30s

A denarius of Tiberius (r. 14–37). Due to a financial crisis that hit Rome in AD 33, coins such as these came in short supply.

The 30s decade ran from January 1, AD 30, to December 31, AD 39.

Jesus was crucified early in the decade, an event generally accepted by historians; the understanding of his suffering and death as redemptive developed later as a central element of Christian teachings on salvation and atonement. Peter the Apostle founded the Church of Antioch. Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Alexandria. A financial crisis hit Rome in AD 33.

In Asia, the Western Satraps and Kushan Empire emerged. In Europe, the 30s saw a Dacian revolt against the Sarmatian tribe of Iazyges, who had enslaved them, and a Samaritan uprising. In west Asia, Artabanus II of Parthia fought a war with Rome over Armenia. The Han dynasty saw the outbreak of the Rebellion of Gongsun Shu. Roman emperor Tiberius died in AD 37, being succeeded by Caligula.

An earthquake that shook Antioch in AD 37 caused the emperor Caligula to send two senators to report on the condition of the city.[1] In China, an epidemic broke out in K'aui-chi, causing many deaths, and Imperial official Ch'ung-li I (Zhongli Yi) provided medicine that saved many lives.

Valerius Maximus wrote Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX: It is a collection of approximately a thousand short stories that Valerius wrote during the reign of Tiberius (42 BC – AD 37). Other literary works from the 30s include a popular collection of fables written by Phaedrus, a symbolic interpretation of the Old Testament (Allegory) written by Philo, and a general history of the countries known in Antiquity written by Velleius Paterculus.

Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 30 as 247 million.

Demographics

Due to lack of reliable demographic data, estimates of the world population in the 1st century vary wildly, with estimates for AD 1 varying from 150[2] to 300[3] million. Demographers typically do not attempt to estimate most specific years in antiquity, instead giving approximate numbers for round years such as AD 1 or AD 200. However, attempts at reconstructing the world population in more specific years have been made, with Manning (2008) tentatively estimating the world population in AD 30 as 247 million.[4]

Events

30 AD

South Asia

Roman Empire

  • Agrippina the Elder (the wife of Germanicus) and two of her sons, Nero Julius Caesar and Drusus Caesar, are arrested and exiled on orders of Lucius Aelius Sejanus (the prefect of the Praetorian Guard), and later starved to death in suspicious circumstances. In Sejanus's purge of Agrippina the Elder and her family, her son Caligula, and her three daughters, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla are the only survivors.[5]
  • Phaedrus translates Aesop's fables, and composes some of his own.[6]
  • Velleius Paterculus writes the general history of the countries known in Antiquity.

31 AD

Roman Empire

32 AD

Egypt

  • Philo writes his symbolic interpretation of the Old Testament (Allegory).

33 AD

Roman Empire

  • Emperor Tiberius founds a credit bank in Rome.[7]
  • A financial crisis hits Rome, due to poorly chosen fiscal policies. Land values plummet, and credit is increased. These actions lead to a lack of money, a crisis of confidence, and much land speculation. The primary victims are senators, knights and the wealthy. Many aristocratic families are ruined.[8]

China

  • Although the usurpation of Wang Mang and the Chimei Rebellion are behind him, Emperor Guangwu now faces a new threat to the Han dynasty: the Rebellion of Gongsun Shu in the Sichuan province. Gongsun's naval forces are unsuccessful against Han General Cen Peng, so Gongsun decides to fortify his position by blockading the entire Yangtze River with a large floating pontoon bridge, complete with floating fortified posts. After Cen Peng is unable to break through, he constructs several "castle ships" with high ramparts and ramming vessels known as "colliding swoopers", which break through Gongsun's lines and allow Cen to quell his rebellion. Gongsun Shu is totally defeated three years later.

Palestine

34 AD

Roman Empire

Europe

  • The original inhabitants of Dacia revolt against the Sarmatian tribe of Iazyges, who had enslaved them.
  • According to one dating scheme, Paul and Barnabas announce in Antioch that they will begin to evangelize the Gentiles.

