330s

The 330s decade ran from January 1, 330, to December 31, 339.

Events

330

By place

Roman Empire
Africa
  • Ezana, king of Axum, extends his area of control to the west. He defeats the Nobates, and destroys the kingdom of Meroë.

By topic

Religion
  • Frumentius is the first bishop of Ethiopia (approximate date).
  • Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch, is banished to Trajanopolis.
  • The Bible is translated into the Gothic language by Wulfila.
  • Pagan temples begin to be progressively abandoned, destroyed or left to fall into disrepair, save those that are transformed into churches.

331

By place

Roman Empire
Asia
  • Gogugwon becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.[4]

By topic

Art and Science
Religion
  • The Fifty Bibles of Constantine are commissioned for use in Constantinople.
  • Gregory the Illuminator withdraws to a small sanctuary in the Daranali province (Armenia).

332


By place

Roman Empire
  • Emperor Constantine I and his son Constantine II, aged 16, defeat the Goths in Moesia. The Goths become Roman allies and protect the Danube frontier.
  • Constantine I continues construction of a bridge (in imitation of Trajan and his architect Apollodorus of Damascus) across the Danube, for forward-staging grounds for planned campaigns against local tribes.[5]
  • May 18 – Constantine I announces a free distribution of food to the citizens in Constantinople, similar to the food given out in the city of Rome. The amount is approximately 80,000 rations a day, doled out from 117 distribution points around the city.[6]

333

By place

Roman Empire
  • Flavius Dalmatius and Domitius Zenofilus are appointed consuls.
  • Emperor Constantine the Great pulls Roman troops out of Britain, and abandons work on Hadrian's Wall.
  • Calocaerus revolts against Constantine I and proclaims himself emperor. Flavius Dalmatius, responsible for the security of the eastern frontier, is sent to Cyprus to suppress the rebellion.
  • December 25 – Constantine I elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar at Constantinople.[7]
China
  • Shi Hong succeeds his father Shi Le as Emperor of the Later Zhao Empire, in the Period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, but Shi Hong's third cousin Shi Hu holds the real power. Empress Dowager Liu (widow of Shi Le) fails to get rid of Shi Hu, and Shi Hu has her deposed and killed.

334


By place

Roman Empire

335

By place

Roman Empire
Asia
  • Samudragupta succeeds Chandragupta I as king of the Gupta Empire.
  • Tuoba Hena ousts Tuoba Yihuai as chieftain of the Tuoba Clan.
  • Emperor Shi Hu moves the capital of the Later Zhao state to Yecheng.

By topic

Religion

336

By place

Roman Empire

By topic

Religion

337

By place

Roman Empire
Persia
  • King Shapur II of Persia begins a war against the Roman Empire. He sends his troops across the Tigris to recover Armenia and Mesopotamia.
  • Shapur II besieges the Roman fortress of Nisibis (Syria), but is repulsed by forces under Lucilianus.
China
  • Murong Huang claims the title of Prince of Yan, effectively beginning the kingdom of Former Yan.

By topic

Religion

338

By place

Roman Empire
Persia
  • Shapur II, king of the Persian Empire, begins a widespread persecution of Christians. He orders forcible conversions to the state religion, Zoroastrianism, lest the Christians disrupt his realm while he is away fighting the Romans in Armenia and Mesopotamia.
Asia
  • Tuoba Yihuai, ruler of the Tuoba Dai clan, dies and is succeeded by his brother Tuoba Shiyiqian.

By topic

Art
  • The Church of Santa Costanza, Rome, starts to be built (approximate date).
Religion
  • Eusebius of Nicomedia becomes Patriarch of Constantinople, after Paul I is banished.
  • Non-Christians are persecuted by the Roman Empire as pagans.

339

By place

Roman Empire
  • Emperor Constantius II hastens to his territory in the East, where a revived Persia under King Shapur II is attacking Mesopotamia. For the next 11 years, the two powers engage in a war of border skirmishing, with no real victor.

