Date |
Description |
Sources |
332 BC |
Persian power was destroyed by the Greeks under the command of Alexander the Great. |
[7], p. 8 |
323 BC |
Alexander the Great died of fever at al-Iskandariyya a small town near present day Baghdad, Iraq. |
[60], p. 10 |
312 BC |
Accession of Seleucus I Nicator the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. He ruled a vast kingdom which include Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and parts of Turkey. |
[2], p. A3 |
190 BC |
The Seleucid empire was conquered by the Romans. |
[44], p. 4 |
170 to 169 BC |
According to Marutha bishop of Maiperkat writing around AD 400, in AG 143 = 170 to 169 BC, in the 6th year of his reign, the Greek king Antiochus loots the golden vessels of the Temple in Jerusalem, slaughters the priests and many others and sets up pagan images to pollute the Temple worship, (Bedjan 1891, pp. 123 f.). |
Syriac text ed. Bedjan, Paul 1891. ‘Acta martyrum et sanctorum’, vol. 2. |
159 BC |
Start of the (H)asmonean dynasty of Israeli kings. |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 14 ch 16.4 |
Winter 130 – 129 BC |
Edessa in the kingdom of Osrhoene came under Parthian rule. |
[60], p. 10 |
133 or 132 BC |
About this time kings begin to reign in Edessa. |
[41] |
129 BC |
The Parthians who were from an area south east of the Caspian sea, began to rule in Iraq. |
[60], pp. xxiii, 10 |
95 BC |
Accession of king Tigran II the Great of Armenia. Tigran II ruled an empire which stretched from Syrian Antioch to the Caspian Sea. He died in 55 BC. |
[44], p. 4 |
85 BC |
Osrhoene and Edessa were part of Armenia under king Tigran II. |
[29] |
68 BC |
Abgar II began to reign at Edessa. Plutarch called him, 'An Arab phylarch'. He was associated with Crassus. In ancient Syriac sources like the Syriac acts of the apostle John, (Edited by Wright, pp. 54.10-59.5 ) Edessa was first known as 'Urhai of the Parthians'. Parthian Jews are mentioned by Luke amongst the crowd in Jerusalem at Pentecost. |
[35], p. 32 |
61 BC |
Roman General Pompey besieges and takes Jerusalem, [Josephus]. This date marks the conquest of the Greeks by the Romans in the east, ([60] has 63 BC). |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 14, ch 4.4, and ch 16.4 |
55 BC |
Death of Tiran II the Great of Armenia. |
[44], p. 4 |
53 BC |
Death of Abgar II of Edessa. |
[35], p. 32 |
45 BC |
Julius Caesar inaugurates the Julian calendar, (Y=365.25 days). The vernal equinox occurred on 25th March in 45 BC. Dates within the year given in the Julian calendar drift ahead of the equinox reference points by 11m:14s per year, or 18h:43m:20s per century. For example, in 84 AD, exactly 128 years after 45 BC, (counting integers without a zero AD) the spring equinox occurred on Julian date 26th March 84 AD, 1 Julian calendar day later than the spring equinox in 45 BC. Despite this slight drift versus the solar cycle, the AD system when it was invented in AD 532 used the Julian calendar rather than our modern Gregorian calendar, corrected as it now is with reference to an atomic clock, (see below). Accordingly, in this work of chronology, the Julian calendar has been used for 'AD' dates. As an example, to relate the modern calendar to the Julian calendar; On January 1st 2005, the Julian calendar lagged the modern calendar by 16 days, 9 hours, 24 minutes and 28.8 seconds. According to R. M. Tennent, 'Science data book' Publ. for the OU by Oliver & Boyd 1976, p. 38, the present calendar is based upon a corrected Gregorian tropical solar year of 365.242 days = 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45.9747 seconds. |
[5], p. 71. |
37 BC |
Herod I became king of Judea. He was awarded the kingdom by the Roman Senate, Octavian Caesar and Mark Anthony the Roman general. |
[7], p. 9 |
34 BC |
Herod and the Roman general Sosius beseige Jerusalem. The city falls and king Antigonus is captured after 55 days in the 3rd month, 'during the solemnity of the fast'. |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 14, ch 15.14, ch 16.2, ch 16.4 and 15 ch 1.2. |
c. 33 BC |
Mark Anthony conquers Armenia. |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 15 ch 4.3 |
31 BC |
Octavian triumphed over Mark Anthony at the battle of Actium to become sole emperor. Caesar conquers Egypt and kills Cleopatra making a present of some of her domains to Herod. According to Julias Africanus the battle of Actium occurred during the 186th Olympiad.
