4th century

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 301 to 400}}
{{Centurybox|4}}
[[File:East-Hem 300ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 4th century CE.]]
[[File:East-Hem 400ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere at the end of the 4th century CE.]]
The '''4th century''' was the time period from AD 301 (represented by the [[Roman numerals]] CCCI) to AD 400 (CD) in accordance with the [[Julian calendar]]. In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by [[Constantine the Great]], who became the [[Constantine the Great and Christianity|first Roman emperor to adopt 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 the current capitals, which had effectively been changed by [[Diocletian]]'s reforms to [[Milan]] in the West, and [[Nicomedia|Nicomedeia]] 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.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} General prosperity was felt throughout this period, but recurring invasions by [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribes plagued the empire from 376<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> CE onward. These early invasions marked the beginning of the end for the [[Western Roman Empire]].

In [[China]], the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin dynasty]], which had united the nation prior in 280, began [[War of the Eight Princes|rapidly facing trouble]] by the start of the century due to political infighting, which led to the [[Upheaval of the Five Barbarians|insurrections of the northern barbarian tribes]] (starting the [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period), which quickly overwhelmed the empire, forcing the Jin court to retreat and entrench itself in the south past the [[Yangtze]] river, starting what is known as the Eastern Jin dynasty around 317. Towards the end of the century, Emperor of the [[Former Qin]], [[Fu Jiān]], united the north under his banner, and planned to conquer the Jin dynasty in the south, so as to finally reunite the land, but was decisively defeated at the [[Battle of Fei River]] in 383, causing massive unrest and civil war in his empire, thereby leading to the fall of the Former Qin, and the continued existence of the Eastern Jin dynasty.

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

==Long Fourth Century==

Historians of the [[Roman Empire]] refer to the "Long Fourth Century" to the period spanning the fourth century proper but starting earlier with the accession of the Emperor [[Diocletian]] in [[284]] and ending later with the death of [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] in [[423]] or of [[Theodosius II]] in [[450]].<ref>The Long Fourth Century 284-450: Continuity and Change in the Later Roman Empire ed. S. McGill, C. Sogno and E. Watts (Cambridge 2008).</ref>

==Events==
{{See also|Christianity in the 4th century}}
[[File:Musei Capitolini-testa bronzea di Costantino-antmoose.jpg|thumb|200px|Contemporary [[bronze]] [[portrait|head]] of [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine I]] (r. 306–337 AD)]]
* Early 4th century – Former audience hall now known as the Basilica, [[Trier]], Germany, is built.
* Early 4th century – The [[Gupta Empire]] is established.
* [[301]]: [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] first to adopt [[Christianity]] as [[state religion]].
* [[304]]–[[439]]: The [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] in China begins.
* [[306]]–[[337]]: [[Constantine the Great]], ends persecution of Christians in the [[Roman Empire]] (see also [[Constantinian shift]]) and [[Constantinople]] becomes new seat of government ([[New Rome]]).
[[File:Flickr - archer10 (Dennis) - Guatemala-1619.jpg|thumbnail|[[Tikal]] had a population of about 100,000 when it was conquered by [[Teotihuacan]], less than a fourth of its peak population<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2007/08/maya-rise-fall/gugliotta-text|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409150315/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2007/08/maya-rise-fall/gugliotta-text|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 9, 2008|title=The Maya: Glory and Ruin | magazine=National Geographic Magazine}}</ref>|200x200px]]
* [[320]]: Butuan Boat One, the oldest known [[Balangay]], a multi-purpose ship native to the [[Philippines]] is built. 
* [[325]]–[[328]]: The [[Kingdom of Aksum]] adopts Christianity.
* 325: Constantine the Great calls the [[First Council of Nicaea]] to pacify Christianity in the grip of the [[Arian controversy]].
* [[335]]–[[380]]: [[Samudragupta]] expands the [[Gupta Empire]].
* [[337]]: Constantine the Great is baptized on his death bed.
* [[350]]: About this time the Kingdom of Aksum conquers the [[Kingdom of Kush]].
* 350–400: At some time during this period, the [[Huns]] began to attack the [[Sassanid Empire]].<ref name=":1">Roberts,  J: "History of the World". Penguin, 1994.</ref>
* [[350]]: The [[Kutai #Kutai Kingdoms|Kutai Martadipura]] kingdom in [[East Kalimantan|eastern Borneo]] produced the earliest known [[Sanskrit inscriptions in the Malay world|stone inscriptions]] in [[Indonesia]] known as the [[Yūpa #Yūpa inscription in Indonesia|Mulavarman inscription]] written in the [[Sanskrit]] language using [[Pallava script|Pallava]] scripture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epress.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/mobile_devices/ch15s02.html|title=The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives|publisher=ANU Press|access-date=2013-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225113933/http://epress.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/mobile_devices/ch15s02.html|archive-date=2013-12-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> 
* Mid-4th century – Dish, from [[Mildenhall Treasure|Mildenhall]], England, is made. It is now kept at the [[British Museum]], London.
* Mid-4th century – [[Wang Xizhi]] makes a portion of a letter from the ''Feng Ju'' album. [[Six Dynasties]] period. It is now kept at [[National Palace Museum]], [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]], [[Republic of China]].
*[[AD 365|365]]: An [[365 Crete earthquake|earthquake]] with a [[Moment magnitude scale|magnitude]] of at least eight strikes the Eastern [[Mediterranean]]. The following tsunami causes widespread destruction in Crete, Greece, Libya, Egypt, Cyprus, and Sicily.
* [[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 the Visigoth cavalry. Emperor [[Valens]] is killed.
* [[378]]–[[395]]: [[Theodosius I]], Roman emperor, bans [[Paganism|pagan]] worship, Christianity is made the official religion of the Empire.
* [[378]]: [[Siyaj K'ak']] conquers [[El Perú (Maya site)|Waka]] on ([[January 8]]), [[Tikal]] ([[January 16]]) and [[Uaxactun]].[[File:Council of Constantinople 381-stavropoleos church.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Wall painting of the Council of Constantinople (381) in the [[Stavropoleos Monastery|Stavropoleos monastery]], Romania]]
* [[381]]: [[First Council of Constantinople]] reaffirms the Christian doctrine of the [[Trinity]] by adding to the [[Nicene Creed|creed of Nicaea]].
* [[AD 383|383]]: [[Battle of Fei River]] in China.
* [[395]]: The [[Battle of Canhe Slope]] occurs.
* 395: [[Roman emperor]] [[Theodosius I]] dies, causing the Roman Empire to split permanently.
* Late 4th century: Cubiculum of Leonis, [[Catacomb of Commodilla]], near Rome, is made.
* Late 4th century: Atrium added in the [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]], Rome.

