# 29 BC

Year 29 BC was either a common year starting on Friday or Saturday or a leap year starting on Thursday, Friday or Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) and a leap year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavian and Appuleius (or, less frequently, year 725 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 29 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Millennium: 1st millennium BC
29 BC in various calendars
Gregorian calendar29 BC
XXVIII BC
Ab urbe condita725
Ancient Greek era187th Olympiad, year 4
Assyrian calendar4722
Balinese saka calendarN/A
Bengali calendar−621
Berber calendar922
Buddhist calendar516
Burmese calendar−666
Byzantine calendar5480–5481
Chinese calendar辛卯(Metal Rabbit)
2668 or 2608
— to —

2669 or 2609
Coptic calendar−312 – −311
Discordian calendar1138
Ethiopian calendar−36 – −35
Hebrew calendar3732–3733
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat28–29
- Shaka SamvatN/A
- Kali Yuga3072–3073
Holocene calendar9972
Iranian calendar650 BP – 649 BP
Islamic calendar670 BH – 669 BH
Javanese calendarN/A
Julian calendar29 BC
XXVIII BC
Korean calendar2305
Minguo calendar1940 before ROC

Nanakshahi calendar−1496
Seleucid era283/284 AG
Thai solar calendar514–515
Tibetan calendar阴金兔年
(female Iron-Rabbit)
98 or −283 or −1055
— to —

(male Water-Dragon)
99 or −282 or −1054

## Deaths

20s BC

Antiochus II of Commagene

Antiochus II Epiphanes, also known as Antiochus II of Commagene (Greek: Ἀντίοχος ὀ Ἐπιφανής, flourished 1st century BC) was a man of Armenian and Greek descent. Antiochus II was a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene and the second son of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and Queen Isias Philostorgos. He was the youngest brother of prince and future king Mithridates II of Commagene.

Very little is known of Antiochus II. In 29 BC, he was summoned to Rome by the Emperor Augustus for causing the assassination of an ambassador Mithridates II had sent to Rome. Antiochus II was subsequently executed on Augustus’ orders.

Aureus

The aureus (pl. aurei — "golden") was a gold coin of ancient Rome originally valued at 25 pure silver denarii. The aureus was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the solidus. The aureus was about the same size as the denarius, but heavier due to the higher density of gold (as opposed to that of silver.)

Before the time of Julius Caesar the aureus was struck infrequently, probably because gold was seen as a mark of un-Roman luxury. Caesar struck the coin more often, and standardized the weight at ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{40}}}$ of a Roman pound (about 8 grams). Augustus (r. 29 BC – 14 AD) tariffed the value of the sestertius as ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{100}}}$ of an aureus.

The mass of the aureus was decreased to ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{45}}}$ of a pound (7.3 g) during the reign of Nero (r. 54–68). At about the same time the purity of the silver coinage was also slightly decreased.

After the reign of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) the production of aurei decreased, and the weight fell to ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{50}}}$ of a pound (6.5 g) by the time of Caracalla (r. 211–217). During the 3rd century, gold pieces were introduced in a variety of fractions and multiples, making it hard to determine the intended denomination of a gold coin.

The solidus was first introduced by Diocletian (r. 284–305) around 301 AD, struck at 60 to the Roman pound of pure gold (and thus weighing about 5.5 g each) and with an initial value equal to 1,000 denarii. However, Diocletian's solidus was struck only in small quantities, and thus had only minimal economic effect.

The solidus was reintroduced by Constantine I (r. 306–337) in 312 AD, permanently replacing the aureus as the gold coin of the Roman Empire. The solidus was struck at a rate of 72 to a Roman pound of pure gold, each coin weighing twenty-four Greco-Roman carats, or about 4.5 grams of gold per coin. By this time, the solidus was worth 275,000 of the increasingly debased denarii.

However, regardless of the size or weight of the aureus, the coin's purity was little affected. Analysis of the Roman aureus shows the purity level usually to have been near to 24 karat gold, so in excess of 99% pure.

