Year 185 ( CLXXXV) was a

common year starting on Friday A common year starting on Friday is any non-leap year (i.e. a year with 365 days) that begins on Friday, 1 January, and ends on Friday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is C. The most recent year of such kind was 2021, and the next one wil ...

of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lascivius and Atilius (or, less frequently, year 938 ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

''). The denomination 185 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, the current year is numbered in the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era ...

became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Empire

* Nobles of Britain demand that Emperor

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

rescind all power given to

Tigidius Perennis Sextus Tigidius Perennis (died 185) served as Praetorian Prefect under the Roman emperor Commodus. Perennis exercised an outsized influence over Commodus and was the effective ruler of the Roman Empire. In 185, Perennis was implicated in a plo ...

, who is eventually executed. * Publius Helvius Pertinax is made governor of Britain and quells a mutiny of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

s who wanted him to become emperor. The disgruntled usurpers go on to attempt to assassinate the governor. *

, his family and many others are executed for conspiring against

. * Commodus drains Rome's treasury to put on gladiatorial spectacles and confiscates property to support his pleasures. He participates as a

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

and boasts of victory in 1,000 matches in the

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian language, Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot racing, chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine Hill, Avent ...

China

* Zhi Yao (monk), Zhi Yao, a Kushan (clan), Kushan Buddhist monk of Yuezhi ethnicity, translates Buddhist texts into the Chinese language during the Han dynasty. * February – The rebels of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Yellow Turban are defeated by the imperial army, but only two months later, the rebellion breaks out again. It spreads to the Taihang Mountains on the western border of Hebei, Hebei Province.

By topic

Art and Science

* Cleomedes discovers the refraction of light by the Earth's atmosphere. * A supernova now known as SN 185 is noted by Chinese astronomy, Chinese astronomers in the ''Astrological Annals of the Houhanshu'', making it the earliest recorded supernova.

Religion

* Irenaeus writes that there are only four Gospels (approximate date).

Births

* Liu Ji (Three Kingdoms), Liu Ji (or Jingyu), Chinese official and minister (d. 233) * Origen, Christian scholar and Theology, theologian (approximate date) * Wang Xiang, Chinese minister of the Cao Wei state (d. 269)

Deaths

* April 21 – Apollonius the Apologist, Christian Apologetics, apologist * Pharasmanes III of Iberia, Pharasmanes III (or P'arsman), Georgian king of Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia *

, Roman praetorian prefect (executed)

References

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