Editing 60s

{{short description|Seventh decade of the first century AD}}
{{About|the years AD 60–69|the years 60–69 in other centuries|List of decades}}
{{distinguish|1860s|1960s|2060s}}
[[File:Robert,_Hubert_-_Incendie_à_Rome_-.jpg|alt=A depiction of the fire burning through the city.|thumb|284x284px|18th-century painting of the [[Great Fire of Rome]], which saw the destruction of two-thirds of the city. The fire precipitated the empire's [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire#Neronian persecution|first persecution against Christians]], who were blamed for the disaster.]]
{{Decadebox|6}}The '''60s''' decade ran from January 1, AD 60, to December 31, AD 69.

In the Roman Empire, the early part of the decade saw the beginning of the [[Boudican revolt|Boudican Revolt]] in [[Roman Britain|Britannia]], where several tribes (chiefly the [[Iceni]]), led by [[Boudica]], rebelled against the Roman occupation. The revolt led to the sacking of several Roman cities, but was ultimately quelled by governor [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]]. In 63, the [[Roman–Parthian War of 58–63|Roman–Parthian War]] came to an end with the [[Treaty of Rhandeia]]. In 66, the [[First Jewish–Roman War|First Jewish-Roman War]] began, as Jewish rebels fought against Roman rule. Near the end of the decade in 69, the [[Year of the Four Emperors]] saw a period of civil war and political instability in the Roman Empire, as four different men ([[Galba]], [[Otho]], [[Vitellius]], and [[Vespasian]]) claimed the title of Emperor within the span of a year. Ultimately, the year ended with the ascension of Vespasian to the throne and the beginning of the [[Flavian dynasty|Flavian Dynasty]]. In East Asia, the state of [[Funan]] was established, while China [[Rule of Ming and Zhang|continued its golden age]].

In 62, [[AD 62 Pompeii earthquake|an earthquake of an estimated magnitude of between 5 and 6]] and a maximum intensity of IX or X on the [[Mercalli scale]] struck the towns of [[Pompeii]] and [[Herculaneum]], severely damaging them. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum both suffered major damage, with damage to some buildings also reported from [[Naples]] and [[Nocera Inferiore|Nuceria]]. Seneca reported the death of a flock of 600 sheep that he attributed to the effects of poisonous gases. Later, in 64, the [[Great Fire of Rome]] began in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, [[Circus Maximus]]. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, two-thirds of [[Rome]] had been destroyed. According to [[Tacitus]] and later [[Christians|Christian]] tradition, [[Nero|Emperor Nero]] blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first [[Anti-Christian policies in the Roman Empire|persecution against the Christians]].

In the Roman Empire, [[Christianity]] continued to spread, despite a [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire#Neronian persecution|campaign of persecution being initiated under Emperor Nero]] in 64. According to tradition, the apostles Peter and Paul were both martyred during this period: Traditionally, [[Roman Empire|Roman]] authorities allegedly sentenced Peter to death by [[crucifixion]] at [[Vatican Hill]]. In accordance with the [[apocryphal]] [[Acts of Peter]], he was crucified head down. As for Paul, the [[Second Epistle to Timothy]] states that he was arrested in [[Troad]] and brought back to Rome, where he was imprisoned and put on trial before being executed. The [[White Horse Temple]], the first [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temple in China, was traditionally constructed in 68, though it is not recorded in contemporary sources before 289.

In 62 or 64, the [[Baths of Nero]] were constructed. It stood between the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] and the [[Stadium of Domitian]] and were listed among the most notable buildings in the city by Roman authors and became a much-frequented venue. In his final years, [[Seneca the Younger]] wrote ''[[De Providentia]]'' (discussing the [[problem of evil]]), ''[[De Beneficiis]]'' (discussing the award and reception of gifts and favours within society), and [[Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium|compiled a collection of 124 written near the end of his life]]. After Seneca's death in 65, a play named ''[[Octavia (play)|Octavia]]'' was written: the [[Latin literature|Roman]] [[tragedy]] focuses on three days in the year 62 during which [[Nero]] divorced and exiled his wife [[Claudia Octavia]] and married another ([[Poppaea Sabina]]). The play also deals with the irascibility of Nero and his inability to take heed of the philosopher [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca's]] advice to rein in his [[Passion (emotion)|passions]]. The ''[[Pharsalia]]'', a poem detailing [[Caesar's civil war]] (49–45 BC), was also written during this decade.

Manning (2008) tentatively estimates the world population in AD 60 as 249 million.

{{Events by year for decade|6}}

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Estimates of historical world population}}
Due to lack of reliable demographic data, estimates of the world population in the 1st century vary wildly, with estimates for AD 1 varying from 150<ref name="thesocialcontract.com">[http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc0403/article_329.shtml John H. Tanton, 1994, "End of the Migration Epoch?  Time For a New Paradigm", The Social Contract, Vol. 4 (no 3), pp. 162–173].</ref> to 300<ref>Haub (1995): "By 1 A.D., the world may have held about 300 million people. One estimate of the population of the Roman Empire, from Spain to Asia Minor, in 14 A.D. is 45 million. However, other historians set the figure twice as high, suggesting how imprecise population estimates of early historical periods can be."</ref> million. Demographers typically do not attempt to estimate most specific years in antiquity, instead giving approximate numbers for round years such as AD 1 or AD 200. However, attempts at reconstructing the world population in more specific years have been made, with Manning (2008) tentatively estimating the world population in AD 60 as 249 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Manning |first=Scott |date=2008-01-12 |title=Year-by-Year World Population Estimates: 10,000 B.C. to 2007 A.D. |url=https://scottmanning.com/content/year-by-year-world-population-estimates/ |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=Historian on the Warpath |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Significant people==
* [[Boudicca]], rebellious [[Roman Britain|British]] queen
* [[Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]], Roman general
* [[Gaius Julius Civilis|Julius Civilis]], leader of the [[Batavian rebellion]] against the Romans

{{Births and deaths by year for decade|6}}
==References==
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