By topic

Religion

Significant people

Births

330

331

332

333

334

  • Huiyuan, Chinese Buddhist teacher and founder of Donglin Temple (d. 416)[22]
  • Sabbas the Goth, Christian reader and saint (d. 372)[23]
  • Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, Roman historian and politician (d. 394)[24]

335

  • Fu Sheng, Chinese emperor of the Di state Former Qin (d. 357)
  • Gregory of Nyssa, Christian bishop and saint (approximate date)
  • Magnus Maximus, Western Roman emperor (approximate date)
  • Theon of Alexandria, director of the Library of Alexandria (approximate date)

336

  • Chi Chao (or Jingyu), Chinese advisor and politician (d. 377)
  • Murong De, Chinese emperor of the Xianbei state (d. 405)
  • Richū, emperor of Japan (approximate date)

337

  • Faxian, Chinese Buddhist monk, traveler (approximate date)
  • Fú Jiān, emperor of the Chinese Di state Former Qin (d. 385)
  • Lü Guang, founding emperor of the Di state Later Liang (d. 400)
  • Zenobius of Florence, Italian bishop and wonderworker (d. 417)

338

  • Isaac the Great, Armenian catholicos (d. 439)

339

Deaths

330

Saint Achillius of Larissa
Saint Tiridates III
Saint Helena
  • Achillius of Larissa (or Achilles), Greek bishop
  • Arnobius, Numidian apologist and writer
  • Guo Mo, Chinese general and warlord
  • Helena (Augusta), mother of Constantine I
  • Tiridates III ("the Great"), king of Armenia
  • Vicinius of Sarsina, Italian Christian bishop
  • Zu Yue, Chinese general and warlord

331

332

  • Basilina, wife of Julius Constantius and the mother of Roman Emperor Julian

333

  • Cheng Xia, Chinese official and politician
  • Liu, Chinese empress of the Jie State (or Later Zhao)
  • Murong Hui, Chinese chieftain and duke of Liaodong (b. 269)
  • Shi Le, Chinese founder and emperor of the Jie State (b. 274)
  • Xu Guang (or Jiwu), Chinese official, politician and adviser

334

  • December 5 – Li Ban, Chinese emperor of Cheng-Han (b. 288)
  • Calocaerus, Roman usurper[8]
  • Li Xiong, Chinese emperor of Cheng-Han (b. 274)[25]
  • Shi Hong, Chinese emperor of the Jie state (b. 313)[26]
  • Tao Kan (or Shixing), Chinese general and politician (b. 259)[27]
  • Wei Huacun (or Xianan), Chinese religious leader (b. 252)[28]
  • Yang Nandi, Chinese general and ruler of Chouchi

335

336

  • October 7 – Mark, pope of the Catholic Church
  • Arius, Cyrenaic presbyter and priest (b. 256)
  • Gan Bao (or Kan Pao), Chinese historian
  • Murong Ren (or Qiannian), Chinese general

337

Saint Eustathius of Antioch
Emperor and Saint Constantine the Great
Hannibalianus

338

  • Flavius Ablabius, Roman consul and politician[30]
  • Li Qi, Chinese emperor of Cheng Han (b. 314)
  • Tuoba Yihuai, prince of the Tuoba Dai clan

339

  • Abaye, Babylonian rabbi of the Jewish Talmud
  • Xi Jian (or Daohui), Chinese general (b. 269)
  • Duan Liao, Chinese chieftain of the Duan state (Xianbei)
  • Eusebius of Caesarea, Greek bishop (approximate date).[31]
  • Khosrov III (the Small), Roman client king (approximate date)
  • Wang Dao (or Maohong), Chinese politician (b. 276)

