Age of Empire

The **Age of Empire** was a period in history, part of the Ancient Times of Earth. It began following the Age of Iron in 44 BCE with the rise of the Roman Empire, and lasted until 474 CE with the beginning of the Dark Ages.

## Individuals

### Africa

Augustine, Christian theologian, bishop of Hippo

### China

Wang Chung

Zhuge Liang, known as the greatest strategist during the period of the Three Kingdoms

Liu Bei, founding emperor of the Kingdom of Shu

Cao Cao, founding emperor of the Kingdom of Wei

### Egypt

Cleopatra of Egypt, Egyptian ruler

Ptolemy, Greek astronomer, astrologer and geographer

Clement of Alexandria, Christian head of Catechetical School of Alexandria

### Greece

Plutarch (46 AD– 120 AD), Greek historian

Strabo (64 BC-24 AD), Greek geographer and historian

### Italy

Ambrose (340-397), Christian theologian and bishop of Milan whose preaching converted Augustine

Agrippa (63 BC-12 BC), Roman statesman and general

Augustus Caesar (63 BC-14 AD), Roman emperor

Brutus (85 BC-42 BC), Caesar's adopted son and assassin

Caligula (12 AD-41 AD), Roman emperor

Claudius (10 BC-54 AD), Roman emperor

Clement I of Rome (d. 99 AD), early Christian bishop of Rome

Galen (129 AD-200 AD), medical writer

Hadrian (76 AD-138 AD), Roman emperor

Horace (65 BC-8 BC), Roman poet

Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC), Roman military genius and politician

Juvenal (55 AD-127 AD), Roman satirical poet

Livy (59 BC-17 AD), Roman historian

Livia (58 BC-29 AD), Roman empress

Marcus Antonius (83 BC-30 BC), Roman politician

Marcus Aurelius (121 AD-180 AD), Roman emperor

Nero (37 AD-68 AD), Roman emperor

Ovid (43 BC-17 AD), Roman poet

Pliny the Elder (23 AD-79 AD), Roman author and natural philosopher

Pliny the Younger (61 AD-113 AD), Roman lawyer and author

Seneca the Younger (4 BC-65 AD), Roman philosopher and statesman

Tacitus (56 AD-120 AD), Roman historian

Tiberius (42 BC-37 AD), Roman emperor

Titus (39 AD-81 AD), Roman emperor

Trajan (53 AD-117 AD), Roman emperor

Vitruvius (80 BC-15 BC), Roman writer, architect and engineer

### Judea

Herod the Great (72 - 4 BC), king of Judea

Jesus of Nazareth, The Son of God in various beliefs

Hillel (110 BC - 10 CE)

James the Just

John the Baptist

Josephus (37 AD - 100 AD)

Paul of Tarsus (5 AD - 65 AD)

Pontius Pilate (20 BC - 36 AD)

Simon Peter

Thomas the Apostle

Jerome (347 – 420), Christian priest, monk, and translator of the Bible into Latin

### Persia

Mani (216 – 274), prophet and founder of Manichaeism

## Timeline

**44 BCE:** Julius Caesar declares himself dictator of Rome, kicking off the Age of Empire.

**27 BCE** **January 16:** Octavian (63 BC-12 AD) becomes Augustus Caesar, formally inaugurating the Roman Empire.

**26 BCE** Livy (59 BCE-17 AD) writes his *History of Rome*.

**23 BCE** Horace (65-8 BCE) urges us to seize the day.

**20 BCE**

* **September 8:** The Virgin Mary born to Saint Anne after an Immaculate Conception.
* **November:** Queen Maeve of Connacht orders the capture of the Brown Bull of Cooley from Ulster. Cu Chullain is the only warrior of Ulster able to stand up against Connacht's forces.

