244
Encyclopedia
Leap year starting on Monday
This is the calendar for any leap year starting on Monday, January 1 , such as 1940, 1968, 1996, 2024 or 2052.MillenniumCenturyYear2nd Millennium:18th century: 1720 1748 1776...
(link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Armenius and Aemilianus (or, less frequently, year 997 Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
). The denomination 244 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
calendar era
Calendar era
A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman Empire
- Battle of MisicheBattle of MisicheThe Battle of Misiche, Mesiche, or Massice was fought between the Sassanid Persians and the Romans somewhere in ancient Mesopotamia. The result was a Roman defeat.-Background and the Battle:...
: King Shapur IShapur IShapur I or also known as Shapur I the Great was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 - 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242 .-Early years:Shapur was the son of Ardashir I...
delivers a counter-attack near FallujahFallujahFallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
(IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
) and defeats the Roman armyRoman armyThe Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
upstream of the EuphratesEuphratesThe Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
. - February 11 – Emperor Gordian IIIGordian IIIGordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...
is murdered by mutinousMutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
soldiers in Zaitha (MesopotamiaMesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
). A mound is raised at CarchemishCarchemishCarchemish or Kargamış was an important ancient city of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo Assyrian Empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. It was the location of an important battle between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible...
in his memory. - Philip the ArabPhilip the ArabPhilip the Arab , also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire...
declares himself co-emperor and makes a disgraceful peace with the PersiansSassanid EmpireThe Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
. He evacuates SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and gives Shapur I 500,000 gold pieces. - Philip the Arab constructs the city of ShahbaShahbaShahba , known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis, is a city located 87 km south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea.-Roman history:...
(Syria), the province of his birth. The Persians occupied ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. - Philip the Arab is recognized by the Roman SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
as new Roman EmperorRoman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
and gives his brother PriscusGaius Julius PriscusGaius Julius Priscus was military man and member of the Praetorian guard in the reign of Gordian III.- Life :Priscus was born in the Roman province of Syria, possibly in Damascus, son of a Julius Marinus a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance...
supreme power (rector Orientis) in the Eastern provinces. - Philippus I is proclaimed AugustusAugustus (honorific)Augustus , Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus , and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors...
, he nominates his son PhilippusPhilippus IIMarcus Julius Philippus Severus, also known as Philippus II, Philip II and Philip the Younger was the son and heir of the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab by his wife Roman Empress Marcia Otacilia Severa...
, age 6, with the title of CaesarCaesar (title)Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
and heir to the throne.
Arts and sciences
- PlotinusPlotinusPlotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
, Greek philosopher, escapes the bloodshed that accompanies the murder of Gordianus III and makes his way to AntiochAntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
. Back to RomeAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
he founds his Neoplatonist school and attracts students like PorphyryPorphyry (philosopher)Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
, Castricius FirmusDisciples of Plotinus-Porphyry:Porphyry, the most important of Plotinus's pupils, was born in Tyre c. 233. He was taught first by Cassius Longinus in Athens, before travelling to Rome in 262 where he studied under Plotinus for six years. After the death of Plotinus, he edited and published the Enneads, which had been...
and Eustochius of AlexandriaDisciples of Plotinus-Porphyry:Porphyry, the most important of Plotinus's pupils, was born in Tyre c. 233. He was taught first by Cassius Longinus in Athens, before travelling to Rome in 262 where he studied under Plotinus for six years. After the death of Plotinus, he edited and published the Enneads, which had been...
. - 244–249249Year 249 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gavius and Aquilinus...
– Philip the Arab, is made. It is now kept at Musei Vaticani, Braccio Nuovo, Rome. - 244–245245Year 245 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Titianus...
– House-synagogue, Dura-EuroposDura-EuroposDura-Europos , also spelled Dura-Europus, was a Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman border city built on an escarpment 90 m above the right bank of the Euphrates river. It is located near the village of Salhiyé, in today's Syria....
, SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, is built. It is reconstructed in the National Museum of DamascusNational Museum of DamascusThe National Museum of Damascus is a large museum in the heart of Damascus, Syria. The most popular part of the museum is the reconstruction of the 2nd century CE Dura-Europos synagogue.- Location :...
(Syria).
Commerce
- The silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
content of the Roman denariusDenariusIn the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...
falls to 0.5 percent under emperor Philippus I, down from 28 percent under Gordian III.
Births
- December 22 – Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, Roman EmperorRoman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
- Alexander of ConstantinopleAlexander of ConstantinopleSaint Alexander of Constantinople was bishop of Byzantium and the bishop of Constantinople . Information from the Synaxarion mention that Alexander was originally from Calabria in Italy and his parents were George and Vryaine...
, Patriarch of ConstantinoplePatriarch of ConstantinopleThe Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
(possible date)
Deaths
- February 11 – Gordian IIIGordian IIIGordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...
, Roman emperorRoman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
(b. 225225Year 225 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscus and Domitius...
) - MartyrMartyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
Heliconis of Thessalonica - Cao XunCao XunCao Xun was an adopted son of Cao Rui, an emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. It is not known who his birth parents were, because Cao Rui deliberately kept their identities secrets, although it was likely that he was adopted from within the imperial...
(b. 230230Year 230 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Clementinus...
) - Zhang ChengZhang ChengZhang Cheng , style name Zhongsi , was a military general of Eastern Wu during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
, general of Eastern WuEastern WuEastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
(b. 178178Year 178 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Rufus...
)