text: Roman forces in Spain led by Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus and Publius Cornelius Scipio successfully thwart Hasdrubal's attempt to march to Italy.


year_label: 216 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: The city of Capua switches sides to join Hannibal and the Carthaginian army winters there.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: Following Hannibal's victory, many regions begin to defect from Rome, while others are conquered by Hannibal's forces. In Apulia, Lucania, Samnium and in Bruttium, Hannibal finds many supporters.


text: The Carthaginian general, Hannibal, moves his forces southward through Italy and seizes the large army supply depot at Cannae on the Aufidus River.


text: The Roman historian Quintus Fabius Pictor is sent to Delphi in Greece to consult the Oracle for advice about what Rome should do after its defeat in the Battle of Cannae.


text: A Roman force of 25,000 led by Lucius Postumius Albinus is ambushed by Gauls near Litana and almost completely wiped out.


text: The Carthaginian fleet ravages the territory of The Kingdom of Syracuse.

source_section: Events › By place › Syracuse


text: After the defeat at Cannae, Roman general, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, commands the remnants of the Roman army at Canusium and saves the city of Nola and southern Campania from occupation by Hannibal.


text: A revolt of the Egyptian peasants is put down by Ptolemy IV.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


text: A loan of money and supplies for the Roman army in Sicily is sought and obtained from Hiero II of Syracuse.


text: Philip V of Macedon, still resenting Rome's interference in Illyrian politics, seizes his opportunity to invade Illyria. Ambassadors from Philip V visit Hannibal at his headquarters in Italy. These actions mark the beginning of the First Macedonian War between Rome and Macedonia.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Hasdrubal is ordered by the Carthaginian government to march to Italy.

source_section: Events › By place › Spain


section: Births

text: Liu Pi, Chinese prince and general of the Han Dynasty (d. 154 BC)

source_section: Births


date: August 2

section: Deaths

text: August 2 – Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, Roman consul 217 BC (killed in the Battle of Cannae)

source_section: Deaths


text: August 2 – Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Roman consul and general (killed in the Battle of Cannae)


text: August 2 – Marcus Minucius Rufus, Roman consul 221 BC, Master of the Horse 217 BC (killed in the Battle of Cannae)


text: Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman consul 232 BC and priest (augur)


section: Climate & Environment

text: c. 2160 BC: End of the reign of Pharaoh Neferirkare, last king of the Eighth Dynasty of Egypt. Beginning of the Ninth Dynasty, possibly after the overthrow of Neferirkare.

source_title: 22nd century BC

source_section: Events


section: Culture & Society

text: c. 2160 BC: Beginning of Middle Minoan period in Crete.


year_label: 217 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Learning of Hannibal's victory over the Romans at Lake Trasimene and seeing a chance to recover his Illyrian kingdom from the Romans, Demetrius of Pharos immediately advises Philip V to make peace with the Aetolians, and turn his attentions toward Illyria and Italy. Philip, at once begins negotiations with the Aetolians. At a conference on the coast near Naupactus, Philip meets the Aetolian leaders and a peace treaty is concluded, ending the three-year-long "Social War".


date: June 21

text: June 21 – On the northern shore of Lake Trasimene, in Umbria, Hannibal's troops all but annihilate Gaius Flaminius' army in the Battle of Lake Trasimene, killing thousands (including Flaminius) and driving others to drown in the lake. Reinforcements of about 4,000 cavalry from Ariminum under the praetor, Gaius Centenius, are intercepted before they arrive and are also destroyed. The Carthaginian troops then march on Rome.


date: June 22

text: June 22 – Egyptian native hoplites under Ptolemy IV crush the Seleucid army under Antiochus III in the Battle of Raphia near Gaza. The realization of their military importance leads to demands by native Egyptians for greater privileges and so to the development of racial difficulties which will weaken the Ptolemy dynasty in the future.


text: Gaius Flaminius is re-elected consul with Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, in what is considered to be a rebuke of the Senate's prosecution of the war. Flaminius raises new legions and marches north to meet the Carthaginian general Hannibal.


text: Hannibal advances to the Arno River and then outmanoeuvres the army of Gaius Flaminius at Arretium and reaches Faesulae (modern Fiesole) and Perugia.


text: Minucius takes command of half the army and camps separately from Fabius near Geronium. Hannibal, informed of this development, lays an elaborate trap, which draws out Minucius and his army and then Hannibal attacks it from all sides. The timely arrival of Fabius with the other half of the army enables Minucius to escape after a severe mauling. After the battle, Minucius turns over his army to Fabius and resumes the duties of Master of Horse.


text: Carthaginians defeat the Romans at Lake Trasimene; at the Trebia River and at the Ticinus River


text: Quintus Fabius Maximus begins his strategy of "delay". This involves avoiding a set battle with the Carthaginians and creating a "scorched earth" area around Hannibal's army. Manoeuvring among the hills, where Hannibal's cavalry is ineffective, Fabius cuts off his enemy's supplies and harasses Hannibal's forces incessantly. Fabius gains the name Cunctator (The Delayer) for this strategy.


text: Philip V of Macedon, continuing his war with the Aetolian League lays siege to Phthiotic Thebes, captures it and sells the inhabitants into slavery.


text: Publius Cornelius Scipio is sent with reinforcements by Rome to Spain as proconsul. In a naval battle on the Ebro River at Tarraco, the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal's fleet is largely destroyed by a daring surprise Roman attack led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus. As a result, the Romans are able to strengthen their hold on the Ebro River region.


text: Although holding the initiative after the Battle of Raphia, Ptolemy IV, on his chief minister Sosibius' advice, negotiates a peace, and the Seleucid army withdraws from Coele Syria. Antiochus III gives up all his conquests except the city of Seleucia-in-Pieria.


text: Fabius' delaying policy becomes increasingly unpopular in Rome, and Fabius is compelled to return to Rome to defend his actions under the guise of observing some religious obligations. Marcus Minucius Rufus, the master of horse, is left in command and manages to catch the Carthaginians off guard near their camp in Geronium and inflicts severe losses on them in a large skirmish. This "victory" causes the Romans, disgruntled with Fabius, to elevate Minucius to the equal rank of dictator with Fabius.


text: Hannibal ravages Apulia and Campania; meanwhile the delaying tactics of Quintus Fabius Maximus' army allows only skirmishes to occur between the two armies.


section: Religion & Belief

text: Gaius Flaminius' supporters in the Senate begin to lose power to the more aristocratic factions as the Romans fear Hannibal is about to besiege their city. The Senate appoint Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as dictator.


text: Xin Zhui, a Han dynasty noblewoman


text: Gaius Flaminius, Roman consul and general


text: Pinnes (also Pinneus or Pineus), son of Agron, king of Illyria, and Agron's first wife Triteuta


year_label: 218 BCE

text: The city of Selge is besieged by Garsyeris, the general of Achaeus, and eventually forced to surrender, although Logbasis, on the verge of negotiating a treacherous agreement, is killed by his fellow citizens.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia Minor


text: c. 2180 BC: Akkadian Empire falls under attack by the Guti (Mesopotamia), a mountain people from the northeast.


year_label: 219 BCE

text: The Cretan city of Kydonia joins the Aetolian alliance.


text: The Roman Senate sends the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus to Illyria with an army. On discovering Rome's intent, the Illyrian leader Demetrius of Pharos puts to death those Illyrians who oppose his rule, fortifies Dimale and goes to Pharos. After a seven-day siege by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus, Dimale is taken by direct assault. From Dimale, the Roman navy heads to Pharos, where the Roman forces rout the Illyrians. Demetrius flees to Macedonia, where he becomes a trusted councilor at the court of King Philip V.


text: The former King of Sparta, Cleomenes III, escapes from his Egyptian prison and, after failing to raise a revolt in Alexandria, takes his own life.


text: Following the defection of one of Ptolemy IV's leading commanders, Egypt's Syrian territories are seriously threatened by Antiochus III, thus initiating the Fourth Syrian War. When the Seleucid ruler captures the important eastern Mediterranean sea ports of Seleucia-in-Pieria, Tyre, and Ptolemais, Ptolemy IV's advisor, Sosibius, and the Ptolemaic court enter into delaying negotiations with the enemy, while the Ptolemaic army is reorganized and intensively drilled.


text: Qin Shi Huang orders his generals to capture present-day Guangdong and Guangxi.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: The Romans extend their area of domination around the head of the Adriatic Sea as far as the peninsula of Histria by the conquest of peoples who dwell to the east of the Veneti. Thus, with the exception of Liguria and the upper valley of the Po River, all Italy south of the Alps is brought within the Roman sphere.


text: Cleomenes III, Spartan king from 235 BC to 222 BC, who reorganized Sparta's political structure and struggled unsuccessfully to destroy the Achaean League.


text: c. 2181 BC: End of the Old Kingdom of Egypt and start of the First Intermediate Period, the doubtful Seventh Dynasty and the Eighth Dynasty of Egypt with Menkare (these periods may extend to c. 2160 BC or beyond). The fall of the Old Kingdom may have been caused by a conjunction of severe droughts, strong decentralization of the state and confusion following the extremely long reign of Pepi II.


text: c. 2184 BC: Ephemeral rule of Merenre Nemtyemsaf II in Egypt.


text: c. 2184 BC: Possible date for the death of Pharaoh Pepi II Neferkare of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the longest reigning monarch of history with 94 years on the throne.


