Religion & Belief in the 1st century

125 sourced entries, 1 CE to 99 CE, oldest first. Also see Religion & Belief across every century or everything else in the 1st century.

• 1AD 1 – Confucius is given his first royal title (posthumous name) of Baocheng Xuan Ni Gong.source
• 2AD 2 - Vonones I, who had been installed as king of the Parthian Empire after a period of exile in Rome, was deposed by the Mahestan, the Parthian noble council. His Romanized policies and mannerisms were unpopular among the Parthian aristocracy, prompting the council to replace him with Artabanus III, a more traditional Parthian ruler.source
• 4AD 4 – Nicolaus of Damascus writes the 15-volume History of the World.source
• 4AD 4 – Emperor Augustus summons Tiberius to Rome, and names him his heir and future emperor. At the same time, Agrippa Postumus, the last son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, is also adopted and named as Augustus' heir.source
• 6AD 6 – The Temple of Castor and Pollux is rededicated in Rome by Tiberius after being destroyed by fire in 14 BC.source
• 7AD 7 – Construction of the Temple of Concord begins.source
• 8AD 8 – Roman poet Ovid is banished from Rome and exiled to the Black Sea near Tomis (modern-day Constanța).source
• 9AD 9 – First record of the subdivision of the province of Illyricum into lower (Pannonia) and upper (Dalmatia) regions.source
• 9AD 9 – Ovid completes the curse poem Ibis.source
• 10Ovid completes Tristia III (the "Sorrows") describing the sadness of banishment.source
• 11An edict is issued effecting an empire-wide ban on divinatory practices, especially astrology. The edict requires any consultation between a customer and a practitioner to be conducted with at least one third party witness present, and bans inquiry into anyone's death.source
• 14September 18 – Tiberius succeeds his stepfather Augustus as Roman emperor.source
• 15Nicolaus of Damascus writes a biography of the Emperor Augustus (Bios Kaisaros).source
• 19A triumphal arch is built for Germanicus Julius Caesar in Saintes.source
• 26Pontius Pilate is appointed as prefect of the Roman imperial province of Judea.source
• 26Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and begins his public ministry, according to some scholars.source
• 27Using 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).source
• 29Jesus is executed by crucifixion, according to Roman Catholic tradition and Tertullian's chronology.source
• 30Jesus is crucified in Jerusalem (possible date)source
• 30Phaedrus translates Aesop's fables, and composes some of his own.source
• 32Philo writes his symbolic interpretation of the Old Testament (Allegory).source
• 33According to Colin Humphrey's account, Jesus of Nazareth's Last Supper and crucifixion take place.source
• 34Stephen, one of the original seven deacons of the Christian Church, is martyred for his faith (possible date).source
• 34Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, is converted to Christianity, and becomes Paul the Apostle (possible date).source
• 34According to one dating scheme, Paul and Barnabas announce in Antioch that they will begin to evangelize the Gentiles.source
• 35Pliny the Elder is brought to Rome before this year.source
• 35Emperor Tiberius names Caligula (aka Gaius) and Gamellus, a grandson, as co-heirs.source
• 37March 18 – The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius's will, and proclaims Caligula as Roman Emperor, nullifying the joint claim of Tiberius Gemellus. Caligula's attempt to have himself deified creates friction between himself and the Senate.source
• 37The Pharisee Saul of Tarsus is converted to Christianity, after a vision (possible date). After the year 39, he is recognised as Saint Paul.source
• 37Peter the Apostle founds the Church of Antioch (approximate date).source
• 38Stachys the Apostle becomes the second patriarch of Constantinople (traditional date).source
• 38Andrew the Apostle becomes the first patriarch of Constantinople, and resigns that position shortly thereafter (traditional date).source
• 39Tigellinus, minister and favorite of the later Roman emperor Nero, is banished for adultery with Caligula's sisters.source
• 40An early Christian church is erected at Corinth (most probable date).source
• 40Emperor Caligula is consul without colleague.source
• 40Christianity comes to Egypt as a church is founded in Alexandria. Mark the Evangelist founds the Church of Alexandria as the first Patriarch (traditional date).source
• 41January 24 – Claudius succeeds his nephew, Caligula, as emperor.source
• 41Claudius restores religious freedom to Jews throughout the empire, but prohibits Jews in Rome from proselytising.source
