Timeline of the Romans
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753BCÂ Â Â Apr 21, Rome was founded.
The traditional date for founding by Romulus as a refuge for runaway
slaves and murderers who captured the neighboring Sabine women for
wives. Archeological evidence indicates that the founders of Rome
were Italic people who occupied the area south of the Tiber River.
  Â
(HFA,'96,p.28)(V.D.-H.K.p.61)(http://eawc.evansville.edu,p.7)(HN,4/21/98)
620BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Ostia was founded by the
fourth king of Rome, Ancus Marcius, who was thought to have ruled in
the late seventh century BC. It was founded about this time at the
mouth of the Tiber River. Nearby salt flats provided a valuable
source of salt for preserving meat. Around 400BC it was conquered by
Rome and turned into a naval base.
   (www.ostia-antica.org/intro.htm)(SSFC, 5/11/08,
p.E8)
c600BCÂ Â Â The Etruscans, believed to be natives of
Asia Minor, established cities that stretched from northern to
central Italy. They developed the arch and the vault, gladiatorial
combat for entertainment, and the study of animals to predict future
events.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.8)
c600BCÂ Â Â The Greeks established city-states along
the southern coast of Italy and the island of Sicily. They
contributed letters to the Roman alphabet, religious concepts and
artistic talent as well as mythology.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.8)
600-500BCÂ Â Â Rome by this time was the dominant power
in its surrounding area. The conservative government consisted of a
kingship, that resembled the traditional values of the patriarchal
family; an assembly, composed of male citizens of military age; and
a Senate, comprised of elders who served as the heads of different
community sects. The Palatine is one of the seven hills of Rome
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.7)(SFC,12/26/97,
p.C22)
509BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans overthrew King
Lucius Tarquinius and established a republic with rule by the senate
and the people of Rome (SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanus).
   (V.D.-H.K.p.61)(http://eawc.evansville.edu,
p.10)(Econ, 11/6/04, p.85)
509BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Fall of the Tarquin
dynasty in Rome marked the beginning of Etruscan Decline.
   (NG, 6/1988, p.711)
500-400BCÂ Â Â The Capitoline Wolf, a bronze she-wolf
sculpture, was made. It was unknown whether the sculpture was
Etruscan, Roman or from Magna Graecia.
   (AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.19)
494BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome the first victory
of the plebeian class over the patricians resulted in an agreement
between the two classes to allow the plebeians to elect officers,
and tribunes with the power to veto any unlawful acts of the
magistrates.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.10)
474BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In 2018 Italian
authorities unveiled the "epochal" discovery of hundreds of
Roman-era gold coins, dating from this time, that were found during
excavations to build a new apartment building in the northern city
of Como.
   (AP, 9/10/18)
458BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Quinctius
Cincinnatus (520BC-430BC) was appointed dictator for six months. He
was called from retirement to confront the Aequi, who had trapped a
Roman army.
   (Econ, 3/10/12,
p.66)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnatus)
450BC Â Â Â Roman law was codified in the twelve
tablets. The law allowed the plebeians to have knowledge of their
relationship to the law. The plebeians were primarily farmers,
craftsmen and tradesmen with foreign backgrounds. The patricians
made up the aristocracy.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.67)(http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.11)
c400BCÂ Â Â In a wave of Celtic expansion tribes poured
through the Alps into Italy.
   (NGM, 5/77)
396BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sacking of Veio (Etruscan
city), after a ten-year siege, ended the city’s long conflict with
Rome. (NG, 6/1988, p.711)
387BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rampaging bands of Celts
captured Rome and then settled down to a life of agriculture in the
Po Valley.
   (NGM, 5/77)
367BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome the first
plebeian consul was elected to the assembly. The Plebeians also
became eligible to serve as lesser magistrates, formerly a position
reserved for the aristocratic class. Because an ancient custom
allowed promotion from the magistracy to the Senate, the
patrician-dominated Senate was broken.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.12)
312BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Appius Claudius, the
Blind, as consul began the building of the Via Appia. The historian
Procopius states that the road was completed at this time. It ran
due south from Rome to Capua. (V.D.-H.K.p.69)(SFC, 6/3/96, p.E5)
304BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Cnieus Flavius, a
commoner, brought justice to Rome by stealing a calendar. He posted
his purloined tablet in the Roman Forum. The letters A-H
corresponded to an 8-day Roman market-day cycle.
   (SFEC, 9/27/98, BR p.5)
c300-200BCÂ Â Â Andronicus Livius, a Roman actor of the
3rd cent. BCE improvised silently and originated pantomime.
   (SFC,12/27/97, p.C3)
295BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â The Battle of
Sentinum. Etruria was defeated by Rome and the Etruscan decline
continued for more than 200 years. Â Â Â (NG, 6/1988,
p.739)
287BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome the plebeians
passed a law that allowed the decisions of the assembly to override
the Senate.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.14)
280BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The army of King Pyrrhus
of Epirus, a Greek state, suffered irreplaceable casualties in
defeating the Romans at Heraclea during the Pyrrhic War.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory)
279BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The army of King Pyrrhus
of Epirus, a Greek state, suffered irreplaceable casualties in
defeating the Romans at Asculum during the Pyrrhic War. The phrase
Pyrrhic victory came to signify a victory gained at a devastating
cost.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory)
269BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Roman system of
coinage was established.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.14)
265BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome completed its
domination of the entire Italian peninsula and began its pursuit of
a larger empire that resulted in a series of wars with other
nations.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.14)
264BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome initiated the Punic
Wars with Carthage, an oligarchic empire that stretched from the
northern coast of Africa to the Strait of Gibraltar. The primary
cause was the Carthaginian expansion into the Greek cities of
Sicily. Carthage was forced to surrender its control over the
western region of Sicily and this marked the end of the first Punic
War. The three Punic Wars: 264-241 BCE, 218-202 BCE, 149-146 BCE,
also known as the Carthaginian Wars, finally resulted in the
destruction of Carthage and Roman control of the western
Mediterranean.
   (eawc, p.14)(HNQ, 6/4/02)
262BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â War broke out between
Carthage and Rome. Three long wars lasted till 146BCE when Carthage
was destroyed by Rome.
   (Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.167-8)
261BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome captured a Punic
quinquereme. In two months they copied it plank by plank and built
100 like it and eventually the Roman fleet was able to defeat the
Carthaginians.
   (NG, Aug., 1974, p.178)
256BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Carthaginian city of
Kerouane was sacked by the Romans.
   (NG, 8/04, p.48)
250-150BCÂ Â Â Punic wars between Rome and Carthage.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.63)
241BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, The Battle of
Aegusa in which the Roman fleet sank 50 Carthaginian ships occurred.
   (HN, 3/10/98)
241BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans incorporated
Sicily as a province.
   (AM, 11/00, p.12)
240BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Ludi Romani annual
festival allowed a Greek play to be staged in Latin translation by
Livius Andronicus.
   (Econ, 2/6/15, p.76)
239-169BCÂ Â Â Ennius, Roman poet: "A friend in need is
a friend indeed."
   (SSFC, 5/18/03, Par p.26)(WUD, 1994, p.474)
238 BCÂ Â Â The Romans occupied Sardinia.
   (SFEC, 1/30/00, p.T4)
238BC-227AD The Parthians (238 B.C.-A.D. 227) ruled the Persian
Empire despite attempts by the Roman Republic (133-27 B.C.), the
Roman Empire (27 B.C.-A.D. 476) to conquer it. During the
centuries-long struggle, border towns and provinces in the Near East
passed back and forth like Alsace-Lorraine or the Polish Corridor
would in nineteenth-and twentieth-century Europe. Rarely in the
history of human conflict has a feud such as the one between the
empires of Rome and Persia lasted so long and accomplished so
little.
   (HNQ, 12/22/00)
234-149 BC Â Â Â Cato, Roman statesman and historian:
"If you are ruled by mind, you are a king; if by body, a slave."
   (AP, 1/11/99)
233BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â General Quintus Fabius
Maximus led a Roman victory against the Ligurian tribes northwest of
Italy.
   (ON, 9/05, p.6)
225BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Polybius, a Greek
historian, described the naked gaesatae, Celtic spearmen, at the
Battle of Telamon, northwest of Rome where the Romans defeated the
Celts.
   (NGM, 5/77)
222-196BCÂ Â Â The Romans showed up at the site of
Milan and subdued the Gauls after 26 years of butchery. Mittaland
was Latinized to Medioland, i.e. middle of the plain, and later
transformed to Milano.
   (SFEC, 7/13/97, p.T12)
218BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans renewed their
efforts against Carthage as Carthage expanded into Spain. This 2nd
Punic War lasted 16 years at the of which Carthage was forced to
surrender al of its territory to Rome except for its capital city in
North Africa.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
218BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Hannibal crossed Portugal
on his way to storm Rome.
   (SSFC, 9/29/02, p.C11)
218-201BCÂ Â Â Numidia, ancient Roman name for part of
northern Africa roughly equivalent to modern Algeria. In the Second
Punic War (218-201 BCE) between Carthage and Rome, western Numidia
supported Carthage. King Masinissa of eastern Numidia joined the
Romans. With the victory of Rome, Masinissa controlled all Numidia.
   (WWW, Encarta, 12/19/98)
217BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, Carthaginian
forces led by Hannibal destroyed a Roman army under consul Gaius
Flaminicy in a battle at Lake Trasimenus in central Italy. Hannibal
of Carthage attacked Roman Consul Flaminio at Tuoro on Lake
Trasimeno in Umbria. Hannibal’s army of Numidians, Berbers, Libyans,
Gascons, and Iberians was down to one elephant after crossing the
Alps with 39. His army of 40,000 drove the Romans into the lake
where 15,000 died as opposed to 1,500 of Hannibal’s men. Two nearby
towns were named Ossaia (boneyard) and Sanguineto (bloodied).
   (SFEM, 10/12/97, p.37)(HN, 6/21/98)
217BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â During the Second Punic
War Rome appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus as dictator to stave off
Hannibal’s Carthaginian army.
   (ON, 9/05, p.6)
216 BCÂ Â Â Aug 2, Hannibal Barca of Carthage won his
greatest victory over the Romans at Cannae. Hannibal seized a grain
depot in the small village of Cannae in order to lure the Romans to
battle. Having crossed over the Alps, Hannibal‘s forces defeated the
Romans at the Trebia River and also at Lake Trasimene. Thereafter,
the Romans were unwilling to commit a large force to attacking
Hannibal. However, Hannibal‘s spies had learned two Roman consuls
shared command of the legions and attempted to goad the more
impetuous of the two into battle at Cannae.
   (HN, 8/2/98)(HNQ, 11/16/00)
212BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â A suspected influenza
epidemic struck during Rome’s siege of Syracuse.
   (Econ 5/27/17, p.75)
212BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Archimedes (b.287BC),
Greek mathematician, died. Legend holds that he was killed by a
Roman soldier during an invasion of Syracuse, because he was too
busy doing calculations to obey the soldier’s orders.
   (SFC, 5/23/05, p.A4)
211BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman legions overran the
Greek settlement of Morgantina on Sicily.
   (SFC, 4/4/98, p.A13)
206BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome destroyed
Carthaginian forces at the Battle of Metaurus in northern Italy.
   (ON, 9/05, p.7)
204BC-202BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Greece and most of
Asia Minor came under the control of the Romans after the Roman
victory over Carthage in the 2nd Punic War.
