*Timeline 1CE -299CE* Return to home ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1CE Dec 25, The celebrated birth of Christ in Bethlehem. The birth of Jesus is celebrated on Dec. 25th because the Romans needed to replace the pagan holiday called the Feast of the Unconquered Sun. In Ethiopia Jan 7 is the day that Christmas is celebrated. According to the gospel of Matthew, Joseph soon fled with his family to Egypt following a decree by Herod that ordered all boys of Bethlehem under age 2 to be put to death. The gospels of Luke and Matthew are inconsistent on historical facts. Christ?s birth on this day was officially set by the Roman Church in 336AD. [see 6-2BCE] (SFC, 12/4/94, p. S-4)(SFC, 8/2/99, p.A10)(Econ, 1/1/05, p.38) 1CE As long as 2,000 years ago, a Native Indian People later known as the Cherokee, lived in the area of the Southern Appalachians who had probably split from the Iroquois about this time. (NG, 5/95, p.78) c1CE 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. (SFEC, 1/23/00, T8,9) c1CE The 2000 year-old city of Dujiangyan, perched on the hills where the River Min leaves the Tibetan highlands for the Sichuan plain, was founded. (SFC,12/26/97, p.A18) c1CE In Laos stone jars at the Plain of Jars that measured on average 10-feet high and 9-feet wide are believed to be 2,000 years old and to have been used for burials. Only 300 jars are intact due to the bombing during the 1960s Vietnam War. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.E) c1CE The Mayan city of La Milpa was founded. (SFC, 6/23/96, p.A10) c1CE Ceramic cups are found in Karanog graves of Nubia that depict a herdsman with his dog and cattle, a face with scarification patterns on the forehead, and eye-motifs. (MT, 10/95, p.10-11) c1CE Nazca, Peru. The Owl Man was dug out of a dry hillside with one arm pointing to the sky and the other to earth. (NG, March 1990, J.B. Carlson, p.76) c1CE Settlers began arriving to Madagascar from Polynesia (SFC, 6/23/96, zone 1 p.5) c1-30 The life of Jesus Christ. In 1998 "The Acts of Jesus -- What Did Jesus Really Do? The Search for the Authentic Jesus" was published with translation and commentary by Robert W. Funk, director of the Westar Institute and The Jesus Seminar. In 2001 Philip Jenkins authored "Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way," in which he examines the motives and methodologies of radical biblical scholars. (SFEM, 4/19/98, p.6)(WSJ, 4/30/01, p.A16) 1-100CE The first century CE Villa dei Papiri by the Bay of Naples was used as a model for the J. Paul Getty Museum of the 20th cent. on the Pacific Coast Highway of California. (Hem., Nov. '95, p.78) c1-100CE Steam engines--machines harnessing the heat energy of hot steam to perform work--date to the steam turbine invented by Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century CE called the aeolipile. However, the aeolipile was regarded as a curiosity demonstrating a mechanical principle and was not developed into a practical engine. (HNQ, 1/18/01) 1-100CE A Teutonic tribe known as the Frisians (or Friesians) settled in what is now the Netherlands in the first century A.D. (HNQ, 3/5/00) c1-100CE Hungary was the Roman province of Pannonia and Pecs was the capital. (Hem., 6/98, p.128) 1-100CE Christianity came to Illyrian populated areas. (www, Albania, 1998) 1-100CE The first century Greek physician, Dioscorides, recommended the use of orchid tubers as an aphrodisiac. (NH, 4/97, p.77) 1-100CE The 1st century Roman gourmet, Marcus Gavius Apicius, was thought to be the writer of the earliest known cookbook. (SFEC, 4/16/00, Z1 p.2) 1-100CE Quintus Curtius Rufus, Roman historian, wrote a Latin test on the History of Alexander the Great. It was translated into French in the 15th century. (SFEC, 1/26/97 BR, p.7) 1-100CE The Greek city of Berenice on the coast of Libya was acquired by the Romans. The site later became a suburb of Benghazi and was studied by British archeologist John Lloyd (d.1999) in the 1970s. (SFC, 6/15/99, p.C6) 1-300CE Kushan Empire. The Kushan nomads, pushed west by Huns, united with the Scythian nomads 130 years before Christ and raged across the Central Asian steppes. When they crossed the Amu Darya (the Oxus river to Alexander the Great) they laid waste the Greco-Bactrian lands. They later rebuilt the cities they had sacked and created the great Kushan Empire on their own debris. (NG, March 1990, p.63) 1-600CE In Thailand the Non Muang Kao was a moated settlement of this time. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.G) c1-1250CE The cliff-dwelling Anasazi flourished in the Four corners area of the American Southwest. (NH, 5/96, p.8) c1-1500 Paintings were made on rock surfaces in the central mountain ranges of the Baha Peninsula by unknown native Indians. In 1997 Harry W. Crosby published "Cave Paintings of Baha California." (WSJ, 3/5/98, p.A20) 2CE Feb 17, Jupiter again appeared to pass very close to the star Regulus, "the King?s Star." (SSFC, 12/23/01, Par p.9) 2CE May 8, Jupiter appeared to pass very close to the star Regulus, "the King?s Star" for a 3rd time in recent months. (SSFC, 12/23/01, Par p.9) 2CE Jun 17, Jupiter and Venus drew close together and appeared to fuse as a single star. This was later thought to be the Biblical star of Bethlehem. (SSFC, 12/23/01, Par p.9) 2CE A Chinese census counted 57,671,400 people. (NG, Feb, 04, p.12) 2-8CE Ovid wrote the "Metamorphosis." It was an epic poem that begins with the creation of the world and ends with the rise of Julius Caesar. Rolfe Humphries made a translation in 1955 that became a standard. A 1997 translation by Ted Hughes, "Tales From Ovid," retold 24 of the original 250 stories. (WSJ, 1/9/98, p.A14) 3CE Feb 19, Sadiq Hidajat, Persian writer (Blind Person Owl), was born. (MC, 2/19/02) 3CE Aug 12, Venus-Jupiter were in conjunction: alleged "Star of Bethlehem." [see Feb 17, May 8, Jun 17, 2CE] (MC, 8/12/02) 3-427CE 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 was controlled by China's Western Han Dynasty. (WSJ, 10/9/95, p.A-8) 4CE Gaius Caesar (24), the nephew and adopted heir of Caesar Augustus, died. (WSJ, 6/23/07, p.P16) 4CE Tiberius (42BC-37CE) was chosen by Augustus as emperor of Rome. He later banished the young Nero to the island of Ponza. (V.D.-H.K.p.77)(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.T12) c4CE Romans terraced the steep slopes of the Mosel River for the cultivation of grapes. (SFEC, 4/30/00, p.T8) 6CE The Romans named Caesarea as a regional capital. (SFC, 6/18/02, p.A2) 6CE Sulpicius Quirinius (Cyrenius), Roman governor of Syria, ordered a 2nd census of Judea. (Econ, 1/1/05, p.38)(www.biblehistory.net/volume2/Quirinius.htm) 9CE Sep 9, Publius Quinctilius Varus (59), Roman governor of Germania (6-9CE), died of likely suicide following defeat at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Arminius, aka Hermann the German, had stopped a Roman advance eastward across the Rhine at the battle of Teutoburg, setting a limit on the Roman border. (http://www.fact-index.com/p/pu/publius_quinctilius_varus.html)(Econ, 8/7/10, p.86) 9CE Wang Mang usurped the Chinese throne and ended Han rule. (eawc, p.15)(NG, Feb, 04, p.21) 9 CE Emperor Tiberius of Rome subjugated the Illyrians and divided present day Albania between Dalmatia, Epirus, and Macedonia. (www, Albania, 1998) 12-41CE Caligula (little boots, a nickname by the soldiers), Gaius Caesar. He was chosen by Tiberius as successor. (V.D.-H.K.p.77-78) 13 Nov 16, Tiberius made his triumphant procession through Rome after siege of Germany. (MC, 11/16/01) 14CE Caesar Augustus died and rule passed to Tiberius. (V.D.-H.K.p.77) 15CE May 24, Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commandant, was born. (MC, 5/24/02) 17CE Jan 2, Publius Ovidius Naso, Roman poet, died. (MC, 1/2/02) 17CE May 26, Germanicus of Rome celebrated a victory over the Germans. (HN, 5/26/98) 19CE Oct 10, Julius Caesar Germanicus (33), Roman commandant of Rijnleger and the best loved of Roman princes, died of poisoning. On his deathbed he accused Piso, the governor of Syria, of poisoning him. (HN, 10/10/98)(MC, 10/10/01) 22CE Sulpicius Quirinius (Cyrenius), Roman soldier and civilian governor of Syria, died. (Econ, 1/1/05, p.38)(www.biblehistory.net/volume2/Quirinius.htm) 23CE Chinese rebels known as Red Eyebrows entered Changan and beheaded Emp. Wang Mang. Liu Xiu (Guang Wu Di), a 9th generation descendant of Emp. Liu Bang, proclaimed himself emperor and led his followers to Luoyang to begin the Eastern Han rule. (NG, Feb, 04, p.21) 23CE Tiberius lost his son Drusus, and from then on seems to have lost interest in the Empire and occupied himself with pleasure. (V.D.-H.K.p.77) 23-24 Strabo (b.~63-64BC), Greek geographer and historian, died about this time. He had traveled to Egypt and Kush, met members of the Noba tribe, and decided to call their country Nubia. Strabo is mostly famous for his 17-volume work Geographica, which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known to his era. (Arch, 9/02, p.55)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strabo) 23-79CE Pliny the Elder, Gaius Plinius Secundus, Roman naturalist, encyclopedist and writer. He died in the eruption of Vesuvius. [see 79CE] He wrote the classic 37-volume "Natural History." "Among these things but one thing seems certain -- that nothing certain exists, and that nothing is more pitiable or more presumptuous than man." (WUD, 1994, p.1106)(SFC, 9/1/97, p.A2)(AP, 11/5/98) 25-220CE The Eastern Han Dynasty received embassies from Persia who brought lions to the court as tribute. From this originated the Lion Dancing which represents purity and protection to the Chinese. The dances are preformed on special occasions and on the Chinese New year. (Hem. 1/95, p. 123)(WSJ, 2/19/98, p.A20) 27-37CE Tiberius moved to the isle of Capri and never returned to Rome. (V.D.