| 753 BC | Rome is founded | Rome was founded by Romulus. Romulus was the first of the seven Roman kings. The original name of Rome was Roma. |
| 509 BC | Rome becomes a Republic | The last king is expelled and Rome is now ruled by senators. There is a constitution with laws and Rome becomes a complex republican government. |
| 218 BC | Hannibal invades Italy | Hannibal leads the Carthage army to attack Italy. This becomes part of the Second Punic War. |
| 45 BC | Julius Caesar becomes the first dictator of Rome | Julius Caesar defeats Pompey in a civil war. He becomes the supreme ruler of Rome. This is the end of the Roman Republic. He hires Sosigenes, an Egyptian astronomer, to work out a new 12 month calendar. |
| 44 BC | Julius Caesar is assassinated | Julius Caesar is assassinated on the Ides of March by Marcus Brutus. They hope to bring back the republic, but civil war breaks out instead. |
| 27 BC | Roman Empire begins | Octavius appoints himself "Augustus", which means the first emperor. |
| 64 | Much of Rome burns | Nero set fire to Rome and blames the Christians for it. |
| 80 | Colosseum is built | The Colosseum was built in 80 AD. The completion of the Colosseum was celebrated with 100 days of games. The Romans invade Scotland. |
| 122 | Hadrian Wall is built | The Hadrian Wall was built in 122 AD. It was a long wall built across northern England in an effort to keep the barbarians out. |
| 306 | Constantine becomes Emperor in 306 AD | Rome becomes a Christian empire. Before this, Rome persecuted the Christians. Constantius dies. His son Constantine is the new vice-emperor of Galerius. |
| 380 | Christianity | Theodosius I proclaims Christianity as the sole religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. |
| 395 | Rome splits | In 395 AD, Rome split into two empires - the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Each side had a ruler in charge of it. The Roman Empire was split by Theodosius. |
| 410 | The Visigoths sack Rome | This was the first time in 800 years that the city of Rome has fallen to an enemy. It was a huge uproar. |
| 476 | End of the Western Roman Empire and the fall of Ancient Rome | The last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus is defeated by the German Goth Odoacer. This is the start of the Dark Ages in Europe. |
| 1453 | The Byzantine Empire ends | The Byzantine Empire comes to an end as it falls to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople in 1453 A.D. It is renamed Istanbul in 1930. |
