.png)
27 BC
Augustus becomes the first Roman emperor.
37 BC
Herod becomes the king of Judea.
Starts a long-term construction project to rebuild the second temple in Jerusalem.
c. 6–4 BC
Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.
6 BC
Sentius Saturninus, governor of Syria, begins the census of Judea (part of Syria at the time).
Zealot insurgents revolt against the Romans over their mandatory census (cf. Acts 5:37).
c. 4 BC
Wise men visit Bethlehem to see Jesus.
Herod massacres Judean children, followed by his own death.
Judea is divided between Herod's sons; Antipas takes Galilee.
c. AD 6
Quirinius finishes the census of Judea.
c. AD 7
12-year-old Jesus' bar mitzvah at the Jerusalem temple.
AD 14
Tiberius becomes the second Roman emperor.
AD 26
Pontius Pilate becomes Judea's fifth Roman governor.
c. AD 28
John the Baptist is executed by Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Perea.
c. AD 25–30
Jesus' ministry of teaching and healing.
AD 30
Jesus' trial before Pilate, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Jesus ascends to heaven forty days after his resurrection.
The apostles begin preaching about Jesus as the Messiah.
c. AD 35
The deacon Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr (Acts 7).
Paul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus and becomes an apostle.
Jesus' followers are first called "Christians" at Antioch (Acts 11:26).
AD 37
Caligula becomes the third Roman emperor.
AD 40
Caligula orders a statue of himself at the Jerusalem temple, nearly causing the Jews to revolt.
AD 41
Caligula is assassinated; Claudius becomes the fourth Roman emperor.
AD 44
Romans annex Judea as a province after Herod Agrippa dies.
c. AD 47–48
Paul's first missionary journey—with Barnabas, goes to Cyprus and Galatia.
AD 49
Claudius expels all of the Jews from Rome, including Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:2).
c. AD 49–52
Paul's second missionary journey—with Silas, goes to Asia Minor and Greece.
c. AD 50
Council of Jerusalem decides Christian Gentiles do not have to observe Jewish customs (Acts 15).
Thessalonians receive Paul's earliest letter.
c. AD 50–70
The three synoptic gospels are written (in chronological order: Mark, Matthew, and Luke).
An early Christian liturgical text known as the Didache is composed in Syria.
c. AD 52
Paul begins his third journey after visiting Jerusalem and Antioch.
c. AD 52–55
Paul stays in Ephesus and writes the letters to the Galatians and the Corinthians.
AD 54
Nero becomes the fifth Roman emperor.
c. AD 55–57
Paul travels through Greece and writes letters to the Romans.
c. AD 57–64
Paul returns to Jerusalem, where he is arrested and imprisoned at Caesarea Maritima.
He appears before Festus and appeals to Caesar and voyages to Rome across the Mediterranean.
While under house arrest in Rome, Paul writes letters to Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
Paul is released and possibly visits Spain; he writes letters to Timothy and Titus.
Paul returns to Rome, where he is martyred.
AD 64
Great Fire of Rome, after which Peter and Paul are martyred.
Nero blames Christians for the fire while starting to build his "Golden House."
AD 66–73
First Jewish–Roman War.
Christians flee to Pella to escape the violence (cf. Matt. 24:16-21).
Romans sack Jerusalem and its temple.
Josephus writes about the Zealots' war against the Romans in The Jewish War.
Rome bans the Jews from entering Jerusalem with the threat of death.
AD 68
Essenes hide their Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran to protect them from the Romans.
Nero commits suicide.
AD 68–69
"Year of the Four Emperors," including Nero, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.
AD 79
Vespasian becomes the ninth Roman emperor.
AD 70–1967
"Times of the Gentiles" in Jerusalem (Luke 21:24) begins with the Roman siege and ends with the Six-Day War.
AD 79
Titus becomes the tenth Roman emperor.
Mount Vesuvius erupts and destroys the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
AD 80
Titus finishes the Colosseum that Vespasian first commissioned in AD 72; it holds 50,000 spectators.
c. AD 80–90
The gospel of John is written.
AD 81
Arch of Titus built in Rome to commemorate Titus' victory over Judea.
Domitian becomes the eleventh Roman emperor.
c. AD 85–90
The three letters of John are written.
c. AD 90
John is exiled to Patmos and writes Revelation.
Council of Jamnia canonizes the Hebrew Bible, the start of Rabbinic Judaism.
AD 93–96
Domitian's reign of terror, including the persecution of Christians.
c. AD 100
Death of the apostle John.
Codex first appears in Rome; Christians prefer it over the traditional Jewish scroll.
c. AD 110
Ignatius of Antioch becomes the first documented Christian martyr outside the Bible when he dies at the Colosseum.
AD 130–135
Second Jewish–Roman War.
Rome bans the Jews from entering Judea with the threat of death.
Hadrian renames Judea "Palestine," the Latin rendering of Philistia, the main enemy of the ancient Israelites.
Hadrian builds a temple to Jupiter on the temple mount and renames Jerusalem "Aelia Capitolina."
Bibliography
"About Church History by Century: Timeline—1st Century." Christianity.com. October 6, 2023. (link).
Bamber Gascoigne. "Timeline: First Century CE." Oxford Reference. 2012. (link).
Bard, Mitchell G. "History of Jerusalem: Timeline for the History of Jerusalem (4500 BCE–Present)." Jewish Virtual Library. (link).
Britannica, eds. "Zealot." Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Britannica, 2010–present. Last updated April 14, 2014. (link).
Evans, C. F. "Tertullian's References to Sentius Saturninus and the Lukan Census." The Journal of Theological Studies 24, no. 1 (1973): 24–39. (link).
Gibson, Richard. "1st Century–7 Historical Events that Happened in the 1st Century." History Colored. March 17, 2022. (link).
Kay, Peter. "Roman Timeline of the 1st Century AD." United Nations of Roma Victrix. 2024. (link).
Mark, Joshua J. "Palestine—Definition." World History Encyclopedia. Surrey, UK: World History Publishing, 2009–present. Last updated October 25, 2018. (link).
Meyer Everts, Janet. "The Apostle Paul and His Times: Christian History Timeline." Christian History 47 (1995). (link).
Raddato, Carole. "Exploring Aelia Capitolina, Hadrian's Jerusalem." World History Et Cetera—Thinking with History (blog). November 7, 2014. (link).
van der Crabben, Jan. "Ancient Rome—Timeline." World History Encyclopedia. Surrey, UK: World History Publishing, 2009–present. (link).
⸻. "Christianity Timeline." (link).