250s

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Millennia
1st millennium
Centuries
2nd century 3rd century 4th century
Decades
230s 240s 250s 260s 270s
Years
250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259
Categories
Births Deaths Establishments
v t e

The 250s (pronounced two-fifties or two-hundred and fifties) was a decade that ran from January 1, 250, to December 31, 259.

During this decade, the Roman Empire and China were both in periods of instability with Rome in the Crisis of the Third Century and China in the Three Kingdoms period.

Events

250

By place

Roman Empire

A group of Franks penetrate as far as Tarragona in Spain (approximate date).
The Goths under King Cniva invade Moesia. They cross the Danube and lay siege to Novae and Marcianopolis.
Battle of Augusta Traiana: The Romans lose the battle against the Goths.
Cniva lays siege to Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv). After a long resistance, Cniva conquers the city and slays its one hundred thousand inhabitants.
The Alamanni drive the Romans from the modern area of Donau-Ries.
An epidemic begins in Ethiopia, moves into Egypt and the Roman colonies in North Africa, and spreads through the Roman Empire (named the Plague of Cyprian, after St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage).

Africa

The Kingdom of Aksum (Axum) takes control of commerce on the Red Sea.

Asia

The earliest Chinese references to a device known as "emperor's south-pointing carriage" date to this period.

Mesomerica

Teotihuacán is rebuilt as a four-quartered cosmogram by Zapotec architects brought from Monte Albán in Oaxaca.
Classic period of Mesoamerican civilization begins.

By topic

Art and science

Diophantus writes Arithmetica, the first systematic treatise on algebra.
Approximate date
- The family portrait medallion, traditionally called the Family of Vunnerius Keramus, is made (it is later placed in the Brescia Cross, and then in the Museo Civico dell'Etá Cristiana, Brescia).
- The Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus, depicting battle between the Romans and the Barbarians, is made for use in Rome (it is later moved to the collection of the National Roman Museum).
- The Igel Column is erected at Trier in Germany.

Religion

January 3 – Decian persecution of Christians is initiated when Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to perform a sacrifice to the gods of religion in ancient Rome. On January 20, Pope Fabian becomes one of the first martyrs of this persecution.^[1]
Possible date – Denis, a bishop of Paris, is martyred by beheading.^[2]

251

By place

Roman Empire

July 1 – Battle of Abritus: The Goths defeat Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus, on swampy ground in the Dobruja (Moesia).
May – The first Synod of Carthage, a pre-ecumenical council, is held under the presidency of Saint Cyprian.^[1]
In Rome, Hostilian, son of Decius, succeeds his father, while Trebonianus Gallus is proclaimed Emperor by the troops. Gallus accepts him as co-emperor, but an outbreak of plague strikes the city, and kills Hostilian.
The prosperity of Roman Britain declines during this period, as the Germanic tribes of the Franks and Saxons, whose homelands are in Friesland and the Low Countries, make raids around the southeast coast.
Gallus makes peace with the Goths; he permits them to keep their plunder, and offers them a bribe not to return.
A 15-year plague begins in the Roman Empire.

Persia

Sassanid King Shapur I orders an invasion of Syria, with the intent of finally capturing the city of Antioch during the campaign of 251–254.

China

Wang Ling's rebellion against the Wei regent Sima Yi is quelled.
Sima Yi passes away in Luoyang.
Sima Shi, Sima Yi's eldest son, inherits his father's authority.

By topic

Religion

March – Pope Cornelius succeeds Pope Fabian as the 21st pope.^[1]

252

By place

Roman Empire

Battle of Barbalissos: King Shapur I defeats the Roman army (some 70,000 men) at Barbalissos in Syria (approximate date).^[3]

Persia

Shapur I puts down the revolt in Khorasan (Iran and Turkmenistan), and rejoins his army.
Shapur I invades Armenia, and appoints Artavazd VI as the new Armenian king.
Georgia submits peacefully to Shapur I, and becomes a vassal of the Sassanid Empire.

