12 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	2nd century BC – 1st century BC – 1st century
Decades:	40s BC  30s BC  20s BC  – 10s BC –  0s BC  0s  10s
Years:	15 BC 14 BC 13 BC – 12 BC – 11 BC 10 BC 9 BC

12 BC in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	12 BC
Ab urbe condita	742
Ancient Greek era	192nd Olympiad (victor)¹
Assyrian calendar	4739
Bengali calendar	−604
Berber calendar	939
Buddhist calendar	533
Burmese calendar	−649
Byzantine calendar	5497–5498
Chinese calendar	戊申年 (Earth Monkey) 2685 or 2625     — to — 己酉年 (Earth Rooster) 2686 or 2626
Coptic calendar	−295 – −294
Discordian calendar	1155
Ethiopian calendar	−19 – −18
Hebrew calendar	3749–3750
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	45–46
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	3090–3091
Holocene calendar	9989
Iranian calendar	633 BP – 632 BP
Islamic calendar	652 BH – 651 BH
Julian calendar	12 BC
Korean calendar	2322
Minguo calendar	1923 before ROC 民前1923年
Seleucid era	300/301 AG
Thai solar calendar	531–532

Year 12 BC was either a common year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Quirinius (or, less frequently, year 742 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 12 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Empire

• Marcus Valerius Messalla Appianus and Publius Sulpicius Quirinius are Roman Consuls.
• Tiberius Claudius Nero summoned to Pannonia due to severe revolt by the Delmataeians.
• Roman armies based at Xanten, Cologne and Mainz campaign beyond the Rhine.
• First official mention of Argentoratum, the city known in modern times as Strasbourg.
• Emperor Augustus is given the title Pontifex Maximus.
• Approximate date – Pyramid of Cestius erected in Rome.

India

• King Azes II dies. The rule of the Indo-Scythians crumbles as the Kushans, one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who lives in Bactria expand into India to create a Kushan Empire.

By topic

Astronomy

• Comet Halley makes an appearance.

Births

• Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus, member of the Roman Senate (d. c. AD 20 or 21)
• Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus, son of Julia the Elder and grandson of Augustus (d. AD 14)

Deaths

• Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, statesman, general (b. c. 63 BC)
• Propertius, poet (b. c. 50–45 BC)

References