Timeline of Rome

1st Century AD – Modern Time Begins

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The 1st century AD was marked by the transition from the Augustan era into a time of dynastic turbulence and eventual stability under the Flavians and the early “Five Good Emperors.” Throughout Italy and the broader empire, new challenges arose: major earthquakes in Campania, famine and pestilence in Rome, and volcanic eruptions ranging from Mount Etna to the cataclysmic destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum by Vesuvius in AD 79. The Julio-Claudian dynasty—embodied by Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—witnessed both grand construction projects (like the amphitheater at Alba Fucens) and notorious episodes of tyranny and scandal. Christianity began to take root, with St. Peter and St. Paul traditionally martyred in Rome, and early dioceses were established at Agrigentum, Beneventum, Catania, Neapolis, Panormus, Puteoli, and Rhegium. After Nero’s fall in AD 68, civil war engulfed the empire until Vespasian founded the Flavian line, ushering in reconstruction efforts (such as the Colosseum) and culminating in the more stable governance of Nerva and Trajan by century’s end.

Full Chronological Summary (1st Century AD)

Dioceses Established in the 1st Century

  • Agrigentum (Agrigento)
  • Beneventum (Benevento)
  • Catania
  • Neapolis (Naples/Napoli)
  • Panormus (Palermo)
  • Puteoli (Pozzuoli)
  • Rhegium (Reggio di Calabria)

AD 1

  • 195th Olympiad. (Olympiads continue to be a chronological marker, though less central than before.)

AD 2

  • Lucius Caesar (19-year-old grandson and heir of Augustus) dies at Massilia (Marseilles) in Gaul.
  • Augustus establishes the Italica Romaea Sebasta Olympia at Naples—the only sacred Greek games held in Italy, equal in prestige to those in Greece.

AD 4

  • (Feb 21) Gaius Caesar (24-year-old grandson and heir of Augustus) dies at Limyra in Lycia from wounds sustained in Armenia (AD 3).

AD 5

  • 196th Olympiad.
  • Famine in Italy.
  • Julia the Elder (daughter of Augustus), exiled on Pandateria (Ventotene), is allowed to relocate to Rhegium.
  • Roman forces defeat the Lombards on the River Elbe. Historian Velleius Paterculus calls them “fierce beyond typical German savagery.”

AD 6

  • Augustus trades Ischia to Neapolis in return for Capri.
  • Famine in Rome. ~320,000 citizens (one-third of Rome’s population) rely on public grain dole (up from ~155,000 in 44 BC). Rome imports ~14 million bushels of grain annually, mostly from Egypt and North Africa.
  • The poet Ovid is exiled to Tomis on the Black Sea coast.

AD 9

  • 197th Olympiad.
  • (Sept 10) Three Roman legions under Varus are massacred at the Teutoburg Forest by Germanic tribes.

AD 10

  • (c.) Possible Mt. Etna eruption.

AD 12

  • (Aug 31) Gaius Caesar (Caligula) is born.
  • The last known Etruscan inscription is recorded around this time.

AD 13

  • 198th Olympiad.

AD 14: Death of Augustus

  • Roman census completed May 14, counting ~4,937,000 citizens.
  • (Aug 19) Augustus dies at Nola (Campania), age 76.
    • His 55-year-old stepson Tiberius succeeds him.
    • (Sept 17) The Senate deifies Augustus.
  • Julia the Elder dies in exile at Rhegium, sometime after Augustus’s death and before year’s end.
  • Estimated population of the empire is ~61 million (~13 million in Italy, plus ~1.1 million in Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica).

AD 15

  • New laws restrict actors: senators barred from entering actors’ homes; knights barred from escorting them in public; theatrical offenses punishable by exile.
  • Standard legionary service set at 20 years.

AD 16

  • Astrologers and magicians are expelled from Italy; some, like Lucius Pituanius and Publius Marcius, are executed.
  • Laws restrict display of wealth: no solid gold plates at private dinners, no silk garments for men.

AD 17

  • 199th Olympiad.
  • (Jan 2) The historian Livy dies.
  • Earthquake in Rhegium (and NE Sicily), possibly part of a larger seismic series affecting Anatolia.

AD 18

  • (Jan 2) Ovid dies in exile at Tomis.
  • His exile’s cause remains unclear—possibly related to Julia’s scandals or his risqué poems.

AD 19

  • Tiberius withdraws from Rome to the island of Caprae (Capri), fearful of assassination and disillusioned with Roman politics.
  • The Lex Petronia forbids masters from sending slaves to the arena without due process.

AD 21

  • 200th Olympiad.

AD 24

  • Slave revolt in southern Italy, led by ex-Praetorian Titus Curtisius, breaks out around Brundisium (Brindisi).

AD 25

  • 201st Olympiad.

