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Timeline of Roman History ( Part 2 of 5 )

(Part 2 of 5)

219 BC - The first foreign surgeon to practice in Rome arrives in the city.
218 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio and Ti. Sempronius Longus.
218 BC - (Second Punic War) Start of Second Punic War after Roman ultimatum is ignored.
218 BC - (Second Punic War) A small skirmish on the River Ticinus occurs, with a majority victory for Hannibal and the Carthaginians. Although it is only a small skirmish, it already shows the tactical superiority of Hannibal over the Romans.
218 BC - (Second Punic War) Battle of river Trebia. 50,000 Carthaginians under the command of Hannibal line up against 40,000 Romans under the command of Ti. Sempronius Longus. Only 10,000 Romans survived.
218 BC - A lex Claudia is passed, which prohibits senators from owning vessels with the ability to be launched at sea.
217 BC - The consuls are Gn. Servilius Geminus and G. Flaminius (second time).
217 BC - (Second Punic War) Battle of Lake Trasimene under Roman commander Gaius Flaminius. This ends in victory for the Carthaginians.
217 BC - (Second Punic War) Elevation of Q. Fabius Maximus later (Verucosis Cunctator) to high command, and he is made dictator. Hannibal made nervous by delaying tactics of Fabius. By delaying battles and keeping himself in the region, Fabius averted cities from going over to Hannibal's side.
217 BC - (Second Punic War) The Romans gain a victory in a naval encounter near the Ebro River.
217 BC - The Saturnalia festival is established. During the festival, masters were required to wait on their servants.
216 BC - The consuls are L. Aemilius Paullus (second time) and G. Terentius Varro.
216 BC - (Second Punic War) Battle of Cannae under commanders G. Terentius Varro and L. Aemilius Paullus. Ended in defeat for Romans, losing close to the entire army of 50,000 at a loss of only 6,000 men for Hannibal.
216 BC - (Second Punic War) Hannibal marches through the district of Cannae into Campania, and begins to plunder and ravage the countryside in order to tempt the Roman general Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator.
216 BC - (Second Punic War) Revolts in central Italy, including defections to the Carthaginians by cities, like Capua.
216 BC - King Phillip of Mecedon prepares a fleet to re-install the ruler of Pharos, Demetrius, back in power at Pharos. But upon hearing a rumor of the presence of a Roman fleet approaching, he abandoned the attempt.
215 BC - The consuls are L. Postumius Albinus (third time) and Ti. Sempronius Gracchus (first time).
215 BC - (Second Punic War) Hasdrubal defeated by Cn. and P. Cornelius Scipio at Dertosa.
215 BC - (Second Punic War) The island of Sardinia revolts, and the Carthaginians send a force to recover the island. But the Romans, who needed the corn, sent a force of troops who quickly defeated the Carthaginian force.
215 BC - (Second Punic War) A battle occurs between the Romans and the Carthaginians near the city of Nola.
215 BC - The city of Patavium (Padua) comes under the sphere of Roman influence.
214 BC - The consuls are Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator (fourth time) and M. Claudius Marcellus (third time).
214 BC - The censors are P. Furius Philus and M. Atilius Regulus.
214 BC - Start of the First Macedonian War under King Phillip V of Macedonia.
214 BC - A Roman general, M. Valerius Laevinus, is sent on a military campaign to Illyria.
213 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Maximus and Ti. Sempronius Gracchus (second time).
213 BC - (Second Punic War) Siege of Syracuse in Sicily begins.
213 BC - (Second Punic War) Hannibal captures and occupies the city of Tarentum.
212 BC - The consuls are Ap. Claudius Pulcher and Q. Fulvius Flaccus (third time).
212 BC - (Second Punic War) Capture of the city of Tarentum by Hannibal.
212 BC - (Second Punic War) Romans besiege the city of Capua.
212 BC - The future king of Macedonia, Perseus, is born.
212 BC - The senate decrees the start of a new festival, the Ludi Apollinares.
212/211 BC - The introduction of a new coinage to Rome, the denarius.
211 BC - The consuls are P. Sulpicius Galba (first time) and Gn. Fulvius Centumalus.
211 BC - Rome enters into an alliance with the Aetolians.
211 BC - (Second Punic War) P. Cornelius Scipio (later Africanus) is given the command in Spain despite being a privatus (private citizen) and having neither been consul or praetor. He is the first privatus to be given a proconsular imperium, and the first privatus to command an army.
211 BC - (Second Punic War) The city of Capua falls to the Romans. It is later punished for aiding Hannibal's cause.
211 BC - (Second Punic War) The Romans destroy the city of Morgantina in order to aid their siege of Syracuse.
211 BC - (Second Punic War) Hannibal marches on Rome and sits outside the walls of the city. But so confident are the Romans that they would win the war, that the very land Hannibal's army is standing on is auctioned off, and it sells at full price.
211BC - (Second Punic War) As a part of the campaign in Sicily against Syracuse, the Romans destroy the city of Morgantina.
211 BC - (Second Punic War) Capture of Syracuse in Sicily by Roman commander M. Claudius Marcellus. Looting soldiers after the capture of Syracuse kill Archimedes.
211 BC - (First Macedonian War) The Romans form an alliance with the Greek Aetolian league to protect them against the marauding King Phillip of Macedon.
210 BC - The consuls are M. Valerius Laevinus (second time) and M. Claudius Marcellus (third time).
210 BC - The censors are L. Veturius Philo and P. Licinius Crassus Dives.
210 BC - (Second Punic War) Command in Spain given to P. Cornelius Scipio, later Africanus, a magistrate of ex-aedilican rank. He was the son of P. Cornelius Scipio, who was killed in 211 BC.
210 BC - (Second Punic War) The Romans recapture the city of Agrigentum, through the treachery of the Carthaginian auxiliaries stationed there.
210 BC - (Second Punic War) The Carthaginians capture the city of Capua.
209 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator (fifth time) and Q. Fulvius Flaccus (fourth time).
209 BC - The censors are M. Cornelius Cethegus and P. Sempronius Tuditanus.
209 BC - (Second Punic War) Recapture of Tarentum by the Romans under Cato Major.
209 BC - (Second Punic War) Capture of New Carthage by Scipio.
208 BC - The consuls are T. Quinctius Crispinus and M. Claudius Marcellus (fifth time).
208 BC - (Second Punic War) Death of the Roman commander M. Claudius Marcellus.
208 BC - (Second Punic War) Scipio defeats army of Hasdrubal Barca near the town of Baecula.
207 BC - The consuls are G. Claudius Nero and M. Livius Salinator (second time).
207 BC - (Second Punic War) Battle of Metaurus River. Victory for the Romans, under Commanders G. Claudius Nero and M. Livius Salinator, over a relief force of Carthaginians commanded by Hasdrubal Barca, brother of Hannibal.
206 BC - The consuls are Q. Caecilius Metellus and L. Veturius Philo.
206 BC - (Second Punic War) Battle of Ilipa. 48,000 Romans and Spanish allies under P. Cornelius Scipio (later Africanus) defeated a Carthaginian force of 50,000. This ended the presence of Carthage in Spain.
206 BC - (Second Punic War) The majority of the Spanish peninsula is annexed into the empire, and many prosperous and large trading towns are captured, such as Gades, Carthago Nova and Narbo.
205 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus (first time) and P. Licinius Crassus.
205 BC - End of the First Macedonian War.
205 BC - After returning from his campaigns, Scipio is elected as consul and his command is prorogued. He is the first person to be elected consul after holding a mere ex - aedilican rank.
205 BC - The worship of the cult of Magna Mater is introduced to Rome from Phrygia.
204 BC - The consuls are M. Cornelius Cethegus and P. Sempronius Tuditanus.
204 BC - The censors are G. Claudius Nero and M. Livius Salinator.
204 BC - (Second Punic War) Scipio landed a force in Africa, near Utica, and found the Carthaginians ready for him, with their allies, the Numidians, under their king Syphax.
