The value of a table like this is to be able to see what is going on in many areas simultaneously, so to keep the table to reasonable proportions all events are tabulated in the nearest 5 year cell; actual date (if known) is given in brackets. Innovations and developments in technology are very difficult to date accurately. Unless there is a date in brackets after such an entry, its position in the table should be regarded as approximate, indicating our earliest evidence of such a technology, rather than the date of its invention (which would be earlier).
This page is continuously under development. It is large, and will take a minute to download. 1-250 AD is now included.
X(X) indicates battle(s). b. indicates birth. d. indicates death. c. (circa) means approximately. fl. (floruit) means active around this time. MSS means manuscripts. Aqua is an aqueduct of Rome, Fossa a canal, Pons a bridge.
| Date BC | Military | Technology | Political | Science | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | Eupalinos' tunnel, 1km long; Eretria jetty 700m long, 20m deep. | Ionian Revolt (499-94 BC) | Herakleitos fl.; Skulax fl.; b.Anaxagoras | d. Pythagoras | |
| 495 | Anchor with flukes | b. Sophokles (496) | |||
| 490 | Persians invade Greece; X Marathon | Shear-leg cranes in common use | d. Hekataios; b. Zeno of Elea | Aiskhulos' Suppliants (492) | |
| 485 | Silver bonanza at Laurion | b. Herodotos (484) | |||
| 480 | Persians invade Greece; Carthaginians invade Sicily. XX Artemision, Thermopylae, Salamis, Himera | Athos canal completed (481); prosthetics made; submarine warfare invented | Agatharkhos fl. Parmenides fl.; d. Xenophanes; Anaxagoras at Athens | ||
| 475 | Bacchylides fl. | ||||
| 470 | b. Sokrates (469) | Aiskhulos' Persians (472) Seven against Thebes (467) | |||
| 465 | X Eurymedon (467) | b. Theodoros | Meteorite fell near Aegospotami; earthquake in Sparta (464) | ||
| 460 | Linear perspective for stage scenery | Ephialtes' reforms (461) | Demokedes fl. | b. Thucydides; b. Lusias (458); Aiskhulos' Oresteia (458) | |
| 455 | Philolaos fl. | b. Aristophanes (457); d. Aiskhulos | |||
| 450 | Alkmaion fl.; Archelaos fl. | ||||
| 445 | Parthenon begun (447) | Empedokles fl.; b. Antisthenes | d. Pindar (446); Sophokles' Ajax (447) | ||
| 440 | Indirect lost wax process for casting bronze | b. Andokides (440); Sophokles' Antigone (442) | |||
| 435 | Leukippos fl. | b. Isokrates (436) | |||
| 430 | Start of Peloponnesian War (431) | d.Perikles (plague) (429) | Meton's calendar scheme adopted in Athens (432); d.Anaxagoras (428); b. Plato (428) | Solar eclipse 3 Aug 431; Euripides' Medea; Plague in Athens; Sophokles' Oidipous Rex (430); b. Xenophon | |
| 425 | Thucydides loses Amphipolis to Brasidas (424); tried; writes History of the Peloponnesian War in exile | The winch used to reduce broken limbs; Thebans use a flame-thrower at X Delium | d. Zeno of Elea; Hippokrates of Cos fl. Antiphon fl; Hippokrates of Khios fl.; Euktemon fl. | Solar eclipse 21 March 425; d. Herodotos. Aristophanes' Acharnians (425) Knights (424) Clouds (423) | |
| 420 | Cult of Asklepios introduced at Athens | Aristophanes' Wasps (422) Peace (421); b. Isaios (420) | |||
| 415 | Sicilian expedition (415-3); Athenian siege of Syrakuse (414) | Mutilation of the Herms and Profanation of the Eleusinian Mysteries | b. Theaitetos | Aristophanes' Birds (414); Sophokles' Elektra (c.415) Women of Trachis (413) | |