Asia

Sun Liang succeeds his father Sun Quan, as emperor of the Chinese state of Eastern Wu.

By topic

Religion

Pope Cornelius is exiled to Centumcellae, by Emperor Trebonianus Gallus.

253

By place

Roman Empire

The legions who have campaigned against the Goths on the Danube elect Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus as new emperor. He advances on Rome along the Flaminian Way, to meet his opponent emperor Trebonianus Gallus and his son Volusianus. For the most part, generals in the border regions are proclaimed emperor by their armies to halt the invasion of Germanic tribes.
Aemilianus is proclaimed "enemy of the State" by the Roman Senate. Trebonianus Gallus is defeated at Interamna Nahars (Umbria); he flees with Volusianus to the north, but at Foligno they are killed by their own troops.
Aemilianus rules the Roman Empire for three months; he promises to fight in Thrace and goes to war against Persia. The Senate gives him the rank of Pontifex Maximus.
Aemilianus is murdered at Spoletium and Publius Valerianus, age 60, is recognised as the new emperor by the Rhine legions. He gives his son Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus the title Augustus. Valerianus I dispatches him to the Danube where the Goths have violated the treaty signed with Rome and invaded Moesia.
Valerianus I splits the Roman Empire in two; Gallienus taking control of the West and his father ruling the East, where he faces the Persian threat.
Battle of Barbalissos: King Shapur I, defeats a Roman field army at Barbalissos in Syria.^[4]
Valerian reforms Legio III Augusta to fight the "five peoples", a dangerous coalition of Berber tribes in Africa.

By topic

Religion

Pope Cornelius is sent into exile.^[1]
June 25 – Pope Lucius I succeeds Pope Cornelius as the 22nd pope.^[1]
Lucius is arrested almost immediately following his election and also exiled.^[1]

254

By place

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is threatened by several peoples on their borders: the Germanic confederations, such as the Franks on the Middle Rhine, the Alemanni on the upper Rhine and Danube, and the Marcomanni facing the provinces at Noricum and Raetia. On land the confederation of Goths threaten the lower Danube provinces, and on the sea they threaten the shores of Thracia, Bithynia et Pontus, and Cappadocia. In the eastern provinces, the Sassanid Persians had the previous year defeated a Roman field army at Barballisos, and afterwards plundered the defenseless provinces. This period of time is called today the Crisis of the Third Century.

By topic

Religion

May 12 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I.^[5]

255

By place

China

Sima Shi quells Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's rebellion.
March 23 – Sima Shi passes away.
Sima Zhao, Sima Shi's younger brother, inherits his brother's authority.

By topic

Science

Ma Jun, Chinese mechanical engineer from Cao Wei, invents the south-pointing chariot, a path-finding directional compass vehicle that uses a differential gear, not magnetics.

256

By place

Roman Empire

February 28 – Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3035, a warrant for the arrest of a Christian, is written.^[6]
The Goths invade Asia Minor. Dacia is lost for the Roman Empire, and the Goths appear at the walls of Thessalonica.
The Franks cross the Rhine; the Alemanni reach Mediolanum (Milan) (disputed date).
In Africa, the Berbers massacre Roman colonists.
King Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire invades Mesopotamia and Syria. He conquers and plunders Antioch, destroys Dura-Europos, and sacks the Anatolian city of Zeugma on the Euphrates.^[7] A devastating fire and an earthquake soon follow, causing Zeugma to be abandoned.
Cities in the Roman Empire begin to build walls, as the defense of the frontiers begins to crumble; future emperor Aurelian inspects along the Rhine.

Asia

Peace and unity are finally restored in China, with the victories of the Wei Kingdom in the north. The ruling dynasty is worn out by war, and the kingdom is ruled by ministers on their behalf.