|
[7], p. 8 |
27 BC |
Octavian was renamed Augustus by the Roman Senate. |
[7] |
25 - 24 BC |
A severe famine occurs in Judea. |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 15 ch 9.1, 9.3 |
c. 22 - 11 BC |
Herod takes 12 years to build Caesarea Maritima and harbour on the site of an earlier city called Strato's Tower, (which was called Magdala in Aramaic, the home town of Mary Magdalene). |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 15 ch 9.6 & ch 10.5 |
20 BC |
Herod starts to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. He rebuilds the outer cloisters, (this takes 8 years). |
Josephus. Ant. Jud. 15 ch 1. Dio Cassius LIV.8 |
13 BC |
Herod completes the rebuilding of the outer court of the Temple. |
Josephus. Ant. Jud. 15 ch 11.5 |
11 BC |
The second Temple is largely completed and rededicated. The Priests finish building the inner court and other inner structures. |
Josephus. Ant. Jud. 15 ch 11.5 |
9 BC |
Aretas IV becomes king of Nabataea, an independent Arab kingdom at this time. He styled himself 'Friend of the people' in both Greek an Aramaic: Philopatris and Rakhem Ammu |
[35], p. 72 |
c. 5 BC |
Saturninus was succeeded as Roman president of Syria by Quintilius Varus at about this date. |
Josephus. Ant. Jud. 17, ch 1 & 5 |
4 BC |
Abgar V Ukomo, (or Ukama = dark) king of Urhai (Edessa) son of Marsquonu III rules Osrhoene for the first time: 4 BC to 7 AD. His second reign was from AD 13 to AD 50. Tacitus calls him, 'Akbar, king of the Arabs.' This Abgar was the 14th king of Osrhoene, the 11th king was Abgar Sumaca, (i.e. 'Abgar The Red'). |
[10], p. 257 |
Early June 3 BC |
Birth of Jesus which occurred during the first census of the entire Roman world. According to Julias-Africanus, Actium happened during the 186th Olympiad. The year of the first enrollment was the 29th year of Augustus as measured from Actium, (= 3 BC). The second enrollment was made in the 37th year after Caesar Augustus' victory at Actium, (i.e. in 6 AD). Kurinius, (Cyrenius) governor of Syria is mentioned in Jos. AJ 17, p42 & AJ 18, p1. One of his first tasks as governor was the third enrollment which was the one that occurred in 9 AD, (see below). Suetonius records all three enrollments, (see [9], Suetonius, 'XII Caesars': Augustus 27). The year of Jesus' birth is recorded in the the Syriac archives of Edessa found in the Nitrian monastery Egypt in 1841 and now preserved in the British library. The texts were discovered and published by William Cureton in 1864, [17]. |
Lk2v1 - 2a |
1 BC |
Herod was about 70 years old when he became fatally ill and Josephus reports a lunar eclipse, (ch 6.4). A little later Herod dies after reigning 37 years since he was declared king by the Romans, (hence he died in 1 BC). Herod was succeeded by his son Archelaus who became Ethnarch in Judea, of whose brothers Herod Antipas became Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and Philip became Tetrarch of Gaulonitis, Trachonitis and Paneas, (ch 8). |
Josephus. Ant. Jud. 17, ch 6. |
March |
Earliest datable Syriac writing is in the form of inscriptions from Birecik, dating from the month Adar, AG 317 = March 6 AD. Bibliography: Maricq A. “La plus ancienne inscription syriaque: cell de Birecik” Syria 39 (1962), pages 88-100. |
[26] |
7 to 13 AD |
Marsquonu IV son of Marsquonu III Saflul becomes ruler of Osrhoene. |
[15] |
9 AD |
Archelaus, Tetrach of Judea was banished beyond the Alps to Vienna 'a city of Gaul'. Archelaus had behaved so harshly, that he was accused before Caesar. This behaviour led to his banishment. In the immediate aftermath of the banishment of Archelaus, senator Kurinius, (Cyrenius) who had been consul, became governor of Syria as mentioned in Jos. AJ 17, p. 42 & AJ 18, p. 1. One of his first tasks as governor was the third enrollment which was a local enrollment which occurred in 9 AD as an audit of Archelaus' former territory. This census was confined to Archalaus' defunct domains and was conducted to assess the taxation value of the kingdom of Archalaus now confiscated by the state, (Josephus). The governorship of Judea passed to Coponius (a Roman knight) at the same time. |
