Fifth Decade of the Common Era

41

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus & Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus
24 January: Shortly after declaring himself a god, Gaius Caligula Germanicus, emperor from 37-41, is assassinated by two Praetorian tribunes. His uncle Tiberius Claudius Nero Drusus is proclaimed emperor by the Praetorians.
Claudius restores religious freedom to Jews throughout the empire but prohibits Jews in Rome from proselytising.
Judæa ruled by Herod Agrippa (41-44).
China: Emperor Guangwu deposes his wife, Guo Shentong, as empress & creates his consort Yin Lihua empress in her place.

42

Roman Empire: Consuls are Emperor Claudius & Gaius Caecina Largus.
Korea: Suro becomes the first king of Geumgwan Gaya.
Vietnam: The Chinese General Ma Yuan occupies Tonkin & Annam with 20,000 troops to the imperial capital Hue.
The patriotic sisters Trung Trac & Trung Nhi commit suicide by drowning themselves.

43

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Claudius Caesar & Lucius Vitellius
Aulus Plautius lands in Britain with four legions (20,000 men) & the same number of auxiliaries at Rutupiae (Richborough), on the east coast of Kent & defeats the Britons, led by Caratacus & Togodumnus, in battles on the rivers Medway & Tamesis (Thames). He halts at the Thames & sends for Emperor Claudius, who leads the march on Camulodunum. Eleven British kings, probably including those of the Iceni & Brigantes, submit without a fight. Meanwhile, Titus Flavius Vespasianus begins the subjugation of the south-west. The Romans begin to construct forts & a road that later becomes Ermine Street. At the battle of Medway the British under Caractacus are defeated by Roman legions under Ostorius Scaopula.
The Romans will establish a settlement on the Tamesis (Thames) River where a bridge is built that will become the city of London.
Caratacus, also known as Caradoc, chief of the Catuvellauni, mounts a guerrilla uprising against the Romans. His uprising will ultimately fail after betrayal by the Brigantian queen, Cartimandua. He will be taken to Rome where he will take part in Emperor Claudius’ Triumph.
Claudius annexes Lycia in Asia Minor, combining it with Pamphylia as a Roman province.

44

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus & Titus Statiliu Taurus
Emperor Claudius returns from his British campaign in triumph, the southeast part of Britannia now held by the Roman Empire, but war will rage there for another decade & a half.
King Herod Agrippa dies. Judea becomes province of the Empire.
Britain: Boudicca weds Prasutagus, king of the British Celtic tribe the Iceni.

45

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Vinicius & Sabinus
Emperor Claudius founds Savaria (Szombathely) in Pannonia.
China: Expedition of General Ma Yuan against the Xiongnu & the Xianbei (in Manchuria) takes place.

46

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Decimus Valerius Asiaticus & Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus
A census shows that there are more than 6,000,000 Roman citizens.
Roimitalkes III of the Thracian Kingdom of Sapes is assassinated. After the death of its king, Thracia becomes a Roman province.
Dobruja is annexed to Roman Moesia.

47

Roman Empire: Frisians submit to Roman rule.
The Chauci, a powerful Germanic tribe, raid Roman lands on the lower Rhine.
Plutarch, Greek historian, is born.
First recorded use of the term “Christian” occurs in Antioch, home of one of the earliest Christian churches.

49

Roman Empire: The Jerusalem Council meets & proclaims that Gentiles do not have to become Jews to be Christians.

48

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Aulus Vitellius & Lucius Vipstanus Poplicola
Publius Ostorius Scapula, governor of Britain, announces his intention to disarm all Britons south & east of the rivers Trent & Severn. The Iceni, an independent, allied kingdom within that area, revolt but are defeated. Ostorius then moves against the Deceangli in north Wales but is forced to abandon the campaign to deal with a revolt among the allied Brigantes.
Gallic nobles are admitted to the Roman Senate. Claudius grants the rights of citizenship to the Aedui.
Emperor Claudius invests Agrippa II with the office of superintendent of the Temple in Jerusalem.
After the execution of his wife Messalina, Claudius gets senatorial approval to marry his niece, Agrippina the Younger.
Asia: The Hsiung-nu Empire dissolves.

