Chronological framework

These turning points orient the dossiers. A change of dynasty, provincial control, or religious policy was a process with different local consequences, not an instantaneous replacement of society.

Date	Turning point	People to follow
753 BCE traditional	Foundation of Rome	Romulus
509 BCE traditional	Expulsion of the kings and establishment of Republican government	Tarquinius Superbus, Lucius Junius Brutus
280–275 BCE	Pyrrhus in Italy and Sicily	Pyrrhus of Epirus
218–201 BCE	Second Punic War	Hannibal Barca, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Masinissa
197 BCE	Cynoscephalae and the weakening of Macedonian power	Titus Quinctius Flamininus
168 BCE	Pydna and the end of the Antigonid monarchy	Lucius Aemilius Paullus
146 BCE	Destruction of Carthage	Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus
133–121 BCE	Gracchan reforms and political violence	Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus
112–105 BCE	Jugurthine War	Jugurtha, Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
88–82 BCE	Marches on Rome and Sullan civil war	Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
73–71 BCE	Slave uprising in Italy	Spartacus, Marcus Licinius Crassus
58–50 BCE	Caesar's conquest and consolidation in Gaul	Gaius Julius Caesar, Vercingetorix, Titus Labienus
49–45 BCE	Civil war against Caesar	Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger
44 BCE	Assassination of Caesar	Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus
43–30 BCE	Triumviral rule and renewed civil wars	Marcus Antonius, Augustus, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Cleopatra VII
27 BCE	Augustan settlement	Augustus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Livia Drusilla
9 CE	Destruction of Varus's army	Publius Quinctilius Varus, Arminius
14 CE	First succession of the principate	Augustus, Tiberius, Germanicus
43 CE	Claudian invasion of Britain	Claudius
c. 60/61 CE	Boudican uprising	Boudica, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
69 CE	Year of the Four Emperors	Galba, Otho, Aulus Vitellius, Vespasian
70 CE	Capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple	Titus, Flavius Josephus
101–106 CE	Trajanic wars in Dacia	Trajan, Decebalus
132–135 CE	Bar Kokhba revolt and suppression in Judaea	Hadrian
161–180 CE	Co-rule eastern war epidemic and Danubian campaigns	Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus
193–197 CE	Severan civil wars	Septimius Severus, Julia Domna
212 CE	Expansion of Roman citizenship	Caracalla
235 CE	End of the Severan dynasty	Severus Alexander
260 CE	Capture of Valerian and intensified fragmentation	Valerian, Gallienus, Shapur I, Postumus, Odaenathus
270–275 CE	Aurelianic recovery and reunification	Aurelian, Zenobia
293 CE	Formation of the first tetrarchy	Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, Constantius I
312–324 CE	Constantine defeats his principal rivals	Constantine I, Maxentius, Licinius
363 CE	Julian's Persian campaign and Jovian's treaty	Julian, Jovian
378 CE	Adrianople	Valens, Gratian, Theodosius I
395 CE	Succession after Theodosius	Honorius, Stilicho, Theodosius I
410 CE	Sack of Rome	Alaric I, Honorius, Galla Placidia, Augustine of Hippo
439 CE	Vandal capture of Carthage	Gaiseric
451 CE	Campaign against Attila in Gaul	Attila, Flavius Aetius
454–455 CE	Deaths of Aetius and Valentinian III	Flavius Aetius, Valentinian III
468 CE	Failure of the great Vandal expedition	Leo I, Gaiseric
476 CE	Deposition of Romulus in Italy	Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer, Zeno
493 CE	Theodoric establishes control of Italy	Theodoric the Great, Odoacer
527 CE	Justinian and Theodora become emperor and empress	Justin I, Justinian I, Theodora
533–554 CE	African conquest and the principal Italian war	Belisarius, Narses, Totila, Justinian I
540 CE	Khosrow captures Antioch	Khosrow I, Justinian I
565 CE	Deaths of Justinian and Belisarius	Justinian I, Belisarius

The other guides to figures