[11], pp. 466 - 7 |
9 AD |
Abortive revolt of Judas the Galilean, Hillel a Gaulonite from the Galilean city of Gamala. This was triggered by the political vacuum and the local census. This Judas also introduced the theocratic, anti-Roman philosophy of the Zealots which steadily gained in popularity and ended in the war with Rome around AD 70. He is referred to in the Dead Sea scrolls as, 'The Teacher of Righteousness', [49]. |
Josephus Ant. Jud. 18 ch1 |
10 AD |
Died Judas the Galilean, Hillel. |
[49], p. 39 |
13 AD |
Abgar V Ukomo, (or Ukama = dark) of Urhai (Edessa) son of Marsquonu III rules Osrhoene for the second time: AD 13 to AD 50. His first reign was from 4 BC to 7 AD. Tacitus calls him, 'Akbar, king of the Arabs.' |
[15] |
14 AD |
Death of Augustus at the age of 75 years and the first year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar |
[9], p. 110 |
19 - 45 AD |
Reigns of Gundaphorus and Gad who were rulers of an Indus kingdom, whose encounter with Thomas the Apostle is recorded in the 'Acts of Thomas', [7]. King Gundaphar was a historical monarch of first century AD India. This is known from coins which include his name found during recent archaeological excavations, [60]. The 'Acts of Thomas' as we now have the text is mythical in character. However there is sufficient historical information remaining in the text to show that it was re-written based upon an earlier, more factual account. This work survives in several Syriac manuscripts, the oldest of which is a 5th century vellum palimpsest preserved in the Saint Catherine Monastery, Mt Sinai, Egypt. |
[7], pp. 150 – 151 |
27 AD |
A Jewish Sabbatical year, they occur every 7th year. |
See under 34 BC. |
28 AD |
Jesus Christ starts His public ministry. |
Luke 3 v 1 |
c. 29 AD |
Syro-Phoenician woman meets Jesus Christ. |
Mark 7 v 24 - 31 |
c. 30 AD |
Jesus Christ and his disciples stayed in villages near Caesarea Philippi the capital of Philip's Tetrarchy. These villages were Arab settlements. |
Mark 8 v 27 |
c. 30 AD |
Abgar, king of Edessa sends his envoy Ananias with a letter asking Christ for his healing. |
[17], p. 195. |
30 AD |
Yeshu`a Meshiha or, as His name is written in the west, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion whilst celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem by Pontius Pilatus, Roman governor of Judea. His resurrection after three days and three nights began the Christian Church. |
[10], p. 365 |
30 AD |
Partheans and Mesopotamians were present during Pentecost in Jerusalem. Evidence of early exposure of Jewish people from the Edessa area to the Christian gospel. |
Acts 2 v 9 |
35 AD |
Lucius Vitellius becomes Roman governor of Syria. |
[9], p. 268. |
c. 35 AD |
Stephen, a Greek speaking Jewish convert to Christ was martyred by stoning. |
Acts 7 - 8 |
35 - 37 AD |
Thomas the Apostle preaches the gospel in Mesopotamia on his way to India, [16]. The other apostles scattered after the martyrdom of Stephen began preaching the gospel in Phoenicia, Cyprus and in the city of Antioch in Syria, (Acts). From the first, the believers in Jerusalem and in these new places were culturally divided into two groups, the Jewish converts to Christianity who were called Nazarenes and the Greek converts who were called Christians, [49]. |
[16] |
36 AD |
Death of Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea. |
[49], p. 49 |
c. 36 AD |
Paul returns to Damascus after lying low in Arabia, (probably Bostra, in the Hawran mountains). |
Galatians 1 v 17 |
37 AD |
Death of Tiberius at an age of 77 years and the first year of the reign of Gaius (Caligula) Caesar. |
[9], p. 329 |
37 to c. 45 AD |
The apostle, Mar Addai or Thaddeus, lived in Edessa. He died c. 45 AD of natural causes. Addai was one of the 70 Apostles. He went to preach the gospel in Mesopotamia, (Edessa and Nisibis). |
[16] Bar Hebraeus via [17], p. 158 |
37 AD, (based on Addai's date of arrival) |
Abdu, son of Abdu second only to king Abgar of Edessa healed after Mar Addai prayed. |
[17], p. 145 |
39 AD |