| 410 | Cranes on ships (D.S. 13.78-9) | Oligarchic regimes at Athens (411) | Demokritos fl.; b. Eudoxos (408); b. Speusippos (408) | d. Antiphon (411). Aristophanes' Lysistrata (411) Thesmophoriazusai (411); Sophokles' Philoktetes and Oidipous at Kolonus (409) | |
| 405 | X Arginousai (406); Athenian defeat in P. War (404) | Complex pebble mosaics (Olynthus) | Trial of the Generals (406). 30 Tyrants at Athens (404) | Ekphantos fl. | d. Euripides (406); d. Sophokles (406); Aristophanes' Frogs (405) |
| 400 | Expedition of the 10,000 | First crossbow (gastraphetes, belly-bow) at Syrakuse | Restoration of democracy at Athens (403) | b. Diogenes; Ktesias fl. d.Sokrates (execution, 399) | Winter of 400/399 seven feet of snow fell on Rome (Dio.Hal. 12.8). |
| 395 | Romans introduce pay for army service | Accession of Amyntas III (393) | b. Xenokrates (396) | b. Aiskhines (393) | |
| 390 | Korinthian war (395-86) | b. Herakleides | Aristophanes' Ekklesiazusai (392); d.Andokides (390); b. Lukourgos (390); b. Hyperides (389); Aristophanes' Wealth (388) | ||
| 385 | Gauls sack Rome (387) | Some foods available out of season; hairpieces (Aristophanes fr. 898 Edm.) | b. Demosthenes (384) | Academy founded (386). Gorgias fl.; b.Aristotle (384) | d. Aristophanes; b.Demosthenes (384) |
| 380 | Baker called Thearion invented loaf tins in various shapes (Antiphanes fr. 176, Plato Gorgias 518b) | Leodamas fl.; Thumaridas fl. | d. Lusias (380); pig hide valued at c. 3dr (IG2[2nd ed]1356.5-13) | ||
| 375 | Archutas fl. | b. Theopompos (377); Helike (Akhaia) destroyed by earthquake (373) W | |||
| 370 | X Leuktra (371) | b. Theophrastos (371); d.Theaitetos (369) | |||
| 365 | Salamis metrological relief | Aristotle joins the Academy (367) | |||
| 360 | Aineias Taktikos' How to Survive under Siege | Accession of Philip II (359) | d. Demokritos (361) | b. Dinarkhos (360) | |
| 355 | Philip defeats Pudna, Poteidaia, Illyrians, Paeonians (356) | Onomarkhos uses stone-throwing machines in the field against Philip (353). Burnt brick first used in Greece, but unreliable (Vit. 2.8.19) | b. Alexander (356) | d. Eudoxos | |
| 350 | Third Sacred War (356-46) | Development of siege machines by Philip. Aineias Taktikos On the defence of a besieged city | Mago of Carthage fl.; Kallippos fl. Aristoxenos fl.; b. Megasthenes | d. Isaios (350) | |
| 345 | Donkey-powered mills (Alexis fr. 13) | d. Plato (347); Speusippus becomes scholarch of Academy | Aiskhines Against Timarkhos (345) | ||
| 340 | X Khaironeia (338); Philip controls Greece | fl. Poluidos; Torsion catapult used | (338) Philip forms League of Greek States at Korinth; Lukourgos controls Athens' finances | b. Epikouros (341); b. Praxagoras; d.Speusippus (339); Xenokrates becomes scholarch of Academy | b. Menander (342); Isokrates' Panathenaicus (339). d.Isokrates (338) |
| 335 | X Granicus (334) X Issus (333) | Ballista used (334); poultry eggs incubated artificially (Aristotle HA) | d. Philip (336); accession of Alexander | Aristotle settles in Athens, founds Lyceum. fl. Anaxarkhos; b. Zeno (333) | Ephoros fl.; peach introduced to Greece |
| 330 | X Guagamela (331); siege of Tyre (330) | Fire-ship (330); The Capua artificial leg; punctuation of texts (Arist. Rhetoric 3.5) | Alexander takes Persepolis (331) | b. Kleanthes (331); b.Herophilos; fl. Eudemos; fl. Diades | Foundation of Alexandria (331); an ox hide valued at c. 7dr at this time (IG2[2nd ed]1496.68-151) |