204 BC - (Second Punic War) A battle in the Bagradas valley, in an area known as the 'Great Plains'. In the battle, Scipio defeated the Carthaginian forces and so severely defeated the forces of the Carthaginian ally King Syphax of Numidia that Scipio was able to expel Syphax's forces from the capital of Cirta with a force of 3 cohorts (about 1650 men).
204 BC - Death of the Roman playwright Livius Andronicus, in Rome.
204 BC - The Roman playwright Plautus has his play Miles Gloriosus (The Glorious Soldier) performed in Rome.
204 BC - The playwright Ennius is brought to Rome.
204 BC - Introduction of the worship of the Phrygian goddess Kubaba Kybele to Rome.
204 BC - The Ludi Megalenses are inaugurated at Rome.
203 BC - The consuls are G. Servilius Geminus and Gn. Servilius Caepio.
203 BC - (Second Punic War) King Syphax of Numidia is defeated and captured in the battle of Cirta against Masinissa of Numidia and Laelius.
203 BC - Masinissa, a Numidian ally of the Romans during the Punic Wars, is made king of Greater and Lesser Numidia.
203 BC - Death of the Roman general Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator.
202 BC - The consuls are Ti Claudius Nero and M. Servilius Geminus.
202 BC - (Second Punic War) Battle of Zama. Forces of around 40,000 each side. Carthaginian leader = Hannibal, recalled from Italy. Roman leader P. Cornelius Scipio (later Africanus). The Romans used an envelopment tactic, Zama turned out like a Roman version of Cannae, with the Romans cutting the Carthaginians to pieces and forcing them to sue for peace.
202 BC - The Roman writer Fabius Pictor writes the first prose history of Rome in Greek. It is one of the few accounts to include information about the plebian successions.
201 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Lentulus and P. Aelius Paetus.
200 BC - The consuls are P. Sulpicius Galba (second time) and G. Aurelius Cotta.
200 BC - Destruction of Roman town of Placentia by mixture of Gallic tribes (Insubres, Cenomani and Boii)
200 BC - Start of the Second Macedonian War under Macedonian king Phillip V.
200 BC - (Second Macedonian War) The Romans storm, capture and sack the city of Acanthus.
200 BC - Death of the Roman poet Gn. Naevius, in the African city of Utica.
200 BC - Birth of the Greek historian Polybius, in Megalopolis, Arcadia, Greece.
199 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Lentulus and P. Villius Tappulus.
199 BC - The censors are P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus and P. Aelius Paetus.
198 BC - The consuls are T. Quinctius Flaminius and Sex. Aelius Paetus.
198 BC - (Second Macedonian War) The consul T. Quinctius Flamininus defeats the army of King Phillip in a battle near the Aous River.
197 BC - The consuls are G. Cornelius Cethegus and Q. Minucius Rufus.
197 BC - The coalition of the Gallic tribes who destroyed Placentia was defeated by two consular armies, one of them under command of M. Claudius Marcellus, son of the general Marcellus of the Punic Wars.
197 - 179 BC - The Spanish Wars.
197 BC - (Second Macedonian War) Battle of Cynoscephalae. 30,000 Roman troops fought against 25,000 Macedonian troops. The Romans under the command of T. Quinctius Flamininus won the battle. First fight between Roman legions and Macedonian phalanxes. Thus ended the Second Macedonian War.
197 BC - Number of praetors is raised to six, to cover the growing number of Roman provinces.
196 BC - The consuls are L. Furius Purpurio and M. Claudius Marcellus.
196 BC - The city of Smyrna appeals to Rome for help against the attacks of King Antiochus III.
195 BC - The consuls are L. Valerius Flaccus and M. Porcius Cato the Censor.
195 BC - (Spanish Wars) The Spanish insurrections in the Roman province by the Turdetani with Celtiberian mercenaries are defeated by a consular army under one of the consuls M. Porcius Cato.
195 BC - The Romans become involved in a war with Nabis of Sparta.
195 BC - Birth of the Roman comic dramatist Terence, in Carthage, North Africa.
194 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus (second time) and Ti. Sempronius Longus.
194 BC - The censors are G. Cornelius Cethegus and S. Aelius Paetus Catus.
194 BC - (Spanish Wars) The Turdetani are finally defeated and reduced to submission by the praetor P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, but their Celtiberian allies carried on the war.
194 BC - Romans evacuate Greece and occupied parts of Macedonia.
194 BC - The foundation of Roman colonies at Puteoli and Tempsa.
193 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Merula and Q. Minucius Thermus.
192 BC - The consuls are L. Quinctius Flaminius and Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus.
192 BC - (Syrian Wars) The Romans pass a declaration of war against King Antiochus III.
191BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica and Man. Acilius Glabrio.
191 BC - Defeat of the Boii by P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, son of Gn. Scipio and cousin of Scipio Africanus. The Boii drifted into the Danube regions, where one of their settlements became Bohemia.
191 BC - (Syrian Wars) The Roman consul Man. Acilius Glabrio embarks for Greece upon hearing of the advent of an army under the Syrian ruler King Antiochus the Great. He marched unopposed into Thessaly. Deciding upon safety, the King brought his army in retreat to the pass at Thermopylae. Taking a chance, a small force was detached under the ex-consul M. Porcius Cato, and it copied the tactics of King Xerxes against the Spartan stand, circumvented the army. Antiochus managed to get out the battle and escape, but only at the cost of the total destruction of that army.
191 BC - (Syrian Wars) The fleet of King Antiochus is defeated by the Romans off the island of Corycus.
191 BC - Rome conquers and annexes what becomes known as the province of Cisalpine Gaul.
191 BC - Rome becomes involved in a war with the Aetolians.
190 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and G. Laelius.
190 BC - (Syrian Wars) The fleet of King Antiochus is defeated in minor engagements at Side and Myonnesus.
190 BC - (Syrian Wars) An army under the command of King Antiochus III of Syria is defeated by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Eumenes II of Pergamum at Magnesia.
189 BC - The consuls are Gn. Manlius Vulso and M. Fulvius Nobilior.
189 BC - The censors are T. Quinctius Flaminius and M. Claudius Marcellus.
189 BC - (Syrian Wars) Defeat of the army of Antiochus the Great at the battle of Magnesia ad Sipylum by a Roman army under Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus. This made Rome the dominant power in Asia Minor.
189 BC - The successor of L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, Gn. Manlius Vulso, began to campaign against the tribes of the eastern Gallic kingdom of Galatia, making victories which secured the coastline from their raids and created lasting benefits and prosperity on towns of the coasts.
189 BC - The Romans agree to peace with the Aetolians.
188 BC - The consuls are M. Valerius Messalla and G. Livius Salinator.
188 BC - Second evacuation of Roman troops from Greece.
188 BC - Full citizen rights are conferred upon the regions of Arpinum and Formiae.
187 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Lepidus (first time) and G. Flaminius.
187 BC - Construction of the Via Aemilia Lepidi, which still exists today.
187 - 173 BC - The Ligurian Wars.
186 BC - The consuls are Sp. Postumius Albinus and Q. Marcius Phillipus.
186 BC - The Roman senate passes a decree, the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibs, which bans the Bacchic revelries.
186 BC - In an expedition against the Gallic Ligurians, the consul for the year Q. Marcius Phillipus, was killed along with his two legions in a pass named after him later on (Saltus Marcius).
185 BC - The consuls are Ap. Claudius Pulcher M. Sempronius Tuditanus.
185 BC - (Spanish Wars) The Romans defeat and reconquer the Ebro valley, which was lost after the tribes of the valley rebelled.
185 BC - Birth of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, in Rome.
185 BC - Birth of the Roman playwright Terence.
184 BC - The consuls are P. Claudius Pulcher and L. Porcius Licinius.
184 BC - The censors are L. Valerius Flaccus and M. Porcius Cato.
184 BC - Death of the Roman comedy playwright Plautus.
184 BC - M. Porcius Cato the Elder is elected as censor, and is known afterwards as Cato the Censor.
184 BC - Construction of the first basilica, the Basilica Porcia in Rome. This is odd due to the fact a man who was famous for his dislike of the Greeks builds it in that Greek style.