-H.K.p.77)(SFEM, 10/11/98, p.54) 28CE Jan 28, The Roman Emperor Nerva named Trajan, an army general, as his successor. (HN, 1/28/99) c29-30CE Aug 28, John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod, perhaps at whim of Salome. (HFA, '96, p.36)(MC, 8/28/01) 30 From about 30 to 64/67 Peter served as the first pope. By 2003 he was still noted as the longest-serving, for a total of 34 or 37 years. (AP, 10/16/03) 30 Apr 30, Jesus of Nazareth was crucified [see 33AD]. Christ died on hill of Golgotha, Jerusalem. His path along the Via Dolorosa was later disputed as to whether he was tried by Pontius Pilate at the palace of Herod or at the Roman fortress of Antonia. His death was at an abandoned quarry, the site of today?s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1998 Robert Funk and the Jesus Seminar published "The Acts of Jesus: The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus." The group had published an earlier work "The Five Gospels," in which the sayings of Jesus were examined. In 1999 Thomas Cahill authored "Desire of the Everlasting Hills," a book about Jesus and his effect on the world. In 2010 Paul Johnson authored ?Jesus: A Biography From a Believer.? Also in 2010 Philip Pullman authored ?The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ,? in which he proposes that Jesus and Christ were twin brothers. (SFC, 3/27/97, p.C2)(SFEC, 4/12/98, BR p.8)(HN, 4/30/98)(WSJ, 11/5/99, p.W12)(Econ, 4/3/10, p.85)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_Jesus) 30 When the Roman governor of Palestine was confronted by an angry Jewish crowd demanding the execution of the leader of a small, radical religious movement, like Socrates, he cross-examined him. When he asked him if he was a king, the man replied, "To this end I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone that belongs to the truth will hear me." The governor, being a Roman, answered as any educated Roman would. For Pontius Pilate had been raised on the Greek and Roman skeptical traditions that denied that there was anything like certain truth, only probable knowledge. So, as any other Roman would have done, he asked the question, "What is truth?," but received no answer. In 2000 Ann Wroe authored the historical novel "Pontius Pilate." (WWW, WC, 8/15/98)(SFEC, 5/21/00, Par p.19) 30-33 Dismas was the repentant thief crucified with Christ. (WSJ, 11/2/98, p.B1) c30-33 Lazarus lived in Cyprus as a bishop after the miracle by Christ. (NH, 4/97, p.62) c30-33 Easter [in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ] is generally observed on the Sunday following the first full moon of spring. In 1215 the 4th Lateran Council announced that "Christ descended into Hell, rose again from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. But he descended in soul, rose again in the flesh, and ascended equally in both." (PacDis, Spring/'94, p. 40)(WSJ, 4/18/03, p.W13) ~30-33 St. John wrote the "Book of Revelations" and the "Apocalypse" on the Greek island of Patmos. (WSJ, 11/10/95, p. A-6) ~30-33 In the midst of political persecution the early Christians sold their possessions and began taking their meals together, but they kept their houses. In 1998 Andrew Harvey published "The Teachings of the Christian Mystics," selections the gospel of Thomas to Thomas Merton. (WSJ, 11/26/97, p.A12)(SFEC, 4/12/98, BR p.8) 30-40 The decade following the execution of Jesus. In 1998 John Dominic Crossan published "The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus." (SFEC, 4/12/98, BR p.8) 31CE Mar 25, The 1st Easter, according to calendar-maker Dionysius Exiguus (470-540). (MC, 3/25/02)(www.nndb.com/people/741/000104429/) 31 Sep 18, Sejanus, Roman head of praetorian guard, was executed. (MC, 9/18/01) 33 Apr 3, Christ was crucified (according to astronomers Humphreys and Waddington). The date is highly debated. See April 30, 30AD. (Econ, 4/23/11, p.64) 33-34CE Road builders linking Roman legionary camps during the reign of Tiberius left inscriptions in the rock in the Lepenski Vir region on the Danube near the Iron Gates gorges. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.25) 36CE Ancient Chinese records recorded an August meteor shower that was later assumed to be the Perseids. The meteorites originated when the Swift-Tuttle comet passed so close to the sun that its ice head melted and left a stream of pea-sized particles. (SFC, 8/11/99, p.A2) 37CE Feb 15, Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero (d.68CE), emperor of Rome (54-68), was born. [see Dec 15] (MC, 2/15/02) 37 Mar 16, Tiberius Claudius Nero (78), Roman emperor (14-37), died on a trip to the Italian mainland from his home on Capreae. He was succeeded by Caligula. (PCh, 1992, p.36)(HN, 3/16/99)(AP, 3/15/07) 37CE Mar 18, The Roman Senate annulled Tiberius? will and proclaimed Caligula emperor. (HN, 3/18/99) 37CE Dec 15, Nero Claudius Caesar, emperor of Rome who is blamed for the great fire of Rome, was born. Nero (Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus) was born (d. 68CE). [see Feb 15] (WUD, 1994, p.959)(HN, 12/15/98) 37CE Caligula succeeded Tiberius and went mad within a year. His cruelty was so bad that he was murdered by the tribune of the palace guard after 4 years. He imprisoned his nieces on the island of Ponza for converting to Christianity. (V.D.-H.K.p.78)(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.T12) 37 Some 20,000 pieces of jewelry and other objects were buried about this time with a warrior-prince and 5 women in northern Afghanistan. In 1978-79 a team led by Russian archeologist Viktor Sarianidi discovered their 6 sealed tombs at a site called Tillya Tepe (hill of gold). The findings became known as the ?Golden Hoard of Bactria.? (WSJ, 11/19/08, p.D7) 37-41 Caligula ruled Rome. He had 2 large ships built and anchored for his pleasure on Lake Nemi. (AM, 5/01, p.26) 37-100?CE Flavius Josephus, original name Joseph Ben Matthias, Jewish historian and general. (AHD, 1971, p.707) 39CE Nov 3, Lucan, Latin poet (Bellum Civile), was born in Cordova, Spain. (MC, 11/3/01) 39CE Dec 30, Titus, 10th Roman emperor (79-81) and conqueror of Jerusalem, was born. (MC, 12/30/01) 40CE Jun 13, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general and governor of Britain, was born. [WUD says 37-93CE] (WUD, 1994, p.29) c40CE Saul of Tarsus, while on the road to Damascus, experienced a profound conversion to Christianity. He became known as St. Paul. In 1997 A.N. Wilson wrote "Paul: The Mind of the Apostle." Wilson argued that Paul was the real founder of the Church of Jesus. Paul was a student of the Jewish scholar Raban Gamliel. (CU, 6/87)(SFC, 3/28/97, p.C11)(Internet) 40CE Mauretania was divided into the provinces of Tingitana and Caesariensis. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.22) 40-60CE The Pont du Gard was built to carry an aqueduct serving Nimes, France. The 160-foot high structure is 900 feet long with 3 tiers of stone arches. (www.vers-pont-du-gard.fr/anglais/tpatrimoine11.php) c40-107 St. Ignatius Theorphorus, Apostolic Father. He served as the bishop of Antioch. (WUD, 1994 p.708) 41CE Jan 24, Shortly after declaring himself a god, Gaius Caligula Germanicus, emperor from 37-41, was assassinated by two Praetorian tribunes. (HN, 1/24/99)(MC, 1/24/02) 43CE The Romans under Claudius, the great nephew of Caesar, invaded and conquered Britain. They founded a settlement on the "Tamesis River" where a bridge could be built that grew to become London. (SFEC, 6/22/97, BR p.3)(ON, 6/09, p.7) 43CE The Briton Caratacus, also known as Caradoc and chief of the Catuvellauni, mounted a guerrilla uprising against the Romans. His uprising ultimately failed after he was betrayed by the Brigantian queen, Cartimandua. He was taken to Rome where he was later pardoned by Claudius. (HNQ, 9/23/00) 43CE The Romans brought with them the board game latrunculi (little soldiers), when they conquered Britain. (Arch, 1/05, p.39) 45CE Greek sailors discovered the monsoon winds and were able to sail from the Horn of Africa to Kerala, India in 40 days. This shifted the spice trade from north Indian ports to Muziris which called the "first commercial center of India." (NG, 5/88, p.609) 46?-120?CE Plutarch, Greek biographer and philosopher. He was the author of Plutarch's Lives. The work was set up as a series of dual biographies that compared Greek and Roman statesmen. (AHD, p.1009)(Wired, Dec. '95, p.229) 48CE Claudius married his niece Agrippina. (V.D.