The 20s
89 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 1st century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.
20 CE5 entries
- Emperor Tiberius is forced to order an investigation and a public trial in the Roman Senate, for the murder of Germanicus. Fearing he will be found guilty, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso commits suicide.
- Galba, the future emperor, is a Roman praetor.
21 CE12 entries
- Barracks are constructed for the Praetorian Guard, on the Quirinal (located on the Seven Hills of Rome).
- The manufacture of pens and metal writing tools begins in Rome (approximate date).
- The Romans create a buffer state in the territory of the Quadi, in southern Slovakia.
22 CE4 entries
- Drusus Julius Caesar receives the tribunicia potestas (tribunician power).
23 CE14 entries
- July – After being under siege for two months, about 19,000 insurgents under Liu Xiu defeat 450,000 of Wang Mang's troops in the Battle of Kunyang, ushering in the fall of Wang Mang's Xin dynasty and restoration of the Han dynasty.
- Greek geographer Strabo publishes Geographica, a work covering the world known to the Romans and Greeks at the time of Emperor Augustus – it is the only such book to survive from the ancient world.
- Liu Xuan, a descendant of the Han dynasty royal family and leader of insurgents against the Xin dynasty, proclaims himself emperor against Wang Mang.
24 CE12 entries
- July 1 – Midway through the Roman year 777 A.U.C., Gaius Calpurnius Aviola and Publius Lentulus Scipio begin the new consular year as the new suffect consuls.
- In the Kingdom of Silla, which compromises most of the eastern Korean peninsula, Yuri of the House of Park becomes the new monarch (the chachaung). King Yuri takes the throne at the capital, Seorabeo (now Gyeongju in South Korea) upon the death of his father, King Namhae.
- The Roman war against Numidia and Mauretania ends with the annexation of the two African kingdoms.
25 CE12 entries
- August 5 – The Han dynasty is restored in China as Liu Xiu proclaims himself Emperor Guangwu of Han, starting the Jianwu era (until AD 56).
- November 27 – Luoyang becomes the capital of the Houhan or Eastern Han dynasty.
- Emperor Tiberius settles a dispute between Messenia and Sparta over the Ager Dentheliales on Mount Taygetus, awarding the land to Messenia.
26 CE9 entries
- Emperor Tiberius retires to Capri, leaving the Praetorian Guard under Lucius Aelius Sejanus in charge of the Roman Empire and the city of Rome.
- Pontius Pilate is appointed as prefect of the Roman imperial province of Judea.
- Xinlun is presented by author Huan Tan to Emperor Guangwu of Han with its final chapter (on zither music) still unfinished.
27 CE7 entries
- Using the dates and ranges listed in the Gospel of Luke, this year can be established as when John the Baptist begins preaching. It is also argued that Jesus was baptised by John in the final months of this year before his temptation and the first of three Passovers listed in the Gospel of John (another possibility is AD 29).
- An Arc of Triumph is erected in Rimini, in honor of the former Emperor Augustus.
- A poorly built amphitheatre in Fidenae collapses, killing 20,000 of the 50,000 spectators.
28 CE7 entries
- Roman legions in Germania are transported by fleet to the fortress of Flevum on the Rhine, to operate against the rebellious Frisians.
- King Daru of Baekje succeeds to the throne of Baekje in the Korean peninsula.
- Frisians revolt against Roman authorities, hanging tax collectors and besieging a local fort. Frisians achieve victory and gain considerable prestige among other local tribes.
29 CE7 entries
- According to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 3:1-2), the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus is thought to have started this year.
- Agrippina the Elder is exiled to the island of Pandataria, and her sons (except Caligula) are imprisoned by Lucius Aelius Sejanus.
- Jesus is executed by crucifixion, according to Roman Catholic tradition and Tertullian's chronology.