Due to runaway inflation caused by the Roman government issuing base-metal coinage but refusing to accept anything other than silver or gold for tax payments, the value of the gold aureus in relation to the denarius grew drastically. Inflation was also affected by the systematic debasement of the silver denarius, which by the mid-3rd century had practically no silver left in it.

In 301, one gold aureus was worth 833⅓ denarii; by 324, the same aureus was worth 4,350 denarii. In 337, after Constantine converted to the solidus, one solidus was worth 275,000 denarii and finally, by 356, one solidus was worth 4,600,000 denarii.

Today, the aureus is highly sought after by collectors because of its purity and value, as well its historical interest. An aureus is usually much more expensive than a denarius issued by the same emperor. For instance, in one auction, an aureus of Trajan (r. 98–117) sold for \$15,000, and a silver coin of the same emperor sold for \$100. Two of the most expensive aurei were sold in the same auction in 2008. One aureus, issued in 42 BC by Marcus Junius Brutus, the assassin of Gaius Julius Caesar, had a price realized of \$661,250. (There is an example of this coin on permanent display at the British Museum in London.) The second aureus, issued by the emperor Alexander Severus (r. 222–235), has a picture of the Colosseum on the reverse, and had a price realized of \$920,000.

Canon of Kings

The Canon of Kings was a dated list of kings used by ancient astronomers as a convenient means to date astronomical phenomena, such as eclipses. The Canon was preserved by the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, and is thus known sometimes as Ptolemy's Canon. It is one of the most important bases for our knowledge of ancient chronology.

The Canon derives originally from Babylonian sources. Thus, it lists Kings of Babylon from 747 BC until the conquest of Babylon by the Persians in 539 BC, and then Persian kings from 538 to 332 BC. At this point, the Canon was continued by Greek astronomers in Alexandria, and lists the Macedonian kings from 331 to 305 BC, the Ptolemies from 304 BC to 30 BC, and the Roman and Byzantine Emperors, although they are not kings; in some manuscripts the list is continued down to the fall of Constantinople in 1453.The Canon only increments by whole years, specifically the ancient Egyptian year of 365 days. This has two consequences. The first is that the dates for when monarchs began and ended their reigns are simplified to the beginning and the ending of the ancient Egyptian year, which moves one day every four years against the Julian calendar. The second is that this list of monarchs is oversimplified. Monarchs who reigned for less than one year are not listed, and only one monarch is listed in any year with multiple monarchs. Usually, the overlapping year is assigned to the monarch who died in that year, but not always. Note that the two periods in the Babylonian section where no king is listed the first represents two pretenders whose legitimacy the compiler did not recognize, and the second extends from the year Babylon was sacked by Sennacherib, King of Assyria to the restoration of Esarhaddon.The Canon is generally considered by historians to be accurate, and forms part of the backbone of the commonly accepted chronology from 747 BC forward that all other datings are synchronized to. It is not, however, the ultimate source for this chronology; most of the names and lengths of reigns can be independently verified from archaeological material (coinage, annals, inscriptions in stone etc.) and extant works of history from the historical ages concerned.

Curia Julia

The Curia Julia (Latin: Curia Iulia, Italian: Curia Iulia) is the third named Curia, or Senate House, in the ancient city of Rome. It was built in 44 BC, when Julius Caesar replaced Faustus Cornelius Sulla's reconstructed Curia Cornelia, which itself had replaced the Curia Hostilia. Caesar did so to redesign both spaces within the Comitium and the Roman Forum. The alterations within the Comitium reduced the prominence of the Senate and cleared the original space. The work, however, was interrupted by Caesar's assassination at the Theatre of Pompey, where the Senate had been meeting temporarily while the work was completed. The project was eventually finished by Caesar's successor, Augustus Caesar, in 29 BC.The Curia Julia is one of a handful of Roman structures that survive mostly intact. This is due to its conversion into the basilica of Sant'Adriano al Foro in the 7th century and several later restorations. However, the roof, the upper elevations of the side walls and the rear façade are modern and date from the remodeling of the deconsecrated church, in the 1930s.