year_label: 220 BCE

text: Antiochus III's commander in Anatolia, Achaeus, having recovered all the districts which Attalus of Pergamum has gained, is accused by Hermeias, the chief minister of Antiochus, of intending to revolt. In self-defence, Achaeus assumes the title of king and rules over the Anatolian parts of the Seleucid kingdom.

source_section: Events › By place › Anatolia


text: Meanwhile, the birth of a son to Antiochus III and Laodice (daughter of Mithridates II, king of Pontus) leads Hermeias to consider getting rid of the king so that he can rule under the name of the infant son. Antiochus discovers the scheme and arranges the assassination of Hermeias.

source_section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire


text: Aratus of Sicyon counters Aetolian aggression by obtaining the assistance of the Hellenic League now under the leadership of Philip V of Macedon. In the resulting Social War, the Hellenic League of Greek states is assembled in Corinth at Philip V's instigation. He then leads the Hellenic League in battles against Aetolia, Sparta and Elis.


text: Demetrius seeks refuge with Philip V of Macedon, who is very resentful of the Roman interference. Rome occupies Demetrius' chief fortresses, Pharos and Dimillos.


text: Scerdilaidas and the Aetolians invade Achaea. With the help of Cynaethan traitors, they attack, seize and burn Cynaetha, a town in the north of Arcadia.


text: Antiochus III the Great defeats Molon at the Tigris River, defeating and killing. Antiochus goes on to conquer Atropatene.


text: Hannibal campaigns against the Vaccaei, he storms the Vaccaen strongholds of Helmantice and Arbucala.

source_section: Events › By place › Iberian Peninsula


text: Rome strikes again against the Illyrian pirates precipitating the Second Illyrian War.


text: On his return home, laden with many spoils, a coalition of Hispanic tribes, led by the Carpetani, attack his army at the river Tagus, here Hannibal wins his first independent victory.


text: Together with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece.


text: Qin Shi Huang begins a system of tree-lined roads to interconnect all parts of China, and begins to join regional walls to form the beginnings of the Great Wall (Wan li chang cheng).


text: During his censorship, the Roman political leader, Gaius Flaminius, builds the Circus Flaminius on the Campus Martius and constructs the Via Flaminia from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini).


text: The Gortynians occupy Matala, on the island of Crete.


text: Around this time, Prime Minister Li Si publishes Cangjiepian, a primer on the new orthographic standard for all of China, the Small Seal Script.


section: Crime & Justice

text: A bronze statue called Gallic Chieftain killing his wife and himself is made (approximate date). A Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: A bronze statue called Dying Gallic trumpeter is made (possibly by Epigonus) (230-220 BC). A marble Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Capitolino in Rome.


text: Arsinoe III marries her brother, King Ptolemy IV of Egypt.


text: Tiberius Gracchus the Elder, father of the Roman political reformer Tiberius Gracchus (approximate date) (d. 154 BC)


text: Pacuvius, Roman tragic poet and writer (d. c. 130 BC)


text: Attalus II Philadelphus, king of Pergamon (d. 138 BC)


text: Hermeias, the favourite and chief minister of the Seleucid king Seleucus III and, for a short time, chief minister to Antiochus III


text: Conon of Samos, Greek mathematician and astronomer whose work on conic sections (curves of the intersections of a right circular cone with a plane) serves as the basis for the fourth book of the Conics of Apollonius of Perga (b. c. 280 BC)


text: Molon, general of the Seleucid king Antiochus III who has rebelled against his rule


text: c. 2200 BC: Austronesians reach the Batanes Islands of the Philippine Archipelago as part of the Austronesian expansion.


year_label: 23 BCE

text: Ma'nu III Saphul becomes ruler of Osroene.

source_title: 23 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Osroene


text: Caesar Augustus becomes Roman consul for the eleventh time. His co-consul is Aulus Terentius Varro Murena.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: In response to Meroë's incursions into Upper Egypt, the Roman legions move south and raze Napata. (History of Sudan).


text: The Nubians, led by queen Kandake Amanirenas, take the initiative against the Roman Empire, and attack the Roman province of Egypt moving towards Elephantine.


text: Herod the Great builds a palace in Jerusalem and the fortress Herodium in Judaea. He also marries his third wife, named Mariamne, the daughter of high priest Simon.


text: Augustus relinquishes the position of consul, retains that of tribune of Rome, and assumes that of Princeps, or "First Citizen." (see Roman Empire).


section: Economy & Finance

text: Following coinage reform, the as is struck in reddish pure copper, instead of bronze. The denominations of sestertius and dupondius are introduced as large bronze coins.


section: Health & Medicine

text: Augustus gets seriously ill: he gives Agrippa his signet ring and grants him the title imperium pro consule.


text: The Roman poet Horace publishes the first three books of Odes.

source_section: Events › By topic › Poetry


text: The earliest documented instance of wrestling in Japan

source_section: Events › By topic › Sports


text: The Roman writer, architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio finishes writing De Architectura (known today as The Ten Books of Architecture), a treatise in Latin on architecture, and perhaps the first work about this discipline.

source_section: Events › By topic › Architecture


text: Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Samaria (Judea) (d. AD 18)


text: Dong Xian, Chinese politician and general (d. 1 BC)


text: Marcus Claudius Marcellus (nephew of Augustus) falls ill from a fever shortly after his uncle recovers and dies at the age of nineteen while serving as an aedile.


text: Marcus Claudius Marcellus, son of Octavia and nephew of Augustus (b. 42 BC)


year_label: 221 BCE

text: The state of Qi – by now the only other independent state in China –, is invaded by the Qin generals Wang Ben, Li Xin and Meng Tian and surrenders after offering minimal resistance. Ying Zheng, the king of Qin unifies China and proclaims himself the First Emperor, as he is the first Chinese sovereign able to rule the whole country, thus ending the Warring States period. He is known by historians as Qin Shi Huang.


text: The Chinese Bronze Age ends (approximate date).


text: Hannibal immediately moves to consolidate Carthage's control of Spain. He marries a Spanish princess, Imilce, then begins to conquer various Spanish tribes. He fights against the Olcades and captures their capital, Althaea; quells the Vaccaei in the northwest; and, making the seaport of Cartagena (Carthago Nova, the capital of Carthaginian Spain) his base, wins a resounding victory over the Carpetani in the region of the Tagus River.


text: At Sosibius' direction, Ptolemy IV puts to death in succession his uncle, Lysimachus, his brother Magas, and his mother Berenice II.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Gaius Flaminius builds a second race track for Rome, the Circus Flaminius.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: King Cleomenes III of Sparta, who is in exile in Egypt, is imprisoned by Ptolemy IV on a charge of conspiracy.


text: The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal is murdered by a Celtic assassin while campaigning to increase the Carthaginian hold on Spain. Following the assassination of Hasdrubal, Hannibal, the son of the Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, is proclaimed commander-in-chief by the army and his appointment is confirmed by the Carthaginian government.


text: Liu Fei, Chinese prince and proclaimed king of the former Qi State (d. 189 BC)


text: Hasdrubal, Carthaginian general and son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca (assassinated) (b. c. 270 BC)


text: Lucius Caecilius Metellus, Roman consul and general during the First Punic War (b. c. 290 BC)


text: Ptolemy III, king of Egypt, who has reunited Egypt and Cyrenaica and successfully waged the Third Syrian War against the Seleucid Empire


text: Antigonus III dies during a battle against the Illyrians and is succeeded by his young cousin Philip V as King of Macedonia.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: Xenoetas, Seleucid general (killed during a revolt against Antiochus III)


text: Berenice II, queen of Egypt, daughter of Magas, king of Cyrenaica (in modern Libya), whose marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes has reunited her country with Egypt (b. c. 267 BC)


text: Egypt's Ptolemy III dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy IV. Sosibius is appointed by Ptolemy IV as his chief minister and immediately has a great influence over the young king, directing all of the affairs of state.


text: Antigonus III Doson, king of Macedon from 227 BC (b. 263 BC)


year_label: 222 BCE

text: After taking Acerrae Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus marches on Mediolanum (modern Milan), another stronghold of the Insubres, which also falls into Roman hands, upon which the chieftains of the Insubres lose all hope and surrendered unconditionally. Thus the Romans succeeded in conquering the largest independent Celtic tribe in Italy and firmly established their hegemony over the Po Valley, then the most productive agricultural region in the peninsula.


text: Almost all of Greece falls under Macedonian suzerainty after Antigonus III re-establishes the Hellenic Alliance as a confederacy of leagues, with himself as president.


text: The Romans split their forces. Marcus Claudius Marcellus heads for Clastidium while his colleague Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus continues the siege of Acerrae. At the Battle of Clastidium Marcellus defeats the Gaesatae. Marcellus personally slays Viridomarus. This victory removes the Gallic threat to Rome. Marcellus is awarded the spolia opima for the third and last time in Roman history.


text: The Qin generals Wang Ben and Li Xin conquer Liaodong, thereby completing the subjugation of Yan.


text: Wang Ben conquers Dai, thereby completing the subjugation of Zhao.


text: Seleucid forces under their general Achaeus succeed in winning back all the Seleucid domains in Asia Minor (lost six years earlier to Pergamum).


