Ancient Rome - Unification, Civilization, Empire | Britannica

ancient Rome

Table of Contents

Introduction & Top Questions
Rome from its origins to 264 bc
- Early Rome to 509 bc
  - Early Italy
  - Historical sources on early Rome
  - Rome’s foundation myth
  - The regal period, 753–509 bc
- Early centuries of the Roman Republic
  - Foundation of the republic
  - The struggle of the orders
  - The consulship
  - The dictatorship
  - The Senate
  - The popular assemblies
  - The plebeian tribunate
  - The Law of the Twelve Tables
  - Military tribunes with consular power
  - Social and economic changes
  - The Latin League
- Roman expansion in Italy
  - The Samnite Wars
  - The Pyrrhic War, 280–275 bc
The middle republic (264–133 bc)
- The first two Punic Wars
  - First Punic War (264–241 bc)
  - Second Punic War (218–201 bc)
- The establishment of Roman hegemony in the Mediterranean world
  - Roman expansion in the eastern Mediterranean
  - Roman expansion in the western Mediterranean
  - Explanations of Roman expansion
- Beginnings of provincial administration
The transformation of Rome and Italy during the Middle Republic
- Citizenship and politics in the middle republic
- Culture and religion
- Demographic and economic developments
- Social changes
- Rome and Italy
The Late Republic (133–31 bc)
- The aftermath of the victories
  - Changes in provincial administration
  - Social and economic ills
- The reform movement of the Gracchi (133–121 bc)
  - The program and career of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus
  - The program and career of Gaius Sempronius Gracchus
- The republic (c. 121–91 bc)
  - War against Jugurtha
  - The career of Gaius Marius
- Wars and dictatorship (c. 91–80 bc)
  - Events in Asia
  - Developments in Italy
  - Civil war and the rule of Lucius Sulla
- The Roman state in the two decades after Sulla (79–60 bc)
  - The early career of Pompey
  - Pompey and Crassus
  - Political suspicion and violence
- The final collapse of the Roman Republic (59–44 bc)
  - Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus
  - Political maneuvers
  - Civil war
  - The dictatorship and assassination of Caesar
- The Triumvirate and Octavian’s achievement of sole power
Intellectual life of the Late Republic
- Grammar and rhetoric
- Law and history
- Philosophy and poetry
The Early Roman Empire (31 bc–ad 193)
- The consolidation of the empire under the Julio-Claudians
  - The establishment of the principate under Augustus
  - The Roman Senate and the urban magistracies
  - The equestrian order
  - Administration of Rome and Italy
  - Administration of the provinces
  - Emperor worship
  - The army
  - Foreign policy
  - Economic life
  - Augustan art and literature
  - Appraisal of Augustus
  - The succession
- Growth of the empire under the Flavians and Antonines
  - The year of the four emperors
  - The Flavian emperors
  - The early Antonine emperors: Nerva and Trajan
  - Hadrian and the other Antonine emperors
- The empire in the 2nd century
  - Trend to absolute monarchy
  - Political life
  - Rome and Italy
  - Developments in the provinces
- The creation of a unified civilization
  - Urban centres
  - Latinization
  - Limits of unification
  - Cult of the emperors
  - The economic factor
  - The army
  - Cultural life
The Later Roman Empire
- The dynasty of the Severi (ad 193–235)
  - Septimius Severus
  - Caracalla
  - Macrinus
  - Elagabalus and Severus Alexander
- Religious and cultural life in the 3rd century
  - The rise of Christianity
  - Cultural life from the Antonines to Constantine
- Military anarchy and the disintegration of the empire (235–270)
  - Succession of emperors and usurpers
  - The barbarian invasions
  - Difficulties in the East
- Economic and social crisis
- The recovery of the empire and the establishment of the dominate (270–337)
  - The Illyrian emperors
  - Diocletian
  - Struggle for power
  - The reign of Constantine
- The Roman Empire under the 4th-century successors of Constantine
  - The rule of Constantine’s sons
  - The reign of Julian
  - The reign of Valentinian and Valens
  - The reign of Gratian and Theodosius I
  - Social and economic conditions
  - The remnants of pagan culture
  - The Christian church
- The eclipse of the Roman Empire in the West (c. 395–500) and the German migrations
  - Invasions in the early 5th century
  - The beginning of Germanic hegemony in the West
  - Barbarian kingdoms
  - Analysis of the decline and fall

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Roman Forum: Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

How the Roman Empire was founded

Roman expansion in Italy from 298 to 201 bce

The western Mediterranean during the Punic Wars

Roman war galley

Hannibal's daring strategy against Rome explained

How ancient Romans honoured their dead relatives…by feeding them

Read Next

Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) (ad 50-54) the fifth Roman emperor (ad 54-68), stepson and heir of the emperor Claudius.

Did Nero Really Fiddle as Rome Burned?

Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator

The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates

poem. A poet in a Heian period kimono writes Japanese poetry during the Kamo Kyokusui No En Ancient Festival at Jonan-gu shrine on April 29, 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. Festival of Kyokusui-no Utage orignated in 1,182, party Heian era (794-1192).

World Poetry Day

Discover

Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist

The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity

Young men throw balloons and glitter from above the mosque at the celebration Eid Al-Fitr after prayers playing with balloons outside of Al-seddeeq mosque, Al-Mansourah, Egypt. 17 July 2015.

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Solar eclipse of the sun.

The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses

Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

In the overall context of Western history, the degree to which the Mediterranean world during the period of the empire became one single system, one civilization, is a matter of the greatest importance. Clearly, one must distinguish between the life of the rural masses and that of the urban minority. The former retained many traits of a way of life predating not only Roman conquest but, in the East, the conquests of Alexander the Great centuries earlier. However, the device of organizing conquered territories under cities responsible for their surrounding territory proved as successful under the Romans as under the ...(100 of 71313 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.