Emperor Suinin

Emperor Suinin (垂仁天皇, Suinin-tennō), also known as Ikumeiribikoisachi no Sumeramikoto (活目入彦五十狭茅天皇) was the 11th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but he is conventionally considered to have reigned from 29 BC to AD 70.

Falerone

Falerone is a town and comune in province of Fermo, in the Italian region of the Marche, southeast of Urbisaglia.

Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas

“Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas” is verse 490 of Book 2 of the "Georgics" (29 BC), by the Latin poet Virgil (70 - 19 BC). It is literally translated as: “Fortunate who was able to know the causes of things”. Dryden rendered it: "Happy the Man, who, studying Nature's Laws, / Thro' known Effects can trace the secret Cause" (The works of Virgil, 1697). Virgil may have had in mind the Roman philosopher Lucretius, of the Epicurean school.

Georgics

The Georgics (; Latin: Georgica [ɡeˈoːrɡɪka]) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BC. As the name suggests (from the Greek word γεωργικά, geōrgika, i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example of peaceful rural poetry, it is a work characterized by tensions in both theme and purpose.

The Georgics is considered Virgil's second major work, following his Eclogues and preceding the Aeneid. The poem draws on a variety of prior sources and has influenced many later authors from antiquity to the present.

Hispania Tarraconensis

Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of modern Spain along with the central plateau. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was the province of Hispania Baetica. On the Atlantic west lay the province of Lusitania, partially coincident with modern-day Portugal.

León, Spain

León (UK: , US: ; Spanish: [leˈon]; Leonese: Llión [ʎiˈoŋ]) is the capital of the province of León, located in the northwest of Spain. Its city population of 127,817 (2015) makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for more than one quarter of the province's population. Including the metropolitan area, the population is estimated at 202,793 (2015).

Founded as the military encampment of the Legio VI Victrix around 29 BC, its standing as an encampment city was consolidated with the definitive settlement of the Legio VII Gemina from 74 AD. Following its partial depopulation due to the Umayyad conquest of the peninsula, León was revived by its incorporation into the Kingdom of Asturias. 910 saw the beginning of one its most prominent historical periods, when it became the capital of the Kingdom of León, which took active part in the Reconquista against the Moors, and came to be one of the fundamental kingdoms of medieval Spain.

In 1188, the city hosted the first Parliament in European history under the reign of Alfonso IX, due to which it was named in 2010, by the professor John Keane, the King of Spain and the Junta of Castile and León, as the cradle of Parliamentarism, and the Decreta of León were included in the Memory of the World register by UNESCO in 2013. The city's prominence began to decline in the early Middle Ages, partly due to the loss of independence after the union of the Leonese kingdom with the Crown of Castile, consolidated in 1301.

After a period of stagnation during the early modern age, it was one of the first cities to hold an uprising in the Spanish War of Independence, and some years later, in 1833 acquired the status of provincial capital. The end of the 19th and the 20th century saw a significant acceleration in the rate of urban expansion, when the city became an important communications hub of the northwest due to the rise of the coal mining industry and the arrival of the railroad.

León's historical and architectural heritage, as well as the numerous festivals hosted throughout the year (particularly noteworthy are the Easter processions) and its location on the French Way of the Camino de Santiago, which is ranked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, make it a destination of both domestic and international tourism. Some of the city's most prominent historical buildings are the Cathedral, one of the finest examples of French-style classic Gothic architecture in Spain, the Basilica of San Isidoro, one of the most important Romanesque churches in Spain and resting place of León's medieval monarchs, the Monastery of San Marcos, an example of plateresque and Renaissance Spanish architecture, and the Casa Botines, a Modernist creation of the architect Antoni Gaudí. An example of modern architecture is the city's Museum of Contemporary Art or MUSAC.

List of state leaders in the 1st century BC

State leaders in the 1nd century BC – State leaders in the 1st century bc– State leaders by yearThis is a list of state leaders in the 1st century BC (1oo years ago–1 BC).

