The Servian Wall was a defensive barrier encircling the city of Rome, built after the Gauls sacked the city around 390 BCE. Ancient tradition attributed it to the sixth king, Servius Tullius, which gave it its name, but archaeology shows that it dates from the Republic. The wall was made of large blocks of tufa, a volcanic stone, and enclosed all seven hills along a circuit of roughly eleven kilometers. As Rome grew and became secure, the wall lost its military importance and was built over, so that by the time of Augustus it was largely obsolete. The city had no new circuit until the Aurelian Walls were erected in the 270s CE. Sections of the Servian Wall can still be seen, notably near Termini station and on the Aventine.
Before and after
- c. 375 BCEWriting of the Allegory of the Cave
- 375 BCEBirth of Chanakya
- 370 BCEDeath of Hippocrates
- 20 July 356 BCEBirth of Alexander the Great
- 4th century BCEOrigins of Servian Wall
- from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- from 343 BCE to 290 BCESamnite Wars
- 342 BCEBirth of Epicurus
- from 341 BCE to 338 BCESecond Latin War
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,200 BCEIron Age
- c. 700s BCEConstruction of Great Wall of China
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Parthenon
- 81 CEConstruction of Colosseum
- 11 May 330 CEConstantine dedicates Constantinople
- from 476 CE to 1492Middle Ages
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.