Roman Empire timeline (117–476)
The Roman Empire was at its largest around 117, when Trajan died, and from Hadrian on it turned from conquest to frontier defence. Diocletian and Constantine brought to an end the Crisis of the Third Century, some fifty years from 235 in which emperors changed more than twenty times; Christianity was recognised in 313, and in 330 Constantinople became the new capital.
After the Goths crossed the Danube in 376 the Germanic migrations began, and in 395 the empire was divided into East and West. The West ended, after the sack of Rome in 410, with the deposition of its last emperor in 476, while the East (Byzantium) lasted until 1453.
2nd century (117–193)
The age of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius among the “Five Good Emperors”. At the end of the peace came plague and Germanic wars.
| Year | Event | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 117 | Death of Trajan; accession of Hadrian The year the empire was at its largest. Hadrian gave up the new provinces in Mesopotamia. | Rome |
| 122 | Hadrian's Wall begun The emperor visited Britain and had a wall about 117 km long built across the island. | Britain |
| Play this scene Scenario Emperor of the Wall · Person Hadrian | ||
| 132 | Bar Kokhba revolt It was crushed in 135, and the province of Judaea was renamed Syria Palaestina. | Judaea |
| Play this scene What if…? What if the Bar Kokhba revolt had succeeded? | ||
| 138 | Death of Hadrian; accession of Antoninus Pius A reign of 23 years without major war followed. | Rome |
| 161 | Accession of Marcus Aurelius With Lucius Verus, two emperors ruled jointly for the first time. | Rome |
| 165 | Antonine Plague Spreading with the army returning from the Parthian campaign, it swept the empire until about 180. | Throughout the empire |
| 166 | Marcomannic Wars begin The Marcomanni and Quadi crossed the frontier and raided as far as Aquileia in northern Italy. | Danube |
| Play this scene Scenario Winter on the Danube · What if…? What if Marcus Aurelius had created the province of Marcomannia? · Person Marcus Aurelius | ||
| 180 | Death of Marcus Aurelius He died at the front, and his son Commodus made peace and went back to Rome. | Danube |
| 193 | Year of the Five Emperors After Commodus's assassination civil war broke out, and Septimius Severus emerged the victor. | Rome |
3rd century (212–293)
A century of crisis in which, after the Severan dynasty, “soldier emperors” followed one another, while Sasanian Persia in the east, the Germanic peoples in the north, plague and a debased coinage struck all at once.
| Year | Event | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 212 | Constitutio Antoniniana The emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. | Rome |
| Play this scene Scenario Emperor of the Wall · Person Hadrian · What if…? What if the Bar Kokhba revolt had succeeded? · Scenario Winter on the Danube · What if…? What if Marcus Aurelius had created the province of Marcomannia? · Person Marcus Aurelius | ||
| 224 | Sasanian Persia founded Ardashir I overthrew the Parthian king. | Iran |
| 235 | Crisis of the Third Century begins After the assassination of Severus Alexander, emperors changed more than twenty times in about fifty years, until 284. | Rome |
| 260 | Valerian captured; Gallic Empire breaks away The emperor was captured by the Sasanian Shapur I, and Gaul, Britain and Hispania broke away under Postumus, proclaimed by the Rhine legions. | Mesopotamia · Gaul |
| Play this scene What if…? What if the Gallic Empire and Palmyra had survived? | ||
| 267 | Palmyra goes its own way After Odaenathus was murdered, Zenobia took power and by around 270 held Egypt and part of Asia Minor. | Syria |
| 274 | Aurelian reunites the empire He recovered Palmyra in 273 and the Gallic Empire in 274 and was hailed “Restorer of the World”. | Throughout the empire |
| 284 | Accession of Diocletian In 293 he set up the Tetrarchy, in which two senior and two junior emperors divided the rule. | Throughout the empire |
4th century (303–395)
The century in which Christianity went from persecution to recognition to state religion and became the religion of the empire. At its end the Goths came inside the empire.
