AD 41 explained

AD 41 (XLI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of C. Caesar Augustus Germanicus and Cn. Sentius Saturninus (or, less frequently, year 794 Ab urbe condita). The denomination AD 41 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

• January 24
  • Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards.^[1]
  • Claudius succeeds his nephew, Caligula, as emperor.^[2]
• January 25  - After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as emperor by the Senate.
• Claudius makes Agrippa king of Judea.^[3]
• Messalina, wife of Claudius, persuades Claudius to have Seneca the Younger banished to Corsica on a charge of adultery with Julia Livilla.^[4]
• Claudius restores religious freedom to Jews throughout the empire,^[5] but prohibits Jews in Rome from proselytising.^[6]
• An attack across the Rhine by the Germans is stopped by the Romans.

China

• Emperor Guang Wu of the Han Dynasty deposes his wife, Guo Shengtong, as empress, and makes his consort Yin Lihua empress in her place.^[7]

By topic

Births

• February 12  - Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, son of Claudius^[8] (d. AD 55)

Deaths

• January 24
  • Caligula, Roman emperor (assassinated) (b. 12 AD)
  • Julia Drusilla, daughter of Caligula (assassinated)^[9] (b. 39 AD)
  • Milonia Caesonia, wife of Caligula (assassinated) (b. 6 AD)
• Asprenas Calpurnius Serranus, Roman politician
• Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Roman consul (b. 17 BC)
• Julia Livilla, daughter of Germanicus (starved to death)^[10] (b. 18 AD)

Notes and References

1. Book: Barrett, Anthony A.. Caligula: The Corruption of Power. 2002. Routledge. 978-0-203-13776-5. 170.
2. Book: Adkins. Lesley. Adkins. Roy A.. Handbook to life in ancient Rome. 2004. Infobase Publishing. 978-0-8160-5026-0. 21. 2nd.
3. Book: Dixon, William Hepworth. William Hepworth Dixon

   . William Hepworth Dixon. The holy land. 1865. B. Tauchnitz. 222. 2.

4. Book: Moran, Michael G.. Ballif, Michelle. Classical rhetorics and rhetoricians: critical studies and sources. 2005. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-32178-8. 343.
5. Book: Freedman, David Noel. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. 2000. Amsterdam University Press. 978-90-5356-503-2. 262.
6. Book: Scullard, H. H.. From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68. 2010. Taylor & Francis. 978-0-415-58488-3. 249.
7. Book: Xiao Hong Lee. Lily. Stefanowska. A. D.. Biographical dictionary of Chinese women: antiquity through Sui, 1600 B.C.E.–618 C.E.. 2007. M.E. Sharpe. 978-0-7656-1750-7. 146–147. 3.
8. Book: Wiedemann, Thomas E. J.. Adults and children in the Roman Empire. 1989. Taylor & Francis. 978-0-415-00336-0. 124.
9. Book: Varner, Eric R.. Mutilation and transformation: damnatio memoriae and Roman imperial portraiture. 2004. Brill. 978-90-04-13577-2. 21.
10. Book: Lightman. Marjorie. Lightman. Benjamin. A to Z of ancient Greek and Roman women. 2007. Infobase Publishing. 978-0-8160-6710-7. 171. 2.