Martyrdom of the Apostle Ya`cob (or James), the brother of the Apostle John, who was beheaded by king Herod Antipas. |
Acts 12 v 2 |
40 AD |
The Jews destroy a Greek altar in Jamnia, [49]. In response, Caligula Caesar orders his own statue to be placed inside the Jerusalem Temple. To accomplish his aim, he ordered Petronius, legate of Syria to go to Jerusalem with an army. This Roman action was averted when king Herod Agrippa I persuaded Caligula to change his mind, and the statue was never installed. |
[7], p. 12 |
40 AD |
Death of Aretas IV king of Nabataea, an independent Arab kingdom at this time. |
[35], p. 72 |
41 AD |
Death of Caligula after reigning 3 years, 10 months and 8 days and the beginning of the reign of Claudius Caesar. |
[9], pp. 329 & 183 |
41 AD |
Herod Agrippa I, becomes (Roman client) king of Judea. |
[7], p. 9 |
43 AD |
Peter moves home from Jerusalem to Rome and starts to preach. |
[17], p. 35 |
44 AD |
Death of Herod Agrippa I, king of Judea. He was succeeded by his son, Herod Agrippa II, then only 16 years old. At this time, Gaius Cassius Longinus was President of Syria and Cuspius Fadus was made Procurator of Judea by the emperor Claudius. |
[7], p. 9 |
c. 49 AD |
Claudius ejects all Jews from Rome, (including Priscilla and Aquila) probably due to the intensely hostile reaction of conservative Jews to the gospel message of Jesus as their Messiah, [49]. |
[9], p. 202 |
49 AD |
Cassius and Abgar V 'the Arab king of Edessa' meet at Zeugma. Izates was king of Adiabene and Gotarzes was king of Parthia at this time. |
Tacitus Annals XII.12-14, [10] |
c. 49 AD |
Abgar V moves the capital of Osrhoene from Nisibis to Edessa, together with all the city records, archives, pagan gods etc. and deposits them between two schools in Edessa, one dedicated to Greek studies and one to Syriac studies. |
[17], pp. 126, 142 |
50 AD |
Death of Abgar V Ukama of Edessa who was succeeded by his son, Marsquonu V whose mother's name was Augustin. |
[15] |
c. 50 AD |
A bilingual inscription by /srn/ = 'Tsaren' queen of Adiabene in Syriac and Palestinian Aramaic was found just outside Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate. Josephus refers to her using a Greek name, 'Helen'. |
[3], pp. 180, 243 |
51 AD |
Vologeses becomes king of Parthia |
[10], p. 398 |
53 AD |
Council of Jerusalem. Peter travels from Rome to attend. Paul, Titus and Barnabas visit Peter, James the Just and John the apostles meet in Jerusalem. Paul and his companions return to Antioch afterwards. |
Galatians 2 v 1- 9 |
54 AD |
Death of Claudius during the 14th year of his reign and the beginning of the reign of Nero Caesar. |
[9], pp. 212 & 329 |
54 AD |
Peter the Apostle travels from his home in Rome and preaches in Antioch, Syria. |
[16] |
|
Paul is arrested and tried before Ananias the Jewish High Priest. |
Acts 23 v 2 |
57 AD |
Death of Marsquonu V son of Abgar V king of Osrhoene, succeeded by Marsquonu VI, who is thought to have returned to Paganism. |
[15] |
62 AD |
Died Festus, the Roman procurator of Judea. Herod Agrippa II deposes the high priest, Joseph Kabi son of Simon who had only recently become high priest and replaced him with Ananus son of Ananus who was a Sadducee. |
[49], p. 58 |
c. 62 AD |
James the Just, bishop of Jerusalem and the half-brother of Christ martyred in the city. Ananus who was the Jewish high priest at that time had organized a show trial and the subsequent murder of James. |
[7], p. 19 |
c. 62 AD |
Symeon son of Clopas the uncle of the Lord and James the Just, also called 'James the Righteous' became bishop of Jerusalem, (Hegesippus). |
Hegesippus via Eusebius HC 4.22.8 |
65 - 87 AD |
The apostle Thaddeus or Addai who had died earlier after preaching the gospel in Urhay = Edessa was succeeded by Mar Aggai (or Aggaeus) who continued to preach the gospel in Mesopotamia, (Edessa and Nisibis). |
[16] |
66 AD |
The Apostles and the Christian community abandoned Jerusalem and fled to Pella, a town east of the river Jordan. |
[60], p. 13 |
c. 66 AD |
The Pharisees meet at Jamnia to decide the future of Judaism and they decide to expel the Christian Jewish sect from their synagogues. |