Palestine

  • Stephen, one of the original seven deacons of the Christian Church, is martyred for his faith (possible date).

Syria

35 AD

Roman Empire

Persia

36 AD

China

Roman Empire

  • Pontius Pilate is recalled to Rome, after putting down a Samaritan uprising.
  • Lucius Vitellius defeats Artabanus III of Parthia in support of another claimant to the throne, Tiridates III.
  • Herod Antipas suffers major losses in a war with Aretas IV of Nabatea, provoked partly by Antipas' divorce of Aretas' daughter. According to Josephus, Herod's defeat was popularly believed to be divine punishment for his execution of John the Baptist. Emperor Tiberius orders his governor of Syria, Vitellius, to capture or kill Aretas, but he is reluctant to support Herod and abandons his campaign upon Tiberius' death in AD 37.[13]

Palestine

  • Marcellus becomes governor of Judaea and Samaria.

37 AD

Roman Empire

  • March 18 – The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius's will, and proclaims Caligula as Roman Emperor,[14] nullifying the joint claim of Tiberius Gemellus. Caligula's attempt to have himself deified creates friction between himself and the Senate.
  • October – Caligula becomes seriously ill, or perhaps is poisoned. He recovers from his illness, but Caligula turns toward the diabolical: he starts to kill off those who are close to him, whom he sees as a serious threat.
  • Abilene is granted to King Agrippa I.

Anatolia

38 AD

Roman Empire

Egypt

  • An anti-Jewish riot breaks out in Alexandria, during a visit by King Herod Agrippa I; the mob wants to place statues of Caligula in every synagogue.

Anatolia

China

  • An epidemic breaks out in K'aui-chi, causing many deaths. Imperial official Ch'ung-li I provides medicines that save many lives.

39 AD

Roman Empire

Germania

  • Legio XV Primigenia and XXII Primigenia are levied by Caligula for the German frontier.
  • Caligula's campaign into Germany is stopped by a conspiracy led by Cassius Chaerea. Even though he never even reaches Germany, Caligula proclaims himself victorious and orders a triumph.

Palestine

  • Agrippa I, king of Judaea, successfully accuses Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, of conspiracy against Caligula. Antipas is exiled and Agrippa receives his territory.[16]
  • Caligula orders that a statue of himself be placed in the Temple in Jerusalem. The governor of Syria, Publius Petronius, who is responsible for having an erecting the statue, faces mass demonstrations by Jews of the region and manages to delay construction of the statue until the death of Caligula in AD 41.

Vietnam

Significant people

Births

30 AD

  • November 8 – Nerva, Roman emperor (d. AD 98)
  • Jia Kui, Chinese Confucian philosopher (d. AD 101)
  • Mobon of Goguryeo, Korean king (d. AD 53)
  • Poppaea Sabina, second wife of Nero (d. AD 65)[17]
  • Quintus Petillius Cerialis, Roman general

31 AD

  • Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus, Roman consul
  • Musonius Rufus, Roman Stoic philosopher (d. 101)

32 AD

33 AD

  • Gaius Rubellius Plautus, son of Gaius Rubellius Blandus and Julia Livia (d. AD 62)

34 AD

35 AD

  • Decimus Valerius Asiaticus, Roman senator and governor
  • Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, Roman prefect (approximate date)
  • Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, Roman rhetorician (approximate date)
  • Quintus Junius Arulenus Rusticus, Roman senator (d. AD 93)
  • Statilia Messalina, Roman empress and wife of Nero (approximate date)

36 AD

  • Lucius Annius Vinicianus, Roman senator and legatus in the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63.[20]

37 AD

38 AD

  • Drusilla, Jewish princess and daughter of Herod Agrippa I (d. AD 79)
  • Drusilla, princess of Mauretania
  • Julius Archelaus Antiochus, prince of Commagene (d. AD 92)
  • Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus, Roman co-emperor (d. AD 69)
  • Marcus Valerius Martialis, Roman Latin poet (approximate date)

