Date Timeline for the Althist Seven Roman States.
200s-300's: The declining Roman Empire[]
- 285 A.D.--Under Diocletian, the political division of the Roman Empire begins when he divides the Roman Empire in half, appointing Maximian as Western Roman emperor.
- 293 A.D.--The Roman Empire is again divided, this time experimentally into four. Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were appointed as their subordinates (Caesars), creating the First Tetrarchy.
- 312 A.D.--Constantine the Great ends division of the Western Roman Empire by defeating the usurper Maxentius.
- 313 A.D.--Point of Divergence: Maximinus, Caesar of the Syria and Egypt, invades the Greek portion of the Eastern Roman Empire, which is under the administration of Licinius. Licinius defeats Maximinus at the Battle of Tzirallum, but does not pursue the retreating enemy forces into the Asiatic provinces. Thus, this leaves a solid Western Roman Empire and a divided Eastern one.
- 323 A.D.-- Licinius crushes an invasion by Constantine at Byzantium in a great naval battle. This forces the Western emperor to withdraw, and the East remains evenly divided.
- 337 A.D.--Constantine dies in the Western Roman Empire. His son Flavius Julius Constantius seizes power by having the rest of his father's family brutally murdered.
- 361 A.D.--Julian takes power as emperor of the Western empire.
- 370 A.D.--Julian is murdered in Rome by his own soldiers.
- 376 A.D.--The Visigoths arrive on the borders of the Empire of Licinius (known as the Empire of Pannonia). They demand to be settled, and when the Pannonian emperor, Licinius II, refuses, they ravage the Balkans. The aged emperor is subsequently killed at the Battle of Adrianople.
- 377 A.D.--Following a series of military usurpers, the general Procopius, groomed as a candidate by the Empire of Maximinus (known as the Nicomedian Empire), seizes power over the Western Roman Empire.
- 385 A.D.--Magnus Maximus, a popular Roman military commander in Britain, deposes Procopius and takes the throne of the Western empire.
- 389 A.D.--Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, Praetorian prefect in Italy, assassinates Magnus Maximus and makes himself emperor of the West.
- 399 A.D.--Flavius Rufinus seizes the throne of the West and makes himself emperor. He begins a dispute with the Empire of Pannonia over Illyricum.
- 401 A.D.--Alaric, king of the Goths, invades Italy. The Western Roman emperor is able to pay him a large bribe to stay away. The Romans retreat from Britain.
- 406 A.D.--The Crossing of the Rhine occurs as Vandal, Suebi, and Alan tribes pour into the Western Roman Empire. The local garrisons clash with them as they do so, but are unable to fend them off. A civil war in Rome prevents aid from being sent to that portion of the empire.
- 407 A.D.--Alaric the Goth invades Italy again. A Roman commander, Stilicho, previously in prison for treason, is released merely to deal with the Goths. Stilicho repels Alaric from the walls of Rome itself.
- 408 A.D.--Stilicho is placed back in prison by Flavius Rufinus. Alaric is given a land grant in Italy to appease him.
- 409 A.D.--Alaric lays siege to Rome again. He and the Senate appoint a new emperor, Priscus Attalus. They refuse to recognize Rufinus, going so far as to have him assassinated when he plans to seize Rome by force from Ravenna.
- 410 A.D.--The Goths, after the death of Alaric, accuse the Senate of trying to assassinate him and sack Rome. The Senate regroups in the little town of Matheola, Italy. A falling-out with Priscus Attalus leads them to have him murdered and assume power themselves. This causes instability as the Senate, so long dependent on the emperor, tries to support itself as a government once again.
- 415 A.D.--An ambitious young military officer, Procopius, having recently been forced to flee the Empire of Pannonia after attempting to usurp the throne there, takes power over the Western Roman Empire after a series of competing military generals.
- 423 A.D.--Procopius is killed by Flavius Aetius, a Western politician and general who recognizes him as of some military talent, but a fool in politics and administration.
- 429 A.D.--Bonifacius, former governor of Roman Africa and staunch opponent of Aetius, conspires with the Senate, now ruling southern Italy as a virtually independent state, to have Aetius overthrown. The Senate refuses to aid him.
- 431 A.D.--Flavius Felix, a Roman politician, finally kills Aetius in Ravenna and takes the throne for himself.
- 439 A.D.--The Vandals capture Carthage and establish their own kingdom.
- 441 A.D.--United under their own ruler, Attila, the Huns invade the Balkans. The Empire of Pannonia is ravaged.
- 444 A.D.--Pannonia surrenders, and is forced to pay a huge ransom to the Huns after they almost take Sirmium.
- 452 A.D.--Attila the Hun, having ravaged Gaul, is stopped at last when Flavius Felix has him assassinated.
- 454 A.D.--The Gepids strike a death blow to Attila's Hunnic empire when they crush the Huns at the Battle of Nedao. The Empire of Pannonia subsequently takes advantage of this to retake much of their lost Illyrian territory.
- 455 A.D.--Flavius Felix dies, leaving no heirs. Petronius Maximus becomes emperor in his place. The Western Roman Empire is ravaged by the Vandals, who sack Rome. Maximus flees to Milan.
- 456 A.D.--Petronius is deposed by Ricimer, a Germanic general. Majorian is appointed in his place.
- 459 A.D.--Majoran fails to reconquer North Africa for the West, but manages to secure northern Italy and parts of Spain. The ground is quickly lost when Ricimer deposes him.
- 473 A.D.--After a series of puppet emperors, Ricimer dies and Julius Nepos, a Roman general, takes the throne. He is not recognized by the Senate.
- 493 A.D.--Broken down to nothing but northern and central Italy (and nominally southern Italy as well; despite the Senate being in control there), the Western Roman Empire goes into full decline with the murder of Julius Nepos.