2nd century

The 2nd century is the period from 101 (CI) through 200 (CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period.

Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest expansion under the emperor Trajan, but after his death became primarily defensive for the rest of its history. Much prosperity took place throughout the empire at this time, ruled as it was by the “Five Good Emperors”, a succession of well-received and able rulers. This period also saw the removal of the Jews from Jerusalem during the reign of Hadrian after Bar Kokhba’s revolt. The last quarter of the century saw the end of the period of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana at the death of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, last of the “Five Good Emperors”, and the ascension of Commodus. After Commodus was murdered in 192, a turbulent period known as the Year of the Five Emperors ensued, which, after the quick successive removals of Pertinax and Didius Julianus from power, had the general-turned-emperor Septimius Severus, founder of the Severan dynasty, pitted against rival claimants in the form of Pescennius Niger, whom his forces defeated at the Battle of Issus in 194, and Clodius Albinus, whom he defeated at the Battle of Lugdunum in 197, granting him sole authority over the empire.

Although the Han Dynasty of China was firmly cemented into power and extended its imperial influence into Central Asia during the first half of the century, by the second half there was widespread corruption and open rebellion. This set in motion its ultimate decline, and in September 189, the Han general Dong Zhuo, after being summoned to the capital by He Jin to help quell the corrupt and powerful eunuch faction by serving as an intimidator to both them and the Empress Dowager, marched his army into Luoyang in light of He Jin’s assassination and the subsequent slaughter of the eunuchs, taking over the capital and effectively becoming the de facto head of the government, although warlords and government officials quickly took against him in a campaign that, while failing to put him down, compelled Dong Zhuo to shift the seat of imperial power further west to Chang’an. As Dong Zhuo was killed in 192, the chaos in the wake of the collapse of centralized authority only continued, with various warlords attempting to vye for supremacy in order to establish or hold onto their authority within the decaying empire. Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo’s former followers Li Jue and Guo Si were left to squabble amongst themselves, while the emperor himself eventually fled and returned to the ravaged city of Luoyang, but shortly thereafter, in 196, was given refuge by the warlord Cao Cao, who relocated him to the new capital city of Xu, from where Cao Cao could control the emperor. Cao Cao would only further exert his authority by defeating the powerful warlord Yuan Shao at the decisive Battle of Guandu in 200.

Events

• AD 96 – 180: Five Good Emperors of Rome: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius.
• 100 – 200: The Grand Anicut, an ancient dam, is constructed by a Chola king.
• The Kingdom of Aksum emerges.
• 101 – 102, 105 – 106: The Dacian Wars. After two conflicts, Dacia is annexed as a Roman province.
• 114 – 116: A war with Parthia results in Armenia and Mesopotamia being temporarily annexed into the Roman Empire.
• 115 – 117: Kitos War, adjunct to the Jewish–Roman wars.
• 122 – 132: Hadrian’s Wall is built across what is now Northern England.
• 127 – 140: Kanishka, Kushan Ruler.
• 132 – 135: Bar Kokhba’s revolt against Rome.
• 132: Chinese chronicles described the existence of diplomatic relations between Java and China.
• 140 – 180: Huvishka, Kushan ruler.
• 142 – 154: The Antonine Wall is built across what is now central Scotland.
• 144: Marcion, rejected by Church of Rome, founds Marcionism.
• 161 – 166: Roman–Parthian War of 161–166.
• 165 – 180: The Antonine Plague in Rome.
• 166 – 180: Marcomannic Wars.
• 166 – 184: Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions.
• 180 – 192: Commodus, Roman Emperor.
• 184 – 205: The Yellow Turban Rebellion of the Han Dynasty in China begins.
• 184 – 189: The Liang Province Rebellion breakouts in Northwest China.
• 189 – 220: The End of the Han dynasty.
• 190 – 191: Warlords across China launches a Campaign against Dong Zhuo.
• 193: Roman Year of the Five Emperors.
• 193 – 211: Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor.
• Herakleitos makes The Unswept Floor, mosaic variant of a 2nd-century BC painting by Sosos of Pergamon. It is now kept at the Musei Vaticani, in Rome.
• c. 2nd or 3rd century – Standing Buddha, from Gandhara (Pakistan), is made. Kushan period. It is now kept at Lahore Museum, Lahore.