   (WSJ, 12/26/97, p.A7)(ON, 9/05, p.7)
203BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Quintus Fabius Maximus
Verrucosus (b~280), Roman general and dictator, died shortly before
Hannibal’s final defeat. He was nicknamed “The Delayer” for wearing
down Hannibal’s invading army by avoiding pitched battles. The name
Fabian has come to mean “using a cautious strategy of delay and
avoidance of battle.”
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintus_Fabius_Maximus_Verrucosus)(ON,
9/05, p.7)(Econ, 7/7/12, p.64)
203BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Hannibal and his army
returned home to defend Carthage against Roman forces.
   (ON, 9/05, p.7)
202BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman forces under Scipio
Africanus defeated Hannibal of Carthage on the Plains of Zama in
northern Tunisia.
   (NG, 8/04,
p.44)(www2.cs.uh.edu/~clifton/hannibal.html)
199-150BCÂ Â Â Early in the 2nd century BCE the Romans
made Macedonia into a province and obliterated the city of Corinth.
   (WSJ, 12/26/97, p.A7)
184BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome Cato the Censor
(234-149) was elected as one of two censors, i.e. assessors of
property and moral conduct. He aimed to preserve Roman ways and
tried to extirpate Greek influences.
    (V.D.-H.K.p.65)
170BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Accius, Roman
poet, wrote "Has oderint dum metuant" (Let them hate us, so long as
they fear us). This became a favorite phrase of Emperor Caligula.
   (SFC, 3/16/03, p.D3)
169BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Ennius, considered to be
the father of Latin poetry, died.
   (Econ, 2/6/15, p.77)
168BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Greek city of Aigai
was destroyed by the Romans.
   (AP, 8/29/09)
168BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Illyria and Epirus were
conquered by Rome.  Â
   (CO, Grolier's Amer. Acad. Enc./ Albania)
167BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome presented to Athens
the island of Delos, whose prosperous slave and commodities market
brought large profits.
   (WSJ, 12/26/97, p.A7)
165 BC Â Â Â Romans captured King Gent of Illyria and
sent him to Rome. Illyria went under Roman control.
   (www, Albania, 1998)
149-146BCÂ Â Â Rome and Carthage fought the 3rd Punic
War that resulted in the total defeat of Carthage. All inhabitants
of Carthage were sold into slavery and the city was burned to the
ground. As a result of the Punic wars Rome expanded its empire to
cover Spain, North Africa, Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt.
   (eawc, p.15)(HNQ, 8/9/00)
146BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman forces breached the
walls of Carthage. All inhabitants were sold into slavery. The city
was burned to the ground and the land was sown with salt.
   (NG, Aug., 1974, p.174)(NG, 8/04, p.46)
146-30BCÂ Â Â All Hellenistic territory became subject
to Rome over this period.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
146-30BCÂ Â Â Roman civilization as a result of the
Punic Wars witnessed a series of cultural conflicts and
assassinations.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
141BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans incorporated
Macedonia as a province.
   (AM, 11/00, p.12)
133BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome Tiberius Gracchus
was elected as tribune. He and his brother, elected in 123BCE,
strove for reforms in the Roman Republic, but failed due to the
conservative customs of the upper class and their resistance to
change. Marius and Sulla, 2 military leaders, followed the attempts
of the Gracchi.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
133BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Attalus III of Pergamon
bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. It became the province of Asia.
   (AM, 11/00, p.12)
123BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome Gaius Gracchus
was elected as tribune. [see 133BCE]
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
123BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans won a victory
over the Gauls near a 3,000 foot peak that was named Mt.
Sainte-Victoire in commemoration. It established a marker between
civilization and barbarism.
   (WSJ, 2/13/04, p.A12)
116-27BCÂ Â Â Marcus Terentius Varro, a Roman scholar
and author.
   (AM, 11/00, p.78)(WUD, 1994 p.1581)
106BC Â Â Â Jan 3, Marcus Cicero (d.43BCE), Roman
orator, statesman and author, was born. He was elected Consul in 63.
He chose to support Pompey over Caesar and was murdered by Mark
Antony: "What is more unwise than to mistake uncertainty for
certainty, falsehood for truth?"
   (V.D.-H.K.p.74)(AP, 4/10/98)(HN, 1/3/99)
106-48BC   Pompey, military and political
leader of the late Roman Republic. He was a rival to Caesar for
Roman power.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey)
105BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The heart of ancient
Numidia lay in the eastern region of what is now Algeria in Northern
Africa. The Numidians were originally nomadic horsemen. They were
defeated by Roman troops in the Jugurthine War in 105 BC and
conquered by Rome in 46 BC. The Vandals and Byzantines ruled
successively before Arabs conquered the area in the seventh century
AD. Jugurtha was the king of Numidia.
   (HNQ, 6/2/98)(SFC, 2/12/02, p.D3)
104BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome faced a slave
retaliation in Sicily.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
c100BCÂ Â Â Jul 12, Gaius Julius Caesar (d.44BC), Roman
general and statesman, was born.
   (WUD, 1994 p.208)(AP, 7/12/97)(HN, 7/12/98)
100-1BCÂ Â Â A Roman fortified citadel was built about
this time in Moldova. It may have protected a town occupied by a
late-era Sarmatian king.
   (SFC, 1/28/97, p.A5)
96-81BCÂ Â Â The Circus of Domitian was built in Rome.
It later became the Piazza Navona.
   (SFEC, 7/2/00, p.T5)
89BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman general Cornelius
Sulla sacked Clusium, the Etruscan capital.
   (Econ, 11/6/04, p.85)
80BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman Gen. Pompey
conquered Domitius Ahenobarbus and King Hiarbus of Numidia. Pompey
restored Hiempsal to his throne.
  Â
(http://tinyurl.com/98vk3p9)(www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_juba_I_numidia.html)(Econ,
8/4/12, p.53)
80sBCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mithridates, ruler of
Pontus in the north of Asia Minor, made war on Rome and overran much
of Asia Minor and parts of Greece. The Athenians joined Mithridates
and was consequently besieged by the Roman Gen’l. Sulla.
   (WSJ, 12/26/97, p.A7)
80BC-70BCÂ Â Â The Romans built the Flavian Amphiteatre
and named it after the family name of Emperor Vespasian. The
Colosseum could seat 50,000 spectators and had underground chambers,
dens and passageways, an area known as the hypogeum.
   (SFC, 10/15/10, p.A5)
74BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â According to Pliny the
Roman General Lucullus introduced cherries to Europe. Greeks had
cultivated cherries hundreds of years before this.
   (SFC, 4/12/03, p.E3)
73BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome faced a 2nd slave
uprising in Sicily.
   (http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
71BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Spartacus (b.111BC),
Thracian gladiator, died. He along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus,
and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third
Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and
surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may
not always be reliable. However, all sources agree that he was a
former gladiator and an accomplished military leader.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus)
70BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Oct 15, Virgil [Vergil]
(Publius Vergilius Maro), Roman poet, was born in Mantua. He wrote
about the mythical founding of Rome in the Aeneid, which told the
legend of Rome‘s founder and was considered a national epic.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.60)(HN, 10/15/98)(AMNHDT, 5/98)
69BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Pliny the Elder (23-79CE),
a Roman naturalist, recorded that the Roman Gen’l. Lucullus
experienced an attack by the Samosatans at this time with a
flammable mud called maltha (semisolid petroleum and gases).
   (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.57)(WUD, 1994, p.1106)
65 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Dec 8, Quintus "Horace"
Horatius Flaccus (d.8 BCE), Roman poet and satirist best known for
his three books "Odes," was born.
   (HN, 12/8/98)(AP, 11/4/00)
64BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Greek settlement of
Seleucia (in southeastern Turkey) was conquered and ruled by the
Roman Empire and with this shift the name of the city was changed
into Zeugma, meaning "bridge-passage" or "bridge of boats."
   (Arch, 9/02,
p.62)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeugma_(city))
63BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Caesar Augustus
(63BCE-14CE) was born in Rome. Augustus, first emperor of Rome,
ended the era of the Roman Republic and introduced the Pax Romana,
the era of peace. Augustus held power but shared administrative
tasks with the Senate, consuls, and tribunes who continued to be
elected: "Make haste slowly."
   (V.D.-H.K.p.63)(AP, 9/23/97)(AP, 11/20/97)(HN,
9/23/98)
63BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Cicero was elected Consul
of Rome. During this time he suppressed a conspiracy to murder the
entire Senate.
   (WSJ, 6/11/02, p.D7)
63BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans conquer the
Jews. The Jews appealed to Pompey to settle internal dissention. The
Romans intervened and began their occupation of Palestine.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.102)(http://eawc.evansville.edu,
p.15)
63BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Caesar’s troops plundered
Terena in Portugal’s Alentejo province.
   (SSFC, 9/29/02, p.C11)
55BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Roman forces under
Julius Caesar invaded Britain. 80 war galleys with some ten thousand
foot soldiers prevailed over the native Britons.
   (AP, 8/26/97)(ON, 6/09, p.6)
55BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Lucretius (b.~99BC), a
Roman poet and philosopher, died about this time. He had authored
“On the Nature of Things” (De Rerum Natura), which laid out in 7,400
lines of Latin verse the radical philosophy of the Greek philosopher
Epicurus (341BC-270BC). The work disappeared in the Middle Ages and
lay largely forgotten until 1417, when bibliophile Poggio
Bracciolini stumbled on the work in a monastery in southern Germany.
   (SSFC, 12/18/11,
p.F7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretius)
55BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Pompey dedicated his
theater, the first to be constructed of stone in Rome.
   (RFH-MDHP, p.214)
54BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jul, Roman forces under
Julius Caesar invaded Britain for a 2nd time. He was accompanied by
Mandubracius, an exiled British chieftain. The expedition of 10,000
foot soldiers and 2,00 cavalry was followed by a number of privately
owned vessels commissioned by Roman merchants eager to take
advantage of Caesar’s anticipated victory.
   (ON, 6/09, p.7)
54BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans under Julius
Caesar fought the first skirmishes with the Celts in England.
British chieftain Cassivellaunus, who had killed the father of
Mandubracius, led a guerilla style war against Caesar’s legions.
Caesar’s forces prevailed and Cassivellaunus agreed not to make war
against Mandubracius.
   (SFEC, 6/22/97, BR p.3)(ON, 6/09, p.7)
54BC-52BCÂ Â Â The Gauls rose in revolt against Caesar.
   (ON, 6/09, p.7)
54BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Eburons, A Belgian
tribe under the command of their King Ambiorix, won a victory
against the Roman Legion.
   (http://www.trabel.com/tongeren-history.htm)
54BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Gaius Valerius Catullus
(b.~84BC), Roman poet, died about this time. He became famous for
his epicurean lifestyle and erotic poems.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus)(Econ,
2/23/08, p.103)
53BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Caesar claimed to have
wiped out the Celtic Eburones after they conspired with other groups
in an attack that killed 6,000 Roman soldiers. The Eburones lived in
an area that later came be known as part of Belgium, Germany and the
Netherlands.
   (AP,
11/14/08)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eburones)
53BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Persians defeated the
Romans in the Battle of Carrhae. Some 20,000 Romans under Crassus
were killed by the Parthian army and 10,000 were captured. The
Parthians then used the Romans as guards on their eastern frontier
in what later became Turkestan.
   (ATC, p.33)(HC, 9/3/04)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.59)
52BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Pompey dedicated his
Temple of Venus Victrix.
