World map in 100 AD

Border history

The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 100 AD and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.

Biographical context

Meet figures alive in, or close to, 100 AD and move from political geography to the people connected to the period.

Era-based reading

The related chronicles below provide long-form reading tied closely to the classical period.

66 AD – 135 AD

Jewish–Roman Wars

Roman Empire vs Jewish rebels

Three major revolts against Roman rule in Judea — culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD and the Jewish diaspora.

Key battles and events: Siege of Jerusalem (70 AD); Masada (73 AD)

30 AD – 375 AD

Kushan Empire Conquests

Kushan Empire (Kujula Kadphises, Kanishka) vs Indo-Parthians, Indo-Scythians

The Kushans built a vast empire spanning Central Asia to the Ganges, becoming a crucial link on the Silk Road and one of the great patrons of Gandharan Buddhist art.

Key battles and events: Conquest of Gandhara (c. 75 AD); Kanishka's campaigns in the Gangetic plain

53 BC – 217 AD

Roman–Parthian Wars

Roman Republic / Empire vs Parthian Empire

Centuries of conflict over Mesopotamia and the Euphrates frontier, beginning with Crassus's catastrophic defeat at Carrhae where seven Roman legions were destroyed.

Key battles and events: Battle of Carrhae (53 BC); Mark Antony's failed invasion (36 BC)

200 BC – 500 AD

Monte Albán Zapotec Conquest State

Monte Albán (Zapotec state) vs Cuicatlán Cañada polities vs Mixtec highland groups vs Valley of Oaxaca rivals

From its hilltop capital above the Valley of Oaxaca, the Zapotec state at Monte Albán expanded by military conquest, commemorating subjugated places on the Building J 'conquest slabs' and extending control into the Cuicatlán Cañada.

Key battles and events: Conquest of the Cuicatlán Cañada (c. 200 BCE); Construction of Building J conquest slabs (c. 100 BCE)

400 BC – 900 AD

Maya City-State Wars

Tikal vs Calakmul vs Caracol vs Dos Pilas vs Palenque vs Copán vs other Maya polities

Over a millennium of warfare among rival Classic Maya polities, dominated by the Tikal–Calakmul superpower rivalry and a web of proxy conflicts that shaped Classic Maya civilization.

Key battles and events: Caracol sack of Tikal (562 CE); Dos Pilas campaigns against Tikal (648–761 CE)

Yavneh / Rome

Rabban Gamliel

c. 50 AD – c. 118 AD

First Nasi of the Sanhedrin after the destruction of the Second Temple, leader of the Yavneh academy, architect of the Passover Haggadah, the Birkat HaMinim, and the standardisation of Jewish prayer

Jerusalem / Yavne

Yochanan ben Zakkai

c. 30 BC – c. 90 AD

Escaping besieged Jerusalem in a coffin, negotiating with Vespasian, founding the academy at Yavne, transforming Judaism from a Temple-based religion into a portable faith that could survive two thousand years of exile

Rome

Marcus Aurelius

121 AD – 180 AD

Roman Emperor, Stoic philosopher, author of the Meditations, last of the Five Good Emperors

South India

Nagarjuna

c. 150 CE – c. 250 CE

Founder of Madhyamaka Buddhism, philosopher of emptiness and dependent arising

Roman Judea

Jesus Christ

c. 4 BC – c. 30 AD

Founder of Christianity, itinerant preacher, teacher of radical love and forgiveness whose life and death reshaped the moral foundations of Western civilisation

Rome

Augustus Caesar

63 BC – 14 AD

First Roman Emperor, founder of the Principate, Pax Romana, transformation of Rome from republic to empire

Built 100 AD · South America

Huaca de la Luna

Moche adobe pyramid near Trujillo, Peru, covered in polychrome friezes of the fanged god Ai Apaec and site of ritual sacrifices.

Built 100 AD · North America

Mitla

Zapotec and Mixtec religious center in Oaxaca famed for its intricate geometric stone mosaics and tombs of high priests.

Built 100 AD · Africa

Timgad

Remarkably preserved Roman colonial town in Algeria, founded by Trajan with a perfect grid layout, triumphal arch, and public library

Built 80 AD · Europe

Colosseum

Iconic Roman amphitheater that hosted gladiatorial contests

Built 68 AD · Asia

White Horse Temple

The first Buddhist temple established in China, founded during the Eastern Han dynasty in Luoyang after Indian monks brought sutras on white horses

Built 4 BC · Asia

Ise Grand Shrine

Most sacred Shinto shrine, ritually rebuilt every 20 years since antiquity

Yavneh / Rome · Leader

Rabban Gamliel

The Man Who Rebuilt Judaism from the Ashes

The Nasi who inherited a shattered nation after the destruction of the Second Temple and rebuilt Judaism from a coastal village — standardising prayer, codifying the Haggadah, and holding together a fractured people through sheer force of authority.

Jerusalem / Yavne · Philosopher

Yochanan ben Zakkai

The Sage Who Saved a Civilisation

The Pharisee sage who escaped besieged Jerusalem in a coffin, predicted Vespasian would become emperor, and founded the academy at Yavne that preserved Judaism after the Temple’s destruction — told in his own words.

Rome · Philosopher

Marcus Aurelius

The Philosopher on the Throne

The emperor who never wanted the throne — Stoic philosopher, frontier warrior, and the last ruler of Rome's golden age. A first-person ePub told in Marcus Aurelius's own voice.

South India · Philosopher

Nāgārjuna

The Philosopher of Emptiness

The Buddhist philosopher who proved that emptiness is not void but the very condition of all existence — founder of the Madhyamaka school, dialectician of dependent arising, and the most influential Buddhist thinker after the Buddha himself.