VADEMECUM Rome free
The Rome at a Glance
Time-line & Notes / Rulers / State affairs / Other Events / Prominent persons / ROME: Art and Architecture1000-800BC / Fall of Troy.
Aeneas escapes for Italy and founds Lavinium.
Aeneas' son Ascanius founds Alba Longa at a site near the future Rome.
10 generations after Ascanius, Amulius steals the kingdom from his brother Numitor and forces Numitor's daughter Rhea Silvia, future mother of Romulus and Remus, to become a Vestal Virgin.
Rhea Silvia hides the boys in a basket and sends it down the Tiber river where they are found by a She Wolf (probably a prostitute actually) and a shepherd called Faustulus.
Romulus and Remus avenge their uncle and mother and leave Alba Longa to found their own city - Rome. / Remains of shepherd huts and settlements found around the Palatine and Capitoline hills dating back to the 10th century BC.
21stor 24th of April 753BC ?
Rome founded by Romulus.
Class structure of the population.
Ruling structure was King, Senate, Citizens. / Romulus
(753-715BC)
Founder and first King of Rome
Citizens of Rome divided into
Patricians, Clients, Slaves and Plebeians
Elders of Patrician families (the nobility) are Senators (from "senex", meaning "old"). / Rome founded "Ab Urbe Condita".
Romulus invites all who wish to come to become citizens.
Myth of women kidnapped from the nearby Sabines (probably alluding to taking of the salt trade).
Peace made with the Sabines who settle on the Palatine.
The "first" families are the nobles or Patricians. Only they have Roman citizenship. / Romulus kills his brother Remus in a fight as they plough the sacred furrow (Pomoerium) round the city. Romulus remains sole ruler of the new city.
Treachery of Tarpeia allows the Sabines to enter the city but the Sabine women force peace.
715 BC Romulus dies. He appears in a vision predicting that Rome will be capital of the world. / Homer, poet (800BC).
Greek writer of the Iliad and Odissey: the roots of western literature. 8 centuries later Emperor Augustus gets the poet Virgil to produce a well written sequel: the Aeneid - linking his Julio Claudian dynasty to the very founding of Rome and the gods themselves. / Tomb of Romulus - "Lapis Niger" plaque placed by Julius Caesar in the Forum
The Pantheon is built 8 centuries later by Augustus on the spot from which Romulus' spirit supposedly transformed into an eagle and flew up to join the gods.
Tarpeian Rock on the Palatine reminds us of Tarpeia's treachery & punishment.
700BC Six kings of Rome after Romulus:
Debut of the gods Jupiter, Mars, Janus and Terminus. / Numa Pompilius
(715-673BC)
A Sabine elected by the Romans / 43 years of peace.
Temple of Janus on Capitol with doors closed in times of peace. / Set the foundations of worship of the gods and cultivation of the land. Land is subdivided. / Creation of the religious figurehead and title "Pontifex Maximus" now held by the Pope.
A belligerent so-and-so who taught his subjects the art of war but forgot to worship the gods. / Tullus Hostilius.
(673-642BCC)
3rd King of Rome / Became ruler of Alba Longa also.
Alba Longa destroyed and citizens moved to Rome. / Picked a war with Alba Longa. The war was decided by a fight between the Horatii and Curiatii brothers.
650 BC / Ancus Martius
(642-617BC)
4th King of Rome - Grandson of Numa Pompilius (2nd King).
Made the Etruscan Tarquinius Priscus tutor of his sons. / Was pious and fortified the city.
City of Ostia founded at the Tiber's mouth to the Mediterranean. / Tablets published with rules of proper worship.
Opening of trade routes by sea
First bridge across the Tiber
600 BC
First of the Estruscan kings of Rome. / Lucius Tarquinius Priscus
(616-579BC) - an Etruscan who came from the north and settled in Rome. Father of Lucius Tarquinius (Superbus) / Overcame the Etruscans and conquered other surrounding tribes. / Urban development:
- The Capitol
- The city sewers
- Circus Maximus
Took the Etruscan symbols of power including the purple robe and bundles of rods with axe. / The Capitol
The Cloaca Maxima sewers
The mouth of truth (bocca della verita') is a very famous drain cover.
The Circus Maximus
550 BC
Good king Servius - never forgot his humble origins. / Servius Tullius
(579-535BC) - a slave adopted by Tarquinius Priscus. Took power when Tarquinius was murdered by one of Ancus Martius' sons. / Reform of the army. Landowners forced to join the army.
Formed Comitia Centuriata
Fortified Rome's defences. / Class structure divided into 5 levels of land ownership
Division of the city into four areas.
Established a census. / Servian walls around the city (parts still visible in various points such as by Termini station).
Campus Martius area for military training.
End of the Kings of Rome.
