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Hum110: Spring Semester
Nigel
Nicholson
A Selective Timeline for the Mediterranean World 1600 BCE to 410 CE
(adapted from Oxford History of the Classical World, ed. J. Boardman, J.
Griffin, O. Murray; P. Brown, The World of Late Antiquity; and with help
from Michael Foat)
PALESTINE, SYRIA, EGYPT, PERSIA GREECE, ASIA MINOR ITALY, NORTH AFRICA
c.1500
c.1280 Exodus of Jews from Egypt -1120 Mycenaean civilization
c.1200 Sack of Troy
1200-1000 Jewish conquest of Palestine
c. 970 Construction of first Jewish temple c.1050
in Jerusalem; First Temple Period -950 Greek colonization of Asia Minor
950-800 First strand of Genesis and Exodus ('JE') c.900 Rise of the polis
written down
722 Assyrians destroy Ten Tribes of Israel; 750-700 Iliad written down 753 Rome founded (according to tradition)
parts of Psalms, Isaiah, Amos composed 750-700 Greek colonization of Southern Italy
586 Babylonians (Assyrians) destroy first and Sicily
temple; Jewish exile in Babylon begins;
second strand of Genesis and Exodus
('P') written down; parts of Psalms,
Isaiah, Amos composed
538 Cyrus, king of Persians (Medes) 559
-530, conquers Babylon (Hdt I.178-200),
restores Jews to Jerusalem
537 Building of second temple begins;
beginning of Second Temple Period;
parts of Psalms, Isaiah, Amos composed
521-486 Darius king of Persians; dramatic date 510 Tarquin the Proud expelled; end of
of Daniel anachronistic mix of reigns of monarchy; Republic founded
Darius, Cyrus, and Babylonian kings
496-338 Romans extend control into central Italy
490-479 Persian Wars: Greek alliance defeats armies of Darius and Xerxes (Hdt VI-IX) 494-440 Struggle of Orders: Patricians vs Plebeians
479-404 Period of aggressive Athenian expansion; initially directed against Persia, gradually focuses on 415-413 Athenian expedition against Sicily
other Greek states; culminates in Peloponnesian War (431-04), won by Sparta with Persian aid
399 Death of Socrates 390 Gauls sack Rome (temporary setback)
335 Aristotle teaching in Athens
PALESTINE, SYRIA, EGYPT, PERSIA GREECE, ASIA MINOR ITALY, NORTH AFRICA
FROM ALEXANDER TO AUGUSTUS
period of intense struggle for power between a
variety of power centres; Rome gradually absorbs most of these and asserts
itself as dominant power in Mediterranean world
336-323 Macedonian (Northern Greek) king Alexander conquers Persian Empire as far as Egypt and
Afghanistan; after his death empire splinters into "successor" Greek kingdoms of Antigonids 334-264 Romans extend control into the rest of
in Macedon, Attalids in western Asia Minor, Seleucids in Syria, Palestine and Iran, Ptolemies Italy south of Po Valley
in Egypt, (and Bactrian kings in Afghanistan)
264-201 1st & 2nd Punic Wars: Rome flexes
muscles in Mediterranean, esp. Sicily, and
comes into conflict with Carthaginians
240-207 Livius Andronicus (first Roman poet)
200 Greek art reaches Rome
164-141 Revolt of the Jews in Jeruslaem under the Maccabees against the rule of Seleucids; Jews, supported by Romans, given considerable autonomy in
Jerusalem; Roman power in easterm Mediterranean now undisputed; Daniel composed 164 in context of Maccabean revolt
133 Rome now in control of Greece, Spain, western Asia Minor, northern Africa
149 Cato's Origines: first history in Latin
133-121 Tribunician struggles over land reform
(Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus)
91-82 Sustained war in Italy: first, Social War
against the Allies, over Allied rights; then
Civil War, won by conservative Sulla
86-53 Roman campaigns against eastern empires: conquest of new Mithridatic kingdom of Pontus, south of Black Sea, and of old Seleucid empire; Judaea
conquered by Pompey in 63 and made a client kingdom; but Parthian empire of Iran/Iraq proves more difficult, inflicting massive defeat on Roman
armies at Carrhae in 53
81-43 Cicero active
60 1st triumvirate: Caesar, Pompey, Crassus;
