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Just wanted you to know that I'm enjoying your thread.
I wish I had something to add, but most of this is news to me.
 
Thank you, Glorydaz. Everybody is welcome to post on this thread.

And now, it's 54 AD.

Agrippina the Younger is happy that her husband Claudius has made her son Nero his heir. She hands Claudius a cup of wine, Claudius drinks it, and uh, dies suddenly. Conflicting records state that Nero and Britannicus were to be co-rulers, that Brittanicus would become co-ruler on his fourteenth birthday in another four months, and that Britannicus would become Emperor on his fourteenth brithday. But right now, Nero is Emperor.

Well-liked, brilliant, and overweight, Nero quickly annexes Aden, a port midway between Europe and India. Having declined in importance as traders had started going overland, the port lessens the chance of another famine due to shipping problems.

An exploring party returns from southern Egypt, reporting that the area is too poor to be worth conquering.

Felix, the crooked governor, had passed laws restricting the rights of Jews in their own land. Riots break out in Caesarea, and Nero decreases Jewish rights even farther.

Extending their control farther north, Romans defeat British rebels who had attacked one of their allies.
 
And now it is 55 AD!

Agrippina the Younger makes clear to her son Nero that she intends to hold major control in his empire. When she barges into an important meeting, Seneca the Younger, who is now Nero's advisor literally drags her out of the room. Agrippina then starts plotting to put Britannicus on the throne. A few days before his fourteenth birthday, Britannicus drinks from a cup that Nero hands him, and uh, dies suddenly.

Getting rid of his mother poses a more difficult challenge, however. Claudius had named her "Augusta," making her the second-most-powerful person in the Empire. And while she was certainly evil, she was popular with the common people, and she had heavy political connections. For now, Nero exiles her to an imperial residence near the palace.

After serving as bishop of Antioch and traveling through the areas east of the Mediterannean Sea, the Apostle Peter heads to Rome.

Britain is becoming Rome's "Vietnam." They keep sending more troops, and they keep winning battles, but they can't win the war.
 
And now it's 56 AD!

The Parthian Empire, centered in North-easter Iran, invade Armenia, a Roman ally near the Black Sea. Rome declares war. Already crumbling, the Parthian Empire manages to hold on for another 170 years.

Nero, the new Emperor, does a good job. Heavily-influenced by Seneca the Younger and Burrus (commander of the Praetorian Guard) he treats the Senate respectfully, increasing their power. He passes sensible laws for civic order, reforms the Treasury, and bans provincial governors from extortion.

And the first signs of insanity begin to appear in the seventeen-year-old Emperor. Pallas, a brilliant freedman (former slave) and powerful ally of Agrippina the Younger, had run the Treasury efficiently. By his personal brilliance, he had amassed a fortune by investing his own money honestly. Nero fires him and has him tried for conspiring to assassinate Nero. Seneca the Younger personally defends him and wins a "Not Guilty" verdict. Nero is feeling that he is surrounded by enemies.

The Apostle Peter becomes bishop of the church at Rome. The word "bishop" means "overseer" or "inspector." In one place only, the Bible defines the word as "steward over the house of God." A "steward" was a paid employee who ran the household for its owner. In the New Testament, Christians met in a variety of houses and occasionally rented buildings. But all the meeting places in the city comprised one church, and the bishop pastored that church. The idea that a bishop was the spiritual ruler of a geographical area came later and is not Biblical. And since Christianity was already thriving in Rome, it is doubtful that Peter was the first bishop in the city.
 
Welcome to 57 AD!

Nero continues to do a good job as Emperor. He vetoes a law that would have allowed former owners to reclaim their freed slaves, removes corrupt tax collectors from office, lowers taxes on the poor, and fires every crooked official he can find. He also spends increasing amounts of time in taverns and brothels.

Nero appoints Quintus Veranius as governor of Britain. An experienced general and governor, he smashes his way into Wales, and, with total victory in sight, dies suddenly.

Ming of Han, the new Emperor of China, has a dream that encourages him to help the spread of Buddhism in China. A ruthless murderer who kills thousands of innocent people accused of conspiracy, he builds China's first Buddhist temple and rules competently. This year, he receives an ambassador from a Japanese king.

