A time-line of the Roman empire

Roman emperors
753 BC: Roma (Rome) is founded by Romulus
750 BC: Greeks establish a colony at Cuma
750 BC: first Etruscan inscriptions 27BC-14AD: Augustus/ Octavianus
616 BC: Tarquinius I becomes an Etruscan king of Roma 14-37: Tiberius
600 BC: Etruscans build the colossal tombs of Cerveteri 37-41: Caligula
600 BC: the Forum is built 41-54: Claudius
600 BC: oldest Latin inscriptions 54-68: Nero
578 BC: Tarquinius Priscus builds the Cloaca Maxima, the 68-69: Galba
first sewer 69: Otho
550 BC: Servius Tullius builds city walls 69: Vitellius
474 BC: the Greeks defeat the Etruscans at Cuma 69-79: Vespasian
509 BC: the last king is expelled and Roma becomes a 79-81: Titus
republic 81-96: Domitian
450 BC: the Twelve Tables of the Roman law 96-98: Nerva
396 BC: Roma conquers the Etruscan city of Veii 98-117: Trajan
387 BC: the Gauls/Celts sack Roma 117-38: Hadrian
326 BC: the Circus Maximus is built 138-61: Antoninus Pius
312 BC: the Via Appia is opened 161-80: Marcus Aurelius
312 BC: the first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, is built 161-69: Lucius Aurelius Verus
308 BC: Roma conquers the Etruscan city of Tarquinia 180-92: Commodus
295 BC: Roma defeats the Gauls/Celts in northern Italy 193: Pertinax
287 BC: the Lex Hortensia makes plebiscites binding 193: Didius Julian
280 BC: Roma issues coins 193-211: Septimius Severus
275 BC: Roma conquers southern Italy (Greek colonies) 211-17: Caracalla
272 BC: a second aqueduct, the Anio Vetus, is built 209-11: Geta
264 BC: Roma and Carthage fight the first Punic war 217-18: Macrinus
264 BC: the Romans destroy the last vestiges of the 218-22: Elagabalus
Etruscan civilization (Volsinies) 222-35: Alexander Severus
222 BC: the Gauls are defeated 235-38: Maximin
221 BC: the Circus Flaminius 238: Gordian I
218 BC: Hannibal invades Italy 238: Gordian II
214 BC: war machines designed by Greek mathematician 238: Pupienus
Archimedes save the city of Syracuse, an ally of Carthage, 238: Balbinus
from a Roman naval attack 238-44: Gordian III
202 BC: Scipio defeats Hannibal and Roma annexes Spain 244-49: Philipp "Arabs"
196 BC: the Romans defeat the Macedonian king Philip V at 249-51: Decius
Cynoscephalae 251: Hostilian
189 BC: Antiochus III, king of the Seleucids, is defeated at 251-53: Gallus
the battle of Magnesia and surrenders his possessions in 253: Aemilian
Europe and Asia Minor 253-59: Valerian
184 BC: the Basilica Porcia 259-68: Gallienus
181 BC: Aquileia is founded on the head of the Adriatic 268-70: Claudius II
149 BC: Roma destroys Carthage 270: Quintillus
149 BC: Roma conquers Greece after winning the battle of
Corinth (and destroying Corinth) 270-75: Aurelian
144 BC: the first high-level aqueduct 275-76: Tacitus
133 BC: Attalus III of Pergamum wills his kingdom to 276: Florian
Roma and the whole Mediterranean Sea is under Roman 276-82: Probus
control ("mare nostrum") 282-83: Carus
106 BC: the Romans defeat Jugurtha, king of Numidia 283-84: Numerian
88 BC: Italians are granted full citizenship 283-85: Carinus
83 BC: Sulla becomes dictator 284-305: Diocletian
74 BC: Cicero enters the senate 286-305: Maximian
73 BC: Spartacus leads the revolt of the gladiators 305-306: Constantius I
71 BC: Mithridates VI of Pontus is conquered by Roman 305-311: Galerius
general Lucius Lucullus 306-7: Severus
71 BC: Crassus puts down Spartacus' revolt 306-8: Maximian
70 BC: Crassus and Pompey are elected consuls 306-12: Maxentius
69 BC: Rome invades Tigranes' Armenian kingdom and 308-13: Maximinus Daia
edstroys its capital, Tigranocerta 311-24: Licinius
64 BC: Syria becomes a Roman province under general 311-37: Constantine I
Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius) 337-40: Constantine II
63 BC: Pompeus captures Jerusalem and annexes Palestine 337-61: Constantius II
to Roma 337-50: Constans