   (RFH-MDHP, p.214)
c52BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Cicero defended Titus
Milo for the murder of Publius Clodius. The setting is the
background for the historical detective novel: "A Murder on the
Appian Way" by Steven Saylor.
   (SFC, 6/3/96, p.E5)
52BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Caesar climaxed his
conquest of Gaul at Alesia where he vanquished Celtic forces under
Vercingetorix.
   (NGM, 5/77)
50BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Virgil first described the
Damask Rose.
   (TGR, 1995, p.3)
50BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Maastricht, Netherlands,
began as a Roman settlement.
   (SSFC, 2/20/05, p.F2)
49 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Julius Caesar led
his army across the Rubicon, plunging Rome into civil war. [see Mar
10]
   (HN, 1/11/99)
49 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Julius Caesar
crossed the Rubicon River signaling a war between Rome and Gaul.
[see Jan 11, Mar 10]
   (HN, 1/12/99)
49BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Julius Caesar
crossed the Rubicon and invaded Italy. The event was noted by
Suetonius in the phrase: "The die is cast."
   (SFEC,12/14/97, BR p.5)(HN, 3/10/98)
49BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mauretania (now northern
Morocco and Algeria) became a client kingdom of Rome.
   (AM, May/Jun 97 p.22)
48BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Julius Caesar
defeated Gnaius Pompey at Pharsalus.
   (HN, 8/9/98)
48 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, On landing in
Egypt, Pompey was assassinated by Roman advisors of King Ptolemy X!!
of Egypt.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey)
47 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Caesar defeated
Pharnaces at Zela in Syria and declares "veni, vidi, vici," (I came,
I saw, I conquered).
   (HN, 8/2/98)
47BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Julius Caesar adopted a
modified form of the Egyptian Calendar. Together with Sosigenes, an
astronomer from Alexandria, the new calendar spreads the last 5-6
days of the Egyptian calendar amongst alternate months. March 1
began the year as a carry over from the old Roman calendar.
   (K.I.-365D, p.84)
46BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Julian calendar was
introduced by Julius Caesar (708 AUC). It was a reform of the Roman
calendar and took effect January 1, 45 BC (709 AUC).
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar)
46BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The heart of ancient
Numidia lay in the eastern region of what is now Algeria in Northern
Africa. They were conquered by Rome in 46 BCE. The Vandals and
Byzantines ruled successively before Arabs conquered the area in the
seventh century CE.
   (HNQ, 6/2/98)
45BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, The Julian calendar
took effect. The year -45 has been called the "year of confusion,"
because in that year Julius Caesar inserted 90 days to bring the
months of the Roman calendar back to their traditional place with
respect to the seasons. This was Caesar's first step in replacing a
calendar that had gone badly awry.
   (http://astro.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html)
45BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Caesar defeated the
least of his rivals and was proclaimed dictator for life.
   (ON, 6/09, p.7)
c45BCÂ Â Â Colonia Julia Equestris, a Roman veterans’
colony, was founded in what is now Nyon, Switzerland. Nyon is
derived from the Celtic name Noviodunum.
   (AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.10)
44BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Roman Emperor
Julius Caesar (b.100BC) was murdered by Brutus, Cassius and other
conspirators on the Ides of March. Caesar had defeated Pompey in
battle and had Pompey murdered in 48BCE. He was perceived as a big
threat to the Roman Aristocracy and so his murder was supported by
Cicero and most Romans. In 2006 Adrian Goldsworthy authored “Caesar:
Life of a Colossus.”
   (ATC, p.24)(AP, 3/15/97)(WSJ, 10/24/06, p.D6)
44BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome’s great orator Cicero
wrote a book for his son Marcus called de Officiis (On Duties). It
drew on the works of various Greek philosophers, whose works have
been lost, but his remain.
   (Econ, 10/11/14, p.51)
44BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Caesar began building a
colony at Butrint, Albania. Titus Pomponius Atticus described the
area as "the quietest, coolest, most pleasant place in the world."
   (Reuters, 6/13/06)
44BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The month of Quintilis was
changed to Julius in honor of Julius Caesar. It had been the fifth
month in the earliest calendar attributed to Romulus, which began
with Martius and had 10 months. After a calendar reform that
produced a 12-month year, Quintilis became the seventh month, but
retained its name.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintilis)
44BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â A bright comet was
declared by the Romans to be the soul of Julius Caesar ascending to
join the gods.
   (SFC, 3/28/97, p.A12)
43BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Ovid (d.17?18CE),
Publius Ovidius Naso, Roman poet, was born. His writings included:
"The Art of Love."
   (WUD, 1994, p.1032)(SFEC, 12/22/96, Z1 p.2)(HN,
3/20/01)
43 BCÂ Â Â Apr 21, Marcus Antonius was defeated by
Octavian near Modena, Italy.
   (HN, 4/21/99)
43 BCÂ Â Â Nov 27, Octavian, Antony and Lepidus formed
the triumvirate of Rome.
   (HN, 11/27/98)
43BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Cicero (b.106BCE),
considered one of the greatest sons of Rome was assassinated on the
orders of Marcus Antonius. Cicero, elected Consul in 63, had chosen
to support Pompey over Caesar. He translated Greek works that they
might be understood by his fellow Romans, and tried to apply Greek
ethical thought to Roman business and politics. His last work was
"On Duties," where he propounds a common solution to all social
problems i.e. "Always do the right thing... that which is legal...
that which is honest, open and fair...keeping your word... telling
the truth... and treating everyone alike. In 2002 Anthony Everitt
authored "Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician,"
a biography based on his letters. In 2006 Robert Harris authored
“Imperium,” a novel that covers Cicero’s early courtroom feats.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.74)(HN, 12/7/98)(WSJ, 6/11/02,
p.D7)(WSJ, 11/10/06, p.W4)
42BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, Marcus Junius
Brutus, a leading conspirator in the assassination of Julius Caesar,
committed suicide after his defeat at the Battle of Philippi.
Octavian and Mark Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in
Macedonia.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1081)(MC, 10/23/01)
42BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Tiberius Claudius
Nero (d.37CE, Roman Emperor, was born. Tiberius was chosen by
Augustus in 4CE as emperor of Rome.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.77) (HN, 11/16/98)
33BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Agrippa called for the
construction an aqueduct, 500 fountains and 700 basins for central
Rome.
   (SFEC, 7/2/00, p.T4)
32BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Pompey's theater was
damaged in a storm and repaired by Augustus who especially noted
that in repairing it he nowhere recorded his own name.
   (RFH-MDHP, p.214)
32BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â A Roman coin dating from
this time bore the images of Cleopatra on one side and Marc Antony
on the reverse. It represented one three hundredth of a Roman
soldier's salary and was probably minted to pay the wages of those
stationed in Egypt.
   (AFP, 2/14/07)
31BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, The Naval Battle of
Actium in the Ionian Sea, between Roman leader Octavian and the
alliance of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.
Octavian soundly defeated Antony's fleet which was burned and 5000
of his men were killed. The rivals battled for control of the Roman
Empire in the naval battle of Actium, where Cleopatra, seeing
Antony's navy being outmaneuvered by Octavian's, ordered her 60
ships to turn about and flee to safety.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium)
31BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Rome under Emperor
Augustus annexed the Carthage territory.
   (SSFC, 12/10/00, p.T8)
30 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Mark Antony,
lover of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII and claimant to the Roman
throne, stabbed himself when faced with certain defeat at the hands
of his rival Octavian. Antony expected to be named the heir to Rome
after the assassination of his friend and confidant Julius Caesar,
but had not counted on Caesar naming his adopted son Octavian as his
successor. Shaken by his loss at Actium and abandoned by his allies,
Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed him in death shortly
afterward when she allowed herself to be bitten by a venomous asp.
   (HNPD, 7/30/98)
29BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman poet Virgil
(70-19BC) authored “Georgics,” a manual on the best way to runÂ
farm.
   (Boston Globe, 1/31/16, p.K8)
28BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, The Temple of
Apollo was dedicate on the Palatine Hill in Rome.
   (HN, 10/9/98)
28BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â In Rome the mausoleum of
Emperor Augustus (d.14AD) was built.
   (WSJ, 6/23/07, p.P16)
19BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, The Roman poet
Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro, b.70BCE) died. His epic "The Aeneid"
became one of the great classics of Western literature. The story it
tells runs from the end of the Trojan War to the start of the Roman
Empire. "Now whoever has courage, and a strong and collected spirit
in his breast, let him come forth, lace up his gloves, and put up
his hands."
   (WUD, 1994 p.1587)(MC 9/20/01)(WSJ, 8/21/02,
p.D8)
19B C Â Â Â Agrippa had the Aqua Virgo built in Rome.
   (SFEC, 7/2/00, p.T4)
19BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Cornelius Balbus
led 20,000 men of the 3rd Augusta Legion across the Hamada al-Hamra
(Red Rocky Plain) in the first Roman attack on the Garamantian
heartland (Libya). Romans turned Ghadames, Libya, into a garrison
town.
   (Arch, 9/02,
p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garamantes)(SSFC, 6/27/04, p.D12)
15BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emperor Augustus
built the Temple of Dendur on the Nile for the goddess Isis of
Philae. Its ruin later later made its way to New York’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
   (Econ, 12/20/14, p.105)
12BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Caligula (Gaius
Caesar), 3rd Roman emperor (37-41 CE), born.
   (YN, 8/31/99)
10 BCEÂ Â Â Aug 1, Claudius (d.54CE), Roman Emperor,
was born. Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Drusus, the nephew of
Tiberius and grandson of the wife of Augustus, was made emperor
after Caligula.
   (HN, 8/1/98)
9BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Ara Pacis (Altar of
Peace), ordered by Augustus Caesar, was constructed in Rome. In 2005
the Museum of the Ara Pacis opened in Rome.
   (WSJ, 6/23/07, p.P16)
8 BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, Quintus "Horace"
Horatius Flaccus (b. 65BC), Roman poet and satirist best known for
his three books "Odes," died in Rome. In 2002 J.D. McClatchy edited
"Horace: The Odes, New Translations by Contemporary Poets. His
quotes included: "Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and
count as profit every day that Fate allows you." "Many shall be
restored that now are fallen and many shall fall that are now in
honor."
   (AP, 11/4/00)(SSFC, 12/29/02, p.M2)(Econ.,
6/27/20, p.61)
8BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Augustus, emperor of the
Roman Empire. The Roman Senate changed the name of the month
Sextilis to Augustus, and an extra day was added while subtracting a
day from February.
   (K.I.-365D, p.89)
8BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Augustus Caesar ordered a
census under the consulship of Gaius Censorinus and Gaius Asinius.
4,233,000 Roman citizens were counted.
  Â
(http://www.biblehistory.net/volume2/Quirinius.htm)
6BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Jupiter was in a
rare alignment with the constellation Aries and marked an important
date for ancient astrologers. Jesus was believed to have been born
in this year.
   (SFC, 4/13/01, p.C1)
6BC-4BCÂ Â Â Publius Quinctilius Varus served as Roman
governor of Syria.
  Â
(http://www.rovenet.com/tno/tacitus%20named%20officials/varus.html)
4BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Publius Sulpicius Quirinus
served as Roman governor of Cilicia, which was annexed to Syria.
   (www.botcw.com/bible/kjv/easton/east0953.htm)
4BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Annaeus Seneca
(d.65) (aka Seneca the younger), Roman intellectual, was born in
Spain.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger)
1BCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Start of the revised
Julian calendar in Rome.