184 BC - A Roman colony is established at Pisaurum in Umbria.
183 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Labeo and M. Claudius Marcellus.
183 BC - Death of the Roman general P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, in Laternium, Campania.
183 BC - Death of the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca, who poisons himself in order to avoid capture by the Romans.
182 BC - The consuls are L. Aemilius Paullus (first time) and Gn. Baebius Tamphilus.
181 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Cethegus and M. Baebius Tamphilus.
181 BC - L. Aemilius Paullus uses his army to force the tribe known as the Ingauni into submission to Rome.
181 BC - The Sardinians revolt after the Romans end the piracy of the Ligurians, but it is quickly put down by an expeditionary force sent to Sardinia. It is thought that they revolted because they were a part of the piracy.
181 BC - Founding of the city of Aquileia as a Latin colony.
180 BC - The consuls are A. Postumius Albinus and G. Calpurnius Piso.
180 BC - Birth of the Roman writer G. Lucillius, in the town of Suessa Aurunca, in Campania, Italy.
180 BC - The lex Villia annalis is passed by a tribune of the plebs L. Villius. It sets the ages at which a person may stand for magistracies in the senate and the amount of years between the holding of consecutive consulships (consulship 42, praetor 39, curule aedile 36, quaestor 25).
179 BC - The consuls are L. Manlius Acidinus and Q. Fulvius Flaccus.
179 BC - The censors are M. Aemilius Lepidus and M. Fulvius Nobilior.
179 BC - A new bridge into Rome is completed. It is the first stone bridge, and is called the pons Aemilius.
179 BC - A new basilica is built in Rome by L. Aemilius Lepidus to celebrate his consulship. It is called the Basilica Aemilia.
179 BC - Death of King Phillip V of Macedon.
178 BC - The consuls are A. Manlius Vulso and M. Junius Brutus.
178 BC - A military expedition by the Romans against the Istri occurs.
177 BC - The consuls are G. Claudius Pulcher and Ti. Sempronius Gracchus (first time).
177 BC - The annexation of Istria into the empire is completed.
176 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Scipio Hispallus and Q. Petillius Spurius.
175 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Lepidus (second time) and P. Mucius Scaevola.
174 BC - The consuls are Sp. Postumius Albinus and Q. Mucius Scaevola.
174 BC - The censors are A. Postumius Albinus and Q. Fulvius Flaccus.
174 BC - The Circus Maximus in Rome is rebuilt after suffering major structural damage.
173 BC - The consuls are L. Postumius Albinus and M. Popillius Laenas.
172 BC - The consuls are P. Aelius Ligus and G. Popillius Laenas (first time).
171 BC - The consuls are G. Cassius Longinus and P. Licinius Crassus.
171 BC - Start of the Third Macedonian War.
171 BC - (Third Macedonian War) In cavalry action, King Perseus of Macedon entered into Thessaly and defeated an army under the consul P. Licinius Crassus.
170 BC - The consuls are A. Atilius Serranus and A. Hostilius Mancinus.
170 BC - Birth of the playwright Accius, in the town of Pisaurum, Umbria.
169 BC - The consuls are Gn. Servilius Caepio and Q. Marcius Phillipus.
169 BC - The consuls are G. Claudius Pulcher and Ti. Sempronius Gracchus.
169 BC - (Third Macedonian War) A Roman consul, Q. Marcius Phillipus, made a long march across the shoulder of Mt. Olympus, and upon his mere appearance on Macedonian territory, King Perseus abandoned his entire frontier line.
169 BC - Death of the writer Quintus Ennius, who died of gout shortly after having finished his tragedy, Thyestes. He was 70 years old.
169 BC - The lex Voconia de milierum hereditatibus is passed. This law restricts the rights of women to inherit from wills.
168 BC - The consuls are L. Aemilius Paullus (second time) and G. Licinius Crassus.
168 BC - (Third Macedonian War) Battle of Pynda. A force of Romans under L. Aemilius Paullus, defeated a force of 20,000 men in phalanx formation. Perseus, King of Macedonia, was captured during the battle.
168 BC - Capture of the Illyrian chieftain Genthius, who had aided Perseus during the Third Macedonian War.
168 BC - The island of Delos is declared a free port.
168 BC - Polybius is brought to Rome as a hostage from Megalopolis in Greece, and is made a guest of Scipio Aemilianus.
167 BC - The consuls are Q. Aelius Paetus and M. Junius Pennus.
167 BC - Taxation of Roman citizens is abolished. Taxation now falls only upon allies, Italians and Latins.
166 BC - The consuls are G. Sulpicius Galba and M. Claudius Marcellus (first time).
166 - 159 BC - The production of Terence's comedies occurs in Rome.
166 BC - Death of King Perseus of Macedon, who (according to rumor) was executed by the Romans by being forced to go for a year without sleep.
165 BC - The consuls are T. Manlius Torquatus and Gn. Octavius.
165 BC - The independent Greek island state of Rhodes is granted a decree which entitles them to Friend and Ally of the Roman People status.
164 BC - The consuls are A. Manlius Torquatus and Q. Cassius Longinus.
164 BC - The consuls are L. Aemilius Paullus and Q. Marcius Philippus.
163 BC - The consuls are Ti. Sempronius Gracchus (second time) and M. Juventius Thalna.
163 BC - Birth of the tribune of the plebs and demagogue Ti. Sempronius Gracchus.
162 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (first time) and G. Marcius Figulus (first time).
161 BC - The consuls are M. Valerius Messalla and G. Fannius Strabo.
160 BC - The consuls are M. Cornelius Cethegus and L. Anicius Gallus.
160? BC - Birth of Gaius Sempronius Gracchus to Cornelia (later known as Mother of the Gracchi).
160 BC - Birth of Jugurtha, later the King of Numidia.
159 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Dolabella and M. Furius Nobilior.
159 BC - The censors are P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum and M. Popillius Laenas.
159 BC - Death of the Roman comic dramatist Terence, who either died of illness in Greece or drowned in a shipwreck on his way back to Rome from Greece.
159 BC - The first Roman amphitheater is built in Rome by the Pontifex Maximus G. Scribonius Curio.
158 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Lepidus and G. Popilius Laenas (second time).
157 BC - The consuls are Sex. Julius Caesar and L. Aurelius Cotta.
157 BC - The Roman general, statesman and sextuple consul, Gaius Marius, is born in the town of Arpinum.
156 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus and G. Marcius Figulus (second time).
155 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (second time) and M. Claudius Marcellus (second time).
155 BC - A Roman force clears the coast and slightly inland of Dalmatia, making it into a new province.
154 BC - The consuls are L. Postumius Albinus and Q. Opimius.
154 BC - The censors are M. Valerius Messalla and G. Cassius Longinus.
154 - 133 BC - The Second Spanish Wars.
154 BC - (Second Spanish War) The Turdetani and Celtiberians rebel again and attack the Roman garrisons stationed in the Spanish provinces.
154 BC - (Second Spanish War) The Celtiberian raiders mount an invasion of the province of Further Spain.
154 BC - The King of Cyrene, Ptolemy VII Euergetes Physcon, made his will, in which he promised that upon his death his kingdom would be bequeathed upon Rome.
154 BC - The Romans defeat the Oxybian Ligures in a pitched battle.
154 BC - The road, the via Cassia, is built.
153 BC - The consuls are T. Annius Luscus and Q. Fulvius Nobilior.
152 BC - The consuls are L. Valerius Flaccus and M. Claudius Marcellus (third time).
151 BC - The consuls are A. Postumius Albinus and L. Licinius Lucullus.
151 BC - (Second Spanish War) The Roman general Scipio Aemilianus defeats a Spanish chieftain who had challenged him to single combat.
