Roman Empire
Ancient Rome exercises a powerful grip on the imagination of modern man. It was a sophisticated and powerful civilization, which has had a profound influence on all later Western societies.
Timeline and Overview
Timeline of Roman history:
753 BC - traditional date for the founding of Rome
509 BC - traditional date for the founding of the Roman Republic
390 BC - traditional date for the sack of Rome by the Gauls
264-241 and 218-202 BC - The First and Second Punic Wars (the great wars with Carthage)
83-31 BC - period of Civil Wars leads to the fall of the Roman Republic
27 BC - Augustus establishes himself as the first of the Roman emperors
117 - the Roman Empire reaches its largest extent
312 - the conversion of the emperor Constantine to Christianity
410 - Rome is sacked by the Goths
476 - the last Roman emperor in the West is deposed
(For more detailed timelines, see the timelines for the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.)