By topic

Medicine

The great pandemic of the Roman world strikes violently in Pontus on the Black Sea, and causes enormous loss of life in Alexandria, encouraging thousands to embrace Christianity.

Religion

Emperor Valerian persecutes Christians.
Pope Stephen I threatens to excommunicate Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and other bishops in Africa and Asia Minor, unless they stop rebaptizing heretics. Cyprian attacks the Pope in a treatise that gains support from the Council of Carthage. He sends envoys to Rome, raising the specter of a schism between the Roman and Carthaginian Churches.
A Synod of Carthage is held.

257

By place

Roman Empire

Emperor Gallienus brings some order to the Danube area.
Future emperor Aurelian defeats the Goths and brings many prisoners back to Rome.
In Bavaria the Limes Germanicus (Upper Raetian Limes) along the river Iller is abandoned by the Romans.
Valerian, under guardianship of Ingenuus, is established at Sirmium (Pannonia) to represent the Roman government in the troubled Illyrian provinces.
Emperor Valerian recovers Antioch, Syria from King Shapur I of Persia.
The Goths build a fleet on the Black Sea.
The Goths separate into the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths.

By topic

Religion

August 30 – Pope Sixtus II succeeds Pope Stephen I as the 24th pope.^[1]
Valerian's persecution of Christians begins: his edict orders bishops and priests to sacrifice according to the pagan rituals, and prohibits Christians, under penalty of death, from meeting at the tombs of their deceased.^[1]

258

By place

Roman Empire

The Goths ravage Asia Minor and Trapezus.^{[citation needed]}
The amount of silver in the Roman currency of the denarius falls below 10%. The crisis ruins craftsmen, tradesmen, and small farmers, who are forced into bartering; landowners grow richer by buying up cheap land.^{[citation needed]}
Valerian II, eldest son of Gallienus, dies, possibly murdered by Pannonia's governor Ingenuus; Emperor Valerian bestows on another one of Gallienus's sons, Saloninus, the title of Caesar.^[8]
A second Imperial edict prohibits Christianity in the Roman Empire. This edict divides Christians into four categories: priests, who are to be put to death; senators and equestrians, who are to be stripped of their positions and their property confiscated; nuns, who are to be exiled; and imperial civil servants, who are condemned to forced labour.^{[citation needed]}

Asia

Sima Zhao quells Zhuge Dan's rebellion, thereby also ending what are known as the Three Rebellions in Shouchun.^[9]
Sun Xiu succeeds his brother Sun Liang as emperor of the Chinese state of Eastern Wu.^[10]

By topic

Religion

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, is martyred (decapitation).^[1]
Pope Sixtus II, bishop of Rome, is martyred.^[1]

259

By place

Roman Empire

Emperor Valerian leads an army (70,000 men) to relieve Edessa, besieged by the forces of Persian King Shapur I. An outbreak of a plague kills many legionaries, weakening the Roman position in Syria.
Battle of Mediolanum: A Germanic confederation, the Alamanni (300,000 warriors), who crossed the Alps, are defeated by Roman legions under Gallienus, near Mediolanum (modern Milan).
Postumus revolts against Gallienus in Gaul. The western provinces of Britain and Spain join his independent realm—which is called in modern times the Gallic Empire.
Postumus, governor of Gaul, declares himself Emperor, and continues to rule the Gallic Empire until 269, when he is killed by his soldiers.
The Roman fort of Wiesbaden (Germany) is captured by the Alamanni (possibly 260).
The Franks, who invaded the Roman Empire near Cologne in 257, reach Tarraco in Hispania.

Persia

Mesopotamia: Odaenathus, the ruler of the kingdom of Palmyra, sacks the city of Nehardea, destroying its great yeshiva.