| Year | Event | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 303 | Great Persecution begins Diocletian issued an edict ordering churches pulled down and scriptures burned. | Throughout the empire |
| Play this scene Scenario Emperor of the Wall · Person Hadrian · What if…? What if the Bar Kokhba revolt had succeeded? · Scenario Winter on the Danube · What if…? What if Marcus Aurelius had created the province of Marcomannia? · Person Marcus Aurelius · What if…? What if the Gallic Empire and Palmyra had survived? · Scenario The Edict of Nicomedia | ||
| 306 | Constantine proclaimed emperor at York When his father Constantius died, the army made him emperor. | Britain |
| 312 | Battle of the Milvian Bridge Constantine defeated Maxentius before Rome. | Italy |
| Play this scene What if…? What if Maxentius had won at the Milvian Bridge? · Person Constantine the Great | ||
| 313 | Edict of Milan Constantine and Licinius granted freedom to all religions, Christianity included. | Italy |
| 325 | Council of Nicaea The first ecumenical council, called by Constantine, set out the Nicene Creed. | Asia Minor |
| 330 | Dedication of Constantinople Byzantium was refounded as the new capital. | Thrace |
| 363 | Julian killed on campaign in Persia He was the last non-Christian emperor. His successor Jovian made peace by ceding territory. | Mesopotamia |
| Play this scene What if…? What if Julian the Apostate had returned from Persia? | ||
| 376 | Goths cross the Danube Driven by the Huns, the Goths entered the empire. It is counted the start of the great migrations. | Danube |
| 378 | Battle of Adrianople The emperor Valens was defeated and killed by the Goths. | Thrace |
| Play this scene What if…? What if the Romans had won at Adrianople? | ||
| 380 | Edict of Thessalonica Theodosius and his colleagues made Nicene Christianity the religion of the empire. | Throughout the empire |
| 395 | Death of Theodosius; empire divided into East and West His two sons, Arcadius (East) and Honorius (West), divided the empire between them. | Throughout the empire |
5th century (406–476)
The century in which the Western Roman Empire lost its lands to the Germanic kingdoms and collapsed.
| Year | Event | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 406 | Vandals, Suebi and Alans cross the Rhine Crossing the Rhine at the end of 406, they spread into Gaul and Hispania. | Gaul |
| Play this scene Scenario Emperor of the Wall · Person Hadrian · What if…? What if the Bar Kokhba revolt had succeeded? · Scenario Winter on the Danube · What if…? What if Marcus Aurelius had created the province of Marcomannia? · Person Marcus Aurelius · What if…? What if the Gallic Empire and Palmyra had survived? · Scenario The Edict of Nicomedia · What if…? What if Maxentius had won at the Milvian Bridge? · Person Constantine the Great · What if…? What if Julian the Apostate had returned from Persia? · What if…? What if the Romans had won at Adrianople? | ||
| 410 | Visigoths sack Rome Alaric sacked Rome, the first time in about 800 years that the city had fallen to a foreign enemy. | Italy |
| 451 | Battle of the Catalaunian Plains Aetius and his Visigothic allies stopped Attila the Hun. | Gaul |
| 455 | Vandals sack Rome The Vandals, who had taken North Africa, crossed the sea and sacked Rome. | Italy |
| 476 | Fall of the Western Roman Empire Odoacer deposed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus. | Italy |
This era in the game
The Roman Empire era of Crown & Plough begins around 117, with the empire at its largest under Trajan. Born as a legionary centurion, a provincial landowner or a tribesman beyond the frontier, you live through the plagues, wars and edicts of this timeline as the news of their year.
There are turning points whose outcomes can differ from reality, such as the Marcomannic Wars, the Crisis of the Third Century, the Milvian Bridge and Adrianople, and their results carry over onto the map of the next era, the Viking Age.
Be born in the Roman Empire → Roman Empire guide
Frequently asked questions
When was the Roman Empire at its largest?
Around 117, when the emperor Trajan had conquered Dacia and Mesopotamia. It stretched from Britain to the Persian Gulf, and his successor Hadrian gave up the new provinces in the east.
When was the Roman Empire divided into East and West?
The final division came in 395, when the emperor Theodosius died and his two sons inherited the East and the West. Before that it had also been ruled in parts, as under the Tetrarchy (293).
Why is the Western Roman Empire said to have fallen in 476?
Because that year the Germanic general Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last Western emperor, and did not set up a new one. In reality most of the Western lands had already passed to Germanic kingdoms over the previous decades.