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Part 8 - Rome, Revolts, and the Destruction of Jerusalem

63 BC - AD 200

100-44 BC: Life of Julius Caesar of Rome
96 BC: Tigrames, King of Armenia
90 BC: civil war in Rome, Marius vs. Sulla. Sulla wins
89-88 BC: King Mithriades VI Eupator of Pontos massacres 80,000 Romans in Asia minor and frees most of southern Greece from Roman rule
87-86 BC: Roman general Sulla defeats Mithridates, burns Athens, strips Greek shrines and demands reparations for rebellion
82 BC: Sulla defeats Marius the Younger, and is made "Dictator for life" (resigns in 79 BC, and dies in 78 BC)
ca 79 BC: Lucullus imports the first cherry trees from Asia Minor to Rome
76-66 BC: Alexandra Salome, widow of Alexander Jannai, succeeds him as ruler and appoints her son Hyrcanus II as high priest. She reinstates the Pharisees' ordinances, and their control of Temple practices and calendar
72 BC: Germanic tribes invade Gaul
71 BC: revolt of slaves and gladiators in Rome, led by Spartacus, put down by Pompey and Crassus
70-19 BC: Virgil, Roman poet
66 BC: death of Alexandra Salome. Her sons were Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II. They commenced a struggle for power, which involved Antipater (also called Antipas, the militray commander of Idumea) and the Romans. That was a mistake - Rome takes all
66-63 BC: Aristobulus II, younger son of Salome, wrests kingship and high priesthood from his brother Hyrcanus II: allies with Sadducees
65-8 BC: Horace, Roman poet
63 BC: Roman occupation of Palestine
Pompey invades Judea, makes Palestine part of the Roman province of Syria; Temple Mount besieged and captured
Pompey decides in favor of Hyrcanus II, but deposes him from kingship and appoints him High Priest. End of the Hasmonean dynasty
Aristobulus II and others were marched as captives in triumph through Rome, then became part of Rome's growing Jewish community
63-40 BC: Hyrcanus II, High Priest at Jerusalem
63 BC - AD 14: Gaius Octavius (becomes the Emperor Augustus)
59 BC: first Triumvirate of Rome (Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey)
58 BC: Caesar conquers Gaul
55 BC: Caesar leads the Roman invasion of Britain
51 BC: Caesar writes "De bello Gallico" (account of the Gallic War")
51-31 BC: Cleopatra VII, last ruler of the Ptolemeic dynasty of Egypt
49 BC: Caesar wins battle against Pompey near Thermopylai in Greece
Caesar brings his army across the Rubicon river, into Rome. "Crossing the Rubicon" equivalent to declaring war on Rome. Caesar's statement "Alea jacta est" - the die is thrown
49-47 BC: Civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey
48 BC: birth of a son, Caesarion, to Julius Caesar of Rome and Cleopatra VII of Egypt. They set up house together in Rome, although Caesar already had a Roman wife
47 BC: As a reward for support of his Egypt campaign, Caesar appoints Hyrcanus as Ethnarch of Jews, and Antipater as procurator of Judea
Cleopatra of Egypt has Pompey murdered. She later tried to persuade Mark Antony to have Herod assassinated, so that she could take Judea, but Mark Antony refused
Library of Alexandria burned (by accident ?)