• 42January 25 – The Apostle Paul is converted to Christianity (the exact date is not provided in texts, but the Roman Catholic Church chooses to commemorate this date).source
• 42Traditional date of foundation of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria by the apostle Mark the Evangelist.source
• 43In Coptic Orthodox Christianity, Mark the Evangelist becomes the first Pope of Alexandria, thus establishing the Christian Church in Africa.source
• 44Cuspius Fadus (Roman governor of Judea) suppresses the revolt of Theudas, who is decapitated.source
• 44Judaea is controlled by Roman governors.source
• 45Juvavum (modern Salzburg) is awarded the status of a Roman municipium.source
• 47Claudius revives the censorship and ludi saeculares, and organises the order of the Haruspices, with 60 members.source
• 47Ananias becomes high priest in Judaea.source
• 48Emperor Claudius invests Agrippa II with the office of superintendent of the Temple in Jerusalem.source
• 49First apostolic council in Jerusalem (approximate date).source
• 49Christianity spreads into Europe, especially at Rome and at Philippi (probable date according to chronology derived from the Acts of the Apostles).source
• 49The New Testament book Paul's Epistle to the Galatians is probably written.source
• 50The Apostles hold the Council of Jerusalem (approximate date).source
• 50Pamphilus of Alexandria writes a poetic lexicon.source
• 50Roman emperor Claudius appoints Agrippa II governor of Chalcis.source
• 50The Epistle to the Romans is written (approximate date).source
• 51Burrus, praetorian prefect (51–62 AD), charges Seneca with the education of Nero.source
• 52Ananias, a high priest in Jerusalem, is sent to Rome after being accused of violence.source
• 52Saint Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, is believed to have landed in Kodungallur, India to preach the Gospel; the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the Indian Orthodox Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East claim descent from him.source
• 52Barea Soranus is consul suffectus in Rome.source
• 53Emperor Claudius removes Herod Agrippa II from the tetrarchy of Chalcis in Greece.source
• 53Claudius accepts Nero as his successor, to the detriment of Britannicus, his son by his first wife, Valeria Messalina.source
• 53Evodius succeeds Saint Peter as Patriarch of Antioch.source
• 53Paul the Apostle writes his epistle to the Galatians from Ephesus (approximate date).source
• 54Apollos, a later assistant of Paul, is converted to Christianity in Ephesus.source
• 54Patriarch Onesimus succeeds Stachys the Apostle as Patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 55The apostle Paul writes his First Epistle to the Corinthians.source
• 55The Roman jurist Sabinus writes three books on the rights of citizens.source
• 56The apostle Paul writes his second Epistle to the Corinthians, probably from Philippi.source
• 56The apostle Paul writes his Epistle to the Romans, from Corinth (approximate date).source
• 57Paul of Tarsus writes his Second Epistle to the Corinthians and his Epistle to the Romans (probable date).source
• 59Paul the Apostle pleads his case and testifies to his Christianity before King Agrippa II of the Herodians, who reportedly responds "You almost persuade me to be a Christian."source
• 60The First Epistle of Peter, if by Peter, is probably written between this year and c. AD 64.source
• 60Paul of Tarsus journeys to Rome, but is shipwrecked on Malta. He stays for three months and converts Publius, the first bishop of Malta.source
• 60Paul's Epistle to the Philippians is written from Rome. (approximate date)source
• 63Vespasian becomes governor of Africa (estimated year).source
• 64Paul leaves Titus in Crete as bishop (approximate date) Then goes to Asia Minorsource
• 64First Epistle of Peter written from Babylon according to traditional Christian belief.source
• 64Persecution of Christians in Rome begins under Nero. Peter the Apostle is possibly among those crucified.source
• 65Paul of Tarsus ordains Timothy as bishop of Ephesus (traditional date).source
• 65The first Christian community in Africa is founded by Mark, a disciple of Peter.source
• 65In China, the first official reference to Buddhism is made.source
• 66September 22 – Emperor Nero creates the Legio I Italica. He appoints Titus Flavius Vespasian as General of the army of Judea, and Governor of Judea which gives him command of three legions — V Macedonica, X Fretensis and XV Apollinaris.source
• 66The first and second Epistles to Timothy are written (speculative date, if actually written by St. Paul).source