text: Battle of Sellasia: Cleomenes III of Sparta is defeated by Antigonus III of Macedon and his allies (the Achaean League, the Boeotian League, the Acarnanians, Epirus and the Illyrians under the command of Demetrius of Pharos) near Sellasia (north of Sparta) and flees to Egypt under the protection of King Ptolemy III. Antigonus III's forces occupy Sparta, which is the first time this city has ever been occupied.


text: The Qin general Wang Jian conquers Wuyue, forcing the capitulation of its ruler. The conquered region becomes the province of Kuaiji. This campaign completes the subjugation of the lands formerly held by the State of Chu, and it also serves as a precursor for the Qin campaign against the Yue tribes.


text: Mithridates II of Pontus gives his daughter Laodice in marriage to the Seleucid king Antiochus III. Another of his daughters, also named Laodice, is married about the same time to general Achaeus.


text: Viridomarus, military leader of the Gaesatae (Gaul)


text: Eucleidas, king of Sparta (killed in the Battle of Sellasia)


text: Xi of Yan, king of the Yan State (Warring States Period)


text: Ptolemy III Euergetes (the Benefactor), king of Egypt


text: Ctesibius, Greek inventor and mathematician


text: c. 2215 BC: A Guti army swept down from the Zagros Mountains and defeated the demoralized Akkadian army. They took Agade, the capital of Akkad, and destroyed it thoroughly.

source_title: 23rd century BC


text: c. 2220 BC: Scord of Brouster farmstead established in the Shetland islands


text: c. 2220 BC: Mount Edgecumbe volcano erupts near present-day Sitka, Alaska.


year_label: 223 BCE

text: Gaius Flaminius is elected consul for the first time and, with his co-consul Publius Furius Philus, he forces the Gauls south of the Alps to submit to Rome, creating the province of Cisalpine Gaul.


text: The Qin generals Wang Jian and Meng Wu defeat the Chu general Xiang Yan and the king of Chu, Lord Changping. Lord Changping is killed, and Xiang Yan commits suicide soon afterwards.


text: The Seleucid king Seleucus III is assassinated by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus of Pergamon in Phrygia.


text: The king of Macedonia, Antigonus III Doson, restores Macedonian influence in the Peloponnese for the first time in almost two decades. After signing alliances with the Achaeans, Boeotians, Thessalians and the Acarnanians, Antigonus invades the Peloponnese and drives the Spartans out of Argos, taking Orchomenus and Mantineia in the process.


text: Seleucus III is succeeded by his younger brother, Antiochus III.


text: King Diodotus II of Bactria is killed by a usurper, Euthydemus I, founder of the Greco-Bactrian Euthydemid dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › Bactria


section: Disasters & Accidents

text: The Spartan king Cleomenes III destroys and burns the city of Megalopolis but the inhabitants are saved by Philopoemen who leads the defence of the city until the inhabitants can escape.


text: Seleucus III, king of the Seleucid dynasty from 226 BC (assassinated) (b. c. 243 BC)

source_section: Deaths


text: Lord Changping, the last king of Chu, one of the Seven Warring States in ancient China.


text: Diodotus II, King of Bactria, the son and successor of Diodotus I (approximate date) (b. c. 252 BC)


year_label: 224 BCE

text: Xiang Yan retreats his forces south of the Huai River and makes Lord Changping the new king of Chu.


text: The Qin Prime Minister Lord Changping, who was born in Chu, incites a Chu rebellion against the Qin invaders. He and the Chu general Xiang Yan then surprise and defeat the Qin army led by Li Xin and Meng Tian in the Battle of Chengfu.


text: Qin begins the invasion of Chu. Initially, the Qin generals Li Xin and Meng Tian capture several cities and defeat the Chu army.


text: After the Spartan King Cleomenes III takes on Pellene, Phlius and Argos, Aratus of Sicyon is forced to call upon King Antigonus III of Macedonia for assistance. Antigonus III's forces fail to pierce Cleomenes' lines near Corinth, but a revolt against Cleomenes at Argos put the Spartans on the defensive.


text: The Romans, led by Consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, decisively defeat the coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes at the Battle of Telamon thus extending Roman influence over northern Italy. On the Roman side Gaius Atilius Regulus, commander of the Roman cavalry, is killed in the battle. On the Gallic side, one of the leaders, Concolitanus, is captured in battle, while the leader of the Gaesatae, Aneroëstes, kills himself when the battle is lost.


text: Taking command of the Qin war effort, Wang Jian twice defeats Xiang Yan and captures Fuchu, the king of Chu, as well as the Chu capital Chen and the city of Pingyu.


text: Dasharatha, Mauryan emperor of Magadha (approximate date)


text: Aneroëstes, leader of the Gallic Gaesatae (suicide)


text: c. 2240 BC: Akkad, capital of the Akkadian Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Memphis, capital of Egypt.

source_section: Events


year_label: 225 BCE

text: Seleucus III Ceraunus succeeds his father Seleucus II Callinicus as ruler of the Seleucid dynasty, and takes up the task of reconquering Pergamum in Anatolia from Attalus. However, Andromachus, the first general whom he sends, is decisively defeated and captured by Attalus.


text: The state of Qin, its armies led by Wang Ben, conquers the state of Wei.


text: Battle of Telamon: The Romans, led by the consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, defeated the Celts led by the Gaesatae kings Concolitanus and Aneroëstes.


text: A coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes (Taurini, Taurisces, Insubres, Lingones, Salasses, Agones, and Boii), reinforced by large numbers of Transalpine adventurers called Gaesatae (Gaesati), invade Italy. Avoiding the Romans at Ariminum, the Gauls cross the Apennines into Etruria and plunder the country.


text: Seleucus II Callinicus, king of the Seleucid Empire (246-225 BC)


text: Gaius Atilius Regulus, consul of the Roman Republic (Battle of Telamon).


text: c. 2250 BC: Earliest evidence of maize cultivation in Central America.


year_label: 226 BCE

text: The Romans send an embassy to Hasdrubal and conclude the Ebro Treaty which prohibits him from waging war north of the river Ebro, but allowing him a free hand to the south even at the expense of the interests of the town of Massilia.


text: Lord Changping defects from the State of Qin and returns to his motherland in Chu.


text: The Spartan King Cleomenes III captures Mantinea and defeats the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon at Hecatombaeum, near Dyme in north-eastern Elis.


text: A formidable host of Gauls, some of them from across the Alps, threaten Rome.


text: The Qin generals Wang Jian, Li Xin and Wang Ben conquer western Yan and its capital Ji. To secure peace, king Xi of Yan executes his son Crown Prince Dan, who is wanted for the attempted assassination of the king of Qin, Ying Zheng.


text: The Greek merchants of Massilia, frightened by Carthaginian successes in Spain (including their exploitation of the Spanish silver mines), appeal to Rome. Rome makes an alliance with the independent Spanish port city of Saguntum south of the Ebro River.


text: Antiochus Hierax, brother of the Seleucid King Seleucus II manages to escape from captivity in Thrace and flees to the mountains to raise an army, but he is killed by a band of Galatians.


text: An earthquake destroys the city of Camirus and the Colossus of Rhodes on the island of Rhodes.


text: Seleucus II Callinicus, king of the Seleucid kingdom from 246 BC


text: Antiochus Hierax, younger brother of Seleucus II, who has fought with him over the control of the Seleucid dominions in the Middle East (b. c. 263 BC)


text: c. 2251 BC: The beginning of the Meghalayan Stage, the last of the three stages of the Holocene.


section: Science & Discovery

text: c. 2254 BC – 2218 BC: The Stela of Naram-Sin, probably from Sippar, discovered in Susa (modern Shush, Iran), was made. It is now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.


year_label: 227 BCE

text: The Qin generals Wang Jian, Li Xin and Wang Ben invade the State of Yan in vengeance for an assassination attempt against the king of Qin, Ying Zheng, that had been organized by Crown Prince Dan.


text: Queen Teuta of Illyria finally surrenders to Roman forces and is forced by the Romans to accept an ignominious peace. The Romans allow her to continue her reign but restrict her to a narrow region around the Illyrian capital, Shkodra, deprive her of all her other territory, and forbid her to sail an armed ship below Lissus just south of the capital. They also require her to pay an annual tribute and to acknowledge the final authority of Rome.

source_section: Events › By place › Illyria


text: Antiochus Hierax tries to raise revolts against his brother Seleucus II in Syria and the east of the Seleucid kingdom. However, he is captured and exiled to Thrace, where he lives as a virtual prisoner.


text: Cleomenes III defeats the Achaeans under Aratus of Sicyon at Mount Lycaeum and at Ladoceia near Megalopolis.


text: Gaius Flaminius becomes Rome's first governor of Sicily.


text: Sardinia and Corsica are made a combined province. Rome appoints, and in the future annually elects, two praetors (with autocratic consular powers) for this province and for Sicily.


text: The Macedonian regent, Antigonus III, marries the former king Demetrius II's widow, Phthia, and assumes the crown thus deposing the young Philip V.


text: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, Roman consul and general

source_section: Births


text: Huan Yi, Chinese general of the Qin State (Warring States Period)


text: Jing Ke, Chinese retainer and assassin of the Yan State


text: Lydiadas of Megalopolis, Greek tyrant and general (strategos)


year_label: 228 BCE

text: The remnants of the Zhao monarchy form a remnant state in Dai.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Hasdrubal makes immediate policy changes, emphasizing the use of diplomatic rather than military methods for expanding Carthaginian Hispania and dealing with Rome. He founds Carthago Nova or New Carthage (modern Cartagena) as his capital city.

