Roman Empire Timeline: From Rome's Founding to 1453
A Roman Empire timeline from the traditional founding in 753 BCE through the Republic, Augustus, the western fall and Constantinople in 1453.
Last updated October 2026
Contents9
This Roman Empire timeline runs from Rome's traditional founding in 753 BCE to Constantinople's fall in 1453 CE. The imperial era itself normally begins with Augustus in 27 BCE. The Kingdom and Republic explain how Rome reached that point. World History Encyclopedia: Ancient Rome Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Roman Empire (27 BCE–393 CE) World History Encyclopedia: 1453: The Fall of Constantinople
The timeline includes the Eastern Roman Empire, which continued after the western court ended. That keeps the fall of the West separate from the later fall of the eastern capital. World History Encyclopedia: Byzantine Empire
TL;DR: Rome passed through a Kingdom, Republic and Empire. Augustus began the usual imperial ruler sequence. A major crisis brought new forms of rule, the West lost its emperor, and the eastern state survived through recoveries and losses until Constantinople fell.
Roman Empire timeline: at a glance
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia, Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Roman Empire (27 BCE–393 CE), World History Encyclopedia: The Crisis of the Third Century: A Pivotal Era of Ancient Rome, World History Encyclopedia.
They are period markers, rather than claims that every institution changed at once.
| Era | Dates or boundary | What to follow | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom in Roman tradition | 753–509 BCE | The city's early royal story | Disputed |
| Republic | 509–27 BCE | Expansion and the struggle over public power | Reviewed |
| Principate | From 27 BCE | Emperors ruling through older Roman forms | Reviewed |
| Third Century Crisis | 235–284 CE | Civil war, invasion and imperial division | Reviewed |
| Late imperial reform | From Diocletian's accession in 284 | New arrangements for government and defence | Reviewed |
| Western imperial end | 476 or 480 | Deposition in Italy or the last recognised claimant's death | Reviewed |
| Eastern continuation | Capital fell in 1453 | A changing Roman state centred on Constantinople | Reviewed |
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Kingdom: the traditional beginnings
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia.
The founding story is marked as tradition because later accounts mix history and legend.
| Date | Event | Why it belongs in the timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 753 BCE | Traditional founding of Rome by Romulus | The origin date used in Roman memory |
| 8th–6th centuries BCE | Rome developed as a city under kings | The urban and political setting preceded the Republic |
| 509 BCE | Conventional overthrow of Tarquin the Proud | The usual boundary between Kingdom and Republic |
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The earliest period is less certain than the later reigns. A date in a traditional founding story is not equal to a date preserved in several contemporary records. Keeping that difference visible avoids giving a false impression of precision.
Rome's location, trade and contacts with neighbouring peoples helped it develop. Its later power grew from this local setting. The Kingdom matters as background, even though it was not yet the government associated with Augustus.
Republic: conquest before emperors
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia: Roman Republic, World History Encyclopedia.
Rome gained provinces before it adopted lasting rule by an emperor.
| Date | Event | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 509 BCE | Conventional start of the Republic | Public offices replaced the monarchy |
| 264–146 BCE | Punic Wars against Carthage | Rome became a leading Mediterranean power |
| 149–146 BCE | Third Punic War | Carthage was destroyed |
| 49 BCE | Caesar crossed the Rubicon | Civil war began against his Roman opponents |
| 44 BCE | Caesar was murdered | The struggle for control continued |
| 31 BCE | Octavian won at Actium | Antony and Cleopatra's coalition was defeated |
| 27 BCE | Octavian became Augustus | Usual boundary into the imperial era |
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The Republic's conquests and its legal history are related but different. Rome could govern an empire of lands while still using Republican offices. The later period label Empire describes the shift to emperors.
For the boundary itself, see when did the Roman Empire begin. The Caesar question explains why his dictatorship does not make him the usual first emperor.
Principate: Augustus and the early dynasties
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia: Roman Empire, Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Roman Empire (27 BCE–393 CE).
Each reign has its own history. So the table selects turning points rather than every ruler.
| Date | Event or reign | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| 27 BCE–14 CE | Augustus | Established the lasting imperial order |
| 14–37 | Tiberius | Showed that the new office could pass to a successor |
| 37–41 | Caligula | His violent end exposed dangers within the court |
| 41–54 | Claudius | Continued imperial government and territorial expansion |
| 54–68 | Nero | His fall ended the Julio-Claudian line |
| 69 | Year of the Four Emperors | Civil war made Vespasian emperor |
| 69–96 | Flavian rulers | Vespasian, Titus and Domitian formed a new dynasty |
| 96–180 | Five Good Emperors | A later label for Nerva through Marcus Aurelius |
| 117 | Greatest territorial extent under Trajan | A useful peak-size map date |
| 180–192 | Commodus | Marcus Aurelius's son ruled after him |
| 193–235 | Severan period | Military and dynastic struggles shaped the court |
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See the biographies of Nero, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian for the people behind the first major dynastic change.
