1st century BC

2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General history

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	2nd century BC · 1st century BC · 1st century
Decades:	90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC
Categories:	Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments

Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 1st century BC.

Eastern Hemisphere at the end of the 1st century BC.

The 1st century BC started the first day of 100 BC and ended the last day of 1 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero; however, astronomical year numbering does use a minus sign, so '2 BC' is equal to 'year -1'.

In the course of the century all the remaining independent lands surrounding the Mediterranean were steadily brought under Roman control, being ruled either directly under governors or through puppet kings appointed by Rome. The Roman state itself was plunged into civil war several times, finally resulting in the marginalization of its 500 year old republic, and the embodiment of total state power in a single man - the emperor. The internal turbulence which plagued Rome at this time can be seen as the last death throes of the Roman Republic, as it finally gave way to the autocratic ambitions of powerful men like Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Octavian's ascension to total power as the emperor Augustus is considered to mark the point in history where the Roman Republic ends and the Roman Empire begins. Some scholars refer to this event as the Roman Revolution. It is generally concluded that the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity took place at the close of this century.

Events

92 BC Lucullus invades Armenia, setting off the centuries long Roman vs Persian Wars.
81 BC Sulla is appointed dictator of the Roman state, and brings about major reforms.
73 BC A slave rebellion lead by the escaped gladiator Spartacus leads to the Third Servile War.
63 BC Pompey captures Jerusalem, and establishes Roman annexation of Judea as a client kingdom. King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II becomes king under Roman suzerainty.
57 BC Silla is founded in southeastern Korea (traditional date according to Samguk Sagi, a 12th century AD historical document).
53 BC The Parthians defeat the Romans under Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae
49 BC January 10: Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river, precipitating war with Rome
44 BC Julius Caesar murdered
37 BC Goguryeo is founded in southern Manchuria (traditional date according to Samguk Sagi)
31 BC Roman Civil War: Battle of Actium - Off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeat troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
27 BC The Roman Senate votes Octavian the title of Augustus. Augustus eventually assumes all authority formerly held by the Roman senate becoming the first emperor. The Roman state is henceforth known as the Roman Empire, and the period from 27 BC to AD 305 as the Principate.
18 BC Baekje is founded in midwestern Korea (traditional date according to Samguk Sagi)
c. 6 to 4 BC Birth of Jesus of Nazareth (see Chronology of Jesus' birth and death and Anno Domini for further details)

Significant persons

Cicero Denouncing Catiline by Cesare Maccari.One of several political conflicts in the Roman Republic during this century

An ancient stone tablet depicting Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, Alexandria, Egypt. These two rulers were the last Pharaohs

Burebista, greatest king of Dacia
Catiline, attempted to overthrow Roman Republic
Caesar Augustus, Roman emperor
Cicero, Roman politician and writer
Cleopatra VII of Egypt, Egyptian ruler
Herod the Great
Hillel the Elder, Jewish rabbi
Horace, Roman poet
Jesus of Nazareth, central figure of Christianity
Jing Fang, Chinese mathematician and music theorist
Julius Caesar, Roman politician
Livy, Roman historian
Lucretius, Roman philosopher
Marcus Antonius, Roman politician
Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar's adopted son, supposedly killed him
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio Roman writer, architect and engineer
Sextus Pompeius, Roman general
Ptolemy XIII of Egypt, drowned in Nile
Ovid, Roman poet
Virgil, Roman poet
Spartacus, gladiator
Sima Qian, Chinese historian, father of Chinese historiography
Tigranes the Great, king of Armenia

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Sunspots, first recorded by Chinese
The Antikythera mechanism is made
The first dome was built by the Romans
Glass blowing is invented in Roman Syria
The Chinese Ji Jiu Pian dictionary published in 40 BC during the Han Dynasty is the earliest known reference to the hydraulic-powered trip hammer device.

Decades and years

1st century BC
3rd century BC← 2nd century BC← ↔ →1st century→2nd century

100s BC	109 BC	108 BC	107 BC	106 BC	105 BC	104 BC	103 BC	102 BC	101 BC	100 BC
90s BC	99 BC	98 BC	97 BC	96 BC	95 BC	94 BC	93 BC	92 BC	91 BC	90 BC
80s BC	89 BC	88 BC	87 BC	86 BC	85 BC	84 BC	83 BC	82 BC	81 BC	80 BC
70s BC	79 BC	78 BC	77 BC	76 BC	75 BC	74 BC	73 BC	72 BC	71 BC	70 BC
60s BC	69 BC	68 BC	67 BC	66 BC	65 BC	64 BC	63 BC	62 BC	61 BC	60 BC
50s BC	59 BC	58 BC	57 BC	56 BC	55 BC	54 BC	53 BC	52 BC	51 BC	50 BC
40s BC	49 BC	48 BC	47 BC	46 BC	45 BC	44 BC	43 BC	42 BC	41 BC	40 BC
30s BC	39 BC	38 BC	37 BC	36 BC	35 BC	34 BC	33 BC	32 BC	31 BC	30 BC
20s BC	29 BC	28 BC	27 BC	26 BC	25 BC	24 BC	23 BC	22 BC	21 BC	20 BC
10s BC	19 BC	18 BC	17 BC	16 BC	15 BC	14 BC	13 BC	12 BC	11 BC	10 BC
0s BC	9 BC	8 BC	7 BC	6 BC	5 BC	4 BC	3 BC	2 BC	1 BC
0s		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Centuries and millennia

Millennium	Century
BC
4th	40th	39th	38th	37th	36th	35th	34th	33rd	32nd	31st
3rd	30th	29th	28th	27th	26th	25th	24th	23rd	22nd	21st
2nd	20th	19th	18th	17th	16th	15th	14th	13th	12th	11th
1st	10th	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
AD
1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
2nd	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
3rd	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th
4th	31st

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