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Late Roman Timeline
250 AD - 550 ADBy Robert Vermaat
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For the studies of the
period I found it was very useful to start with a
timeline of the events. However, I found that no
such timeline existed, or those that did exist
either did not cover my period of choice or
concentrated on other affairs. So I decided to
make my own. Copyright notice:
everyone who wants to use this document, please
do so. The only thing I want in return is that
you give me credit for my hard work! (The map
below is from Wikipedia)
Roman Empire from 510 BC to 480 AD
The period of this timeline is arbitrarely, it
represents what I personally consider to be
roughly the Late Roman period. The sharp break of
250 AD as the start of that period, as well as
the break at 550 as the start of the Byzantine
period, is made purely for the sake of
convenience. I could have chosen the first
soldier-Emperor, or the death of Justinian, but I
consider those (though more pleasing as they
might be) no less artificial than the dates
chosen here.The
Emperors in this timeline are not distinguished
from the usurpers, all are shown in the left
column. Some usurpers were recognised but still
died as usurpers (Magnus Maximus is one), some
were recognised and are now accepted as
legitimate (such as in the case of Constantine
the Great). I therefore chose not to make any
distinction between those emperors elevated by
the Senate, their father or by a bunch of
soldiers, all are included.
I did not include
Caesars or Empresses. I did however, especially
towards the end of the 4th century and after,
include the power brokers behind the throne, but
between brackets and without any regnal years.
The regnal years
of each ruler may differ in sources and are open
to discussion. I based them in a number of
sources and used the dates most agreed upon.
The events covered in this timeline are mainly
military and political.
Emperors (and
unsuccessful usurpers alike) are given with years
in the left columns, making no difference between
legitimity nor the Eastern or Western halves of
the Empire.
The right-hand columns show the year and the
major political and military events, if possible
with the actual date. Some dates may be disputed
because they cannot be known with complete
certainty. About some dates the available sources
differ of opinion. Ancient place names are given
in italics with (if possible) the modern
versions between brackets.
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I have included a table of
consuls because in Antiquity, consular years were
used in historical sources as a means of
reference. Years did not have numbers but
referred either to the regnal year of the emperor
or to the annual magistrates -- "the year
when x and y were consul", the basis of
marking time in the Fasti Capitolini. Under the Empire, two
consuls were appointed for a year, and the
emperor or his family were often consuls for
several years in succession. During the
Tetrarchy and the Dominate the position of consul
became honorary and temporary, and consuls
sometimes did not bother to take up office, some
leaving office after only a few weeks. Their
office was then taken by suffecti, with the year
being referred to as "the first year after
so-and-so was consul". During some years
there was just one consul, or none at all. Magnus Maximus first
introduced a specific consul for the West and the
two consuls were gradually split anyway between
Rome and Constantinople.
The names are
mostly from the fith century list by Victorius of Aquitaine. Victorinus published this
Easter Table in 457 AD, but it was later extended
to the year 559 AD (or Anno Passio 532, hence the
name, Cursus Paschalis annorum DXXXII). I
have used the names from this list as Mommsen
edited them, including those after 457 until 541,
when the emended Victorian list continues but
after which the consulate in the East was merged
with imperial titles. I have emended the entries
between the years AD 276 and AD 345, because the
consuls named by Victorius are one year off with
the consuls named in the 'Chronochraphy of 354' (also named 'Calendar of
354'), a 4th century illuminated manuscript,
which was produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman
Christian named Valentius. This MS contains (part
VIII) a list of Roman consuls up to 354 AD.
All names are
given in the ablative case: e.g. "Sergius"
is given as "Sergio". This is
because the formula is the ablative absolute
"Limenio et Catulino (consulibus)" =
"when Limenius and Catulinus were consuls".
For a full list of names and annotations looke here.
The Timeline is
cut into 4 parts for the sake of convenience:
I've left out the
religious events, which surely had their
influences on the political events, but the pages
would be too long if I had included them. I did
however add a few natural disasters.
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Bibliography 
Years and events:
- Demandt, Alexander (1998): Geschichte der
Spätantike. Das Römische Reich von Diocletian
bis Justinian 284 – 565 n. Chr., (München).
- Drinkwater, J.F.
and Hugh Elton eds. (1992): Fifth-century Gaul:
a Crisis of Identity?, (Cambridge).
- Fischer, Thomas (2001): Spätzeit und
Ende, in: Czysz, Wolfgang von, et al: Die
Römer in Bayern, (Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart),
pp. 358-404.
- Gregory of Tours: The History of the
Franks, trans. Lewis Thorpe, (St Ives 1974).
- Hoffmann, Dietrich (1969): Das
Spätrömische Bewegungsheer und die Notitia
Dignitatum, 2 vols., Epigraphische Studien 1,
(Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn).
- Jones, A.H.M. (1964): The Later Roman
Empire, 284-602, A Social, Economic and
Administrative Survey, 2 vols. (Oxford paperback
1990).
- Kemkes, Martin et
al (2002):
Am Rande des Imperiums, Der Limes - Grenze Roms
zu den Barbaren, (Limesmuseum Aalen).
- Muhlberger, Steven (1990): The Fifth
Century Chroniclers. Prosper, Hydatius and the
Gallic Chronicler of 452, (Leeds).
- Southern, Pat and
Karen Dixon (1996):
The Late Roman Army, (Routledge).
Emperors:
Consuls:
Church:
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