(Redirected from 1st century CE)
The '1st century' was that
century that lasted from
1 to
100 according the
Gregorian calendar. It is considered part of the ''
Classical era, epoch, or
historical period''
During this period Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the
Roman Empire, which continued expanding, most notably conquering
Britain under the emperor
Claudius (
43). The reforms introduced by
Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars. Later in the century the
Julio-Claudian Dynasty, which had been foundered by
Augustus came to an end with the death of
Nero in
68. There followed the famous
Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by
Vespasian, 9th Roman emperor, and founder of the
Flavian Dynasty.
China was under the Han dynasty (with interruption) during 1st century. It was interrupted by the Xin/Hsin dynasty under Wang Mang for about 15 years before being restored, thereby giving rise to the Western/Former Han and the Eastern/Later Han. The capital was also moved from Changan to Luoyang.
Christianity
During the reign of
Tiberius,
Jesus, a religious teacher from
Galilee, who Christians believe to be the Son of God, was crucified in
Judea. Over the next few decades his followers carried his message far and wide, eventually introducing it to Rome itself. The Roman state began to
persecute the new sect almost immediately, and would continue to do so for centuries, sometimes vigorously, and other times passively, until
Christianity was eventually taken up by the emperor
Constantine, and later established as the official religion of the Roman state.
Events

The skeleton called the "Ring Lady" unearthed in Herculaneum. One of the victims of the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius in
79
★
1:
Lions became
extinct in
Western Europe.
★ c.6:
Census of Quirinius
★
8–
23:
Wang Mang temporarily overthrew the
Han dynasty of
China.
★
28–
75:
Emperor Ming of Han,
Buddhism reaches
China.
★
27–
36:
Crucifixion of
Jesus Christ.
Death of Jesus.
★
Masoretes adds vowel pointings to the text of the
Tanakh, the
Hebrew Bible.
★
Buddhist monks in
Sri Lanka first write down
Buddha's teachings, creating the
Pali canon.
★
Tacitus mentions the
Suiones, who will one day be called the
Swedes.
★
Kaundinya, an
Indian Brahmin marries
Soma and establishes the Pre-
Angkor Cambodian Kingdom of
Funan.
★ The
Goths settle in northern
Poland, which they called
Gothiscandza, and shape the
Wielbark culture.
★
Christian Council of Jerusalem.
★
July 19,
64:
Great Fire of Rome, first Roman mass
Persecution of Christians, earliest significant recognition of
Christians in
Rome.
★
66–
73 First Jewish-Roman War.
★
70, August: destruction of
Herod's Temple in
Jerusalem by the Romans under
Titus.
★
79, August:
Pompeii and
Herculaneum destroyed by eruption of
Mount Vesuvius.
★
Jewish Council of Jamnia.
★ Spread of the
Roman Empire, reaches largest size under
Trajan.
★
Arena (colosseum) is constructed, origin of the name
Arena.
★ Late 1st century — Cityscape, detail of a Second Style wall painting from a bedroom in the House of
Publius Fannius Synistor,
Boscoreale, is made. It is now at The
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York.
Significant persons

Bronze statue of Augustus, Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Bust of Caligula.
★
Apollonius of Tyana
★
Akiba
★
Arminius
★
Boudica, also known as Boadicea
★
Augustus
★
Caligula
★
Claudius
★
Clement I of Rome
★
Domitian
★
Du Shi
★
Elisha ben Abuyah
★
Galba
★
Guangwu of Han, Emperor
★
Hero of Alexandria
★
Hillel the Elder
★
Ignatius of Antioch
★
James the Just
★
Jesus of
Nazareth
★
John the Baptist
★
Josephus
★
Liu Xin
★
Livy
★
Ma Yuan
★
Ming of Han, Emperor
★
Nero
★
Nerva
★
Otho
★
Paul of Tarsus
★
Philo
★
Pliny the Elder
★
Pontius Pilate
★
Seneca the Younger
★
Strabo
★
Tacitus
★
Tiberius
★
Titus
★
Trajan
★
Vespasian
★
Vitellius
★
Wang Chong
★
Wang Mang
Inventions, discoveries, introductions
★
Codex, the first form of the modern book, appears in the Roman empire
★ Year
78 — the beginning of the Saka Era used by South Asian calendars.
★
Bookbinding
★ Various inventions by
Hero of Alexandria, including the
steam turbine (aeolipile),
vending machine,
water organ, and various other water-powered machines.
★ In
31, the
Han Dynasty Chinese engineer and statesman
Du Shi (d.
38) from
Nanyang invented the first-known
hydraulic-powered
bellows to heat the
blast furnace in smelting
cast iron. He used a complex mechanical device that was powered by the rushing current against a
waterwheel, a practice that would continue in China.
★ Although
Philo of Byzantium described the saqiya
chain pump in the early 2nd century BC, the square-pallet
chain pump was innovated in China during this century, mentioned first by the philosopher
Wang Chong around 80 AD. Wang Chong also accurately described the
water cycle in
meteorology, and argued against the mainstream 'radiating influence' theory for
solar eclipses, the latter of which was accepted by many, including
Zhang Heng.
★ The Chinese astronomer
Liu Xin (d.
23) documented 1080 different stars, amongst other achievements.
Decades and Years