-H.K.p.78) c49CE The Church convened a council in Jerusalem about this time. The participants adopted the missionary principle of St. Paul, which stressed the universal scope of salvation. (CU, 6/87) 50CE The "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea" was written about this time and indicated contact with the Somali coast of East Africa by the Egyptians and Ethiopians. (NH, 6/97, p.43) 50CE Kushan ruled over Afghanistan under King Kanishka. (www.afghan-web.com/history/) 50CE Graeco-Buddhist Gandharan culture reach its height. (www.afghan-web.com/history/-web.com/history/) 52CE Tradition in the State in the state of Kerala, India, has it that the Apostle Thomas converted Hindus to Christianity in this year. (NG, 5/88, p.598) 52 St. Paul of Tarsus, Christian preacher, arrived in the port city of Ephesus (Turkey) about this time and spent 3 years there. Silt from the Kaistros River ended cargo shipping by the end of the first century. By 2007 the sea was 7 miles from the former port. (SFC, 8/16/07, p.E2) 53CE Sep 18, Marcus Trajanus (d.117), 13th Roman emperor (Trajan's Arch) (98-117), was born at Italica near Seville, Spain. (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Trajan) 54CE Oct 13, Roman emperor Claudius I died, after being poisoned with mushrooms by his wife, Agrippina. Nero (37-68CE), son of Agrippina, succeeded his great uncle Claudius, who was murdered by his wife, as the new emperor of Rome. After the murder of his wife, Octavia, Nero descended deep into a religious delirium. His acts became wild and unintelligible and he was displaced by his soldiers with Galba after which he committed suicide. (WUD, 1994, p.959)(V.D.-H.K.p.78)(AP, 10/13/97)(HN, 10/13/01) 56CE Tacitus, Publius Cornelius was born. He was the Roman author of the Histories (begins with the death of Nero), and the Annals (begins with Tiberius' reign and goes to the end of Nero). Only a portion of the Histories survives (69-70CE). Of the Annals only those books dealing with the early career of Tiberius, and some treating the reigns of Claudius and Nero survive. (V.D.-H.K.p.81) 56CE Huan Tan, Go strategist, died. In his book ?Xin Lun? (New Treatise) he advised that the best approach to the game is to spread your pieces widely so as to encircle the opponent. (Econ, 12/18/04, p.128) 57CE The King of Nakoku sent an envoy to the Eastern Han capital Loyang, the 1st recorded envoy to China from Japan. (www.museum.city.fukuoka.jp) 59CE Agrippina became insane and was murdered by her son, Nero. (V.D.-H.K.p.78) 60CE Feb 10, St. Paul is believed to have been shipwrecked near Malta while enroute to Rome for trial for practicing Catholicism. The story is told in the Bible?s New Testament Acts of the Apostles, chapter 27. The event is marked in Malta every February 10. (WSJ, 6/21/08, p.W8)(www.maltamedia.com/artman2/publish/out_about/article_5012.shtml) 60CE A comet appeared and was interpreted by the people of Rome to mean the impending death of their new emperor. (NG, 12/97, p.105) 60CE Boudicaa, queen of the Iceni in Britain, burned Roman London. Boudicaa rose up in revolt against the Roman occupation of Britain. When Prasutagus, chief of the Iceni tribe, died without heirs, the Romans confiscated his lands. His wife and Queen, Boudicaa, protested and as a result was publicly scourged. Calling on all native Britons to rise against the oppressors, she then led them in revolt, killing 70,000 Romans and destroying several towns before she was defeated and captured. She killed herself while in Roman custody. (NGM, 5/77)(HNQ, 8/5/00) 62CE Nero murdered his wife Octavia. (V.D.-H.K.p.78) c62-113CE Pliny the Younger, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, Roman writer, statesman and orator. He described the death of his uncle, Plinius the Elder, at the 79CE eruption of Vesuvius in a letter to Tacitus. (WUD, 1994, p.1106)(SFC, 9/1/97, p.A142) c62-63 James, the "brother" of Jesus, was stoned to death for teaching the divinity of Christ. He had led the church in Jerusalem for the 3 decades following the death of Jesus. In 2002 a stone ossuary, looted from a Jerusalem cave, was found with an Aramaic inscription that read "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." In 1997 Robert Eisenman authored "James, the Brother of Jesus." In 2003 Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III co-authored "The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archeological Link to Jesus & His Family." In 2003 the stone ossuary was declared a fake. (SFC, 10/22/02, p.A12)(SSFC, 4/20/03, p.E2)(AP, 6/18/03) c63CE The Norse Skalds Kaparmal are written. These have been translated and interpreted by the Frenchman Paul Du Chaillu. (K.I.-365D, p.109) 64CE Jul 18, The Great Fire of Rome began. After the fire Nero began to build his Golden House in the center of the city. (V.D.-H.K.p.78)(AP, 7/18/97) 64CE Jul 19, The Circus Maximus in Rome caught fire. (MC, 7/19/02) 64CE Nero initiated the first persecution against the Christians. According to Seneca Nero sentenced hundreds of Christians to die by "tunica molesta," a naphtha impregnated "shirt of torture." (CU, 6/87)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.58) 65CE Jun 8, Jews revolted against Rome, capturing the fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem. (MC, 6/8/02) 65CE Lucius Annaeus Seneca (b.4BC) (aka Seneca the younger), Roman intellectual, died. He was a Stoic philosopher and playwright and wrote a version of "Medea." Seneca was Nero's teacher. Nero had Seneca compose his speeches. Seneca and his colleague were ordered by Nero to contrive the murder of Agripinna. He was forced to commit suicide after the conspiracy of Caius Piso to murder Nero. His wife Paulina cut her wrists together with Seneca but Nero ordered that she be saved. Seneca's blood did not flow well and he asked for poison which was refused. He then requested a hot bath to increase the blood flow and apparently was suffocated by the steam. ?Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.? (V.D.-H.K.p.80)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.57)(SFEC, 8/2/98, Z1 p.8)(Econ, 10/4/08, p.54) 66CE Jan 26, The 5th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. (MC, 1/26/02) 66 Jewish Zealots called sicarii (from the Latin word for dagger) murdered Roman officials and high-ranking Jews whom they considered as enemies to Israel?s war of independence. (NG, 11/04, p.76)(Econ, 10/27/07, p.33) 66-70 The Jews during this period laid in supplies and prepared to hide during their revolt against the Romans. In 2006 archeologists in northern Israel reported the discovery of chambers, linked by short tunnels, that would have served as a concealed subterranean home. (AP, 3/14/06) 66-73 Roman general Vespasian's army assaulted the forces of Jewish rebel Joseph ben Matthias at Jotapata in Galilee. During the Jewish revolt of 66-73 CE, Emperor Nero chose Titus Flavius Vespasianus (Vespasian) to subdue Judea. Vespasian was eminently qualified for this martial task. He was fresh from crushing a German rebellion, and as commander of Legio II, he had played a significant role in the conquest of Britannia (Britain) by Nero?s predecessor. Joseph, meanwhile had assembled his own army from the rebel bands of Galilee and trained them in the Roman model. He also fortified many towns, the strongest being Jotapata, a natural fortress perched on a rock outcrop. It was surrounded on three sides by steep valleys that made attack virtually impossible. The only approach to the city was from a hilltop to the north, and that was blocked by a dry moat fronting a sturdy wall. (HNQ, 12/4/00) 67CE Two monks entered China on the Silk Road and introduced Buddhism in Luoyang. (NG, Feb, 04, p.28) 67CE Some 37,000 Jewish prisoners were held at the Roman stadium in Tiberias after they lost a naval battle on the Sea of Galilee. (SFC, 6/18/02, p.A2) c67CE St. Paul, Catholic apostle to the Gentiles and writer of many epistles, died. He founded one of the first Christian churches in Europe at Philippi in Macedonia. He was martyred by Nero and according to tradition invoked his right as a Roman citizen to be beheaded. (WUD, 1994, p.1058,1081)(NG, 12/97, forum) 68CE Jun 9, Nero (31), Roman Emperor (54-68), committed suicide. (AP, 6/9/97)(MC, 6/9/02) 68-69CE Galba reigned as the Roman emperor. He was a commander of Roman forces in Spain and acclaimed emperor by his 2 legions. When the praetorian guard accepted Galba, Nero committed suicide. (WUD, 1994, p.1667) 69CE Jan 2, Roman Lower Rhine army proclaimed its commander, Vitellius, emperor. (MC, 1/2/02) 69CE Jan 10, Roman emperor Galba adopted Marcus Piso Licinianus as Caesar. (MC, 1/10/02) 69CE Jan 15, Servius Sulpicius Galba (70), 6th emperor of Rome (68-69), was murdered along with his newly adopted successor, Piso Licinianus. Marcus Salvius Otho (36) committed the murder and forced the senate to recognize himself as emperor. (PC, 1992, p.37) 69CE Apr 16, Otho (32-69) committed suicide after he was defeated by Vitellius' (15-69) troops at Bedriacum. (WUD, 1994, p.1667)(HN, 4/16/98) 69CE Sep 1, Traditional date for the destruction of Jerusalem. [see Aug 29 70CE] (MC, 9/1/02) 69 Dec 20, Vespian?s supporters entered Rome and discovered Vitellius in hiding. Vitellius, a Roman commandant of Rhine and the 7th emperor, was dragged through the streets before being brutally murdered. Vitellius had been acclaimed emperor by his legions in Germany in place of Galba. He was then killed in Rome fighting the supporters of Vespasian, the Roman commander of Judea. Gen. Vespasianus occupied Rome. (WUD, 1994, p.1667)(HN, 12/20/98)(MC, 12/20/01) 69 Dec 21, Vespacian, a gruff-spoken general of humble origins, entered Rome and was adopted as emperor by the Senate. (PCh, 1992, p.37) 70 May 31, Rome captured the 1st wall of the