Herod made governor of Galilee
46 BC: Julius Caesar appointed Dictator of Rome
The Julian Calendar - leap years introduced
45 BC: Caesar adopts his nephew Gaius Octavius (Octavian) as his heir
44 BC: Julius Caesar assassinated in Rome, March 15 ("the Ides of March"). The assassins were led by Cassius and Brutus. Caesar's last words were "Et tu, Brute?" (you too, Brutus?). Civil war breaks out
43 BC: Founding of the Roman town of Lundinium (London) on the site of earlier settlements at fords across the River Thames
43 BC - AD 18: Ovid, Roman poet
42 BC: Caesar's adopted son Octavian joins with Mark Antony to defeat Cassius and Brutus in Macedonia. Cassius and Brutus commit suicide. Mark Antony takes control of the eastern regions, and makes Athens his capital
40 BC: Herod (the Great), son of Antipater and friend of Mark Antony, goes to Rome and gets himself appointed as a vassal king under Roman authority, called "King of the Jews" although he himself was of Edomite descent
40-37 BC: Antigonus II (son of Aristobulus II) power struggle with Herod the Great; gets helps from Parthians and rules until he is executed by the Romans on behalf of Herod
37 BC: Herod the Great captures Jerusalem, has Antigonus II executed
40-4 BC: Rule of Herod I (Herod the Great). Marries Mariamne I (a Hasmonean princess, granddaughter of both Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II), and styles himself "King of the Jews". Eventually kills Mariamne and the sons he had by her. Romans joke "I would rather be Herod's pig than his son" (Herod passed himself off as a Jew, and would not eat pork)
38 BC: Mark Antony returns to Egypt (and Cleopatra)
36-30 BC: Civil war in Rome between Octavian (Augustus) and Mark Antony
32 BC: Mark Antony and Cleopatra invade Italy to fight Octavian
31 BC: Naval Battle of Actium (in Greece) : Mark Antony and Cleopatra are defeated by Octavian and commit suicide. This is the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Egypt is made a Roman province
30 BC - AD 14: Octavian takes the name Augustus and founds the Roman Empire
construction of the system of straight Roman roads to facilitate movement of the army throughout the Empire begins
20 BC: Herod the Great starts to rebuild and extend the Temple in Jerusalem. The project continued until AD 62
13 BC - 41 AD: Philo of Alexandria
AD 6: Rome takes direct control of Palestine by appointing Roman Prefects. Herod Archelaus deposed by Emperor Augustus. Samaria, Judea and Idumea annexed as the province of Judaea with the capital at Caesarea
Quirinius: Legate (Governor) of Syria, 1st Roman tax census of Judaea
AD 14-37: Tiberius Emperor of Rome (born 42 BC)
AD 26-36: Pontius Pilate, Roman Prefect of Judaea (Samaria, Judea, and Idumea)
ca. AD 36-37: Paul of Tarsus agrees to the martyrdom of Stephen, persecution of the Church starts in Jerusalem
AD 37: Paul of Tarsus becomes a Christian (Acts 9)
AD 37-41: Calligula, Emperor of Rome (assassinated)
AD 37-100: Life of Josephus, starts out as a Jewish general against the Romans, switches his allegiance, goes to Rome and writes several books, including a History of the Jews
ca. AD 40: Philo
Rabbi Gamaliel I in Jerusalem
Paul goes to Jerusalem to consult with Peter (Galatians 1:18-20)
AD 41-54: Claudius, Emperor of Rome (poisoned by his wife Agrippina, mother of Nero)
AD 44: James, brother of John, executed by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-3)
AD 46-120: Plutarch, Greek prose writer, of Chaeronea near Thebes, visited Asia, Egypt and Italy and had friends in Rome; wrote many books and biographies, including pairs of "parallel lives" (a Greek compared to a Roman)
AD 45-57: Paul's Missionary Journeys
AD 47-48: Paul and Barnabas on Cyprus (Acts 13:4-12(
AD 48-49: Council of Jerusalem, 1st Christian Council, decisions regarding circumcision and dietary law are agreed to by apostles and presbyters, written in a letter addressed to "the brothers of Gentile origin in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia" - (Acts 15)
ca. AD 48-57: Paul writes Galatians
AD 49-50: Paul in Corinth (Acts 18)
ca. AD 50: Peshitta translation begun : the Hebrew OT into Syrian Aramaic. The NT was added ca. AD 400
AD 51-52: Paul writes I & II Thessalonians
AD 53-62: Paul writes Philippians
AD 54-68: Nero, Emperor of Rome
AD 56: Paul writes I Corinthians