senate increasingly marginalized
55 Death of Lucretius; poem published
49-47 Civil War of Caesar vs Pompey
43 2nd triumvirate: Octavian, Anthony,
(Lepidus); rise of Octavian
31 Battle of Actium: Octavian crushes
Anthony (& Cleopatra); gains full control
PALESTINE, SYRIA, EGYPT, PERSIA GREECE, ASIA MINOR ITALY, NORTH AFRICA
ROMAN EMPIRE
Rome, for the most part stable and at peace, dominates
Mediterranean world
30-19 Virgil works on Aeneid
29 Livy begins work on his "history"
27 Octavian named Augustus (not Romulus!)
20 Settlement with Parthia; return of
Roman standards lost at Carrhae 18 Augustan legal reforms encourage children
20/19 Second Temple rebuilt 9 Dedication of Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis)
2 Forum of Augustus dedicated (temple of
Mars)
CE
1-8 Ovid works on Metamorphoses; Ovid
banished to Black Sea in 8; Silver Age of
Latin literature firmly underway
14 Death of Augustus; publication of
Augustus' "Achievements" Julio-Claudian
Dynasty (14-68), begins with Tiberius
10-100 (approx) Carmina Priapea
30 (29? 33?) Martyrdom of Jesus Christ;
beginning of three-way struggle between
Roman governors, Jewish temple officials
and Messianic Jewish followers of Christ 37 Gaius ('Caligula') succeeds Tiberius
40 James leads Messianic sect; Peter
missions to Jews, Paul to gentiles
41 Gaius' death prevents revolt in Judaea; 41 Claudius succeeds Gaius
Gaius had ordered that statue of himself
be erected in the temple 49 Claudius expels Jews (Christians?) from
Rome (ineffectual?); Seneca tutor to Nero
50 'Q' (Gospel source) circulating in Galilee 54 Nero succeeds Claudius
59-62 Paul (Apostle) in Rome; Romans
64 Nero persecutes Christians, blaming them
for a great fire
66-70 Jewish revolt; culminates in destruction 65 Suicide of Seneca
of temple in 70 by Titus, son of emperor; 68 Nero dies; end of Julio-Claudian dynasty
Rabbis, less attached to temple come to 69 Flavian dynasty begins with Vespasian
dominate Judaism, set up academy;
context for Tractate Avot
90 Matthew (Palestine) 90-120 Suetonius active; works on imperial staff
95 John (Northern Syria) 96-192 Antonine dynasty
100 Revelations 98-117 Trajan emperor
115-17 Jewish revolt 115 Acts 100-111 Tacitus writes Annals
132-5 Jewish revolt of Bar Kochba 117-38 Hadrian emperor
138-61 Antoninus Pius emperor
140-60 Apuleius active in Africa and Rome
203 Matyrdom of Perpetua in Carthage
PALESTINE, SYRIA, EGYPT, PERSIA GREECE, ASIA MINOR ITALY, NORTH AFRICA
LATE ANTIQUITY
Marked by acceptance of Christianity as state religion,
increasing border troubles in west and east, and the grand solution of dividing
the empire into two halves.
226 Ardashir the Sassanian crowned in Iran; inaugurates 400 years of war with Roman empire in Persia; Roman empire threatened with disintegration on
many sides during third century; but military control gradually reasserted
240-276 Mani active in Persia 249-51 Massive persecution of Christians by
emperor Decius
269 St Anthony becomes a hermit
293 Diocletian establishes tetrachy, effectively dividing empire into two units, east and west; shift of focus to military struggles in east and on Danubian
frontier
312 Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine,
converted to Christianity, wins control
of western unit
325 Nicaean council 324 Constantine unites eastern and western
empires; Constantinople founded, thus
337/8? Anthony joins Athanasius in Arian in effect canonizing the split
controversy in Alexandria 337 Constantine II succeeds his father
361-3 Julian the Apostate emperor (pagan)
395 Roman empire is divided between the two sons of emperor Theodosius the Great: Honorius ('one of the feeblest of all the Roman emperors') takes the
east, Arcadius the west; empire is now permanently split
397 Augustine's Confessions
410 Sack of Rome by Visigoths; Rome
renounces Britain
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