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100
Roman Empire Expanded
Roman EmpireAugustus conquers other lands and makes the empire larger. This empire is the most powerful empire around. Augustus was smart because he knew the more land he acquired would result in more wealth, and the more power he would have. At the time Rome was a huge empire. -
161
Marcus Aurelius Becomes Ruler
Marcus Aurelius ruled from 161 C.E. to 180 C.E. Marcus was a good leader. He spent time with the army fighting off enemies. Marcus expanded Rome further than Augustus did. Marcus was smart because he made everyone use the same money. He named his son Commodus to become emperor after him. Marcus was the last of the five good emperors. -
305
Diocletian Gave Up Power
Diocletian had a hard time ruling. He tried to save the empire. Diocletian improved tax structure and doubled the size of the army. He made a co-emperor to rule the western part of Rome. He made a tetarchi, which is a group of four leaders. The eastern part was ruled by Diocletian because he wanted to rule the wealthier side of Rome. Diocletian gave up power in 305 C.E. He did not pick a new ruler so civil war broke out. -
306
Constantine Was Ruler
Constantine ruled from 306 C.E. to 337 C.E. Civil war broke out within the empire. No one thought that Constantine would win the battle. Before the war, he saw the chiro in the sky which meant that under this sign, you will conquer. The army marked all their shields with the chiro sign. Constantine won the battle. He vowed to become Christian. -
313
Edict of Milan
Constantine wanted to spread Christianity throughout Rome. He granted the freedom to worship. -
330
Capital of Constantinople
Constantine changed the capital of Byzantium to Constantinople. He changed the ideas in culture. He wanted this new capital to be a Christian city. Constantine followed the rulings of Diocletian. -
400
Invasions and Collapse
After the death of Constantine, war broke out and this made the empire weak. There were German tribes that eventually moved into the Roman Empire. The Roman Army could not hold back the invaders. The west had no ruler in control and the east called themselves Roman Emperors. -
410
Visigoths Captured Rome
The Visogoths invaded Rome and stole all their valuables. Rome was falling to a disaster so they could be invaded easily. This left Rome powerless and portions of the empire were crumbling. -
476
End of the Roman Empire
Fall of the Roman EmpireThe last invasion was made by the Ostrogoths. This was the final collapse of Rome. The eastern part of Rome stayed strong and the citizens followed Roman laws. There was not one single event which caused the fall of Rome.The way the Romans ruled their government and conducted their business both led to the fall of Rome. -
Commodus Was Assassinated
Commodus was the first of the poor emperors. He loved to have all the power but did not like to do all the work. During his time as emperor, he spent all his wealth on entertainment. Commodus ruled for twelve years. His own sister wanted to assassinate him because of the bad choices he made. It was not her who killed him, but another man who assassinated him.
