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Roman Emperors Timeline

(27 BCE–476 CE)

This timeline presents the major Roman emperors and the key events that shaped the Roman Empire, from its foundation under Augustus through the decline of the Western Empire. Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Imperial government

Separate entries for early co-emperors

27 BC - 400

Accounts of Roman emperors give co-emperors their own entries through the fourth century, reflecting the importance of shared imperial rule.

Image source: Roman emperor

Separate entries for early co-emperors

Establishment of the Principate

27 BC

Augustus instituted the style of government known as the Principate, establishing the political framework that would govern the Roman Empire for centuries.

Image source: Principate

Establishment of the Principate

Continuation of the Principate

27 BC - 284

The Principate continued from the reign of Augustus until the late third or early fourth century, while emperors retained republican institutions alongside their dominant authority.

Five centuries of western imperial government

27 BC - 476

The imperial government of the Roman Empire remained generally accepted during approximately five centuries of Roman rule in the west.

Image source: Roman Empire

Five centuries of western imperial government

Byzantine continuity

Fifteen centuries of eastern imperial government

27 BC - 1453

In the east, Roman imperial government continued for roughly fifteen centuries, despite repeated political, military, and territorial crises.

Image source: Byzantine Empire

Fifteen centuries of eastern imperial government

Emergence of the Byzantine Empire

395

Historians typically refer to the empire in the centuries after the late Roman period as the Byzantine Empire, although its rulers continued the Roman imperial tradition.

Byzantine emperors govern the eastern empire

395 - 1453

The eastern Roman state was governed by Byzantine emperors, maintaining an imperial line that continued until the fall of Constantinople.

Image source: List of Byzantine emperors

Byzantine emperors govern the eastern empire

Justinian’s western reconquests

527 - 565

Under Justinian I in the sixth century, a large portion of the former western empire was retaken, including Italy, Africa, and part of Spain.

Image source: Justinian I

Justinian’s western reconquests

Retaking of Africa

533 - 534

Byzantine forces retook Africa under Justinian, recovering a major former western imperial region.

Image source: Vandalic War

Retaking of Africa

Retaking of Italy

535 - 554

Justinian’s forces reconquered Italy as part of the sixth-century effort to restore substantial western imperial territories.

Image source: Gothic War (535–554)

Retaking of Italy

Retaking of part of Spain

552 - 624

Justinian’s eastern Roman government recovered part of Spain during the sixth-century expansion of Byzantine control.

Loss of most imperial territories

600 - 1453

Over the centuries after Justinian, most imperial territories were lost, progressively reducing the empire’s geographical extent.

Empire restricted to Anatolia and the Balkans

1204 - 1453

Continued territorial losses eventually restricted the empire largely to Anatolia and the Balkans.

Frankokratia begins

1204 - 1261

Roman rule in Constantinople was interrupted when crusaders captured and sacked the city in 1204, establishing the Frankokratia.

Image source: Frankokratia

Frankokratia begins

Crusader capture and sack of Constantinople

1204

The capture and sack of Constantinople by the crusaders interrupted Roman rule in the city and led to the creation of Latin-controlled territories.

Image source: Sack of Constantinople

Crusader capture and sack of Constantinople

Constantinople returns to Roman rule

1261

After the Frankokratia, Constantinople returned to Roman imperial rule, although the empire remained territorially diminished.

Death of Constantine XI Palaiologos

1453

The imperial line continued until Constantine XI Palaiologos died during the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Image source: Constantine XI Palaiologos

Death of Constantine XI Palaiologos

Fall of Constantinople

1453

The fall of Constantinople ended the surviving Roman imperial state when the city and its remaining territories were conquered by the Ottoman Turks.

Image source: Fall of Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople

Ottoman conquest under Mehmed II

1453

Sultan Mehmed II led the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople and the remaining territories of the Roman imperial line.

Image source: Mehmed II

Ottoman conquest under Mehmed II

Civil war and succession

Succession conflicts after Commodus

192 - 476

From the murder of Commodus until the fifth century, scarcely a decade passed without succession conflicts or civil war.

Murder of Commodus

192

The murder of Commodus in 192 marked the beginning of an era in which succession conflicts and civil wars became especially persistent.

Image source: Commodus

Murder of Commodus

Perpetual civil wars

192 - 476

The imperial succession repeatedly generated civil wars, as competing generals, claimants, and political factions challenged individual emperors.

Reduced Senate influence during the crisis

235 - 285

By the Crisis of the Third Century, the Senate’s traditional role in legitimising emperors had almost disappeared.

Image source: Crisis of the Third Century

Reduced Senate influence during the crisis

Crisis of the Third Century

235 - 285

The Crisis of the Third Century brought repeated usurpations, civil wars, and military challenges that transformed the way imperial authority was exercised.

Rise of imperial usurpation

235 - 285

The third-century crisis exemplified the recurring challenge of usurpation, with rival rulers claiming imperial authority through military support.

Year of the Four Emperors

69

The Year of the Four Emperors demonstrated that emperors could be acclaimed by armies in the provinces rather than crowned in Rome.

Image source: Year of the Four Emperors

Year of the Four Emperors

Provincial armies acclaim emperors

69

The events of 69 showed that provincial armies could elevate rival claimants and determine imperial succession far from Rome.

Late Roman transformation

Imperial courts move toward frontiers

270 - 300

Several emperors and usurpers began placing their courts in other cities closer to the empire’s frontiers.

Image source: Tetrarchy

Imperial courts move toward frontiers

Growth of non-Roman imperial residences

270 - 300

The movement of imperial courts away from Rome made frontier cities increasingly important centers of imperial government.

Rome loses practical centrality

270 - 300

By the end of the third century, Rome’s importance was mainly ideological rather than administrative or strategic.

Adoption of dominus noster

284

Diocletian adopted the title dominus noster, meaning “our lord,” reflecting the more openly autocratic character of late imperial rule.

End of the Principate

284 - 305

The reforms associated with Diocletian marked the transition away from the Principate toward the later imperial system commonly called the Dominate.

Diocletian’s imperial reforms

284

After the Crisis of the Third Century, Diocletian increased the authority of the emperor and reshaped the imperial system.

Image source: Diocletian

Diocletian’s imperial reforms

Expansion of co-emperorship

300 - 400

The late imperial system increasingly included multiple emperors, including junior rulers and child co-emperors.

Child co-emperors appear

300 - 400

From the fourth century onward, many imperial figures were children who held the title of co-emperor without ruling in their own right.

Key Facts

  1. Augustus became Rome’s first emperor in 27 BCE after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra, establishing the principate.
  2. The Pax Romana, beginning under Augustus, brought extended periods of relative peace and stability across much of the empire.
  3. The Five Good Emperors—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—ruled during a period of political stability and territorial expansion.
  4. Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity through the Edict of Milan in 313 CE and founded Constantinople as a new imperial capital.
  5. Romulus Augustulus was deposed in 476 CE, traditionally marking the fall of the Western Roman Empire, while the Eastern Roman Empire continued until 1453.

Source

This Roman Emperors timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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