| 325 | X Hydaspes (326) | Scallop dredgers used (Arist. HA); shock-absorber invented for Alexander's funeral carriage (DS 18.27) | d. Alexander (323) | b. Euclid; Nearchos' voyage; d.Diogenes (323) | d. Lukourgos (325) |
| 320 | Compound pulley used ([Aristotle] Mechanics 18) | d. Demosthenes (322) | d. Aristotle (322); Theophrastos becomes scholarch of the Lyceum | d. Aiskhines (322); d.Hyperides (322); d.Theopompos | |
| 315 | Offense begins to dominate in sieges | Diving bell used ([Aristotle] Problems) | Demetrios of Phaleron rules Athens (317-07) | Pytheas fl.; d.Xenokrates (313) | |
| 310 | War Agathokles of Syrakuse v. Carthage (311-06) | Appian Way started (312). Aqua Appia (10 miles long) completed (312) | Zeno arrives in Athens (312); d.Herakleides; Autolukos fl.; b.Aratos; b.Aristarkhos | ||
| 305 | Siege of Rhodes (305-4) | Use of cubes of coloured stone, tesserae (as well as coloured pebbles) for mosaics | Demetrios of Phaleron exiled (307). Antigonos and Demetrios assume royal titles (306). Ptolemaios, Kassandros, Lusimakhos and Seleukos assume royal titles (305) | Diodoros Kronos fl.; Diokles of Karystos fl.; Dikaiarkhos fl.; Epikouros opens his Garden in Athens (306); b. Erasistratos (304) | |
| 300 | X Ipsus (301) | Zeno founds the Stoa (301) | Foundation of Antioch | ||
| 295 | Aromatherapy (Alexis fr. 190) | ||||
| 290 | Multicoloured marbles used (Menander fr. 956) | d. Theophrastos (288); Strato becomes scholarch of the Lyceum | d. Dinarkhos and Menander (292) | ||
| 285 | d. Ptolemy I Soter (283); accession Ptolemy II Phil. | b. Archimedes (287); b.Eratosthenes (284). Zenodotos head of Library at Alexandria (285) |
| 280 | War between Rome and Tarentum aided by Pyrrhus | Pharos lighthouse | d. Seleukos I (281) | b. Khrusippos | |
| 275 | First mention of soap? (smema, Theocritus Idyll 15) | Timokharis fl. | |||
| 270 | Ktesibios fl.; Aqua Anio Vetus (63km) completed (270). Roman silver coinage beings (269) | Hieron II becomes king of Syrakuse | d. Epikouros; d.Euclid; d.Strato; Lyco becomes head of the Lyceum | d. Demetrios of Phaleron | |
| 265 | First Punic War begins (264) | Appian Way completed | Ktesibios fl. | ||
| 260 | Rome gets its first state sundial, plunder from Catina in Sicily (Pliny NH 7. 214); Sounion catapult | d. Zeno (262); Kleanthes becomes scholarch of the Stoa | |||
| 255 | Hiketas fl. | ||||
| 250 | Water screw invented? | d. Herophilos d.Erasistratos | Concept of plagiarism (before 246) | ||
| 245 | Accession of Ptolemy III Euergetes (246) | Konon fl. | |||
| 240 | First Punic War ends (241); Janus temple gates closed (241) | d. Aratos; b. Apollonios of Perga | |||
| 235 | b. Cato (234) | ||||
| 230 | Attalos I's victory over the Galatians, commemorated by the Dying Gaul | Properties of Pozzolana discovered | d. Aristarkhos; d. Kleanthes (232) Andreas fl. | ||
| 225 | Colossos of Rhodes destroyed by earthquake (227) | Dositheus fl. | |||
| 220 | Second Punic War begins (218) | Accession of Ptolemy IV Philopator (221) | Arkhagathos fl. | ||
| 215 | X Cannae (216); First Macedonian War begins (214) | Archimedes made a celestial globe | b. Karneades (213) | ||
