The 1st century was that century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period During this period Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the Roman Empire, which continued expanding, most notably conquering Britain under the emperor Claudius (43). The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars. Later in the century the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, which had been founded by Augustus came to an end with the death of Nero in 68. There followed the famous Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by Vespasian, 9th Roman emperor, and founder of the Flavian Dynasty. China continued to be dominated by the Han Dynasty, depite a 14 year interruption by the Xin dynasty under Wang Mang. Han rule was restored in 23; Wang Mang's rule represents the watershed between the Western/Former Han and the Eastern/Later Han. The capital was also moved from Chang'an to Luoyang.
During the reign of Tiberius, Jesus, a religious teacher from Galilee, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God, was crucified in Judea. Over the next few decades his followers carried his message far and wide, eventually introducing it to Rome itself. The Roman state began to persecute the new sect almost immediately, and would continue to do so for centuries, sometimes vigorously, and other times passively, until Christianity was eventually taken up by the emperor Constantine, and later established as the official religion of the Roman state.
Events
The skeleton called the "Ring Lady" unearthed in Herculaneum. One of the victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
Late 1st century — Cityscape, detail of a Second Style wall painting from a bedroom in the House of Publius Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale, is made. It is now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Alexander the Great confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos, detail of mosaic floor decoration from Pompeii, Italy is made. It is a Roman copy after a Greek painting of c. 310 BC, perhaps by Philoxenos or Helen of Egypt. It is now at Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy.
Significant persons
Bronze statue of Augustus, Archaeological Museum, Athens.
In 31, the Han Dynasty Chinese engineer and statesman Du Shi (d. 38) from Nanyang invented the first-known hydraulic-powered bellows to heat the blast furnace in smelting cast iron. He used a complex mechanical device that was powered by the rushing current against a waterwheel, a practice that would continue in China.
Although Philo of Byzantium described the saqiya chain pump in the early 2nd century BC, the square-pallet chain pump was innovated in China during this century, mentioned first by the philosopher Wang Chong around 80 AD. Wang Chong also accurately described the water cycle in meteorology, and argued against the mainstream 'radiating influence' theory for solar eclipses, the latter of which was accepted by many, including Zhang Heng.
The Chinese astronomer Liu Xin (d. 23) documented 1080 different stars, amongst other achievements.