Significant people

Politics

• Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor
• Commodus, Roman Emperor
• Dong Zhuo, Chinese general, politician and warlord
• Hadrian, Roman Emperor
• Huvishka, Kushan Ruler
• Julia Domna, Empress of Rome
• Kanishka, Kushan ruler
• Kong Rong, Chinese scholar
• Lucius Verus, Roman Emperor
• Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor, philosopher
• Senguttuvan, ruler of the Chera dynasty in southern India
• Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor
• Sun Ce, Chinese general and warlord
• Trajan, Roman Emperor
• Vologases IV, Parthian ruler
• Vologases V, Parthian ruler
• Wang Yun, Chinese official
• Qiao Xuan, Chinese official
• Yuan Shao, Chinese warlord
• Yuan Shu, Chinese warlord

Military

• Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord
• Simon bar Kokhba, Jewish rebel leader
• Zhang Jue, Chinese rebel leader

Religion

• Ignatius, third bishop of Antioch, author of letters
• Ilango Adigal ,Jain Monk
• Lokaksema,Buddhist Monk
• Irenaeus, second bishop of Lyon, author of Against the Heresies
• Samantabhadra,Jain Monk
• Justin Martyr, Christian apologist
• Montanus, Christian heretic.
• Nagarjuna, founder of Madhyamaka Buddhism
• Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna.
• Rabbi Akiva, Head of the Jewish Sages
• Rabbi Yehuda haNasi, redactor of the Mishnah
• Zhang Daoling, Chinese Taoist hermit.

Literature

• Achilles Tatius, Greek writer
• Apuleius, Roman writer of Numidian origin
• Aulus Gellius, Roman writer and grammatician
• Umaswati,Indian Scholar
• Aśvaghoṣa,Indian Poet,Orator And Dramatist
• Chariton, Greek writer
• Juvenal, Roman poet
• Longus, Greek writer
• Lucian of Samosata, Greek writer and rhetorician
• Pliny the Younger, Roman writer and lawyer
• Xenophon of Ephesus, Greek writer
• Silappatikaram, one of the five epics of early Tamil literature
• Victor I, bishop of Rome.

Science and philosophy

• Abascantus, Roman physician
• Apollodorus of Damascus, Greek engineer and architect
• Arrian, Greek-Roman historian
• Cai Lun, Chinese inventor
• Cai Yong, Chinese scholar
• Zhang Zhongjing, one of the most famous Chinese physicians during Han Dynasty.
• Epictetus, Greek philosopher
• Galen, Greek physician
• Hua Tuo, Chinese physician
• Hyginus Gromaticus, Roman writer on land-surveying
• Ma Rong, Chinese scholar and writer
• Marcus Cornelius Fronto, Roman grammarian and rhetorician
• Ptolemy, Greco-Egyptian astronomer, astrologer, geographer and mathematician
• Plutarch, Greek philosopher, writer and historian
• Suetonius, Roman historian
• Tacitus , Roman historian
• Valentinius, Roman philosopher
• Xu Shen, Chinese philologist
• Zhang Heng, Chinese statesman, poet, inventor, astronomer, geographer, and engineer.
• Zheng Xuan, Chinese commentator and scholar

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Hindu number system :It was developed in the Indian subcontinent between the 1st and 6th centuries CE
• 105: Cai Lun of China invents paper.
• Ptolemy compiles a catalogue of all stars visible to the naked eye. He also compiles three of the most influential books in western history:
  • the Almagest which becomes the basis for western and Middle Eastern astronomy until the time of Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler.
  • the astrological treatise, Tetrabiblos.
  • and the Geographia.
• 125: Zhang Heng of China invents the world’s first water-powered armillary sphere.
• 132: Zhang Heng of China invents first seismometer to detect the cardinal direction of earthquakes.
• Carding devices:The earliest evidence for using bow-instruments for carding comes from India(2nd century CE)