| 210 | Capture and sack of Syrakuse (211) | Philo of Byzantium fl.; refers casually (Pol. C10) to one-armed stone-thrower catapults (later Roman versions also called onager), 'rope' ladders and pitons (D 73-4) | Hannibal marched on Rome; Publius Sulpicius Galba sold the inhabitants of Aegina into slavery (210) | d. Arkhimedes (211) | |
| 205 | First Macedonian War ends (205); X Ilipa (Spain, 206) | Dry dock; Pons Mulvius (timber) (207) | Accession of Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204) | d. Khrusippos (206) | |
| 200 | Second Punic War ends (201); Second Macedonian War begins | Harbour mole at Alexandria built (mile long, 200m wide, 100m deep); | b. Serapion; d. Eratosthenes (202); Bolos fl. | b. Polubios | |
| 195 | X Cynoscephalae; defeat of Philip V (197); end of Second Mac. War (196) | Paintings on display in the Propylaia on the Athenian Akropolis (Polemon wrote about them) | Welfare payments to the needy in Boiotia (Polybios 20. 6) | Diokles fl. | Volcanic island rose up from the sea (197; Seneca NQ 2.26.4)) |
| 190 | Syrian War (192-189) | Cooks began to have value in Roman eyes (Livy 39. 6) | b. Hipparkhos; the relative geography of Pamphylia and the Taurus Mountains was debatable (Polybios 21. 45) | 785 bronze and 230 marble statues from Aetolia displayed in Fulvius' triumph (189) | |
| 185 | Slave revolt in Apulia (185) | Masts in the circus (187); sulphur torches (186); Cato qua Censor shut off private pipes tapping into public water supplies (184); Basilica Porcia must have used tie-beam truss (184) | Death of Philopoimen in a vault closed by machine in Korone (183); death of Agesipolis III, briefly king of Sparta, at the hands of pirates | b. Panaitios | Showers of stones fell on Picenum for 3 days, and 'flames in the air' set clothes alight (186) new island appeared from the sea near Sicily (183) |
| 180 | Pons Aemilius built with stone piers (179); Pergamon relief catapult | Zenodoros fl.; b. Apollodoros | Hurricane? in Rome (182, Livy 40. 2); Corsica is required to pay as tribute 100,000 Roman pounds of wax (Livy 40. 34) | ||
| 175 | First paving of roads within Rome (174; Livy 41.27.5) | Hypsikles fl. | Antiokhos IV Epiphanes introduced gladiatorial games, gradually, to the Greeks (Livy 41. 20); plague in Italy; meteor? | ||
| 170 | Third Macedonian War (172-67); X Pydna (168) | Kataphrakt (chain mail) horses and men | Romans stripped Haliartos of statues, paintings and whatever costly adornments it had; enslaved2500 people; razed city; gave territory to Athens (171). | d. Apollonios | Corsicans required to supply 200,000 lbs of wax (Livy 42. 7); Polubios taken to Rome (167) |
| 165 | Rome gets its first sundial designed for the latitude of Rome (! Pliny NH 7. 214); Ephyra catapults (167) | Epirus devastated (167) | Terence's Mother-in-law (166), Woman of Andros (166) Self-Tormentor (163) | ||
| 160 | Rome gets its first water-clock (159; Pliny NH 7. 215) | Terence's Eunuch (161) Phormio (161) Brothers (160) | |||
| 155 | Rotary mill invented (sometime between C4 and end C1) | Agatharkhides fl. | Karneades, Kritolaos, Diogenes at Rome as envoys (155) and lecture on philosophy | ||
| 150 | Third Punic War begins (149) | Semaphore; Pergamon catapult | Nikander fl.; Seleucus fl.; b. Zeno of Sidon | ||
| 145 | Third Punic War ends (146); Sack of Carthage (146); Sack of Korinth (146); Numantian War begins (143) | Quintus Marcius Rex granted 180 million sesterces to restore Rome's 2 existing aqueducts and to build a new one (the Aqua Marcia; 92km) | Panaitios at Rome (144) | ||
