By place Roman Empire • Emperor
Nero and
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus become
Roman consuls. • The friendship between Nero and
Marcus Salvius Otho ends when they both fall in love with
Poppea Sabina, and Otho is sent to
Lusitania as governor. •
Agrippina the Younger is expelled from the imperial palace by her son Nero, who installs her in
Villa Antonia in
Misenum, and leaving more of the effective and real power of
Empire in the hands of
Nero. •
Roman-Parthian War:
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, commander in the East, launches his Armenian offensive against
Parthia. He leads a Roman army (four
legions) through the mountainous country of
Armenia, against the fortress at
Volandum, to the southwest of
Artaxata. After a siege of eight hours Corbulo takes the city; the
legionnaires massacre the defenders and plunder Volandum to their hearts' content. • Corbulo marches to Artaxata crossing the
Aras River; along the valley he is shadowed by tens of thousands of mounted Parthian archers led by king
Tiridates I. The city opens its gates to Corbulo, just as it had to
Germanicus four decades before. When he takes the 250-year-old Armenian capital, Corbulo gives the residents a few hours to collect their valuables and burns the city to the ground. • The
Ficus Ruminalis begins to die (see
Rumina). •
Agrippina the Younger, conspired with the senators in late 58 to overthrow
Nero. •
Gnaeus Julius Agricola, 18 years old, is serving as a military
tribune in
Britain under
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus and is attached to
Legio II Augusta.
Europe • In
Thuringia conflict between two
Germanic tribes erupts over access to water. •
Romans learn the use of
soap from the
Gauls (approximate date).
Asia • Emperor
Ming of Han introduces
Buddhism to
China inviting monks from the western
Indus Valley. • In China, sacrifices to
Confucius are ordered in all government schools. • Start of
Yongping era of the Chinese
Han dynasty.
By topic Religion • The apostle
Paul returns to
Jerusalem with the money he has collected to give the Christian community there. However, he is accused of defiling the temple, and is arrested and imprisoned in
Caesarea. He then invokes his
Roman citizenship and is sent to
Rome to be judged. • Paul writes his
Epistle to the Romans (approximate date). == Births ==