151 BC - (Second Spanish War) The Spanish tribe known as the Lusitanians defeat an army under the praetor Ser. Sulpicius Galba in Further Spain.
151 BC - (Second Spanish War) The Roman general L. Licinius Lucullus attacks and captures the town of Cauca, of the tribe known as the Vaccaei. After the town surrenders, he indiscriminately massacred some of the townsfolk.
151 BC - Carthage declares war on King Masinissa of Numidia.
150 BC - The consuls are T. Quinctius Flaminius and M. Acilius Balbus.
150 BC - (Second Spanish War) L. Licinius Lucullus went to the aid of Ser. Sulpicius Galba, and inflicted such a defeat on the Lusitanians that they were forced to surrender and accept any terms set by the Romans.
150 BC - Fourth Macedonian War. Started under an adventurer who claimed to be a son of King Perseus, called Andriscus.
149 BC - The consuls are Man. Manlius and L. Marcius Censorinus.
149 BC - King Prusias of Bithynia is deposed from his throne by King Attalus II of Pergamum. The son of Prusias is put on the throne to become the first King Nicomedes. This is the last royal dynasty to rule over Bithynia.
149 - 147/46 BC - The Third Punic War. The end of the war came with the destruction of Carthage, which, thanks to the lobbying of M. Porcius Cato, was destroyed and its site was sown with salt.
149 BC - The work by the Roman writer, philosopher and statesman Cato the Censor, the Origines is published. It is a history of Rome up until that point in time.
149 BC - A lex Calpurnia is passed, which establishes a permanent de repetundis.
148 BC - The consuls are Sp. Postumius Albinus Magnus and L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.
148 BC - End of Fourth Macedonian War, which ended with the defeat of Andriscus by Q. Caecilius Metellus (later Macedonicus) and subsequently executed in Thrace.
147 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (first time) and G. Livius Drusus.
147 BC - The censors are L. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus and L. Marcius Censorinus.
147 BC - Seeing the futility of their efforts to keep peace and stability in Macedonia, it is annexed into the empire as a province.
146 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Lentulus and L. Mummius Achaicus.
146 BC - The Romans defeat Carthage, capture the city, raze it to the ground and sow salt into the ground to make sure no-one ever lives there again.
146 BC - (Second Spanish War) The tribe of the Lusitanians gain an able leader named Viriathus, who organizes constant successful guerrilla raids and ambushes on Roman forces.
146 BC - Achaean War under L. Mummius, which is very brief with one battle near Corinth. In anger at their participation in the battle, Mummius ordered the city of Corinth to be razed to the ground.
146 BC - The Achaean League is destroyed and its members dissolved.
146 BC - The newly acquired region of Greece is constituted into the new Roman province of Achaea.
146 BC - Africa becomes a province of the Roman Empire.
146 BC - The senate publishes a set of regulations known as the leges provinciae, which were basically constitutions and laws for each province.
146 BC - The first Roman temple to be built from marble, the temple of Jupiter Strator, is dedicated by Q. Metellus (unknown, but probably Metellus Macedonicus).
145 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Maximus Aemilianus and L. Hostilius Mancinus.
144 BC - The consuls are Ser. Sulpicius Galba and L. Aurelius Cotta.
144 BC - The aqueduct Aqua Marcia is built.
143 BC - The consuls are Ap. Claudius Pulcher and Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus.
143 BC - (Second Spanish War) The successes of the Lusitanians under Viriathus encourages the Celtiberians, who revolt against the Romans.
143 - 142 BC - (Second Spanish War) The consul Q. Caecilius Metellus led a massive campaign in which the Celtiberians were defeated a succession of times and driven from the field in the Nearer Spain province.
142 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus and L. Caecilius Metellus Calvus.
142 BC - The censors are P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus and L. Mummius Achaicus.
141 BC - The consuls are Gn. Servilius Caepio and Q. Pompeius.
141 BC - (Second Spanish War) The Lusitanian/Celtiberian rebels under Viriathus forced the consul Q. Fabius Maximus Servillianus into a hopeless position, in which he is forced to sign a treaty.
140 BC - The consuls are Q. Servilius Caepio and G. Laelius Sapiens.
140 BC - (Second Spanish War) The replacement in Spain for Fabius, Q. Servilius Caepio, broke the treaty with the Lusitanians. Caepio was defeated, but went further in the depth of his treachery, and paid the agents of Viriathus to murder their chief. Without a leader, the Lusitanians submitted to Rome.
140 BC - The tragic playwright, L. Accius, has his first play, Atreus, performed in Rome.
140 BC - The philosophy, Stoicism, is introduced to Rome.
140 BC - Birth of the Armenian king Tigranes the Great.
139 BC - The consuls are Gn. Calpurnius Piso and M. Popillius Laenas.
139 BC - (Second Spanish War) The land of Lusitania is annexed into the Roman Spanish province.
138 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio and D. Junius Brutus Callicus.
138 BC - Birth of the Roman general and dictator L. Cornelius Sulla in Rome.
137 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina and G. Hostilius Mancinus.
137 BC - (Second Spanish War) The replacement for Servilius Caepio in Spain, D. Junius Brutus, raided further into enemy territory, sacking small villages and hamlets as he went.
136 BC - The consuls are L. Furius Philus and Sex. Atilius Serranus.
136 BC - The consuls are Ap. Claudius Pulcher and Quintus Fulvius Nobilior.
135 BC - The consuls are Q. Calpurnius Piso and Ser. Fulvius Flaccus.
135? BC - Birth of the tribune of the plebs L. Appuleius Saturninus, somewhere in Picenum.
135? BC - Birth of the historian Posidonius of Rhodes.
134 BC - The consuls are G. Fulvius Flaccus and P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (second time).
134 BC - (Second Spanish War) P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, the famed destroyer of Carthage, gathers together a force of Romans and client kingdom troops amounting to 60,000, and uses them to blockade the stronghold of Numantia by surrounding the city with seven camps and a line of fortifications between the camps. This is known as circumvallation, and Caesar uses it later in the siege of Alesia.
133 BC - The consuls are L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi and P. Mucius Scaevola.
133 BC - Slave revolts in Sicily.
133 BC - King Attalus of Pergamum bequeaths his kingdom to Rome in a will upon his death. The Romans ignore this bequest until it claimed by a pretender named Aristonicus.
133 BC - (Second Spanish War) The stronghold of Numantia capitulates due to hunger. They were treated badly by their conqueror, P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, who completely destroyed the city in the fashion of Carthage and sold the entire population into slavery. This event marks the end of the Spanish Wars, and though there were minor rebellions, the peninsula stayed relatively peaceful until the start of the Sertorian Wars.
133 BC - After opposing the legislation of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus, a fellow tribune named Octavius was voted out of office by Gracchus. This was a precedent in Roman history, as Gracchus was the first tribune to do this.
133 BC - Death of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus after the passing of his land bills. The consular P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, who was an ardent opponent of Gracchus's legislation and methods, clubbed him to death.
132 BC - The consuls are P. Popillius Laenas and Publius Rupilius.
132 BC - The first servile war breaks out in Sicily.
131 BC - The consuls are L. Valerius Flaccus and P. Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus.
131 BC - The censors are Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus and Q. Pompeius.
131 BC - A new set of laws, passed by the tribune G. Papirius Carbo, the leges tabellariae, enacted secret balloting in Rome for the first time.
130 BC - The consuls are G. Sempronius Tuditanus and Man. Aquillius.
130 BC - The Roman general M. Perperna defeats the army of Aristonicus, who was trying to secure the Pergamene throne by force of arms.
129 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Lentulus and M. Perperna.
129 BC - Annexation of the Roman Asia Province.
129 BC - The province of Illyria is annexed into the Empire.
129 BC - Death of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, who died in unknown circumstances in Rome. He is said to have been poisoned due to his opposition to Ti. Gracchus. It is unknown who did it if it was poison, but even Gracchus's sister Sempronia and his mother Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, were accused.