city of Jerusalem. (MC, 5/31/02) 70 Aug 29, The Temple of Jerusalem burned after a nine-month Roman siege. The Second Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome?s 10th Legion and the Jews there were exiled. In the Jewish War the Israelites tried unsuccessfully to revolt against Roman rule. The destruction buried the shops that lined the main street. Archeologists in 1996 found numerous artifacts that included bronze coins called prutot. Carpenters from Israel?s Antiquities Authority used manuscripts of the Roman master builder Vitruvius to reconstruct contraptions used in the construction of the temple. (SFC, 5/23/95, p.A-10)(SFC, 8/28/96, p.A10)(WSJ, 6/22/98, p.A20)(HN, 8/29/98) (SFEC, 3/28/99, p.T11) 70 Jun 5, Titus & his Roman legions breached the middle wall of Jerusalem. (MC, 6/5/02) 70 Jul 1, Roman Emperor Titus assaulted the walls of Jerusalem with battering rams. (MC, 7/1/02) 70 Aug 8, Tower of Antonia was destroyed by the Romans. (MC, 8/8/02) 70 Aug 29, The Temple of Jerusalem burned after a nine-month Roman siege. The Second Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome?s 10th Legion and the Jews there were exiled. In the Jewish War the Israelites tried unsuccessfully to revolt against Roman rule. The destruction buried the shops that lined the main street. Archeologists in 1996 found numerous artifacts that included bronze coins called prutot. Carpenters from Israel?s Antiquities Authority used manuscripts of the Roman master builder Vitruvius to reconstruct contraptions used in the construction of the temple. In 2007 Martin Goodman authored ?Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations.? (SFC, 5/23/95, p.A-10)(SFC, 8/28/96, p.A10)(WSJ, 6/22/98, p.A20)(HN, 8/29/98)(SFEC, 3/28/99, p.T11)(Econ, 1/20/07, p.90) 70 Sep 7, The Roman army under Titus occupied and plundered Jerusalem. (MC, 9/7/01) 70 Sep 27, The walls of upper city of Jerusalem were battered down by Romans. (MC, 9/27/01) 70 The Gospel of Mark, the earliest chronicle of the life of Jesus, dates to about this time. (SFC, 10/22/02, p.A12) 70 Josephus recorded that Vespasian and his son Titus plundered 50 tons of gold and silver during the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. (SFC, 10/23/06, p.A15) 70 The Jerusalem mansion of Queen Helene, who came from a royal clan that ruled Adiabene (northern Iraq), was destroyed along with the rest of Jerusalem. In 2007 archeologists uncovered remains of the structure. Helene converted along with her family to Judaism when they came to Jerusalem in the first half of the first century AD. (AP, 12/7/07) 70 A Roman punitive expedition forced the Garamantes of southern Libya to enter into an official relationship with Rome. (AM, 3/04, p.28) 71 Vespasian and his son Titus paraded the treasure plundered from Jerusalem in triumph through the streets of Rome. They used the 50 tons of gold and silver to help finance the building of the Colosseum. (SFC, 10/23/06, p.A15) 73 Jewish zealots on Mount Masada chose to perish by their own hands rather than surrender to slavery under the Romans. (SFEC, 3/28/99, p.T5) 73 When the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule was crushed, many Jewish refugees fled in all direction. Those who fled to Europe became known as Ashkenazim. (Econ, 6/4/05, p.75) 75 The treasure plundered from Jerusalem in 70AD by the Romans under Vespasian and his son, Titus, was put on public display in the Temple of Peace in the Roman Forum and stayed there into the early 5th century. (SFC, 10/23/06, p.A15) 76CE Jan 24, Publius A. Hadrianus, 14th Roman Emperor (117-138), was born. [see Mar 15] (MC, 1/24/02) 76CE Mar 15, Hadrian, Roman Emperor (builder of Hadrian's Wall), was born. [see Jan 24] (MC, 3/15/02) 78CE Mar 3, Origin of Saka Era in India. (SC, 3/3/02) 79CE Aug 24, Pliny the Elder, Roman naturalist, witnessed the eruption of long-dormant Mount Vesuvius and was overcome by the fumes as he tried to rescue refugees. The eruption buried the Roman cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, Herculaneum and other, smaller settlements in 13 feet of volcanic ash and pumice. An estimated 20,000 people died. The event was described by Pliny the Younger, the elder?s nephew, in a letter to Tacitus. (HFA, '96, p.36)(DD-EVTT, p.70)(AP, 8/24/97)(WUD, 1994, p.1106)(SFC, 9/1/97, p.A2)(HNQ, 6/16/98) 79CE Aug 25, Gaius Plinius Secundus, [Plinius Maior], Roman admiral, writer, died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. [see Aug 24] (MC, 8/25/02) 79CE Nov 1, Pompeii was buried by eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. [see Aug 24] (HN, 11/1/98) 79CE The Hindu calendar was updated to the solar year with this year as year 1. The original dated back to about 1000 BC. (SFC, 1/1/00, p.A18) 80CE The Colosseum was inaugurated under Emp. Titus (Vespacian) with 100 days of gladiator combat. The poet Martial described one combat between Verus and Priscus. The amphitheater occupied the site of a large artificial lake, created by Nero for his Domus Aurea. (SFC, 7/20/00, p.C3)(AM, 3/04, p.54)(WSJ, 1/25/05, p.D12) 80CE The Theater of Pompey was burned and restored by Titus and Domitian. (RFH-MDHP, p.214) 81 Sep 13, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, emperor of Rome (69-81), died at 42. (MC, 9/13/01) 81-96 The reign of Domitian. Soldiers under his reign earned an annual salary of about 1,200 sesterces. (HNQ, 10/5/00)(AM, 5/01, p.36) c81-138 Secret police agents in Ancient Rome were known as frumentarii. Growing out of an Augustine messenger service?the cursus publicus?frumentarii were originally just supply sergeants responsible for such mundane functions as the purchase and distribution of grain. However, under the reign of Domitian (a.d. 81-96), or possibly Hadrian (117-138), they were turned into intelligence officers and gradually became more involved in state security. (HNQ, 10/5/00) 82CE Jul 27, Joseph of Arimathea, died and was buried in tomb he once lent to Jesus. (MC, 7/27/02) 85-130CE Some 2000 letters on wooden tablets were excavated beginning in 1973 at Vindolanda in northern England from Roman soldiers stationed there. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.14) 86CE Sep 19, Antoninus Pius, 15th Roman emperor (138-161), was born. (MC, 9/19/01) c90CE Luke, a Greek-born physician and contemporary of St. Paul, authored his Gospel about this time. St. Luke?s feast day is October 18. (www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_dir.htm)(www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=76) 90-168CE Claudius Ptolemy, geographer and mapmaker, collected information from travelers and constructed maps of the then known world. His maps were forgotten as the Roman Empire declined and were not rediscovered until the early 1400s. Robert Newton in his book "The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy" (1977), called him "the most successful fraud in the history of science." (ATC, p.15)(NH, 6/97, p.43)(LAT, 3/30/05) 95CE St. John the Divine established a Christian colony on the Greek island of Patmos after being exiled from Ephesus by Emperor Domitian. It is said that he wrote here the Book of Revelations in a grotto overlooking the main town. Greek Orthodox tradition says that he is the apostle John but that is not confirmed. (SFEC, 1/18/98, p.T6)(WSJ, 6/28/02, p.W8) 96CE Jul 1, Vespasian, a Roman Army leader, was hailed as a Roman Emperor by the Egyptian legions. (HN, 7/1/98) 96CE Sep 18, Domitian, Roman emperor, died. He was murdered and was succeeded by Nerva. (V.D.-H.K.p.83)(MC, 9/18/01) 97CE Oct 27, To placate the Praetorians of Germany, Nerva of Rome adopted Trajan, the Spanish born governor of lower Germany. (HN, 10/27/98) 97CE Sextus Julius Frontinus, Roman water commissioner, wrote of Rome: "The city looks cleaner, different, the air is purer and the causes of pollution that gave the air so bad a name with the ancients are now removed." (SFEC, 7/2/00, p.T1) 97-105CE Flavius Cerialis was prefect of Cohort IX of Batavians and the last occupant of the commandant?s house at Vindolanda. The cohort was transferred to the Danube to join Trajan?s forces gathering for the Second Dacian War. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.17) 98CE Jan 27, Marius Cocceius Nerva (67), emperor of Rome (96-98), died. (MC, 1/27/02) 98CE Cornelius Tacitus referred to the Baltic peoples in his book Germania. "In the East the Svebes washes the shores inhabited by the Aistian tribes (Aestiorum gentes)." (DrEE, 10/12/96, p.2) 98-117CE Trajan, rules as emperor over Rome. His reign coincides with the apex of Roman territorial power. Along with his successor Hadrian, he converted the flexible frontiers of Rome to a line of fixed walls and forts. (V.D.