The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130 · External witness
Emperor Nerva
d. AD 98 · Roman Emperor (96–98) · Rome
External witness
Who Emperor Nerva was
The elderly senator raised to the purple on Domitian’s assassination, whose amnesty annulled the tyrant’s sentences and recalled the exiles — “the sentences of Domitian were annulled, and the Roman senate decreed the return of those who had been unjustly banished,” Eusebius records, adding the tradition of the fathers: “it was then that the apostle John returned from his banishment in Patmos and took up his abode at Ephesus.” Nerva also refused prosecutions on the charge of ‘Jewish life.’ Sixteen months of clemency, remembered by the church because they gave John back to Ephesus.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Nerva die?
Emperor Nerva is dated d. AD 98 in the archive, which places Emperor Nerva in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130).
Which early sources mention Emperor Nerva?
Emperor Nerva is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Dio Cassius and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Nerva from?
The archive associates Emperor Nerva with Rome.
Who were Emperor Nerva’s contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Nerva to 5 other figures, including John the Apostle, Emperor Domitian, Timothy of Lystra and Emperor Trajan. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Dio Cassius, Roman History 68.1 (the exiles restored)
c. AD 229Nerva released all who were on trial for maiestas and restored the exiles.Dio Cassius · read ↗
Ecclesiastical History III.20
c. AD 325The sentences of Domitian were annulled… Then also the apostle John, according to the tradition of our fathers, returned from his banishment in the island and took up his abode at Ephesus.Eusebius of Caesarea · III.20 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Emperor Nerva.
- 1Rome