Tarquinius Superbus expelled by his nephew Lucius Brutus. / Tarquinius Superbus
(Tarquin the Proud) - Tyrant -
(535-509BC) - Etruscan. Together with Servius' daughter he plotted and murdered Servius Tullius in the Forum. / Tarquinius' love for war and alliance with his three sons brought many surrounding tribes to heel through force and trickery.
509 Tarquinius allies with Rome's enemies to win his throne back. Roman troops become battle hardened. / Purchase of the sacred Sybilline books foretelling Rome's future.
The Etruscan king Porsenna threatens invasion (probably actually succeeded to take the city).
Peace is eventually struck when Porsenna is overawed by Roman courage. / Sybil of Cumae, seer who wrote the Sybilline books held sacred by all Romans hence forth especially when the city was in danger. / Villages of Sutri and Tuscania to the north of Rome. These were Etruscan towns which participated in the Tarquinius Superbus affair. Towns still lived in to this day.
509BC - Rome becomes a republic
509BC - ?
Period of adjustment as nobles fight for power. / Lucius Brutus - a quasi King - Consul
It is unlikely that a clear system emerged immediately to replace the king. A "Magister Populi" or "Praetor" probably took over for set mandates. / / Economic development during the Etruscan epoch brought merchants, nobles and other free men of various extractions to the city: "Clients"
500-400BC
Constant war and conquest of Italy / Two Consuls are periodically elected out of the "Patricians" (aristocracy) to rule jointly.
In times of war and danger a Dictator is elected for a fixed term of 6 months . / Rich becoming richer and poor becoming poorer.
Social struggles continue between nobles and commoners. / Tribunescreated torepresent Plebeian rights and counter-balance power of the nobility (Patricians)
Position of "Aedile" created to assist the Tribunes (Julius Caesar was to become aedile 400 years later)
450 Brief rule of the Decemvirs (ten men). / Unrest as the plebeians demand land and rights in exchange for their efforts atwar.
The Plebeians threaten to leave Rome to found their own city. / First written laws of Rome. Publishedon 12 bronze tablets.
Election of Tribunes given to the assembly of (Plebeian) "Tribes".
The Valerio-Horatian laws give Tribunes the right to sit & listen at the Senate and Veto measures they did not approve. / Socrates, philosopher (469-399BC) / "Capitoline Wolf", bronze statue of Etruscan manufacture in the Capitoline Museum. It represents the She-wolf and Romulus and Remus.
The archetypal symbol of Rome.
390BC Records and "authentic" history of Rome begins.
All previous written records were destroyed by the Gauls who invaded the city in 390. / Consular power continues
Deeds of Cincinnatus who was called to leave his work as farmer to serve as Dictator. He defeated the Aequians and then returned to work his small farm. / Deeds of Coriolanus
Wars of Camillus against the Etruscans.
391 Etruscan city of Veii is sieged and taken just to the north of Rome.
A prophecy announced that the taking a Veii would precede the taking of Rome….
390 Rome taken by the Gauls. / Plebeians gain right to a position close to that of a Consul:
"Military Tribune with Consular Powers" / Aristoteles, philosopher. 384-322 BC. Student of Plato and Tutor to Alexander the Great. As a philosopher he established the bases of the scientific disciplines. /
350-300 BC
Patricians and Plebeians achieve equal rights in the state. / Government of Rome still held by 2 elected Consuls.
At least one Consul must be Plebeian. / Romans and Etruscans allies
343-290 Wars against the Samnites and Latins (powerful Italian tribes).
Roman treaties with Latin cities. / The Patricians (nobles) create a new position to assist the Consuls: "Censor"
Law passed to impose at least 1 plebeian Consul to govern. / / "Capitoline Brutus", very rare bronze portrait bust held in the Capitoline Museum. Myth has it that it is of Lucius Brutus - the first Consul after the kingdom.
250
Conquest of Italy brings Rome face to face with Carthage as war for dominance of the Mediterranean seas / 295 Roman victory at Sentinum against Gauls, Etruscans and Samnites.
281-275 War with Pyrrhus
264-241 First Punic War (against the very powerful north African city of Carthage)
216 Terrible defeat of the Romans by Hannibal at Cannae
218-202 Second Punic War
202 Hannibal defeated / / 211 Archimedes killed /
100 / 81-79 General Sulla Dictator
60 Caesar, Pompey and Crassus - First Triumvirate (division of rule of Rome by three men)
48 Julius Caesar Dictator / 149-146 Third and last Punic War
146 Fall of Carthage at the hands of Scipio Africanus
133 Spain becomes a Roman province.
108-101 Northern barbarians move south and threaten Italy - defeated by the great general Marius.
88-82 Bloody civil war between generals Marius and Sulla.
58-49 Caesar's campaigns in Gaul & First expeditions to Britain / 123-121 Caius Gracchus proposes his social laws (redistribution of land and cheap corn for the poor).