50

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Vetus & Nerullinus
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne, Koeln) is raised to the status of a city.
Emperor Claudius adopts Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (Nero), son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus & Agrippina the Younger, as his heir. He takes the name Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus.
Claudius appoints Agrippa II governor of Chalcis.
In Britain, Governor Publius Ostorius Scapula begins a military campaign against the recalcitrant Silures of south Wales, led by the former Catuvellaunian prince Caratacus. Londinium (London), Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter), Tripontium (Rugby) & the fort of Manduessedum (Atherstone) are founded.
In Judea a Roman soldier burns a Torah-scroll. Procurator Cumanus has the culprit beheaded, calming the Jews & delaying for two decades the outbreak of their revolt.
Philo of Alexandria, Jewish philosopher, dies.
The Iazyges settle in the plain east of the Tisza River.
Hero of Alexandria invents a steam turbine.
Germany: Vannius, king of the Suebi, is driven from power by Vibilius, king of the Hermunduri; his nephews Vangio & Sido obtain power in his kingdom.
Poland: The Gothic Kingdom is established on the lower Vistula.
Africa: Christianity is introduced throughout Nubia by a high official of Queen Judith.
India: The Satavahana Dynasty begins rule over the Andhra Kingdom in northwestern Deccan.
Central Asia: The Tocharian or 5 tribes of Yüeh-chih tribes are united under the Kushan leader Kujula Kadphises. The invasion of the Yüeh-chih from Bactria & their unification results in the formation of the Kushan Empire.
Graeco-Buddhist Gandharan culture reaches its height.

Fourth Decade of the Common Era

31

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filius Augustus & Lucius Aelius Seianus
Seianus is named co-Consul to the Emperor Tiberius. However, Tiberius becomes aware of his treachery & has him arrested. Tiberius returns to Rome from Capri.
18 September: Sejanus, head of Praetorian Guard in Rome, is executed on Tiberius’ orders. Naevius Sutorius Macro becomes the leader of the Praetorian Guard after Sejanus is executed.

32

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulshiop of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus & Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus
Lucius Calpurnius Piso, consul under Caesar Augustus, dies.

33

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Servius Sulpicius Galba & Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix
A financial crisis hits Rome, due to poorly chosen fiscal policies. Land values plummet, and credit is increased. These actions lead to a lack of cash, a crisis of confidence, and much land speculation. The primary victims are senators, knights and the wealthy. Many aristocratic families are ruined.
Road builders linking Roman legionary camps during the reign of Tiberius leave inscriptions in the rock in the Lepenski Vir region on the Danube near the Iron Gates gorges.
China: Emperor Guangwu (Kuang Wu Ti) faces a new threat to the Han Dynasty: the Rebellion of Gongsun Shu in Sichuan province. Gongsun’s naval forces are unsuccessful against Han General Cen Peng, but Gongsun fortifies his position by blockading the Yangtze River with a large floating pontoon bridge, defended with floating fortified posts. He erects forts on both banks of the river for further missile fire & protects his barrier with a large boom. After Cen Peng is unable to break through, he constructs several “castle ships” with high ramparts & ramming vessels, which break through Gongsun’s lines, allowing Cen to quell the rebellion. Gongsun Shu will be defeated three years later.

34

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Paullus Fabius Persicus & Lucius Vitellius
Naevius Sutorius Macro is said to gain favor in the empire by prostituting his wife Eunius to Caligula.
Construction on a three-tier aqueduct beginning in Nemausus (Nîmes), running for 269 miles, is completed.
Paullus Fabius Persicus & Lucius Vitellius become consuls.

35

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Gallus & Nonianus
Armenia: Artaxias III, king of Armenia, dies. He is succeeded by Arsaces I, one of the sons of King Artabanus III of Parthia.
Parthia: Lucius Vitellius defeats Artabanus III in support of another claimant to the throne, Tiridates III.

36

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Allenius & Plautius
Herod Antipas suffers major losses in a war with Aretas IV of Nabatea, provoked partly by Antipas’ divorce of Aretas’ daughter. According to Josephus, Herod’s defeat is popularly believed to be divine punishment for his execution of John the Baptist. Emperor Tiberius orders his governor of Syria, Vitellius, to capture or kill Aretas, but he is reluctant to support Herod.
Parthia: Tiridates III becomes king.