The 5 Good Emperors page explains the later judgement behind that known label. It should not be mistaken for an official Roman title.
Crisis: the empire split and recovered
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia.
Its central point is that severe fragmentation did not yet end the Roman state.
| Date | Event | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 235 | Alexander Severus was killed; Maximinus rose | Conventional start of the crisis |
| 238 | Year of the Six Emperors | Rapid changes exposed the instability of succession |
| 260 | Valerian was captured by Persia | A major military and imperial defeat |
| 260 | Gallic breakaway empire formed | Western provinces followed a separate ruler |
| Around 270 | Palmyrene power expanded | Another major part of the empire broke away |
| 270–275 | Aurelian ruled | Recovered the breakaway territories |
| 284 | Diocletian became emperor | His reforms mark the crisis's usual endpoint |
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The Maximinus Thrax biography follows the first ruler of this phase. Army support could raise an emperor. Failure or a rival army could quickly bring him down.
Recovery changed the way the empire worked. The later government was not a simple return to Augustus's original settlement. New arrangements sought to make a vast and threatened state easier to rule.
Dominate and the later division of rule
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia.
Dominate is a later label for the more openly monarchical style of late government.
| Date | Event | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 284–305 | Diocletian ruled | Reorganised government and shared imperial responsibility |
| 312 | Constantine won at the Milvian Bridge | Strengthened his position in the West |
| 324 | Constantine defeated Licinius | Brought the empire under his sole rule |
| 330 | Constantinople was dedicated | Created a major new imperial capital |
| 361–363 | Julian ruled alone | Tried to restore traditional religious practice |
| 379–395 | Theodosius I ruled | Shaped the late Christian empire |
| 395 | Theodosius died; his sons ruled separate halves | An important boundary in East and West histories |
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The Julian biography follows the religious reversal he attempted. The Theodosius biography explains the later succession.
The West's end
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia: Fall of the Western Roman Empire, World History Encyclopedia.
Rome's sacks and the end of its western imperial court were separate events.
| Date | Event | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 410 | Alaric's Visigoths sacked Rome | A major shock, but emperors still ruled afterwards |
| 455 | Vandals sacked Rome | Another major assault on the city |
| 476 | Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus | Conventional end of western emperors in Italy |
| 480 | Julius Nepos died | End of the recognised western claimant |
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See when did the Western Roman Empire fall and last Roman emperor for the difference between those final dates.
The East continued to 1453
The entries follow World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia.
The eastern timeline includes recovery as well as loss.
| Date | Event | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 527–565 | Justinian ruled | Recovered land in North Africa, Italy and southern Spain |
| 7th century | Persian wars and Islamic conquests | Major pressure and territorial losses |
| 717–718 | Constantinople resisted an Arab siege | The capital survived a serious threat |
| 976–1025 | Basil II ruled | Expanded and strengthened imperial control |
| 1071 | Defeat at Manzikert | Followed by major losses in Asia Minor |
| 1204 | Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople | The imperial world split among successor states |
| 1261 | Constantinople recovered | An emperor returned to a reduced capital and state |
| 1453 | Mehmed II captured Constantinople | The final emperor died and the capital's empire ended |
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The Byzantine fall page follows those later stages. The eastern fall page explains the final siege itself.
Verdict: Roman Empire timeline
The Roman Empire timeline has several starts and ends. The city and its forms of rule lasted for different spans. Keep the traditional founding separate from Augustus's settlement, and the western deposition separate from Constantinople's fall. That gives the whole Roman story without forcing it into one date.
Sources checked for this page
- Ancient Rome - World History Encyclopedia
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Roman Empire (27 BCE–393 CE)
- 1453: The Fall of Constantinople - World History Encyclopedia
- Byzantine Empire - World History Encyclopedia
- The Crisis of the Third Century: A Pivotal Era of Ancient Rome - World History Encyclopedia
- Roman Republic - World History Encyclopedia
- Roman Empire - World History Encyclopedia
- Fall of the Western Roman Empire - World History Encyclopedia
Questions people also ask
When does a Roman Empire timeline begin?
The imperial era normally begins in 27 BCE with Augustus. A broad timeline of Rome can begin with its traditional founding in 753 BCE.
When did the Roman Republic end?
The conventional boundary is Augustus's settlement in 27 BCE, after years of civil war.
What was the Third Century Crisis?
It was a period of instability and fragmentation conventionally dated 235–284 CE.
Did the Roman Empire end in 476?
The western imperial court in Italy ended then. The eastern government continued.
When did Constantinople become a capital?
Constantine dedicated the new capital in 330 CE.
What is the timeline's final date?
For the eastern imperial capital, it is 1453, when Ottoman forces captured Constantinople.