| 140 | First stone arched bridge over Tiber completed (Pons Aemilius 142). Aqua Marcia (91km) completed (140) | ||||
| 135 | Numantian War ends (133) | Tib. Gracchus assassinated (133) | b. Poseidonios | d. Attalos III; Pergamum bequeathed to Rome | |
| 130 | Antikythera mechanism | d. Karneades (129) | |||
| 125 | Aqua Tepula completed (125); G Gracchus built paved roads & erected milestones along them | ||||
| 120 | Earliest dated Roman concrete structure: platform of Temple of Concord (121) | d. G.Gracchus | d. Hipparkhos; d. Apollodoros; Theodosios fl. | Notable population decline in Greece (Poly. 36. 17) | |
| 115 | b. Varro (116) | d. Polubios | |||
| 110 | Jugurthine War (112-05) | Oldest surviving stone arches in Mulvian bridge over Tiber (109) | |||
| 105 | Second Sicilian Slave War (104) | b. Cicero (106); b. Pompey (106) | |||
| 100 | End of 2nd Sic.SlaveWar | Fossa Mariana cut (101); Ampurias catapult | Marian Reforms (107-00). b. Caesar (100) | Zopyrus fl.; b. Nigidius | |
| 95 | First hanging baths | b. Lucretius (94) | |||
| 90 | Social Wars (91-88) | First shower heads | Asklepiades fl. | ||
| 85 | First Mithridatic War (89-5) | Aristion makes himself tyrant of Athens; Sulla sacks Athens (86)d.Marius (86) | Sulla takes Aristotle's MSS to Rome (83) | b. Catullus (86) |
| 80 | Second Mithridatic War (82-80) | Azaila catapults | Sulla's Reforms (82-80) | Cicero in Athens and Rhodes (79) | |
| 75 | Sertorian revolt in Spain (76-72); Third Mithridatic War (74-63) | Caminreal catapult | Spartacus leads slave uprising at Capua (73) | ||
| 70 | Spartacus' army defeated (71) | Mahdia catapults | Trial of Verres, governor of Sicily (70) | Krateuas fl.; b. Areius (70) | b. Virgil |
| 65 | Pompey finishes war against the pirates (67). Mithridates defeated (66); d.Mithridates (63) | Woodworking plane (64, though may go back to Greece C5 BC) | First Cataline Conspiracy (66). End of Seleucid monarchy (64). Cicero cos. (63). b. Octavian (63) | Pompey orders Latin translation of Mithridates' toxicological research results. b. Strabo (64); b. Nicolaos Damascus | Non-citizens evicted from Rome (64). Fall of Jerusalem (63); b. Agrippa (63); b. Horace (65) |
| 60 | Burnt brick becomes common; Pons Fabricius completed (62); first silver mirrors (Pliny NH 33. 130) | First Triumvirate | Diodoros Siculus in Alexandria | b. Livy (59) | |
| 55 | Caesar in Gaul (58-49); first expedition to Britain (55-4); X Carrhae (53) | The Rhine bridged. First stone theatre in Rome dedicated by Pompey. Forum Julium begun (54) | Cicero exiled (58-7) | d. Lucretius (55); Xenarkhos fl. | Nepos fl.; d. Catullus (54) |
| 50 | Siege of Alesia (52); Caesar crosses the Rubicon (49) | Tower of the winds built; Caesar's most treasured possession was a beautifully veneered table (Pliny NH 16.84); Cicero paid HS 500,000 for a table (NH 13.91). | d. Pompey (48, murdered) Caesar dictator (47-4) | Poseidonios in Rome (51). Sosigenes fl. Asklepiodotos fl. d.Poseidonios | Caesar's Gallic War published (51) |
| 45 | X Munda (45) | Amalgamation process for gold extraction. Water-wheels common; Rome made a pedestrian zone in daytime (44) | d. Caesar (44, assassinated). d. Cicero (43, murdered) | Caesar's reform of the calendar (46) Geminos fl. Strabo at Rome (44) d. Nigidius | Cicero's Tusc. Disp published (44). b. Ovid (43) |