60 BC: Crassus, Pompey and Caesar form a "triumvirate" 361-63: Julian
59 BC: Caesar is elected consul 363-64: Jovian
57 BC: Caesar conquers all of Gaul 364-75: Valentinian I
53 BC: in the first war against Persia, Crassus is defeated 364-78: (East) Valens
and killed by the Parthians at Carrhae (Syria) 375-83: (West) Gratian
51 BC: Caesar crushes revolt of Vercingetorix in Gaul 375-92: (West) Valentinian II
50 BC: Roma introduces the gold coin "aureus" 379-95: (West) Theodosius
49 BC: Ceasar crosses the Rubicon, defeats Pompey and 383-88: Maximus
becomes sole dictator of Rome, calling himself "imperator" 392-94: Eugenius
47 BC: Ceasar invades Egypt and proclaims Cleopatra 395-408: (East) Arcadius
queen 395-423: (West) Honorius
45 BC: Julius Caesar employs the Egyptian astronomer 421: Constantius III
Sosigenes to work out a new 12-month calendar (Julian 423-25: Johannes
calendar) 408-50: (East) Theodosius II
44 BC: Ceasar is killed. 425-55: (West) Valentinian III
36 BC: Rome tries to invade Persia 450-57: (East) Marcian
31 BC: Octavianus (Augustus) becomes the first emperor 455: (West) Petronius
after defeating Mark Anthony at the battle of Actium 455-56: (West) Avitus
30 BC: Cleopatra commits suicide and Egypt is annexed to 457-61: (West) Majorian
Roma 457-74: (East) Leo I
20 BC: a treaty between Roma and Persia (Parthians) fixes 461-65: (West) Severus
the boundary between the two empires along the Euphrates 467-72: (West) Anthemius
river (Iraq) 472: (West) Olybrius
17 BC: the theater of Marcellus 473: (West) Glycerius
13 BC: Augustus expands the borders to the region of the 473-75: (West) Julius Nepos
Danube 473-74: (East) Leo II
6 BC: Jesus is born in Palestine 474-91: (East) Zeno
1 AD: Roma has about one million people 475-76: (West) Romulus Augustulus
2 AD: the Forum of Augustus 474-91: (East) Zeno
5 AD: Roma acknowledges Cymbeline, King of the 475-76: (East) Basiliscus
Catuvellauni, as king of Britain 491-518: (East) Anastasius I
6 AD: Augustus expands the borders to the Balkans 518-27: (East) Justin I
9 AD: Gothic warlord Arminius destroys the Roman army 527-65: Justinian
at the Teutoburg Forest 565-78: Justin II
12 AD: The last Etruscan inscription is carved 578-82: Tiberius II
14 AD: Augustus dies and Tiberius becomes emperor 582-602: Maurice
14 AD: five million people live in the Roman empire 602-10: Phocas I
25 AD: Agrippa builds the Pantheon 610-41: Heraclius I
37 AD: Tiberius dies and the mad Caligula succeeds him 641: Constantine III
41 AD: Caligula is assassinated and is succeeded by 641: Heracleon
Claudius 641-68: Constans II
43 AD: Claudius invades Britain 668-85: Constantine IV
46 AD: Thracia becomes a Roman province 685-95: Justinian II
50 AD: the Romans found Londinium in Britain 695-98: Leontius
54 AD: Claudius is succeeded by Nero 698-705: Tiberius II
58 AD: the Romans conquer Armenia 705-11: Justinian II
64 AD: Nero sets fire to Roma and blames the Christians for 711-13: Philippicus
it 713-15: Anastasius II
68 AD: Nero commits suicide and is succeeded by 715-17: Theodosius III
Vespasianus 717-41: Leo III
79 AD: Vespasianus is succeeded by Tito 741-75: Constantine V
70 AD: Tito destroys Jerusalem and Jews spread in 775-80: Leo IV
Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Spain and Greece 780-97: Constantine VI
797-802: Irene
77 AD: the Romans conquer Wales 802-11: Nicephorus I
79 AD: the Vesuvius erupts and Pompeii is buried under ash 811: Stauracius
811-13: Michael I
79 AD: the Colosseum is completed 813-20: Leo V
80 AD: the Romans invade Caledonia (Scotland) 820-29: Michael II
81 AD: the Arch of Titus 829-42: Theophilus I
84 AD: British rebels are defeated by the Romans at the 842-67: Michael III
battle of Mons Graupius 867-86: Basil I
97 AD: Rome forbids human sacrifice throughout the 886-912: Leo VI
Roman empire 912-13: Alexander II
97 AD: Chinese general Pan Chao sends an embassy to the 912-59: Constantine VII
