Religion

Topics represented

Religion (351) · Buddhist traditions (97) · Hindu traditions (62) · Chinese traditions (61) · Judaism (43) · Islam (42) · Christianity (34) · Empire and state (20) · Daoist traditions (19) · Catholic Christianity (17) · Sunni (16) · Roman Empire (14)

Records and sources

Ordered by start date. Long lives and processes may begin before the period you want to study.

1. 142 BCE

   Hasmonean autonomy

   The Hasmoneans consolidated autonomy and later kingship in Judaea, linking priestly, political, and territorial authority.

2. 141 BCE–87 BCE

   Classics and Han state Confucian order

   Under Wudi, government strengthened the role of officials educated in the classics and in political ideas shaped by Confucian ritual and hierarchy. State Confucianism describes this courtly arrangement, which did not encompass all Han social and religious life.

3. c. 100 BCE–c. 200

   Anthropomorphic Buddha image

   Gandhara and Mathura develop important anthropomorphic Buddha images in distinct styles, in contexts of patronage and cultural exchange.

4. trad. 100 BCE–trad. 1 BCE

   Writing of the Pali canon, by tradition

   Theravada tradition links written fixation of Pali texts to Sri Lanka; earlier oral transmission remains central.

5. c. 100 BCE–c. 100

   Emergence of Mahayana currents

   Identifiable Mahayana texts and communities emerge gradually; there was no single founder or immediate replacement of other Buddhisms.

6. 63 BCE

   Roman intervention in Judaea

   Pompey entered Jerusalem and Judaea was incorporated into Rome’s sphere, a decisive setting for late Second Temple Judaism.

7. 27 BCE–14

   Augustus’ urban and monumental program

   Augustus’ regime financed and promoted temples, forums, roads, and other spaces in Rome. These works combined urban maintenance, elite patronage, and political language; they were not a uniform improvement in everyone’s life.

8. c. 20 BCE–c. 18 BCE

   Herodian expansion of the Temple

   Herod began a major reconstruction of Jerusalem’s Temple complex.

9. c. 1–c. 300

   Gandhara under the Kushans

   Patronage, trade, and routes connect Gandhara with India, Central Asia, and China; the area includes parts of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.

10. c. 1–c. 600

    Pure Land texts and Amitabha

    The Sukhāvatīvyūha sutras originated in northwestern India around the first century. Chinese reception includes Tanluan (476–542); these milestones document a changing textual tradition.

11. c. 1–c. 100

    Han afterlife goods

    The spread of mingqi, objects made for tombs, reflects changing ideas and practices concerning the continuation of everyday life after death.

12. c. 1–c. 400

    Early Shaiva traditions

    Forms of Shiva worship and ritual corpora consolidated in different regional settings.

13. c. 30

    Crucifixion of Jesus and origins of the Christian movement

    Jesus’ execution under Roman rule in Judea is the conventional historical starting point for the movement whose followers later proclaimed his resurrection. It is neither an exact date nor an instantaneous institutional founding.

14. c. 49–c. 50

    Jerusalem assembly on Gentile believers

    Acts 15 preserves a deliberation by Jerusalem leaders about admitting Gentile believers. It marks expansion beyond Jewish-Christian communities, though its date is approximate.

15. 64

    Repression of Christians after the Great Fire of Rome

    Tacitus records Nero’s punishment of people identified as Christians after the Great Fire of Rome. It documents a localized persecution, not a continuous empire-wide policy throughout the first century.

16. 66–73

    Great Revolt against Rome

    The first Jewish–Roman war culminated in Jerusalem’s capture; Masada fell later.

17. c. 70–c. 100

    Post-Temple rabbinic consolidation

    Traditions about Yavneh matter, but a single academy should not be presented as a founding act: this was a process.

18. 70

    Destruction of the Second Temple

    Titus’s forces destroyed the Temple; Jewish practice gradually reoriented around texts, prayer, calendar, community, and synagogue.

19. c. 101–c. 200

    Networks to Central Asia

    The Parthian translator An Shigao’s activity in Luoyang around 148 documents a connection between Central Asia and China. Transmission followed multiple routes.

20. c. 101–c. 300

    Translation centres in China

    Monks and translators from diverse origins establish Chinese centres; translations reshape Buddhist and Chinese categories.

21. c. 101–c. 300

    Nagarjuna and Madhyamaka traditions

    Works attributed to Nagarjuna become decisive for multiple Mahayana traditions; biography and exact corpus are debated.

22. 132–135

    Bar Kokhba Revolt

    Rome suppressed the second major revolt; subsequent administrative changes and restrictions deepened regional transformations.

23. trad. 142

    Celestial Masters

    Organized Daoist ritual communities emerged in the late Han era. Celestial Master traditions associate Zhang Ling with a revelation in 142 CE. This conventional date concerns a particular institutional tradition.

24. 184

    Yellow Turban context

    Popular religious and healing movements gained political force late in the Han period. The Yellow Turban rebellion reveals connections among religion, social crisis and political power, without representing a homogeneous Daoism.

25. c. 200–c. 600

    Puranic corpora and devotional theologies

    The Puranas formed and were recast over a long period, transmitting deity narratives and pilgrimage.

26. c. 200

    Redaction of the Mishnah

    The Mishnah gathers and organizes oral legal traditions, a cornerstone of later rabbinic literature.

27. 220–589

    Division, migration and ritual exchange

    Division between northern and southern dynasties reshaped ritual networks, local centers and exchanges with Buddhism. Daoist institutions and scriptures developed through both dialogue and competition, with influence flowing in several directions.

28. 250–311

    Imperial persecutions from Decius to Galerius

    Edicts under Decius and the “Great Persecution” begun by Diocletian sought to compel sacrifice and weaken churches. The range groups distinct episodes and does not imply identical experience in every province.

29. c. 301–c. 400

    Expansion in divided China

    Under northern regimes and Central Asian networks, images, caves, and patronage expand; this does not amount to a homogeneous conversion of China.

30. 303–311

    Great Persecution and Tetrarchic religious policy

    A series of Tetrarchic edicts targeted Christian buildings, texts, rights, and clergy, with uneven regional enforcement. “Great Persecution” describes imperial policy, not an identical experience for every community.