• 67Apostles Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome (possible date).source
• 67Linus succeeds Peter, as the second Bishop of Rome.source
• 68Trajan moves to Scythopolis and crosses the Jordan River with Legio X Fretensis. He lays siege to Jericho and destroys the monastery of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are originated.source
• 68Apostles Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome (latest possible date).source
• 68Buddhism officially arrives in China with the building of the White Horse Temple.source
• 68Ignatius of Antioch becomes the third bishop of Antioch.source
• 69January 10 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is adopted by Galba and appointed to deputy Roman Emperor.source
• 69Josephus, Jewish rebel leader, is dragged before Vespasian and becomes his historian (he "prophesied" him his elevation to the purple).source
• 70Members of the Oneida Community, a now non-existent religious group formed in the 19th century, believed this was the year Jesus Christ returned.source
• 70Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin moved to Jamnia.source
• 70Pentecost (Shavuot, 6th of Sivan, about June 4) – Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem feel a quaking and hear "a sound as of a great multitude saying, Let us remove hence".source
• 7017th of Panemos (17th of Tammuz), about July 14) – Sacrifices cease in the temple.source
• 71Emperors Vespasian and Marcus Cocceius Nerva are Roman Consuls.source
• 73Vespasian and Titus are appointed to be Roman censors.source
• 74December 27 – Vespasian grants generous privileges to doctors and teachers.source
• 74Mesopotamia: The last known cuneiform text is written.source
• 75The Temple of Peace, also known as the Forum of Vespasian, is built in Rome. The temple celebrates the conquest of Jerusalem (in AD 70) and houses the Menorah from Herod's Temple.source
• 76Pope Anacletus I succeeds Pope Linus as the third pope of the Catholic Church (according to the official Vatican list).source
• 78Indian Prince Aji Caka introduces the Sanskrit language and Pallawa script, used to inscribe Javanese words and phrases, to the Indonesian islands.source
• 79Chester is founded as a castrum or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix. The fortress is built by Legio II Adiutrix and contains barracks, granaries, military baths and headquarters.source
• 79A commission of scholars canonizes the text of works of Confucius and his school.source
• 81Possible date of the First Epistle of Peter.source
• 81Pliny the Younger is flamen Divi Augusti (priest in the cult of the Emperor).source
• 81The silver content of the Roman denarius rises to 92% under emperor Domitian, up from 81% in the reign of Vitellius.source
• 82Dio Chrysostom is banished from Rome, Italy, and Bithynia, after advising one of the Emperor's conspiring relatives.source
• 84Pliny the Younger is sevir equitum Romanorum (commander of a cavalry squadron).source
• 86Martial publishes Books I and II of the Epigrams.source
• 88Two Egyptian obelisks are erected in Benevento in front of the Temple of Isis, in honour of Emperor Domitian.source
• 88Quintilian retires from teaching and from pleading, to compose his great work on the training of the orator (Institutio Oratoria).source
• 88Pope Clement I succeeds Pope Anacletus I as the fourth pope.source
• 89Aquincum (old Budapest, Óbuda) is founded (approximate date).source
• 91Rome is described by Statius in his poems.source
• 91Pliny the Younger is named a tribunus plebis.source
• 94Domitian banishes all Stoic philosophers from Rome.source
• 95The Book of Revelation is written (approximate date).source
• 95Possible date for the writing of the First Epistle of Peter.source
• 96The Book of Revelation is written (approximate date).source
• 96A schism in Buddhism creates a new, popular religion in India, Mahâyâna ("Great Vehicle").source
• 97Nerva recognizes the Sanhedrin of Jamnia as an official governmental body of the Jews, and the patriarch or nasi is designated as the representative of the Jewish people in Rome.source
• 97Evaristus succeeds Pope Clement I as the fifth pope (according to Catholic tradition; none of the popes until the mid second century is certain).source
• 98The silver content of the Roman denarius rises to 93 percent under emperor Trajan, up from 92 percent under Domitian.source
• 99August 29 – Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 581, recording the sale of a slave girl, is written.source
• 99November 23 – Pope Evaristus succeeds Pope Clement I as the fifth pope according to Roman Catholic tradition.source