By topic

Religion

Pope Dionysius is elected as the pope.^[11]

Births

250

March 31 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman emperor (d. 306)
Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, Roman emperor (d. 311)
Lu Jing (or Shiren), Chinese general and writer (d. 280)
Maximian (Herculius), Roman consul and emperor (d. 310)
Zuo Si (or Taichong), Chinese poet and writer (d. 305)

251

January 12 – Anthony the Great, Christian monk and saint (d. 356)

252

Eusignius of Antioch, Roman general and martyr (d. 362)
Wang Jun (or Pengzu), Chinese general and warlord (d. 314)
Wei Huacun, founder of the Shangqing sect of Daoism (d. 334)

255

January 6 – Marcellus I, bishop of Rome (d. 309)
Dorotheus of Tyre, Syrian bishop and martyr (d. 362)
Zhang Gui, Chinese governor of the Jin Dynasty (d. 314)
Zuo Fen, Chinese poet of the Western Jin Dynasty (d. 300)
Saint Helena, Roman empress who was the reputed discoverer of Christ’s cross and mother of Emperor Constantine (d. 318)

256

Arius, Egyptian priest and founder of Arianism (d. 336)
Wang Yan (or Yifu), Chinese official and politician (d. 311)

257

Gregory the Illuminator, Armenian religious leader (approximate date)
Jia Nanfeng (or Shi), Chinese empress (d. 300)

258

Clement of Ancyra, Christian bishop and martyr (d. 312)^{[citation needed]}

259

Hui of Jin, Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty (d. 307)
Tao Kan (or Shixing), Chinese general and politician (d. 334)
Yang Zhi, Chinese empress of the Jin Dynasty (d. 292)^[12]

Deaths

250

January 20 – Fabian (or Fabianus), pope of Rome and martyr^[1]
Du Qiong (or Boyu), Chinese official and astronomer
Faustus, Abibus and Dionysius, Christian martyrs
Marcus Minucius Felix, Roman apologist and writer
Peter, Andrew, Paul and Denise, Christian martyrs
Secundian, Marcellian and Verian, Christian martyrs
Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha, Christian martyrs
Zhu Ju, Chinese general and chancellor (b. 194)

251

February 5 – Cao Lin, Chinese prince of the Cao Wei state
June – August
- Decius, Roman emperor (killed after the battle of Abritus)^[13]
- Herennius Etruscus, Roman emperor and son of Decius
June 15 – Wang Ling, Chinese general and politician
August 22 – Zhen, Chinese empress of the Cao Wei state
September 7 – Sima Yi, Chinese general and regent (b. 179)
Agatha of Sicily, Christian martyr and saint (approximate date)
Cao Biao, Chinese prince of the Cao Wei state (b. 195)
Deng Zhi, Chinese general, politician and diplomat
Hostilian, Roman emperor (of plague in Rome)
Lü Yi, Chinese official, governor and politician

252

May 21 – Sun Quan, founder of the Eastern Wu state (b. 182)
Pan (or Pan Shu), Chinese empress of the Eastern Wu state
Tian Yu (or Guorang), Chinese general and politician (b. 171)
Tiridates II (or Khosrov), Roman client king of Armenia

253

Aemilianus, Roman emperor^[14]
Pope Cornelius^[1]
Saint Babylas, Patriarch of Antioch^[15]
Fei Yi, Chinese statesman, general and regent of the Shu Han state
Sun He, Chinese prince of the Eastern Wu state (b. 224)
Trebonianus Gallus, Roman emperor
Volusianus, Roman emperor
Zhuge Ke, Chinese general and regent of the Eastern Wu state (b. 203)
Origen, a Christian scholar from Alexandria (b. c. 184)

254

March 5 – Lucius I, bishop of Rome^[16]
Li Feng (or Anguo), Chinese official and politician
Tiberius Julius Pharsanzes, Roman client king
Xiahou Xuan (or Taichu), Chinese general and politician (b. 209)
Zhang Ni (or Boqi), Chinese general, official and politician

