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Analysis Errata Playback Review Sequence of play Summary Variants Carthage timeline Republic of Carthage Founding Fathers Other Rome Games |
| 510 | Rome throws off her Etruscan rulers and establishes its independent republic. |
| 509 | The Etruscan potentate, Lars Porsena, conquers Rome for a short time on behalf of the deposed king. |
| 507 | First treaty with Carthage. The two sides agree to respect the other's sphere of influence. |
| 499 | First Latin War continues to 493 BC. |
| 494 | Volscian War continues to 455 BC. Aequian War continues to 455 BC. First Plebeian succession |
| 485 | Agrarian Unrest |
| 483 | Velentine War continues to 435 BC. |
| 450 | The Twelve Tables adopted. |
| 449 | Second Plebeian succession |
| 439 | Spurius Maelius attempts a coup. |
| 406 | Siege of Veii continues to 396 BC. |
| 390 | Sack of Rome. |
| 358-351 | Tarquinian War |
| 343-341 | First Samnite War |
| 340-338 | Second Latin War |
| 327-304 | Second Samnite War |
| 298-290 | Third Samnite War |
| 287 | Plebeian Revolt |
| 280-272 | Pyrrhic War |
| Early Republic begins. The previous events are covered by Robo's Birth of the Republic variant. | |
| 265 | Carthage and Rome support opposing warring sides in Sicily. |
| 264 | Apius Claudius Caudex enters Sicily with 2 legions and occupies Messana – First Punic War is declared. |
| 263 | Consuls Valerius and Otacilius go to Sicily with 40,000 men. Several Carthaginian towns taken. |
| 262 | Two consuls and 4 legions successfully besiege Agrigentum, Sicily. |
| 261 | Consuls achieve little due to continued Carthaginian naval superiority. |
| 260 | Senate decides to build its first significant fleet – 100 quinquiremes and 20 triremes. The Romans field 160 vessels to the Punics 130. Consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio sails with 17 vessels and is surprised and captured by a Punic squadron, earning him the name Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina (ass). |
| 259 | Consul L. Cornelius Scipio captures Corsica, but attack on Sardinia fails. Carthage gains in Sicily – Aquillius left there as proconsul. |
| 258 | C. Sulpicius defeats a Punic fleet. Aquillius rolls back Punics in Sicily. |
| 257 | Sardinia abandoned by Rome. C. Atilius Regulus raids Malta and sinks 18 enemy vessels. |
| 256 | Roman fleet increased to 250 warships plus 80 transports. Carthaginian fleet grows to slightly smaller number. L. Manlius Vulso and M. Atilius Regulus in action off Sicily capture 50 vessels, sink 30 more, losing 24. They land at Africa, but Senate recalls a consul leaving only 2 legions. |
| 255 | Punic force led by Spartan general Xanthippus defeats Romans in Africa. Losses heavy. Roman fleet of 250 defeats Carthaginian fleet of 200. A storm on the way home destroyed all but 80 of the Roman forces. |
| 254 | Roman fleet is rebuilt to 220 ships. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, having recovered his liberty as well as his dignity, is sent to Sicily with 4 legions. Palermo falls – Carthage reduced to minor holdings. |
| 253 | Unsuccessful Roman raid on Tripolis. Many ships lost in storm. Carthage at war with Numidia. |
| 250 | Romans build 50 new ships. Carthaginian advance on Sicily is halted, their army destroyed. City of Lilybaeum holds, however, during an 8 year siege due to success of Rhodian blockade runners. |
| 249 | P. Claudius Pulcher attacks Carthaginian fleet, but loses 93 vessels. Claudius is recalled and heavily fined. L. Junius Paullus with 120 warships and 800 transports meets a Punic force of 100. Punic commander Carthalo forces the Roman fleet ashore and anticipating a storm, flees – entire Roman fleet wrecked in the tempest. Junius marches ashore on Sicily and takes a strategic crossroads. |
| 248 | Senate, disgusted with fleet losses due to weather, appoints a dictator, but consuls are the cautious ones of 252 and nothing is done. In Carthage, conservative forces come to power and emphasize internal peace and prosperity. |
| 247 | Hamilcar raids South Italian coast. Rome abandons sea ventures. |
| 246 | Hamilcar reverses Punic losses in Sicily. |
| 242 | Roman treasury exhausted. A loan is taken contingent on victory. 200 war ships are built. Under C. Lutatius Catulus, these defeat the Punic fleet, sinking 50 ships, capturing 70 more. Carthage sues for peace. Treaty terms are that Carthage evacuates Sicily and pay 3200 talents in ten annual installments. |
| 237 | Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus occupies coastal cities of Sardinia. |
| 226 | Treaty with Carthage over Iberia defines Ebro River as boundary between spheres. |
| 218 | Hannibal takes Roman-supported town of Saguntum and then marches over the Ebro, into the Alps and invades Italy with the help of Gallic allies. Victory over Cornelius Scipio at Ticinus. Victory at Trebia over Sempronius Longus. Rome defeats Hanno in Spain and Rome is victorious at sea near Lilybaeum – Malta lost to Carthage. |