39 AD

  • November 3 – Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Roman poet (d. AD 65)

Deaths

31 AD

32 AD

33 AD

  • Jesus of Nazareth (possible date of the crucifixion)[24][25][26] The other possible dates supported by a number of scholars are April 7, AD 30 and April 6, AD 31.[31]
  • Agrippina the Elder, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, wife of Germanicus (suicide by starvation;[32] b. 14 BC)
  • Drusus Caesar, son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, adoptive son of Tiberius (starvation;[33] b. AD 8)
  • Gaius Asinius Gallus, widower of Vipsania Agrippina and alleged lover of Agrippina the elder (starvation)[34]
  • Lucius Aelius Larnia, Roman consul, governor and praefectus urbi in Rome (b. 45 BC)
  • Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman consul and father-in-law of Drusus Caesar (natural causes;[35] b. 30 BC)
  • Marcus Cocceius Nerva, Roman jurist (suicide by starvation; b. 5 BC)
  • Munatia Plancina, wife of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (suicide)

34 AD

35 AD

  • Arsaces I (or Arshak I), Roman client king of Armenia
  • Epaticcus, British prince of the Catuvellauni (approximate date)
  • Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus, Roman statesman and consul
  • Lucius Fulcinius Trio, Roman senator and suffect consul
  • Phraates, Parthian prince and son of Phraates IV

36 AD

  • December 24 – Gongsun Shu, Chinese emperor of Chengjia
  • Gaius Sulpicius Galba, Roman senator and consul
  • Thrasyllus of Mendes, Greek grammarian and astronomer
  • Vibulenus Agrippa, Roman nobleman and knight (eques)

37 AD

  • Lucius Arruntius (the Younger), Roman politician
  • Marcus Junius Silanus, Roman politician (b. c. 26 BC)
  • Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni (b. c. 30 BC)

38 AD

  • June 10 – Julia Drusilla, sister of Caligula (b. AD 16)[38]
  • Archelaus of Cilicia, Roman client king
  • Du Shi, Chinese inventor and politician
  • Ennia Thrasylla, Roman noblewoman
  • Naevius Sutorius Macro, Roman prefect (b. 21 BC)
  • Rhoemetalces II, Roman client king
  • Tiberius Gemellus, grandson of Tiberius (b. AD 19)
  • Tiberius Julius Aspurgus, Roman client king

39 AD

  • Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, Roman consul
  • Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman politician (b. AD 6)
  • Seneca the Elder, Roman rhetorician (approximate date)