   (SC, 3/1/02)
1CE-50CEÂ Â Â Scribonius Largus, Roman court physician
to emperor Claudius, lived about this time. He prescribed the shock
of an electric eel for headaches.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribonius_Largus)(Econ., 3/7/15,
p.16)
1CE-100CEÂ Â Â The 1st century Roman gourmet, Marcus
Gavius Apicius, was thought to be the writer of the earliest known
cookbook.
   (SFEC, 4/16/00, Z1 p.2)
2CE-8CEÂ Â Â Ovid wrote the "Metamorphosis." It was an
epic poem that begins with the creation of the world and ends with
the rise of Julius Caesar. Rolfe Humphries made a translation in
1955 that became a standard. A 1997 translation by Ted Hughes,
"Tales From Ovid," retold 24 of the original 250 stories.
   (WSJ, 1/9/98, p.A14)
4CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Gaius Caesar (24), the
nephew and adopted heir of Caesar Augustus, died.
   (WSJ, 6/23/07, p.P16)
4CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Tiberius (42BCE-37CE) was
chosen by Augustus as emperor of Rome. He later banished the young
Nero to the island of Ponza.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.77)(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.T12)
6CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans named Caesarea
as a regional capital.
   (SFC, 6/18/02, p.A2)
6CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sulpicius Quirinius
(Cyrenius), Roman governor of Syria, ordered a 2nd census of Judea.
   (Econ, 1/1/05,
p.38)(www.biblehistory.net/volume2/Quirinius.htm)
9CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Publius Quinctilius
Varus (59), Roman governor of Germania (6-9CE), died of likely
suicide following defeat at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
Arminius, aka Hermann the German, had stopped a Roman advance
eastward across the Rhine at the battle of Teutoburg, setting a
limit on the Roman border.
  Â
(http://www.fact-index.com/p/pu/publius_quinctilius_varus.html)(Econ,
8/7/10, p.86)
9CE Â Â Â Â Â Â Emperor Tiberius of Rome
subjugated the Illyrians and divided present day Albania between
Dalmatia, Epirus, and Macedonia.
   (www, Albania, 1998)
13CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Tiberius made his
triumphant procession through Rome after siege of Germany.
   (MC, 11/16/01)
14CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Emperor Caesar
Augustus (b.63BC) died. His rule passed to Tiberius. Augustus was
the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first
Emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death.
Augustus in order to ensure the loyalty of his soldiers, offered a
pension for those in the army who had served for 16 years (later
20), equivalent in cash or land to 12 times their annual salary.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus)(V.D.-H.K.p.77)(Econ,
9/24/16, p.25)
15CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â May 24, Julius Caesar
Germanicus, Roman commandant, was born.
   (MC, 5/24/02)
17CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Publius Ovidius
Naso, Roman poet, died.
   (MC, 1/2/02)
17CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â May 26, Germanicus of Rome
celebrated a victory over the Germans.
   (HN, 5/26/98)
19 CEÂ Â Â Oct 10, Julius Caesar Germanicus (33), Roman
commandant of Rijnleger and the best loved of Roman princes, died of
poisoning. On his deathbed he accused Piso, the governor of Syria,
of poisoning him.
   (HN, 10/10/98)(MC, 10/10/01)
22CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sulpicius Quirinius
(Cyrenius), Roman soldier and civilian governor of Syria, died.
   (Econ, 1/1/05,
p.38)(www.biblehistory.net/volume2/Quirinius.htm)
27-37CEÂ Â Â Tiberius moved to the isle of Capri and
never returned to Rome.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.77)(SFEM, 10/11/98, p.54)
28CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, The Roman Emperor
Nerva named Trajan, an army general, as his successor.
   (HN, 1/28/99)
31CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Lucius Aelius
Sejanus (b, 20 BC), commonly known as Sejanus, executed along with
his followers on suspicions of conspiracy against Roman Emperor
Tiberius. He was led from prison and strangled. His body was
cast onto the Gemonian stairs, where the crowd tore it to pieces.
Sejanus had been an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of
Tiberius.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejanus)
36CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Chinese troops defeated
the Hun ruler Zhizhi in what later became Uzbekistan. Among the
captives were 145 Romans.
   (Econ, 12/18/04, p.59)
37CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Claudius Drusus
Germanicus Caesar Nero (d.68CE), emperor of Rome (54-68), was born.
[see Dec 15]
   (MC, 2/15/02)
37Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Tiberius Claudius
Nero (78), Roman emperor (14-37), died on a trip to the Italian
mainland from his home on Capreae. He was succeeded by Caligula.
   (PCh, 1992, p.36)(HN, 3/16/99)(AP, 3/15/07)
37Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, The Roman Senate
annulled Tiberius’ will and proclaimed Caligula emperor.
    (HN, 3/18/99)
37CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Nero Claudius
Caesar, emperor of Rome who is blamed for the great fire of Rome,
was born. Nero (Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus) was born (d. 68CE).
[see Feb 15]
   (WUD, 1994, p.959)(HN, 12/15/98)
37CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Caligula succeeded
Tiberius and went mad within a year. His cruelty was so bad that he
was murdered by the tribune of the palace guard after 4 years. He
imprisoned his nieces on the island of Ponza for converting to
Christianity. Caligula provided his horse, named Incitatus, an ivory
manger and a marble stall, but no official state title as was
rumored.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.78)(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.T12)(WSJ,
4/22/99, A10)
37-41Â Â Â Â Â Â Caligula ruled Rome. He
had 2 large ships built and anchored for his pleasure on Lake Nemi.
   (AM, 5/01, p.26)
39CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Lucan, Latin poet
(Bellum Civile), was born in Cordova, Spain.
   (MC, 11/3/01)
39CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, Titus, 10th Roman
emperor (79-81) and conqueror of Jerusalem, was born.
   (MC, 12/30/01)
40CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, Gnaeus Julius
Agricola, Roman general and governor of Britain, was born. [WUD says
37-93CE]
   (WUD, 1994, p.29)
41Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Shortly after
declaring himself a god, Gaius Caligula Germanicus, emperor from
37-41, was assassinated by two Praetorian tribunes.
   (HN, 1/24/99)(MC, 1/24/02)
43CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans under Claudius,
the great nephew of Caesar, invaded and conquered Britain. They
founded a settlement on the "Tamesis River" where a bridge could be
built that grew to become London.
   (SFEC, 6/22/97, BR p.3)(ON, 6/09, p.7)
43CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â British Celts battled the
Roman invaders in 2-wheeled chariots. The Belgae from northern Gaul
had settled in Britain and ushered in the concept of towns and the
art of enameling.
   (NGM, 5/77)
43CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Romans brought with
them the board game latrunculi (little soldiers), when they
conquered Britain.
   (Arch, 1/05, p.39)
45CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â The Apostle Paul is said
to have preached the gospel in Cyprus at this time and converted the
island's Roman governor Sergius Paulus, the first Roman official to
undergo conversion.
   (AP, 9/30/11)
53CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Marcus Trajanus
(d.117), 13th Roman emperor (Trajan's Arch) (98-117), was born at
Italica near Seville, Spain.
   (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Trajan)
54CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Roman emperor
Claudius I died, after being poisoned with mushrooms by his wife,
Agrippina. Nero (37-68CE), son of Agrippina, succeeded his great
uncle Claudius, who was murdered by his wife, as the new emperor of
Rome. After the murder of his wife, Octavia, Nero descended deep
into a religious delirium. His acts became wild and unintelligible
and he was displaced by his soldiers with Galba after which he
committed suicide.
   (WUD, 1994, p.959)(V.D.-H.K.p.78)(AP,
10/13/97)(HN, 10/13/01)
56CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Tacitus, Publius Cornelius
was born. He was the Roman author of the Histories (begins with the
death of Nero), and the Annals (begins with Tiberius' reign and goes
to the end of Nero). Only a portion of the Histories survives
(69-70CE). Of the Annals only those books dealing with the early
career of Tiberius, and some treating the reigns of Claudius and
Nero survive.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.81)  Â
59 CEÂ Â Â Agrippina became insane and was murdered by
her son, Nero.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.78)
60 CEÂ Â Â A comet appeared and was interpreted by the
people of Rome to mean the impending death of their new emperor.
   (NG, 12/97, p.105)
60 CEÂ Â Â Boudicaa, queen of the Iceni in Britain,
burned Roman London.
   (NGM, 5/77)
62 CEÂ Â Â Nero murdered his wife Octavia.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.78)
c62-113CEÂ Â Â Pliny the Younger, Gaius Plinius
Caecilius Secundus, Roman writer, statesman and orator. He described
the death of his uncle, Plinius the Elder, at the 79CE eruption of
Vesuvius in a letter to Tacitus.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1106)(SFC, 9/1/97, p.A2)
64CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, The Great Fire of
Rome began. After the fire Nero began to build his Golden House in
the center of the city.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.78)(AP, 7/18/97)
64CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, The Circus Maximus
in Rome caught fire.
   (MC, 7/19/02)
64CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Nero initiated the first
persecution against the Christians. According to Seneca Nero
sentenced hundreds of Christians to die by "tunica molesta," a
naphtha impregnated "shirt of torture."
   (CU, 6/87)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.58)
65CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, Jews revolted
against Rome, capturing the fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem.
   (MC, 6/8/02)
65CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Annaeus Seneca
(b.4BC) (aka Seneca the younger), Roman intellectual, died. He was a
Stoic philosopher and playwright and wrote a version of "Medea."
Seneca was Nero's teacher. Nero had Seneca compose his speeches.
Seneca and his colleague were ordered by Nero to contrive the murder
of Agripinna. He was forced to commit suicide after the conspiracy
of Caius Piso to murder Nero. His wife Paulina cut her wrists
together with Seneca but Nero ordered that she be saved. Seneca's
blood did not flow well and he asked for poison which was refused.
He then requested a hot bath to increase the blood flow and
apparently was suffocated by the steam. “Luck is what happens when
preparation meets opportunity.” Seneca’s writings included “On the
Shortness of Life.”
   (V.D.-H.K.p.80)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.57)(SFEC,
8/2/98, Z1 p.8)(Econ, 10/4/08, p.54)(Econ, 12/20/14, p.96)
66-73Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman general Vespasian's
army assaulted the forces of Jewish rebel Joseph ben Matthias at
Jotapata in Galilee. During the Jewish revolt of 66-73 CE, Emperor
Nero chose Titus Flavius Vespasianus (Vespasian) to subdue Judea.
Vespasian was eminently qualified for this martial task. He was
fresh from crushing a German rebellion, and as commander of Legio
II, he had played a significant role in the conquest of Britannia
(Britain) by Nero‘s predecessor. Joseph, meanwhile, had assembled
his own army from the rebel bands of Galilee and trained them in the
Roman model. He also fortified many towns, the strongest being
Jotapata, a natural fortress perched on a rock outcrop. It was
surrounded on three sides by steep valleys that made attack
virtually impossible. The only approach to the city was from a
hilltop to the north, and that was blocked by a dry moat fronting a
sturdy wall.
   (HNQ, 12/4/00)
67CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Some 37,000 Jewish
prisoners were held at the Roman stadium in Tiberias after they lost
a naval battle on the Sea of Galilee.
   (SFC, 6/18/02, p.A2)
68CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jun 9, Nero (31), Roman
Emperor (54-68), committed suicide.
