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The Roman Empire reaches its maximal extent between 116 and 117

Year 117 (CXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Niger and Apronianus (or, less frequently, year 870 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 117 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.

Events

By place

Roman Empire

  • Emperor Trajan falls seriously ill and dies of a stroke at Selinus in Cilicia, age 63, while en route from Mesopotamia to Italy, leaving the Roman Empire at its maximal territorial extent.
  • On his death bed, Trajan allegedly adopts Hadrian, a fellow Spaniard, and designates him as his successor. Hadrian will reign until 138.
  • The Jewish Diaspora Revolt is quelled, likely by autumn 117, though unrest may have persisted in Egypt until early 118. Its suppression results in the near-complete expulsion of Jews from Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and several regions of Egypt.
  • Hadrian returns large parts of Mesopotamia to the Parthians as part of a peace settlement. He inaugurates a policy of retrenchment and cultural integration, giving up the policy of conquest of his predecessor in order to consolidate the empire.
  • Construction begins on the Pantheon in Rome.

By topic

Commerce

  • The silver content of the Roman denarius falls to 87 percent under emperor Hadrian, down from 93 percent in the reign of Trajan.

Religion

Births

Deaths

References

  1. ^ Wee, John Z. (2017). The Comparable Body – Analogy and Metaphor in Ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman Medicine. Brill. p. 247. ISBN 9789004356771.
  2. ^ LeGlay, Marcel; Voisin, Jean-Louis; Le Bohec, Yann (2001). A History of Rome (2nd ed.). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 278. ISBN 0-631-21858-0.