View source for 100s (decade)

{{short description|Decade}}
[[File:032 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel XXXII.jpg|thumb|269x269px|Stone tablet depicting fighting in [[Trajan's Dacian Wars]] (101–106). After the conquest in 106, Dacia's rich [[gold mine]]s were secured which then contributed around 700 million Denarii per annum to the Roman economy.]]
{{Decadebox|10}}
The '''100s''' was a decade that ran from January 1, AD 100, to December 31, AD 109.

During this period, [[Roman Empire]] continued to expand its territory. Emperor [[Trajan]], who ruled from 98 to 117 AD, launched several successful military campaigns, including the [[Trajan's Dacian Wars|Dacian wars]] (101–106) and the [[Nabataean Kingdom#Roman annexation|possibly violent conquest]] of [[Nabataean Kingdom|Nabataea]] (106). [[Second Dacian War|The conquest]] of [[Dacia]] in 106 secured its rich [[gold mine]]s, and it is estimated that Dacia then contributed 700 million Denarii per annum to the Roman economy, providing finance for Rome's future campaigns and assisting with the rapid expansion of Roman towns throughout Europe.<ref name="Schmitz2">{{cite book |last1=Schmitz |first1=Michael |title=The Dacian threat, 101-106 AD |date=2005 |publisher=Caeros Publishing |isbn=0-9758445-0-4 |location=Armidale, New South Wales}}</ref>{{rp|8}} Furthermore, the conquest changed the balance of power in the region, leading to a renewed anti-Roman alliance of local Germanic and Celtic tribes. However, within the annexed territory and surrounds, the material advantages of being part of the Roman system wasn't lost on the majority of the surviving Dacian aristocracy. Thus began the process by which most modern Romanian historians and linguists believe that many of the Dacians subsequently became romanized (see [[Origin of Romanians]]). [[Alimenta]], a Roman welfare program that had been initiated by [[Nerva]] in 98, continued to be in operation during this decade.

In East Asia, the [[Han dynasty]] saw a succession of rulers: [[Emperor He of Han|Emperor He]] was succeeded by [[Emperor Shang of Han|Emperor Shang]] in 106, who was succeeded by [[Emperor An of Han|Emperor An]] that same year. However, the young emperor An did not rule in his own right, with [[Deng Sui]] instead being regent from 106 onwards. Deng Sui showed herself to be an able regent who did not tolerate corruption, even by her own family members. She also carried out criminal law reforms. For example, in 107, she issued an edict that extended the period for death penalty appeals. She cut the expenses of the royal court, like the making of expensive handicrafts such as [[jade]] and [[ivory]] carvings and sent home palace attendants with superfluous functions.  She also demanded less tribute from the provinces.<ref>Bennet Peterson, Barbara (2000). p. 116.</ref> While Empress, she twice opened the imperial granaries to feed the hungry; forced the reduction of income landlords received from the land they rented out; she repaired waterways and cut court rituals and banquets.<ref>Monro, Alexander, ''The Paper Trail: An Unexpected History of a Revolutionary Invention'' (Vintage Books, 2017)</ref> She also saw rebellions from the South [[Xiongnu]] and [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]], the latter of which would not be quelled until the next decade. In West Asia, [[Parthia]] saw a revolt by [[Osroes I]] against [[Pacorus II]] in 109. South America saw the emergence of the [[Moche culture]].

