170

Year 170 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Clarus and Cornelius. The denomination 170 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

The Suebian tribes of the Marcomanni cross the Danube and invade Northern Italy. The Roman army is destroyed near Carnuntum in Pannonia.
The Marcomanni plunder Opitergium and besiege Aquileia. This is the first time hostile forces have entered Italy since 101 BC.
Emperor Marcus Aurelius writes in Sirmium his first of 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek.
The Costoboci cross the Danube and ravage Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula. They reach Eleusina, near Athens, and destroy the temple of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Marcus Aurelius orders humane treatment for Christians and slaves throughout the Roman Empire.
An Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is erected in Rome.
The Porta Nigra is built in Augusta Treverorum.
Births
Guo Jia, Chinese politician and adviser
Herodian, Roman historian and writer
Julia Domna, Roman empress consort
Pang De, Chinese military general
Philostratus, Greek sophist
Vibia Aurelia Sabina, Marcus Aurelius' last surviving child
Deaths
Alexander of Abonoteichus, Greek mystic
An Shigao, Chinese Buddhist missionary
Apuleius, Numidian philosopher and writer
Demonax, Greek philosopher and writer
Junius Rusticus, Roman teacher and politician
Marcus Cornelius Fronto, Roman grammarian
Ptolemy, Greek mathematician and astronomer