255

February 23 – Guo Huai (or Boji), Chinese general
March 16 – Guanqiu Jian, Chinese general and politician
March 23 – Sima Shi, Chinese general and regent (b. 208)^[17]
Fu Gu (or Lanshi), Chinese official and politician (b. 209)
Liu Zan (or Zhengming), Chinese general (b. 183)
Sun Luyu (or Xiaohu), Chinese princess

256

March 11 – Cao Lin, Chinese prince and son of Cao Cao
October 19 – Sun Jun (or Ziyuan), Chinese general and regent (b. 219)
October 21 – Lü Dai (or Dinggong), Chinese general (b. 161)
November 12 – Lü Ju (or Shiyi), Chinese general and politician
Guan Lu (or Gongming), Chinese diviner and politician (b. 209)
Wang Su (or Ziyong), Chinese scholar and official (b. 195)

257

August 2 – Stephen I, bishop of Rome^[1]
September 26 – Zhu Yi (or Jiwen), Chinese general
Wen Qin (or Zhongruo), Chinese general and politician
Zhang Changpu, Chinese concubine (b. 199)

258

August 6 – Sixtus II, bishop of Rome^[1]
September 14 – Cyprian, bishop of Carthage^[1]
Anak the Parthian, Parthian nobleman
Chen Zhi (or Fengzong), Chinese politician
Novatian, Italian antipope and theologian
Valerian II, son of co-emperor Gallienus
Zhuge Dan (or Gongxiu), Chinese general

259

January 10 – Polyeuctus, Roman soldier and saint
January 18 – Sun Chen, Chinese general and regent (b. 232)
Augurius of Tarragona, Christian Hispano-Roman clergyman
Cao Jun (or Zi'an), Chinese prince and son of Cao Cao
Fructuosus of Tarragona, Christian bishop, martyr and saint
Wang Chang (or Wenshu), Chinese general and politician

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 W.H.C. Frend, A New Eusebius: Documents illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987), p. 224 ISBN 0-281-04268-3
↑ "Saint Denis bishop of Paris". Encyclopædia Britannica.
↑ Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen; Bowman, Alan; Garnsey, Peter; Cameron, Averil (1970). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337. Cambridge University Press. p. 469. ISBN 978-0-521-30199-2.
↑ Slootjes, Daniëlle; Peachin, M. (2016). Rome and the Worlds beyond Its Frontiers. BRILL. p. 40. ISBN 9789004326750.
↑ W.H.C. Friend, A New Eusebius: Documents illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987), p. 224 ISBN 0-281-04268-3
↑ "P.Oxy. XLII 3035. Order to Arrest". figshare. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
↑ "Zeugma". History Hit. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
↑ Vagi, David L. Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, C. 82 B.C.--A.D. 480: History. Germany, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000. 357.
↑ De Crespigny, Rafe, ed. (2010). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Handbook of oriental studies. Section four, China 0169-9520. Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.
↑ 안예선 (April 2016). "Ouyang Xiu's Planning on Narrative of New History of the Five Dynasties - Focusing on Comparison with Old History of the Five Dynasties". Journal of Chinese Language and Literature. null (74): 177–205. doi:10.26586/chls.2016..74.008. ISSN 1226-4555.
↑ Butler, Alban; Burns, Paul (1 January 1995). Butler's Lives of the Saints. A&C Black. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-86012-260-9.
↑ McMahon, Keith (6 June 2013). Women Shall Not Rule: Imperial Wives and Concubines in China from Han to Liao. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-4422-2290-8.
↑ Southern, Patricia (December 16, 2003). The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. p. 236. ISBN 9781134553815.
↑ "Aemilian - Roman emperor". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
↑ "St. Babylas - Saints & Angels". Catholic Online. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
↑ Guiley, Rosemary (2001). The Encyclopedia of Saints. Infobase Publishing. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-4381-3026-2.
↑ Declercq, Dominik (1998). Writing against the state: political rhetorics in third and fourth century China. Leiden. p. 123. ISBN 9004103767.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)