| 40 | Overshot water-wheel driven grain mill; | Caesar deified (42) | Boethus fl. Athenodoros fl. | Diod.Sic.fl.; first public library at Rome opened by Asinius Pollio in the Hall of Liberty (39) | |
| 35 | Vitruvius fl. Aqua Julia (23km) completed (33); Agrippa restores and extends cloaca maxima (c. 33) | Varro's de Re Rustica published (37) | |||
| 30 | X Actium (31); Janus temple gates closed (31) | Restoration of Theatre of Pompey (32); Agrippa built road tunnels at Cumae and Puteoli, and harbour facilities at Misenum | Anaxilaus fl. Apollonios Mys fl. | Census of 28BC recorded 4,063,000 Roman citizens | |
| 25 | Janus temple gates closed (25) | Agrippa builds first Pantheon (27); undershot water-wheel mills (Vit. 10.5.2) | Act of Settlement; Octavian called Augustus (27) | d. Varro (27) | |
| 20 | Aqua Virgo (21km) completed (19). Groundplans, elevations and perspective drawings of new buildings. | b. Isidoros of Charax. Vitruvius De architectura published | d. Virgil (19); d.Tibullus (19) | ||
| 15 | Piscina Mirabile | ||||
| 10 | Fossa Drusiana cut (12); Glass-blowing invented | d. Areius (10) | d. Agrippa (12); d.Horace (8); d.Maecenas (8) | ||
| 5 | Campaign in Germany (8-6) | Artificial lake dug beside the Tiber for a mock sea-battle | b. Seneca (4); d. Nicolaos (4) | ||
| BC-AD | Forum Augustum completed (2); so-called 'Temple of Mercury' 25m domed bath built at Baia | Dorotheus fl.; b. Rufus |
| 5 | Campaign in Germany (4-6); Campaign in Illyria (6-9) | Creation of praefectura vigilum (fire brigade) (6) | Record speed overland travel: 200 miles covered in 24 hours (Pliny NH 7. 84) | ||
| 10 | 3 legions destroyed in the Teutoburg Forest (9) | ||||
| 15 | Aqua Alsietina (33km) | d. Augustus; accession of Tiberius (14) | fl. Scribonius Largus | Quadruplets born in Ostia (Pliny NH 7. 33). Earthquake in Asia Minor (17) destroys Sardis, Magnesia, Temnos, and 9 other cities | |
| 20 | d. Strabo (21) | ||||
| 25 | Boiler for hot water | Amphitheatre at Fidenae collapsed; 20,000 people killed (Suet. Tib. 40) | b. Pliny the Elder (23); fl. Celsus; fl. Alexander of Myndos | b. Silius Italicus | |
| 30 | Sponge painting | b. Frontinus (30); fl. Manilius | fl. Valerius Maximus | ||
| 35 | Parthian War (34-6) | Temple of Divius Augustus consecrated, Aqua Anio Nova started; collapsible hide boats | d. Tiberius; acccession of Caligula (37) | The city of Rome a pedestrian zone during daylight | |
| 40 | Mauretanian War (41-2) | Aqua Claudia started; Claudian basin at Ostia started (42); oxen used to haul in fishing nets and ships on shore | d. Caligula; accession of Claudius (41) | Seneca exiled to Corsica (41); ?fl. Kleomedes | b. Martial (41) |
| 45 | Final invasion of Britain; Claudius present (43) | Claudius attempts to drain Lake Fucinus | b. Plutarch (46); fl. Pomponius Mela | Volcanic island rose up from the sea (46/7; Seneca NQ 6.21.1, Pliny NH 2.202) | |
| 50 | Aqua Anio Nova (87km) completed (49); Aqua Claudia (69km) completed (52); Xanten catapult | Seneca recalled and made tutor to Nero (49); Anon Periplus of the Erythraian Sea. | |||
| 55 | Companion planting; complex mirrors | d. Claudius; accession of Nero (54) | fl. Dioscorides; fl. Agathinus | Seneca's Apocolocyntosis published | |
| 60 | British revolt under Boudicca | Romans mining in Britain; Ostia harbour built; first dome (at Baiae); wigs for sale | Astrologer called Ptolemy with Otho in Spain (Tacitus Hist. 1. 22) | Storm destroys 200 ships in Ostia harbour (62); Seneca's Natural Questions | |