-H.K.p.64) c100CE Oct 31, The pagan Celts of Britain and Ireland celebrated Samhain on October 31 as the end of the season of the sun and the beginning of the season of darkness. It was believed that on this day the souls of the dead revisited their homes. Bonfires were lit to chase away evil spirits. When the Romans conquered Britain in the first century A.D., their fall harvest festival, Poloma Day, mixed with the traditions of Samhain to form a major fall festival at the end of October. (HNPD, 10/31/99) c100CE The first Chinese dictionary was compiled. (ATC, p.33) c100CE Since before this time in the central-west section of Arabia, Mecca attracted desert dwellers due its fresh water well. It is in a desert valley surrounded by mountains and is a crossroad for two heavily traveled long-distance trade routes. (ATC, p.56) c100CE A Greek merchant was sent by the Romans occupying Egypt to investigate rumors of a booming trade between Indian Ocean ports. His report was written as: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. (ATC, p.141) c100CE Raban Gamliel in the first century is credited with arranging the Amidah, considered by many to be the most important prayer in the Jewish liturgy. Raban Gamliel was the most influential Rabbi in the period following the destruction of the Temple. This was a time when many different rabbis each had their own individual domains. (www.kolshalom.com/divrei/dvarilana1.html) c100CE A mural was painted about this time at the Mayan ceremonial site of San Bartolo (Guatemala). It was uncovered by archeologist William Saturno of the Univ. of New Hampshire in 2001. (SFC, 3/13/02, p.A4)(USAT, 1/16/04, p.10A) 100CE Dioscorides, a Roman physician, named the marijuana plant cannabis sativa. (WSJ, 2/8/05, p.D7) 100-150 Archeologists in 1998 uncovered evidence of a pre-Columbian civilization from under the Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan that was dated to this time. The skeleton of a man was found by a team led by Saburo Sugiyama. The most important and largest city of pre-Colombian central Mexico, the Nahuatl meaning of Teotihuacan was "Where Men Become Gods" or "The City of Gods." Just north of Mexico City, Teotihuacan was planned at about the beginning of the Christian era and was sacked and burned by invading Toltecs in 650. (SFC, 10/22/98, p.C2)(SFEC, 11/8/98, p.T10)(HNQ, 4/24/99)(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.A22) 100-200 Serdica was home to a Roman amphitheater. It stood on the trade road between the Danube and Constantinople. Known to the Romans as Serdica, it later became known as Sophia, the capital of Bulgaria. (AM, 7/04, p.14) c100-200 A report from London on 6/27/96 said that the British Library had acquired Buddhist texts that date back as early as the 2nd cent CE. The texts were believed to be part of the canon of the Sarvastivadin sect, which dominated Gandhara, now north Pakistan and east Afghanistan. (SFC, 6/27/96, p.A12) c100-200 Simon Ben Azzai, second century (A.D.) Jewish scholar: "In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou has attained it thou art a fool." (AP, 11/15/97) 100-200 Celsus, a second century scholar, thought that Christianity was a threat to the social order. He made some attempt to strip away its mythology and identify the historical Jesus. (WSJ, 5/26/98) 100-200CE Poompuhar (southern India) grew during the reign of Karikal Cholan, the second-century Chola king who established trade ties with China, Arabia and the Roman Empire. In the 20th century remnants of brick buildings, water reservoirs, a boat jetty and Roman coins were found during undersea excavations. (AP, 1/14/05) 100-400CE In the Canary Islands Roman artifacts were found in strata dated to this time. The islands were described by Plutarch and Ptolemy gave their precise location. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.22) c100-700 A group of agricultural Indians (today called the Moche) inhabit the desert margin between the Andes and the Pacific in what is today called Peru. They raised huge monuments of sun baked mud where they laid their dead with fine gold and pottery. They irrigated crops such as corn, beans, squash, and peanuts. The ate llamas and guinea pigs and caught fish in the Pacific. [2nd source dated the Moche from 0-800] The Nasca [Nazca] Indians also inhabited this area about this time. (NG, Oct. 1988, p. 510)(SFEM, 4/13/97, p.16) c100-700 In Peru the Nazca Lines are a complex series of huge birds, animals and other figures etched into the ground by the Nazca culture some 225 miles southeast of Lima. (SFC, 9/1/97, p.A14) 100BC-1500 In Vietnam the city of Hoi An was the principal port of the seafaring Champa kingdom, that embraced Indian culture. The kingdom withstood attacks from the Chinese, Vietnamese, Khmers and Mongols. Archaeological study in Hoi An in the 1990s proved that more than 2000 years ago Hoi An was an embryonic port town of the Sa Huynh people. From the 2nd to the 15th centuries, Hoi An was the main port of the Champa Kingdom. In these centuries, Hoi An became a prosperous commercial port town, very well developed and famous in Asia. (SFEC, 4/26/98, p.T4)(www.hoianworldheritage.org/ehoian/cultural/lichsu_vh_chinh.htm) 100-1300 Time period of the Anasazi culture of northern Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah and Colorado. (WUD, 1994, p.53) 100-1300CE The Bir-Kot Shwandai site in northern Pakistan marks an urban settlement. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.C) 103-105CE Apolodorus of Damascus built a bridge over the Danube for Emperor Trajan. It connected the Roman provinces of Moesia Superior and Dacia (the Yugoslavian and Romanian banks respectively). (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.26) 104CE There was a fire in Rome. Emp. Trajan built massive baths over the Domus Aurea of Nero. (WSJ, 1/25/05, p.D12) 105CE Ts'ai Lun (Cai Lun), a Chinese government official (eunuch), told Emperor He about making zhi, i.e. paper. By the end of the second century, the Chinese were printing books on rag paper using wooden type. (V.D.-H.K.p.154)(NG, Feb, 04, p.9) 105CE Flavius Cerialis, prefect of Cohort IX of Batavians at Vindolanda in northern England, was transferred to the Danube to join Trajan?s forces gathering for the Second Dacian War. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.17) 106CE Nabatae, whose capital was Petra, became a Roman province under Trajan. The Roman city of Jerash was one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis. (WUD, 1994, p.948)(SFEM, 4/11/99, p.8)(AM, 3/04, p.60) c109CE Silk was carried by a caravan from China to Persia for the first time. (ATC, p.33) c111CE A Roman amphitheater was built at Nyon, Switzerland. An inscription at the site had a dedication to the emperor Trajan. (AM, Jul/Aug ?97 p.10) 117 Aug 8, Marcus Ulpius Trajanus (Trajan), emperor of Rome (98-117), died. (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm) 117 Aug 11, The Roman army of Syria hailed its legate, Hadrian, as emperor, which made the senate's formal acceptance an almost meaningless event. One of his first acts was to withdraw Rome?s army from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm)(Econ, 7/19/08, p.94) 117 The Trimontium amphitheater was built in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The area was later sacked by Attila the Hun and the site was covered in dirt until a landslide exposed it in 1972. (SSFC, 7/16/06, p.G4) 117-138 The reign of Hadrian. (HNQ, 10/5/00) 117-180CE Aulus Gellius, Roman writer. (RFH-MDHP, p.214) 118CE Jul 9, Hadrian, Rome's new emperor, made his entry into the city. (HN, 7/9/98) 120-130CE Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered a great wall to be built in northern England along with a series of forts "to separate the Romans from the barbarians." It extended for 73.5 English miles from the estuary of the river Tyne on the east to Solway Firth on the west. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.15) 121 Apr 20, Marcus Aurelius (d.180), 16th Roman emperor, philosopher, was born. He authored the "Meditations." [see Apr 26] (V.D.-H.K.p.64)(HN, 4/20/98) 121 Apr 26, Antonius Marcus Aurelius, [Marcus A. Verus], Emperor of Rome (161-180), was born. [see Apr 20] (MC, 4/26/02) 121-135CE The Temple of Venus and Rome was built in Rome. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.14) 122 Sep 13, Building began on Hadrian's Wall. (MC, 9/13/01) 125 Lucius Apuleius, Roman philosopher and satirist, was born about this time. His work included "Metamorphoses." (WUD, 1994, p.74)(WSJ, 5/14/99, p.W8) 125 The Gospel of John dated to this time. A papyrus fragment mentioned Jesus. (SFC, 10/22/02, p.A12) 126CE Aug 1, Publius Helvius Pertinax, Roman emperor (193 CE), was born. (MC, 8/1/02) 129 Sep 22, Claudius Galenus (d.