Commodus is Roman Emperor

Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons refers to the Gospel of Judas in his work “Against Heresies”

Bishop Erenaeus declares the Gospel of Judas heretical and tries to limit the number of sacred texts; this double operation serves to make the Christian religion more digestible for the Roman Empire by placing the blame for the crucifixion on the Jews (Judas in the Gospel of John), and to make the Christian faith clearer and more monolithic, for which Christians were tortured and killed in their thousands.

Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, a former student of St. Polycarp, speaks of the Quadriform Gospel; this is the first reference to the four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).

Some Dacian tribes invade Greece, the Roman army manages to disperse them

The first barbarian invasion: Quadi and Marcomanni, Germanic peoples, cross the Danube and carry out raids in Rhaetia (Bavaria and Switzerland), Noricum (Austria) and Pannonia (Hungary); Marcus Aurelius manages to drive them back beyond the Danube.

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius sends an official delegation to the capital of the Celestial Empire: China, specifically to the city of Xian.

The Plague of Antoninus. Smallpox reaches Rome. It will kill millions of Roman citizens in just 15 years. Its origins are in Han Dynasty China, where it rages as a dual contagion: smallpox and measles, with a mortality rate of 24%. It is the first global pandemic in history.

Yucatan. The “Classic Maya States” thrive. Cities like Tikal, Calakmul, and Palenque are dominated by royal temples, ballgame courts, images of war and humiliated prisoners, and complex calendars. All of this is absent in Teotihuacan from 300 AD onward, which, however, shows no evidence of top-down military, religious, or administrative leadership, and even lacks ballgames.

Ptolemy publishes Harmonic, a text on music, in which he examines the nature of sounds from a mathematical point of view.

The so-called Muratorian Canon, the oldest known document containing the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, was written; it was discovered in 1740 at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan by Ludovico Antonio Muratori.

The province of Judea, now that the revolt has been put down, is permanently garrisoned by two legions: the III Cyrenaica and the X Fretensis in Judea (while the III Gallica and the VI Ferrata are a little further north, in present-day Lebanon). The legions that were directly or partially involved in the war are instead a dozen, including the III Gallica, the XXII Deiotariana, the Legio IX Hispania, the X Gemina, V Macedonica, XI Claudia, II Traiana Fortis,

The Romans defeated the insurgents in Israel, and Simon Bar-Cobah was executed. The revolt lasted about five years. The war’s effects were horrific: 985 villages and 50 fortresses were destroyed, with 580,000 victims, according to Cassius Dio, and many more perished from hunger and disease, while a huge number of Jews were enslaved (the price of a slave fell below that of a horse).

Israel. Second Jewish revolt led by Simon bar Kochba, who enjoys the recognition of Rabbi Aqiba.

The followers of John the Baptist retreated to the north of present-day Iraq where they still continue the cult today.

In India a great revolution in Buddhist thought takes place: the Mahayana system (Great Ferry) is born which opens the cult to lay people, not only to monks.

Hadrian is Roman Emperor

Death of John

Trajan is Roman Emperor

St. Evaristus of Bethlehem, Roman, martyr, is Pope. After him, 26 other Popes will follow, all martyred, up to St. Marcellus I, Roman, martyr (308 – 309)

Nerva is Roman Emperor

Britain. The northernmost reaches of England are abandoned by the Romans, as the legions are deployed to quell a revolt in Dacia (present-day Moldavia), at the other end of the Empire. The gigantic fort of Inchtuthill in Scotland is dismantled and abandoned just four years after its construction.

Claudius Ptolemy publishes Geography

Roman Legions in the British Isles are reduced from 4 to 3

The Romans expand north and settle in Scotland as well

Domitian is Roman Emperor

Titus is Roman Emperor

Pliny the Elder (so called even though he was only 56 years old at the time) also died in the eruption of Vesuvius. In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder discusses how comets should be interpreted based on the shape of their tails: the Pagonias have beards, the Ceratis have horns, the Hippeus have horsehair, and the Argenteus are so bright that one cannot look directly at them (!)

St. Cletus, Roman, martyr, is Pope

Britain. Territories of the Brigantes, northern border of Roman territory. The territories of the brigand Venutius, husband of the former Roman ally, Queen Cartimandua, are attacked and conquered by the Roman legions, who reach what will become Hadrian’s Wall and extend the network of forts and roads for military use.

The apostle Matthew wrote his gospel in Greek; the gospel that has come down to us is actually an anonymous work, probably written posthumously.

Rome. Construction of the Colosseum began in 70 AD, and was completed in 80. A recent rereading of the now-lost metal letters through the attachment holes has shown that the Flavian Amphitheater was built with the spoils collected during the Jewish War.

Menelaus of Alexandria investigates the geometry of the sphere

Titus captures Jerusalem, destroys the Temple, and causes the Jewish diaspora. Jerusalem is entrusted to the Tenth Legion, which is stationed in the city.

