A Brief History of Rome – Comprehensive Bullet-Point Notes

Introduction / Periodisation of Roman History

• Roman history traditionally divided into three macro-periods:
  • The Monarchy $(753\text{–}510\,\text{BC})$
  • The Republic $(509\text{–}27\,\text{BC})$
  • The Empire $(27\,\text{BC} – 476\,\text{AD})$
• Pre-$300\,\text{BC}$ chronology partly legendary, yet archaeology & Greek sources confirm many dates within $\pm10$ years.
• Myths reveal Roman self-image AND preserve kernels of historical fact.

The Monarchy $(753\text{–}510\,\text{BC})$

• “Pre-History”: Romans link their origins to Greek myth, esp. Trojan cycle.

Aeneas & Alba Longa

• Livy opens with fall of Troy; Aeneas (son of Venus & Anchises) flees, lands in Latium.
• Marries Latin princess Lavinia; founds Lavinium.
• Son Ascanius/Iulus founds Alba Longa on Mt. Alba; dynasty lasts $\sim300$ yrs.

Traditional Seven Kings

• Kings likely more numerous; seven remembered for notable deeds.
  • Romulus $753\text{–}716$
  • Numa Pompilius $715\text{–}673$
  • Tullus Hostilius $673\text{–}638$
  • Ancus Marcius $638\text{–}614$
  • Tarquinius Priscus $614\text{–}576$
  • Servius Tullius $576\text{–}535$
  • Tarquinius Superbus $535\text{–}510$

Romulus & Remus

• Birth: Vestal Rhea Silvia + god Mars ⇒ twins.
• Exposed on Tiber; rescued by she-wolf, raised by shepherd Faustulus & Acca Laurentia.
• Restore grandfather Numitor to throne of Alba; choose to found new city $21\,\text{April}\,753\,\text{BC}$.
• Augury contest (Palatine vs. Aventine): Romulus wins (12 birds vs. Remus’ 6). City named Roma.
• Fratricide: Remus mocks wall, Romulus kills him – warning “$\text{Sic deinde quicumque…}$”.
• Rape of the Sabines: abduct women during games; war ends by wives’ intercession; dual rule with Sabine king Titus Tatius.
• Apotheosis: Romulus vanishes in fog; worshipped as god Quirinus.

Numa Pompilius

• Sabine origin; year-long interregnum precedes election.
• Brings religio & peace: sets festival calendar, public prayers, cult of Vesta, builds Regia.
• Advised by nymph Egeria.

Tullus Hostilius

• Martial king; destroys Alba Longa after duel of Horatii vs. Curiatii (single Horatius survives).
• Builds first Curia Hostilia (Senate House).

Ancus Marcius

• Founds first wooden Tiber bridge Pons Sublicius; captures salt-pans at river mouth.
• Traditional founder of Ostia (modern archaeology suggests later date).

Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder)

• Etruscan (son of Greek Demaratus) + wife Tanaquil; omen of eagle removing hat ⇒ future kingship.
• Urbanises Rome: drains Forum via Cloaca Maxima, lays stone pavement.
• Begins Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus & Circus Maximus.

Servius Tullius

• Slave-born; childhood hair appears aflame (good omen).
• Acts as regent after assassination of Tarquin Elder; with Tanaquil’s scheme becomes king.
• Builds Servian Wall (likely earthwork agger), Temple of Diana on Aventine.
• Reorganises constitution & army: census-based classes; precedent for Centuriate Assembly.

Tarquinius Superbus (the Proud)

• Marries, murders Servius’ daughter(s); seizes throne, kills Servius at Senate House; Tullia drives carriage over corpse (Vicus Sceleratus).
• Finishes Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus; notorious cruelty.
• Fall triggered by rape of Lucretia by son Sextus ⇒ her suicide ⇒ revolution.

Transition to the Republic $(510$/$509\,\text{BC})$

• Lucretia’s death: L. Junius Brutus, Tarquinius Collatinus, Lucretius rally populace; Tarquins expelled.
• Romans vow never to tolerate kings again.

Republican Constitution

• Two annually elected Consuls replace king; collegiality + term limit curb tyranny.
• First consuls: Brutus & Collatinus.
• Magistracies evolve:
  • $2$ Consuls – armies + Senate agenda.
  • $8$ Praetors – judiciary.
  • $20$ Quaestors – treasury.
  • $4$ Aediles – temples & public works.
  • $10$ Tribunes – protect plebs via veto / intercessio.
  • $2$ Censors every $5$ yrs – census, Senate rolls.

