic.
390 The capture of Rome by the Gauls.
367 Legal restrictions on the right of plebeians to hold the consulship are abolished.
343–40 First Samnite war.
321 The Romans are defeated at the Caudine Forks.
290 The Romans complete the conquest of Samnium.
264–41 The first war against Carthage.
219–18 The start of the second war against Carthage. Hannibal marches on Italy, through southern Gaul, and across the Alps.
216 The battle of Cannae.
202 The defeat of Hannibal in Africa.
148 Macedon becomes a Roman province.
146 The destruction of Carthage and Corinth.
133 The tribunate and murder of Tiberius Gracchus. Attalus III of Pergamum leaves his kingdom to Rome in his will.
123 The first tribunate of Gaius Gracchus (starting on 10 December 124). Pergamum subjected to organised taxation.
122 The second tribunate of Gaius Gracchus.
121 The murder of Gaius Gracchus.
118 The establishment of a province in southern Gaul secures the land route to Spain. Probable birthdate of Lucullus.
115 Birth of Crassus.
112 Mithridates VI establishes himself as King of Pontus.
107 Marius’ first consulship. He abolishes property qualifications for recruitment to the army.
106 Birth of Pompey and Cicero.
104–100 Marius as Consul. Victorious campaigns against barbarian invaders from the north.
100 Birth of Caesar.
93 Birth of Clodius.
92 The conviction and exile of Rutilius Rufus for extortion.
91 Outbreak of the Italian revolt against Rome.
90 Citizenship offered to Italians loyal to Rome.
89 Sulla, campaigning in Samnium, brings an effective end to the Italian revolt. Mithridates invades the Roman province of Asia.
88 Sulla as consul. Marius, with the assistance of the tribune Sulpicius, has the Mithridatic command transferred to himself. Sulla marches on Rome. The execution of Sulpicius, and escape of Marius into exile. In Asia, Mithridates orders the massacre of 80,000 Romans and Italians.
87 Cinna as consul. Sulla leaves for Greece and the war against Mithridates. The death of Pompeius Strabo. Marius returns to power in Rome.
86 Cinna as consul. The death of Marius. Athens falls to Sulla.
85 Cinna as consul. Sulla signs a peace treaty with Mithridates.
84 Cinna as consul. He is murdered by mutineers.
83 Crassus joins Sulla in Greece. Sulla crosses to Italy, where he is joined by Pompey. The battle of the Colline Gate, and the massacre of the Samnite prisoners in the Villa Publica.
82 Proscriptions in Rome. Caesar in hiding.
81 Sulla as Dictator. He launches major constitutional reforms, including the hamstringing of the tribunate. Cicero’s first case.
80 Sulla as consul. Caesar leaves for military service in Asia.
79 Sulla relinquishes his magistracies. Cicero leaves on a two-year trip to the East.
78 Catulus as consul. The death of Sulla.
77 Pompey is given a command in Spain.
75 Cicero as quaestor. Mithridates declares war on Rome.
74 Lucullus as consul. Mithridates invades the province of Asia a second time. M. Antonius is given a command against the pirates.
73 The outbreak of a slave revolt, led by Spartacus. Lucullus expels Mithridates from Asia.
72 Crassus is appointed to command of the war against Spartacus. The end of Pompey’s campaigning in Spain. Lucullus is victorious against Mithridates in Pontus. M. Antonius is defeated by the pirates off Crete.
71 The defeat and death of Spartacus. The return of Pompey to Italy. Lucullus completes the conquest of Pontus. Mithridates takes refuge with Tigranes of Armenia.
70 Pompey and Crassus as consuls. Full powers are restored to the tribunate, after their abolition by Sulla. The prosecution of Verres.
69 The battle and sack of Tigranocerta.
68 Lucullus’ army mutinies. The birth of Cleopatra.
67 Pompey sweeps the seas clear of pirates.
66 Lucullus is replaced by Pompey as proconsul of the East. Cicero as praetor.
65 Caesar as aedile.
64 Pompey establishes Syria as a new Roman province. Cato as quaestor.
63 Cicero as consul. Caesar becomes Pontifex Maximus. Lucullus celebrates his triumph. Pompey storms Jerusalem. The death of Mithridates. The Catilinarian conspiracy, and execution of the ringleaders. Catiline raises an army in northern Italy. The birth of Octavian.