There is no one day when Japan became a nation. Various peoples settled various islands, and then conquered, absorbed, and blended into each other. About the time of the birth of Christ, the Japanese became a distinct people, and in 57 AD writing appeared. But their four main islands will consist of a variety of separate kingdoms for several more centuries.

Paul writes his Second Epistle of the Corinthians. The church at Corinth was a large, successful, growing church that was filled with sin due to the pagan backgrounds and spiritual ignorance of its converts. They receive more Biblical help than every other New Testament church combined.

He also writes his epistle to the Romans. With a heavy percentage of former Jews, the Roman Christians are nowhere near as corrupt as the Corinthians, but Paul has to deal with the pride of the Jewish converts. He reminds them that the Jewish religion had failed, and that the Name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them. He explains that Jewish Christians are not superior to Gentile Christians.
 
Now it's 58 AD. How time flies.

Nero becomes friends with Otho, a reckless young man, and then takes Otho's wife as his mistress. He appoints Otho governor of northern Portugal, where he rules quite well for the next ten years.

Parthia and Rome go to war, and Parthia never has a chance. Roman general Corbulo starts the war by capturing one of the Parthians' major cities.

The Apostle Paul is arrested. On trial before Ananias the High Priest, he is struck by order of Ananias. "God will smite you, you white-washed wall," Paul tells him. More on that later.

The newly-appointed governor of Britain completes the conquest of Wales. Scotland, however, continues to resist.

While introducing Buddhism, the government of China requires all government schools to offer sacrifices to Confucius.
 
It's already 59 AD.

General Corbula wins more victories over the Parthians, captures a second major city, and sets up a Roman ally as king of Armenia.

There are a lot of versions of how he did it, but Nero kills his mother Agrippina the Younger. Her husband Claudius had made her the second-most-powerful person in the Empire, but her son had removed all her authority.She then became involved in conspiracies to remove him from the throne. It seems that Nero built a ship designed to collapse, and put her on it. The ship collapsed, but she swam to shore. Nero then sent three assassins after her. She told them to stab her womb first.

Petronius, a man of legendary immorality, writes the Satyricon. This novel emphasizes the characters, while previous novels had emphasized the plot.
 
And now it is 60 AD.

Felix, the crooked governor, is replaced by Portius Festus as Procurator of Judea. Willing to do the Jews a favor, Felix leaves Paul in prison. Festus, knowing that Paul is innocent, sends him to Rome to stand trial before Nero, but Paul gets shipwrecked along the way. Meanwhile, anti-Roman hostility continues to grow in Judea.

Boudica, a British queen, realizing that Roman forces are tied up in Wales, unites several tribes in revolt. She destroys various Roman settlements, and finally burns London to the ground. Defeated by the Roman governor of Britain, she commits suicide to avoid capture. For the third time, Romans build a bridge across the Thames River. This solid, rock-built structure becomes known as "London Bridge." Nero decides not to evacuate Britain, but Wales is now in revolt.
 
She slaughtered a Roman army. She torched Londinium, leaving a charred layer almost half a meter thick that can still be traced under modern London. According to the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus, her army killed as many as 70,000 civilians in Londinium, Verulamium and Camulodunum, rushing ‘to cut throats, hang, burn, and crucify. Who was she? Why was she so angry?



Most of Boudica’s life is shrouded in mystery. She was born around AD 25 to a royal family in Celtic Britain, and as a young woman she married Prasutagus, who later became king (a term adopted by the Celts, but as practiced by them, more of an elected chief) of the Iceni tribe. They had two daughters, probably born during the few years immediately after the Roman conquest in ad 43. She may have been Iceni herself, a cousin of Prasutagus, and she may have had druidic training. Even the color of her hair is mysterious. Another Roman historian, Cassius Dio — who wrote long after she died — described it with a word translators have rendered as fair, tawny, and even flaming red, though Dio probably intended his audience to picture it as golden-blonde with perhaps a reddish tinge. Her name meant victory.