AD 57: Paul writes Romans, II Corinthians
Paul's last visit to Jerusalem (Acts 21)
AD 58: Paul arrested, imprisoned in Caesarea (Acts 25:4)
AD 59: Nero has his mother Agrippina killed
AD 60: Paul in prison in Rome (Acts 28:16)
Martyrdom of James of Jerusalem - "Being therefore this kind of person (a heartless Sadducee), Ananus, thinking that he had a favorable opportunity because Festus had died and Albinus was still on his way, called a meeting ("sanhedrin") of judges and brought into it the brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah, James by name, and some others. He made the accusation that they had transgressed the law, and he handed them over to be stoned." Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20.9.1
ca. AD 60-63: Paul writes Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, I & II Timothy, Titus
ca. AD 62: Epistle of James written by the leader of the Jerusalem community
Possible date for the martyrdom of Paul in Rome - it may also be that Paul was released, imprisioned again, and killed in AD 67
Nero has his wife Octavia killed so that he can marry Poppaea Sabina
AD 64: Great Fire of Rome, started by Nero and blamed on Christians,
"Therefore to squelch the rumor (that Nero had started the Great Fire of Rome), Nero created scapegoats and subjected to the most refined tortures those whom the common people called "Christians," (a group) hated for their abominable crimes. Their name comes from Christ, who, during the reign of Tiberius, had been executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate. Suppressed for the moment, the deadly superstition broke out again, not only in Judea, the land which originated this evil, but also in the city of Rome, where all sorts of horrendous and shameful practices from every part of the world converge and are fervently cultivated." (Tacitus, Annals 15.44)
AD 65: Nero orders Seneca and Lucan to commit suicide; they obey. If they had not done so, all the members of their families would have been destroyed
AD 65-150: The Didache ("The Teaching of the twelve Apostles") written
The "Gospel of Thomas" written, probably based on Q
AD 66-70: First Jewish Revolt (against Rome)
AD 67: Peter and Paul executed in Rome
General Vespasian of Rome conquers Galilee
Josephus deserts his Jewish troops and goes over to the Romans
AD 68: AD 68 - Nero commits suicide
Galba Emperor of Rome
Flavius Josephus writes "History of the Jewish War"
Christians from Jerusalem flee to Pella in Transjordan
Esssene community at Qumran destroyed by the Romans. The Essenes hid their scrolls in nearby caves - The "Dead Sea Scrolls" found in 1949
AD 69: Otho emperor of Rome (1/69-4/69)
Vitellius emperor of Rome (6/69-12/69)
AD 69-79: Vespasian, Emperor of Rome
AD 69: Vespasian allows Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai to leave Jerusalem and start a center for Jewish studies at Jabne (Yavneh, Jamnia) by the town of Tiberias in the Galilee. This center survives the Roman destruction and becomes a center for Rabbinic Judaism
AD 69-155: Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
AD 70: Fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, Destruction of the Second Temple
AD 73: Fall of Masada. Romans began to drive Jews out of Israel, set about destruction of the whole land
AD 79: Eruption of Vesuvius - Herculaneum and Pompei buried in volcanic ash and lava
AD 79-81: Titus (eldest son of Vespasian) Emperor of Rome
AD 80-85: The Gospel according to Matthew written, based on Mark and Q, most popular in the early Church
AD 81-96: Domitian (son of Vespasian), Emperor of Rome
Revelation written, by John (son of Zebedee) and/or a disciple of his
AD 84: Christians driven out of the synagogues
AD 90-100: Rabbi Gamaliel II
1, 2, & 3 John written
Gospel according to John written, by John (son of Zebedee) and others, the remaining living eyewitness to Jesus
AD 91-101: Pope Clement I, 4th Pope, (mentioned in Philippians 4:3), wrote "I Clement" to the Church in Corinth in AD 95
AD 94: Josephus writes the Jewish Antiquities, "At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of people who receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously did not cease to do so. And up until this very day the tribe of Christians (named after him) has not died out." Jewish Antiquities 18.3.3