| 65 | Expedition to Ethiopia (64); Temple of Janus closed (66); Jewish War (66-70) | Canal from Ostia to Lake Avernus begun (64); Nero's Golden House (c. 65); canal at Corinth started by Nero (67); Steam engine | d. Seneca; fl. Columella; fl. Heron of Alexandria | Fire in Rome for 19 days (July 64); d. Lucan; d. Petronius; b. Juvenal | |
| 70 | Temple of Janus closed (71) | Capitoline temple restoration completed; mechanical harvesters in NW Roman Empire (NH 18.261); Cremona catapults (69) | d. Nero (68); Year of the 4 Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian) (69) | Mathematici (learned men) banished from Rome by Vitellius (Tac. Hist. 2.42) (69) | First paid annual holidays (for soldiers only) Tacitus Hist. 1.46; Tiber flooded Rome (69); Rhine reduced to a fordable river by drought (Tacitus 4. 26) |
| 75 | Campaign against Germany (73-4) | Forum Vespasiani completed (75); road tunnels dug for Via Flaminia and Via Domitiana (76-7); Auerberg catapults | Frontinus consul (74) | fl. Thessalus of Tralles; astrologer called Seleukos with Vespasian (Tacitus Hist. 2. 78) | |
| 80 | dough-kneading machines; folding doors; armaria; partition walls; screw press; taps; tether points | d. Vespasian; accession of Titus (79) d. Titus, accession of Domitian (81); Colosseum inaugurated (80); restored Capitoline temple dedicated (81) | d. Pliny the Elder (79; fl. Quintilian | Eruption of Vesuvius (79); Pompeii buried; Fire in Rome, Capitoline temple destroyed (80) | |
| 85 | Agricola governor of Britain (78-85) | fl. Dio Chrysostom; b. Arrian; b. Favorinus | |||
| 90 | Elginhaugh catapult | Edict against philosophi (89) | Epictetus exiled (89); Plutarch in Rome (92-3) | ||
| 95 | War against Suebii (97-8) | Via Domitiana completed (95); Forum Nervae completed (97) | Philosophers expelled from Italy (95); d. Domitian, accession of Nerva (96) | fl.? Aretaeus | Tacitus consul (97) |
| 100 | Trajan's 1st invasion of Dacia (101) | Frontinus studies the aqueducts of Rome; Bath catapult | d. Nerva, acccession of Trajan (98) | fl. Soranus; fl. Aetius | d. Silius Italicus |
| 105 | Second Dacian War (105-6) | Trajan's bridge over the Danube (105) Trajan's bridge over the Tagus (106); Ostia harbour area rebuilt in hexagonal shape with numbered docking areas (106-113); Trajan's column | d. Frontinus (104) | d. Martial (104) | |
| 110 | Aqua Traiana completed (109) | ||||
| 115 | Parthian War (114-7) | Trajan's Column erected (112-3); Forum Trajani completed (114); Parthians show snow shoes to Romans | d. Trajan, accession of Hadrian (117) | ||
| 120 | The Pantheon (118-25) | d. Plutarch (119) | |||
| 125 | d. Juvenal (127); b. Aulus Gellius |
| 130 | fl. Theon of Smyrna; b. Galen (129) | ||||
| 135 | Judean War (132-5) | Pons Aelius completed (134) | fl. Claudius Ptolemy | ||
| 140 | d. Hadrian, accession of Antoninus Pius (138) | ||||
| 145 | Fronto consul (143) | ||||
| 150 | fl. Lucian; b. Dio Cassius | ||||
| 155 | |||||
| 160 | d. Antoninus Pius, accession of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161) | d. Suetonius; b. Tertullian; fl. Pausanias | |||
| 165 | War against Marcomani, Quadrati & Sarmatians (166-75) | Galen in Rome (162-6); d. Favorinus | Plague spreads from Seleucia to Asia Minor, Egypt, Italy and the Rhine; plague in Rome 167 | ||