[60], p. 24 |
66 AD |
The emperor Nero crowns Trdat I as king of Armenia. |
[44], p. 4 |
66 - 72 AD |
The Jewish war with Rome, destruction of Jerusalem, Masada etc. |
[7], p. 9 |
68 AD |
Martyrdom of the Apostles Peter, Peter's wife and Paul, (Peter crucified and Paul beheaded by Nero). This occurred 25 years after Peter moved to Rome. |
[17] |
69 AD |
Death of Nero followed by Roman civil war until the middle of 70 AD. |
[9], pp. 216, 244, 246 & 329. |
70 AD |
Vespasian becomes Roman emperor. |
[9], pp. 246, 283, 291 & 329 |
71 to 91 AD |
Abgar VI Bar Marsquonu VI becomes king of Osrhoene |
[15] |
73 AD |
Dated Syriac tomb inscription to a man named Ma'nu at Serrin in the kingdom of Osrhoene |
[30], pp. 14, 16, 31 |
77 AD |
Vologeses I reign ends in Parthia |
[10], p. 398 |
77 - 78 AD |
There survives an unsubstantiated record of Aggai or Aggaeus, the disciple and successor of Addai or Addaeus the Apostle, making a copy of an ancient gospel in Edessa. |
[17], p. 158 |
79 AD |
Death of Vespasian and the beginning of the reign of Titus Caesar. |
[9] |
81 AD |
Death of Titus and the beginning of the reign of Domitian Caesar. |
[9], pp. 298, 300 & 329 |
88 - 121 AD |
Mar Mari preached the gospel in Mesopotamia. |
[16] |
91 AD |
Abgar VI Bar Marsquonu VI was deposed as king of Osrhoene. Afterwards, no king reigned there until 109 AD. |
[15] |
96 AD |
Death of Domitian and Nerva becomes emperor. He reigned until AD 98, [49]. |
[2] + Eusebius HC 3.20. |
97 AD |
At the death of Nerva, Trajan becomes emperor |
Eusebius HC 3.21 |
100 AD |
Death of Herod Aggrippa II, the last of the Herodian dynasty. |
[35], p. 34 |
104 AD, [58] |
Mar Peqidha became the first bishop of Adiabene. The Chronicle of Arbela states that Bishop Pequidha was originally converted to Christianity through the preaching and discipleship of Addai the Apostle. The Chronicle of Arbela is an important historical source for the Syriac speaking east. The text has been published twice, initially by Mingana with a French translation and again more recently by Kawerau with a German translation; Mingana, A. 'Sources Syriaques' Publ. in Leipzig, O. Harrassowitz, and in Mosul both in 1907 and Kawerau, P. 'Die Chronik von Arbela,' CSCO vols. 467 & 468, 1985 from a MS in Berlin. |
The Chronicle of Arbela, via [38], p. 15 & [58], p. 8 |
105 - 107 AD |
A persecution in Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria is precipitated by an imperial order to sacrifice to the 'gods' (really demons) of Rome. |
[1] |
107 AD |
The Parthian king Xosroes murders the second bishop of Arbela (modern Arbil) in the buffer state of Adiabene between Armenia and Parthia. |
(The chronicle of Arbela, translation by Mingana 1907) via [14] |
109 AD |
After a period of 18 years without a king, Abgar VII son of Ezat becomes king of Osrhoene. Judging by later events, this king was a Parthian nominee. |
[15] |
c. 110 AD |
Papias, bishop of Phrygian Hierapolis writing in his 'Expositions of the sayings of the Lord' mentions Mark's gospel by name and mentions that Matthew had also recorded Jesus' sayings 'in the Hebrew tongue' (Aramaic). |
Eusebius HC 3.39 |
112 AD |
Trajan's correspondence with Pliny which designated Christianity as illegal becomes a de facto part of Roman law. |
[49], p. 62 |
115 AD |
During Trajan's reign, the Roman army under the commander Lusius Quietus captures Edessa and deposes (the Parthian nominee) king Abgar VII. There followed a period of 2 years where no king reigned in Edessa. The historian Dio Cassius says: 'Trajan came to Edessa, and there saw Abgarus for the first time. For although Abgarus had previously sent envoys and gifts to the emperor on numerous occasions, he himself, first on one excuse or another, had failed to put in an appearance, as was also the case with Mannos, the ruler of a neighboring region of Arabia' |
[17], p. 182 |
115 AD |
Adiabene (east of Edessa) was invaded by the Romans and named "Assyria" by them. See map given in [15]. |
(The chronicle of Arbela, translation by Mingana 1907) |
117 AD |
Death of Trajan and beginning of the reign of Aelius Hadrian Caesar. |
[2] |