Tarquin’s Counter-Moves & Early Heroics

• Attempts restoration: treachery via ambassadors; conspiracy exposed by slave Vindicius.
• Brutus condemns own sons (Titus, Tiberius): “$Leges\, surdam\, rem$ …”.
• Military assaults: Battle of Silva Arsia (Romans win but Brutus & Arruns die).
• Siege by Lars Porsenna of Clusium:
  • Horatius Cocles defends Sublician Bridge, swims Tiber.
  • Mucius Scaevola fails assassination, burns right hand on brazier; impresses Porsenna ⇒ peace.

Internal Struggle: Patricians vs. Plebs $(494\text{–}287\,\text{BC})$

• Plebeians lack vote, office, legal transparency.

Laws of the Twelve Tables $(449\,\text{BC})$

• Decemviri compile laws; Appius Claudius’ attempt to enslave Verginia sparks revolt; bronze tablets displayed in Forum.

Tribunate & Secession Tactics

• Tribunes of the Plebs gain sacrosanctity, call Concilium Plebis, wield veto.
• Gradual gains: intermarriage, admissibility to magistracies, culminating in Lex Hortensia $(287\,\text{BC})$ making plebiscites binding on all citizens.

Conquest of Italy & External Wars

• Military cooperation eases class tension; conquered peoples granted civitas sine suffragio or Latin Rights ⇒ new plebs.

Early Expansion & Notable Episodes

• Wars vs. Hernici, Volsci, Aequians; legends:
  • Coriolanus leads Volsci vs. Rome, turned back by mother Veturia & wife Volumnia.
  • Dictator Cincinnatus rescues trapped consuls, relinquishes power after <16 days.
• Decade-long siege of Veii (405-396) under Camillus doubles Roman territory.
• Gauls (Senones) sack Rome after Battle of Allia $(\approx390\,\text{BC})$.

Samnite Wars $I$–$III$ $(343\text{–}341, 326\text{–}304, 298\text{–}290)$

• Appian Way $(312)$ & Aqua Appia built by censor Appius Claudius Caecus.
• Roman setbacks: Caudine Forks $(321)$, Lautulae $(315)$.
• Decisive Roman victory at Sentinum $(295)$: devotio of consul Decius Mus; Fabius Rullianus commands.

Pyrrhic War $(280\text{–}275)$

• King Pyrrhus of Epirus aids Tarentum; elephants shock Romans at Heraclea.
• Gaius Fabricius resists bribe/poison plot.
• “Pyrrhic victory” coined: heavy casualties at Heraclea & Asculum $(279)$.
• Roman win at Beneventum $(275)$ ⇒ Greek world respects Roman arms.

Punic Wars

First Punic War $(264\text{–}241)$

• Starts at Messana; Rome builds fleet with corvus boarding device; victory at Mylae $(260)$.
• Roman landing near Carthage under Regulus fails; Regulus kept word, returns, dies.
• Final naval win at Aegates Islands $(241)$ ⇒ Sicily becomes first province.

Second Punic War $(218\text{–}201)$

• Hannibal crosses Alps; wins at Trebia, Trasimene, Cannae (≈$80{,}000$ Roman dead).
• Fabius Maximus Cunctator: war of attrition.
• Scipio Africanus conquers Spain, invades Africa; beats Hannibal at Zama $(202)$.
• Aftermath: senator Cato the Elder ends speeches “Carthago delenda est”.

Third Punic War $(149\text{–}146)$

• Led by Scipio Aemilianus; Carthage destroyed, Rome masters Mare Nostrum.

Macedonian & Eastern Wars

• Philip V allies with Hannibal; three wars $(214\text{–}167)$.
• Titus Quinctius Flamininus wins Cynoscephalae $(197)$; proclaims Greek freedom.
• Antiochus III defeated at Magnesia $(190)$ by Lucius & Scipio Africanus.
• Perseus beaten by Aemilius Paulus at Pydna $(168)$; Macedonia partitioned.
• King Attalus III wills Pergamum to Rome $(133)$.

Social & Political Strains in Mid-Republic

Latifundia & Slave Economy

• Wars flood Italy with slaves; public land amassed by elites; free peasants drift to Rome.

