120s
| Millennium: | 1st millennium |
| Centuries: | 1st century – 2nd century – 3rd century |
| Decades: | 90s 100s 110s – 120s – 130s 140s 150s |
| Years: | 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 |
| Categories: | Births – Deaths Establishments |
This is a list of events occurring in the 120s, ordered by year.
120
By place
Roman Empire
- Emperor Hadrian visits Britain.
- Foss Dyke is constructed in Britain.
- An Indian ambassadorial contingent visits with Hadrian.
- Suetonius becomes Hadrian's secretary ab epistolis.
- Market Gate of Miletus, from Miletos, is built. (approximate date) It is now kept at Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Antikensammlung.
Asia
- Change of era name from Yuanchu (7th year) to Yongning of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.
- The Scythians dominate western India: Punjab, Sind, the north of Gujerat and a portion of central India.
121
By place
Roman Empire
- Roman settlement in present-day Wiesbaden, Germany is first mentioned.
- Emperor Hadrian fixes the border between Roman Britain and Caledonia on a line running from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth.
- Construction of the Temple of Venus and Roma begins in Rome.
Asia
- Era name changes from Yongning (2nd year) to Jianguang in the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.
122
By place
Roman Empire
- Emperor Hadrian orders that a 73-mile (117-kilometer) wall be built to mark the northern Roman Empire while personally visiting the area. Hadrian's Wall, as it comes to be known, is intended to keep the Caledonians, Picts and other tribes at bay.
- Vindolanda a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) in northern England is garrisoned by cohort VIIII Batavorum.
- September 13 – The building of Hadrian's Wall begins.
- Hadrian gives up the territories conquered in Scotland.
Asia
- Change of era name from Jianguang (2nd year) to Yanguang of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.
123
By place
Roman Empire
- Emperor Hadrian averts a war with Parthia by a personal meeting with Osroes I.
- Housesteads Fort is constructed on Hadrian's Wall north of Bardon Mill.
- Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli is built.
Europe
- Mug Nuadat defeats the High King of Ireland, Conn of the Hundred Battles.
Asia
- In China, Ban Yong, son of Ban Chao, reestablishes the Chinese control over the Tarim Basin.
- The Chinese government establishes Aide of the Western Regions over the Tarim Basin.
By topic
Arts and sciences
- Chinese scientist Zhang Heng corrects the calendar to bring it into line with the four seasons.
124
By place
Roman Empire
- Emperor Hadrian begins to rebuild the Olympeion in Athens.
- Antinous becomes Hadrian's beloved companion on his journeys through the Roman Empire.
- During a voyage to Greece, Hadrian is initiated in the ancient rites known as the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Asia
- In northern India, Nahapana, king of the Scythians, is defeated and dies in battle while fighting against King Andhra Gautamiputra Satakarni. This defeat destroys the Scythian dynasty of Ksaharâtas.
125
By place
Roman Empire
- The Pantheon is constructed in (Rome) as it stands today by Hadrian.
- Emperor Hadrian establishes the Panhellenion.
- Hadrian distributes imperial lands to small farmers.
- Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Italy, is started to be built (approximate date).
Africa
- Plague sweeps North Africa in the wake of a locust invasion that destroys large areas of cropland. The plague kills as many as 500,000 in Numidia and possibly 150,000 on the coast before moving to Italy, where it takes so many lives that villages and towns are abandoned.
Asia
- Last (4th) year of the Yanguang era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
- Change of emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from Han Andi to Marquis of Beixiang, then to Han Shundi.
- Gautamiputra Satakarni, a king of the Andhra dynasty, destroys the kingdom of Maharashtra near Bombay. He now controls central India from coast to coast.
- Zhang Heng of Han Dynasty China invents a hydraulic-powered armillary sphere.
By topic
Arts and sciences
- The Satires of Juvenal intimate that bread and circuses (panem et circenses) keep the Roman people happy.
Religion
- Pope Telesphorus succeeds Pope Sixtus I as the eighth pope.
126
By place
Roman Empire
Asia
- First year of the Yongjian era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.
127
By place
Roman Empire
- Emperor Hadrian returns to Rome after a seven year voyage to the Roman provinces.
- Hadrian, acting on the advice of his proconsul of Asia, Minucius Fundanus, determines that Christians shall not be put to death without a trial.
India
- Kanishka I starts to rule in Kushan Empire (approximate date).
By topic
Religion
- The philosopher Carpocrates rejects ownership of private property as being un-Christian.
128
By place
Roman Empire
- Emperor Hadrian visits the Roman province of North Africa, in order to inspect Legio III Augusta stationed at Lambaesis. For strategic reasons the legionnaires are located in the Aurès Mountains.
- Hadrian's Wall is completed in Britain. Built mostly of stone in the east and with a wooden palisade in the west. They construct at least 16 forts, about 15,000 legionaries digging ditches, quarrying rock and cutting stone, preventing idleness which led to unrest and rebellions in the ranks.
- Roman agriculture declines as imports from Egypt and North Africa depress wheat prices, making it unprofitable to farm and forcing many farmers off the land.
- Roman bakeries produce dozens of bread varieties, and the Romans distribute free bread for the poor.
- Hadrian begins his inspection of the provinces of Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt.
Asia
- King Gaeru of Baekje succeeds to the throne of Baekje in the Korean peninsula.
By topic
Arts and sciences
- The fossils of large prehistoric animals are discovered in Dalmatia.
- Pantheon, Rome is finished.
129
By place
Roman Empire
- A defense for Numidia is constructed at Lambaesis by Legio III Augusta.
- Emperor Hadrian continues his voyages, now inspecting Caria, Cappadocia and Syria.
By topic
Religion
- Change of Patriarch of Constantinople from Patriarch Diogenes to Eleutherius.