A view of Hadrian's Wall, which began construction in 122.

The 120s was a decade that ran from January 1, AD 120, to December 31, AD 129.

During this decade, the Roman Empire was ruled by Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138). In the prior decade, he had succeeded Emperor Trajan, who had expanded the empire to its greatest extent. Hadrian, in contrast, adopted a more defensive foreign policy, focusing on consolidating the empire's borders and improving its infrastructure, such as Hadrian's Wall in Britain. There was almost a renewed war with Parthia, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace in 123 (according to the Historia Augusta, disputed).[1] Furthermore, Hadrian enacted, through the jurist Salvius Julianus, the first attempt to codify Roman law. This was the Perpetual Edict, according to which the legal actions of praetors became fixed statutes and, as such, could no longer be subjected to personal interpretation or change by any magistrate other than the Emperor.[2][3]

The Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty saw the death of regent Deng Sui in 121, after which Emperor An took on the reins of the imperial administration. In 121, there were again Qiang and Xianbei rebellions, which would continue to plague Emperor An for the rest of his reign. The only border where there were Han accomplishments during Emperor An's reign was on the northwestern front—the Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet central Asia)—where Ban Chao's son Ban Yong (班勇) was able to reestablish Han dominance over a number of kingdoms. Emperor An was succeeded by Marquess of Beixiang in 125, who reigned for a short time before being succeeded by Emperor Shun of Han that same year. At the start of Emperor Shun's reign, the people were hopeful that he would reform the political situation from the pervasive corruption under the Yans. However, the teenage emperor proved to be a kind but weak ruler. While he trusted certain honest officials, he also trusted many corrupt eunuchs, who quickly grabbed power.

Events

120

By place

Roman Empire
Asia

121

By place

Roman Empire
Asia
  • Era name changes from Yongning (2nd year) to Jianguang in the Chinese Eastern Han dynasty.

122

By place

Roman Empire
Asia
  • Change of era name from Jianguang (2nd year) to Yanguang of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty.

123

By place

Roman Empire
Asia
Africa

By topic

Arts and sciences

124

By place

Roman Empire
Asia

125

By place

Roman Empire
Africa
  • Plague sweeps North Africa in the wake of a locust invasion that destroys large areas of cropland. The plague kills as many as 500,000 in Numidia and possibly 150,000 on the coast before moving to Italy, where it takes so many lives that villages and towns are abandoned.
Asia

By topic

Arts and sciences
Religion

126

By place

Roman Empire
  • The old Pantheon is demolished by Emperor Hadrian, and the construction of a new one begins (its date is uncertain, because Hadrian chooses not to inscribe the temple).
Asia
  • First year of the Yongjian era of the Chinese Han Dynasty.

127

By place

Roman Empire
India

By topic

Religion

128

By place

Roman Empire
Asia

By topic

Arts and sciences

129

By place

Roman Empire

By topic

Songs
  • The song "Angel's Hymn" is made.
Religion

Significant people

Births

120

121

123

124

  • Apuleius, Numidian novelist, writer, public speaker (approximate date)

125

126

127

128

129

Deaths

120

121

124

125

126

127

128

129

References

  1. Doležal, Stanislav (2017). "Did Hadrian Ever Meet a Parthian King?". AUC Philologica. 2017 (2): 111–125. doi:10.14712/24646830.2017.16. ISSN 2464-6830.
  2. Laura Jansen, The Roman Paratext: Frame, Texts, Readers, Cambridge University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-107-02436-6 p. 66
  3. Kathleen Kuiper (Editor), Ancient Rome: From Romulus and Remus to the Visigoth Invasion, New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-61530-207-9 p. 133
  4. Doležal, Stanislav (2017). "Did Hadrian Ever Meet a Parthian King?". AUC Philologica. 2017 (2): 111–125. doi:10.14712/24646830.2017.16. ISSN 2464-6830.
  5. Ward, Allen M.; Heichelheim, Fritz M.; Yeo, Cedric A. (2016-05-23). History of the Roman People. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-51120-7.
  6. 1 2 "List of Rulers of Korea". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. Meijer, Fik (2004). Emperors Don't Die in Bed. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-134-38405-1.
  8. Declercq, Dominik (1998). Writing Against the State: Political Rhetorics in Third and Fourth Century China. BRILL. p. 408. ISBN 9789004103764.
  9. Goodman, Howard L. (2010). Xun Xu and the Politics of Precision in Third-Century Ad China. BRILL. p. 39. ISBN 978-9004183377.
  10. "Cai Lun | Biography, Paper, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  11. Peterson, Barbara Bennett (2016). Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century. Routledge. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-317-46372-6.
  12. Asma, Stephen T. (2009). On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears. Oxford University Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780199745777.
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