Gracchan Reforms

Tiberius Gracchus $Tribune\,133\,BC$

• Caps public land at $320$ acres; redistribute remainder; funds from Pergamum.
• Senate bypassed ⇒ Tribal Assembly passes laws; senators (led by Scipio Nasica) club him to death.

Gaius Gracchus $Tribuneships\,123\text{–}122$

• Continues land program via colonies; proposes subsidised grain & Italian citizenship.
• Violence erupts; killed $121$.

Age of the Generals & Civil Wars

Gaius Marius $(7× Consul, 107\text{–}86)$

• Recruits property-less proletarii; defeats Jugurtha, Germanic Cimbri & Teutones at Aquae Sextiae, Vercellae.
• Creates client armies loyal to generals rather than state.

Lucius Sulla

• Gains fame in Social War $(91\text{–}88)$ vs. Italian allies; elected consul $88$.
• Command vs. Mithridates VI of Pontus reassigned to Marius ⇒ Sulla marches on Rome (first ever).
• In East defeats Mithridates; Peace of Dardanus $(85)$.
• Returns, wins civil war $83\text{–}82$; becomes dictator; proscriptions kill >2600 elites; retires $79$.

Pompey & Crassus

• Pompey suppresses Marian remnants (Sertorius) & Mediterranean pirates (extraordinary command $67$ ⇒ success in $3$ months).
• Defeats Mithridates again $66\text{–}63$; triumph $62$.
• Crassus crushes slave revolt of Spartacus $(73\text{–}71)$; dies fighting Parthians at Carrhae $53$.

First Triumvirate $(60)$

• Informal alliance: Caesar, Pompey, Crassus.
• Caesar consul $59$, gains $5$-year (then $10$) command in Gaul ⇒ conquers Gaul $(58\text{–}50)$.

Caesar vs. Pompey

• After Julia’s & Crassus’ deaths, alliance frays.
• Senate orders Caesar to disband; crosses Rubicon $10\,Jan\,49$ ⇒ “alea iacta est”.
• Caesar wins at Pharsalus $48$; Pompey murdered in Egypt.
• Clemency policy, calendar reform, colonies, debt relief.
• Dictator perpetuo $44$; assassinated Ides of March by Brutus, Cassius.

Second Triumvirate $(43)$ & Actium $(31)$

• Legalised rule of Octavian, Antony, Lepidus via Lex Titia; proscriptions $\approx2500$ victims.
• Defeat Brutus & Cassius at Philippi $42$.
• Antony allies with Cleopatra; Octavian w/ Agrippa defeats them at Actium $2\,Sept\,31$.
• Suicides of Antony & Cleopatra $30$; Octavian hailed Augustus $27$ ⇒ Principate begins.

The Early Empire (Principate) $(27\,BC – AD\,180)$

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

Augustus $(27\,BC – AD\,14)$

• Restores facade of Republic; holds tribunician & proconsular powers; calls self Princeps.
• “Found Rome brick, left it marble.” Recovers Parthian standards (via Tiberius); consolidates Spain, Gaul; disaster of Varus $AD9$ deters German expansion.

Tiberius $AD14\text{–}37$

• Competent, but unpopular with Senate; maintains peace.

Caligula $AD37\text{–}41$

• Mental instability; assassinated.

Claudius $AD41\text{–}54$

• Despite disabilities, effective: conquers Britain, annexes Mauretania; unfortunate marriages (Messalina, Agrippina).

Nero $AD54\text{–}68$

• Early guidance by Seneca & Burrus; later murders mother Agrippina, wife Octavia.
• Great Fire $AD64$ ⇒ persecutes Christians; builds Domus Aurea; heavy taxes.
• Revolts erupt; commits suicide ⇒ Year of Four Emperors $69$.

Flavian Dynasty

• Galba, Otho, Vitellius brief; Vespasian $69\text{–}79$ restores order, finances Colosseum.
• Titus $79\text{–}81$: Vesuvius eruption $79$, another Rome fire $80$; sacks Jerusalem $70$ (as general).
• Domitian $81\text{–}96$: autocratic, “Dominus et Deus”; paranoid, assassinated.