128 BC - The consuls are T. Annius Rufus and Gn. Octavius.
128 BC - The Roman governor Man. Aquillius sells the territory of Phrygia to King Mithridates V of Pontus and takes the money for himself.
127 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Cinna and L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla.
126 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Lepidus and L. Aurelius Orestes.
125 BC - The consuls are M. Fulvius Flaccus and M. Plautius Hypsaeus.
125 BC - The censors are Gn. Servilius Caepio and L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla.
125 BC - The Latin Rights colony of Fregellae revolts, and is brutally repressed. The Romans sack the town, and its population is partly massacred and the rest is sold into slavery.
125 BC - The northwest border of the Empire is established by the Romans in Cisalpine Gaul.
125 BC - M. Fulvius Flaccus, an adherent of the ideals of G. Sempronius Gracchus, proposes a bill to enfranchise the Latin citizens of Italy.
124 BC - The consuls are G. Cassius Longinus and G. Sextius Calvinus.
124 BC - The tribes of the Allobroges and Arverni are attacked by the Romans, beginning a war not ended until the arrival of Q. Fabius Maximus (later nicknamed Allobrogicus) and Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus.
124 BC - Birth of the future tribune M. Livius Drusus.
124 BC - Birth of the future tribune P. Sulpicius Rufus.
123 BC - The consuls are T. Quinctius Flaminius and Q. Caecilius Metellus Balaericus.
123-2 BC - Tribunate of Gaius Gracchus, in which the Senatus consultum ultimum de res publica defendenda is passed (otherwise known as the Senatus Consultum Ultimum, was the ultimate decree, used only in times of crisis).
123 BC - The Romans, under Q. Caecilius Metellus, subjugate the Balearic Isles into the Empire. Metellus is given the nickname Balericus.
123 BC - Birth of the Roman rebel General Q. Sertorius, in the town of Nersia, Sabini.
123 BC - The tribune of the plebs G. Sempronius Gracchus passes a bill which makes the senate separate from the Ordo Equester, or the knights.
122 BC - The consuls are Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and G. Fannius.
122/21 BC - The Gallic tribe of the Arverni are subjugated by the Roman general Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus.
122 BC - After passing a law in the plebeian assembly, G. Gracchus eliminates most unemployment by engaging the unemployed in building roads.
122 BC - A new city, Colonia Junonia, is ordered to be built on the site of old Carthage. It only lasts 30 years.
122 BC - For the first time, the juries of the courts are taken off of senators and given to the knights of the ordo Equester.
121 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus and L. Opimius.
121 BC - Death of Gaius Gracchus, who was murdered in the grove of Furrina, near Rome by a mob lead by the consul L. Opimius.
121 BC - Annexation of southern Gaul, known as the province of Gallia Narbonesis.
121 BC - A road, the via Domitia, is built after the conquests of Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, and it runs along the coastline of Italy and southern Gaul.
120 BC - The consuls are G. Papirius Carbo and P. Manilius.
120 BC - The censors are Q. Caecilius Metellus Baliarus and L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi.
119 BC - The consuls are L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus.
119 BC - Tribunate of G. Marius under the patronage of the Caecilii Metellii clan.
118 BC - The consuls are Q. Marcius Rex and M. Porcius Cato.
118 BC - Death of the Greek historian Polybius.
118 - 117 BC - Roman armies are engaged in active campaigns in the lands known as Dalmatia.
118 BC - A colony is established at the top of Spain to become the future important trading town of Narbo.
117 BC - The consuls are L. Caecilius Metellus Diadematus and Q. Mucius Scaevola.
116 BC - The consuls are Q. Fabius Maximus Eburnus and G. Licinius Geta.
116 BC - Birth of the Roman satirist and scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, in the city of Reate, Italy.
115 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Scaurus and M. Caecilius Metellus.
115 BC - The censors are L. Caecilius Metellus Diadematus and Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus
115 BC - Mithridates of Pontus is crowned as king of Pontus.
115 BC - M. Aemilius Scaurus (later Princeps Senatus) is elected as consul.
114 BC - The consuls are Man. Acilius Balbus and G. Porcius Cato.
114 BC - The Thracian tribe known as the Scordisci defeat an army under the consul G. Porcius Cato, and extend their raids as far as Delphi in Greece.
114 BC - A bad omen is encountered in the death of a Vestal Virgin, after she is struck by lightning.
113 BC - The consuls are Gn. Papirius Carbo and G. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius.
113 BC - The Land Commission of Gaius Gracchus is dissolved.
113 BC - The migration of the Germans begins. The Germans defeat a Roman army under the general Gn. Papirius Carbo at the battle of Noreia.
113 & 112 BC - The consuls of the two years, Q. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius and M. Livius Drusus, both campaign against the Scordisci, eventually pushing them back beyond the Danube River.
112 BC - The consuls are L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus and M. Livius Drusus.
112 BC - Start of the Jugurthine War when King Jugurtha of Numidia sacks the capital Cirta, killing all Roman and Italian citizens living there.
111 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio and L. Calpurnius Bestia.
110 BC - The consuls are Sp. Postumius Albinus and M. Minucius Rufus.
110 BC - (Jugurthine War) The brother of the general Sp. Postumius Albinus, A. Postumius Albinus, uses his brother's army to attack the treasure-filled stronghold of Suthul, in which his constant futile attempts gained no advantage.
110 BC - (Jugurthine War) Brother of the general Sp. Postumius Albinus, A. Postumius Albinus, is forced to surrender after being defeated by Jugurtha in a pitched battle. The survivors are allowed to return to Rome after being made to 'pass beneath the yoke'.
110 BC - (Jugurthine War) There is a special court set up under the tribune G. Mamilius called the 'Mamilian Commission'. It is set up to try those commanders accused of incompetence in the war or with being bought by Jugurtha. The first general of the war L. Calpurnius Bestia, the leader of the initial peace delegation L. Opimius and the current general Sp. Postumius Albinus were all convicted and sent into exile with a large portion of their fortunes confiscated.
110 BC - Birth of the Roman statesman and triumvir M. Licinius Crassus.
109 BC - The consuls are Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus and M. Junius Silanus.
109 BC - The censors are M. Aemilius Scaurus and M. Livius Drusus.
109 BC - (Jugurthine War) The consul Q. Caecilius Metellus is appointed as the new commander in the Jugurthine War.
109 BC - (Jugurthine War) The consul Q. Caecilius Metellus captures the capital city, Cirta, in lesser Africa.
109 BC - After continuously being denied the right to leave to contest the consular elections by Metellus, he is finally let go 12 days before the election. Metellus did this to prevent Marius from becoming consul, as he did not think Marius could make it from Africa to Rome in time to contest the election. Not only did Marius make it, but he was elected as junior consul for that year. He is the first of his gens to become consul.
109 BC - Sent to face the Germanic invaders, the consul D. Junius Silanus marches with an army. After diplomatic talks, the Germans made requests for land and pay in order that they be enlisted as mercenaries to fight for Rome. They were refused, and the Germans felt this was an insult, and attacked and smashed through his army, killing almost all of his army, estimated at about eight legions.
109 BC - Birth of the knight T. Pomponius Atticus in Rome.
108 BC - The consuls are Ser. Sulpicius Galba and L. Hortensius.
108 BC - The censors are Q. Fabius Maximus Eburnus and G. Licinius Getha.
108 BC - (Jugurthine War) First consulship of Gaius Marius, who is given command in war against Jugurtha. So devoid of troops is Italy, that Marius ignores tradition and enlists the Head Count of Rome. This is the first time non-propertied men have been given the chance to serve in the legions.
108 - 101? - G. Marius makes reforms in the army. He abolishes the old ranks of hastati, principes, triarii, replacing them with the ordinary legionary. He also replaced the old hasta style long throwing spear in favor of the new pilum. The cohort replaced the old tactical unit of the maniple, and the old vexillium, or flag/banner, was replaced by the famous standard of the legions, the silver eagle. This was for those in the legions that were illiterate. He also renovated the pila spears, using a wedge system so that the spear shaft would break after being thrown to prevent them from being thrown back at the Romans.