Luke, a converted Christian, wrote his gospel in Syria or Greece

Middle East. The Roman spoils from the sack of Jerusalem are such that the value of gold throughout Syria drops to half its former value. Part of the spoils will go towards the construction of the Colosseum in Rome.

Jerusalem. The city is unrecognizable. Calculating the losses is difficult today. Josephus speaks of 1.1 million victims. But, given the city’s size, it is estimated that no more than 150,000 people lived there. Regardless of the exact count, the fate of the city and its survivors was atrocious. But Rome followed its own logic, inflexible, cynical, yet coherent. Jerusalem was not, in itself, an exception: its fate was no different or worse than that of Carthage or Corinth or Numantia or Athens, all cases with which the world of the time was all too familiar. Beyond the horrendous tragedy of the war, there was a total lack of communication between two worldviews.

Jerusalem. After gaining control of the city, at least on the surface, they descend underground to hunt down the last die-hard rebels and their leaders. Among them, they capture John of Giscala, who, prostrate with hunger, begs the Romans for mercy. Simon bar Giora, however, emerges from within the temple itself, wearing the white vestments and purple cloak of messianic royalty, seeking the supreme sacrifice for the cause of freedom. Both leaders are captured and taken to Rome. Simon will be strangled, according to custom, while John will remain in prison until his death.

Jerusalem. Titus extinguishes the flames and calls a council of war of his general staff. It includes Tiberius Julius Alexander, Prince Sextus’s right-hand man; Vettulenus Cerialis, commander of the Fifth Macedonica; Larcius Lepidus Supulcianus, at the head of the Tenth Fretensus; Tittius Frugi, who leads the Fifteenth Apollinaris; Eternius Fronto, who leads the Egyptian vexillationes; M. Antonius Julianus, procurator of Judea; and A. Caesennius Gallus, at the head of the Twelfth Fulminata. In this extremely important council, the fate of the Temple is decided. In the end, Titus declares that he would never burn such a sumptuous and majestic building, because it could later serve as an ornament to the Empire. He thus intends to forgo the easiest of siege methods: fire. The Jews attempt a final attack, but are repelled. While repelling a second Jewish attempt, a soldier throws a burning brand into the temple, on the north side. Titus himself rushes to the scene and orders his soldiers to put out the fire. But the soldiers, feeling the long-awaited victory within their grasp, are gripped by an uncontrollable outburst: many, rather than extinguishing the flames, fan them. Titus is forced to leave the Temple, which is lost. The Romans overrun, indulging in a terrible massacre. Titus, who usually seeks negotiation and grants pardons and spares the lives of those conquered, does not spare the high priests, who are put to death. The Romans destroy everything. Gathering their standards in the clearing in front of the Temple, the legions salute their commander with the title of Imperator.

8th of the month Av. Jerusalem. Titus orders the Temple gates set on fire. As the silver plating melts, the fire spreads.

Jerusalem. During the siege, one episode saw the Romans overwhelmed by yet another surprise Jewish counteroffensive; only commander Titus and a few others held their ground. The Jews were again repelled, thanks to the intervention of the bulk of the Tenth Fretensis. The battle nonetheless highlighted the Jewish warriors’ valor, even in hand-to-hand combat.

Bethennabris, on the Jordan River, opposite Jericho, now Jordan. After several clashes with the Romans, the Jews retreat from Bethennabris toward Jericho, but the Jordan River blocks their path. A rare pitched battle ensues in the Jewish revolt. 15,000 fall under the Romans’ fire. The river will carry bodies for several days. The encirclement of Jerusalem is complete.

Britain. Territories of the Brigantes, northern border of Roman territory. The Brigantes’ queen, Cartimandua, is an ally of the Romans, but her husband, Venutius, has been the rebels’ focal point in the region from the beginning. Venutius seizes the opportunity of the internal civil war in Rome to overthrow his wife, who flees to Roman territory.

Vespasian is Roman Emperor

Galba, Otho, Vitellius succeed one another as Roman Emperors

Alexandria, Egypt: Hero’s Aeolipilius creates an object (without any practical purpose) that rotates thanks to the emission of steam generated by fire in contact with water; it is the first steam engine and the first mechanism that extracts mechanical work from fire (Third Fire); automobiles and rockets also belong to this type of machines, while electric machines are a new category.

There are 1 to 2 million hunter-gatherers, mainly in Australia, the Americas and Africa, while farmers already number as many as 250 million.

Gamala, Golan Heights, present-day Israel. The Romans killed 4,000 besieged soldiers, and over 5,000 (according to Josephus) threw themselves from the cliff to avoid capture alive. Gamala resisted the Empire for a month. Recent excavations have uncovered an unprecedented quantity of darts and ballistae, testifying to the violence of the conflict.