A sudden eruption of Vesuvius buries the town of Pompeii in volcanic ash, in places twelve feet deep

The Colosseum is inaugurated by the emperor Titus with games lasting 100 days, in which some 9000 large animals are killed

Tacitus begins his career with two specialized but influential works of history, one on Britain and the other on Germany

Trajan, succeeding to the imperial throne in AD 98, is sufficiently confident to spend a year in Germany before returning to Rome

A cult develops in Rome of the Egyptian goddess Isis, credited with restoring to life her hushand, Osiris, after he has been hacked to pieces

After two campaigns by Trajan the rich region of Dacia (today's Romania) is brought under Rome's control

Hadrian, governing Syria when he is declared emperor, is confident enough to delay almost a year before returning to Rome

The Pantheon, roofed with the most spectacular dome of antiquity, is built in Rome by Hadrian

Suetonius, librarian to Trajan and personal secretary to Hadrian, is well placed to research his racy Lives of the Caesars

The Sant'Angelo bridge in Rome, still standing today, is built for the emperor Hadrian by means of a coffer dam

The bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, on the Capitol in Rome, begins a long European tradition of public sculpture

Plotinus, moving from Alexandria to Rome, teaches the influential philosophy later known as Neo-Platonism

The Christians of Rome use the catacombs as tomb chambers, and decorate the walls with murals on New Testament themes

The emperor Aurelian, grateful for the apparent assistance of a Syrian sun god, establishes the cult of the Unconquered Sun - whose birthday is December 25

Constantine, preparing for battle against a rival at the Milvian Bridge, orders his men to wear a Christian symbol, the Chi-Rho, on their shields

After winning the battle at Milvian Bridge, Constantine marches into Rome and is formally acknowledged by the Senate as Augustus of the west

Constantine founds several churches in Rome, among them the first St Peter's

Constantine's new churches in Rome introduce an important element in church architecture, the transept

Greece begins to find a new and influential role in a Christian context, through the Byzantine empire

St Jerome settles in Bethlehem, where his holy women organize a monastery for his residence and a nearby convent for themselves

The church of Santa Pudenziana in Rome begins the great tradition of Christian mosaics

The ancient games at Olympia, with an unbroken tradition of more than 1000 years, are brought to an abrupt end by the emperor Theodosius

St Jerome, in Bethlehem, completes the Latin translation of the Bible which later becomes known as the Vulgate

Alaric and the Visigoths enter Rome and plunder the city - the first foreign intruders for eight centuries

Prompted by the fall of Rome to the Visigoths, St Augustine undertakes a great work of Christian philosophy, the City of God