1 January
- 291 BCE – the Aesculapius temple was dedicated on a small, still existing island on the Tiber. This place was supposedly indicated by the holy serpent god, brought by Roman deputies from the temple in Epidaurus. There are remnants of the stone fortifications n the shape of a ship’s bow with a sculpture of a serpent that can be found on the island’s banks. Aesculapius, god of medicine and guardian of the doctors, received religious worship in this place, but it was also a kind of hospital in which the patients were counseled during sleep – this practice was moved from Epidaurus. Terracotta pictures of body parts confirm the hearings – they are to be found near this place. At present, the church of St. Bartholomew stands here.
- 153 BCE – the highest officials entered their offices. In the house of each of the two consuls, senators and friends gathered, then he set out from the house in a march to which joined other inhabitants. It was even customary that the consuls threw coins at the audience during the procession. Both marches met on Capitoline Hill, where Jupiter was offered a sacrifice of white bulls. After this ceremony, the consuls organized a party for their friends. In the days of the Empire, on that day, the officials would swear allegiance to the emperor and the army to their commander.
- 45 BCE – Julian calendar was introduced. Julius Caesar forced the final reform of the calendar, and although the intentions to change the calculation of time were carried out a long time ago, which even postponed the date of the new year for three months, Julius Caesar established the new calendar and it was named after him. The reason for the reform was that the previously used lunar calendar of the Roman region had become unbalanced, resulting in the fact that calendar December in 46 BCE fell in September. The new calendar was so stable that Europe used it until the 16th century, when it was noticed that this calendar is not perfect and leads to delays in relation to the natural rhythm, which led to the introduction of the commonly used Gregorian calendar.
- 42 BCE – posthumously, Julius Caesar received the title of Divus Julius (Julius) as a result of a Senate decree. Gaius Julius Caesar was the first officially deified Roman in history.
- 69 CE – Roman legions refuse to take an oath to allegiance to Galba. They mutinied and proclaimed Vitelius – an emperor the next day.
- 138 CE – Ceionius Commodus, Roman emperor, died.
- 193 CE – Pertinax was chosen by the Senate, against his will, to be the new emperor after the assassination of Commodus.
- 404 CE – the last gladiatorial battle took place in the Colosseum. Even before that date, this brutal sport was officially banned as incompatible with the Christian spirit, but acceptance of this law took 5 years.
- 414 CE – Galla Placidia, Honorius’ half-sister, married Ataulf. Their wedding took place at the time when the Goths celebrated the victory and the war trophies. Ataulf had a son with her, Theodosius, who died in infancy.
- 417 CE – Honorius forced his half-sister to marry Constantius III, his great leader (magister militum).
2 January
- 69 CE – Aulus Vitellius was proclaimed emperor by the legions (under the command of Fabius Valens) in Cologne in Upper Germania. In the following days, oath of allegiance to Vitellius was made in Gaul, Britain and Retia. Vitellius’ troops moved to Rome against Galba, but Galba was killed and Otho became the new emperor. However, he did not want to fight any longer and he wanted to commit suicide. Vitellius took the throne on 16 April 69 CE.
- 366 CE – the Alemmani crossed the frozen Rhine and invaded the Roman Empire. They tried to invade Gaul, but they were defeated by Valentinian in the battle of Solicinium.
3 January
- 106 BCE – Cicero was born, a Roman politician, speaker, philosopher. He was born in Arpinum, a city on a hill near Rome, and he was the son of a soldier (equestrius). He became a great orator, philosopher and poet, but he was too much involved in political games, which led to his death at the hands of his political opponents.
4 January
- 46 BCE – the battle of Ruspina in the province of Africa took place. The parties that took part in the war were optimates under the command of Titus Labienus and populates under the command of Julius Caesar. It was one of Caesar’s last great defeats, in which his army was slaughtered. At some point in the battle, Caesar’s troops were dangerously encircled, at the sight of what, as the sources say, one of the warrant officers began to flee. Caesar was supposed to grab a soldier, turn around and say, “There is an enemy!” Caesar lost 1/3 of his troops in this battle and was forced to retreat. Despite the losses, Caesar managed to defeat the optimates’ army in the battle of Tapsus.
5 January
- 62 CE – Pompeii earthquake caused significant damage.
6 January
- 361 CE – Julian the Apostate took part in the Epiphany festival to endear the Christians. In the spring he set out for Rhine against the Alemmani and captured their commander Vadomar.
7 January
- 49 BCE – the Roman Senate, thanks to Cato the Younger, published so-called final decree (senatus consultum ultimum) depriving Caesar of power over the army and obliging him to return to Rome. He was supposed to stand by the tribunal for war crimes committed in the fight against the barbarians. In addition, Caesar was to be recognized as a public enemy and a traitor if he did not dissolve the army and did not give Gaul’s governorship to Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.
9 January
- Agonalia was celebrated, a feast in honor of the god Janus. On the day of the celebration, Rex Sacrorum sacrificed a ram in Regia, asking the god for favor and protection against evil and death. The name of the holiday comes from the question that the priest asked before the sacrifice: “Agone?”, Means “should I kill?”.
- 400 CE – Aelia Eudoxja, wife of the Roman emperor Arcadius, received the title of Augusta.
10 January
- 49 BCE – Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and began the civil war. Caesar said the famous words – The die is cast!– crossing the Rubicon river, which is a symbolic border between Gaul and Italy. In Roman law legions were forbidden to cross this border, and because Caes