62 Caesar as praetor. The defeat and death of Catiline. Pompey returns to Italy. Clodius profanes the rites of the Good Goddess.
61 Caesar as governor in Spain. The trial and acquittal of Clodius. Pompey’s third triumph.
60 Caesar returns to Rome. The formation of an informal alliance between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.
59 Caesar and Bibulus as consuls. ‘The First Triumvirate’. Pompey marries Julia, Caesar’s daughter. Clodius becomes a plebeian, and is elected to the tribunate.
58 Caesar campaigns against the Helvetians. Clodius as tribune. Cicero leaves Rome for exile, Cato for Cyprus.
57 Caesar campaigns against the Belgae. Street fighting between the gangs of Clodius and Milo. Cicero returns from exile.
56 The trial and acquittal of Caelius. The conference of Lucca, and the renewal of the Triumvirate. Cato returns to Rome from Cyprus.
55 Pompey and Crassus as consuls. Pompey dedicates his stone theatre. Caesar crosses the Rhine, then leads an expedition to Britain.
54 Domitius and Appius as consuls, Cato as praetor. Crassus leaves for Syria. Caesar leads a second expedition to Britain. The death of Pompey’s wife, Julia.
53 The battle of Carrhae, and the death of Crassus.
52 The murder of Clodius, and conviction of Milo. Pompey as sole consul until August. He marries Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio. Caelius as tribune. Vercingetorix leads Gaul in revolt against Caesar, but is defeated at Alesia, and surrenders.
50 Curio as tribune. The death of Hortensius. Pompey is called upon by the consul Marcellus to ‘rescue the Republic’.
49 Caesar crosses the Rubicon. The Senate evacuates Rome. Domitius surrenders Corfinium. Pompey leaves Italy for Greece. The defeat and death of Curio in Africa. Caesar defeats the Pompeian armies in Spain, and is elected dictator.
48 The deaths of Milo and Caelius. The battle of Pharsalus. The murder of Pompey. Caesar trapped in Alexandria.
47 Caesar’s cruise with Cleopatra down the Nile. The birth of Caesarion. Caesar defeats Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates, returns to Italy, then crosses to Africa.
46 Caesar defeats Scipio. Cato commits suicide, Scipio drowns. Caesar celebrates four triumphs. Cleopatra arrives in Rome. Caesar leaves for Spain.
45 Caesar defeats the sons of Pompey, and returns to Rome. He publishes his Anti-Cato.
44 Caesar is appointed dictator for life. Antony as consul. Caesar is assassinated on the ides of March. Octavian arrives in Rome. Brutus and Cassius leave for the East. Cicero delivers a series of speeches against Antony.
43 Hirtius and Pansa as consuls. They are killed in battle with Antony. The formation of the Second Triumvirate: Antony, Octavian and Lepidus. Octavian’s first consulship. The proscriptions. The death of Cicero.
42 The deification of Caesar. The battle of Philippi: the suicides of Brutus and Cassius.
41 Antony meets Cleopatra, then winters with her at Alexandria. Land sequestrations in Italy. War between Octavian and Fulvia.
40 Fulvia flees Italy, and dies. Antony and Octavian make peace, and Antony marries Octavian’s sister, Octavia. Cleopatra gives birth to twins.
37 Antony marries Cleopatra.
36 Lepidus is dropped from the Triumvirate. Sextus Pompeius is defeated, and flees to the East.
35 Death of Sextus Pompeius.
34 Antony hands out kingdoms and provinces to his children in Alexandria.
32 Octavia is divorced by Antony. Octavian seizes his will, and presents it to the Senate.
31 The battle of Actium.
30 The suicide of Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian captures Alexandria, and executes Caesarion. Ptolemaic rule in Egypt is brought to an end.
29 Virgil starts work on The Aeneid.
27 Octavian is given the title ‘Augustus’. The Republic is ‘restored’.
19 The death of Virgil.
AD 14 The death of Augustus.