WORLD HISTORY · TIMELINE 日本語
The 1st century1–100
What were the key events of the 1st century?
In the 1st century (AD 1–100), Wang Mang founded the Xin dynasty in China before Emperor Guangwu restored the Han, beginning the Eastern Han period. Christianity spread around the Mediterranean, Roman forces captured Jerusalem, and the king of Na, a state in Wa (early Japan), sent envoys to the Eastern Han court.
- Buddhism reaches ChinaAsia
- Wang Mang replaces Western Han with Xin dynastyAsia
- Roman army crushed in Teutoburg ForestEurope
- Emperor Guangwu restores Han, Eastern Han beginsAsia
- Christianity spreads to Mediterranean citiesMiddle East
- King of Na in Wa sends envoys to Eastern HanAsia
- Roman army captures JerusalemMiddle East
- Colosseum completed in RomeEurope
Summaries are written by the site editors.
Key events of the 1st century (timeline · excerpt)
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Buddhism reaches China
Wang Mang replaces Western Han with Xin dynasty
The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
Roman army crushed in Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hundred years.
Agrippa Postumus, maternal grandson of the late Roman emperor Augustus, is executed by his guards while in exile.
Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
The Roman general Germanicus dies near Antioch. He was convinced that the mysterious illness that ended in his death was a result of poisoning by the Syrian governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, whom he had ordered to leave the province.
Rebels decapitate Wang Mang, only Emperor of the Xin Dynasty, after his capital was sacked during a peasant rebellion.
Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.
Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation.
Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.
Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (aka Caligula = Little Boots) emperor.
Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified.
Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his adopted son Nero, rather than by Britannicus, his son with Messalina.
The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
An earthquake with an estimated intensity between IX or X on the Mercalli scale occurs in Pompeii, Italy.
The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
The freedman Milichus betrays Piso's plot to kill the Emperor Nero and all of the conspirators are arrested.
Nero dies by suicide after quoting Vergil's Aeneid, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho in the First Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome.
Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius.
Antonius Primus enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor for Nero's former general Vespasian.
The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.
Vespasian is proclaimed Emperor of Rome; his predecessor, Vitellius, attempts to abdicate but is captured and killed at the Gemonian stairs.
Roman army captures Jerusalem
The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple.
First Jewish–Roman War: Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.
After the capture of Herod's Palace the previous day, a Roman army under Titus secures and plunders the city of Jerusalem.
Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
Colosseum completed in Rome
Emperor Domitian is assassinated as a result of a plot by his wife Domitia and two Praetorian prefects. Nerva is then proclaimed as his successor.
Nerva, suspected of complicity of the death of Domitian, is declared emperor by Senate. The Senate then annuls laws passed by Domitian and orders his statues to be destroyed.
Roman emperor Nerva is forced by the Praetorian Guard to adopt general Marcus Ulpius Trajanus as his heir and successor.
On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.