Five Good Emperors

• Nerva adopts Trajan.
• Trajan $98\text{–}117$: Empire reaches max extent; Forum, Column; costly overreach.
• Hadrian $117\text{–}138$: consolidates, Tours provinces, builds Wall in Britain.
• Antoninus Pius $138\text{–}161$: legal reforms; Antonine Wall.
• Marcus Aurelius $161\text{–}180$ (+ Lucius Verus $161\text{–}169$): wars vs. Parthia, Marcomanni; plague & Meditations; elevates son Commodus.

Crisis & Late Empire

Commodus $180\text{–}192$

• Makes peace on Danube; erratic rule, assassinated.

Severan Dynasty

• Civil war $193$; Septimius Severus $193\text{–}211$ victorious; enlarges army pay.
• Caracalla $211\text{–}217$ kills brother Geta; extends citizenship to all free men (Constitutio Antoniniana $212$); assassinated.
• Subsequent rulers placate army; economic strain.

Barracks Emperors $235\text{–}284$

• Rapid succession, military usurpations; occasional restorers (Aurelian “Restitutor Orbis”).

Diocletian & Tetrarchy $284\text{–}305$

• Reorganises empire: two Augusti + two Caesars ⇒ stability; persecutes Christians.
• Diocletian & Maximian retire $305$; system unravels.

Constantine the Great

• Proclaimed by troops at York $306$; wins civil wars (Milvian Bridge $312$ with Chi-Rho sign, in hoc signo vinces).
• Sole emperor $324$ after defeating Licinius.
• First Christian emperor; Edict of Milan $313$ (religious tolerance); calls Council of Nicaea $325$.
• Founds Constantinople $330$ ⇒ new eastern capital.
• Dies $337$; sons’ rivalries weaken unity.

The Slow Fall of the West

• East–West rivalry persists; resources shift to Constantinople.
• Rome sacked by Alaric $410$.
• Last Western emperor Romulus Augustulus deposed by Odoacer $476$ ⇒ traditional end of Western Empire.

Ethical / Philosophical & Practical Takeaways

• Roman myths (Aeneas, Romulus) serve as moral exempla and political charter.
• Repeated theme: constitutional innovation as response to crisis (consulship, tribunate, dictatorship, principate, tetrarchy).
• Military loyalty & land policies directly shape political stability (Marius’ reforms, veteran settlements, Severan pay raises).
• Integration vs. exploitation of conquered peoples determines longevity (extension of citizenship, Latin rights).
• Personal virtue vs. corruption depicted in contrasts (Cincinnatus, Fabricius, Regulus vs. Tarquins, Nero).
• Religious evolution from pagan syncretism to state Christianity under Constantine.

Key Latin Phrases & Quotations

• “$Sic\, deinde\, quicumque\, alius\, transiliet\, moenia\, mea$” – Romulus on violators of Rome’s walls.
• “$Leges\, surdam\, rem\, inexorabilem\, esse$” – Laws are deaf & unbending (Livy 2.3.4).
• “$Carthago\, delenda\, est$” – Cato the Elder.
• “$In\, hoc\, signo\, vinces$” – Constantine’s vision.

Chronological Anchor Points (select)

• Founding of Rome: $21\,April\,753\,BC$
• Republic founded: $509\,BC$
• Twelve Tables: $449\,BC$
• Sack by Gauls: $\approx390\,BC$
• Battle of Sentinum: $295\,BC$
• Beneventum ends Pyrrhic War: $275\,BC$
• Punic Wars: I $264\text{–}241$, II $218\text{–}201$, III $149\text{–}146$
• Actium: $31\,BC$; Augustus princeps: $27\,BC$
• Varian disaster: $AD9$
• Five Good Emperors: $AD96\text{–}180$
• Diocletian reign: $AD284\text{–}305$
• Constantine sole rule: $AD324\text{–}337$
• Fall of West: $AD476$

Numerical / Statistical References

• $6$ eagles vs. $12$ in augury contest.
• $80{,}000$ Romans killed in a day in Asia by order of Mithridates.
• Carthage’s indemnity: $6000$ talents $=342{,}000\,\text{lbs}$ silver.
• Constantine’s Tetrarchy: $2$ Augusti + $2$ Caesars = $4$ rulers.

Connections & Implications

• Greek influence remains (mythic origins, phalanx comparisons) yet Romans adapt (manipular legion superiority).
• Infrastructure (roads, aqueducts) born of military necessity drives economic integration.
• Legal milestones (Twelve Tables, Antonine Constitution, Justinian later) model for Western jurisprudence.
• Religious shift under Constantine sets stage for medieval Christendom.