References

  1. ↑ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rockwell, William Walker (1911). "Antioch". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 130–132.
  2. ↑ John H. Tanton, 1994, "End of the Migration Epoch? Time For a New Paradigm", The Social Contract, Vol. 4 (no 3), pp. 162–173.
  3. ↑ Haub (1995): "By 1 A.D., the world may have held about 300 million people. One estimate of the population of the Roman Empire, from Spain to Asia Minor, in 14 A.D. is 45 million. However, other historians set the figure twice as high, suggesting how imprecise population estimates of early historical periods can be."
  4. ↑ Manning, Scott (2008-01-12). "Year-by-Year World Population Estimates: 10,000 B.C. to 2007 A.D." Historian on the Warpath. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  5. ↑ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius, pp. 53–54.
  6. ↑ "Phaedrus Biography - eNotes.com". eNotes. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  7. ↑ Harris, W. V. (2011). Rome's Imperial Economy: Twelve Essays. Oxford University Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-19-959516-7.
  8. ↑ Thornton, M. K.; Thornton, R. L. (1990). "The Financial Crisis of A.D. 33: A Keynesian Depression?". The Journal of Economic History. 50 (3): 655–662. doi:10.1017/S0022050700037207. ISSN 0022-0507. JSTOR 2122822. S2CID 154785575.
  9. ↑ Humphreys, Colin J. (2011). The Mystery of the Last Supper. Cambridge University Press. pp. 77 and 189. ISBN 978-0521732000.
  10. ↑ "Last Supper 'was on a Wednesday'". United Kingdom: BBC. April 18, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Tiberius (42 BC-37AD". BBC. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  12. ↑ de Crespigny, Rafe (2006). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). BRILL. p. 270. ISBN 978-90-474-1184-0.
  13. ↑ Josephus, Antiquities_of_the_Jews 18.113–126; Bruce, F. F. (1963–1965). "Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea" (PDF). Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society. 5: 6–23, pp. 17–18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  14. ↑ Bowman, Alan K.; Champlin, Edward; Lintott, Andrew (1996). The Cambridge ancient history: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.–A.D. 69. Cambridge University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-521-26430-3.
  15. ↑ Downey, Glanville (1961). A history of Antioch in Syria: from Seleucus to the Arab conquest. Princeton University Press. p. 190.
  16. ↑ Josephus, Antiquities_of_the_Jews 18.247–252; Bruce, F. F. (1963–1965). "Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea" (PDF). Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society. 5: 6–23, p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  17. ↑ Johnson, Marguerite (2012). Boudicca. A&C Black. p. 13. ISBN 9781853997327.
  18. ↑ Dillon, Michael; Dillon, Michael O. (1998). China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Psychology Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7007-0439-2.
  19. ↑ Dillon, Michael; Dillon, Michael O. (1998). China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Psychology Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7007-0439-2.
  20. ↑ Tacitus, Annals, pp. 413
  21. ↑ Morgan, Julian (2002). Nero: Destroyer of Rome. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8239-3596-3.
  22. ↑ Josephus, Flavius (2001). Mason, Steve (ed.). Flavius Josephus: translation and commentary. Brill. p. 9. ISBN 978-90-04-11793-8.
  23. ↑ "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Titus (39 AD - 81 AD)". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  24. 1 2 Colin J. Humphreys and W. G. Waddington, "Dating the Crucifixion ," Nature 306 (December 22/29, 1983), pp. 743-46.
  25. 1 2 Colin_Humphreys, The Mystery of the Last Supper (Cambridge: University Press, 2011) ISBN 978-0-521-73200-0, p. 194
  26. 1 2 3 Blinzler, J. Der Prozess Jesu, fourth edition, Regensburg, Pustet, 1969, pp. 101-126
  27. ↑ Colin Humphreys, The Mystery of the Last Supper (Cambridge: University Press, 2011) ISBN 978-0-521-73200-0, pp. 14 & 62
  28. ↑ http://www.snoaktrua.fyi/moon/finding-the-historical-crucifixion-date.shtml
  29. ↑ Vagi, David (2016). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-135-97125-0.
  30. ↑ Cramer, Frederick H. (1945). "Bookburning and Censorship in Ancient Rome: A Chapter from the History of Freedom of Speech" (PDF). Journal of the History of Ideas. 6 (2): 157–196 (173). doi:10.2307/2707362. ISSN 0022-5037. JSTOR 2707362. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.
  31. ↑ Rainer Riesner, Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1998), page 58.
  32. ↑ Salisbury, Joyce E. (2001). Encyclopedia of women in the ancient world. ABC-CLIO. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-57607-092-5.
  33. ↑ Fantham, Elaine (2006). Julia Augusti: The Emperor's Daughter. Taylor & Francis. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-415-33145-6.
  34. ↑ Bunson, Matthew (2002). Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire (2nd ed.). Infobase Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-8160-4562-4.
  35. ↑ Hazel, John (2002). Who's who in the Roman world (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-415-29162-0.
  36. ↑ Bowman, Alan K.; Champlin, Edward; Lintott, Andrew (1996). The Cambridge ancient history: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.–A.D. 69. Cambridge University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-521-26430-3.
  37. ↑ Kokkinos, Nikos (1992). Antonia Augusta: portrait of a great Roman lady. Routledge. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-415-08029-3.
  38. ↑ Vagi, David (2016). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. Routledge. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-135-97125-0.
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