108 BC - (Jugurthine War) Angered at the lack of recruits, G. Marius drafts his new army from the proletarii, or poor citizens, of Rome.
108 BC - Birth of the Roman conspirator L. Sergius Catalina.
107 BC - The consuls are L. Cassius Longinus and G. Marius (first time).
107 BC - The consul L. Cassius Longus is defeated by the Tigurini near Tolosa.
107 BC - The battle of Burdigala against the German hordes occurs under the general L. Cassius Longinus. It is a rout, and almost the entire army is annihilated.
107 BC - (Jugurthine War) G. Marius campaigns in Africa, and after small skirmishes he captured Jugurtha's southernmost stronghold Capsa, after which he leveled the city to the ground.
107 BC - (Jugurthine War) In command of his full army, G. Marius reduces other Numidian fortresses, including the fortress at Muluccha, which was the chief treasure-house of Jugurtha.
106 BC - The consuls are Q. Servilius Caepio and G. Atilius Serranus.
106 BC - (Jugurthine War) King Jugurtha is betrayed by his brother-in-law King Bocchus of Mauretania. He is captured by the quaestor of Marius, L. Cornelius Sulla.
106 BC - Birth of Pompey the Great, in Picenum.
106 BC - Birth of M. Tullius Cicero, in the town of Arpinum, Latium.
106 BC - After camping in the city of Tolosa, the general Q. Servilius Caepio and his army discover an enormous haul of gold, put there by the Gauls after they sacked the temples of Greece under King Brennus. It comes to be known as the Gold of Tolosa. It is sent to Rome by wagon-train, but it is ambushed and the gold is stolen. It is believed that Caepio organized the ambush in order to keep the gold for himself.
105 BC - The consuls are Gn. Mallius Maximus and P. Rutilius Rufus.
105 BC - The armies of Q. Servilius Caepio and Gn. Mallius Maximus were annihilated by the Germanic hordes moving towards Italy.
104 BC - The consuls are G. Flavius Fimbria and G. Marius (second time).
104 BC - (Jugurthine War) Death of King Jugurtha of Numidia, who was executed after walking in Marius's triumphal parade.
104 BC - A new revolt breaks out in Sicily.
104 BC - The Roman tragic playwright L. Accius has his play, Tereus, performed in Rome.
104 BC - G. Marius is elected as consul for the second time.
104 BC - The lex Domitia de sacerdotiis is passed, removing the co-opting of new pontifexes and augurs from the members and putting up the positions for election for the first time in Roman history.
103 BC - The consuls are L. Aurelius Orestes and G. Marius (third term).
103 BC - Death of the Roman writer G. Lucillius, in the city of Neapolis, Italy.
103 BC - The tribune of the plebs L. Appuleius Saturninus passes the lex Appuleia de maiestate, which is meant to be 'minor treason', and is used to secure convictions of incompetent generals.
103 BC - The patrician consular Q. Servilius Caepio is convicted of stealing the Gold of Tolosa by a special court set up by a tribune named Gn. Servilius Glaucia (no relation to Caepio). There are stories of a testimony from a witness, King Copilius, who supposedly witnessed the theft.
102 BC - The consuls are Q. Lutatius Catulus and G. Marius (fourth time).
102 BC - The censors G. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius and Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus.
102 - 101 BC - Marius proceeds to defeat the German Cimbri and Teutones with Q. Lutatius Catulus Caesar, at the battles of Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae.
102 BC - The second servile war breaks out in Sicily.
101 BC - The consuls are Man. Aquilius and G. Marius (fifth time).
101 BC - The governor of Macedonia, T. Didius, gained victories over the Scordisci and ensured a fairly durable peace.
101 BC - The proconsul Man. Aquillius is sent to deal with the slave war in Sicily.
101 BC - The senate issues a decree that all free states are to help in the eradication of piracy.
101 BC - The fifth consulship of G. Marius.
101 - 99 BC - The tribunate of L. Appuleius Saturninus.
101 BC - Cilicia is annexed as a province of Rome.
100 BC - The consuls are L. Valerius Flaccus and G. Marius (sixth time).
100 BC - The riots of Saturninus.
100 BC - The sixth consulship of G. Marius.
100 BC - After the riots of Saturninus, he and his confederate G. Servilius Glaucia and others are imprisoned in the senate house. During the night, a group of young senators climb the roof and pelt the prisoners with tiles from the roof, killing them all.
100 BC - Birth of the Roman general, dictator and statesman Julius Caesar in Rome. His parents are Aurelia Cotta and G. Julius Caesar.
100 BC - The Sicilian slave war is ended and the commander, Man. Aquillius, is given an ovation for his victory.
99 BC - The consuls are A. Postumius Albinus and M. Antonius.
99 BC - Birth of Roman poet Lucretius.
98 BC - The consuls are Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos and T. Didius.
98 BC - A revolt in Lusitania occurs.
97 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Lentulus and P. Licinius Crassus.
97 BC - The censors are L. Valerius Flaccus and M. Antonius.
97 BC - The proconsul, Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos, conquers the island of Crete.
97 BC - L. Cornelius Sulla is elected as a praetor.
96 BC - The consuls are G. Cassius Longinus and Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus.
96 BC - The last Ptolemy ruler of Cyrenacia dies, and it is made over to Rome as in the previous will of Ptolemy VII Euergetes Physcon (his last name, Physcon, roughly means "Gross Belly").
96 BC - Sulla is sent to Cappadocia to place King Ariobarzanes on the throne after he was deposed by King Mithridates of Pontus.
95 BC - The consuls are L. Licinius Crassus and Q. Mucius Scaevola.
95 BC - Tigranes becomes the king of Armenia after spending his youth as a hostage of King Mithridates II of the Parthians.
95 BC - Birth of Cato the Younger in Rome.
94 BC - The consuls are G. Coelius Caldus and L. Domitius Ahenobarbus.
93 BC - The consuls are G. Valerius Flaccus and M. Herennius.
93 BC - Birth of Publius Clodius Pulcher, in Rome.
93 BC - T. Didius, victor over the Scordisci, completes a victory over the Celtiberians in Spain.
92 BC - The consuls are G. Claudius Pulcher and M. Perperna.
92 BC - The censors are Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and L. Licinius Crassus.
92 BC - The censors are Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and L. Licinius Crassus.
92 BC - The censor L. Licinius Crassus begins to farm fish on his estates and grows fond of one of them. When this fish died, he donned the toga pulla (mourning toga) for a whole month.
91 BC - The consuls are Sex. Julius Caesar and L. Marcius Phillipus.
91 BC - Second Sicilian Slave war ended by Roman general Manius Aquillius.
91 BC - The tribunate of the reformer M. Livius Drusus, who is the son of the man who opposed the Gracchi.
91 BC - The tribune of the plebs M. Livius Drusus tries to legislate for total Italian franchise. He is brutally murdered, thus starting the Social War.
91 BC - The Italian city of Asculum massacres its Roman citizens and prepares for Roman reprisals.
91 - 83 BC - The Italian/Social War.
90 BC - The consuls are L. Julius Caesar and P. Rutilius Lupus.
90 BC - (Italian War) The legate Gn. Pompeius Strabo creates a blockade around the city of Asculum.
90 BC - (Italian War) The consul L. Julius Caesar passes a law, the lex Julia de civitate Latinus et sociis danda, which gives the citizenship to those Italians who had not taken up arms against Rome. This is to consolidate the loyalty of those Italian states that remain loyal.
89 BC - The consuls are Gn. Pompeius Strabo and Lucius Porcius Cato Licinianus.
89 BC - The censors are L. Julius Caesar and P. Licinius Crassus.
89 BC - (Italian War) The Roman commander defeats an Italian army outside the city of Nola. He fights in the front lines, and he is able to save his army. The soldiers of his army then award him the corona murialis (grass crown).