Roman Empire 920-44: Romanus I
98 AD: Trajan becomes emperor 959-63: Romanus II
100: the city of Roma has one million inhabitants 963-69: Nicephorus II
106: Trajan defeats Dacia that becomes a Roman province 969-76: John I
106: Trajan captures the Nabataean capital Petra (Jordan) 976-1025: Basil II
and turns Nabataea into the province of Arabia 1025-28: Constantine VIII
107: The Roman Empire sends an embassy to India 1028-50: Zoe
110: the Basilica of Trajano is completed 1028-34: Romanus III
112: the Forum of Trajanus 1034-41: Michael IV
113: Colonna Traiana 1041-42: Michael V
116: Trajan conquers Mesopotamia and the Parthian 1042-55: Constantine IX
capital Ctesiphon 1055-56: Theodora
117: Trajan dies on his way to the Persian Gulf and Hadrian 1056-57: Michael VI
becomes emperor 1057-59: Isaac I
122: Hadrian's Wall is built along the northern frontier to 1059-67: Constantine X
protect from the Barbarians 1068-71: Romanus IV
132: Jews, led by Bar-Cochba, whom some identify as the 1071-78: Michael VII
Messiah, revolt against Roma 1078-81: Nicephorus III
134: Villa Hadriana 1081-1118: Alexius I
136: emperor Hadrian definitely crushes the Jewish 1118-43: John II
resistance, forbids Jews from ever entering Jerusalem, and 1143-80: Manuel I
changes the name of the city to Aelia Capitolina 1180-83: Alexius II
138: Hadrian is succeeded by Antoninus Pius, who repels 1183-85: Andronicus I
Hadrian's anti-Jewish laws 1185-95: Isaac II
139: Hadrian's mausoleum (Castel Sant'Angelo) 1195-1203: Alexius III
161: Marcus Aurelius becomes Roman emperor 1203-4: Isaac II
164: the plague spreads throughout the Roman empire 1203-4: Alexius IV
193: Septimius Severus, from Libya, becomes emperor 1204: Alexius V
194: Rome annexes Palmyra to the province of Syria 1204-5: (Latin) Baldwin I
212: Caracalla grants Roman citizenship on all free people 1205-16: (Latin) Henry
who live in the Roman Empire 1216-17: (Latin) Peter of Courtenay
214: Caracalla murders King Abgar IX of Edessa and 1217-19: (Latin) Yolande
declares Edessa a Roman colony 1219-28: (Latin) Robert of Courtenay
216: the thermae of Caracalla 1228-61: (Latin) Baldwin II
217: the Baths of Caracalla are inaugurated 1231-37: (Latin) John of Brienne
217: Caracalla is murdered in Edessa 1204-22: (Nicean) Theodore I
218: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the last of the Antonines, 1222-54: (Nicean) John III
becomes emperor and promoties the cult of Elegabalus, a 1254-58: (Nicean) Theodore II
Syriac sun god 1258-61: (Nicean) John IV
235: After the assassination of emperor Severus Alexander a 1259-61: (Nicean) Michael VIII
50-year civil war erupts 1261-82: Michael VIII
244: Shapur I becomes king of the Sassanids and attacks 1282-1328: Andronicus II
Roma 1295-1320: Michael IX
250: emperor Decius orders the first empire-wide 1328-41: Andronicus III
persecution of Christians 1341-47: John V
253: Gallienus becomes emperor but 30 "tyrants" carved 1347-54: John VI
out their own kingdoms around the empire 1355-76: John V
256: the Persians/Sassanids defeat the Romans and conquer 1376-79: Andronicus IV
Dura Europus in Mesopotamia 1379-91: John V
268: Gallienus is assassinated by his own officers 1390: John VII
273: the Romans destroy the rebellious city of Palmyra in 1391-1425: Manuel II
Syria 1425-48: John VIII
284: Diocletian becomes emperor but rules from Nicomedia 1448-53: Constantine XI
in the East
285: Diocletian reunites the empire and ends the 50-year
civil war
298: Roma captures Nisibis and the Sassanids sign a peace
treaty with Roma
300: the population of the Roman Empire is 60 million
(about 15 million Christians)
303: Diocletian orders a general persecution of the
Christians
303: the thermae of Diocletian are built
305: Diocletian retires and civil war erupts again
312: Constantine becomes emperor
313: Constantine ends the persecution of the Christians
