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Podcast Transcript
Two thousand years ago, the world looked very different.
Great empires ruled over millions of people, ancient civilizations were already thousands of years old, and vast regions of the planet remained completely unknown to one another.
Some of the world’s greatest cities were thriving, while others that would eventually dominate history had yet to be founded.
Yet almost no one living at the time knew that their era would eventually become a dividing line in history.
Learn more about what was happening around the world in the year 1 on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
If you’ve been listening for a while, you know that every 100 episodes I review the state of the world in a given year. From Episode 1,500 to 2,000, I fast-forwarded until we reached the present.
Then, starting with episode 2,100, I’ve been going back in time every 500 years, starting in the year 1000.
In this episode, we reach the year one. Technically, I’m going back 499 years because there was no year zero. If you took a time machine back to December 31st in 1 BC, the next day would be January 1 in the year 1.
Granted, our system of numbering years didn’t come until centuries later, but our convention for numbering years has made this time very confusing and awkward. I could have just gone back 500 years to 1BC, but then I’d have to go back 499 years in the next episode to cover 500 BC.
Oddly enough, as far as I know, no word exists for this period when the way we count years reverses. When the 20th century began, people called it the Turn of the Century. When the 21st century began, we called it the millennium. But we have no term for this period.
I’ve covered this topic in a previous episode, so I won’t belabor the point, but even saying “year one” sounds a bit awkward. “In 1354, yadda yadda yadda” rolls off the tongue much easier than “In 1, yadda yadda yadda.”
Let me also restate what I said when I began the series going back in time: as we go farther back, the number of places we can talk about confidently shrinks, since we don’t have written histories. Things shift more to archaeology, and our interpretations of archaeological evidence take over from documents.
In year one, two massive empires dominated Eurasia at either end of the landmass, knew very little about each other, and had no direct contact.
In the west was the Roman Empire. In the decades leading up to the year 1, Rome went through a tumultuous period that ultimately ended the Roman Republic.
In the year one, Augustus was emperor. He was approximately 63 years old and had established a political system that would endure for centuries. I’ve covered Augustus and the role of the emperor in previous episodes, but suffice it to say August was firmly in charge, the civil wars had ended, and the period of Pax Romana had begun.
The Roman Empire wasn’t quite at its peak in terms of area, but it controlled almost the entire Mediterranean coastline, including Italy, Greece, Egypt, much of Spain, southern Gaul, North Africa, and substantial territories in the eastern Mediterranean.
The empire had an estimated population of 45 to 60 million people. Rome itself was the world’s largest city, with a population of about one million.
Much of Europe remained outside Roman control.
For example, Britain was still divided among numerous Celtic-speaking kingdoms and tribal confederations. Although Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice in the previous century, Rome never permanently conquered the island.
That would not happen until 43, when Emperor Claudius launched a major invasion.
The British population farmed, raised livestock, and lived in settlements ranging from small villages to large fortified hillforts. The southeastern kingdoms also maintained commercial and diplomatic relationships with Rome.
Across the Rhine and farther north, Germanic-speaking peoples occupied extensive territories.
These communities were organized into tribes and larger political alliances, but they did not form a unified Germanic state. Many lived in small agricultural settlements, cultivating grain and raising cattle.
To the east, various Celtic, Germanic, and other peoples inhabited regions extending toward the Black Sea.
Scandinavia was home to Iron Age societies engaged in farming, fishing, and regional commerce. This was approximately eight centuries before the beginning of the Viking Age.
On the other side of Eurasia, the Western Han dynasty governed China.
In the year 1, the emperor was Ping of Han, a child who had taken the throne the year before. Real political power was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the influential court official Wang Mang.
In year 9, Wang usurped the emperor and established the very short-lived Xin Dynasty, which fell in just 14 years, leading to the reestablishment of the Han Dynasty.
The Han Empire was comparable to Rome in population, economic sophistication, and administrative capability. China had an extensive bureaucracy, a highly developed agricultural economy, and major urban centers. Its capital, Chang’an, was among the world’s great cities.
The government maintained sophisticated systems for collecting taxes, overseeing officials, recording population statistics, and administering distant territories.
Chinese scholars at the time worked in astronomy, mathematics, and historical record-keeping.
China was also expanding its connections with Central Asia. Trade networks that would later be known as the Silk Roads already carried Chinese silk, horses, and luxury goods between distant regions.
As I covered in an earlier episode, China and Rome vaguely knew about each other, but only vague rumors traveled across the continent in a game of telephone.
Between Rome and China lay one of the most important powers of the ancient world: the Parthian Empire.
Centered in modern Iran and Iraq, the Parthians controlled much of Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau. In year 1, their king was Phraates V, who had recently taken power.
The Parthians were famous for their cavalry, particularly their mounted archers who could fire arrows while retreating. Their military strength made them one of Rome’s most formidable rivals.
