In the year 1 BC...
- When Emperor Ai of China dies suddenly of illness, Empress Dowager Wang acts quickly, seizing the imperial seal before the powerful general Dong Xian can get to it and naming her favorite nephew Wang Mang as regent. This gives Wang Mang a chance to consolidate his power in the court and paves the way for his seizure of the throne in his own name 9 years later.
- Roman poet Ovid publishes his Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love"), a lascivious manual of seduction and intrigue for the man about town.
- Gaius Caesar, adopted son of Roman Emperor Augustus, marries Livilla, daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus. Later in the year he is granted proconsular imperium, and dispatched to re-establish order in Armenia.
These people were born in 1 BC:
These people died in 1 BC:
- Emperor Ai of Han Dynasty China
- Chinese empress Fu, of suicide, following the death of her husband Emperor Ai
- Chinese empress Zhao Feiyan, of suicide, following the death of her nephew Emperor Ai.
- Chinese general Dong Xian, of suicide, following the death of his lord (and probably lover), Emperor Ai.
2 BC - 1 BC - AD 1
1st century BC