istoryworld
Events relating to rome
The Colossus, a giant statue of Helios the sun god, is erected beside the harbour of Rhodes
Pyrrhus lands in Italy, with 25,000 men and 20 elephants, to fight for the Greek colony of Tarentum against the Romans
On the small Greek island of Samos an astronomer, Aristarchus, comes to the startling conclusion that the earth is in orbit round the sun
A clash in Sicily, between Rome and Carthage, leads to the First Punic War
The first gladiatorial contests in Rome are part of the entertainment at a funeral, and soon become popular
A Carthaginian quinquereme, captured by the Romans, is used as the model for the first Roman fleet - constructed in two months
The Romans evolve a system of numerals which, until the end of the Middle Ages, is a handicap to western arithmetic
A Roman naval victory at Trapani, off the northwest tip of Sicily, completes the blockade of the Carthaginians and ends the First Punic War
At the end of the First Punic War, Sicily becomes Rome's first overseas province
Spain, with its mines of gold, silver and copper, is a hotly disputed region between Carthage and Rome
Sardinia and Corsica are annexed by Rome, becoming the second Roman overseas province
A treaty defines the Ebro river as the Spanish boundary between Carthage and Rome
Hannibal crosses the Alps with his elephants, beginning the Second Punic War
Hannibal destroys a Roman army at Cannae, in the most severe defeat ever suffered by Rome
Hannibal suffers his first decisive defeat by a Roman army, at an unidentified site in north Africa called Zama
Carthaginian Spain is handed over to Rome to become two new provinces, at the end of the Second Punic War
The Romans, after defeating Macedon, announce at the Isthmian Games that all Greek states are now free under Roman protection
Sparta's ancient political system comes to an end, but the ordeal by flogging lingers on as a tourist attraction in the temple of Artemis
Plautus and Terence, in the second and third century BC, create a Roman drama based on Greek originals
The Roman statesman Cato the Elder writes Origines ('Origins'), a history of Rome which survives only in fragments
Rome picks a quarrel with Carthage to begin the Third Punic War
Carthage is destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War
A secret ballot is instituted for Roman citizens, who mark their vote on a tablet and place it in an urn
The Greek astronomer Hipparchus, mapping the stars, observes but cannot explain the precession of the equinoxes
Hipparchus completes the first scientific star catalogue, mapping some 850 stars
