1st millennium

File:1st millennium montage.png|From top left, clockwise: Depiction of [[Jesus]], the central figure in [[Christianity]]; The [[Colosseum]], a landmark of the once-mighty [[Roman Empire]]; [[Kaaba]], the [[Great Mosque of Mecca]], the holiest site of [[Islam]]; [[Chess]], a new board game, becomes popular around the globe; The [[Western Roman Empire]] falls, ushering in the [[Early Middle Ages]]; The skeletal remains of a young woman, known as the "ring lady", killed by the eruption of [[Mount Vesuvius]] in AD 79; [[Attila the Hun]], leader of the [[Hun Empire|Hunnic Empire]], which takes most of [[Eastern Europe]] (Background: Reproduction of ancient mural from [[Teotihuacan]], National Museum of Anthropology, [[Mexico City]])|400px|thumb rect 9 6 182 173 [[Jesus Christ]] rect 192 5 411 169 [[Roman Empire]] rect 420 16 560 101 [[Great Mosque of Mecca]] rect 416 112 561 212 [[Chess]] rect 13 189 171 356 [[Attila the Hun]] rect 184 177 308 346 [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD]] rect 313 222 559 352 [[Early Middle Ages]] rect 1 1 566 394 [[Teotihuacan]] rect 1 1 566 394 [[Pilate's court]] The first millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era was a millennium spanning the years 1 to 1000 (1st to 10th centuries; in astronomy: JD 1721425.5 – 2086667.5). The world population rose more slowly than during the preceding millennium, from about 200 million in the year AD 1 to about 300 million in the year 1000. In Western Eurasia (Europe and Near East), the first millennium was a time of great transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages. The 1st century saw the peak of the Roman Empire, followed by its gradual decline during the period of Late Antiquity, the rise of Christianity and the Great Migrations. The second half of the millennium is characterized as the Early Middle Ages in Europe, and marked by the Viking expansion in the west, and the continuation of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) in the east. In East Asia, the first millennium was also a time of great cultural advances, notably the spread of Buddhism to East Asia.