Emperor Trajan corresponded with [[Pliny the Younger]] on the subject of how to deal with the Christians of [[Bithynia and Pontus|Pontus]]. The theologian [[Edward Burton (theologian)|Edward Burton]] wrote that this correspondence shows there were no laws condemning Christians at that time. There was an "abundance of precedent (common law) for suppressing foreign superstitions" but no general law which prescribed "the form of trial or the punishment; nor had there been any special enactment which made Christianity a crime".<ref name="Edward Burton">{{cite book |last1=Burton |first1=Edward |title=Lectures Upon the Ecclesiastical History of the First Three Centuries From the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the Year 313 |date=1885 |publisher=University of Chicago |page=324}}</ref> Even so, Pliny implies that putting Christians on trial was not rare, and while Christians in his district had committed no illegal acts like robbery or adultery, Pliny "put persons to death, though they were guilty of no crime, and without the authority of any law" and believed his emperor would accept his actions.<ref name="Edward Burton" /> Trajan did, and sent back a qualified approval. He told [[Pliny the Younger on Christians|Pliny]] to continue to prosecute Christians, but not to accept anonymous denunciations in the interests of justice as well as of "the spirit of the age". Non-citizens who admitted to being Christians and refused to recant, however, were to be executed "for obstinacy". Citizens were sent to Rome for trial.<ref>Quoted by Andrea Giardina, ed. ''The Romans''. University of Chicago Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-226-29049-2}}, page 272</ref> [[Mithraism]], a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[mystery religion]] viewed as a rival of [[early Christianity]], had developed by this time.<ref name="Richardson-Hopfe-1994-Archeol">{{cite book |last1=Hopfe |first1=Lewis M. |url=https://archive.org/details/uncoveringancien0000unse/ |title=Uncovering Ancient Stones: Essays in memory of H. Neil Richardson |last2=Richardson |first2=Henry Neil |date=September 1994 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-0-931464-73-7 |editor=Hopfe, Lewis M. |chapter=Archaeological Indications on the Origins of Roman Mithraism |access-date=19 March 2011 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QRfhSBLmAK8C&pg=PA147}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= [https://archive.org/details/uncoveringancien0000unse/page/147 147]}}

Trajan invested heavily in the provision of popular amusements. He carried out a "massive reconstruction" of the [[Circus Maximus]], which was already the Empire's biggest and best appointed circuit for the immensely popular sport of [[chariot racing]]. The Circus also hosted [[Ludi|religious theatrical spectacles and games]], and public processions on a grand scale. Trajan's reconstruction, completed by 103, was modestly described by Trajan himself as "adequate" for the Roman people.<ref>{{cite book |last=Humphrey |first=John H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=couetXBQO9AC |title=Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing |publisher=University of California Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-520-04921-5}} pp. 80, 102-103, 126-129. The images of the gods were brought from their temples to be laid on dining couches with great ceremony, so that they too could watch the spectacle.</ref> Furthermore, the decade saw the construction of [[Trajan's Bridge]], the [[Baths of Trajan]], and [[Roman roads]] such as [[Via Traiana]] and [[Via Traiana Nova]]. The ''[[Buddhacharita]]'', a [[Sanskrit]] poem describing the birth and reign of the Third [[Mauryan Empire|Mauryan]] Emperor [[Ashoka]], was composed around this time. [[Plutarch]] wrote ''[[Parallel Lives]]'', a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings. [[Tacitus]] wrote ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'', which covers the [[Flavian dynasty#The Flavian dynasty|history of Rome from 69 to 96]]. [[Juvenal]] wrote [[Satires (Juvenal)|''Satires'']], a collection of [[Satire|satirical]] poems. Furthermore, [[lion]]s had become extinct in Greece by this period.

{{Events by year for decade|10}}

==Significant people==
* [[Trajan]], Roman Emperor ([[AD 98]]–[[AD 117|117]])

{{Births and deaths by year for decade|10}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
* {{Citation
 | last1 = Tudor
 | first1 = D.
 | contribution = Le pont de Constantin le Grand à Celei
 | title = Les ponts romains du Bas-Danube
 | series = Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae Études
 | publisher = Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România 
 | place = Bucharest
 | volume = 51
 | year = 1974
 | pages = 135–166
}}
* {{Citation
 | last1 = Galliazzo
 | first1 = Vittorio
 | title = I ponti romani. Catalogo generale
 | volume = 2
 | year = 1994
 | publisher = Edizioni Canova
 | location = Treviso
 | isbn = 88-85066-66-6
 | pages = 320–324 (No. 646)
}}
* {{cite book | title=Notable Women of China: Shang Dynasty to the Early Twentieth Century | last=Bennet Peterson | first=Barbara| year=2000 | publisher=M.E. Sharpe, Inc. | isbn= 9780765605047}}

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