
__NOTOC__
AD 79 (
LXXIX) was a
common year starting on Friday 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 Titus and Vespasianus (or, less frequently, year 832 ''
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 AD 79 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
*
Vespasianus Augustus and
Titus Caesar Vespasianus become
Roman Consuls.
*
June 23 – Emperor Vespasian dies of fever from
diarrhea; his last words on his deathbed are: "I think I'm turning into a god." Titus succeeds his father as Roman emperor. Titus'
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
mistress,
Berenice, comes to join him in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, but he exiles her to please the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
*
August 24 –
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius:
Mount Vesuvius erupts, destroying
Pompeii
Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...
,
Herculaneum
Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Like the nearby city of ...
,
Stabiae, and
Oplontis. The
Roman navy (based at
Misenum), commanded by
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
, evacuates refugees. Pliny dies after inhaling
volcanic fumes.
*
Roman conquest of Britain:
Gnaeus Julius Agricola campaigns in
Britain:
**
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
is founded as a ''
castrum'' or Roman fort with the name
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary castra, fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix, Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the ...
. The fortress is built by
Legio II Adiutrix and contains
barracks
Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
,
granaries, military
baths and headquarters.
**
Mamucium
Mamucium, also known as Mancunium, is a former Roman fort in the Castlefield area of Manchester in North West England. The ''Castra, castrum'', which was founded c. AD 79 within the Roman province of Roman Britain, was garrisoned by a ...
(the first
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
) is founded as a frontier fort and settlement in the North West of England, a distance to the north of Chester.
** Agricola enters
Caledonia (modern-day Scotland) but is resisted by the natives.
China
* A commission of scholars canonizes the text of works of
Confucius
Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...
and his school.
Births
*
He of Han, Chinese emperor (d.
106)
*
Ma Rong, Chinese poet and politician (d.
166)
Deaths
*
June 24 –
Vespasian
Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...
, Roman emperor (b.
AD 9)
*
August 16 –
Ma, Chinese empress of the
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
(b.
AD 40)
*
August 25 –
Caesius Bassus, Roman poet (died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius)
*
August 25 –
Drusilla, daughter of
Herod (died in the
eruption of Vesuvius)
*
August 25 –
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
, Roman writer and scientist (b.
AD 23)
[
* Apollinaris of Ravenna, Syrian bishop and martyr (approximate date)
* Aulus Caecina Alienus, Roman general and politician (executed)
* Tiberius Claudius Balbilus, Roman politician and astrologer (b. AD 3)
* Titus Clodius Eprius Marcellus, Roman politician (committed suicide)
]
References
als:70er#Johr 79
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0079