37

Roman Empire: Flavius Josephus, original name Joseph Ben Matthias, Jewish historian & general, is born in Jerusalem.
16 March: Emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero, 78, dies. Lucius Vitellius abandons his campaign in the East after hearing of Tiberius’ death.
18 March: The Senate annuls Tiberius’ will & proclaims his nephew, Gaius Claudius Nero Germanicus (Caligula), emperor.
9 April: An earthquake destroys Antioch.
15 December. Lucius Domitius Claudius Nero is born.

38

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Iulianus & Asprenas
Emperor Claudius weds Messalina.
Anti-Jewish riot breaks out in Alexandria during a visit by Agrippa I: the mob wants to place statues of Caligula in every synagogue.

39

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula) & Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
Legio XV Primigenia & XXII Primigenia are levied by Caligula for the German frontier.
Caligula’s campaign into Germany is stopped by a conspiracy led by Cassius Chaerea. Although he never reaches Germany, Caligula proclaims victory & orders a Triumph.
Emperor Caligula orders the construction of a floating bridge to be built using ships as pontoons, stretching for two miles from Baiae to the neighboring port of Puteoli.
Caligula orders that a statue of himself be placed in the temple in Jerusalem. The governor of Syria, Publius Petronius, who is responsible for erecting the statue, faces mass demonstrations by Jews of the region and manages to delay construction until the death of Caligula.
Agrippa I, king of Judaea, successfully accuses Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee & Perea, of conspiracy against Caligula. Antipas is exiled & Agrippa receives his territory.
Philo Judaeus, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher leads a Jewish delegation to Rome to protest the anti-Jewish conditions in Alexandria.
Vietnam: The Trung Sisters resistance begins. A Vietnamese noble is executed by the Chinese occupation administration; his wife is raped; the widow & her sister create a resistance movement by raising an army that defeats the Chinese army.

40

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Gaius Augustus without colleague
Caligula reforms the principatus into a Hellenistic Autocracy. He distributes honors carelessly, declares himself a god & orders all the heads of the Greek deity statues replaced by his. He also appoints his horse, Incitatus, a senator.
Caligula starts on a campaign to conquer Britain, which fails. He declares himself victorious regardless.
One of the earliest Christian churches is established at the Greek city of Corinth.
The North African province of Mauretania is divided into the provinces of Tingitana & Caesariensis.
The Pont du Gard is built to carry an aqueduct serving the Gallic city of Nimes. The 160-foot high structure is 900 feet long with 3 tiers of stone arches.
Christianity comes to Egypt as a church is founded in Alexandria. Mark the Evangelist founds the Coptic Orthodox Church as the first bishop.
Vietnam: Trưng Trắc & Trưng Nhị, after successfully repelling a small Chinese unit from their village, assemble a large army consisting mostly of women. Within months, they take many (about 65) citadels from the Chinese, & liberate Nam Việt. They become queens of the country & will resist subsequent Chinese attacks on Việt Nam for over three years.

Third Decade of the Common Era

21  

Roman Empire: Emperor Tiberius is consul for the fourth time. Revolt of the Aedui under Julius Florus & Julius Sacrovir is suppressed by Gaius Silius. Korea:  King Daeso of Dongbuyeo is killed in battle against the armies of Goguryeo, led by its third ruler, King Daemusin.  

22

Roman Empire: Sulpicius Quirinius (Cyrenius), Roman soldier and civilian governor of Syria, dies. The consuls are Decimus Haterius Agrippa & Gaius Sulpicius Galba. Germany: Catualda is expelled by Vibilius, king of the Hermunduri; his power is transferred to Vannius of the Quadi.  Arminius meets his death trying to make himself king of the Cherusci.