AD 27

  • Tiberius again moves his court permanently to Capri.
  • He rules remotely, rarely returning to Rome.

AD 29

  • 202nd Olympiad.
  • Agrippina the Elder (widow of Germanicus) is exiled to Pandataria (Ventotene).

AD 30

  • (c.) St. Peter is traditionally believed to have come to Rome (though dates vary).
  • Agrippina the Elder continues in exile.

AD 32

  • (c.) St. Peter establishes the papacy in Rome, according to tradition (date is debated).

AD 33

  • 203rd Olympiad.
  • (Oct 18) Agrippina the Elder dies of starvation on Pandataria.

AD 37: Tiberius Dies

  • 204th Olympiad.
  • (Mar 16) Tiberius dies at Misenum (age 78)—possibly from illness, rumored also suffocation by Praetorian Prefect Macro to ensure Caligula’s succession.
  • Caligula (Gaius Caesar) becomes emperor.
  • Earthquake on Capri.
  • (Summer) Caligula builds a bridge of ships from Puteoli to Baiae to defy an oracle’s prediction that he would never become emperor.
  • (Dec 15) Nero is born.

AD 39

  • (Dec 30) Birth of Titus, future emperor, at Rome (alt. date sometimes 41).
  • (c.) Mt. Etna erupts.

AD 40

  • (Jun–Aug) Emperor Caligula tours Campania.
  • (c.) St. Pancras is sent to Sicily (Tauromenium) as first bishop, eventually martyred.

AD 41: Assassination of Caligula

  • 205th Olympiad.
  • (Jan 24) Caligula (age 29) is murdered by the Praetorian Guard.
  • His uncle Claudius succeeds him (Jan 25).

AD 45

  • 206th Olympiad.

AD 47

  • Secular Games held in Rome.

AD 49

  • 207th Olympiad.

AD 50

  • (c.) An amphitheater (capacity ~20,000) is built at Alba Fucens (Samnium).
  • Emperor Claudius adopts his stepson Nero.
  • Eruptions on Vulcano and Stromboli.

AD 51

  • (Oct 24) Domitian (future emperor) is born in Rome.

AD 53

  • 208th Olympiad.
  • Famine and pestilence strike Italy (until 54).

AD 54: Nero Becomes Emperor

  • Partial drainage of Fucine Lake.
  • (Oct 13) Claudius dies—allegedly poisoned by mushrooms at Agrippina’s behest so that Nero can succeed him.

AD 55

  • Birth of poet Juvenal at Aquinium (Aquino).

AD 57

  • 209th Olympiad.

AD 59

  • Riot in the Pompeii amphitheater between locals and visiting Nucerians, causing deaths and injuries. Senate bans gladiatorial games there for 10 years.
  • (Mar) Emperor Nero orders the assassination of his mother, Agrippina, at Baiae.

AD 61

  • 210th Olympiad.

AD 62

  • Gaius Tigellinus of Agrigentum becomes Nero’s Praetorian Prefect.
  • (Feb 5) Severe earthquake damages Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other Campanian towns.
  • St. Paul is traditionally believed to be executed in Rome for treason.
  • Nero divorces and executes Octavia, then marries Poppaea Sabina.

AD 64: Great Fire of Rome

  • Another earthquake hits Naples.
  • Nero visits Campania, publicly performs at the Neapolitan theater (possibly for the Italica Romaea Sebasta Olympia).
  • (July 18–26) The Great Fire devastates Rome. Nero blames the Christian community; arrests and executions follow.

AD 65

  • 211th Olympiad.
  • A plague in Rome kills ~30,000 people.

AD 67

  • Traditional date for the crucifixion of St. Peter (some say 64 AD). Tertullian suggests he was crucified upside-down.
  • St. Linus succeeds Peter as pope (alt. date 68).
  • Nero competes in the Olympic Games, grants “freedom” to Greece.

AD 68: End of Julio-Claudians

  • (June 9) Nero is deposed and commits suicide, age 30. Civil war ensues.
  • Earthquake at Teate (Chieti), plague in Rome.

AD 69: Year of the Four Emperors

  • 212th Olympiad.
  • (Jan 15) Emperor Galba is assassinated.
  • (Apr 16) Otho loses in battle to Vitellius, commits suicide.
  • (Apr 17) Vitellius is declared emperor, executes 120 who claimed credit for Galba’s death.
  • (Dec 22) Vitellius is overthrown and killed; Vespasian is proclaimed emperor.
  • Eruption on Ischia.
  • Pestilence in Rome kills humans and animals.

AD 70

  • Grain shipments to Rome are delayed by contrary winds, causing bread shortages.
  • The Gospel of Mark is written in Rome (traditional date). Possibly authored by one of Peter’s interpreters.