**19 BCE** **September 21:** Virgil (b. 70 BCE) dies with his *Aeneid* still unfinished*.*

**7 BCE** Strabo (64 BCE-24) publishes his *Geography*.

**6 BCE** The Archangel Gabriel strikes the priest Zechariah mute when he reacts skeptically to the news that he and his wife Elisabeth are to be the parents of John the Baptist--Jerusalem

## Life of Jesus

**5 BCE**

* **March 25:** The Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she is to be the mother of Jesus.
* **June 24:** Birth of John the Baptist--Hebron
* **December 25:** Jesus' birth in a manger is accompanied by a mystic Star, choirs of angels, visiting shepherds, a Little Drummer Boy and talking animals.

**4 BCE**

* **January 1:** Jesus is circumcised.
* **January 6:** Arrival of the Magi Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, who bring Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh.

* Jesus, Mary and Joseph flee into Egypt.
* Herod has all male babies in Bethlehem killed in the Massacre of the Innocents.
* Death of Herod the Great.

**3 BCE** Joseph and his family return from Egypt to Nazareth.

**0** There is no such year--no one knows where time travelers go when they set their devices to this date.

**8** Ovid (43 BCE-18 CE) completes his *Metamorphoses*.

**9**

* Jesus, aged 12, left behind in the Temple.
* Cymbeline (d. 40) becomes King of Britain.

**12** Death of Cuchullain

**14** Death of Augustus; Tiberias Caesar becomes Emperor of Rome.

**18** Caiaphas is appointed High Priest of Israel, a post he holds until 36--Jerusalem

**26**

* Pontius Pilate appointed Procurator of Judea.
* John the Baptist starts baptizing, baptizes Jesus--River Jordan
* Jesus is tempted by Satan after spending 40 days in the desert.

**27**

* Jesus calls his first disciples--Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, John and his brother James.
* Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding--Cana
* **April 11:** Jesus drives the moneychangers from the Temple--Jerusalem
* Matthew becomes a disciple.

**28**

* Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount.

**29**

* **April:** Jesus walks on water--Sea of Galilee
* **August 29:** King Herod Antipas has John the Baptist beheaded as a favor to his stepdaughter Salome, who danced for him the Dance of the Seven Veils.

**30**

* **March 22:** Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead--Bethany
* **March 29:** Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, is greeted by palm-waving fans.
* **April 2:** The Last Supper. Judas betrays Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene. Jesus tried by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
* **April 3:** Jesus tried by Pontius Pilate, Herod. Barrabas is spared. Crucifixion of Jesus. Peter denies Christ, goes to Rome to found Vatican.
* **April 4:** Jesus harrows Hell.
* **April 5:** Resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and Martha find his tomb empty. Thomas doubts.
* The Wandering Jew begins his wanderings.
* Ben-Hur wins the big race--Jerusalem
* **May 24:** Jesus ascends into Heaven.
* A pregnant Mary Magdalene flees to France--Marseilles

## Apostolic Era

**37** Caligula (12-41) becomes Emperor of Rome.

**37** Conversion of Paul on road to Damascus

**40** The Apostle Matthew writes a gospel

**40** Saint James the Greater preaches in Iberia--Zaragoza

**41**

* **January 24:** Caligula assassinated by the Praetorian Guard; Claudius (10 BC-54) becomes Emperor of Rome.
* **August 15:** The Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven.

**43** Britain conquered by Emperor Claudius.

**43** Peter confronts Gnostic sorcerer Simon Magus--Samaria

**44** James the Greater martyred--Judea

**48** Claudius has his wife Messalina executed--Rome

**52** The Apostle Thomas arrives in Malabar, India.

**54** Claudius dies of poisoning; Nero (d. 69) becomes Emperor.

**54** The Apostle Philip crucified--Phrygia

**60** Queen Boadicea leads revolt against Romans.

**60** The Apostle Andrew crucified--Patrae, Achaia

**62** Saint Bartholomew crucified--India

**62** The Apostle James the Lesser, brother of Jesus, stoned to death--Jerusalem.

**63** Saint Luke writes a gospel, followed by the Acts of the Apostles.

**63** Mary Magdalene dies--Provence

**63** Joseph of Arimathea comes to Glastonbury, bringing with him the Holy Grail.

**64 July 19** Nero fiddles while Rome burns; throws Christians to lions.

**64 October 13:** Saint Peter, Bishop of Rome, crucified upside down in that city; he becomes the guardian of the Pearly Gates.