23  

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Gaius Asinius Pollio & Gaius Antistius Vetus Ambitious soldier Lucius Aelius Seianus, praefect of the Praetorian Guard, poisons Drusus. Tiberius loses interest in the Empire, occupying himself solely with pleasure. Pliny the Elder, Gaius Plinius Secundus, Roman naturalist, encyclopedist and writer, is born. China: Liu Xiu, a 9th generation descendant of Emperor Liu Bang, proclaims himself Emperor Kuang Wu Ti (Guang Wudi) & leads his followers to Luoyang to begin the Eastern Han rule. July: After being under siege for two months, about 19,000 insurgents under Liu Xiu defeat 450,000 of Wang Mang’s troops in the Battle of Kunyang, ushering in the fall of Wang Mang & restoration of the Han Dynasty.  The Xin commander, Wang Yi, confident of his overwhelming numbers, states his army will annihilate all in his path, massacre the town & “dance in its blood.” He begins a siege of the town. 7 July:  Faced with siege towers & tunnels dug under its castle walls, Kunyang’s defenses hold on until Liu Xiu returns with 10,000 footmen & cavalry.  By then, the morale of the Xin forces is dropping while the Han forces’ morale improves with Liu’s return.  Liu Xiu leads 1,000 men to engage the Xin forces, while another brigade of 3,000 marches to the rear of the Xin army & attacks the Xin’s main camp.  Wang Yi, still underestimating the Han forces, leads 10,000 men with Wang Xun to meet the enemy, while ordering the rest of his troops to stand their ground unless ordered to attack.  Once they engage in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units are hesitant to assist them; Liu Xiu kills Wang Xun in battle.  Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city & attack the other Xin units; the much larger Xin forces suffer a total collapse.

24  

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Servius Cornelius Cethegus & Lucius Visellius Varro Charmides becomes Archon of Athens. Tacfarinas’ revolt in Africa is repressed.  The war against Numidia & Mauretania ends with their annexation. Korea: King Namhae dies; Yuri ascends to the throne of Silla.    

25

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Cossus Cornelius Lentulus, Marcus Asinius Agrippa China: Emperor Gengshi Di (Keng-shih-ti) of Han is deposed by the Chimei & strangled. Eastern Han Dynasty begins with the rule of Emperor Guangwudi (Kuang Wu Ti).  Luoyang becomes the capital. The new Emperor receives embassies from Persia who bring lions to the court as tribute. The Lion Dance, which will come to represent purity & protection, originates from this.

26  

Roman Empire:  Year of the Consulship of Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus & Gaius Calvisius Sabinus  Emperor Tiberius retires to Capri, leaving the Praetorian Guard under Lucius Aelius Seianus in charge of the Empire & the city of Rome. Pontius Pilate is appointed as prefect of Judea. Romans defeat an uprising of Thracian tribesmen.

27

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Lucius Calpurnius Piso & Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi An Arch of Triumph is erected in Rimini in honor of Augustus. China:  Chimei (Red Eyebrows) are repelled by the local warlord Wei Xiao & forced to retreat east.  After battles of attrition against the forces of Liu Xiu (Emperor Guangwudi), surrender to him.  Emperor Penzi yields his title & Emperor Guangwu, aware that he has no actual powers, spares him.

28

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Silanus & Nerva Frisians revolt against Roman rule.  Roman legions in Germania are transported by fleet to fortress of Flevum on the Rhine to operate against the rebellious Frisians. The Frisians negotiate a treaty at the River Rhine, avoiding conquest. Korea:  King Onjo of Baekje dies.  Daru succeeds to the throne of Baekje.

29  

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Geminus & Geminus Livia, wife of Caesar Augustus & mother of Emperor Tiberius, dies. Agrippina the Elder is exiled to the island of Pandataria; her sons (except Caligula) are imprisoned by Lucius Aelius Sejanus. The Romans capture Serdica (modern Sofia), named after the Celtic tribe the Serdi.

30

Roman Empire: Year of the Consulship of Marcus Vinicius & Gaius Cassius Longinus St. Peter serves as the first bishop of Rome. 28 August: John the Baptist is beheaded by King Herod of Judea.

Second Decade of the Common Era

10

Roman Empire: Ovid completes Tristia (5 books) & Epistulae ex Ponto (Letters from the Black Sea, 4 books) describing the sadness of banishment.

Publius Cornelius Dolabella is named consul.

China: The usurper Wang Mang (who rules during a brief interregnum known as the Xin Dynasty) outlaws the private purchase and use of crossbows.  Despite this, Liu Xiu, the later Emperor Guangwu of Han, buys crossbows in the winter of 22 in order to aid the rebellion of his brother Liu Yan (styled Bosheng) & Li Tong.

Hsin Emperor Wang Mang frees the slaves in the Empire.

11

Roman Empire:  Emperor Augustus abandons his plan to create a defensive border at the Elbe River in order to reinforce the defense along the Rhine & the Danube.

Germania Inferior and the Rhine River frontier are secured by Germanicus Julius Caesar.

An edict is issued effecting an empire-wide ban on divinatory practices especially astrology.  The edict requires any consultation between a customer & a practitioner to be conducted with at least one third party witness present & bans inquiry into anyone’s death.

