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The 270s

144 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 3rd century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

270 CE23 entries

  • Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (or Aurelian), the cavalry commander who distinguished himself in the previous year at the Battle of Naissus (Serbia), usurps power in Sirmium and marches against Quintillus in Aquileia. Quintillus commits suicide.
  • Emperor Claudius II Gothicus fights a drawn-out campaign against the Gothic raiders in the Balkans, with setbacks suffered on both sides. Eventually, many Goths die of plague and others are absorbed into the Roman legions.
  • Claudius dies of plague in Sirmium while preparing to fight the Vandals and Sarmatians, who have invaded Pannonia. He is succeeded by his brother Quintillus, who briefly holds power over the Roman Empire.

271 CE24 entries

  • Battle of Fano: The Iuthungi move towards a defenseless Rome. Aurelian rallies his men and defeats the Germanic tribes on the Metauro River, just inland of Fano.
  • King Shapur I builds the Academy of Gundishapur (Iran), which becomes the intellectual center of the Sassanid Empire.
  • A magnetic compass is first used in China.

272 CE16 entries

  • Aurelian supports the bishops of Italy in deposing the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata, who had been a supporter of Zenobia. This is the first recorded instance of an imperial intervention in an ecclesiastical dispute.
  • Battle of Immae: Aurelian defeats the Palmyrene heavy cavalry (clibanarii) near Antioch. Queen Zenobia flees under cover of darkness to Emesa (Syria).
  • Saint Denis, first Bishop of Paris, and two of his disciples are beheaded on the road to the Temple of Mercury that stands atop a hill outside of the city. The hill will later be called Montmartre (Mountain of Martyrs) in Lutetia (modern Paris).

273 CE12 entries

274 CE19 entries

  • March 2 – Mani, a sage of Persia, dies at Gundeshapur after 30 years of preaching his "heresy" at the court of the late Sassanian King Shapur I and on long journeys to Khorasan, India and China. He is executed or allowed to die in prison, and claims to be a prophet of God. Mani combines Zoroastrian dualism with Christian theology, and his disciples gain wide support for Manichaeism, despite opposition from Roman Emperors.
  • December 25 – Aurelian has the Temple of the Sun dedicated to Sol Invictus, on the third day after the solstice and day of rebirth of the sun. This religion, which is in essence monotheistic, becomes the state religion of Rome.
  • The Kingdom of Aksum attains great prosperity thanks to its control of Red Sea trade.

275 CE12 entries

  • January 4 – Eutychian succeeds Felix I as the 27th pope of Rome.
  • November/December – Marcus Claudius Tacitus is proclaimed Emperor by the imperial field army (other sources give him as proclaimed September 25 by the Senate). His half brother Marcus Annius Florianus becomes praetorian prefect.
  • Approximate date – Himyar king Shammar Yahri'sh conquers Hadhramaut, Najran and Tihamah, unifying the territory later known as Yemen.

276 CE18 entries

  • Tacitus campaigns successfully against the Goths who have invaded Asia Minor, and his half-brother, the praetorian prefect Marcus Annius Florianus, continues the campaign.
  • King Bahram I of Persia dies after a 3-year reign, in which the Zoroastrian priests at Ctesiphon (Iran) put pressure on him to persecute Buddhists, Christians, and Manichaeans. He is succeeded by his son Bahram II.
  • Mahasena reigns in Ceylon. Orthodox and unpopular, he tries to introduce Mahayana Buddhism to the country.

277 CE7 entries

  • Tuoba Xilu succeeds his father Tuoba Liwei, as chieftain of the Tuoba clan.
  • Probus enters Rome, to have his position as Emperor ratified by the Senate.
  • Emperor Probus travels with his army west across the Sea of Marmara (Turkey), and through the provinces of Thrace, Moesia, and Pannonia to defeat the Goths along the lower Danube. He acquires from the troops the title of Gothicus.

278 CE9 entries

  • Emperor Probus defeats the Alamanni, advancing through the Neckar Valley. He expels the Franks from Gaul, and reorganizes the Roman defenses on the Rhine.
  • Piracy along the coast of Lycia et Pamphylia: The Romans besiege the city of Cremna (Pisidia) and kill the Isaurian robber Lydius.
  • Probus resettles the Germanic tribes in the devastated provinces of the Roman Empire. He adopts the titles of Gothicus Maximus and Germanicus Maximus.

279 CE4 entries