source_section: Events › By place › Carthage


text: King Attalus I Soter of Pergamum defeats Antiochus Hierax (brother of the Seleucid king Seleucus II) in three battles and thereby gains control over all the Seleucid domains in Anatolia except Cilicia in the southeast.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia Minor


text: The Illyrian queen Teuta's governor, Demetrius of Pharos has little alternative but to surrender to the overwhelming Roman force. In return, the Romans award him a considerable part of Teuta's holdings to counter-balance the power of Teuta. Meanwhile, the Roman army lands further north at Apollonia. The combined Roman army and fleet proceed northward together, subduing one town after another and besieging Shkodra, the Illyrian capital.


text: The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca is killed in a battle in Hispania, ending his lengthy campaign to conquer the Iberian Peninsula for Carthage. In eight years, by force of arms and diplomacy, he has secured an extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula, but his death in battle prevents him from completing the conquest. Command of his army in the Iberian Peninsula passes to his son-in-law Hasdrubal.


text: The State of Qin, its armies led by Wang Jian, completes the conquest of the State of Zhao.


text: Archidamus V, brother of the murdered Spartan King Agis IV, is called back to Sparta by the Agiad King Cleomenes III, who has no counterpart on the throne by then. However, Archidamus V is assassinated shortly after returning.


text: Arsames I, king of Armenia, Sophene and Commagene


text: Ai of Chu, king of the Chu State (Warring States Period)


text: Archidamus V, king of Sparta of the Eurypontid line


text: You of Chu, king of the Chu State (Warring States Period)


text: Hamilcar Barca, Carthaginian general who has assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of the First Punic War with Rome, helped Carthage win the Mercenary War and brought extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula under Carthaginian control (b. c. 270 BC)


year_label: 229 BCE

text: Concerned at Rome's expansion, Antigonus III pursues a policy of befriending the Illyrians, even though the Greeks in the region support Rome in quelling the Illyrian pirates.


text: The involvement of Rome in Illyria led to the establishment of friendly relations between Rome and the enemies of Macedonia: the Aetolian League and Achaean League, which approve the suppression of Illyrian piracy.


text: Attalus I of Pergamon wins the Battle of the Harpasus in western Anatolia.

source_section: Events › By place › Anatolia


text: The First Illyrian War started when the Roman Senate dispatched an army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus to Illyria. Rome forced the withdrawal of Illyrian garrisons in the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Pharos and establishes a protectorate over these Greek towns.


text: Aratus of Sicyon brings Argos into the Achaean League and then helps liberate Athens. This brings Aratus into conflict with Sparta.


text: The Illyrian tribe of the Ardiaei is subdued by the Romans.


text: The Qin general Wang Jian launches a three-pronged invasion of the state of Zhao but is hindered by the Zhao general Li Mu.


text: The Zhao Prime Minister Guo Kai, influenced by the machinations of Qin, executes Li Mu.


text: Titus Quinctius Flaminius, Roman consul and general (d. 174 BC)


text: Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman consul and general (d. 160 BC)


text: Qin Er Shi, Chinese emperor of the Qin Dynasty (d. 207 BC)


text: Li Mu, Chinese general of the Zhao State (Warring States Period)


text: Margos of Keryneia, Greek general of the Achaean League


text: Demetrius II, Macedonian king from 239 BC (b. c. 276 BC)


text: The King of Macedonia, Demetrius II, dies. His nephew, Antigonus III comes to the Macedonian throne as regent for his half-cousin and the future king Philip V, who is only ten years old.


text: c. 2285 BC: Enheduanna, high priestess of the moon god Nanna in Ur, was born.


text: c. 2288 BC: "Queen Merye-ankhnes and her son Pepy II" is sculpted, Sixth dynasty of Egypt. The alabaster statuette is now at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York.


year_label: 230 BCE

text: The city of Pergamum is attacked by the Galatians (Celts who have settled in central Anatolia) because the leader of Pergamum, Attalus I Soter, has refused to pay them the customary tribute. Attalus crushes his enemy in a battle outside the walls of his city and to mark the success he takes the title of king and the name Soter.


text: The state of Han is conquered by the state of Qin.


text: King Kubera rules Bhattiprolu in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

source_section: Events › By place › India


text: The Temple of Horus is built by King Ptolemy III.


text: With Roman merchants being killed by the Illyrian pirates, envoys are sent by Rome to Illyria. After the Roman ambassador Lucius Coruncanius and the Issaean ambassador Cleemporus are murdered at sea by Illyrian soldiers after causing offence to Queen Teuta, Roman forces occupy the island of Corcyra with the aim of humbling Teuta.


text: Aristarchus of Samos, Greek astronomer and mathematician (b. c. 310 BC)


text: Agron of Illyria as aforementioned (vid. supra)


text: Adherbal, admiral of the Carthaginian fleet who has battled for domination of the Mediterranean Sea for Carthage in the First Punic War against Rome


text: King Agron of Illyria dies. Pinnes, the son of Agron and Agron's first wife Triteuta, officially succeeds his father as king, but the kingdom is effectively ruled by Agron's second wife, Queen Teuta (Tefta), who expels the Greeks from the Illyrian coast and then launches Illyrian pirate ships into the Ionian Sea, preying on Roman shipping. She continues her husband's policy of attacking cities on the west coast of Greece and practising large-scale piracy in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.


text: c. 2300 BC: The Unetice culture emerges in the modern-day Czech Republic.


text: c. 2300 BC: Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan) flourishing in modern-day eastern Pakistan - western India.


text: c. 2300 BC: Metals start to be used in Northern Europe.


text: c. 2300 BC: Canal Bahr Yusuf (current name) is created when the waterway from the Nile to the natural lake (now Lake Moeris) is widened and deepened to create a canal.


text: c. 2300 BC – 2184 BC: The Disc of Enheduanna, from Ur (modern Muqaiyir, Iraq) is made. It is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.


text: c. 2300 BC – 2200 BC: "Head of a man from Nineveh" (modern Kuyunjik, Iraq) is made. It is now in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad.


year_label: 24 BCE

text: Caesar Augustus becomes Roman Consul for the tenth time. His partner is Gaius Norbanus Flaccus.

source_title: 24 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: Augustus founds the city of Nicopolis in Egypt to commemorate his final victory over Mark Antony.


text: Herod the Great marries for a third time, to Mariamne II, after a 4-year hiatus from family life (after putting to death his 2nd wife Mariamne I).


text: Aulus Terentius Varro Murena, Roman general and politician


year_label: 231 BCE

text: Demetrius II, king of Macedonia, seeks military help from Agron, king of Illyria, a loosely organized state on the Adriatic coast north of Epirus, against the advancing Aetolians. The Illyrian army routs the Aetolians and returns home as the victor.


text: The Romans send envoys to Massilia (modern Marseille, France) to negotiate with the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca who is based there.


text: Hieronymus, tyrant of Syracuse (d. 214 BC)


text: Han Xin, prominent Chinese general of the early Han dynasty is born.


text: Agron, king of the Ardiaean Kingdom (Western Balkans)


year_label: 232 BCE

text: Despite the opposition of the Roman Senate and of his own father, the Roman political leader Gaius Flaminius wins the passage of a measure to distribute land among the plebeians. The Romans decide to parcel out land north of Rome (the Ager Gallicus) into small holdings for its poorer citizens whose farms have fallen into ruin during the First Punic War.


text: The Zhao general Li Mu defeats the Qin army in the Battle of Fanwu.


text: The Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus undertakes an expedition into the interior of Iran to try to regain Parthia, but his efforts come to nothing. According to some sources, he is even taken prisoner for several years by the Parthian king, Arsaces I. Other sources mention that he establishes a peace with Arsaces I by recognising his sovereignty over Parthia.

source_section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire


text: The king of Qin, Ying Zheng, invites Prince Han Fei, a legalist philosopher and member of the Han royal family, to the Qin court. However, at the instigation of Li Si, he then has him imprisoned and executed as a threat to the state.


text: Xiang Yu, Chinese rebel general against the Qin dynasty, as well as the later nemesis of Liu Bang in the civil war of the Chu-Han contention (d. 202 BC)


text: Following the death of his mentor, Cleanthes of Assos, Chrysippus of Soli succeeds him as the third head of the Stoic school. The many writings of Chrysippus, about the Stoic doctrines, will later earn him the title of Second Founder of Stoicism.

source_section: Events › By topic › Philosophy


text: Ashoka, Indian emperor, who has ruled the Maurya Empire across the Indian subcontinent from 273 BC (b. 304 BC)


text: Cleanthes of Assos, Stoic philosopher who has been the head of the Stoic school from 263 BC, after the death of Zeno of Citium (b. c. 301 BC)


year_label: 233 BCE

text: The Zhao general Li Mu defeats the Qin army, led by Huan Yi, in the Battle of Fei.


text: Deidamia II is the Greek princess and daughter of Pyrrhus II of Epirus (approximate date)


text: Han Fei, Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, has developed Xun Zi's philosophy into the doctrine embodied by the School of Law (or Legalism) (b. c. 280 BC)


year_label: 234 BCE

text: The Epirote Alliance is replaced by the Epirote League, which is a federal state with its own parliament (or synedrion).