Parthia:  Artabanus III of the Arsacid Dynasty becomes ruler.

India:  Satakarni begins his reign as ruler of the Andhra Empire.

12

Roman Empire:  Augustus orders a major invasion of Germania beyond the Rhine.

The Armenian Artaxiad Dynasty is overthrown by the Romans.

Annius Rufus is appointed Prefect of Judea.  Quirinius returns from Judea to become a counselor to Tiberius.

Germanicus & Gaius Fonteius Capito become consuls.

31 August:  Gaius Claudius Nero Germanicus (Caligula) is born.

Germany:  Tiberius’ adopted son Drusus crosses the Rhine with a large Roman Army.

China:  Land reforms of Wang Mang are repealed because of the protests of the aristocracy.

22 May:  Daytime meteor shower, possibly Zeta Perseid, is observed.

13

 Roman Empire: The Senate passes a senatus consultum restricting the reduced Vigintisexviri to the Ordo Equester.

Abgarus of Edessa is reinstalled as king of Osroene.

Strabo publishes his book on the shape of the Earth.

16 November: Tiberius Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus makes a triumphant procession through Rome after a victorious campaign against the Germans.

14

Roman Empire: The town & port of Nauportus is plundered by a mutinous Roman legion sent to build roads & bridges.

Germanicus is appointed commander of the forces in Germania.  Germanicus leads a raid against the Marsi, a German tribe on the upper Ruhr River, who are massacred.

Sextus Appuleius & Sextus Pompeius serve as consuls.

19 August: Caesar Augustus dies at Nola; his wife Livia’s son Tiberius Claudius Nero becomes emperor.  Augustus is declared to be a god by the Senate.  Legions on the Rhine revolt after the death of Augustus; Germanicus Drusus will put down the revolt.

China:  A famine results in starvation & cannibalism.

15

 Roman Empire:  Emona (currently Ljubljana) is founded by Legio XV Apollinaris.

Valerius Gratus is appointed Prefect of Iudaea.

Germania:  Germanicus fights a drawn battle with Arminius in the Teutoburg Forest.  Germanicus captures Thusnelda, wife of Arminius.

16

 Germania:  A Roman army of 50,000 men commanded by Germanicus gains a great victory at Idistaviso, defeating the German war chief Arminius & recovering the lost eagles of Varus’ legions.

Germanicus employs North Sea fleet to avoid dangerous rivers, embarking an army in the Rhine delta aboard circa 1,000 ships. He defeats the Germans at Amisius River estuary and the Weser, but during its return the Roman fleet is partially destroyed by storms.

The Noricans having joined with the Pannonians in invading Histria, are defeated by Publius Silius, proconsul of Illyricum.

 17

 Roman Empire: Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, builds on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the city Tiberias in honor of Tiberius.

2 January: The poet Publius Ovidius Naso dies. 26 May: Julius Caesar Germanicus of Rome celebrates a victory over the Germans.

Germanicus, nephew of Tiberius, leaves Rome for Armenia to supervise the installation of a new king.

Germania:  Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, becomes involved in an unsuccessful campaign against Arminius, prince of the Cherusci, in which the Semnones & Langobardi have revolted against him.

Asia Minor:  Jewish temple is constructed at Sardis.

Africa:  Tacfarinas, Numidian deserter from the Roman army, begins a guerrilla war against the Romans. He leads his own Musulamii tribe and a coalition of Berbers, attacking the Limes Tripolitanus a fortified zone (Limes) of the Roman Empire in Africa.

China:  “Red Eyebrows” peasant revolt begins.

18

 Roman Empire:  The poet Ovid dies.

China:  After a flooding of the Yellow River farmers stage a rebellion against the Xi.  Emperor Wang Mang reacts by sending an army of 100,000 men against the agrarian rebels.  The rebel leaders, concerned that during battle it would become impossible to tell friend from foe, order that their men color their eyebrows red – and this is where the name Chimei (“The Red Eyebrows”) comes from.

India:  The Indo-Parthians gain control of Taxila.

19

 Roman Empire:  Emperor Tiberius expels the Egyptians from Rome & deports 4,000 Jews from Sicily.

Vonones I of Parthia is removed to Cilicia & kept under house arrest.  He escapes but is caught & killed by a retired legion veteran.