Beginning of the Social Revolts.
73-71 Revolt of the Gladiators led by Spartacus
67 Pirates of the Mediterranean suppressed by general Pompey
63 Cicero Consul & suppression of the Catiline conspiracy against the senate.
/ Gracchi brothers, politicians of socialist ideals. Forefathers and inspiration to all future revolutionaries.
Julius Caesar, great military leader, dictator of Rome.
(100-44BC) /
50 BC
End of the Roman Republic / 43 Mark-Anthony, Lepidus & Octavianus (Augustus Caesar) form second Triumvirate / 49-48 Civil war between Caesar and Pompey / 42 Death of Brutus at battle of Philippi
31BC Death of Mark-Anthony and Cleopatra. / Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
106BC-43BC, Orator, Writer and Lawyer. His politics were generally opposed to those of Julius Caesar. /
Beginning of the Roman Empire.
Year 0
Emperor and Pontifex Maximus (religious leader)
4BC Birth of Jesus Christ. / Augustus
(27BC-14AD)
(Initially called Octavianus)
IMP CAESAR AUGUSTUS / 31BC Victory of Augustus over Mark-Anthony at Actium
16-9 BC Annex of Gaul and Germany into the empire / 27BC Emperor Octavian is renamed Augustus "The Great One".
29BC Doors to the temple of Janus on the Capitol are closed (peace).
4AD Augustus adopts Tiberius / Agrippa (63- 12BC), brother in law of Augustus. Built the Pantheon.
Horace (65-8BC), poet.
Livy (59-BC-17AD), historian
Virgil (70-19BC), poet. / 29BC Mausoleum (tomb) of Augustus and family.
9BC
Ara Pacis altar to peace.
2BC Forum of Augustus
Pantheon built by Agrippa in honor of Augustus.
25
29AD Jesus Christ Crucified / Tiberius (14-37) Became a Tyrant.
Caligula (37-41) Had some brain disorder/madness / 14-16 German military campaign / 14 AD Emperor Augustus deified. / Ovid (43BC-18AD), poet. Generally regarded as an equal to Virgil. / 45AD Ostia port built
52AD Claudian acqueductPorta Maggiore gate of Rome
50
End of the Julio-Claudian line of emperors / Claudius (41-54) - Good guy with a stutter. Poisoned with a plate of mushrooms by his wife, mother of Nero.
Nero (54-68) - wanted to be an artist and went a little crazy under the strain of politics. / 43 Claudius conquers southern Britain
62 Nero's period of madness begins when he does away with his meddling mother and wife. / 64 Great fire of Rome
64 Nero's persecution of the Christians.
67 AD St.Peter crucified
and St. Paul decapitated.
68 Nero's suicide / Seneca (3BC-65AD), philosopher and tutor to Nero.
He spent a period as co-administrator of the empire during which time the empire lived a period of splendour. / 64 Nero's Domus Aurea (the Golden House). Included a colossal statue of Nero which years later was moved to the Colosseum (the "Flavian Amphitheatre") and hence gave it its common name of "Colosseum"
75
Domitian is a plebeian.
Start of the Flavian line of emperors / 69 - Year of the four emperors followed by….
Vespasian (69-79) - Pragmatic soldier.
Titus (79-81) - Good and idealistic
Domitian (81-96) / 70 Titus takes and loots Jerusalem
80 Dominions in Britain extended to Scotland.
85 War against the Dacians. / 79 Vesuvius' eruption buries Pompeii and Herculaneum.
96 Domitian claims "God and Master" as a living god & precipitates his own murder. / Pliny the Elder (24-79), writer.
Quintilian (35-95), orator.
Tacitus (55-118). Great Roman historian. / 80 AD The Colosseum - (Flavian Amphitheatre) was built.
81AD Arch of Titus
81AD Domus Flavia and Domus Augustana on the Palatine
100
Start of the "Adoptive emperors" - Five good emperors / Nerva (96-98) - A good senator not cut out to be Emperor
Trajan (98-117) - Great / 101 War against the Dacians.
The Empire reaches its greatest size. / 96 Nerva chosen as emperor by the Senate.
Nerva adopts the Spaniard Trajan - the first emperor from the provinces. / Plutarc (46-120) Historian and Philosopher.
Pliny the Younger (62-113)
Juvenal (68-128), poet / 97 Forum of Nerva
107-113 Trajan's Forum, Markets and Column
125 / Hadrian (117-138) - Fabulous. Went a little quiet when his lover died. / Peace of the empire through border fortifications.
Hadrian's wall in Britannia. / Hadrian journeys throughout the empire (see Yourcenar - "Hadrian's memoirs").