| 217 | Defeat to Hannibal at Lake Trasimene by Flaminius. |
| 216 | Defeat to Hannibal at Cannae by Terentius Varro. Greek sovereigns Philip V of Macedonia and Hiero of Syracuse join Carthage's cause, though without committing deeply. |
| 214 | Syracuse falls to Roman forces commanded by Marcellus. |
| 210-205 | Scipio with aid of Numidian Prince Massinissa conquers Spain for Rome. Scipio invades Africa, takes Tunis. |
| 204 | Scipio allies with Libyans, Moors and Numidians and Numidian Prince Massinissa to take the war to Africa. Carthage backs rival Numidian Syphax who along with Hasdrubal Gisco is defeated by Scipio in two successive battles. Mago is defeated in northern Italy attempting to reinforce Hannibal. A peace treaty is declared and Hannibal returns to Africa. |
| 202 | Carthaginan attack on Roman convoy which has run aground re-opens the war. Hannibal defeated at Zama to end Second War with Rome. Fleet reduced to ten triremes, domain limited to eastern Tunisia, Massinissa installed as king of the Numidians at Cirta (Constantine), high indemnities imposed and Carthage denied permission to wage war. |
| 200-196 | Hannibal becomes a politician and an extremely effective one, working to eliminate corruption in Carthage. |
| 195 | Rome, alarmed by Hannibal's success, demands that Carthage turn him over. Hannibal escapes to Tyre and then Ephesus, where he is welcomed by Antiochus III of Syria. Hannibal recommends that Antiochus create a fleet to counter the Roman menace, but he is not heeded. |
| 191 | Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio rout Antiochus at Thermopylae. |
| 190 | Romans under Scipio Asiaticus rout Antiochus in Magnesia ad Sipylum, Anatolia. Antiochus now puts Hannibal in charge of a fleet, but it is defeated at the Eurymedon River. Antiochus seems ready to turn him over to the Romans; Hannibal flees, first to Crete, then back to Bithynia, where he served in the war against Rome's ally, winning multiple land and naval victories. |
| 183 | Rome begins to menace Bithynia directly and its ruler seems ready to give Hannibal over. At the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara Hannibal takes poison to escape them. |
| Early Republic ends and Middle Republic begins (in terms of the game rather than conventions historians use). | |
| 171-168 | 3rd Macedonian War |
| 151 | Numantine War begins and continues to 133 BC. |
| 150 | 4th Macedonian War and continues to 148 BC. |
| 149 | "Delenda est Carthago," declares Cato the Elder. Rome declares war on Carthage in retaliation for treaty violation. 3rd Punic begins. Spanish Revolts begin and continue to 139 BC. |
| 146 | Carthage falls to Scipio Aemilianus. Tiberius Gracchus is the most distinguished young officer in the war. He is the first to scale Carthage's walls; before that he saved an army of 20,000 men by skilled diplomacy. Carthage is burnt to the ground. |
| 138 | Spanish leader Viriathus dies. |
| 135 | 1st Sicilian Slave Revolt begins and continues to 132 BC. |
| 133 | Tiberius Gracchus elected tribune. He pushes land bills to to help the needy. The Senate and its supporters club Tiberius and three hundred supporters to death. Pergamene Bequest appears. |
| Except that it makes the decks unbalanced in size, this two decade gap between wars would have been the more historical place to split between the Middle and Late eras. | |
| 123 | Gaius Gracchus elected tribune and more practical than his brother, builds a broad coalition. He passes many measures. |
| 122 | Gaius Gracchus re-elected tribune, though this was against custom. Another tribune vetoes his plan to extend rights to non-Romans. Gracchus commits suicide before the mob can reach him. Of his work, only his laws distributing grain to the poor remain. |
| 112-106 | Jugurthine War |
| 105 | Germanic Migrations. The invasion of the Republic by the Cimbri and Teutones continues to 101 BC. |
| 104 | The 2nd Sicilian Slave Revolt and continues to 100 BC. The game also has the 1st Cilician Pirates start at this point, though it is not apparent in the histories. Perhaps it is just there to ensure there are enough wars in the Middle Deck. |
| Middle Republic ends and Late Republic begins. | |
| 100 | Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, tame tribune of Gaius Marius, has his election rival for the tribuneship killed. The Senate asks its leading man, Gaius Marius, to take the matter in hand and he defeats Saturninus' gang in the forum and in the Capitol where they take refuge. Marius intends to take them to trial, but aristocrats climb to the roof and stone Saturninus and others to death. Populists see this as a defeat for their side and Marius is so embarrassed that he absents himself from politics until the Social War. Julius Caesar is born. |
| 96 | Ptolemy Apion Bequest |
| 91 | The Social War. Tribune Marcus Livius Drusus attempts to grant citizenship to everyone in the Italian peninsula. As a consequence he is murdered by senatorial agents and the Social War of Rome against her Italian allies begins; it continues to 88 BC. Livius adopted son was Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, father of the later empress Livia, wife of Augustus. |