   (AP, 6/9/97)(MC, 6/9/02)
68-69CEÂ Â Â Galba reigned as the Roman emperor. He was
a commander of Roman forces in Spain and acclaimed emperor by his 2
legions. When the praetorian guard accepted Galba, Nero committed
suicide.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1667)
69CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Roman Lower Rhine
army proclaimed its commander, Vitellius, emperor.
   (MC, 1/2/02)
69CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Roman emperor
Galba adopted Marcus Piso Licinianus as Caesar.
   (MC, 1/10/02)
69CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Servius Sulpicius
Galba (70), 6th emperor of Rome (68-69), was murdered along with his
newly adopted successor, Piso Licinianus. Marcus Salvius Otho (36)
committed the murder and forced the senate to recognize himself as
emperor.
   (PC, 1992, p.37)
69CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Otho (32-69)
committed suicide after he was defeated by Vitellius' (15-69) troops
at Bedriacum. Otho had declared himself emperor of Rome after he
killed Galba, who had been acclaimed emperor by his legions in
Spain.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1667)(HN, 4/16/98)
69Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, Vespians’s
supporters entered Rome and discovered Vitellius in hiding.
Vitellius, a Roman commandant of Rhine and the 7th emperor, was
dragged through the streets before being brutally murdered.
Vitellius had been acclaimed emperor by his legions in Germany in
place of Galba. He was then killed in Rome fighting the supporters
of Vespasian, the Roman commander of Judea. Gen. Vespasianus
occupied Rome.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1667)(HN, 12/20/98)(MC, 12/20/01)
69Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, Vespacian, a
gruff-spoken general of humble origins, entered Rome and was adopted
as emperor by the Senate.
   (PCh, 1992, p.37)
69Â Â Â Â Â Â Galba was murdered by Otho
who forced the senate to declare him emperor.
   (WUD, 1994, p.1667)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Rome captured the
1st wall of the city of Jerusalem.
   (MC, 5/31/02)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Titus & his Roman
legions breached the middle wall of Jerusalem.
   (MC, 6/5/02)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Tower of Antonia was
destroyed by the Romans.
   (MC, 8/8/02)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, The Temple of
Jerusalem burned after a nine-month Roman siege. The Second Temple
of Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome’s 10th Legion and the Jews there
were exiled. In the Jewish War the Israelites tried unsuccessfully
to revolt against Roman rule. The destruction buried the shops that
lined the main street. Archeologists in 1996 found numerous
artifacts that included bronze coins called prutot. Carpenters from
Israel’s Antiquities Authority used manuscripts of the Roman master
builder Vitruvius to reconstruct contraptions used in the
construction of the temple. In 2007 Martin Goodman authored “Rome
and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations.”
   (SFC, 5/23/95, p.A-10)(SFC, 8/28/96, p.A10)(WSJ,
6/22/98, p.A20)(HN, 8/29/98)(SFEC, 3/28/99, p.T11)(Econ, 1/20/07,
p.90)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, The Roman army under
Titus occupied and plundered Jerusalem.
   (MC, 9/7/01)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, The walls of upper
city of Jerusalem were battered down by Romans.
   (MC, 9/27/01)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â Josephus recorded that
Vespasian and his son Titus plundered 50 tons of gold and silver
during the 70AD Roman conquest of Jerusalem.
   (SFC, 10/23/06, p.A15)
70Â Â Â Â Â Â A Roman punitive expedition
forced the Garamantes of southern Libya to enter into an official
relationship with Rome.
   (AM, 3/04, p.28)
71Â Â Â Â Â Â Vespasian and his son Titus
paraded the treasure plundered from Jerusalem in triumph through the
streets of Rome. They used the 50 tons of gold and silver to help
finance the building of the Colosseum.
   (SFC, 10/23/06, p.A15)
71Â Â Â Â Â Â York became the Roman
provincial capital of Northumbria. From the 9th to the 11th
centuries it was dominated by Norse warrior-kings and was called
Jorvik.
   (SSFC, 2/23/14,
p.M7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavian_York)
73Â Â Â Â Â Â Jewish zealots on Mount
Masada chose to perish by their own hands rather than surrender to
slavery under the Romans.
   (SFEC, 3/28/99, p.T5)
75Â Â Â Â Â Â The treasure plundered from
Jerusalem in 70AD by the Romans under Vespasian and his son, Titus,
was put on public display in the Temple of Peace in the Roman Forum
and stayed there into the early 5th century.
   (SFC, 10/23/06, p.A15)
76CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Publius A.
Hadrianus, 14th Roman Emperor (117-138), was born.
   (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm)
79ADÂ Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Pliny the Elder,
Roman naturalist, witnessed the eruption of long-dormant Mount
Vesuvius and was overcome by the fumes as he tried to rescue
refugees. The eruption buried the Roman cities of Pompeii, Stabiae,
Herculaneum and other, smaller settlements in 13 feet of volcanic
ash and pumice. An estimated 20,000 people died. The event was
described by Pliny the Younger, the elder’s nephew, in a letter to
Tacitus.
   (HFA, '96, p.36)(DD-EVTT, p.70)(AP, 8/24/97)(WUD,
1994, p.1106)(SFC, 9/1/97, p.A2)(HNQ, 6/16/98)
80Â Â Â Â Â Â The Roman Colosseum was
inaugurated under Emp. Titus (Vespacian) with 100 days of gladiator
combat. The poet Martial described one combat between Verus and
Priscus. The amphitheater occupied the site of a large artificial
lake, created by Nero for his Domus Aurea.
   (SFC, 7/20/00, p.C3)(AM, 3/04, p.54)(WSJ,
1/25/05, p.D12)
81Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 13, Titus Flavius
Vespasianus, emperor of Rome (69-81), died at 42.
   (MC, 9/13/01)
81-96Â Â Â The reign of Domitian. Soldiers under his
reign earned an annual salary of about 1,200 sesterces.
   (HNQ, 10/5/00)(AM, 5/01, p.36)
c81-138Â Â Â Secret police agents in Ancient Rome were
known as frumentarii. Growing out of an Augustine messenger
service—the cursus publicus—frumentarii were originally just supply
sergeants responsible for such mundane functions as the purchase and
distribution of grain. However, under the reign of Domitian
(81-96AD), or possibly Hadrian (117-138), they were turned into
intelligence officers and gradually became more involved in state
security. Â
   (HNQ, 10/5/00)
86CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Antoninus Pius,
15th Roman emperor (138-161), was born.
   (MC, 9/19/01)
96CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Vespasian, a Roman
Army leader, was hailed as a Roman Emperor by the Egyptian legions.
   (HN, 7/1/98)
96CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Domitian, Roman
emperor, died. He was murdered and was succeeded by Nerva.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.83)(MC, 9/18/01)
97CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, To placate the
Praetorians of Germany, Nerva of Rome adopted Trajan, the Spanish
born governor of lower Germany.
   (HN, 10/27/98)
97CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Sextus Julius Frontinus,
Roman water commissioner, wrote of Rome: "The city looks cleaner,
different, the air is purer and the causes of pollution that gave
the air so bad a name with the ancients are now removed."
   (SFEC, 7/2/00, p.T1)
98CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Marius Cocceius
Nerva (67), emperor of Rome (96-98), died.
   (MC, 1/27/02)
100CEÂ Â Â Dioscorides, a Roman physician, named the
marijuana plant cannabis sativa.
   (WSJ, 2/8/05, p.D7)  Â
104CEÂ Â Â There was a fire in Rome. Emp. Trajan built
massive baths over the Domus Aurea of Nero.
   (WSJ, 1/25/05, p.D12)
106CEÂ Â Â Nabatae, whose capital was Petra, became a
Roman province under Trajan. The Roman city of Jerash was one of the
10 cities of the Decapolis.
   (WUD, 1994, p.948)(SFEM, 4/11/99, p.8)(AM, 3/04,
p.60)
116Â Â Â Â Â Â Hatra, a fortified city of
the Parthian Empire and later part of Iraq, withstood a Roman
invasion due to its high and thick walls. The Parthian Empire (247
BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid Empire was a major Iranian
political and cultural power in ancient Iran.
   (SSFC, 4/5/15,
p.A7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthian_Empire)
117Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Marcus Ulpius
Trajanus (Trajan), emperor of Rome (98-117), died.
   (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm)
117Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, The Roman army of
Syria hailed its legate, Hadrian, as emperor, which made the
senate's formal acceptance an almost meaningless event. One of his
first acts was to withdraw Rome’s army from Mesopotamia (modern
Iraq).
   (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm)(Econ,
7/19/08, p.94)
117-138Â Â Â The reign of Hadrian.
   (HNQ, 10/5/00)
118CEÂ Â Â Jul 9, Hadrian, Rome's new emperor, made his
entry into the city.
   (HN, 7/9/98)
121Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Marcus Aurelius
(d.180), 16th Roman emperor, philosopher, was born. He authored the
"Meditations." [see Apr 26]
   (V.D.-H.K.p.64)(HN, 4/20/98)
121Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Antonius Marcus
Aurelius, [Marcus A. Verus], Emperor of Rome (161-180), was born.
[see Apr 20]
   (MC, 4/26/02)
122CEÂ Â Â Jun, Emp. Hadrian visited Britain as part of
a tour of the northern frontiers. He ordered a wall built to protect
the Romans from the Picts of Scotland.
   (AM, 7/01, p.17)
122Â Â Â Â Â Â Suetonius (b.~69), Roman
historian, died about this time. His most important surviving work
is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from
Julius Caesar to Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suetonius)
122-130CEÂ Â Â Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered a great
wall to be built in northern England along with a series of forts
"to separate the Romans from the barbarians." It extended for 73.5
English miles from the estuary of the river Tyne on the east to
Solway Firth on the west.
   (AM, May/Jun 97 p.15)(AM, 7/01, p.17)
125Â Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Apuleius, Roman
philosopher and satirist, was born about this time. His work
included "Metamorphoses" and “The Golden Ass,” which retold the
story of Cupid and Psyche.Â
   (WUD, 1994, p.74)(WSJ, 5/14/99, p.W8)(Econ,
2/9/13, p.82)
126CEÂ Â Â Aug 1, Publius Helvius Pertinax, Roman
emperor (193 AD), was born.
   (MC, 8/1/02)
129Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emp. Hadrian visited
Jerusalem. In 2014 archeologists discovered a large stone with Latin
engravings bearing the name of Hadrian and the year of his visit.
   (SFC, 10/22/14, p.A3)
129Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emp. Hadrian allowed
Palmyra to charge of its own finances.
   (Econ, 5/30/15, p.81)
130Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emperor Hadrian made
Arrian, a 2nd-century disciple of the Greek philosopher Epictetus,
the governor of Cappadocia. Some years earlier Arrian had compiled
the Enchiridion or Handbook of Epictetusis, a short manual of Stoic
ethical advice.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrian)
130Â Â Â Â Â Â Antinous, the Greek lover
of Roman Emperor Hadrian, died in the Nile. Hadrian insisted that
Antinous be given the status of a god.
   (Econ, 7/19/08, p.94)
132-135Â Â Â Jewish rebels occupied the mountain ridge
of Hebron during the Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans. The
remains of an ancient synagogue and mikveh are visible.
   (SFEC, 12/22/96, p.T2)(Econ, 7/19/08, p.94)
135CEÂ Â Â Roman Emperor Hadrian sent 12 divisions
under Julius Severus to quell the Jewish rebellion led by Simon Bar
Kokhba, who was killed at Bethar. An estimated 600,000 Jews were
killed. Hadrian ordered Jerusalem plowed under and Aelia Capitolina
was built on the site. He barred Jews from returning and survivors
dispersed across the empire. Judea was renamed Syria-Palestina.