text: The city of Pleuron is destroyed by Demetrius II of Macedon.


text: The Qin general Huan Yi wins a major victory over the Zhao general Hu Zhe in the Battle of Pingyang, and captures Pingyang and Wucheng.


text: Corsica, Sardinia and Liguria rebel unsuccessfully against Rome.


text: After the resignation of Lydiadas, the city of Megalopolis joins the Achaean League.


text: Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Elder), Roman statesman, (d. 149 BC)


text: Mete Khan, Xiongnu emperor, (d. 174 BC)


text: Pharnavaz I of Iberia, King of Georgia


text: Zenodotus of Ephesus, first librarian of the Library of Alexandria


text: 2333 BC: Dangun establishes Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, according to Korean mythology.

source_title: 24th century BC


text: c. 2334 BC: Sargon of Akkad establishes the Akkadian Empire. His dynasty fell in c. 2154 BC.


year_label: 235 BCE

text: Under King Attalus I, Pergamum begins to build up its power and importance.


text: The ephor, Lysander, claims to have seen a sign from the gods against King Leonidas II of Sparta so Leonidas flees to avoid his trial. In his absence Leonidas is deposed from the throne and replaced by his son-in-law Cleomenes III.


text: Aratus of Sicyon brings Megalopolis into the Achaean League.


text: Antiochus Hierax defeats his brother King Seleucus II Callinicus at the Battle of Ancyra.


text: The exile Lü Buwei, facing the suspicion of Ying Zheng, commits suicide.


text: A work by the Latin epic poet and dramatist Gnaeus Naevius is performed for the first time.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: In Rome, the consul Titus Manlius Torquatus presides over the first ever closing of the gates of the Temple of Janus, signifying peace.


text: Ellalan, king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom (d. 161 BC)


text: Aristippus, Greek tyrant of Argos


text: Lü Buwei, Chinese politician (b. 291 BC)


text: c. 2345 BC: Sixth Dynasty of Egypt starts (other date is 2460 BC).


text: c. 2345 BC: End of Fifth Dynasty. Pharaoh Unas died.


text: c. 2350 BC: First destruction of the city of Mari.


text: c. 2350 BC: Lugal-Zage-Si of Umma conquers Gu-Edin and unites Sumer as a single kingdom.


text: c. 2350 BC: End of the Early Dynastic III period in Mesopotamia.


text: c. 2350 BC: The 2350 BC Middle East Anomaly (apparent comet or asteroid impact) happened.


year_label: 236 BCE

text: Eratosthenes is appointed by King Ptolemy III Euergetes as head and third librarian of the Alexandrian library.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


text: King Ying Zheng of the State of Qin begins a series of campaigns against the State of Zhao that will end with Zhao's conquest in 228 BC. The Qin generals Huan Yi Yang Duan He and Wang Jian seize nine cities in the Yecheng region.


text: Antiochus Hierax, supported by his mother Laodice I, allies himself with the Galatians (Celts) and two other states that are traditional foes of the Seleucid kingdom. With the aid of these forces, he inflicts a crushing defeat on his older brother Seleucus II's army at Ancyra in Anatolia. Seleucus leaves the country beyond the Taurus Mountains to his brother and the other powers of the peninsula.


text: Buddhism is introduced to Sri Lanka by Mahinda, a monk acting on behalf of the late Ashoka.

source_section: Events › By place › Sri Lanka


text: Scipio Africanus, Roman general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic (approximate date) (d. 183 BC)


year_label: 237 BCE

text: Lü Buwei is deposed as the Prime Minister of Qin.


text: Hamilcar Barca's success in defeating the rebels results in a growth in his strength as leader of Carthage's popular party and support for his proposed invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. However, as spokesman for the landed nobility, Hanno opposes the policy of foreign conquest pursued by Hamilcar Barca.


text: Nevertheless, Hamilcar Barca leads a Carthaginian army in an invasion of the Iberian Peninsula with the aim of building a base from which war with Rome can be renewed. By skillful generalship and able diplomacy, Hamilcar extends Carthaginian dominion over many Spanish tribes.


text: Istolatios, warlord of the Turdetani (Iberian Peninsula), crucified by Hamilcar Barca (father of Hannibal)


year_label: 238 BCE

text: Rome captures Corsica and Sardinia

source_section: Events › By place › Rome


text: Hamilcar's armies capture a number of rebel Libyan cities. The Libyan settlements that have rebelled surrender to Carthage, with the exception of Utica and Hippacritae.


text: Arsaces, chief of an Iranian nomad tribe, the Parni, invades and conquers Parthia killing, in the process, the local ruler Andragoras.

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Hamilcar Barca strikes at the supply lines of the mercenary army besieging Carthage, forcing them to cease the siege of the city. He then fights a series of running engagements with the mercenary armies, keeping them off balance. Hamilcar manages to force the mercenary armies into a box canyon in the Battle of "The Saw". The mercenaries are besieged in the canyon.


text: Carthaginian reinforcements led by Hanno the Great join the battle. They defeat Mathos' mercenary forces and Mathos is captured.


text: Hamilcar and another Carthaginian general, Hannibal, besiege Mathos' mercenary army at Tunis and crucify the captured mercenary leaders in sight of the mercenary battlements.


text: A joint Seleucid-Galatian invasion of Pergamon is defeated at the Battle of Aphrodisium


text: Ying Zheng and Prime Minister Lü Buwei crush the rebellion of Lao Ai. Lao Ai is executed.


text: Mathos exploits a weakness in Hannibal's defenses and launches an attack against his army, capturing Hannibal and several other high ranking Carthaginians. The mercenaries then crucify the captured Carthaginian leaders.


text: The Carthaginian armies besiege and capture Utica and Hippacritae. This ends the Carthaginian civil war.


text: The mercenary army, under the leadership of Spendius, attempts to fight its way out of the siege but is totally defeated by the Carthaginian forces led by Hamilcar Barca. After the battle, Hamilcar executes some 40,000 rebel mercenaries.


text: The Romans declare war on the Carthaginians over which state controls Sardinia. However, Carthage defers to Rome rather than enter yet another war and gives up any claim to Sardinia.


text: The Decree of Canopus, also called "Table of Tanis", is a memorial stone promulgated by an assemblage of priests in honour of Ptolemy III Euergetes and his consort Berenice. The decree, written in Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphs is an ancient bilingual Egyptian decree that provides a key for deciphering hieroglyphic and the simpler demotic scripts.


text: Ying Zheng, having reached adulthood, celebrates his capping ceremony as the king of Qin.


text: Masinissa, king of Numidia (approximate date)


text: Philip V, king (basileus) of Macedonia (d. 179 BC)


text: Hannibal, Carthaginian general

source_section: Deaths


text: Autaritus, Gallic mercenary leader


text: Lao Ai, Chinese eunuch and official


text: Kaolie of Chu, Chinese king of the Chu State


text: Andragoras, Seleucid governor (satrap) of Parthia


text: Xun Zi, Chinese philosopher (approximate date)


year_label: 239 BCE

text: With Aetolia now as its ally, the Achaean League under the command of Aratus of Sicyon repeatedly attacks Athens and Argos.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: Carthage is besieged by the mercenary armies, while the city of Utica revolts and attempts to secede from Carthage. Carthage appeals to Hiero II of Syracuse and to Rome for aid against the mercenaries. However, the mercenary leaders reject the efforts of Roman mediators.


text: Cheng Jiao, the half-brother of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, is sent to attack the State of Zhao, but he attempts to usurp power and is defeated and executed.


text: Concerned that Hamilcar Barca's leniency in pardoning those who he has captured who have participated in the Mercenary War will encourage others to defect, Mathos and Spendius order the mutilation and execution of "about seven hundred" Carthaginian prisoners, including Gesco. With the mercenaries jointly guilty of these atrocities, defectors dare not face Carthaginian justice under Hamilcar.


text: Sardinia revolts against Carthage and Rome takes the opportunity to annex the island.


text: Rough date: The Zhao general Pang Nuan captures the Qi city of Rao'an and the Yan cities of Li and Yangcheng.


text: Seleucus II's brother Antiochus Hierax, who is governor of Seleucid Anatolia, sends an army into Syria ostensibly to assist Seleucus but actually to seize the rest of the empire. After achieving peace with Egypt, Seleucus II promptly invades Anatolia and begins the "War of the Brothers".


text: Haemosu, who is a descendant of the people of the empire of Gojoseon, establishes the ancient kingdom of Bukbuyeo in modern-day Jilin, northeast China.

source_section: Events › By place › Korea


text: Qin Prime Minister Lü Buwei publishes the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Lü Buwei" (Lüshi Chunqiu).


text: Quintus Ennius, Latin poet and writer, considered the father of Roman poetry (approximate date)

source_section: Births


text: Huanhui of Han, Chinese king of the Han State


text: Antigonus II Gonatas, king of Macedon from 277 BC who has rebuilt his kingdom's power and established its hegemony over Greece (b. c. 319 BC)


text: Antigonus II, King of Macedonia, dies and is succeeded by his son, Demetrius II.


text: Diodotus of Bactria defeats an army of Parthians. He dies shortly thereafter and is succeeded by his son Diodotus II.