| 89 | 1st Mithridatic War begins. Consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla assumes command against the war, which continues to 85 BC. |
| 88 | Already away from Rome, Sulla discovers that the Senate and his command have been hijacked by Gaius Marius. Sulla and his Social War veterans march on Rome, an unprecedented violation of custom that Sulla attempts to justify by reason of so many senators having been ejected. Sulla victorious, Marius (and many of his followers) are condemned to death, but he escapes to Africa province (the former Carthage). Sulla restructures Rome's politics and resumes his effort against Mithridates, along the way razing the tomb of Lars Porsena to the ground. |
| 86 | Gaius Marius dies, having been consul an unprecedented seven times. |
| 83 | While Sulla is away, Rome's leaders again set themselves
against him so he resolves to march on the city
a second time, with five legions. After winning three quick victories,
he gains many supporters including Marcus Licinius Crassus who brings
an army from Hispania and young Gnaeus Pompeius, who raises an army from the
veterans of his father Pompeius Strabo.
The 2nd Mithridatic War begins and will continue to 81 BC |
| 82 | After several battles in the Italian peninsula, forces of the two sides meet at Rome's Colline Gate where Crassus' forces manage to turn the enemy flank and Sulla is victorious. Over 50,000 Romans lose their lives. The Senate appoints Sulla dictator and he begins Proscriptions, a program of executing without trials those perceived to be enemies of the state. |
| 81 | Sulla resigns the dictatorship, but will be elected consul in 80. Julius Caesar will later mock the resignation. |
| 80 | The Sertorian Revolt begins and continues to 72 BC. |
| 78 | Sulla dies in retirement in his villa at the coast. |
| 75 | Bithynian Bequest. 3rd Mithridatic War begins and will continue to 63 BC. |
| 73 | Gladiator Slave Revolt begins and continues to 71 BC. |
| 67 | 2nd Cilician Pirates and continues to 66 BC. |
| 63 | Catiline Conspiracy. The Roman patrician Lucius Sergius Catilina, disappointed in his attempt to win the consulship, initiates a conspiracy to overthrow Rome, or at least such is claimed by Marcus Tullius Cicero, consul at the time. He made the cause a populist one by rallying many of the poor to his side, along with many of Sulla's veterans, many of them in debt. Debt had never been greater in the Republic. Cicero obtains from the Senate the Senatus consultum ultimum or Final decree of the Senate, a limited form of the dicatorship which had been previously used against the Gracchus brothers. This he uses to condemn five conspirators to death without even a trial. The protest speech by Julius Caesar was a hint of things to come. After this, Catilina suffers many desertions and in battle his army is outnumbered. Seeing how it was going, he throws himself into the thick of battle and is killed. Mithridates VI dies. |
| 60 | The First Triumvirate is formed. Although never official, this political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus effectively control Rome until 53 BC. |
| 58-56 | 2nd Gallic War |
| 55 | Invasion of Germany. Julius Caesar repels an incursion into Gaul by Germanic tribes the Usipetes and Tencteri, and follows it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and making a show of force in their territory, before returning and dismantling the bridge. |
| 55-54 | Invasion of Britain. Late in the summer, Julius Caesar crosses to Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided the Veneti against him the previous year. His intelligence poor, he gains only a beachhead on the Kent coast and is unable to advance further and returned to Gaul for the winter. He returns the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, to achieve more. He advances inland, establishes Mandubracius of the Trinovantes as a friendly king and brings his rival, Cassivellaunus, to terms. |
| 53 | Parthian War. Crassus initiates war with the Parthians only to succumb to the devastating effectiveness of the Parthian/parting shots delivered as their horsemen ride away with impunity. Crassus is captured and killed and only a few Romans, led by Cassius, return home. A captured legion disappears and may end up in Central Asia or China. Crassus' death ends the balance of power created by the triumvirate and begins a dangerous rivalry between Caesar and Pompey. |
| 52-50 | 3rd Gallic War |
| 49 | Julius Caesar decides to cross the Rubicon with his army intact, thus declaring himself in rebellion against Rome and initiating the Roman Civil War. |
| 48-47 | Alexandrine War |
| 46 | Vercingetorix dies. |
| 44 | Julius Caesar plans invasion of the Parthians, but Senators led by Cassius and Brutus murder him before he can set out. |
For the later history of the empire, see the background to ROME IN CRISIS.