   (SFC, 12/26/96, p.C16)(PBS, Nova, 11/23/04)(PC,
1992 ed, p.41)
138Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Publius A.
Hadrianus (b.76), Roman emperor (117-138), died. He was responsible
for Hadrian's Wall in Britain, begun in 122.
   (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm)
138-161Â Â Â Antoninus Pius succeeded Hadrian to Rome.
   (AM, 11/00, p.13)
139Â Â Â Â Â Â Hadrian’s Mausoleum was
built in Rome.
   (SSFC, 5/1/05, p.F8)
c140CEÂ Â Â Emperor Antoninus Pius ordered Hadrian’s
Wall to be abandoned and a more northerly defense to be established.
Remnants could later be seen of the Antonine Wall around Falkirk,
Scotland. Roman troops advanced northwards into the Scottish
lowlands, driving the barbarians back before them and establishing a
new frontier called the Antonine Wall, named for the new Emperor,
Antoninus Pius. The Antonine Wall was later abandoned, reoccupied,
and abandoned a second and final time under the Emperor Marcus
Aurelius.
   (NG, 12/97, forum)(HNQ, 9/9/00)
145CEÂ Â Â A temple was completed in Rome as a tribute
to Emperor Hadrian. In 1802 it became the site of the Rome stock
exchange.
   (WSJ, 12/13/96, p.B11A)
155CEÂ Â Â Feb 23, Polycarp, disciple of Apostle John,
was arrested and burned at stake.
   (MC, 2/23/02)
158Â Â Â Â Â Â Apulieus of Madaura
(~124-~180), Romanised Berber and author of “The Golden Ass” (aka
the Metamorphoses) defended himself at the Roman basilica in
Sabratha (Libya) against charges of witchcraft in an oration known
as Pro de se magia, or more commonly the Apologia. The Golden Ass is
the only Latin novel which has survived in its entirety, and is an
imaginative, irreverent, and amusing work which relates the
ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who experiments in magic and is
accidentally turned into an ass.
   (Arch, 9/02, p.47)(http://tinyurl.com/lrgfb8)
161CEÂ Â Â Mar 7, Marcus Aurelius became emperor on the
death of Antoninus Pius [Titus Aurelius], age 74, at Lorium.
Antoninus ruled from 138-161.
   (HN, 3/7/99)(MC, 3/7/02)
161CEÂ Â Â Aug 31, Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus,
emperor of Rome (180-92), was born.
   (WUD, 1994 p.297)(MC, 8/31/01)
162CEÂ Â Â The Antonine Baths were completed in
Carthage after 17 years of construction.
   (SSFC, 12/10/00, p.T8)
166CEÂ Â Â A Roman envoy arrived in China. This was
their 1st recorded official contact.
   (ATC, p.33)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.58)
175Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman forces defeated
Sarmatian tribes on the Danube and Marcus Aurelius orderedÂ
them to provide 8,000 cavalry for the Roman fort of Brocavum, later
Brougham, England. It had been built in the last decades of the
first century. The fort was partially covered by a castle in the
13th century.
   (Arch, 5/05, p.62)
180CEÂ Â Â Mar 17, Antonius Marcus Aurelius (58),
[Marcus Verus], Emperor of Rome, died.
   (MC, 3/17/02)
180CEÂ Â Â A Roman military transport ship was built
about this time, as Marcus Aurelius passed the throne to the emperor
Commodus. It later sank in the Rhine. In 2003 archeologists in the
Netherlands unveiled the preserved ship.
   (AP, 5/15/03)
180CEÂ Â Â A smallpox epidemic hit Rome and killed 3.5
to 7 million people including Emp. Marcus Aurelius. It was dubbed
the Plague of Antonine.
   (NW, 10/14/02, p.46)
182Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emp. Commodus
executed the brothers Sextus Quintilius Maximus and Sextus
Quintilius Condianus for alleged conspiracy. Their Villa dei
Quintili, several miles from the center of Rome and comparable to
Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli, was identified in 1828.
   (AM, 7/05, p.28)
188Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Caracalla, [Marcus
Aurelius Antonius], well-bathed Roman emperor (211-217), was born.
   (MC, 4/4/02)
192Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Lucius A.A.
Commodus (b.161), Emperor of Rome (180-192), was murdered. His
mistress Marcia, Chamberlain Eclectus, and praetorian prefect Laetus
hired the wrestler Narcissus to strangle Commodus after they found
their names on an imperial execution list.
   (PCh, 1992,
p.42)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus)
193Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Publius Helvius
Pertinax, Roman Emperor (192-93), was assassinated.
   (HFA, '96, p.26)(MC, 3/28/02)
193Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, The distinguished
Roman soldier Lucius Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by the
army at Carnuntum (Austria).
   (www.roman-emperors.org/sepsev.htm)
193Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Lucius Septimius
Severus (d.211), a native son of Leptis Magna in Libya, was crowned
emperor of Rome. Under his rule the empire reached its greatest
extent with almost 50 provinces.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus)(SSFC, 6/27/04,
p.D12)
193Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, The Roman Emperor,
Marcus Didius, was murdered in his palace.
   (HN, 6/1/98)
197Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Lucius Septimius
Severus' army beat Clodius Albinus at Lyon. D Clodius Septimus
Albinus, Roman dignitary in England, died in the battle.
   (MC, 2/19/02)
198Â Â Â Â Â Â Hatra, a fortified city of
the Parthian Empire (later part of Iraq), withstood a second Roman
invasion due to its high and thick walls. The trading center was
surrounded by more than 160 towers.
   (SSFC, 4/5/15, p.A7)(AP, 4/26/17)
c200Â Â Â Â Â Â The Forma Urbis Romae was
a 60 by 45-foot map carved out of marble that detailed every
building, room and staircase in 2nd century Rome.
   (Wired, 11/98, p.117)
c200Â Â Â Â Â Â Romans began making glass
objects that included windows, bottles and drinking vessels.
   (SFEC, 6/20/99, Z1 p.8)
203Â Â Â Â Â Â Lucius Septimus Severus
(d.211), emperor of Rome, returned to visit home at Leptis Magna
(Libya).
   (SSFC, 6/27/04, p.D12)
205-270CEÂ Â Â Plotinus was an Alexandrian philosopher
in Rome and founder of Neo-Platonism, which strongly influenced the
later Augustine, who taught of a mystical union with the Good
through the exercise of pure intelligence. He founded Neo-Platonism,
a religion that for a time rivaled Christianity. Neo-Platonism
developed out of the philosophical doctrines of Plato in the fourth
century B.C. Plotinus developed the spiritual side of Plato's
thought into a mystical philosophy teaching reunion with the One and
that material things are unworthy. Saint Augustus, formerly a
Neo-Platonist, brought some of his ideas into Christian theism.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.93)(HNQ, 5/11/98)
208Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emperor Lucius
Septimius Severus brought his troublesome sons to the frontier fort
of Brocavum, later Brougham, England, to campaign against the
barbarians to the north and hopefully distract them from the
temptations of Rome.
   (Arch, 5/05, p.63)
211Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Lucius Septimius
Severus (64), emperor of Rome (193-211), died.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus)
211-217Â Â Â The reign of the Roman emperor Caracalla
(188-217). Coins were minted at the Jewish city of Sepphoris during
the reign of Caracalla.
   (WUD, 1994, p.221)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.64)
217Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Caracalla (b.188),
[Marcus Antonius], Roman emperor (198-217), was murdered in his
baths.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla)
222Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Varius A. Bassianus
(18), Syrian emperor of Rome (218-22), was murdered.
   (MC, 3/12/02)
223Â Â Â Â Â Â Ulpian of Tyre (b.~170), a
Roman jurist, was murdered. He is remembered for the quote: "The
sovereign is not bound by the laws" (Princeps legibus solutus est.).
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulpian)(Econ,
8/9/14, p.69)
235Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Marcus Aurelius
Severus Alexander (b.208), Syrian emperor of Rome (222-235), was
murdered.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Severus)
238Â Â Â Â Â Â May 10, Gaius Julius Verus
Maximinus ("The Thracian"), Roman Emperor, was murdered.
   (MC, 5/10/02)
249-262Â Â Â The Plague of Cyprian, later thought to be
a hemorrhagic fever, emptied many Roman cities and coincided with a
sharp and permanent decline in economic activity.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_of_Cyprian)(Econ, 3/14/20,
p.62)
253Â Â Â Â Â Â Valerian became emperor of
Rome and ruled until 260 when he was captured and executed by
Persian King Shapur I.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Valerian_I)
256Â Â Â Â Â Â The Anatolian city of
Zeugma on the Euphrates was sacked by Persian King Shapur I. This
was soon followed by a devastating fire and an earthquake and Zeugma
was abandoned. In 2000 the area was submerged as part of the
Southeast Anatolia Project of dams for power.
   (SFEC, 5/7/00, p.A23)(Arch, 9/00, p.41)
258Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Pope Sixtus II,
bishop of Rome (257-58), was beheaded upon orders of Emperor
Valerian.
   (ITV, 1/96, p.60)(MC, 8/6/02)
260Â Â Â Â Â Â Persia’s King Shapur I
captured Roman Emp. Valerian.
   (Arch, 9/00, p.41)
260-268Â Â Â Emp. Gallienus, son of Valerian, ruled
Rome.
   (AM, 5/01, p.40)
267Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, Dionysius, bishop
of Rome and saint, died.
   (MC, 12/26/01)
268Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emp. Gallienus, son
of Valerian, was assassinated.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Valerian_I)
268Â Â Â Â Â Â Marcus Cassianius Latinius
Postumus, a Roman emperor of Batavian origin, died about this time.
He usurped power from Gallienus in 260 and formed the so called
Gallic Empire. He was recognized in Gaul, Germania, Britannia and
Iberia until his murder in 268.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postumus)
269Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, Diocletian was
proclaimed emperor of Numerian in Asia Minor by his soldiers. He had
been the commander of the emperor's bodyguard.
   (HN, 11/20/98)
269Â Â Â Â Â Â Palmyra’s Queen Zenobia,
taking advantage of Roman weakness, invaded Egypt to the southwest
and occupied Anatolia to the north.
   (Econ, 5/30/15, p.81)
270Â Â Â Â Â Â cFeb 14, The early
Christian martyr, St. Valentine, was beheaded by Emperor Claudius
II, who executed another St. Valentine around the same time. The
Catholic Bishop Valentine was clubbed, stoned and beheaded by
Emperor Claudius II for refusing to acknowledge the monarch’s
outlawing of marriage. The Catholics then made Valentine a symbol to
oppose the Roman mid-February custom in honor of the God Lupercus,
where Roman teenage girls’ names were put in a box and selected by
young Roman men for "sex toy" use until the next lottery. The two
Valentines merged into a single legendary patron of young lovers.
St. Valentine’s Day evolved from Lupercalia, a Roman festival of
fertility.
   (SFEM, 2/9/97, p.11)(SFC, 2/14/97, p.A26)(SFC,
2/4/04, p.D7)
Valentine's Day probably has its origins in the Roman feast of
Lupercalia, which was held on February 15. One of the traditions
associated with this feast was young men drawing the names of young
women whom they would court during the following year--a custom that
may have grown into the giving of valentine's cards. Another legend
associated with Valentine's Day was the martyrdom of the Christian
priest St. Valentine on February 14. The Roman emperor believed that
men would remain soldiers longer if they were not married, but
Valentine earned the wrath of the emperor by secretly marrying young
couples. The first American publisher of valentines was printer and
artist Esther Howland, who sold elaborate handmade cards for as much
as $35 at the end of the 19th century. Complex and beautiful
machine-made cards brought the custom of valentine exchanging within
the reach of many Americans.
