Roman Empire History

Roman Empire Timeline

• The fall of the Western Roman Empire conventionally marks the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Roman Emperors

• Augustus was the first Roman emperor of a monarchy with Rome as its sole capital.

Territorial Expanse

• Rome reached its greatest territorial expanse during the 2nd century.

Middle Ages

• The conventional belief is that the Middle Ages began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Battle of Actium

• Octavian (later known as Augustus) was responsible for the victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

Decline of the Western Roman Empire

• A period of increasing trouble and decline began under the rule of Commodus.

Crisis of the 3rd Century

• The Empire underwent a crisis that threatened its existence during the 3rd century.

Reunification

• Aurelian reunified the Empire in the 3rd century.

Imperial Seat

• In 330 CE, the imperial seat moved from Rome to Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul).

Decline of the Western Roman Empire

• The event that led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire was the continuous barbarian invasions and internal strife.

Language Evolution

• Latin evolved into the Romance languages.

Eastern Roman Empire

• Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) became the sole capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Italian Renaissance

• Roman and Greek art had a significant impact on the Italian Renaissance.

Transition from Republic to Empire

• The historical period that saw the transition from Republic to Empire for Rome was the 1st century BCE.