Boudica’s people once welcomed the Romans. Nearly 100 years earlier, when Gaius Julius Caesar made the first Roman foray into Britannia in 55 and 54 BC, the Iceni were among six tribes that offered him their allegiance. But this greatest of all Roman generals was unable to cope with either the power of the coastal tides or the guerrilla tactics of the other Britons who fought him. After negotiating a pro forma surrender and payment of tribute, Caesar departed.


For the next 97 years, no Roman military force set foot on British soil. The Iceni watched as their southern neighbors, the Catuvellauni, grew rich from exporting grain, cattle and hides, iron and precious metals, slaves and hunting dogs to Rome. From Rome, they imported luxury goods such as wine and olive oil, fine Italian pottery, and silver and bronze drinking cups, and they minted huge numbers of gold coins at their capital, Camulodunum.


A century of Roman emperors came and went. Then, in 41 Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus) rose to the imperial purple. There were many practical reasons why he might have thought it useful to add Britannia to the empire, one being that the island was an important source of grain and other supplies needed in quantity by the Roman army. Stories abounded about the mineral wealth there. Outbreaks of unrest in Gaul were stirred up — so the Romans believed — by druid agitators from Britannia.


The most compelling reason for Claudius, however, was political. Born with a limp and a stutter, he had once been regarded as a fool and kept out of public view — although those handicaps were largely responsible for his survival amid the intrigue and murder that befell many members of his noble family. Now the emperor desperately needed a prestige boost of the sort that, in Rome, could be provided only by an important military victory. So when the chief of a minor British tribe turned up in Rome, complaining that he had been deposed and asking the emperor to restore his rule, Claudius must have thought it the perfect excuse to launch an invasion.


Boudica would have been about 18 years old in 43, the year Claudius invaded, old enough to be aware of the events that would transform her life. She may already have been married to Prasutagus, but the king of the Iceni was still Antedios, probably an older relative of Prasutagus. Antedios seems to have taken a neutral position toward Rome. Other tribes openly supported the conquest, but most, including the Icenis’ neighbor to the south, did not. Caradoc, king of the Catuvellauni (called Caractacus by the Romans), and his brother Togodumnus led an alliance of tribes to repel the invaders.


When the Roman troops landed at the far southeastern tip of Britannia, Caractacus and his allies harried them as they marched inland. Then the Britons retreated to gather into a single force on the other side of the River Medway. There, the Romans won a major battle in which Caractacus’ brother was either killed or mortally wounded. At that point, Emperor Claudius himself came to Britannia to seal the conquest with a victory at Camulodunum — now known as Colchester — where he accepted the formal submission of 11 British rulers, including Antedios of the Iceni.


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from this link page one. if any is interested i will post more on her.
http://www.historynet.com/boudica-celti ... d-rome.htm
 
Good article, Jasoncran. And now it is 61 AD.

Having defeated the British rebellion, the Romans set out to Romanize Britain. They build straight roads (called "Roman Roads"), cities, and administrative centers. But the victorious governor is too harsh in punishing British survivors of the revolt, and Nero replaces him with Publius Petronius Turpilianus, who stresses reconciliation.

Nero prohibits human sacrifice.

The Apostle Paul arrives in Rome as a prisoner. Nero continues to follow the Roman policy of tolerating Christianity, hoping that it will weaken Judaism."... Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him... Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him." Acts 28
 
Peter also arrives in Rome. Before handing his ministry off to St Linus, he is arrested by Nero, and eventually is crucified on an inverted cross, and burried in the graveyards on Vatican Hill, which, back then, was a cemetary. (Sorry if I'm in the wrong year on the crucifixion part)
 
We appreciate your contribution, TheCatholic. The exact years are difficult to pin down. Modern historians date many Biblical events seven years after earlier historians did.

The sources I am using disagree by about two years in either direction.
 
Welcome to 62 AD.

It's not a good year.

Burrus, leader of the Praetorian Guard and adviser to Nero dies. His other counselor, Seneca the Younger, is fired. Nero appoints his friend Tigellinus, a man known for his cruelty and immorality, as leader of the Praetorian Guard. Nero also executes his wife. There is nobody left who can restrain the Emperor, and his insanity and cruelty are steadily turning the people against him.