(edict of Milano)
313: the Basilica of Maxentius is completed
313: Constantine recognizes the Christian church
324: Constantine I founds a new city, Constantinople
(Byzantium)
330: Constantine I moves the capital of the Roman empire
to Constantinople (Byzantium)
337: after Constantine's death, his sons split the empire:
Constantine II (Spain, Britain, Gaul), Constans I (Italy,
Africa, Illyricum, Macedon, Achaea) and Constantius II (the
East)
356: Roma has 28 libraries, 10 basilicas, 11 public baths,
two amphitheaters, three theaters, two circuses, 19
aqueducts, 11 squares, 1,352 fountains, 46,602 insulae (city
blocks)
359: Constantinople becomes the capital of the Roman
empire
360: pagan (Mithraist) general Julian (the "apostate")
defeats an invasion of Barbarians and is declared emperor
by his German troops
363: Julian dies attempting to invade the Sassanid kingdom
of Persia, which recaptures Nisibis and Armenia, and
general Valentinian becomes emperor
363: an earthquake destroys Petra
364: Valentinian delegates Valens as emperor of the East
376: Valens allows Visigoths to settle within the empire
378: the Visigoths defeat the Roman army at
Hadrianopolis/Adrianople
380: Theodosius I proclaims Christianity as the sole religion
of the Roman Empire
393: Theodosius forbids the Olympic Games because pagans
and shuts down the temple of Zeus at Olympia
395: Theodosius divides the Roman empire in the Western
and Eastern Empires, with Milano and Constantinople as
their capitals
402: the western Roman empire moves the capital from
Milano to Ravenna
406: Barbarians invade France from the north
410: the Visigots sack Roma
410: Roma withdraws from Britannia
418: the emperor grants Wallia's Visigoths to settle in
Aquitaine (Atlantic coast of France)
425: the eastern emperor Theodosius II installs Valentinian
III as emperor of the west
427: Gensenric's Vandals crosses the strait of Gibraltar and
lands in Africa
443: the emperor grants Burgundi to settle in Savoy
450: Theodosius II dies and Marcian succeeds him, the first
Roman emperor to be crowned by a religious leader (the
patriarch of Constantinople)
452: the Huns invade Italy
455: the Vandals sack Roma
476: Odoacer, a mercenary in the service of Roma, leader of
the Germanic soldiers in the Roman army, deposes the
western Roman emperor and thereby terminates the
western Roman empire
488: emperor Zeno sends Theodoric's Ostrogoths (still
settled in Pannonia) to conquer Italy
493: the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric conquer Italy
500: Roma's population has declined to less than 100,000
people
526: Antioch in Syria is destroyed by an earthquake
527: Justinian becomes eastern Roman emperor and decides
to reconquer Italy
527: Byzantium enforces anti-Jewish laws and the Jews all
but disappear from the eastern Roman Empire
529: Roman emperor Justinian shuts down the Academia of
Plato
533: Justinian's code of law ("Corpus Juri Civilis") is
published
534: Justinian's general Belisarius destroys the Arian
kingdom of the Vandals and reconquers southern Spain and
northern Africa
536: the Ostrogoths surrender and Belisarius reconquers
Rome (beginning of the Barbar wars in Italy)
537: Justinian's general Belisarius deposes pope Silverius
and replaces him with pope Vigilius
537: Justinian builds the church of Hagia Sophia in
Constantinople
540: Justinian's general Belisarius takes Ravenna from the
last Ostrogothic resistance and thus reconquers Italy to the
empire
542: the plague decimates the Empire
546: Visigothic rebels led by Totila sack Roma
551: imperial troops reconquer Rome
552: Nestorian monks smuggle silkworm eggs from China to
Byzanthium
552: End of Ostrogothic resistance in Italy
554: Rome is reduced to a camp of about 30,000 people,
while Constantinople has about one million people
554: the new king of the Visigoths, Athanagild, accepts the