text: Diodotus I, king of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (b. c. 285 BC)


year_label: 240 BCE

text: Carthage decides to give Hamilcar Barca joint command with Hanno the Great. Hamilcar Barca is able to end the siege of Utica by the mercenaries. He is then placed in complete command of the Carthaginian forces and defeats the mercenaries in the Battle of the Bagradas River.


text: Hanno the Great is given command of the Carthaginian forces. However, the mercenaries defeat the Carthaginian armies in the Battle of Utica.


text: After the Numidian mercenary leader Narawas defects to Hamilcar Barca, Numidian reinforcements (about 2,000 men) help him defeat the mercenaries again. Hamilcar pardons his captured prisoners, accepting into his army anyone who will fight for Carthage, and exiling anyone who will not.


text: The Libyan forces loyal to the mercenaries besiege the towns of Utica and Hippacritae, which refuse to defect to the mercenaries.


text: Rome takes over full control of Sicily and stations a legion there.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: The first Latin tragedy by Livius Andronicus, Achilles, is first produced.


date: May 25

text: May 25 – Chinese astronomers make the first recorded observation of Halley's Comet.

source_section: Events › By topic › Astronomy


text: The Hellenistic period Mathematician Eratosthenes estimates the Earth's circumference to be 252,000 stadia, a figure between 2%-20% off modern measurements.


text: Callimachus, Greek poet and librarian


text: Asandhimitra, Mauryan empress and wife of Ashoka


text: Posidippus, Greek epigrammatic poet


text: Zou Yan, Chinese philosopher (b. 305 BC)


text: The Qin general Meng Ao takes the Zhao cities of Long, Hu and Qingdu but then dies en route to the Wei city of Ji. This is then captured by Meng Ao's son Meng Wu.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Aratus, Greek poet from Soli in Cilicia, best remembered for his poem on astronomy Phaenomena (b. c. 315 BC)


text: Aristomachos the Elder, Greek tyrant from Argos


text: 2400 BC–There is archaeological evidence that the site of Assur was occupied at around this time.

source_section: Events


year_label: 25 BCE

text: The government gives its tributary states 20,000 rolls of silk cloth and about 20,000 pounds of silk floss.

source_title: 25 BC


text: The Roman colony of Emerita Augusta is founded (present-day Mérida).


text: Imperator Caesar Augustus becomes Consul for the ninth time. His partner is Marcus Junius Silanus.


text: Estimation: Rome, capital of the Roman Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Chang'an, capital of China.


text: The temple to Neptune on the Circus Flaminius is built.


text: Aulus Cornelius Celsus, author of De Medicina (d. c. AD 50)


text: Amyntas of Galatia, King of Galatia


text: Galatia becomes a Roman province after the death of its king. The Roman troops stationed there are relocated to Egypt.


year_label: 241 BCE

text: As general of the Achaean League, Aratus of Sicyon defeats the Aetolians at Pellene and then pursues a policy of establishing democracies in the Peloponnese.


date: March 10

text: March 10 – Battle of the Aegates: The Carthaginian fleet sent to relieve the Roman blockade of the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum is totally defeated near the Aegates Islands off western Sicily by the Roman fleet led by Roman consul and commander Gaius Lutatius Catulus. The result is a decisive Roman victory which forces an end to the protracted First Punic War, to Rome's distinct advantage.


text: A mercenary army of some 20,000 is transported from Sicily to Carthaginian territory, by Carthaginian commander, Gisco. Upon arrival in Carthaginian territory, the mercenaries submit a demand to Hanno the Great for payment of their contracts. Hanno attempts, unsuccessfully, to convince the mercenaries to accept smaller payments due to Carthage's impoverished post-war conditions. Negotiations break down. The mercenaries take up arms, march on Tunis, occupy it, and threaten Carthage directly.

source_section: Events › By place › Carthage


text: Five of the seven major warring states: Chu, Zhao, Wei, Yan, and Han, form an alliance to fight the rising power of Qin. King Kaolie of Chu is named the leader of the alliance, and Lord Chunshen the military commander, with Pang Nuan of Zhao also serving as a general. The coalition penetrates as far as the Qin town of Zui, west of the strategic Hangu Pass and in the Qin heartland of Guanzhong, but they are defeated. Afterwards, Chu moves its capital east to Shouchun, further away from the threat of Qin. Qin counterattacks, sacking the Wei city of Chaoge.


text: The Carthaginians under Hamilcar Barca are forced to accept severe peace terms and agree to evacuate Sicily. As part of the treaty with Rome, Carthage agrees to abandon all its claims on Sicily, to refrain from sailing her warships in Italian waters and to pay an indemnity of 3,200 talents. However, the Carthaginian army is allowed to return home with its arms. Rome is now the dominant power in the Western Mediterranean basin.


text: The Falisci people of Falerii Veteres revolt against Rome, but is crushed in six days. Falerii Veteres is destroyed and the people resettled to the less defensible Falerii Novi.


text: Given their strong position, the mercenaries inflate their demands and request payment for the non-mercenary Libyan conscripts in the army as well. Gesco is sent to negotiate with the mercenaries at Tunis. Negotiations break down, Gisco is captured, and the Mercenary War commences.


text: Attalus I Soter succeeds his uncle, Eumenes I, to the throne of Pergamum. He defeats the Galatians at the Battle of the Caecus River.

source_section: Events › By place › Pergamum


text: Peace is finally reached between Ptolemy III and Seleucus II. Ptolemy manages to keep the Orontes River region in Syria and Antioch as well as Ephesus in Asia Minor and Thrace and Cilicia.


text: Archidamus V, son of the Spartan King, Eudamidas II, and grandson of Archidamus IV, flees to Messenia after the murder of his brother Agis IV.


text: Antiochus III the Great, younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus, the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire (d. 187 BC)


text: Agis IV, Eurypontid King of Sparta who has failed in his attempt to reform Sparta's economic and political structure (b. c. 265 BC)


text: Agesistrata, Spartan Queen Consort


text: Arcesilaus, Greek philosopher, who has become the sixth head of the Greek Academy founded by Plato (b. c. 316 BC)


text: Tiberius Coruncanius, Roman consul and military commander for the battles against Pyrrhus of Epirus


text: Eumenes I, ruler of Pergamum from 263 BC, liberator of the city from the overlordship of the Seleucids


text: c. 2410 BC: By this time, kings in Sumer have ceased to be automatically high priests of the city deity. (Roux 1980) Infiltration and conquest of Mesopotamia by ancient Semitic-speaking peoples begins. (1968 RD Almanac)

source_title: 25th century BC


year_label: 242 BCE

text: The Zhao general Pang Nuan defeats the army of the State of Yan and kills its general Chu Xin.


text: The destruction of the Egyptian fleet by the Macedonians ends the naval supremacy of the Ptolemies but does not force them to relinquish their territories in Syria and the Aegean Sea.


text: The Qin general Meng Ao annexes 20 towns and cities from the State of Wei, conquering the cities of Suanzao, Yan, Xu, Changping, Yongqiu and Shanyang. He then establishes the Dongjun Commandery.


text: The Roman consul and commander, Gaius Lutatius Catulus, blockades the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum with a fleet of 200 ships.


text: Antiochus III the Great, Seleucid king of Hellenistic Syria (d. 187 BC)


text: Maharani Devi, Mauryan empress and wife of Ashoka (approximate date)


year_label: 243 BCE

text: Ptolemy III returns from his conquests of Seleucid territory with a large amount of treasure and works of art, including many statues of Egyptian gods carried off to Persia by Cambyses. He restores the statues to the Egyptian temples and earns the title of Euergetes ("Benefactor").


text: The Qin general Meng Ao sacks the Wei cities of Shizhang and Yougui.


text: Without a declaration of hostilities, Greek statesman, Aratus of Sicyon, who has gradually built up the Achaean League into a major power in Greece, makes a surprise attack on Corinth and forces the withdrawal of the Macedonian occupation troops. Megara, Troezen, and Epidaurus also desert the Macedonian King Antigonus II.


text: Ptolemy III returns from Syria due to a revolt in Egypt. As a result, Seleucus II is able to regain control of his kingdom with the Egyptians being pushed out of Mesopotamia and part of Northern Syria.


text: The Zhao general Li Mu takes the cities of Wusui and Fancheng from the State of Yan.


text: Seleucus III Ceraunus, king of the Seleucid Kingdom (d. 223 BC)


text: Mago Barca, Carthaginian general and brother of Hannibal (d. 203 BC)


text: Prusias I Cholus (the Lame), king of Bithynia (approximate date)


text: Persaeus, Greek Stoic philosopher and friend of Zeno of Citium


text: Xinling, Chinese statesman and general (Warring States Period)


year_label: 244 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao annexes 13 cities from the State of Han.


text: The war in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea intensifies as the Achaean League allies itself to Ptolemy III Euergetes of Egypt, while Seleucus II secures two allies in the Black Sea region. Ptolemy III's armies reach as far as Bactria and the borders of India in their attacks on the Seleucid Empire.


text: Agis IV succeeds his father, Eudamidas II, as Eurypontid king of Sparta.


text: The Qin envoy Gan Luo persuades King Daoxiang of Zhao to cede five cities.


text: Hamilcar Barca transfers his army to the slopes of Mount Eryx, from which he is able to lend support to the besieged garrison in the neighbouring town of Drepanum (Trapani).


text: By defeating the Egyptian fleet at Andros, Antigonus II is able to maintain his control over the Aegean Sea.