Mariamne I

Mariamne I (died 29 BCE), also called Mariamne the Hasmonean, was a Hasmonean princess and the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus III. Herod's fear of his rivals, the Hasmoneans, led him to execute all of the prominent members of the family, including Mariamne.

Her name is spelled Μαριάμη (Mariame) by Josephus, but in some editions of his work the second m is doubled (Mariamme). In later copies of those editions the spelling was dissimilated to its now most common form, Mariamne. In Hebrew, Mariamne is known as מִרְיָם, (Miriam), as in the traditional, Biblical name (see Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron).

Mithridates II of Commagene

Mithridates II Antiochus Epiphanes Philorhomaeus Philhellen Monocrites (Greek: Μιθριδάτης Ἀντίοχος ὀ Ἐπιφανής Φιλορωμαίος Φιλέλλην Μονοκρίτης, died 20 BC), also known as Mithridates II of Commagene, was a man of Armenian and Greek descent who lived in the 1st century BC. He was a prince of Commagene and one of the sons of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and Queen Isias Philostorgos of Commagene. When his father died in 38 BC, he succeeded his father and reigned until his death.

According to Plutarch, he was an ally of the Roman triumvir Mark Antony. In 31 BC, Mithridates personally led his forces to Actium in Greece in support of Antony in the war against Caesar Octavian, the future Roman emperor Augustus. After the defeat of Antony, however, Mithridates became a loyal ally to Augustus. Nevertheless, Augustus forced Mithridates to hand over a village in Commagene called Zeugma, which was a major crossing point of the Euphrates River, to the Roman province of Syria. To show his support for Augustus, Mithridates dropped the title Philhellen ("friend of the Greeks") from his Aulic titulature and adopted the title Philorhomaeus ("friend of the Romans") instead. Both titles were derived from the Commagenean royal cult that Mithridates' father had founded, and in which Mithridates played an important role. His other title Monocrites is an otherwise unattested title and was most likely a judicial function within the royal administration and a sign of his high social standing.

Mithridates had a brother, Antiochus II of Commagene, who was also a prince of the kingdom. In 29 BC, Antiochus was summoned to Rome and executed by Roman emperor Augustus, because Antiochus had caused the assassination of an ambassador whom Mithridates had sent to Rome.According to an inscription found in the Turkish village of Sofraz on a funerary altar of a prominent and wealthy local family, dating to around the mid-1st century, the wife of Mithridates was a Greek woman called Laodice. The altar inscribes the names of seven generations of family members, including the names of Mithridates, of his father and of his wife. When Mithridates died in 20 BC, his son by Laodice, Mithridates III of Commagene, succeeded him.

Moesi

The Moesi ( or ; Greek: Μοισοί) was a Thracian tribe which inhabited present day Northern Bulgaria and Serbia, which gave its name to the Roman province of Moesia after its defeat in 29 BC. Moesia was first established as a separate province in 45–46 AD.

Octavia the Elder

Octavia the Elder (born before 69 BC – died after 29 BC), also known as Octavia Major or Octavia Maior (Maior is Latin for the Elder) was the daughter of the Roman governor and senator Gaius Octavius by his first wife, Ancharia. She was also an elder half-sister to Octavia the Younger and Roman Emperor Augustus. Little is known of her life. Plutarch only knows one daughter Octavia of Gaius Octavius and confuses Octavia the Elder with Octavia the Younger.

Ptolemy Philadelphus (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Φιλάδελφος, "Ptolemy the brother-loving", August/September 36 BC – 29 BC) was a Ptolemaic prince and was the youngest and fourth child of Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and her third with Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.

Pythodorida of Pontus

Pythodorida or Pythodoris of Pontus (Greek: Πυθοδωρίδα or Πυθοδωρίς, 30 BC or 29 BC – 38) was a Roman client queen of Pontus, the Bosporan Kingdom, Cilicia, and Cappadocia.

Sextus Appuleius

Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respectively the son, grandson and great-grandson of Sextus Appuleius (I) and Octavia Major.

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