emperor's sovereignity over Spain
554: the empire reorganizes Italy as an imperial province
(end of the Barbar wars)
565: Justinian dies
568: Alboin's Lombards invade northern Italy
600: Constantinople has 500,000 inhabitants
602: the Persians (Sassanids) attack the eastern Roman
empire in Asia Minor
610: Heraclius I overthrows the tyrant Phocas and becomes
emperor
614: the Persians (Sassanids) capture Jerusalem
619: the Persians capture Egypt
621: the Visigoths reconquer all of Spain from the Roman
empire
626: the Sassanids besiege Constantinople
627: the Sassanid king Khusrau II is defeated by Roman
emperor Heraclius at Niniveh
628: the Romans retake Syria from the Sassanids
636: Arabs capture Syria and Palestine
639: the Arabs invade the southern provinces of the Empire
673: the Arabs besiege Constantinople
714: the Arabs besiege Constantinople
718: Leo III repels the Arabs from Constantinople
726: Emperor Leo III orders the destruction of all icons
(iconoclasm)
739: emperor Leo III issues the Ecloga that introduces
Christian principles into law
800: Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned emperor
by Pope Leo III and founds the Holy Roman Empire
811: the eastern Roman emperor recognized Charlemagne
as emperor of Roma
812: a peace treaty between Charlemagne and the Eastern
Roman Empire surrenders Venezia to the Eastern empire
but grants Venezia the right to trade with the Holy Roman
Empire
813: an Armenian general becomes eastern Roman emperor
Leo V
840: Basil's fleet retakes Bari from the Muslims
843: Icons are restored
846: the city of Roma has 17,000 inhabitants
860: the Rus attack Constantinople
867: Basil I becomes the Byzantine emperor and founds the
Macedonian dynasty
879: Basil I defeats the Arabs and reconquers Cappadocia
896: Symeon of Bulgaria defeats the Byzantine army for the
first time
922: Symeon of Bulgaria defeats the Byzantine army for the
fourth and last time
934: Magyars raid Constantinople
968: Nicephorus II defeats the Arabs and reconquers Syria
969: Nicephorus II defeats the Bulgars
976: Basil II becomes the Byzantine emperor
1018: Basil II annexes Bulgaria and the Byzantine empire
reaches its zenith
1025: Basil II dies
1054: The patriarch of Constantinople and the pope in
Roma excommunicate each other (the Great Schism)
1057: end of the Macedonian dynasty
1064: the Seljuks invade Armenia
1071: the Byzantine army of Romanus IV Diogenes is
defeated by the Seljuks at Manzikert in Armenia, and
establish a sultanate in Anatolia
1071: Normans led by Robert Guiscard conquer southern
Italy from the eastern Roman empire
1081: Alexius I Komnenos establishes the Komnenos
dynasty
1099: the first Crusade captures Jerusalem
1187: Saladin defeats the crusaders
1204: the Crusaders, led by the Doge of Venezia, sack
Constantinople, expel the Greek emperor Alexius III and set
up a Latin kingdom, led by Baldwin I of the Flanders, while
Venezia acquires territories in the Mediterranean and Black
Seas
1204: Theodore I Lascaris, son-in-law od Alexius III, flees
from Constantinople to Nicaea (Bithynia), where he founds
a the empire, whereas Alexius founds the empire of
Trebizond further east
1211: Nicaea emperor Theodore I Lascaris conquers most of
Anatolia
1261: Constantinople is liberated by the Nicaean emperor
Michael VIII Paleologus and Greek becomes the official
language of the ever smaller eastern Roman empire
1291: the Moslems expel the Crusaders from the Middle
East
1345: Serbia defeats the eastern Roman empire and annexes
Macedonia and Thrace
1347: the plague (Black Death) strikes Constantinople and it
will kill half the population of the city
1348: Serbia defeats the eastern Roman empire and annexes
Thessaly and Epirus
1453: the Ottoman Turks under Mehmet II capture
Constantinople
1461: the Ottomans conquer the empire of Trebizond, the
last Greek state