text: The State of Zhao annexes dozens of cities from the State of Yan.


year_label: 245 BCE

text: Aratus of Sicyon is elected general (strategos) of the Achaean League.


text: Following a long engagement, Ptolemy III marries Berenice II, the daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene; thereby reuniting Egypt and Cyrenaica.


text: The Qin general Pao Gong captures the Wei city of Juan.


text: Babylon and Susa fall to the Ptolemaic armies of Ptolemy III.


text: The Zhao general Lian Po captures the Wei city of Fanyang.


text: Approximate date – Callimachus produces the Pinakes, a subject index to the Library of Alexandria.

source_section: Events › By subject › Culture


text: Hasdrubal Barca, Carthaginian general and Younger brother of Hannibal (d. 207 BC)


text: Apollonius of Rhodes, Greek poet, grammarian, and author of the Argonautica, an epic in four books on the voyage of the Argonauts (b. c. 295 BC)


text: After the death of his nephew, Alexander of Corinth, Antigonus II gives Nicaea, Alexander's widow, to his son Demetrius in marriage. Through this action, Antigonus II regains Corinth which has been independent while under the rule of Alexander of Corinth.


text: c. 2450 BC: Kish is lost to Hamazi tribesmen of the Kurdistan mountains; Elam under the Awan dynasty occupies parts of Sumer. (Roux 1980)


text: c. 2450 BC: End of the Early Dynastic IIIa Period and beginning of the Early Dynastic IIIb Period in Sumer.


year_label: 246 BCE

text: Seleucus II Callinicus' mother, Laodice attempts to take control over the Seleucid Empire by insisting that Seleucus II make his younger brother, Antiochus Hierax, co-regent and give him all the Seleucid territory in Anatolia. Antiochus promptly declares independence and begins fighting a war with his brother.

source_section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire


text: In Rome, the number of praetors is increased from one to two. The second praetor is appointed to relieve the backlog of judicial business and to give the Republic a magistrate with Imperium who can field an army in an emergency when both consuls are away fighting a war.


text: Sporadic riots in Egypt, continued rejection by Egyptians of foreign rule, and military conflicts with the Greeks.


text: Antiochus II leaves Berenice in order to live again with his former wife Laodice and his son Seleucus. However, Laodice poisons him and proclaims her son as King Seleucus II Callinicus, while her supporters in Antioch kill Berenice and her children who have taken refuge at Daphne, near Antioch, in Syria.


text: The Qin general Meng Ao crushes a revolt in Jinyang.


text: Ptolemy III wins major victories over Seleucus II in Syria and Anatolia and briefly occupies Antioch. These victories are marred by the loss of the Cyclades to Antigonus II Gonatas in the Battle of Andros.


text: Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III, sets about to avenge his sister's murder by invading Syria which begins the Third Syrian War (also known as the Laodicean War). Ptolemy III's navy, perhaps with the aid of rebels in the cities, advances against Seleucus II's forces as far as Thrace, across the Hellespont, and also captures some islands off the Anatolian coast.


text: With Hamilcar Barca wearing the Romans down in Sicily, the Romans, by private subscription, build another fleet with the aim of regaining command of the sea.


text: The Ashokan pillar in Lauriya, Nandangarh (from the Maurya period) is made.

source_section: Events › By place › India


text: The Zhengguo Canal, approximately one hundred miles long, is built across the current-day province of Shaanxi in China, greatly adding to the agricultural productivity of the area and to the military potency of the Qin dynasty.


text: In order to secure the Bactrian King Diodotus' friendship, Seleucus II Callinicus arranges the marriage of one of his sisters to King Diodotus.


text: Arsinoe III, queen of Egypt from 220 BC, daughter of Ptolemy III and Berenice II (d. 204 BC)


text: Egypt's Ptolemy II dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy III. At the time of Ptolemy II's death, Egypt comprises the ancient kingdom of Egypt in the Nile Valley, Cyrene, Judea and the coast of southern Syria, Cyprus and a number of cities on the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The Macedonian Ptolemies maintain their authority over their territories with a small mercenary army made up of Macedonians and other Greeks.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


text: Ptolemy II Philadelphus, king of Egypt from 285 BC, second king of the Ptolemaic dynasty, who has extended his power by skillful diplomacy, developed agriculture and commerce, and made Alexandria a leading centre of the arts and sciences (b. 308 BC)


text: Antiochus II Theos, king of the Seleucid dominions in the Middle East from 261 BC. He has spent much of his reign at war with Egypt, recovering much of the territory in Anatolia lost in earlier wars between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties (b. c. 287 BC)


text: Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe, wife of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II Theos, supplanting his first wife, Laodice, whose children she has persuaded him to bar from the succession to the throne in favour of her own.


year_label: 247 BCE

text: The 13-year-old Ying Zheng, later called Qin Shi Huang, succeeds his father Zhuangxiang of Qin (Zichu) on the throne. Prime Minister Lü Buwei becomes the regent of the king.


text: After suffering an initial defeat to Wei general Wuji in the Battle of Hewai, the armies of Qin, led by Meng Ao and Wang He, defeat a combined attempt by the other kingdoms of China to break through the strategic Hangu Pass and invade the Qin heartland of Guanzhong.


text: In Numidia Carthaginian general Hanno conquered the city of Theveste (nicknamed: Hekatompylos) after which he negotiated a peace settlement with the Numidians ending Carthage's war with the Numidians. He was praised by both parties for the fairness of the treaty.


text: General Wang He of the State of Qin takes the city of Shangdang from the State of Zhao and establishes Taiyuan Commandery.


text: Hannibal Barca, Carthaginian military commander (d. c. 183 BC)


text: Alexander of Corinth, Macedonian Greek governor and tyrant


text: Moggaliputta-Tissa, Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher


text: Zhuangxiang of Qin, Chinese king of the Qin State (b. 281 BC)


year_label: 248 BCE

text: The Qin general Meng Ao captures the Wei cities of Gaodu and Ji.


text: Meng Ao then annexes 37 towns and cities from the State of Zhao, conquering the cities of Yuci, Xincheng and Langmeng.


text: The Mauryan king Ashoka is dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism and begins establishing monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha.


year_label: 249 BCE

text: King Kaolie of Chu annexes the State of Lu.


text: The last remnants of the Zhou dynasty, having rebelled against the State of Qin, are defeated by Prime Minister Lü Buwei.


text: Following the disastrous defeat of Roman forces at the Battle of Drepana, Publius Claudius Pulcher is fined 120,000 asses and his colleague, Lucius Junius Pullus, commits suicide. Aulus Atilius Calatinus is then elected dictator and leads an army into Sicily, becoming the first dictator to lead a Roman army outside Italy. The Roman forces at Lilybaeum are relieved, and Eryx, near Drapana, is seized. Its idol of Astarte is transported to Rome, where it becomes the Erycine Venus.


text: The Battle of Drepana involves the Romans, under the command of the Roman consul Publius Claudius Pulcher, attacking the Carthaginian fleet, under the command of Adherbal, in the harbour of Drepanum (modern Trapani, Sicily). The Romans are badly defeated and lose 93 of their 123 vessels.


text: The Qin general Meng Ao seizes the Taiyuan region from the State of Zhao.


text: King Hui of Zhou, last Zhou claimant to the throne of China, is executed.


year_label: 250 BCE

text: Zichu becomes the king of Qin, with Lü Buwei his Prime Minister.


text: Andragoras, a Seleucid satrap of the province of Partahia (Parthia), tries to gain independence from the Seleucid Kingdom under Antiochus II.


text: According to tradition (Horace, Odes, iii. 5), after the defeat of the Carthaginians at the Battle of Panormus, the Carthaginians release Marcus Atilius Regulus from prison and he is sent to Rome on parole to negotiate a peace or an exchange of prisoners. However, on his arrival, he strongly urges the Roman Senate to refuse both proposals and continue fighting. After this he then honours his parole by returning to Carthage where he is executed by being placed in a spiked barrel, which is then let roll down a hill.


text: In the Punic War, the Romans shift their attention to the southwest of Sicily. They send a naval expedition toward the Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum. En route, the Romans seize and burn the Carthaginian held cities of Selinous and Heraclea Minoa. The Romans then begin the siege of Lilybaeum.


text: The Qin general Meng Ao captures the Han cities of Chenggao and Xingyang, thereby establishing the Sanchuan Commandery.


text: According to the Letter of Aristeas, Ptolemy II invited the Jewish residents of Alexandria to have their torah translated into Greek. Because around seventy translators are used to achieve this, the translation is known as the Septuagint.


text: According to the Theravāda commentaries and chronicles, the Third Buddhist Council is convened by the Mauryan king Ashoka at Pataliputra (modern Patna), under the leadership of the monk Moggaliputta Tissa. Its objective is to purify the Buddhist movement, particularly from opportunistic factions which are being attracted by the royal patronage.


text: The Mauryan Lion Capital of Ashoka, is erected as part of a pillar at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh in India (approximate date). It is now preserved at the Sarnath Museum in Sarnath.


text: The Mauryan sculpture Didarganj Yakshi holding a Fly Whisk, from Patna, Bihar in India, is made (approximate date). It is now kept at the Patna Museum in Patna.