Birth of bureaucrats. / Suetonius (70-130), writer-historian (Biography of the Caesars). / 117 Hadrian's villa in Tivoli
118 Pantheon burnt down and rebuilt to current form.
134 Hadrian's mausoleum (then transformed into Castel St. Angelo)
150
Antonine line of emperors.
End of "Pax Romana" / Antoninus Pius (138-161). Pious as his name suggests.
Marcus Aurelius (161-180). A philosopher-emperor. Last of the "5 good emperors".
Lucius Verus
(161-169)
Commodus (176-192) - Mad on Gladiatorial fights. Died strangled by a fighter. / Antoninus the Pius brings the greatest period of peace.
164 War against the Parthians (see column of Marcus Aurelius) / 165-180 Black death (Plague) epidemic throughout the empire.
Commodus restarts succession by birth. / 141 Temple of Antonino Pio and Faustina in the Forum.
145 Temple of Hadrian (on Piazza di Pietra square).
176 Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
Column of Marcus Aurelius "Colonna Antonina"
Amazing portrait bust of Commodus as Hercules in the Capitoline Museum
200
Start of Severus line of emperors / Septimius Severus (193-211)
Caracalla (198-217) - Killed his brother and rubbed his name out. / 208-211 War against the Britons.
Caracalla murders his brother.
Victory against Persians, Rome's worst enemy. / All free persons of the empire are granted Roman Citizenship ("Constitutio Antoniana") / 205-270 Plotinus , Philisopher / 203 Arch of Septimius Severus
204 Arch of the Argentari (money changers)
216 Caracalla thermal baths
Continuous wars and rebellion across the empire. / 3rd-4th centuries Catacombs of St. Callisto
225 / Macrius (217)
Heliogabalus (218-222) / The Sirian sun god is adopted as state religion. / Calixtus I (217-222) underlines the position of "Bishop of Rome" as head of the church.
250 / (222-269):
Severus/Alexander/ Maximin/Thrax, Gordian I, II, III, Philip and others, Decius and others, Gallienus and others, Claudius II / The empire's borders are threatened on all sides.
Germanic barbarians suppressed as they push into northern Italy. / Military rule of Rome and continuous instability and assassinations.
248 Celebration of Rome's first Millennium.
Repeated persecutions of the Christians.
Economic crises of the Empire.
Edict of Christian tolerance.
275 / Aurelian
(270-275) a good emperor to give the long line of bad ones a breather. / 272 Empress Zenobia of Palmira subdued and transferred to Rome.
274 Gaul retaken and empire reunited. / Reform of the army.
Introduction of cult of the emperor joint with cult of sun - "Sol Invictus" / Diogenes, History of Philisophy. / 270 Building of the Aurelian defence walls around Rome.
270 Gate of Saint Sebastian onto the Appian way.
(275-284): Tacitus, Probus, Carus, Carinus, Numerian
300
Tetrarchy (four rulers sharing) power).
Empire split into East and West. / Diocletian (284-305). Generally a good emperor. Realized the need for heavy reforms but also persecuted the Christians.
Hats off to him for resigning his post according to self-imposed mandate. Enjoyed his vegetable garden thereafter. / 293 Significant reforms of the empire and institutions. Tetrarchy.
297 Division of the empire into manageable units.
Suppression of revolts and security of borders. / Tetrarchy introduced as a means of preventing the continuous military coups d'etat.
Oriental style absolute monarch. / Eusebius, History of the Church / 300 Temple and altar to Mithras under San Clemente church.
300 Thermal baths of Diocletian
303 Decennalia column base.
(305-324)
Maximian, Constantius Chlorus, Galerius, Flavius Severus, Licinus / Heavy persecution of the Christians. / 306 Basilica of Maxentius in the Forum.
306 Maxentius' circus on the Appian way
325
Acceptance of Christianity.
Shift of power to Constantinople, protecting the West from the East. / Constantine the Great
(306-337)
Every bit as great as his name suggests.
He definitely shaped the future of the West. / 312 Victory of general Constantine over general Maxentius.
324 Constantine sole emperor.
330 Bizantium called Constantinople & proclaimed "New Rome". / Tetrarchy fails.
Edict of Christian tolerance.
337 Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and baptised on his death bed. / 312 Arch of Constantine
313 Colossal head & hand of Constantine in the Capitoline Museum
313 Church of San Giovanni in Laterano.
319 St. Peter's basilica (subsequently knocked down and rebuilt in its current glory). Some doors are the originals).
350 / (337-361)
Constantine II, Constans, Constantius II, / Constantine divides the empire across his three sons (who fight anyway). / Arch of Janus in the Forum Boarium
Attempts to reinstate pagan gods. / Julian "the Apostate" (361-363) / Paganism makes a final but brief re-appearance. / Attempt to introduce Mithras as state religion.
375
Valentinian and successors / Valentinian (364-375)