| 170 | d. Verus | b. Aelian | b. Hippolytus | ||
| 175 | Second War against the Germans (178-80) | Erection of Marcus Aurelius' Column (176) | Marcus Aurelius established salaried 'regius' teaching posts in every branch of knowledge at Athens, (176) Dio 72. 31. 3. d. Arrian | ||
| 180 | d. Marcus Aurelius, accession of Commodus (180) | Earthquake destroyed Smyrna and many other cities (178) | |||
| 185 | b. Origen | ||||
| 190 | d. Commodus, accession of Pertinax (192); d. Pertinax accession of Septimius Severus (193) | Killer epidemic in Rome, Dio 73. 14. 3 | |||
| 195 | Lyon catapult (197) | Meteor impact near Rome? Dio 76. 4. 6-7 | |||
| 200 | Severus' attacks on Hatra (198, 200) | Forma Urbis Romae | fl. Alexander of Aphrodisias, Sextus Empiricus, Athenaios | ||
| 205 | Glass cups could cost 200,000 sesterces, Dio 77. 5. 6 | b. Plotinus fl. Philostratos; fl. Sammonicus | |||
| 210 | d. Sept. Severus, accession of Antoninus (Caracalla) and Geta (211); d. Geta (211)Universal citizenship granted within the empire - to increase tax revenue (212) Dio 78. 9. 5-6 | d. Galen | 5% tax on emancipation of slaves raised to 10%, Dio 78. 9. 4 | ||
| 215 | Colosseum severely damaged by fire following lightning strike (217) Dio 79. 25. 2 | d. Caracalla; accession Macrinus (217) | |||
| 220 | d. Macrinus, accession of Elagabalus (218); d. Elagabalus, accession Alexander Severus (222) | Vaginoplasty entertained if not undertaken, Dio 80. 16. 7 | |||
| 225 | So-called 'Temple of Diana' at Baia constructed | Murder of Ulpian (223) | fl. Diogenes Laertius | ||
| 230 | |||||
| 235 | d. Alex. Sev.; accession Maximinus (235) | d. Aelian | d. Dio Cassius | ||
| 240 | Hatra catapults (241) | d. Maximinus, accessions and deaths of Gordian I, II, Pupienus and Gordian III (238) | b. Iamblichus | ||
| 245 | d. Gordian II; Accession of Philip the Arab (244) | Philip the Arab the first Christian Emperor of Rome, Anon. Valesius 1.6.33 | |||
| 250 | Aqua Alessandrina (22 km) | d. Philip, accession Decius (249) | fl. Diophantos; fl. Anatolius |
|
255 |
Dura-Europus destroyed | accession Valerian (253) | |||
| 260 | Gallic Empire declares UDI under Postumus | d. Valerian (260) | |||
| 265 | |||||
| 270 | |||||
| 275 | |||||
| 280 | |||||
| 285 | Volubilis catapults | Accession of Diocletian (284); splits empire (286); he rules East, Maximian rules West | |||
| 290 | |||||
| 295 | |||||
| 300 | |||||
| 305 | accession of Constantine in Western empire (307) | retirement of Diocletian (305) | |||
| 310 | |||||
| 315 | |||||
| 320 | |||||
| 325 | d. of Licinius; Constantine sole ruler of reunited empire (324) | ||||
| 330 | |||||
| 335 | d. Constantine (337) | ||||
| 340 | |||||
| 345 | |||||
| 350 | Libraries going out of fashion, water organs coming in, Amm. 14. 6. 18; Pityous catapult | ||||
| 355 | X Strasbourg (357) | Antioch lighting compared to daylight, Amm. 14. 1. 9 | Julian appointed Caesar in West (355) | ||
| 360 | Siege of Amida (359) | Water organs still exist, but rare (Gk Anth 9.365) | Julian proclaimed Augustus (360) | Earthquake, epicentre near Nicomedia (358) Amm. 17. 7 | |
| 365 | Sign language for the deaf | accession and d. of Jovian (363-4); accesion of Valentinian (West) and Valens (East) | 2/12/363, Another earthquake at Nicomedia and Nicaea, Amm. 22. 13. 5; possible tsunami in Cyrenaica | ||
| 370 | |||||
| 375 | Gornea, Orsova, Sala catapults |