2nd century

Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 2nd century AD.

Eastern Hemisphere at the end of the 2nd century AD.

The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. 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 were by the Five Good Emperors, a succession of just 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 accession of his ineffective and deranged son Commodus.

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, until it was overthrown in 220.

Events

Pieces of Hadrian's Wall remain near Greenhead and along the route, though large sections have been dismantled over the years to use the stones for various nearby construction projects.

• 96 – 180: Five Good Emperors of Rome: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius.
• 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 across Northern England.
• 132 – 135: Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome.
• 132: Chinese chronicles described the existence of diplomatic relations between Java-Dwipa and China.
• 142 - The Antonine Wall is built across central Scotland.
• 144: Marcion, rejected by Church of Rome, founds Marcionism.
• 144: A Chinese Buddhist saint, Fa Hsien, was caught in a storm and landed in Java-Dwipa, or Java Island, where he stayed for five months. The northern part of the island was then ruled by an Indonesian Hindu King named Kudungga. Kutai, on the island of Borneo, was successively ruled by the Hindu kings Devawarman, Aswawarman and Mulawarman.
• 161 – 166: Roman–Parthian War of 161–166.
• 167 – 175: First Marcomanni War.
• 178 – 180: Second Marcomanni War (depicted in the movie Gladiator).
• 165-180: The Antonine Plague in Rome.
• 180 – 192: Commodus, Roman Emperor.
• 184 – 205: the Yellow Turban Rebellion of the Han Dynasty in China begins.
• 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 Musei Vaticani, Museo Gregoriano Profano, ex Lateranese, 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

Trajan

Hadrian

Antoninus Pius

Marcus Aurelius

Septimius Severus

• Trajan, Roman Emperor
• Hadrian, Roman Emperor
• Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor
• Lucius Verus, Roman Emperor
• Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor, philosopher
• Rabbi Akiva, Head of all the Jewish Sages
• Rabbi Yehuda haNasi, redactor of the Mishnah
• Commodus, Roman Emperor
• Ignatius, third bishop of Antioch, author of letters
• Irenaeus, second bishop of Lyon, author of Against the Heresies
• Julia Domna, Empress of Rome
• Justin Martyr, Christian apologist
• Montanus, Christian heretic.
• Nagarjuna, founder of Madhyamaka Buddhism
• Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna.
• Septimius Severus, Roman Emperor
• Simon bar Kokhba, Jewish rebel leader
• Victor I, bishop of Rome.
• Zhang Daoling, Chinese Taoist hermit.
• Zhang Heng, Chinese statesman, poet, inventor, astronomer, geographer, and engineer.
• Zhang Zhongjing, one of the most famous Chinese physicians during Han Dynasty.

Literature

• Achilles Tatius, Greek writer
• Apuleius (Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis), Roman writer of Numidian origin
• Aulus Gellius, Roman writer and grammatician
• Chariton, Greek writer
• Juvenal Roman poet
• Longus, Greek writer
• Lucian of Samosata, Greek writer and rhetorician
• Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus), Roman writer and lawyer
• Xenophon of Ephesus, Greek writer

Science and Philosophy

• Abascantus, Roman physician
• Apollodorus of Damascus, Greek engineer and architect
• Arrian, Greek-Roman historian
• Cai Lun, Chinese inventor
• Claudius Ptolemy, Greek astronomer, astrologer and geographer
• Epictetus, Greek philosopher
• Galen (Claudius Galenus), Greek physician
• Hyginus Gromaticus, Roman writer on land-surveying
• Marcus Cornelius Fronto, Roman grammarian and rhetorician
• Plutarch, Greek philosopher, writer and historian
• Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus), Roman historian
• Tacitus (Gaius Cornelius Tacitus), Roman historian
• Valentinius, Roman philosopher

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Cai Lun of China invents paper (c. 105).
• 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.