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In the Gregorian calendar, the 1st millennium is the period of one thousand years that commenced with the year 1 of the Common Era. There is no "year zero" in the Gregorian calendar.

The early 1st millennium marks the peak of the Roman Empire and its subsequent decline. In analysis grouping history by period this same era is a period of transition also known as Late Antiquity, culminating in the transformation of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, while the Western Roman Empire collapses, giving rise to the Early Middle Ages.

As the millennium ages, Christianity and Islam rise to power in the 4th and 7th centuries, respectively. The late 1st millennium sees the Vikings incursions and settlements, founding of the Carolingian dynasties, and as the millennium closes, the gradual transition to what is known as the High Middle Ages.

World population, which had tripled over the preceding millennium, grew more slowly during the thousand year era and could well have diminished. One optimistic estimate the world's population rose from approximately 170 to 300 million, but other estimates vary; one estimate suggests that the world population actually declined from 400 million people to 250 million people.

• Beginning (30s) and rise (4th century) of Christianity
• Volcanic destruction of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae (AD 79)
• In Albion — London founded by Romans as Londinium
• Diaspora of the Jews (1st century)
• The Olympic Games observed until 393
• The Library of Alexandria, largest library in the world, burned
• High point, and fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century)
• Rise of the Byzantine Empire
• Rise of the Bulgarian Empire
• Germanic kingdoms established in Northern and Western Europe (Migration Period, Dark Ages)
• Beginning of Islam (7th century)
• Maya civilization at its height
• Three kingdoms in China
• The height of Hindu culture in India under the Gupta Dynasty
• The height of Tamil civilization under the Cholas. Indian colonization of South-East Asia.
• Islamic conquest of the Middle East and North Africa
• Viking raids common in northern Europe (Viking Age, from the 8th century)
• Beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe
• Rise of the Ghana Empire in Mauritania
• Settlement of the Magyars in Hungary (800–900)

• Caesar Augustus, Roman emperor (63 BC–14)
• Jesus, central figure in Christianity (d. c. 29–33)
• Paul of Tarsus (d. 67), central apostle of Christianity to the gentiles
• Cai Lun (d. 121), Chinese inventor of paper
• Plutarch (d. c. 127), Greek historian
• Zhang Heng (d. 139), Chinese astronomer and mathematician
• Ptolemy (d. 178), Greek astronomer and mathematician
• Chandragupta (280–319), founder of the Indian Gupta Empire
• Constantine I (d. 337), Roman emperor
• Augustine of Hippo (354–430), theologian and Father of the Church
• Attila (d. 453), Hunnic king and warlord
• Theodoric the Great (454–526), king of the Goths and of Italy
• Aryabhata (b. 476), Indian astronomer and mathematician
• Muhammad (570–632), prophet and founder of Islam

• Saint Isidore of Seville (d. 636), archbishop and encyclopedist
• Brahmagupta (d. 668), Indian mathematician and astronomer
• Saint Bede (672 or 673–735)
• Abi Ishaq (d. 735) Arab grammarian
• Charles Martel (d. 741), defeated the Arabs at Toulouse, 721
• Charlemagne (d. 814), Frankish conqueror and founder of the Holy Roman Empire
• Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḵwārizmī (c. 780 – c. 850), Persian mathematician
• Alfred the Great (d. 899)
• Al Battani (850–923), Arab astronomer and mathematician
• Otto the Great (912–973)
• Bjarni Herjólfsson

• Paper invented in China
• Algebra developed in the Middle East
• Coffee discovered in Ethiopia
• Various horse-riding improvements including the horseshoe and the stirrup
• Hop (plant) added to beer for the first time
• Ptolemaic system used to describe the motion of the planets
• Chess developed, gaining widespread use
• Magnetic compass invented
• Steel first used in India

+ 43 AD Permanent Roman invasion of Britain begins under the new Roman emperor Claudius, anxious to make a name for himself. After the early battles have been won, Claudius travels personally to take the surrender of eleven tribes in the southeast of Britain. Julius Caesar led the first in 55 BC during the last days of the Roman Republic and many of the Britons had been paying tribute since.