References

  1. ^ "Constantinople" in The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991, p. 508. ISBN 0-19-504652-8
  2. ^ Lenski, Noel (2016-01-15). Constantine and the Cities: Imperial Authority and Civic Politics. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-8122-9223-7.
  3. ^ Bardill, Jonathan (2012). Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age. Cambridge University Press. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-521-76423-0.
  4. ^ a b "List of Rulers of Korea". metmuseum.org. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  5. ^ Primary source: Themistius, Oration 10.136/206
  6. ^ A.H.M. Jones, The Decline of the Ancient World (London: Routledge, 2014), 49-50. ISBN 9781317873051
  7. ^ Jones, A. H. M. (1971–1992). The prosopography of the later Roman Empire. J. R. Martindale, John Morris. Cambridge [England]: University Press. p. 220. ISBN 0-521-20160-8. OCLC 125134.
  8. ^ a b Pohlsander, Hans A. (2004). The Emperor Constantine (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-415-31938-6.
  9. ^ Kraitser, Charles V. (1837). The Poles in the United States of America. Kiderlen and Stollmeyer. p. 17.
  10. ^ Townsend, George Henry (1862). The Manual of Dates (2nd ed.). Routledge, Warne & Routledge. p. 757.
  11. ^ Shalev-Hurvitz, Vered (2015). Holy Sites Encircled: The Early Byzantine Concentric Churches of Jerusalem. Oxford University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-19-965377-5.
  12. ^ DiMaio, Michael Jr. (1996-11-15). "Dalmatius Caesar (335-337 A.D)". roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  13. ^ DiMaio, Michael Jr. (1996-11-15). "Hannibalianus Rex Regum (335-337 A.D)". roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  14. ^ Frend, W. H. C. (1991). The Early Church. Fortress Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-4514-1951-1.
  15. ^ World History of the Customs and Tariffs. World Customs Organization. 2003-01-01. ISBN 9782874920219.
  16. ^ Fowden, Garth (1994). "The Last Days of Constantine: Oppositional Versions and their Influence". Journal of Roman Studies. 84: 146–170. doi:10.2307/300874. JSTOR 300874. S2CID 161959828.
  17. ^ G.W. Bowersock, Julian the Apostate (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1978), p. 23 ISBN 0-674-48882-2
  18. ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter (1910). "Pope St. Julius I" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8.
  19. ^ Clifford, Cornelius (1907). "St. Athanasius" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2.
  20. ^ Chapman, Henry Palmer (1909). "Eusebius of Nicomedia" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5.
  21. ^ Kopff, E Christian; Perowne, Stewart Henry. "Julian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  22. ^ Zürcher, Erik (1959). The Buddhist conquest of China. Vol. 1. Brill Archive. p. 16.
  23. ^ Hodgkin, Thomas (1892). Italy and Her Invaders. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 178.
  24. ^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A. (2004). Handbook to life in ancient Rome (2nd ed.). Infobase Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-8160-5026-0.
  25. ^ Mutschler, Fritz-Heiner; Mittag, Achim (2008). Conceiving the empire: China and Rome compared. Oxford University Press. p. 397. ISBN 978-0-19-921464-8.
  26. ^ Frédéric, Louis (1977). Encyclopaedia of Asian civilizations. Vol. 3. p. 178.
  27. ^ Pearce, Scott (2001). Spiro, Audrey G.; Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (eds.). Culture and Power in the Reconstitution of the Chinese Realm, 200–600. Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-674-00523-5.
  28. ^ Liu, Cheng-Tsai; Zheng-Cai, Liu; Hua, Ka (1999). A Study of Daoist Acupuncture. Blue Poppy Enterprises, Inc. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-891845-08-6.
  29. ^ Nicol, Donald McGillivray; Matthews, J.F. (February 6, 2024). "Constantine I". The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  30. ^ Garnsey, Peter; Cameron, Averil (1928). The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-521-30200-5. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  31. ^ Bacchus, Francis Joseph (1909). "Eusebius of Cæsarea" . Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5.