Ancient World
Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69): Galba, Otho, Vitellius
Vespasian emerged victorious from the civil war and founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled Rome until AD 96.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Colosseum (AD 70-80): Building Rome's Flavian Amphitheatre
Rome gained its largest amphitheatre, used for gladiatorial games and animal hunts for over four centuries and now one of the world's best-known monuments.
Ancient World
Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70): Destruction of the Second Temple
Roman victory; Jerusalem was captured and largely destroyed, and the Second Temple was burned.
Ancient World
Ban Chao and the Western Regions: Han Power in Central Asia
Ban Chao brought the oasis states of the Tarim Basin under Han overlordship and served as Protector General of the Western Regions from AD 91 to 102.
Ancient World
Siege of Masada (AD 73-74): Last Stand of the Jewish Revolt
Roman victory; the fortress fell and, according to Josephus, most of its 960 defenders and their families died by their own hands.
Ancient World
Fishbourne Roman Palace: Britain's Grandest Roman Villa
A Mediterranean-style palace with mosaics and a formal garden was built in southern Britain; its excavation transformed views of early Roman Britain.
Ancient World
Eruption of Vesuvius (AD 79): How Pompeii Was Buried
Pompeii, Herculaneum and nearby settlements were buried by volcanic ash and pyroclastic flows, preserving them for later excavation.
Ancient World
Arch of Titus (c. AD 81): Triumphal Arch on Rome's Via Sacra
Rome gained a single-bay triumphal arch whose reliefs of the Jerusalem spoils became one of the most famous images of Roman art.
Ancient World
Battle of Mons Graupius (AD 83): Agricola in Caledonia
Roman victory over a Caledonian confederacy, but Rome did not permanently occupy the far north of Britain.
Ancient World
Vindolanda: Roman Fort and Its Famous Writing Tablets
The fort's waterlogged deposits preserved hundreds of letters and documents, the oldest surviving handwritten documents from Britain.
Ancient World
Assassination of Domitian (AD 96): End of the Flavian Dynasty
Domitian was killed by members of his household; the Senate made Nerva emperor and condemned Domitian's memory, ending the Flavian dynasty.
Ancient World
Aqueduct of Segovia: Spain's Great Roman Aqueduct Bridge
Segovia received a water supply carried over a granite arcade that still stands and became the symbol of the city.