10 October: Julius Caesar Germanicus (33), Roman commandant of the Rhine Legion and the best loved of Roman princes, dies in Syria. On his deathbed he accuses Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the governor of Syria, of poisoning him. Agrippina the Elder accuses Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso of having assassinated her husband Germanicus Julius Caesar in Antioch.

Germany: Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, is deprived of his throne by Catualda.  This ends the threat to the Romans from Germanic tribes until the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

20

 Roman Empire: Emperor Tiberius is forced to order an investigation and a public trial in the Senate, for the murder of Germanicus.  Fearing he will be found guilty, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso commits suicide.

Year 1

Roman Empire:  Gaius Caesar & Lucius Aemilius Paullus are appointed consuls.  Gaius Caesar weds Livilla, daughter of Antonia Minor & Nero Claudius Drusus.

Quirinius becomes a chief advisor to Gaius in Armenia.  Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, whose father Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus had served as consul in 16 BCE, also serves in the Armenia campaigns.

Tiberius, under order of Augustus, quells revolts in Germania.

Quintus Curtius Rufus, Roman historian, writes a Latin text on the History of Alexander the Great.

Britain:  Addedomarus, king of the Trinovantes, dies & is succeeded by Dubnovelaunus.

Ireland: Stone forts were built on the 3 Aran islands: Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Isisheer, whose total area was 18 sq. miles. The islands are on the west coast of Ireland at the mouth of Galway Bay.

Greece: Areius Paianeius becomes Archon of Athens.

Africa:  The Kingdom of Aksum, centered in modern day Ethiopia & Eritrea, is founded (approximate date).

Amanishakheto, Queen of Nubia, dies. Her son, Natakamani, becomes King.

Settlers from Polynesia begin arriving on Madagascar.

Central Asia: Sapadbizes, Yuezhi prince and King of Kush (Bactria), dies. Heraios succeeds him as king.

China: The Yuanshi era of the Han dynasty begins.

Emperor Ping of Han begins his reign; Wang Mang is re-instated as regent by Empress Dowager Wang.

The city of Dujiangyan, perched on the hills where the River Min leaves the Tibetan highlands for the Sichuan plain, is founded.

East Asia:  Rice imported from China is cultivated for the first time in Japan.

Laos: Stone jars at the Plain of Jars measuring on average 10 feet high & 9 feet wide are believed to have been used for burials. Only 300 jars are intact due to the bombing during the 1960s Vietnam War.

North America: People later known as the Cherokee, live in the area of the Southern Appalachians, having probably split from the Iroquois about this time.

The Teotihuacan culture in Mesoamerica begins (approximate date).

The Olmec 2 phase of the Olmec civilization begins.

Central America: The Mayan city now known as La Milpa is founded. South America: Moxos ceases to be a significant religious area (approximate date).

Peru: In Nazca, the “Owl Man” is dug out of a dry hillside with one arm pointing to the sky and the other to earth.

Years 1-100

Netherlands: A Teutonic tribe known as the Frisians (or Friesians) settle on the North Sea coast.

Africa:  The Greek city of Berenice on the coast of Libya is acquired by the Romans.

Central Asia: Kushan Empire: Kushan nomads, pushed west by Huns, united with the Scythian nomads range across the steppes. When they cross the Amu Darya (the Oxus river to Alexander the Great) they lay waste the Greco-Bactrian lands. They later rebuilt the cities they had sacked and created the great Kushan Empire on their own debris.

North America:   The cliff-dwelling Anasazi are flourishing in the American Southwest.
Years 1-600

Thailand: the Non Muang Kao, a moated settlement, is established at this time.
Year 2

Roman Empire: Publius Alfenus Varus & Publius Vinicius become Consuls.

Following the death of Lucius Caesar, Livia Drusilla persuades Augustus to allow her son Tiberius to return to Rome as a private citizen after six years in enforced retirement on Rhodes.

Augustus adopts his grandson, Gaius Caesar, with the expectation that he will succeed him.  Gaius is made proconsul and is sent on a special mission to the East.

Gaius Caesar meets with Phraates V, king of Parthia, on the Euphrates.  Rather than invade, Gaius Caesar concludes peace with the Parthians—Parthia recognizes Roman claims to Armenia.

Greece: Cedeides becomes Archon of Athens.

China: An imperial census counts a population of 57,671,400.