AD 95-150: Writings of the "Apostolic Fathers" (Epistles of Clement, Ignatius, Barnabas, Polycarp; the Shepherd of Hermas, the Didache ("The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles" - early book of instructions for Church leaders)
ca. AD 96: Epistle to the Hebrews written, author not named
AD 96-98: Nerva, Emperor of Rome
AD 98-117: Trajan, Emperor of Rome. Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent
ca. AD 100: Epistle of Barnabas, Christian exegesis of the Septuagint
2nd Epistle of Clement
Epistle of Jude
Assyria converted to Christianity. Assyrian Church of the East engaged in great missionary activity, reaching China and the Mongolian Empire
ca. 100-125: II Peter, apocryphal Gospels of Thomas and James, Secret Gospel (of Mark)
AD 100-165: Justin Martyr
ca. AD 110: Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
"Letters of Ignatius", bishop of Antioch who was martyred in Rome
AD 117-138: Hadrian, Emperor of Rome
AD 122-127: Hadrian builds his wall across northern Britain. Christian inscriptions have been found on some of the stones of the wall
AD 120-135: Rabbi Akiva, consolidates Rabbinic Judaism, joins the Jewish Revolt, and is tortured to death by the Romans
AD 125: Probable date for Papyrus 52 - the oldest extant NT fragment, with parts of John 18:31-33,37-38
The "Shepherd of Hermas", written in Rome
AD 132-135: Second Jewish Revolt : "Bar Kochbah" uprising led by Simon Bar Kochba against Rome : final Jewish revolt, Judea and Jerusalem erased from maps, all of southern Syria renamed Palestine
AD 135: Hadrian destroys Jerusalem. The Romans ploughed up the remains of Jerusalem, and founded another city "Aelia Capitolina" on the site; Jews dispersed throughout the Roman Empire
AD 135 - ca.250: Jewish scholars move from Jamnia to Usha (near Haifa), start to organize and write down the "halakoth" (jewish traditional and Oral Laws, not the Pentateuch). The project was initiated by Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph, continued by Rabbi Meir, and brought to completion by Rabbi Judah ha Nasi. The collection is known as the Mishnah
AD 138-161: Antoninus Pius, Emperor of Rome
AD 144: Marcion rejects the authority of the Old Testament, edits his own version of the Scriptures (without the Old Testaament) and is excommunicated; dies ca. AD 160
AD 150-200: The "Christian Apologists" - writings against Roman Paganism by: Justin Martyr (AD 165), Athenagoras (ca. AD 180), Aristides (ca. AD 145), Theophilus of Antioch (ca. AD 185), Tatian (AD 170), Quadratus (ca. AD 130), Melito of Sardis (ca. AD 180), Apollinaris of Hierapolis (ca, AD 180), also the Epistle to Diognetus
AD 150-215: Clement of Alexandria
AD 155 & 161: Justin Martyr writes his "Apologies"
ca. AD 156: Montanus and the growth of Montanism
AD 160: Polycarp of Smyrna martyred at age 86
AD 160-220: Tertullian
AD 161-180: Marcus Aurelius, Emperor of Rome
AD 164-180: Great Plague in the Roman Empire
AD 166-174: Pope Soter, 12th Pope, moved the celebratiob of Easter from Nisan 14 to the following Sunday
ca. AD 170: ca. AD 170 - Pausanias of Magnesia writes his "Peeriegesis", a 10-volume guide to Greece
Ptolemy draws maps of the known world
Christian council to deal with the Montanist sect in Asia Minor
Tatian produces his "Diatessaron" (Harmony) of the Gospels
Symmachus, an Ebionite, writes an entirely new Greek translation of the Old Testament
AD 178-200: Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (France)
AD 180-192: Commodus, son of Marcus Aureleus, Emperor of Rome, murdered
AD 185-254: Origen of Alexandria
AD 189-196: Pope Victor I, 14th Pope, excommunicated Eastern churches which continued to observe Easter on Nisan 14 ("Quartodeciman")
AD 190: Christian Council to determine the "official" date of Easter
ca. AD 190: Galen uses plant extracts as medicines
AD 193-211: Septimus Severus, Emperor of Rome
AD 200: Latin Bible translations begun in Carthage, and Sahidic Coptic Bible translations begun in Alexandria
ca. AD 210: Completion of the Mishnah, codification of Jewish Oral Law

Main Sources : Simsothian Timelines of Ancient History,
The Timetables of History (Bernard Grun)

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Dr. Rollinson

Department of Religion
ENMU
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated: January 1, 2007

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