   (HNPD, 2/14/99)
272CEÂ Â Â In Syria Queen Zenobia led a failed uprising
against the Romans, which left the city of Palmyra partly destroyed.
   (AMNHDT, 11/99)
273Â Â Â Â Â Â The Gallic Empire of the
Batavian Postumus ended.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius)
274Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Constantine I was
born. He became the great Roman emperor (324-337) who adopted
Christianity. [see c288]
   (MC, 2/27/02)
274Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 25, Emperor Aurelian
imported into Rome the cult of Sol Invictus and made its Dec 25
festival a national holiday.
   (WSJ, 12/18/98, p.W15)
275Â Â Â Â Â Â The Goths launched a last
major assault on Asia Minor, where piracy by Black Sea Goths was
causing great trouble in Colchis, Pontus, Cappadocia, Galatia and
even Cilicia. They were defeated sometime in 276 by Emperor Marcus
Claudius Tacitus.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths)
276Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Marcus Annius
Florianus, emperor of Rome (276), was murdered.
   (MC, 7/16/02)
283Â Â Â Â Â Â Sebastian, a Christian
soldier, enlisted in the Roman army about this time. Emp.
Diocletian, unaware that he was a Christian, appointed him as a
captain of the Praetorian Guard. When he treated Christian prisoners
due for martyrdom kindly, Diocletian reproached him for his supposed
ingratitude and ordered him executed by arrow. He survived and
returned to preach to Diocletian. In 287 Diocletian ordered
Sebastian to be beaten to death.
  Â
(www.economicexpert.com/a/Sebastian.htm)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Sebastian)
284Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Gen Gaius Aurelius
V Diocletianus Jovius (3) became emperor of Rome. Reign of
Diocletian (Era of Martyrs), began.
   (MC, 8/29/01)
284Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, Diocletian
(245-316) became Emperor of the Roman Empire and continued to 305.
Under his rule the last and most terrible persecution of the
Christians took place, perhaps some 3,000 martyrs. He divided rule
over the empire among four men. He put two rulers to oversee the
east and two to oversee the west. He also established four capitals.
He moved his own capital from Rome to Nicomedia, south of Byzantium
in Asia Minor. He also increased the size of the Roman army from
300,000 to 500,000 men.
  Â
(http://bode.diee.unica.it/~giua/SEBASTIAN/Diocletian.html)(V.D.-H.K.p.91)(ITV,
1/96, p.58)
286Â Â Â Â Â Â Carausius, a Roman naval
officer, seized power in Britain and northern Gaul ruled until he
was assassinated in 293.
   (AP,
7/8/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius)
287Â Â Â Â Â Â Maurice (Mauritius), leader
of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, was
believed executed at Agaunum, Switzerland, after refusing an order
by Roman Emperor Maximian to harass local Christians. Because of his
name and native land, St. Maurice had been portrayed as black ever
since the 12th century.
   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximian)
288Â Â Â Â Â Â Sebastian (b.256), a
Christian and Roman soldier, was beaten to death about this time on
the orders of Roman Emp. Diocletian.
   (Econ, 6/3012,
p.19)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Sebastian)
c288CEÂ Â Â Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus,
Roman emperor Constantine I (324-337), was born in Yugoslavia. In a
battle against an army led by his brother-in-law, Maxentius, at the
Milvian bridge near Rome Constantine was victorious. The night
before this battle was when Constantine dreamed of an angel holding
a cross and saying "In this sign thou shalt conquer!" [see 274]
   (WUD, 1994 p.314)(V.D.-H.K.p.91)
0290CEÂ Â Â Oct 1, [Christian] Bacchus, Roman soldier
and martyred saint, was killed.
   (MC, 10/1/01)
290Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, [Christian] Sergius,
Roman soldier and martyred saint, was decapitated.
   (MC, 10/7/01)
293Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Roman emperor
Maximianus introduced tetrarchy.
   (SC, 3/1/02)
295Â Â Â Â Â Â Diocletian (245-316), Roman
Emperor (284-305), began construction of a fortified palace near the
village of his birth. It later became the historic downtown of
Split, Croatia. Construction took 10 years.
   (SSFC, 6/20/04, p.D10)
296Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emp. Diocletian
ordered the burning of alchemical manuscripts for fear their
discoveries would debase his coinage. This may have set back the
science of distillation.
   (Econ, 12/20/03, p.68)
299-311Â Â Â The period of Christian persecutions begun
by Diocletian.
   (WSJ, 10/30/98, p.W11)
300-400Â Â Â The Circus Maximus in ancient Rome,
expanded under Constantine in the 4th century A.D., had an estimated
seating capacity of 250,000. The largest of hippodrome in Rome, a
U-shaped stadium with a low wall running in the middle around which
chariots raced, it seated an estimated 150,000 spectators at the
time of Julius Caesar in the 1st century B.C.
   (HNQ, 8/29/99)
302Â Â Â Â Â Â Anthony (b.266) of Antioch,
an early Christian priest, suffered martyrdom with Anastasius,
Julian, Celsus and Marcionilla during the persecutions of
Diocletian.
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_of_Antioch)
303Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Emperor Diocletian
ordered the general persecution of Christians in Rome.
   (HN, 2/23/98)
303Â Â Â Â Â Â By legend St. Expeditus, a
commander of a Roman legion in Armenia who had converted to
Christianity, was beheaded by Emp. Diocletian. There was however no
proof of his existence and it was speculated that devotion to him
arose in the 19th century after Parisian nuns mistook a crate of
relics labeled for "expedited delivery." In the late 20th century he
emerged as a popular cult figure among Brazilian Catholics.
   (WSJ, 4/15/04, p.A1)
304-305Â Â Â Massive persecution of the Christians took
place under Diocletian.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.91)
305Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Emperor Gaius
Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Jovius of Rome abdicated. Constantius
I Chlorus (Flavius Valerius Constantius) became Western emperor.
Galerius (Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus) became Eastern
emperor.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
305Â Â Â Â Â Â San Gennaro, a pious
bishop, was beheaded by Roman Emp. Diocletian. In the 14th century
Naples began celebrating the miracle of San Gennaro, whereby the
city’s archbishop shakes a vial allegedly containing blood from
Gennaro.
   (SSFC, 11/6/05, p.A2)
306Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Constantine was
proclaimed Caesar of the west by the army, while Severus, the former
Caesar, was proclaimed Augusta of the west by Galerius.
   (HN, 7/23/98)
306Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Marcus Aurelius
Valerius Maxentius was proclaimed emperor of Rome.
   (MC, 10/28/01)
307Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Flavius Valerius
Severus, compassionate emperor of Rome (306-07), died.
   (MC, 11/11/01)
308Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman emperor Marcus
Aurelius Valerius Maxentius abdicated.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
309Â Â Â Â Â Â Maximinus II Daia (d.313)
became Eastern emperor.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
310Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman emperor Marcus
Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (d.310) returned to power and soon died.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
310Â Â Â Â Â Â Roman Emperor Constantine
built a defense tower at Eboracum on the banks of the River Ouse in
what later became the English city of York.
   (SSFC, 4/13/14, p.Q1)
311Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, Emperor Galerius
recognized Christians legally in the Roman Empire.
   (MC, 4/30/02)
311Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, Gaius VM Galerius
(~50), emperor of Rome, died in Dardania.
   (SFC, 6/23/97, p.29)(MC, 5/5/02)
311Â Â Â Â Â Â In Austria a Roman
gladiator school flourished at Carnuntum 28 miles (45 km) east of
Vienna. This was a major military and trade outpost linking the
far-flung Roman empire's Asian boundaries to its central and
northern European lands. Archeological digging at the site began
around 1870 and by 2011 only 0.5 percent of the settlement was
excavated.
   (AP, 9/5/11)
312Â Â Â Â Â Â cOct 27, Prior to a battle
between Constantine and Maxentius, Constantine experienced a vision
of Christ that ordered him to ornament the shields of his soldiers
with the Greek letters chi and rho, the monogram for Christ.
Constantine won the battle and attributed his success to Christ. He
became emperor of the West and an advocate of Christianity.
   (MH, 12/96)(CU, 6/87)
312Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Constantine
the Great defeated Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius at the Mulvian
Bridge. Constantine’s smaller army (about 50,000 strong) won a
decisive victory there; while fleeing, Maxentius drowned in the
river. Constantine was instantly converted when he saw a cross in
the sky, with the inscription "In hoc signo vincit" ("In this sign
you shall conquer"). [see Oct 27]
   (HN, 10/28/98)(DoW, 1999, P.398)
312Â Â Â Â Â Â Appius Claudius began
construction of the Appian Way as a military highway.
   (SFC, 8/2/07,
p.E2)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Appia)
313Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, Licinius unified
the whole of the eastern empire under his own rule.
   (HN, 4/30/98)
313Â Â Â Â Â Â Maximinus II Daia, Eastern
emperor, was killed at Tarsus.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
314Â Â Â Â Â Â Licinius declared Valens
(d.314) as co-emperor during the war with Constantine. Licinius was
deposed and executed by Valens.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
316Â Â Â Â Â Â Diocletian (b.245) died at
his retirement palace near his birthplace in Dalmatia (Croatia).
   (SSFC, 6/20/04, p.D10)
317Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Flavius Julius
Constantius II, Emperor Egypt, Byzantium, Rome (337-61), was born.
   (MC, 8/7/02)
324Â Â Â Â Â Â Licinius proclaimed
Martinian (Marcus Martinianus) as co-emperor. Martinian (d.325) was
soon deposed by Constantine.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
325Â Â Â Â Â Â Licinius (Valerius Licianus
Licinius), Eastern emperor, was deposed and executed by Constantine.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
325Â Â Â Â Â Â Martinian (Marcus
Martinianus) was executed by Constantine.
   (www.ancienthistory.about.com)
326Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Constantine refused
to carry out the traditional pagan sacrifices.
   (HN, 7/25/98)
326Â Â Â Â Â Â Constantine executed his
son Flavius Julius Crispus, born to his 1st wife, under the
persuasion of his 2nd wife Fausta.
   (PCh, 1992, p.48)
331Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Flavius Claudius
Julianus, [Julian the Apostate], emperor (361-363), was born.
   (MC, 11/17/01)
337Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, Constantine (47),
convert to Christianity and Emperor of Rome (306-37), died. He had
made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and had
the Chapel of the Burning Bush built in the Sinai Desert at the site
where Moses was believed to have witnessed the Miracle of the
Burning Bush.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.92)(PCh, 1992, p.48)(MC, 5/22/02)
337Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Constantine's three
sons, already Caesars, each took the title of Augustus. Constantine
II and Constans shared the west while Constantius II took control of
the east.
   (HN, 9/9/98)
356Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Emperor Constantius
II shut all heathen (non-Christian) temples.
   (MC, 2/19/02)
357CEÂ Â Â Apr 28, Constantius II visited Rome for the
first time.
   (HN, 4/28/98)
357Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Flavius Claudius
Julianus, the cousin of Constantius, beat the Alamanni in a Battle
at Strasbourg. Chonodomarius was caught.
