Ninth century BC: The Etruscan civilization rises on the Italian peninsula.
Eighth century BC: Life and death of Tages, prophet of the Etruscan religion.
753 BC: The small town of Rome is founded, ruled at first by Etruscan kings.
600 BC: Etruscan civilization reaches the height of its power. It is based on independent city-states and gains its wealth through trade and iron ore.
509 BC: The Roman Republic is founded after a dynasty of Etruscan kings is overthrown by Rome’s inhabitants.
390 BC: Rome is destroyed by Gauls – the last time it will be sacked for nine centuries.
343 BC: Rome’s conquest of Italy begins with defeat of local tribes.
265 BC: The final defeat of the Etruscan city-states by the Roman Republic. The whole Italian peninsula is now under Roman control.
264–146 BC: The Punic Wars, in which Rome defeats the rival empire of Carthage – despite Carthaginian general Hannibal crossing the Alps into Italy with his elephants. The defeat of Hannibal coincides with an increase in pagan piety among Romans. Rome starts to build its Mediterranean empire, invading Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and North Africa.
146–101 BC: Rome continues to expand across the Mediterranean. By the end of the period it also controls Greece, Turkey and Romania.
91 BC: A century of unrest begins, with seven civil wars including Spartacus’s slave revolt. This coincides with widespread neglect of pagan religion in parts of Roman society. Palestine, Syria and Egypt fall under Roman control.
44 BC: Julius Caesar assassinated after ignoring an Etruscan soothsayer’s warning.
31 BC: Caesar’s nephew Octavian defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra to become ruler of Rome. Shortly afterwards Octavian is renamed Augustus, the first emperor. The Roman Republic comes to an end and democracy is abandoned. Augustus presides over a great increase in pagan piety.
50 AD: By now Etruscan is no longer spoken in Roman society, Etruscan writing has vanished, and Etruscan culture has ceased to exist.
70 AD: Construction of the Colosseum begins under the Emperor Vespasian, using treasure from the sack of Jerusalem.
98–161 AD: The period of ‘High Empire’. Under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian, Rome reaches its maximum size, the zenith of its power and the height of its cultural achievement.
Second century AD: Christianity spreads throughout the Roman Empire.
235–284 AD: The Third-Century Crisis, a chaotic period of civil war, plague, hyperinflation and barbarian invasions. The empire briefly splits into three independent states. The Emperor Valerian is captured and killed by the Persians; the Emperor Carus is killed by lightning.
284 AD: Emperor Diocletian takes power and restores order and prosperity to the reunified empire. His reign is marked by an increase in pagan fervour.
312 AD: Following a battlefield vision, the Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity, which becomes the dominant religion of the empire. He moves the capital to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).
337 AD: The scholar Eusebius begins writing Life of Constantine, following the emperor’s death.
376–476 AD: Decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
395: The rise of the Byzantine Empire begins in modern-day Turkey, a Christian society and the successor to Roman civilization.