**65** Saint Mark writes his Gospel, based on Peter's account.

The philosopher Seneca (b. 4 BCE), an advisor to Nero, is forced by the Emperor to commit suicide.

Saint Jude, the brother of Jesus, killed by a mob along with Saint Simon the Zealot--Beirut

**66** The Apostle Matthew martyred--Ethiopia [or dies of natural causes in Persia, 90?]

**67** Beheading of Saint Paul--Rome.

**68 June 9:** Emperor Nero is overthrown and killed, ending the dynasty of Julius Caesar and ushering in a new period of civil war--Rome

**69** St. Andrew crucified--Greece.

**70** Romans destroy Jerusalem, including Herod's Temple

**72 December 21:** St. Thomas martyred--India

**73 April 16:** Roman soldiers take the fortress of Masada

**79 August 24:** Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii and killing the naturalist Pliny the Elder (b. 23).

**80** Coliseum opened--Rome

The philosopher Wang Chung (27-100) explains the universe in materialistic terms--Shangyu, China

**90** Saint Philip crucified--Asia Minor

**95** The Apocalypse is revealed to Saint John--Patmos, Greece.

**98** Trajan (53-117) becomes Emperor of Rome.

**100** Pyramid of the Sun built--Teotihuacan.

**100** Juvenal (55-127) begins writing his *Satires*, while Plutarch (46-120) writes his *Lives*--Delphi, Greece

**105** Tacitus (56-117) publishes his *Histories*.

**105** Invention of paper--Luoyang, China

**115** John (b. 6) dies at Ephesos, the only apostle to die of natural causes.

**116** The Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent under Emperor Trajan.

**117 August 10:** Hadrian (76-138) succeeds Trajan as Emperor of Rome. He orders the construction of a wall to separate Roman Brittania from the land of the Picts, which is completed by the time of his death.

**126** Pantheon built--Rome

**132** First seismometer--Luoyang, China

**145** Lucian (120-200) encounters a water spout in the Atlantic Ocean and is transported to the Moon.

**149** Galen (129-217) becomes an attendant of Asclepius.

**150** Ptolemy (90-168) explains how the Sun revolves around the Earth.

**160** Lucius Apuleius (125-180) is transformed into an ass by Thessalian witches, eventually being restored to human form through the power of Isis at Corinth.

**161** Marcus Aurelius (121-180), stoic philosopher, becomes Roman Emperor.

**170** Marcus Aurelius begins writing *Meditations*, setting out his Stoic philosophy.

**180** After Marcus Aurelius’ death, his loyal General Maximus is enslaved and forced to fight as a gladiator in the arena.

**184** Beginning of Three Kingdoms period in China--lasts until 280.

**200** Beginning of megalithic construction at Nan Madol--Ponape, Micronesia

**207** Zhuge Liang (181–234), the greatest strategist of his era, becomes chief adviser to Liu Bei (161-223)

**208** Zhuge Liang outwits Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs--Chibi City, China

**206** Bran Mak Morn is leader of the Picts.

**220** End of the Han Dynasty in China

**226** Founding of Sassanid Dynasty in Persia

**242** Mani (216-76) promotes his Manichaean philosophy

**250** Seven Sleepers bed down in Ephesus.

**258** Saint Denis, the first Bishop is Paris, is beheaded by pagan priests on the hill of Montmartre; he picks up his head and carries it some distance before finally collapsing on the spot where the Basilica of Saint-Denis will later be built in his honor.

**265** China reunited under the Jin Dynasty.

**280** Martyrdom of Saint Valentine, who cured the daughter of his jailer and left a note to her "from your Valentine"--Rome.

**284** Diocletian (244-311) becomes Roman Emperor

**284** Death of Finn MacCool

**303**

**April 23:** Martyrdom of Saint George (b. 275)--Byzantium. The dragon was slain earlier, near Cyrene, Libya.

**303** Martyrdom of St. Vitus (b. 290), patron saint of dancers--Luciana, Italy

**303** Martyrdom of St. Erasmus (also known as St. Elmo), who miraculously survives being soaked in pitch and set aflame in Illyricum.