   (PCh, 1992, p.48)(HN, 8/25/99)
361-363CEÂ Â Â Julian the Apostate succeeded
Constantine and tried to make paganism the official religion of the
empire.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.92)
362CEÂ Â Â Jun 17, Emperor Julian issued an edict
banning Christians from teaching in Syria.
   (HN, 6/17/98)
363CEÂ Â Â Jun 27, The death of Roman Emperor Julian
brought an end to the Pagan Revival.
   (HN, 6/27/98)
364Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Flavius Jovianus
(~32), Christian emperor of Rome (363-64), died.
   (MC, 2/17/02)
374Â Â Â Â Â Â Emperor Valentinian ended
the parental right to kill their infants.
   (SFEC, 2/13/00, Z1 p.2)
375Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Enraged by the
insolence of barbarian envoys, Valentinian, the Emperor of the West,
died of apoplexy in Pannonia in Central Europe.
   (HN, 11/17/98)
376Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 25, In Milan, Ambrose,
the Bishop of Milan, forced the emperor Theodosius to perform public
penance for his massacre.
   (HN, 12/25/98)
378Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In the Battle of
Adrianople the Visigoth Calvary defeated Roman Army.
   (MC, 8/9/02)
383Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Flavius Gratianus
(25), Emperor of Rome (375-383), was murdered.
   (MC, 8/25/02)
387Â Â Â Â Â Â The Parthians and Romans
agreed to settle the Armenian question by the drastic expedient of
partition. The Sassanid kings of Persia (who had superseded the
Parthians in the Empire of Iran) secured the lion's share of the
spoils, while the Romans only received a strip of country on the
western border which gave them Erzeroum and Diyarbakir for their
frontier fortresses.
  Â
(http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/docs/bryce2.htm)
388Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Magnus Maximus,
Spanish West Roman Emperor (383-88), was executed. His ambitions led
him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at the
Battle of the Save in 388.Â
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Maximus)
390Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Brennus and Gauls
defeated the Romans at Allia.
   (MC, 7/16/02)
392Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Valentinianus II
(21), emperor of Rome (375-392), was murdered.
   (MC, 5/15/02)
392Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, Theodosius of Rome
passed legislation prohibiting all pagan worship in the empire and
declared Christianity the state religion.
   (HN, 11/6/98)(MC, 11/8/01)
393 CE Â Â Â The ancient Olympic Games were held at
intervals beginning in 776 BCE until about 393 CE when they were
abolished by Roman emperor Theodosius I after Greece lost its
independence. The modern Olympic Games were started in 1896. [see
396CE]
   (HNQ, 11/23/98)
394Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Theodosius became
sole ruler of Italy after defeating Eugenius at the Battle of the
River Frigidus.
   (HN, 9/6/98)
395Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, Emperor Theodosius
I (49), the Great, Spanish head of Rome, died. Theodosius I wrote
into his will that upon his death the eastern and western sections
of the empire should be declared separate empires. His death in this
year marks the split of the Roman and Byzantine Empire.
   (ATC, p.24)(MC, 1/17/02)
395Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Division of Roman
Empire left lands presently inhabited by Albanians under the
administration of the Eastern Empire.
   (www, Albania, 1998)
396Â Â Â Â Â Â The last Olympic Games were
held under Emp. Theodosius I, who halted them due to increasing
professionalism and corruption. [see 393CE]
   (SFC, 7/14/96, p.T1)
400-500Â Â Â About this time Apicius, a Roman gourmand,
authored “De re coquinara” (concerning cookery). It is considered to
be the first Western cookbook. The first printed edition came out in
1483.
   (Econ, 12/20/08,
p.140)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apicius)
402Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Battle at Pollentia:
Roman army under Stilicho beat the Visigoths.
   (MC, 4/6/02)
404Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, The last known
gladiatorial contest was held in Rome.
   (http://writersalmanac.org/episodes/20170101/)
406Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, At the Battle at
Florence the Roman army under Stilicho beat the Barbarians under
Radagaisus.
   (PC, 1992, p.50)
408Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Flavius Stilicho
(48), West Roman field leader (395-408), died.
   (MC, 8/22/02)
410Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Rome was overrun by
the Visigoths, an event that symbolized the fall of the Western
Roman Empire. German barbarians sacked Rome. In 2020 Douglas Boin
authored "Alaric the Goth".
   (AP, 8/24/97)(HN, 8/24/98)(Econ., 6/20/20, p.72)
410Â Â Â Â Â Â Rome abandoned its British
provinces.
   (AM, 11/04, p.41)
410Â Â Â Â Â Â Flavius Aetius, the son of
a Roman general, was sent to live as a hostage of the Huns.
   (ON, 4/12, p.1)
418Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Jews were excluded
from public office in the Roman Empire.
   (MC, 3/10/02)
419       Jul 2, Valentinian
III, Roman emperor (425-55), was born.
   (SC, 7/2/02)
429CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Roman Africa was invaded
by the Vandals, barbarians who had fought and conquered their way
across Germany, France, Spain and across the Strait of Gibraltar.
   (Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.168)
430CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Augustine died in Hippo
with a Vandal army outside the gates of the
city.      (V.D.-H.K.p.94)
432Â Â Â Â Â Â Flavius Aetius was
appointed commander-in-chief of all the armies of the Western Roman
Empire.
   (ON, 4/12, p.1)
434-453Â Â Â Attila the Hun was known in western Europe
as the "Scourge of God." Attila was the king of the Huns from 434 to
453 and one of the greatest of the barbarian rulers to assail the
Roman Empire.
   (HNQ, 12/19/98)
451Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Attila's Huns
plundered Metz and continued moving south along the Moselle River.
   (ON, 4/12, p.2)
451Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Roman and Barbarian
warriors halted Attila’s army at the Catalaunian Plains
(Catalarinische Fields) in eastern France. Attila the Hun was
defeated by a combined Roman and Visigoth army. Theodoric I, the
Visigothic king, was killed. The Huns moved south into Italy but
were defeated again. Some sources date this on Sep 20. Attila and
his brother Bleda jointly inherited the Hunnish Kingdom,
headquartered in what later became Hungary. Attila later murdered
Bleda to gain full control.
  Â
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Catalaunian_Plains)(V.D.-H.K.p.88)(ON,
4/12, p.3)
451Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, Roman General
Aetius defeated Attila the Hun at Chalons-sur-Marne (Battle of the
Catalaunian Plains). Many sources date this on Jun 20.
   (http://tinyurl.com/6vaxufu)
452CEÂ Â Â Jun 8, Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun.
   (HN, 6/8/98)
452Â Â Â Â Â Â Pope Leo I met Attila the
Hun on the banks of the Mincio and Attila agreed to make peace and
spare Rome.
   (PTA, 1980, p.90)
454Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, In Italy, Aetius,
the supreme army commander, was murdered in Ravenna by Valentinian
III, the emperor of the West.
   (HN, 9/21/98)
455Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Petronius Maximus,
senator, Emperor of Rome, was lynched.
   (MC, 5/31/02)
455 Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Rome was sacked by
the Vandal army. Gaiseric looted and burned Rome for 14 days. He
took the looted treasure, which likely included the 70AD plunder
from Jerusalem, by ship to the temple of Carthage.
   (V.D.-H.K.p.88)(HN, 6/16/98)(SFC, 10/23/06,
p.A15)
455CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Avitus, the Roman
military commander in Gaul, became Emperor of the West.
   (HN, 7/9/98)
476Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, The western Roman
Empire formally ended at Ravenna as the barbarian general Odoacer
deposed the last of the Roman emperors, the young boy Romulus
Augustus.
   (ATC, p.32)(PC, 1992, p.52)
480Â Â Â Â Â Â Boethius (d.524) was born
in Rome about this time. He acquired an important post under the
Ostrogoth King Theodoric, but later fell into disfavor and was
imprisoned. In prison he wrote his famous "The Consolation of
Philosophy."
   (V.D.-H.K p.113)
524Â Â Â Â Â Â Anicius Manlius Severinus
Boëthius, commonly called Boethius (b.~477), Roman senator, consul,
magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century, died
in Pavia.
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boethius)
536Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, Byzantine Count
Belisarius entered Rome through the Asinarian Gate at the head of
5,000 troops. At the same time, 4,000 Ostrogoths left the city
through the Flaminian Gate and headed north to Ravenna, the capital
of their Italian kingdom. For the first time since 476, when the
Germanic king, Odoacer, had deposed the last Western Roman emperor
and crowned himself "King of the Romans," the city of Rome was once
more part of the Roman empire—albeit an empire whose capital had
shifted east to Constantinople. Belisarius had taken the city back
as part of Emperor Justinian’s grand plan to recover the western
provinces from their barbarian rulers. The plan was meant to be
carried out with an almost ridiculously small expeditionary force.
The 5,000 soldiers that General Belisarius led included Hunnish and
Moorish auxiliaries, and they were expected to defend circuit walls
12 miles in diameter against an enemy who would soon be back, and
who would outnumber them at least 10-to-1.
   (HN, 12/9/98)(HNC, 10/1/99)
537CEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, The Goths laid
siege to Rome. The Goths cut the aqueducts to Rome in the 6th
century.
   (HN, 3/11/98)(SFEC, 7/2/00, p.T4)
590Â Â Â Â Â Â Pope Gregory said he
spotted an angel atop Hadrian’s Mausoleum. The site was then
reconfigured as a fortress called Castel Sant’Angelo. In 1925 it
became a national museum.
   (SSFC, 5/1/05, p.F8)
609Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, Pope Boniface I
turned Roman Pantheon into Catholic church.
   (MC, 5/13/02)
1347Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, Roman tribune Cola
di Rienzi defeated nobles. Stefano Colonna, Roman senator, died in
battle (SPQR).
   (MC, 11/20/01)
1347Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, Pope Clemens VI
declared Roman tribune, Cola di Rienzi, a heretic.
   (MC, 12/3/01)
1453Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, Constantinople
fell to Mehmed II, ending the Byzantine Empire. The fall of the
eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium, to the Ottoman Turks was led by
Mehmed II. Emperor Constantine XI Dragases (49), the 95th ruler to
sit on the throne of Constantine, was killed. The city of
Constantinople fell from Christian rule and was renamed Istanbul.
The Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque. Spice prices soared in
Europe. Nicolo Barbaro wrote his "Diary of the Siege of
Constantinople." Manuel Chrysophes, court musician to Constantine
XI, wrote a threnody for the fall of Constantinople. In 2005 Roger
Crowley authored “1453 The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash
of Islam and the West.”
  Â
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmed_the_Conqueror)(SFC, 7/27/98,
p.A8)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)(ON, 10/00, p.12)(Ot, 1993, p.6)(WSJ,
1/2/02, p.A15)(SSFC, 8/14/05, p.F4)
1776Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Edward Gibbon
(1737-1794), English historian, published his 1st volume of "The
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." He completed
the 6-volume classic in 1788.
   (WUD, 1994 p.596)(WSJ, 5/26/07, p.P6)
1999Â Â Â Â Â Â John Onians authored
"Classical Art and the Cultures of Greece and Rome."
   (WSJ, 9/7/99, p.A23)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul, In Switzerland a
farmer in Ueken in the northern canton of Aargau discovered 4,166
bronze and silver coins dating back to Ancient Rome and weighing 15
kilos (33 pounds). They stretched from the rein of Emperor Aurelian
(year 270-275) to that of Maximilian (286-305), with the most recent
coins dated to year 294. Archeologists said it was impossible to
determine their original value due to rampant inflation at the time.
   (AFP, 11/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mary Beard authored “SPQR:
A History of Ancient Rome.”
   (Econ, 10/17/15, p.85)
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End of file