Southern Italy is hit by a major earthquake.

Beaten by the Romans everywhere they turned, the Parthians surprise everyone by invading Armenia. Armenia was a large Asian kingdom close to Rome's eastern border, and Parthia was on the other side of Armenia. Roman general Corbulo, who has everything else secured against the Parthians, arrives too late, and Armenia surrenders. Peace terms allow the Parthians to confiscate all Roman weapons and supplies, force the Romans to pass under a yoke, and then be expelled.

With about 1/6 of the Roman Empire living in Rome itself, the city was desperately in need of imported grain. Occasional famines would break out when bad weather delayed ships. This year, a severe storm destroys 200 ships in Portus, a major harbor at the mouth of the Tiber River.

Portius Festus, governor of Judea, dies. The current High Priest, Hanan, illegally convenes the Sanhedrin and orders James, the brother of Jesus, along with other Christians, executed. And the Jews are outraged! They get along well with the Christians now, regarding them as just another Jewish sect. Herod Agrippa II quickly deposes the High Priest, replacing him with Jesus son of Damneus. A few months later, Herod replaces him with Jesus son of Gameliel. With most records destroyed in 70 AD, almost nothing is known about either High Priest.

Arriving in Jerusalem, Albinus, the new governor, virtually exterminates the Sicarii ("Dagger-men") an anti-Roman terrorist group. He continues the Roman policy of tolerating the Christians.
 
64 A.D.

St. Peter is put to death by the Emporer Nero, and St. Linus succeeds him as bishop of Rome.

Some excerpts of background information on Linus:

All the ancient records of the Roman bishops which have been handed down to us by St. Irenaeus, Julius Africanus, St. Hippolytus, Eusebius, also the Liberian catalogue of 354, place the name of Linus directly after that of the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter. These records are traced back to a list of the Roman bishops which existed in the time of. .Eleutherus (about 174-189), when Irenaeus wrote his book "Adversus haereses"........

........Linus's term of office, according to the.. ..lists handed down to us, lasted only twelve years. The Liberian Catalogue shows that it lasted twelve years, four months, and twelve days....
source: link
 
Thanks for the contributions, TheCatholic. I'm not skipping those parts, but I'm using a chronology that places these events about seven years later. It works something like this:

Over a period of centuries, historians, most of them Catholic, pieced together separate histories to present an accurate chronology of early Christian history (which overlapped and included the Roman and Jewish histories of the same period). They pretty well got the relative chronologies right. For instance, if they said that a Christian event occurred three years after a Roman event and two years before a Jewish event, they were usually accurate. But there was a margin of error of up to two years either way for most of these events.

Later, archaeology became more advanced, and the discoveries of ancient engravings, coins, and even manuscripts showed that the entire chronology needed to be moved back seven years. However, the relative time between these events was still accurate.

As a rip-roaring, rootin'-tootin', uncompromising fundamentalist Baptist who loves everybody, I recognize that the Bible never presents exact dates, and therefor no chronology is perfect.
 
Oh. So you think the event I posted would actually be 71 AD ???
I wonder, however, if my info source had already taken that into account? :chin
 
And now it's time for 63 AD.

Roman general Corbolo invades Armenia, forces Parthia to withdraw their troops, and ends the war.

An earthquake strikes Pompeii, near Mount Vesuvius.

With no surviving explanation, the Apostle Paul is released. Did Nero release him after hearing his case? Without hearing his case? Did a lower official follow Roman policy and release him? Did he just walk away, realizing that Rome had forgotten about him?

Now, get ready, Folks. In the book of Galatians, Paul recounts a public dispute between himself and Peter, shortly before Paul left Antioch, never to return. There is no mention of Peter visiting him while he was under house arrest in Rome. He had separated from his good friend Barnabas (who, like Paul, was an Apostle, though not one of the original twelve) because Paul did not want Mark to accompany them, although Paul and Mark were later reconciled. I think that Paul couldn't get along with Peter, and that is one reason why he left Rome.
 
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