Years 2-8

Roman Empire: Ovid writes Metamorphosis, an epic poem beginning with the creation of the world & ending with the rise of Julius Caesar.

 

Year 3

Roman Empire:  The rule of Emperor Augustus is renewed for a ten-year period.

Galba, future emperor, is born.

Lucius Aelius Lamia & Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus are consuls of Rome.

Persia: 19 February: The author Sadiq Hidajat is born.

Years 3-427

China: The Korean Kokuryo Dynasty rules over Manchuria. Its second capital is said to have been Jiban. A contemporary Chinese guidebook claims that Jiban at this time is controlled by the Western Han Dynasty.

Year 4

Roman Empire: Emperor Caesar Augustus summons Tiberius to Rome, naming him his heir & future emperor.  At the same time, Agrippa Postumus, the last son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, is also adopted & named as Augustus’ heir.  Tiberius also adopts Germanicus as his own heir.

Sextus Aelius Catus becomes consul.

The Lex Aelia Sentia regulates the manumission of slaves.

A pact of non-aggression & friendship is signed between the Empire, represented by Tiberius, & the German tribe the Cherusci, represented by their King Segimer.  Arminius and Flavus, sons of Segimer, are brought into the Roman army as leaders of the auxiliary troops.  Romans terrace the steep slopes of the Mosel River for the cultivation of grapes.

Greece: Polianus Maradonius becomes Archon of Athens.

Armenia: Gaius Caesar, son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa & Julia the Elder, dies of wounds suffered during a campaign in Artagira.

China: Emperor Ping of Han weds Empress Wang (Ping), daughter of Wang Mang.

Korea: King Bak Hyeokgeose of Silla dies.

Year 5

Britain:  Cymbeline (Cunobelinus), the king of the Catuvellauni, is recognized by Romans as “Rex Brittonum.”

Roman Empire:  Tiberius conquers Germania Inferior.

Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus & Lucius Valerius Messalla Volesus (or Gaius Ateius Capito) become consuls.

The Germanic Tribes of Cimbri & Charydes send ambassadors to Rome.

Italy:  Ovid publishes Metamorposes.

Germany:  Roman legions defeat Teutonic tribes of the lower Elbe.  Tiberius receives the submission of all the tribes in this quarter, including the Chauci & the Langobardi.

China:  Wang Mang, the power behind the throne, is granted the “Nine Awards of Imperial Favor” — a set of ceremonial robes, sceptres, weapons & privileges bestowed only on those in the most intimate relationship with the emperor.  This is a further sign of the rising power of Wang Mang.

Year 6

Syria: The Romans name Caesarea as a regional capital. J

Judæa:  Augustus deposes Herod Archelaus & annexes Samaria, Judea, Idumea under direct Roman administration; capital at Caesarea; Legate (Governor) Quirinius of Syria conducts first Roman census (opposed by Zealot’s Tax Revolt of Judah of Gamala & Saddok the Pharisee) appointing Annas (Ananus I) ben Seth High Priest of Jerusalem Temple (“House of Annas” produces 8 High Priests of Iudæa).

6-9-c.12-15-26: Coponius – Ambivius – Rufus – Gratus:  Roman Prefects of IudaeaSulpicius Quirinius (Cyrenius), Roman governor of Syria, orders a second census of Judaea.

Year 7

Italy:  Ovid publishes The Metamorphses.

Year 8

Roman Empire:  Augustus, in a new campaign to reform the moral tone of Roman society, banishes Ovid to Tomis, an outpost on the Black Sea.

Year 9

Britain:  Tasciovanus, King of the Catuvellauni, is succeeded by his son Cunobelinus (Cymbeline), who recaptures Camulodunum.

Germany: 9 September: Battle of Teutoburg Forest:  Hermann (Arminius), a chief of the Cherusci, leads his warriors to a decisive defeat of Roman forces led by Publius Quinctilius Varus, Roman governor of Germania.  Three Roman legions are ambushed & annihilated, ending Roman expansion into Germany. Varus dies a suicide following his defeat.

Balkan Europe:   Emperor Tiberius of Rome subjugates the Illyrians & divides present day Albania between Dalmatia, Epirus & Macedonia.

China: Wang Mang usurps the throne, ending the Han dynasty.

Hsin Emperor Wang Mang (Wong Mong) frees the slaves in the Empire.