89 BC - (Italian War) The Roman general Gn. Pompeius Strabo captures the city of Corfinium (renamed Italica), the capital of what was to become known as a new state of Italia.
89 BC - (Italian War) The Roman commander L. Cornelius Sulla captures the rebel Italian city of Bovianum Vetus, the old capital of Samnium, which was the new parliamentary center after the fall of Corfinium.
89 BC - (Italian War) After a group of feints with a Roman army of 75,000 and an Italian army of 60,000, the consul Gn. Pompeius Strabo lays siege to Asculum and by the end of the year captures it.
88 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Sulla (first time) and Q. Pompeius Rufus.
88 BC - (Italian War) The Roman general Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius met and defeated the army of the Italian Q. Pompaedius Silo, who was killed after the battle.
88 BC - The proconsul Man. Aquillius invades the Pontic territories with the militia of Asia Province and the army of King Nicomedes of Bithynia. This invasion is only started to enrich Aquillius. The army is quickly defeated and Aquillius is captured. To cure his greed, King Mithridates executed him by pouring molten gold down his throat.
88 BC - King Mithridates of Pontus invades Greece and issues an edict that all Romans and Italians are to be killed. The number of dead reaches about 110,000 people.
88 BC - L. Cornelius Sulla marches upon Rome, the first in history to do so.
88 BC - Tribunate of P. Sulpicius Rufus, who proposes the command of the Mithridatic War be given to Marius and tries to pass a law for cancellation of debt.
88 BC - Death of the tribune P. Sulpicius Rufus, in the city of Lavinium, in Latium, after he was made a public enemy, apprehended and executed. His head was placed upon a spear and placed in the Forum Romanum.
87 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Cinna (first time) and Gn. Octavius Ruso.
87 - 86 BC - Marius marches on Rome with L. Cornelius Cinna, and after a short battle, he occupied Rome. Marius and Cinna are made joint consuls. Then he and Cinna embark on a series of proscriptions and institute a Terror on the city of Rome, although Marius is the main perpetrator. This ceased when Marius died of a third and fatal stroke in 86, during his seventh consulship. The senate, in the person of the remaining consul Gn. Octavius Ruso, surrendered to Marius and Cinna. Octavius was later executed in the bloodbath, one of the first to do so.
87 BC - (First Mithridatic War) Start of the First Mithridatic War, under the command of L. Cornelius Sulla.
86 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Cinna (second time) and G. Marius (seventh time).
86 BC - The censors are L. Marcius Philippus and M. Perperna.
86 BC - (First Mithridatic War) The city of Athens is captured by L. Cornelius Sulla and his army, and is subsequently sacked.
86 BC - (First Mithridatic War) The battle of Lake Orchomenos, in which L. Cornelius Sulla defeats a larger army of Mithridates under the general Archelaus. This is a turning point in the war for Mithridates, who reels from the Roman attacks.
86 BC - (First Mithridatic War) L. Cornelius Sulla defeats the armies of King Mithridates of Pontus (being commanded by one of his generals, Archelaus) at the battle of Chaeroneia.
86 BC - Death of the playwright Accius.
86? BC - Birth of the Roman historian G. Sallustius Crispus, in the town of Amiternum, Samnium, in Italy.
86 BC - The orator M. Tullius Cicero completes his first work on rhetoric, De Inventione Rhetorica.
85 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Cinna (third time) and Gn. Papirius Carbo (first time).
85 BC - (First Mithridatic War) The consul appointed to fight against Mithridates, L. Valerius Flaccus, is murdered by his legatus G. Flavius Fimbria. He then went on to attack the Greek cities of Asia who had supported Mithridates.
85 BC - (First Mithridatic War) The mutineer G. Flavius Fimbria attacks a reserve army of Mithridates and defeats them, and then appeals to the legatus of Sulla, L. Licinius Lucullus, for aid in capturing the king, but he is refused. If Lucullus had agreed, the king would have been captured, the war would have been over and there would have been no further wars with Pontus.
85 BC - (First Mithridatic War) The now defeated King Mithridates meets with Sulla and signs the treaty of Dardanus. Once this is signed, Sulla caught up with the army of Fimbria. They deserted to Sulla en masse, and Fimbria took his own life.
84 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Cinna (fourth time) and Gn. Papirius Carbo (second time).
84 BC - L. Cornelius Cinna is murdered.
84 BC - The new citizens enfranchised by the lex Julia, lex Pompeia and lex Papiria are redistributed throughout all thirty-five tribes of Rome.
84 BC - Birth of the Roman poet G. Valerius Catallus, in the town of Verona in Cisalpine Gaul.
84 BC - Julius Caesar is married to the daughter of L. Cornelius Cinna, Cornelia. He is 16 years old, while she is 8 years old.
83 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and G. Norbanus.
83 BC - The Roman governor of Spain and future triumvir M. Licinius Crassus Dives joins forces with Sulla.
83-82 BC - (Civil War) L. Cornelius Sulla lands in Italy at the port city of Brundisium, and wages a civil war against the remaining Marian forces.
83 BC - (Civil War) Many of those who are opposed to the Marians or are by friendship for Sulla flock to join him. These include Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, M. Licinius Crassus and his most valuable recruit the son of the consul Gn. Pompeius Strabo, Gn. Pompeius (later Magnus), who brings his an army of his father's clients for the use of Sulla.
83 BC - While Sulla is involved in Italy, a general named L. Licinius Murena, starts up a war against Mithridates.
83 BC - (Second Mithridatic War)
82 BC - The consuls are Gn. Papirius Carob (third time) and G. Marius Junior.
82 BC - (Civil War) The battle of Clusium, which is indecisive occurs under the Marian general Gn. Papirius Carbo against L. Cornelius Sulla.
82 BC - (Civil War) Battle of Faventia, in which the Sullan general Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius defeated the army of Gn. Papirius Carbo.
82 BC - (Second Mithridatic War) After suffering defeats by Mithridates, Murena is recalled to Rome on the pretext of celebrating a triumph. L. Cornelius Sulla and Mithridates agree a new peace treaty.
82 BC - (Civil War) Gn. Papirius Carbo flees to Sicily, where he is captured by the Sullan general Gn. Pompeius Magnus and executed in the town of Lilybaeum.
82 BC - Birth of the triumvir M. Antonius.
82 BC - (Civil War) L. Cornelius Sulla is victorious at the battle of the Coline Gate at Rome, defeating the Marian forces as well as contingent of Samnites who had joined the Marians to march on Rome.
82 BC - (Civil War) The town of Praeneste, garrisoned by the army of G. Marius the younger, surrenders. Marius the younger is later found dead in the sewers after trying to escape through them. He committed suicide.
81 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Dolabella and M. Tullius Decula.
81 BC - L. Cornelius Sulla assumes the position of dictator. He makes changes to the constitution, including the removal of the tribunician veto. He also adopts the title of Felix (the lucky).
81 BC - (Civil War) The Sullan general Gn. Pompeius Magnus captures Africa province, which is still under Marian control at this point under general Gn. Domitius Ahenobarbus. This is an important victory, as it ensures the food supply to the empire.
81 BC - Julius Caesar is forced to divorce his wife by Sulla, but he refuses and flees to Asia and joins in the campaign against Mithridates.
81 - 79 BC - Sulla make amendments to the constitution. He creates the following standing courts: de repetundis (extortion), de maiestate (treason), de ambitu (electoral bribery), de sicariis et veneficiis (murder and poisoning), de peculatu (peculation), de iniuria (assault) and de falsis (fraud). A later amendment in 78 BC in a lex Plautia established a de vi (violence) court. He set the number of provinces, as well as which provinces should be assigned to consulars and which to praetors. He also set up proscriptions on his enemies and rich knights, as he was known to have a vendetta against the Ordo Equester.
