
Year 1 BC was a
common year starting on Friday or
Saturday
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's ...
in the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematics, Greek mathematicians and Ancient Greek astronomy, as ...
(the sources differ; see
leap year error for further information) and a
leap year starting on Thursday in the
proleptic Julian calendar. It was also a
leap year starting on Saturday in the
Proleptic Gregorian calendar
The proleptic Gregorian calendar is produced by extending the Gregorian calendar backward to the dates preceding its official introduction in 1582. In nations that adopted the Gregorian calendar after its official and first introduction, dates occ ...
. At the time, it was known as the Year of the
Consulship
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the '' cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which polit ...
of
Lentulus and
Piso (or, less frequently, year 753 ''
Ab urbe condita
''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...
''). The denomination 1 BC for this year has been used since the early
medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...
when the
Anno Domini
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
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, it is the year as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Copt ...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. The following year is 1 AD in the widely used Julian calendar, which does not have a "
year zero
A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year . However, the ...
".
Events
By place
Han Dynasty
* Emperor
Ai of Han dies and is succeeded by his 8-year-old cousin
Ping of Han.
*
Wang Mang
Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the thro ...
is appointed
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
by Grand Empress Dowager
Wang Zhengjun
Wang Zhengjun (; 71 BC – 13 AD), officially Empress Xiaoyuan (孝元皇后), later and more commonly known as Grand Empress Dowager Wang, born in Yuancheng (modern Handan, Hebei), was an empress during the Western Han dynasty of China, who pla ...
, who is his aunt.
* Former regent
Dong Xian, who was previously Emperor Ai of Han's lover, commits suicide with his wife.
[Hinsch, Bret. (1990) ''Passions of the Cut Sleeve''. University of California Press.]
Roman Empire
*
Gaius Caesar
Gaius Caesar (; 20 BC – 21 February 4 AD) was the grandson and heir to the throne of Roman emperor Augustus, alongside his younger brother Lucius Caesar. Although he was born to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia, Augustus' only daughter, Ga ...
marries
Livilla, daughter of
Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor (31 January 36 BC - 1 May 37 AD) was the younger of two surviving daughters of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. She was a niece of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligu ...
and
Nero Claudius Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38–9 BC), also called Drusus the Elder, was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a patrician Claudian on his birth father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was th ...
, in an effort to gain prestige.
* The
Roman theatre in Cartagena, built by Gaius and Lucius Caesar, finishes construction.
*
Aulus Caecina Severus
Aulus Caecina Severus was a Roman politician and general who was consul in 1 BC. He was Emperor Augustus' representative in Moesia when the Great Illyrian Revolt broke out. As a result, he spent 4 years in heavy fighting against the Illyrian ...
was appointed consul by
Emperor Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
succeeding
Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus and
Lucius Calpurnius Piso (consul 1 BC).
Kingdom of Kush
* The approximate date of
Natakamani succeeding
Amanishakheto as the
King of Kush.
Satavahana dynasty
*Kunatala Satakarni is succeeded by Satakarni III.
By topic
Religion
* Estimated
birth of Jesus
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man ...
, in the Christian religion, as assigned by
Dionysius Exiguus
Dionysius Exiguus (Latin for "Dionysius the Humble", Greek: Διονύσιος; – ) was a 6th-century Eastern Roman monk born in Scythia Minor. He was a member of a community of Scythian monks concentrated in Tomis (present day Constanța ...
in his
Anno Domini
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
era; according to most scholars, Dionysius used the word "incarnation", but it is not known whether he meant conception or birth. However, at least one scholar thinks Dionysius placed the incarnation of Jesus in the next year,
AD 1
__NOTOC__
AD 1 or 1 CE is the epoch year for the Anno Domini (AD) Christian calendar era and also the 1st year of the Common Era (CE) and the 1st millennium and of the 1st century of the Christian and the common era. It was a common year sta ...
.
[Georges Declercq, ''Anno Domini: The origins of the Christian Era'' (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2000), pp.143–147.][G. Declercq, "Dionysius Exiguus and the introduction of the Christian Era", ''Sacris Erudiri'' 41 (2002) 165–246, pp.242–246. Annotated version of a portion of ''Anno Domini''.] Most modern scholars do not consider Dionysius' calculations authoritative, and place the event several years earlier.
Deaths
*
August 15 –
Ai of Han, Chinese emperor of the
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
(b.
27 BC
__NOTOC__
Year 27 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, Common year starting on Monday, Monday or Common year starting on Tuesday, Tuesday or a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar ( ...
)
*
Dong Xian, Chinese politician and
commander-in-chief (b.
23 BC
__NOTOC__
Year 23 BC was either a common year starting on Saturday or Sunday or a leap year starting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar (the sources differ, see leap year error for further ...
)
*
Xiaoai, Chinese empress and wife of Ai of Han
*
Zhao Feiyan
Zhao Feiyan (, ? – 1 BC),Peterson, Barbara Bennett & He Hong Fei & Han Tie & Wang Jiyu & Zhang Guangyu. (1999) ''Notable Women of China'' "M.E. Sharpe". pp. 87–90. . formally Empress Xiaocheng (孝成皇后), was an empress during the Han Dy ...
, Chinese empress and wife of
Cheng of Han (b.
45 BC
__NOTOC__
Year 45 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday (link will display the full calendar) (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) and th ...
)
See also
*
Year zero
A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar (nor in its predecessor, the Julian calendar); in this system, the year is followed directly by year . However, the ...
for the different conventions that historians and astronomers use for "BC" years
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1 Bc