AD 71

  • Emperor Vespasian banishes philosophers and astrologers from Rome.
  • A grand public latrine opens; the water system of Rome is extensive, including flush toilets and urinals.

AD 73

  • 213th Olympiad.

AD 75

  • Some philosophers (like the Cynic Diogenes) return to Rome clandestinely.
  • Gospel of Luke possibly composed between ~75 and 90.

AD 76

  • Traditional death date of Pope St. Linus. He is succeeded by St. Anacletus (dates vary).

AD 77

  • 214th Olympiad.
  • Plague in Rome (until 78).

AD 79: Eruption of Vesuvius

  • (June 23) Vespasian dies at age 69, succeeded by his son Titus (age 38).
  • (Aug 24–25) Mount Vesuvius erupts violently, burying Pompeii, Herculaneum, and surrounding towns (Stabiae, Oplontis, etc.). ~10,000 are killed, including Pliny the Elder. The eruption triggers earthquakes, disrupts garum (fish sauce) production, and unleashes plague (possibly anthrax).
  • Pliny the Elder dies at Stabiae while observing the eruption.

AD 80

  • Emperor Titus restores the horologium of Surrentum, damaged by Vesuvius’s earthquakes.
  • The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) is inaugurated.
  • Eruption on Ischia.
  • Continuing anthrax plague and drought in Italy.
  • Possible Mt. Etna eruption.
  • The Gospel of Matthew is dated to ~80–85 AD.

AD 81: Domitian

  • 215th Olympiad.
  • (Sept 13) Titus dies at Reate (age 40)—perhaps malaria, or rumored poisoning by Domitian.
  • Domitian (Titus’s brother) becomes emperor.

AD 85

  • 216th Olympiad.

AD 88

  • St. Clement I becomes pope (alt. dates: 91 or 92).

AD 89

  • 217th Olympiad.

AD 90

  • The Gospel of John written between ~90 and 100.

AD 93

  • 218th Olympiad.

AD 95

  • Basilica of SS. Apostoli is traditionally founded at Nola.
  • Domitian again exiles philosophers from Italy.
  • Malaria epidemic spreads around Rome, reducing birth rates in the capital (though the empire’s overall population grows).
  • Rome’s water system can supply ~250 million gallons/day via 10 aqueducts (~50% used by public baths). Per capita supply may have been ~291 gallons/day, far exceeding typical personal needs.

AD 96: Assassination of Domitian

  • (Sept 18) Domitian (age 44) is assassinated in a senatorial plot. A freedman, Stephanus, kills him but is soon slain himself.
  • The Senate chooses the 61-year-old Nerva as emperor, beginning the era of the “Five Good Emperors” and ushering a century of relative peace and prosperity.

AD 97

  • 219th Olympiad.
  • A new colony at Minervium (Colonia Minervia) in Bruttium is re-founded as Scolatium (Scolacium) (previously Scylacium).
  • St. Evaristus becomes pope (alt. dates: 98 or 101).

AD 98

  • (Jan 27/28) Emperor Nerva dies of illness, succeeded by his adopted heir Trajan.
  • Under Trajan, the empire attains its greatest territorial extent, the economy flourishes, and the silver content of the denarius stands at ~93% purity.

Key Takeaways

  1. Imperial & Religious Milestones
    • The century begins under Augustus and transitions through Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—the Julio-Claudian dynasty—into the Flavians (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian) and ends with Nerva and Trajan.
    • Early Christian communities and leadership appear, with St. Peter traditionally founding the papacy in Rome and several dioceses in southern Italy and Sicily.
  2. Natural Disasters & Infrastructure
    • Frequent earthquakes in Campania, culminating in Vesuvius’s eruption (AD 79) which destroys Pompeii and Herculaneum.
    • Significant building projects: amphitheaters (Alba Fucens), aqueduct expansions, and the Colosseum in Rome.
  3. Political and Social Turmoil
    • Exiles of prominent figures (Ovid, Agrippina, Julia), repeated purges under Caligula, Nero, and Domitian.
    • Riots (Pompeii vs. Nuceria) and slave revolts reflect ongoing social tensions.
  4. Cultural Achievements
    • Writers like Livy, Ovid, Juvenal, Pliny the Elder flourish (and sometimes perish) in this period.
    • The canonical Gospels—Mark, Luke, Matthew, John—take shape, shaping early Christian theology.
  5. Economic & Demographic Changes
    • Increasing reliance on grain imports from Africa and Egypt to feed Rome’s huge populace.
    • Malaria becomes endemic around Rome, altering demographic patterns.
    • Under the “Five Good Emperors,” Italy enters a more stable period of governance and prosperity by the end of the century.

By the close of AD 98, with Trajan’s ascent, Rome stands on the verge of its greatest expanse and stability, setting the stage for the 2nd century’s imperial zenith.