81 BC - As dictator, L. Cornelius Sulla appoints Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius as Pontifex Maximus. It is thought that this was a cruel joke by Sulla, as Metellus Pius is said to have suffered from a bad stammer.
81 BC - (Second Mithridatic War) The second Mithridatic war comes to an end. King Mithridates is successful.
80 BC - The consuls are L. Cornelius Sulla (second time) and Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius.
80 BC - The start of the Sertorian War under Q. Sertorius, one of the remaining Marian generals.
80 BC - G. Julius Caesar goes with an army under L. Licinius Lucullus to suppress a revolt at the city of Mitylene on the island of Lesbos. He is awarded the corona civica (oak crown) for saving a cohort from destruction.
80 BC - M. Tullius Cicero has his first major case defending Sex. Roscius against the proscriptions of Sulla. He wins, and publishes the trial as Pro Sextius Roscius Amerino.
79 BC - The consuls are Ap. Claudius Pulcher and P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus.
79 BC - (Italian War) The city of Nola finally surrenders and the city is razed to the ground.
79 BC - The ex-consul P. Servilius Vatia is given the governorship of Cilicia and given as long as is necessary to defeat the pirate menace.
79 BC - L. Cornelius Sulla resigns the dictatorship.
79 BC - (Italian War) The fanatical rebel city of Volaterrae is finally captured after it is starved to death.
78 BC - The consuls are M. Aemilius Lepidus and Q. Lutatius Catulus.
78 BC - Death of L. Cornelius Sulla, in a villa outside the city of Puteoli.
78 BC - The ex-consul P. Servilius Vatia begins a widespread attack on land and sea against the pirates in Lycia.
78 BC - Julius Caesar joins P. Servilius Vatia in his campaigns against the pirates, raising a fleet for him.
77 BC - The consuls are Mam. Aemilius Lepidus Livianus and D. Junius Brutus.
77 BC - The revolt of the anti-Sullan consul M. Aemilius Lepidus. He is eventually brought to battle by the other consul, Q. Lutatius Catulus, and is routed in a battle near the Quirinal hill at Rome.
77 BC - Julius Caesar conducts his first trial. He prosecutes the governor of Macedonia, Gn. Cornelius Dolabella Minor. He is unsuccessful, but his advocacy is brilliant.
77 BC - (Sertorian War) The remnants of the defeated army of the rebel Lepidus join the forces of Q. Sertorius in Spain.
77 BC - (Sertorian War) Reinforcements for the governor of Spain, Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, are sent under an equal ranking commander, Gn. Pompeius (later Magnus).
76 BC - The consuls are Gn. Octavius and G. Scribonius Curio.
76 BC - (Sertorian War) Metellus Pius inflicts a minor defeat on the Sertorian lieutenant L. Hirtuleius.
76 BC - P. Servilius Vatia ejects the pirates from Pamphylia, destroying the stronghold of a pirate admiral known as Zenecities.
76 BC - The tribunes of the plebs begin to actively agitate for the full restoration of the powers of the tribunes of the plebs.
75 BC - The consuls are G. Aurelius Cotta and L. Octavius.
75 BC - (Sertorian War) The Roman general Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius annihilates the army of the Sertorian lieutenant Lucius Hirtuleius at the Battle of Segovia.
75/74 BC - The kingdom of Bithynia is bequeathed to Rome in the will of King Nicomedes III. Rome accepts this, and immediately encounters threats and opposition from Mithridates of Pontus, who claims that the kingdom belongs to the daughter of Nicomedes, Nysa, who is a hostage of Mithridates.
75 BC - (Sertorian War) The Roman general Gn. Pompeius Magnus is defeated in a battle with Q. Sertorius near the River Sucro and later enters an indecisive battle near the town of Saguntum.
75 BC - Travelling to Rhodes to study rhetoric, G. Julius Caesar is captured by pirates. During his stay, he often jokes about coming back to crucify them when he is released. When he is released, he hires a fleet from Rhodes and captures the pirates and orders them crucified.
75 BC - P. Servilius Vatia campaigns inland to stretch the borders of Cilicia in order to move against the remainder of the pirate castles. He is ready to move in the next year, when he is recalled to Rome following the outbreak of the Second Mithridatic War. When he returns to Rome, he is given a new nickname and is known as P. Servilius Vatia Isauricus for his victories over the tribe known as the Isauri.
75 BC - After L. Cornelius Sulla made the tribunes of the plebs impotent, he also made it so that an ex-tribune could not hold higher magistracies. The consul G. Aurelius Cotta repealed this measure in this year.
74 BC - The consuls are M. Aurelius Cotta and L. Licinius Lucullus.
74-71 BC - Start of the Third Mithridatic War under L. Licinius Lucullus.
74 BC - (Third Mithridatic War) The senator (later dictator) G. Julius Caesar leaves Rhodes, where he is studying rhetoric, after hearing about an undetected Pontic army under King Mithridates in the Roman Asia province. After arriving there, he raises a private army from the militia of Asia province and defeats the Pontic army near the town of Tralles.
74 BC - (Sertorian War) The minor successes of Sertorius force Metellus Pius and Pompeius Magnus to abandon the stronghold of Pallantia.
74 BC - (Third Mithridatic War) The Roman consular M. Aurelius Cotta is defeated in a battle near the town of Chalcedon.
74 BC - Creation of the new Roman province of Bithynia, later renamed Bithynia-Pontus.
74 BC - The ex-praetor M. Antonius is given a command against the pirates with unlimited aquatic imperium.
74/73 BC - M. Antonius makes slight inroads into the pirate menace in the western seas, thereby helping Pompeius Magnus against Q. Sertorius.
73 BC - The consuls are G. Cassius Longinus and M. Terentius Varro Lucullus.
73 BC - The slave revolt under Sparticus, who raises a revolt amongst his fellow gladiators and breaks out of the Gladiator school. Other slaves from the surrounding countryside quickly flock to join his army.
73 BC - Julius Caesar is elected as a military tribune and is posted under the staff of M. Licinius Crassus.
73 BC - (Third Mithridatic War) A hastily brought together fleet under L. Licinius Lucullus defeats a Pontic squadron off Lemnos under an admiral named Archelaeus.
73 BC - The future conspirator L. Sergius Catalina is acquitted after being charged with seducing a Vestal Virgin.
72 BC - The consuls are Gn. Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus and L. Gellius Publicola.
72 BC - (Sertorian War) End of the Sertorian War. Q. Sertorius is killed in Spain, murdered by his legate M. Perperna Viento. After this, Perperna is lead into a trap and he is captured while his entire army is killed. He is later executed by Pompeius.
72 BC - (Third Mithridatic War) L. Licinius Lucullus is unsuccessful in his siege of Amisus.
72 BC - L. Licinius Lucullus engages in a battle with an invading force of Thracian tribes, and defeats them.
72 BC - M. Antonius transfers his fleets to the Aegean region, where he firstly suffers a naval defeat off the island of Crete, and then is defeated again in a land battle on Crete. The pirates force him to sign a treaty with them. Realizing the ridicule he will suffer because of this, he commits suicide. He is given the nickname of Creticus, but it is not certain whether this celebrates a victory at Crete, or it means man of chalk.
71 BC - The consuls are P. Cornelius Lentulus Sura and Gn. Aufidius Orestes.
71 BC - (Spartican War) End of the revolt of Sparticus, when his army is defeated in Lucania by M. Licinius Crassus. The 6,000 survivors are crucified down the length of the Via Appia.
71 BC - (Third Mithridatic War) Capture of the town of Heraclea by M. Aurelius Cotta.
70 BC - The consuls are M. Licinius Crassus (first time) and Gn. Pompeius Magnus (first time).

Timeline of Roman History ( Part 2 of 5 )]

Timeline of Roman History ( Part 1 of 5 )

Timeline of Roman History ( Part 2 of 5 )

Timeline of Roman History ( part 3 of 5 )
Timeline of Roman History ( part 4 of 5 )
Timeline of Roman History ( part 5 of 5 )