• Mythological Beginning

• Romulus and Remus (753 BC)

• Aeneus from Troy (Virgil)

• Sailed to Rome after the fall of Troy

• Had affair with Dido of Carthage (Phoenicians)

• When Aeneus left her, she committed suicide and vowed that Carthage and Rome would always be enemies

• Etruscans

• Monarchy

• Culture: Women equal, superstition.

• Built Rome

• Overthrown 508 BC

• After "rape of Lucretia"

• New govt.

• Republican form

• Consuls, praetors, senate

• Expansion

• 340 Latin states

• Greek communities in south Italy 267 BC

• Etruscans 264 BC

• Struggle of orders 494 BC to 287 BC

• Patricians v. Plebeians

• Council of plebs, tribune

• Punic Wars

• First – Sicily

• Second – Hannibal, Battle of Cannae, Battle of Zama 202 BC

• Third – 146 BC Carthage destroyed

• Greeks taken over 146 BC

FALL OF THE REPUBLIC (133-31 B.C.)

• Fall of Republic 133-31 BC

• Gracchus Brothers (reforms)

• Marius (army of landless, loyal to generals)

• Sulla (march into Rome)

• Spartacus – 73 BC

• First Triumvirate

• Crassus, Pompey, Julius Caesar (60 BC)

• Julius Caesar

• Killed 44 BC

• Becomes “dictator for life”

• crossed Rubicon

• Octavian (Augustus) (31 BCE – 14 CE)

• Defeated Antony and Cleopatra, Battle of Actium 31 BC)

• “Restoration of the Republic” 27 BC

• Pax Romana

ROMAN EMPIRE

EARLY EMPIRE (14-180)

• Tiberius

• Established Julio-Claudian dynasty (14-68)

• Nero (54-68)

• Persecuted Christians

• Eliminated people

• Five Good Emperors (96-180)

• Trajan (to Dacia, Mesopotamia, Sinai)

• Hadrian (117-138), withdrew, wall in Britain

• Caracalla 212

• Roman citizenship to all

• Crisis of Third Century

• Severan rulers (193-235)

• Anarchy

LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (end 3rd, beg. Of 4th c.)

• Diocletian (284-305)

• Divided empire into Tetrarchy

• Constantine (306-337)

• Reunified Empire

• Edict of Milan 312 – Christianity tolerated

• Capital moved to Constantinople

• Theodosius 347 -395

• Christianity official religion

• Visigoths

• Pushed out by Hun

• Battle at Adrianople 378

• Sacking Rome 410

• Odoacer

• German “master of soldiers”

• Deposed last emperor in West in 476

• Romulus Augustus