The Rome IndexAncient Rome 101
Republic, Empire, fall — the essential history in plain language.
The Kingdom (753–509 BC)
Rome's founding period under its seven kings, ending when the last king, Tarquinius Superbus, was expelled and the Republic declared. Most of this period is semi-legendary — the line between myth and history blurs significantly before about 390 BC.
The Republic (509–27 BC)
Rome governed itself through a Senate and two annually elected consuls, expanding from a city-state to a Mediterranean empire over five centuries. Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC triggered the civil wars that ended the Republic.
The Empire (27 BC–476 AD)
Augustus became the first emperor in 27 BC, beginning five centuries of imperial rule. At its peak under Trajan (98–117 AD), the Roman Empire covered 5 million square kilometres. The western empire fell in 476 AD; the eastern (Byzantine) empire continued until 1453.
The fall
Not a single event but a long process — military pressure, economic strain, political instability and the gradual transfer of power to regional rulers over two centuries. The city of Rome's population fell from around a million at its peak to perhaps 20,000 by the early medieval period.