Overview

The year 47 (AD 47) is a year in the 1st century often identified in Roman sources by its consuls: "the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vitellius." In modern reckoning it is described as a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Later medieval use of the Anno Domini era fixed this sequence as "AD 47" in European chronology. For a quick reference see the entry for year 47.

Calendar and naming conventions

Contemporaries rarely used numerical year counts as we do today. Romans preferred consular dating (naming the two annual consuls) and other regions used regnal years of emperors or kings. Modern historians therefore reconcile those systems to produce the label AD 47; the year also sits within the broader context of the 1st century.

Roman world and administration

During this period the Roman Empire was consolidating territories acquired earlier in the century. Administrative reforms, military placements, and provincial governance were central concerns of the imperial court. In the province of Britain, established after the invasion of AD 43, Roman forces and local administration continued work to secure control and integrate new districts into the provincial system.

China and other regions

East Asia was under the Eastern Han dynasty, a time of restored central authority following earlier turmoil. Across much of the rest of Eurasia and in the Americas, historical records for a single calendar year are sparse or fragmentary; archaeological evidence provides much of what is known about local societies and material culture for this era.

Importance and legacy

Year 47 is representative of the mid-1st century pattern: imperial consolidation in Rome, administrative continuity in China, and uneven documentation elsewhere. Its principal value to historians lies in how it illustrates dating practices and the different ways societies recorded time and authority.

  • Also known in Roman sources as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Vitellius.
  • Placed in modern chronology as AD 47 and located within the 1st century.
  • Calendar detail: common year starting on Sunday in the Julian calendar.