Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent
PoliticsBy the end of Emperor Trajan's reign the Roman Empire stretches from Britain to Mesopotamia.
- Date
- 117 · View on map
- Countries
- Italy
- Importance
- ★★★★★
- Sources
By the end of Emperor Trajan's reign the Roman Empire stretches from Britain to Mesopotamia.
On Emperor Hadrian's orders, the Romans begin building a defensive wall across northern Britain.
Claudius Ptolemy completes the Almagest, setting out a geocentric model of the cosmos that remains the standard work of astronomy for over a millennium.
Emperor Titus inaugurates the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome with games lasting many days.
Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and pumice and preserving them to this day.
Roman forces under Titus take Jerusalem during the First Jewish–Roman War and destroy the Second Temple.
A great fire destroys much of Rome under Emperor Nero, who afterwards blames the city's Christians.