In the year 1, Rome and Parthia were engaged in diplomatic maneuvering over Armenia, a strategically valuable kingdom lying between the two empires. Parthia was a constant thorn in Rome’s side, and would be for centuries.
The Parthians also controlled important sections of the commercial routes connecting the Mediterranean with India and Central Asia. They profited from the trade in silk, spices, precious metals, and other valuable goods.
Farther south, the Nabataean Kingdom prospered in what is now Jordan and northwestern Arabia. Its famous capital, Petra, was already a significant commercial center.
The Nabataeans controlled caravan routes that carried incense and luxury goods from southern Arabia to the Mediterranean.
In what is now Israel and Palestine, Herod’s son, Herod Archelaus, ruled Judea under Roman authority, while Herod Antipas governed Galilee and Perea.
Although the calendar supposedly begins with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, most historians place his birth between 6 and 4 BC rather than precisely in year 1.
In year 1, India was politically fragmented but economically and culturally vibrant.
The enormous Mauryan Empire, which Ashoka had once united much of the Indian subcontinent under, had collapsed almost two centuries earlier.
Several regional kingdoms had emerged in its place.
The Satavahana dynasty controlled territories in the Deccan region of central and southern India. Its precise boundaries and chronology remain debated, but it was an important political and commercial power around this period.
In northwestern India, Indo-Scythian rulers and other regional dynasties controlled territories that had previously experienced Greek, Persian, and Mauryan influence.
A variety of kingdoms, confederations, and nomadic peoples occupied the region north of Persia in Central Asia and the Asian Steppes.
The Xiongnu confederation remained an important power north of Han China, though decades of warfare and diplomacy with the Han had weakened and divided it.
Other groups, including the Wusun and various Saka-speaking peoples, occupied Central Asian territories.
These societies played a critical role in long-distance commerce. They controlled key trade routes through deserts and mountains and supplied highly prized horses.
Africa in year 1 contained a wide range of societies.
Egypt was a Roman province, conquered by Augustus in 30 BC after the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Egyptian agriculture was critical to Rome’s grain supply.
South of Egypt, the Kingdom of Kush remained independent, with its political center at Meroë in modern Sudan.
The Kushites had their own writing system, monumental architecture, and kingship traditions, which I covered in a previous episode. They built distinctive pyramids and maintained commercial relations with their northern neighbors.
Only a few decades earlier, Kushite forces had fought the Romans. The resulting peace agreement, concluded around 21/20 BC, helped stabilize relations between the two powers.
South America in year 1 was home to a wide range of cultures. The Nazca culture was emerging in southern Peru, with traditions of elaborate pottery and textile production. The famous Nazca Lines would be created over an extended period, roughly spanning the late first millennium BC and the first several centuries.
Farther north, the Moche culture was beginning to develop. Over the following centuries, Moche societies would construct enormous adobe ceremonial complexes and produce some of the most sophisticated ceramics in the ancient Americas.
The Paracas culture, known for its extraordinary textiles and complex funerary practices, was influential in southern coastal Peru around this period.
In the Andean highlands, farmers cultivated potatoes, quinoa, and other crops adapted to mountain environments.
Llamas and alpacas provided wool and were important domesticated animals. Llamas were also used as pack animals.
The religious landscape of year 1 looked very different from that of today.
Christianity and Islam did not yet exist as separate world religions. Jesus was probably a young child at this time, while Muhammad would not be born for nearly six centuries.
In the Roman Empire, polytheistic religious traditions dominated public life. Romans worshipped gods including Jupiter, Juno, and Mars, while also adopting or adapting religious practices from conquered peoples.
Judaism was firmly established in Judea and among Jewish diaspora communities throughout the Mediterranean and Near East. The Second Temple still stood in Jerusalem, and Jewish religious life contained several important schools and movements.
In India, Vedic and post-Vedic religious traditions were evolving, while Buddhism and Jainism were already established religious movements.
In China, Confucianism played a central role in state ideology, while Daoist thought and various forms of ancestral and local religious practice remained widespread.
Although we associate ancient history with primitive technology, many societies in year 1 possessed sophisticated engineering capabilities.
Roman engineers could construct aqueducts, bridges, and large public buildings. Han China had advanced ironworking, intricate bronze casting, and complex water-management systems. Indian artisans produced high-quality textiles and metalwork.
Across Eurasia, iron tools and weapons were widespread, although bronze remained important for many uses.
Despite our calendar system, the year 1 was not the beginning of world history. It was just a point along a continuum of human development, when some civilizations were already ancient, others were approaching their greatest achievements, and many more had yet to emerge.
No one living at the time thought they were living at the beginning of a new era. To them, it was simply another year in a history that stretched back thousands of years.
What makes the year 1 so interesting isn’t that anything particularly extraordinary happened during those twelve months, but that it gives us a fixed point from which to look across the entire planet and appreciate just how much of human history had already unfolded, and how much was still to come.