**303** Martyrdom of Saint Margaret of Antioch, who survives being swallowed by a dragon.

**304** Martyrdom of Saint Lucy (b. 283), who had her eyes plucked out.

**305** Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (b. 282), who survives being broken on the wheel after besting pagan philosophers in debate.

**305** Diocletian steps down as Roman Emperor, the only holder of that position to voluntarily retire.

**306** Constantine the Great (272-337) becomes Roman Emperor.

**306 December 5:** Martyrdom of Saint Barbara, imprisoned in a tower by her pagan father for being a Christian--Nicomedia, Asia Minor

**306** Old King Cole rules Britain from Colchester.

**313** Emperor Constantine establishes Christianity as the Imperial religion.

## Byzantine Era

**325** Constantine convenes the First Nicean Council. At one point during the conference, Saint Nicholas slaps the elderly heretic Arius (250-336) in response to his Arian heterodoxy.

**326** Empress Helena discovers the True Cross--Jerusalem

**330** Constantine moves capital from Rome to Byzantium.

**337** Baptism and death of Emperor Constantine.

**343 December 6:** St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, dies and is reborn as Santa Claus.

Birth of Merlin

**374** Saint Ambrose (337-397) becomes Bishop of Milan.

**378** Niall of the Nine Hostages (d. 405) becomes High King of Ireland.

**383** Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins martyred by the Huns--Cologne, Germany

**386** Saint Augustine (354-430) is converted--Carthage

**389** Emperor Theodosius the Great (347-395) bans paganism.

**391** Library of Alexandria ordered destroyed by Theodosius.

**394** Theodosius has the sacred fire of the Vestal Virgins extinguished--Rome

**397** Saint Augustine writes his *Confessions*.

**395** Titus Adronicus triumphs against the Goths, but finds his family destroyed by Roman politics.

**400** Construction of the Nazca Lines begins--huge figures traced in the Peruvian desert, visible only to ancient astronauts. Completed by 650.

**400** *Kama Sutra* composed--India.

**406** Saint Jerome (347-420) writes the Vulgate Bible with the assistance of a lion--Bethlehem.

**415**

**March:** The philosopher Hypatia (b. 370), last head librarian of the Library of Alexandria, is killed by a Christian mob.

**410** Sack of Rome by the Visigoths. Rome abandons Britain.

**421** Seven Sleepers awaken--Ephesus

**425** Vortigern proclaims himself High King of Britain. [445?]

**428** Nestorius (386-451) becomes Archbishop of Constantinople, where his doctrines will get him declared a heretic three years later and form the basis of the Nestorian Church.

**432** Saint Patrick (390-461) returns to Ireland, expels snakes.

**436** Saint Patrick preaches at Tara to High King Leary.

**440** Sinking of Ys.

**449** Saxon invasion of Britain begins.

**450** Hawai'i Loa discovers the Hawaiian islands with his sons Kaua’i, O’ahu and Maui.

**450** Saint Bridget (b. 436) converted by Saint Patrick.

**452** Atilla the Hun (405–453) spares the city of Rome at the request of Pope Leo (400-461).

**452** King Vortigern marries Rowena, a Saxon princess, and gives her father the Kingdom of Kent.

**455** Vandals sack Rome, and really trash the place.

**455** Chichen Itza founded.

**459** Ambrosius Aurelianus (403-463) defeats Vortigern, becomes High King of Britain.

**465** With the magical aid of Merlin, Uther Pendragon (410-480) disguises himself as the husband of Ygraine, Duchess of Cornwall, and fathers Arthur on her. When Arthur is born, Merlin takes him to be raised in secrecy by Sir Ector.

**468** Saint Brigid (451-525) converts to Christianity

**475** Coming to the aid of King Hrothgar of Denmark, Beowulf kills the monster Grendel and the monster's Mother.

**476** Fall of the (Western) Roman Empire