The 4th century BC
957 sourced entries across 100 documented years, grouped into 10 decades. A century here runs 1900–1999 rather than 1901–2000, so its decades sit inside it exactly; on the BC side the same rule puts 1–99 BC in the 1st century BC and 100 BC in the 2nd.
Decades
- The 390s BC — 10 years, 63 entries
- The 380s BC — 10 years, 69 entries
- The 370s BC — 10 years, 56 entries
- The 360s BC — 10 years, 79 entries
- The 350s BC — 10 years, 82 entries
- The 340s BC — 10 years, 72 entries
- The 330s BC — 10 years, 119 entries
- The 320s BC — 10 years, 120 entries
- The 310s BC — 10 years, 172 entries
- The 300s BC — 10 years, 125 entries
By subject
- Conflict & Security in the 4th century BC — 415 entries
- Geopolitics & Diplomacy in the 4th century BC — 95 entries
- Culture & Society in the 4th century BC — 51 entries
- Exploration & Expansion in the 4th century BC — 48 entries
- Crime & Justice in the 4th century BC — 33 entries
- Religion & Belief in the 4th century BC — 21 entries
- Science & Discovery in the 4th century BC — 12 entries
A few of the years
- 399 BCEFebruary 15 – The Greek philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by Athenian authorities, condemned for impiety and the corruption of youth. He refuses to flee into exile and dies by drinking hemlock.
- 387 BCEPlato founds the Platonic Academy in Athens, where he teaches Aristotle until 347 BC.
- 375 BCELearning that the Spartan garrison of Orchomenus (in Boeotia) is leaving for an expedition to Locris, Pelopidas sets out with the Sacred Band of Thebes and a small force of cavalry, intending to seize the city while it is unguarded. However, as the Thebans approach the city, they learn that a sizable force has been dispatched from Sparta to reinforce the garrison at Orchomenus and is approaching the city. Pelopidas retreats with his force, but before the Thebans can reach safety at Tegyra, they meet the original Spartan garrison returning from Locris. In the ensuing Battle of Tegyra, the Thebans rout the larger Spartan force.
- 363 BCEThe Egyptian pharaoh Teos (or Tachos) succeeds his father Nectanebo I to the throne. Planning a great attack on Persia, he invites Sparta to help him.
- 351 BCEFirst use of the heavy throwing spear, the pilum, (according to Livy) in battle against the Gauls.
- 339 BCEPhilip II of Macedon decides to attack the Scythians, using as an excuse their reluctance to allow Philip to dedicate a statue of Heracles at the Danube estuary. The two armies clash on the plains of modern-day Dobruja. The ninety-year-old King of the Scythians, Ateas, is killed during the battle and his army is routed.
- 327 BCEAlexander the Great invades northern India. Recrossing the Hindu Kush, Alexander divides his forces. Half the army with the baggage under Hephaestion and Perdiccas, both cavalry commanders, are sent through the Khyber Pass, while Alexander leads the rest, together with his siege train, through the hills to the north. His advance through Swat and Gandhara is marked by the storming of the almost impregnable pinnacle of Aornos, a few miles west of the Indus.
- 315 BCEThe Indian king Porus, ally of Alexander the Great, is killed by Eudemus, another general of Alexander. The son of Porus, Malayketu, seizes his territory back by killing Eudemus.