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Rome Chronology

2,800 years of history of the Eternal City surely prove the truth of the famous proverb "Rome wasn't built in a day."


Early history BC
April 21, 753 BC The historical date of Rome's foundation.
8th Century BC Latins, Sabines, Umbrians, Samnites, Oscans, the Etruscans and the Greeks settle in the area of the contemporary Rome.
650 BC The Etruscans become dominant in Italy gaining control over the regions near Rome.
500 BC Rome rebels and gains independence from the Etruscans. The city also joins the Latin cities in their effort against the intrusions of the Sabines.
493 BC Rome establishes its supremacy over the Latin countries after the Battle of Lake Regillus.
394 BC Rome becomes the dominant city of Latinum after the Etruscans are sent away to Etruria.
387 BC Rome is almost completely burnt by the invaders from Gaul.
345 BC Rome continues its conquest of other Latin tribes, moving southwards towards the regions settled by the Samnites.
3rd Century BC Rome is in control over a half of the Italian peninsula.
509 BC Rome becomes a republic.
2nd Century BC Rome experiences a significant population growth. Italian farmers are drawn to the city in great numbers.
146 BC Rome becomes the most powerful city in the western world after adding Greece and North Africa to the areas of its influence.
March 15, 44 BC Caesar is assassinated in front of the Theatre of Pompey.
History AD
177 Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius, assumes full power, which is generally associated with the decline of the Western Roman Empire.
273 The population of Rome is around 500,000 - only a fraction of what it has been in the times of its greatness. This year the massive wall encircling the city is completed.
380 The Bishop of Rome is proclaimed the major religious figure in the Western Europe.
August 24, 410 The city is attacked by Alaric.
455 The city is again attacked, this time by Geiseric.
July 11, 472 Rome is attacked by Ricimer's unpaid troops.
476 Romulus Augustus, the last Western Roman emperor, is deposed by a riot of barbarian troops and exiled to Naples.
536 The forces of the Eastern Roman Empire capture the city.
December 546 The Ostrogoths recapture the city.
527-565 The reign of Justin I.
565-578 During the reign of Justin II the Lombards invade the area and restrict the imperial authority on the peninsula.
584 - 590 Invasions of the armies of the Frankish king.
589 Rome suffers from a disastrous Tiber flood.
590 Rome suffers from a plague.
590-604 The term of Pope Gregory I
653 Pope Martin I is deported to Constantinople and exiled to the Crimea after a trial.
663 Constans II's first imperial visit to Rome in two Centuries.
727 Pope Gregory II refuses to accept the decrees of Leo II establishing iconoclasm. The latter sends troop which are pushed back by the Lombards of Tuscia and Benevento.
730 The strong Liutprand attacks the countryside of Rome to punish the Pope who has supported the duke of Spoleto.
754 Liutprand's successor Aistulf is even more aggressive. Rome seems his next victim. In 754, Pope Stephen II goes to France to name the king of the Francs, Pippin the Younger, the protector of Rome. In August that year, the King and Pope together cross the Alps and defeat Aistulf at Pavia.
771, 773 The new king of the Lombards tries to conquer Rome again but is defeated by Charlemagne.
December 800 Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.
897 The year when the lowest point of anarchy in Rome is reached.
12-15th Century
1143 A rebellion of the Romans against the aristocracy and the Church rule.
1188 The new Communal government is recognized by pope Clement III.
1204 The streets of Rome are in flames and many buildings are destroyed.
1252 People elect a foreign Senator - Brancaleone, with the hope of bringing peace to Rome. Unfortunately, he dies too soon.
1341 Petrarca comes to the city to be crowned as poet at Campidoglio.
1362 Rome declares war at Velletri which provokes a civil war.
1447 Renaissance becomes prevalent in Rome during the reign of Nicholas V.
1452 Rome is controlled by the Papacy and the marriage of Frederick III is more of a civil ceremony.
1461 Pius is the first pope to use guns against rebels.
15-19th Century During the following four centuries there are wars, rebellions and peace activities. Elections of popes and many other landmark events which mark the history of Rome.
Modern history 19-20th Century
1849 Another, short-lived, Roman republic arises for which Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi fought.
July 1870 The Franco-Prussian war starts and soon after Rome is captured by the Italians.
1871 The capital of Italy is moved from Florence to Rome.
1943 Rome is bombed for the first time by the Allies.
June 1944 Rome is taken over by the Allies.
1825-1931 Rome's population increases from 138,000 to 1,600 000.
1950s and 1960s The years of the so-called La dolce vita, when Rome becomes the city of fashionable life.
1960 Rome is the host of the Summer Olympics for the purpose of which many new structures, including the Olympic Stadium, are built.