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13 BCE

This year falls in the Classical antiquity (c. 500 BCE–500 CE). Large empires rule much of Eurasia, among them Persia, the Maurya and Gupta states of India, Han China and Rome. Classical Greece, the spread of Buddhism and the rise of Christianity belong to this era, which ends as the western Roman Empire falls in the fifth century CE.

Within fifteen years

Philosopher · Classical antiquity · SpainSenecac. 4 BC–65 ADRoman Stoic born at Cordoba in Spain who became tutor and then chief minister to the emperor Nero. His Letters to Lucilius are the most readable Stoic text from antiquity. Accused of plotting against Nero, he was ordered to take his own life in 65 AD.

Civilization · Classical antiquity · Roman EmpireRoman Empire27 BCE–476 CEThe Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean world for five centuries. At its height under Trajan it stretched from Britain to Egypt. The western half fell in 476 CE; the eastern half lived on as Byzantium.