__NOTOC__ Year 257 (CCLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1010 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 257 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 Emperor Gallienus brings some order to the Danube area. Future emperor Aurelian defeats the Goths and brings many prisoners back to Rome. In Bavaria the Limes Germanicus (Upper Raetian Limes) along the river Iller is abandoned by the Romans. Valerian, under guardianship of Ingenuus, is established at Sirmium (Pannonia) to represent the Roman government in the troubled Illyrian provinces. Emperor Valerian recovers Antioch, Syria from King Shapur I of Persia. The Goths build a fleet on the Black Sea. The Goths separate into the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths.
By topic Religion August 30 – Pope Sixtus II succeeds Pope Stephen I as the 24th pope.W.H.C. Friend, A New Eusebius: Documents illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987), p. 224 Valerian's persecution of Christians begins: his edict orders bishops and priests to sacrifice according to the pagan rituals, and prohibits Christians, under penalty of death, from meeting at the tombs of their deceased.
Births Gregory the Illuminator, Armenian religious leader (approximate date) Jia Nanfeng (or Shi), Chinese empress (d. 300)
Deaths August 2 – Stephen I, bishop of Rome September 26 – Zhu Yi (or Jiwen), Chinese general Wen Qin (or Zhongruo), Chinese general and politician Zhang Changpu, Chinese concubine (b. 199)
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