~199-217), Greek physician and scholar, was born. Some sources put his birth in 131. Galen went to Rome in 162 AD and made his mark as a practicing physician. Galen developed the first typology of temperament in his dissertation ?De temperamentis,? and searched for physiological reasons for different behaviors in humans. (http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/galen.html)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen) 130 Antinous, the Greek lover of Roman Emperor Hadrian, died in the Nile. Hadrian insisted that Antinous be given the status of a god. (Econ, 7/19/08, p.94) 132 Zhang Heng introduced an earthquake weathercock, a device that could inform the Chinese court of a distant earthquake. (NG, Feb, 04, p.28) 132CE Jewish rebels occupied the mountain ridge of Hebron during the Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans. The remains of an ancient synagogue and mikveh are still visible. (SFEC, 12/22/96, p.T2)(Econ, 7/19/08, p.94) 135 Chinese astronomers recorded what later became known as a supernova. (SFC, 11/6/09, p.A7) 135CE Roman Emperor Hadrian sent 12 divisions under Julius Severus to quell the Jewish rebellion led by Simon Bar Kokhba, who was killed at Bethar. An estimated 600,000 Jews were killed. Hadrian ordered Jerusalem plowed under and Aelia Capitolina was built on the site. He barred Jews from returning and survivors dispersed across the empire. Judea was renamed Syria-Palestina. (SFC, 12/26/96, p.C16)(PBS, Nova, 11/23/04)(PC, 1992 ed, p.41) 136-140CE Hyginus was pope. He was later proclaimed a saint. (WUD, 1994, p.697) 138 Jul 10, Publius A. Hadrianus (b.76), Roman emperor (117-138), died. He was responsible for Hadrian's Wall in Britain, begun in 122. (www.roman-emperors.org/hadrian.htm) 138-161 Antoninus Pius succeeded Hadrian to Rome. (AM, 11/00, p.13) 139 Hadrian?s Mausoleum was built in Rome. (SSFC, 5/1/05, p.F8) c140CE Emperor Antoninus Pius ordered Hadrian?s Wall to be abandoned and a more northerly defense to be established. Remnants could later be seen of the Antonine Wall around Falkirk, Scotland. Roman troops advanced northwards into the Scottish lowlands, driving the barbarians back before them and establishing a new frontier called the Antonine Wall, named for the new Emperor, Antoninus Pius. The Antonine Wall was later abandoned, reoccupied, and abandoned a second and final time under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. (NG, 12/97, forum)(HNQ, 9/9/00) c140 The Persians begin to frequently trade with the Romans and Chinese. (ATC, p.33) 141 Mar 20, The 6th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. (MC, 3/20/02) 141-155 St. Pius I, pope, martyr. (PGA, 12/9/98) 145CE A temple was completed in Rome as a tribute to Emperor Hadrian. In 1802 it became the site of the Rome stock exchange. (WSJ, 12/13/96, p.B11A) 150CE Ptolemy of Alexandria published his theory of epicycles, the idea that the moon, the sun and the planets moved in circles which were moving in circles which were moving in circles around the Earth. (Econ, 2/7/04, p.75) c150CE About this time the lateen sail was first used on the Mediterranean Sea. (ATC, p.12) c150CE The subterranean graveyard beneath the Appian Way had existed from about this time and probably originated as the private open-air burial ground of the noble Cecili family of Rome. About 200CE it became the first official Christian cemetery. (ITV, 1/96, p.59) 150-200CE The Temple of Quetzalcoatl in Teotihuacan (City of the Gods) was built near what later became Mexico City. Quetzalcoatl was considered as the origin of all human activities on earth, the creator of land and time and its divisions. (SSFC, 5/6/01, p.T9)(SSFC, 11/9/03, p.C7) 150-250 Acharya Nagarjuna, Indian philosopher, lived about this time. He founded the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism. (Econ, 1/8/11, p.43)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagarjuna) 151 The Almagest by Claudius Ptolemy, roughly translated as "the Greatest Compilation," was published around this time and became one of the most influential scientific texts in history. He argued that the cosmos consisted of concentric spheres with the Earth at the center. (LAT, 3/30/05)(SSFC, 2/5/06, p.M1) 155 Feb 23, Polycarp, disciple of Apostle John, was arrested and burned at stake. (MC, 2/23/02) 155 St. Pius I, pope, was martyred. (PGA, 12/9/98) 156 Montanus of Phrygia (central Asia Minor) pronounced himself to be the incarnation of the Holy Spirit and that the New Jerusalem was about to come crashing down and land in Phrygia. His followers were called Montanists. (Econ, 12/18/04, p.34) 158 Apulieus of Madaura, author of ?The Golden Ass,? defended himself at the roman basilica in Sabratha (Libya) against charges of witchcraft in an oration known as Pro de se magia, or more commonly the Apologia. (Arch, 9/02, p.47) c160CE The Romans abandoned their garrison at Cramond, Scotland, and retreated to Hadrian?s Wall. (AM, Jul/Aug ?97 p.14) 160-230 Tertullian, Carthaginian theologian. (WUD, 1994, p.1466) 161 CE Mar 7, Marcus Aurelius became emperor on the death of Antoninus Pius [Titus Aurelius], age 74, at Lorium. Antoninus ruled from 138-161. (HN, 3/7/99)(MC, 3/7/02) 161CE Aug 31, Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, emperor of Rome (180-92), was born. (WUD, 1994 p.297)(MC, 8/31/01) 166CE A Roman envoy arrived in China. This was their 1st recorded official contact. (ATC, p.33)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.58) 167 Feb 13, Polycarp, a disciple of St. John and bishop of Smyrna, was martyred on the west coast of Asia Minor. (HN, 2/13/99) 180 Mar 17, Antonius Marcus Aurelius (58), [Marcus Verus], Emperor of Rome, died. (MC, 3/17/02) 180 Jul 17, Christenen Cittinus Donatus Natzalus Secunda Speratus Vestia was sentenced to death in Carthage. (MC, 7/17/02) c180 Pausanius, traveler and geographer, wrote a description of Greece which we have and it is, so to speak, the first guide book known. (WUD, 1994 p.1058)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.58)(SSFC, 12/1/02, p.C3) 180 A Roman military transport ship was built about this time, as Marcus Aurelius passed the throne to the emperor Commodus. It later sank in the Rhine. In 2003 archeologists in the Netherlands unveiled the preserved ship. (AP, 5/15/03) 180 A smallpox epidemic hit Rome and killed 3.5 to 7 million people including Emp. Marcus Aurelius. It was dubbed the Plague of Antonine. (NW, 10/14/02, p.46) 182 Roman Emp. Commodus executed the brothers Sextus Quintilius Maximus and Sextus Quintilius Condianus for alleged conspiracy. Their Villa dei Quintili, several miles from the center of Rome and comparable to Hadrian?s villa in Tivoli, was identified in 1828. (AM, 7/05, p.28) c182-c251 Origen of Caesarea, a church father, urged Christians not to celebrate birthdays because they were a pagan custom. (WSJ, 12/18/98, p.W15) 185 Dec 7, Emperor Lo-Yang of China saw a supernova (MSH15-52?). (MC, 12/7/01) 188 Apr 4, Caracalla, [Marcus Aurelius Antonius], well-bathed Roman emperor (211-217), was born. (MC, 4/4/02) 190 General Dong Zhuo seized power in China and placed a child, Liu Xie, on the throne. (NG, Feb, 04, p.28) 190 The abacus was invented about this time. (NW, 9/2/16, p.34D) 192 Dec 31, Lucius A.A. Commodus (b.161), Emperor of Rome (180-192), was murdered. His mistress Marcia, Chamberlain Eclectus, and praetorian prefect Laetus hired the wrestler Narcissus to strangle Commodus after they found their names on an imperial execution list. (PCh, 1992, p.42)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus) 193 Mar 28, Publius Helvius Pertinax, Roman Emperor (192-93), was assassinated. (HFA, '96, p.26)(MC, 3/28/02) 193 Apr 9, The distinguished Roman soldier Lucius Septimius Severus was proclaimed emperor by the army at Carnuntum (Austria). (www.roman-emperors.org/sepsev.htm) 193 Apr 14, Lucius Septimius Severus (d.211), a native son of Leptis Magna in Libya, was crowned emperor of Rome. Under his rule the empire reached its greatest extent with almost 50 provinces. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus)(SSFC, 6/27/04, p.D12) 193CE Jun 1, The Roman Emperor, Marcus Didius (61), was murdered in his palace. (HN, 6/1/99)(MC, 6/1/02) 195CE Sho-saiko-to is a Chinese formula of bupleurum root, pinellia tuber, scutellaria root, jujube fruit, ginseng root, glycyrrhiza (licorice) root, and ginger rhizome. It is used to help prevent liver cancer. (WSJ, 9/25/95, p.B7B) 197 Feb 19, Lucius Septimius Severus' army beat Clodius Albinus at Lyon. D Clodius Septimus Albinus, Roman dignitary in England, died in the battle. (MC, 2/19/02) c197CE The sculpture of a lioness devouring a man made about this time was found in 1997 in the mud of the Almond River near Edinburgh, Scotland. (SFC, 1/22/97, p.A9)(AM, Jul/Aug ?97 p.14) 199-217 Pope Zephyrinus led the Church. (ITV, 1/96, p.59) 200 The first Runic inscriptions that have survived to the modern day dated from around this time. The Runic alphabet, also known as Futhark, consists of 24 letters, 18 consonants and 6 vowels. (www.ancientscripts.com/futhark.html) c200CE The Forma Urbis Romae was a 60 by 45-foot map carved out of marble that detailed every building, room and staircase in 2nd century Rome. (Wired, 11/98, p.117) c200 Romans began making glass objects that included windows, bottles and drinking vessels. (SFEC, 6/20/99, Z1 p.8) c200 The Mishna, a section of the Talmud consisting of a collection of oral laws, was edited by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi in the Jewish city of Sepphoris. (WUD, 1994, p.916)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.64) c200CE Pope Zephyrinus assigned his deacon, Calixtus (a former slave), to administer the large underground complex beneath the Appian Way. The subterranean graveyard had existed from about 150CE. This first official Christian cemetery probably originated as the private open-air burial ground of the noble Cecili family of Rome. From this time on it became known as the Catacombs of St. Calixtus. It extended over an area of 20 km., one 3-5 levels, and includes some 500,000 tombs. (ITV, 1/96, p.59) c200CE West African people called Bantu, which means "the people," migrated into central and southern Africa. (ATC, p.24) c200CE Barbarian invasions and civil wars begin in the Roman empire. (ATC, p.33) 200-300 A Roman bathhouse was constructed in Milan and its columns still stood in the 20th century. (SFEC, 7/13/97, p.T3) 200-300 The Chinese scholar Wang Bi wrote an extensive commentary on the I Ching. He lived only to the age of 23. His commentaries dominate Chinese thinking on the I Ching until the Confucian revival in the 11th century. In 1997 an English translation by Richard John Lynn was published. (NH, 9/97, p.12) c200-300 Diophantus, a 3rd century Hellenistic mathematician, wrote a series of classical texts on Algebra called Arithmetica. (SFEC, 4/5/98, Z1 p.8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diophantus) 200-300 In Laos evidence has indicated the presence of a Hindu Shrine at Wat Phu with prehistoric levels below. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.F) 200-300 Campeche (Mexico), from the 3rd century, was the principal town of the Maya kingdom of Ah Kin Pech (place of serpents and ticks). (SSFC, 1/25/09, p.E4) 200-300 The original Polynesians arrived at Hawaii probably from the Marquesas. They brought with them edible plants and animals. (SFEM, 2/8/98, p.10) 200-400CE A giant statue of Buddha was made at Bamiyan some 100 miles west of Kabul. It was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. (AM, Jul/Aug ?97 p.19)(SFC, 2/12/02, p.A16) c200-400 Sealed royal tombs were found in 2 pyramids at the Yaxuna Maya site in Mexico. (AM, May/Jun 97 suppl. p.H) 200-400 Christianity spread rapidly in Numidia and the diocese of Lamiggiga was established. It was later abandoned and just the name was used as an honorary jurisdiction for Catholic auxiliary bishops. (SFC, 9/19/98, p.C1) c200-700CE In Cambodia at Angkor Borei excavations were proceeding on what might have been the capital of the ancient kingdom of Funan. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.A,D) 200-1215 The Fremont people lived in Utah and etched into rock designs of animals and people. (SFEC, 3/14/99, p.T8,9) c200-1450 The Hohokam people lived in the area of Tucson, Arizona. (SSFC, 3/31/02, p.C6) 202 St. Iranaeus around this time was Bishop of Lugdunum, Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire (later Lyons, France). He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irenaeus) 203 Lucius Septimus Severus (d.211), emperor of Rome, returned to visit home at Leptis Magna (Libya). (SSFC, 6/27/04, p.D12) 205-270CE Plotinus was an Alexandrian philosopher in Rome and founder of Neo-Platonism, which strongly influenced the later Augustine, who taught of a mystical union with the Good through the exercise of pure intelligence. He founded Neo-Platonism, a religion that for a time rivaled Christianity. Neo-Platonism developed out of the philosophical doctrines of Plato in the fourth century B.C. Plotinus developed the spiritual side of Plato's thought into a mystical philosophy teaching reunion with the One and that material things are unworthy. Saint Augustus, formerly a Neo-Platonist, brought some of his ideas into Christian theism. (V.D.-H.K.p.93)(HNQ, 5/11/98) 211 Feb 4, Lucius Septimius Severus (64), emperor of Rome (193-211), died. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus) 211-217CE The reign of the Roman emperor Caracalla (188-217). Coins were minted at the Jewish city of Sepphoris during the reign of Caracalla. (WUD, 1994, p.221)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.64) 215 Clement of Alexandria, a Church father, died. He cited early efforts to fix the Nativity on Apr 19, 20th or May 20. (WSJ, 12/18/98, p.W15) c216-276 Manes, aka Manicheus or Mani, Persian profit and founder of the dualistic religious system called Manichaeism. It was a combination of Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism and other elements. The basic doctrine was based on a conflict between light and dark, with matter being regarded as dark and evil. (WUD, 1994, p.871) 217 Apr 8, Caracalla (b.188), [Marcus Antonius], Roman emperor (198-217), was murdered in his baths. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracalla) 220 The Han Dynasty dissolved as Liu Xie abdicated. Three separate kingdoms became established: Shu in the west, Wu to the east of the gorges, and Wei in the north. The later classic "Tale of the Three Kingdoms" traced the collapse of the Han Dynasty. (NH, 7/96, p.33)(WSJ, 9/16/99, p.A26)(NG, Feb, 04, p.28) 220 Cao Cao (65), skillful Chinese general and ruler, died. He built the strongest and most prosperous state in northern China during the Three Kingdoms period (208-280), when China had three separate rulers. In 2009 Chinese archeologists discovered his tomb in Xigaoxue, a village near the ancient capital of Anyang in central Henan province. (AP, 12/28/09) 220CE At Baalbeck in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon the Romans constructed an incomplete acropolis that contained a Temple of Jupiter and a Temple of Bacchus. (SFEC, 4/13/97, p.T9) 220CE The Kushan empire [Afghanistan] fragmented into petty dynasties. (www.afghan-web.com/history/-web.com/history/, 5/25/98) 222 Mar 11, Varius A. Bassianus (18), Syrian emperor of Rome (218-22), was murdered. (MC, 3/12/02) 224-641CE The Sassanid Dynasty ruled over Persia. (ATC, p.32) 226CE The Iranians conquered the Parthians. (WUD, 1994, p.1051) c226 In Iran Zoroastrianism was revitalized as a state religion under the Sassanians. (WSJ, 2/2/00, p.A24) 227-261CE The Sassanids (A.D. 227-651), ruled the Persian Empire despite attempts by the Roman Empire (27 B.C.-A.D. 476) and later the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman) Empire to conquer it. Bam was founded during the Sassanian Period along one of the East-West trade routes collectively known as the Silk Road. (HNQ, 12/22/00)(SFC, 12/27/03, p.A12) 230 The St. Georgeous Church was built in Jordon. In 2008 archeologists found a cave under the church with evidence that it was used as a church by 70 disciples of Jesus in the first century after his death, which would make it the oldest Christian site of worship in the world. (AP, 6/11/08) 230 In Tunisia a Roman coliseum was built in the town of El Jem that could hold 30,000. (SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T5) c230 St. Cecilia of the patrician Cecili family was martyred [possibly during the persecutions of Diocletian]. She lived in Trastevere where she reportedly sang hymns all day and so became the patroness of music. She was decapitated by Roman soldiers after 3 abortive attempts. (WUD, 1994, p.237)(ITV, 1/96, p.60) 230 Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (anglicized as Tertullian), early Christian apologist, died. He was a church leader and prolific author of Early Christianity. Tertullian was born about 150 and lived and died in Carthage (later Tunisia). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertullian) 232-238CE In China tens of thousands of bamboo strips and wooden boards recording regional government matters during the Three Kingdoms period were found in an ancient well during construction in 1997 in the southern city of Changsha. (AM, May/Jun 97 p.26) 235 Mar 18, Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (b.208), Syrian emperor of Rome (222-235), was murdered. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Severus) 235CE An inscription in Greek in the Calixtian Complex of Rome was dedicated to the pope St. Pontian, who died in the Sardinian mines. (ITV, 1/96, p.60) 235CE An inscription in Greek in the Calixtian Complex of Rome was dedicated to pope St. Anterus, who reigned for only 43 days and died in prison. (ITV, 1/96, p.60) 238 May 10, Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus ("The Thracian"), Roman Emperor, was murdered. (MC, 5/10/02) 238CE Solinus wrote that the Hibernian mother places the first morsel of food in her child?s mouth with the point of her sword. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.11) 239 In Japan Queen Himiko (Pimiko, Queen of Wa) of the Kingdom of Yamataikoku sent an envoy to China. (www.gias.snu.ac.kr/wthong/) 243 The text "De Pascha Computus" calculated the spring equinox, March 25, under the Julian calendar from the first day of creation. The author used this to derive March 28 as the birthday of Jesus. (WSJ, 12/18/98, p.W15) 250CE An inscription in Greek in the Calixtian Complex of Rome was dedicated to pope St. Fabian, who re-organized the Church in a period of peace and was then martyred during the Decian persecutions. (ITV, 1/96, p.60) 250-300CE The smaller Buddha at Bamiyan, 114 feet high, dated to about this time. It was a gigantic magnification of a Gandhara image. It was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. (WSJ, 3/5/00, p.A22)(SFC, 2/12/02, p.A16) 250-600CE Early classic period of the Maya. (AM, May/Jun 97 suppl. p.B) 250-710CE The Japanese Kofun period. Mongoloid people from Korea continued to enter Japan and mixed with the older Jomon populations. (AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.38) 250-800 This period was covered in the 2000 book "Late Antiquity" edited by G.W. Bowersock, Peter Brown and Oleg Grabar. (WSJ, 2/2/00, p.A24) c250-900 During this time about a hundred thousand Mayans lived in the area of Tikal (meaning "the place where spirit voices are heard"). It was abandoned after some 15 hundred years of continuous habitation. (SFEM, 6/13/99, p.8) 250-900 The classic period of Maya culture. (SFC, 6/23/96, p.A10) 253 Valerian became emperor of Rome and ruled until 260 when he was captured and executed by Persian King Shapur I. