4th century

Millennium:	1st millennium
Centuries:	3rd century · 4th century · 5th century
Decades:	300s 310s 320s 330s 340s 350s 360s 370s 380s 390s
Categories:	Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century (per the Julian/Gregorian calendar and Anno Domini era) was that century which lasted from 301 to 400.

Overview

In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine I, who became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. Gaining sole reign of the empire, he is also noted for re-establishing a single imperial capital, choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 (over of the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by Diocletian's reforms to Milan in the West, and Nicomedia in the East) to build the city soon called Nova Roma (New Rome); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor.

The last emperor to control both the eastern and western halves of the empire was Theodosius I. As the century progressed after his death it became increasingly apparent that the empire had changed in many ways since the time of Augustus. The two emperor system originally established by Diocletian in the previous century fell into regular practice, and the east continued to grow in importance as a centre of trade and imperial power, while Rome itself diminished greatly in importance due to its location far from potential trouble spots, like Central Europe and the East. Late in the century Christianity became the official state religion, and the empire's old pagan culture began to disappear. General Prosperity was felt throughout this period, but recurring invasions by Germanic tribes plagued the empire from AD 376 onward. These early invasions marked the beginning of the end for the Western Roman Empire.

According to archaeologists, sufficient archaeological correlates of state-level societies coalesced in the 4th century to show the existence of the Three Kingdoms (AD 300/400-668) of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla.

Events

Contemporary bronze head of Constantine I.

• 301: Armenia first to adopt Christianity as state religion
• 306–337: Constantine I, ends persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, calls First Council of Nicaea, see also Constantinian shift, Constantinople becomes new seat of government (New Rome)
• 350: About this time the Huns begin to invade the Sassanid Empire.
• 376: Visigoths appear on the Danube and are allowed entry into the Roman Empire in their flight from the Huns.
• 378: Battle of Adrianople. Roman army is defeated by Visigoth cavalry. Emperor Valens is killed.
• 378–395: Theodosius I, Roman emperor, bans pagan worship, Christianity is made the official religion of the Empire.
• 383: Battle of Fei River in China

Significant people

• Arius, founder of Arianism
• Athanasius, opponent of Arius
• Saint Augustine of Hippo, theologian
• Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan
• Basil of Caesarea, reformer of Christian monasticism
• Julian the Apostate
• Eusebius, famous Christian Church historian
• Frumentius, Apostle of Ethiopia
• Ge Hong, Chinese alchemist
• Gu Kaizhi, Chinese painter
• Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman Historian
• Saint Martin of Tours
• Pachomius, founder of Christian monasticism
• Ulfilas, apostle of the Goths
• Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo, King of ancient Korean state Goguryeo who greatly expanded its territory
• Tao Qian, Chinese poet

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• The Stirrup was invented in China, no later than 322
• Kama Sutra
• Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, earliest Christian bibles
• Book of Steps, Syriac religious discourses

External links

• Fourth-Century Christianity Website

Decades and years

[[::Decades|Decades]] and [[::Years|Years]]

4th century

[[::2nd century|2nd century]] ←[[::3rd century|3rd century]] ← ↔ →[[::5th century|5th century]]→[[::6th century|6th century]]

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[[::Centuries|Centuries]] and [[::Millennia|Millennia]]

Millennium	Century
Before Christ / Before Common Era (BC/BCE)
[[::4th millennium BC|4th]]:	[[::40th century BC|40th]]	[[::39th century BC|39th]]	[[::38th century BC|38th]]	[[::37th century BC|37th]]	[[::36th century BC|36th]]	[[::35th century BC|35th]]	[[::34th century BC|34th]]	[[::33rd century BC|33rd]]	[[::32nd century BC|32nd]]	[[::31st century BC|31st]]
[[::3rd millennium BC|3rd]]:	[[::30th century BC|30th]]	[[::29th century BC|29th]]	[[::28th century BC|28th]]	[[::27th century BC|27th]]	[[::26th century BC|26th]]	[[::25th century BC|25th]]	[[::24th century BC|24th]]	[[::23rd century BC|23rd]]	[[::22nd century BC|22nd]]	[[::21st century BC|21st]]
[[::2nd millennium BC|2nd]]:	[[::20th century BC|20th]]	[[::19th century BC|19th]]	[[::18th century BC|18th]]	[[::17th century BC|17th]]	[[::16th century BC|16th]]	[[::15th century BC|15th]]	[[::14th century BC|14th]]	[[::13th century BC|13th]]	[[::12th century BC|12th]]	[[::11th century BC|11th]]
[[::1st millennium BC|1st]]:	[[::10th century BC|10th]]	[[::9th century BC|9th]]	[[::8th century BC|8th]]	[[::7th century BC|7th]]	[[::6th century BC|6th]]	[[::5th century BC|5th]]	[[::4th century BC|4th]]	[[::3rd century BC|3rd]]	[[::2nd century BC|2nd]]	[[::1st century BC|1st]]
Anno Domini / Common Era (AD/CE)
[[::1st millennium|1st]]:	[[::1st century|1st]]	[[::2nd century|2nd]]	[[::3rd century|3rd]]	[[::4th century|4th]]	[[::5th century|5th]]	[[::6th century|6th]]	[[::7th century|7th]]	[[::8th century|8th]]	[[::9th century|9th]]	[[::10th century|10th]]
[[::2nd millennium|2nd]]:	[[::11th century|11th]]	[[::12th century|12th]]	[[::13th century|13th]]	[[::14th century|14th]]	[[::15th century|15th]]	[[::16th century|16th]]	[[::17th century|17th]]	[[::18th century|18th]]	[[::19th century|19th]]	[[::20th century|20th]]
[[::3rd millennium|3rd]]:	[[::21st century|21st]]	[[::22nd century|22nd]]	[[::23rd century|23rd]]	[[::24th century|24th]]	[[::25th century|25th]]	[[::26th century|26th]]	[[::27th century|27th]]	[[::28th century|28th]]	[[::29th century|29th]]	[[::30th century|30th]]
[[::4th millennium|4th]]:	[[::31st century|31st]]