==Inventions, discoveries, introductions==
{{main list|Timeline of historic inventions#4th century}}
* The [[Stirrup]] was invented in China, no later than 322.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silk-road.com/artl/stirrup.shtml|title=The stirrup and its effect on chinese military history|first=Adela C.Y.|last=Lee|publisher=Silkroad Foundation}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2005-07/21/content_70825.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203175410/http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2005-07/21/content_70825.htm|url-status=dead|title=The invention and influences of stirrup|archivedate=December 3, 2008}}</ref>
* [[Kama Sutra]], dated between {{Circa|400}} BC to c. 300 AD.<ref name="google">{{cite book |author=Sengupta, J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9Y_tQfm_WgC |title=Refractions of Desire, Feminist Perspectives in the Novels of Toni Morrison, Michèle Roberts, and Anita Desai |date=2006 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-81-269-0629-1 |page=21 |access-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504150511/https://books.google.com/books?id=V9Y_tQfm_WgC |archive-date=4 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kakar |first1=Sudhir |url=http://archive.org/details/kamasutra00vats |title=Kamasutra |last2=Doniger |first2=Wendy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-283982-4 |location=Oxford; Toronto |pages=xi |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Iron pillar of Delhi]], India is the world's first Iron Pillar.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}
* [[Trigonometric functions]]: The trigonometric functions [[sine]] and versine originated in Indian astronomy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bag |first1=A.K. |title=Mathematics In Ancient and Medieval India |date=1979 |publisher=Chaukhambha Orientalia |location=Delhi |page=15 |url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicsinancientandmedievalindiabaga.k.chowkambha_935_I/page/15/mode/2up}}</ref>
* [[Codex Sinaiticus]] and the [[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209]], are the earliest Christian bibles.<ref name="Aland">{{Cite book |last1=Aland |first1=Kurt |title=The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism |last2=Aland |first2=Barbara |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |others=Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.) |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-8028-4098-1 |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |page=109 |author-link1=Kurt Aland |author-link2=Barbara Aland}}</ref><ref name="INTF">{{Cite web |title=Liste Handschriften |url=http://intf.uni-muenster.de/vmr/NTVMR/ListeHandschriften.php?ObjID=20003 |access-date=16 March 2013 |publisher=Institute for New Testament Textual Research |location=Münster}}</ref>
* [[Book of Steps]], [[Syriac literature|Syriac religious discourses]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

==References==
{{reflist}}


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