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Valerian_I) 254CE May 12, St. Stephen I began his reign as the 23rd Catholic Pope. According to the "Liber Pontificalis" he instituted the rule that clerics should wear special clothes at their ministrations. (SC, Internet, 5/12/97)(HN, 5/12/98) 254CE Pope St. Lucius I, who spent part of his pontificate in exile, was buried in the Calixtian Complex of Rome and has an inscription in Greek. (ITV, 1/96, p.60) 256 The Anatolian city of Zeugma on the Euphrates was sacked by Persian King Shapur I. This was soon followed by a devastating fire and an earthquake and Zeugma was abandoned. In 2000 the area was submerged as part of the Southeast Anatolia Project of dams for power. (SFEC, 5/7/00, p.A23)(Arch, 9/00, p.41) 257 Aug 2, Pope Stefanus I (St. Stephen), bishop of Rome (254-57), heretic fighter, died. (MC, 8/2/02) 258 Aug 6, Pope Sixtus II, bishop of Rome (257-58), was beheaded upon orders of Emperor Valerian. (ITV, 1/96, p.60)(MC, 8/6/02) 258 Sep 14, Thascius Caecilius Cyprian (b.~200), Christian writer and Bishop of Carthage (248), died as a martyr in Carthage. (http://www.fact-index.com/c/cy/cyprian.html) 258 A red agate cup with gold handles, the Santo Caliz, was sent to Spain by Pope Sixtus II and St. Laurence as Rome went under siege by the Persians. In 1437 the church moved it to the Cathedral of Valencia. (SSFC, 5/27/06, p.G3) 258-260 Persia and Rome engaged in a 2-year war. (WUD, 1994 ed., p.1667) 260 Persia?s King Shapur I captured Roman Emp. Valerian. (Arch, 9/00, p.41) 260-268 Emp. Gallienus, son of Valerian, ruled Rome until he was assassinated. (AM, 5/01, p.40)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Valerian_I) 260-339 Eusebios (Eusebius of Caesarea, c263-340), Christian theologian and historian. He served as Bishop of Caesarea from 315-340. (WUD, 1994 p.492)(AM, 7/01, p.33) 266CE King Odenathus of Palmyra, ruler of the Roman province of Syria, was murdered. Zenobia Septimia, his wife, took control in the name of her teenage son, Vaballathus. (ON, 7/00, p.1) 267 Dec 26, Dionysius, bishop of Rome and saint, died. (MC, 12/26/01) 268 Roman Emp. Gallienus, son of Valerian, was assassinated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Valerian_I) 268 Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus, a Roman emperor of Batavian origin, died about this time. He usurped power from Gallienus in 260 and formed the so called Gallic Empire. He was recognized in Gaul, Germania, Britannia and Iberia until his murder in 268. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postumus) 269 Nov 20, Diocletian was proclaimed emperor of Numerian in Asia Minor by his soldiers. He had been the commander of the emperor's bodyguard. (HN, 11/20/98) 270 Feb 14, The early Christian martyr, St. Valentine, was beheaded about this time by Emperor Claudius II, who executed another St. Valentine around the same time. The Catholic Bishop Valentine was clubbed, stoned and beheaded by Emperor Claudius II for refusing to acknowledge the monarch?s outlawing of marriage. The Catholics then made Valentine a symbol to oppose the Roman mid-February custom in honor of the God Lupercus, where Roman teenage girls? names were put in a box and selected by young Roman men for "sex toy" use until the next lottery. The two Valentines merged into a single legendary patron of young lovers. St. Valentine?s Day evolved from Lupercalia, a Roman festival of fertility. (SFEM, 2/9/97, p.11)(SFC, 2/14/97, p.A26)(SFC, 2/4/04, p.D7) 270 Feb 15, Valentine's Day probably has its origins in the Roman feast of Lupercalia, which was held on February 15. One of the traditions associated with this feast was young men drawing the names of young women whom they would court during the following year--a custom that may have grown into the giving of valentine's cards. Another legend associated with Valentine's Day was the martyrdom of the Christian priest St. Valentine on February 14. The Roman emperor believed that men would remain soldiers longer if they were not married, but Valentine earned the wrath of the emperor by secretly marrying young couples. The first American publisher of valentines was printer and artist Esther Howland, who sold elaborate handmade cards for as much as $35 at the end of the 19th century. Complex and beautiful machine-made cards brought the custom of valentine exchanging within the reach of many Americans. (HNPD, 2/14/99) 270 Zenobia of Syria proclaimed herself "Queen of the East" and attacked Roman colonies adjoining her and conquered Egypt. (ON, 7/00, p.1) 272 Roman emperor Aurelian sent an army to attack Zenobia?s troops in Egypt and was repulsed. (ON, 7/00, p.1) 272CE Queen Zenobia led a failed uprising against the Romans, which left the city of Palmyra partly destroyed. Forces of Emperor Aurelian laid siege on Palmyra, from which Zenobia and a few retainers escaped. They were soon captured by Roman scouts. In 1967 Agnes Carr Vaughn authored "Zenobia of Palmyra." In 1994 Richard Stoneman authored "Palmyra and Its Empire: Zenobia?s Revolt Against Rome." (AMNHDT, 11/99)(ON, 7/00, p.3) 273 The Gallic Empire of the Batavian Postumus ended. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius) 274 Feb 27, Constantine I was born. He became the great Roman emperor (324-337) who adopted Christianity. [see c288] (MC, 2/27/02) 274 Dec 25, Emperor Aurelian imported into Rome the cult of Sol Invictus and made its Dec 25 festival a national holiday. (WSJ, 12/18/98, p.W15) 276 Jul 16, Marcus Annius Florianus, emperor of Rome (276), was murdered. (MC, 7/16/02) 276 The prophet Mani (b.210), a resident of Babylon, died. His writings led to Manichaeism, one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia. Although most of his original writings have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. Manichaeism is distinguished by its elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism) 280CE By this time descendants of the Nok people were farming near the southeastern coast of Africa on the fertile slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kirinyaga. They called themselves Bantu. (ATC, p.137-138) 280-473 During some time in this period Sun Zi, also known as Master Sun, authored the famous Chinese mathematical text ?Sun Tze Suan Ching.? The 3-volume book contained the Chinese remainder problem in volume 3. (www.math.sfu.ca/histmath/China/3rdCenturyBC/Sunzi.html)(Econ, 3/24/07, p.92) 283CE Pope St. Eutychian escaped persecution but struggled with early heresies. He was buried in the Calixtian Complex of Rome and has an inscription in Greek. (ITV, 1/96, p.60) 283 Sebastian, a Christian soldier, enlisted in the Roman army about this time. Emp. Diocletian, unaware that he was a Christian, appointed him as a captain of the Praetorian Guard. When he treated Christian prisoners due for martyrdom kindly, Diocletian reproached him for his supposed ingratitude and ordered him executed by arrow. He survived and returned to preach to Diocletian. In 287 Diocletian ordered Sebastian to be beaten to death. (www.economicexpert.com/a/Sebastian.htm)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Sebastian) 284 Aug 29, Gen Gaius Aurelius V Diocletianus Jovius (3) became emperor of Rome. Reign of Diocletian (Era of Martyrs), began. (MC, 8/29/01) 284 Nov 20, Diocletian (245-316) became Emperor of the Roman Empire and continued to 305. Under his rule the last and most terrible persecution of the Christians took place, perhaps some 3,000 martyrs. He divided rule over the empire among four men. He put two rulers to oversee the east and two to oversee the west. He also established four capitals. He moved his own capital from Rome to Nicomedia, south of Byzantium in Asia Minor. He also increased the size of the Roman army from 300,000 to 500,000 men. (http://bode.diee.unica.it/~giua/SEBASTIAN/Diocletian.html)(V.D.-H.K.p.91)(ITV, 1/96, p.58) 286 Carausius, a Roman naval officer, seized power in Britain and northern Gaul ruled until he was assassinated in 293. (AP, 7/8/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius) 286-336 King Trdat III ruled over Armenia. (MH, 12/96) c288CE Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, Roman emperor Constantine I (324-337), was born in Yugoslavia. In a battle against an army led by his brother-in-law, Maxentius, at the Milvian bridge near Rome Constantine was victorious. The night before this battle was when Constantine dreamed of an angel holding a cross and saying "In this sign thou shalt conquer!" [see 274] (WUD, 1994 p.314)(V.D.-H.K.p.91) 290CE Oct 1, [Christian] Bacchus, Roman soldier and martyred saint, was killed. (MC, 10/1/01) 290 Oct 7, [Christian] Sergius, Roman soldier and martyred saint, was decapitated. (MC, 10/7/01) 293 Mar 1, Roman emperor Maximianus introduced tetrarchy. (SC, 3/1/02) c293 The Roman fort at Qasr Bashir, Castra Praetorii Mobeni, was built under Aurelius Asclepiades, governorship of Arabia. (AM, 11/00, p.14) 296CE Apr 22, St. Gaius ended his reign as Catholic Pope. (HN, 4/22/98) 296CE Roman Emp. Diocletian ordered the burning of alchemical manuscripts for fear their discoveries would debase his coinage. This may have set back the science of distillation. (Econ, 12/20/03, p.68) 297 The Roman poet Eumenius first mentioned the Picts. The 2 most important Pictish groups were the Verturiones and the Caledones. (AM, 7/01, p.46)(AM, 11/04, p.41) 299-311 The period of Christian persecutions begun by Diocletian. (WSJ, 10/30/98, p.W11) Go to 300AD