text: Agron, king of the Ardiaean Kingdom (approximate date)


text: Xiaowen of Qin, Chinese king of the Qin State (b. 302 BC)


text: Gongsun Long, Chinese scholar and philosopher (b. c. 325 BC)


text: Marcus Atilius Regulus, Roman general and consul (executed)


text: Timaeus, Greek historian who has studied rhetoric under a pupil of Socrates (b. c. 345 BC)


text: Zhaoxiang of Qin, Chinese king of the Qin State (b. 325 BC)


text: Hieronymus of Cardia, Greek general and historian (b. 354 BC)


text: Erasistratus, Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. He has founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria (b. 310 BC)


text: Magas of Cyrene, king of Cyrenaica (modern Libya) (b. c. 320 BC)


text: Following the death of the King of Cyrene, Magas, Queen Apama II, Magas' widow, and Antigonus II arrange the marriage of Antigonus' half-brother Demetrius the Fair to Berenice of Cyrene, daughter of Magas and Apama. However, when Demetrius the Fair arrives, Apama becomes his lover. In response, Berenice leads an uprising in which Demetrius is killed in Apama's bedroom.


text: 2492 BC: Traditional date for the legendary foundation of Armenia by Hayk.


text: c. 2500 BC: Assyria is established.


text: c. 2500 BC: People in what is now Peru rely on fish and mussels for food.


text: c. 2500 BC: Evidence of long-distance trade routes in South America.


text: c. 2500 BC: Excavation and development of the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni at Paola, Malta, a subterranean temple complex subsequently used as a necropolis.


text: c. 2500 BC: The Pyramid of Khafre, Giza, is built.


text: c. 2500 BC: The sculpture Khafre Enthroned is made.


text: c. 2500 BC: Rice was first introduced to what is now modern-day Malaysia


text: c. 2500 BC: N1c Y-DNA first found from Europe from Serteya II (located in modern day Smolensk Oblast in Russia).


text: c. 2500 BC: Skara Brae is abandoned after approximately 600 years of occupation.


text: c. 2500 BC: Cylinder seal from Sumer and its impression are made. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.


text: c. 2500 BC: Scribal schools flourish throughout Sumer.


year_label: 26 BCE

text: The Andhra dynasty replaces the Kanva dynasty, and rules over the eastern part of India.

source_title: 26 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Imperator Caesar Augustus becomes Roman Consul for the eighth time. His partner Titus Statilius Taurus becomes Consul for the second time and refounds the old Contestanian Iberian capital of Ilici (Elche), known since then as "Colonia Iulia Ilici Augusta".

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: Abgar III of Osroene is succeeded by Abgar IV Sumaqa.

source_section: Events › By place › Osroene


text: Tiridates II invades Parthia and issues coins dated from March and May, 26 BC.


text: Augustus starts a campaign against the Cantabrians in northern Hispania. He leads an army (8 legions) and consolidates the north-eastern region.


text: Gavius Silo, orator, is heard by Caesar Augustus - mentioned by Seneca.


date: August 29

text: August 29 – Christian Cross Asterism (astronomy) at Zenith of Lima, Peru.


text: Dioteimus Alaieus is one of the Archons of Athens.


text: Disastrous campaign of Aelius Gallus in the Arabian Peninsula, then known as "Arabia Felix".


text: Cleopatra Selene marries Juba II of Numidia, and as a wedding present Augustus makes her the queen of Mauretania in her own right.


text: Gaius Cornelius Gallus, Roman politician and poet (b. 70 BC)

source_section: Deaths


text: Marcus Valerius Messalla Rufus, Roman politician


year_label: 251 BCE

text: Paseas, the tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon, is assassinated by Nicocles, with the acquiescence of the Macedonian king Antigonus II. Nicocles reigns as tyrant of Sicyon for only four months, during which period he drives into exile eighty of the city's citizens. Then the citadel of Sicyon is surprised in the night by a party of Sicyonian exiles, headed by a young nobleman, Aratus. The palace of the tyrant is set on fire, but Nicocles escapes from the city through a subterranean passage.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: Aratus recalls back to Sicyon those exiled by Nicocles. This leads to confusion and division within the city. Fearing that Antigonus II will exploit these divisions to attack the city, Aratus applies for the city to join the Achaean League, a league of a few small Achaean towns in the Peloponnese. Aratus then gains the financial support of the Egyptian king Ptolemy II to enable the Achaean League to defend itself against Macedonia.


text: With Panormus captured, much of western inland Sicily falls with it. The cities of Ieta, Solous, Petra and Tyndaris agree to peace with the Romans in the same year. This defeat marks the end of significant Carthaginian land-based campaigning in Sicily.


text: The Romans, led by Lucius Caecilius Metellus, attack the Carthaginian held port city of Panormus after taking Kephalodon. After fierce fighting in the Battle of Panormus, the Carthaginians, led by Hasdrubal (the Fair), are defeated and the city falls.


text: Paseas, Greek tyrant of Sicyon (assassinated)


text: The Zhao general Lian Po wins a decisive victory in battle over the State of Yan at Hao. He is promoted to Prime Minister following the death of Lord Pingyuan.


text: Zhao Sheng, Chinese chancellor of the Zhao State


year_label: 252 BCE

text: Abantidas, the tyrant of Sicyon, is murdered by his enemies and is succeeded by his father, Paseas.


text: Philopoemen, Greek general and statesman (d. 183 BC)


text: Abantidas, tyrant of Sicyon (assassinated)


year_label: 253 BCE

text: Alexander, Antigonus II's nephew and regent, leads a revolt in Corinth with Ptolemy II's help and declares himself an independent monarch. As a result, Antigonus loses Corinth and Chalcis, the two bases from which he has dominated southern Greece. As the Aetolians occupy Thermopylae, Antigonus II is cut off from Athens and the Peloponnese.


text: In recapturing the city of Miletus, Antiochus II overthrows the tyrant of the city. In response, the citizens worship him as a god in thanksgiving leading to the addition of Theos to Antiochus II's name.


text: Macedonia's involvement in the second Syrian War ceases when Antigonus becomes preoccupied with the rebellion of Corinth and Chalcis, as well as an increase in enemy activity along Macedon's northern frontier.


text: The second Syrian War between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies ends. Antiochus II regains much of Anatolia from Ptolemy II, including the cities of Miletus and Ephesus, and also the Phoenician coast.


text: The war is concluded with the marriage of Antiochus to Ptolemy II's daughter, Berenice Syra. Antiochus divorces his previous wife, Laodice, and transfers the succession to Berenice's children.


text: A second Roman war fleet of 150 ships is wrecked on the voyage from Lilybaeum (in Sicily) to Rome.


text: Tiberius Coruncanius is the first plebeian to be elected pontifex maximus of Rome.


text: Zhang Cang, Chinese general and prime-minister (d. 152 BC)


year_label: 254 BCE

text: A Roman army led by consuls Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina and Aulus Atilius Calatinus capture Panormus in Sicily.


text: The Romans lose control of the Sicilian city of Agrigentum to the Carthaginians.


text: Titus Macchius Plautus, Roman playwright who is credited with forming the foundations of modern comedy (d. 184 BC)


text: Marcus Livius Salinator, Roman consul and commander during the Second Punic War


text: Areus II, Agiad king of Sparta (son of Acrotatus II)


text: 2540 BC: Mesannepada, who has already dominated the city of Nippur, takes advantage of an eclipse of power in Kish (caused by an incursion by the Elamites of Awan) to seize the city. He becomes the ruler of all of Lower Mesopotamia as he becomes the king of Kish, and his name appears on a pearl in Mari.

source_title: 26th century BC

source_section: Events › Mesopotamia


year_label: 255 BCE

text: Diodotus I, Seleucid satrap of Bactria, rebels against Antiochus II and becomes the founder of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

source_section: Events › By place › Bactria


text: King Hui of Zhou becomes the last claimant king of the Zhou dynasty of China.


text: The Carthaginians, angered by Regulus' demands, hire Xanthippus, a Spartan mercenary, to reorganize the army. The revitalised Carthaginian army, led by Xanthippus, decisively defeat the Romans in the Battle of Tunis and capture their commander Marcus Atilius Regulus. A Roman fleet, sent to rescue Regulus and his troops, is wrecked in a storm off Sicily.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: The Battle of Adis (or Adys) is fought near the city of that name, 40 mi km southeast of Carthage, between Carthaginian forces and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. The Romans inflict a crushing defeat upon the Carthaginians, and the latter then sue for peace. The ensuing negotiations between the parties lead to Regulus demanding Carthage agree to an unconditional surrender, cede Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia to Rome, renounce the use of their navy, pay an indemnity, and sign a vassal-like treaty. These terms are so harsh that the people of Carthage resolve to keep fighting.


text: In the Second Syrian War, Ptolemy II loses ground in Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Ionia, while Antiochus II regains Miletus and Ephesus. A peace is then concluded between Antiochus and Ptolemy under which Antiochus is to marry Ptolemy's daughter Berenice Syra.


text: Xu Fu, ancient Chinese alchemist

source_section: Births


text: 2550 BC: Reign of Mesilim, king of Kish. He was an apparent suzerain over the Lagash king Luga-shag-engur and the Adab king Nin-kisalsi. A conflict between Lagash and the neighboring Umma begins over fields claimed by each of the parties. An initial crisis is settled by Mesilim in favor of Lagash.


year_label: 256 BCE

text: Following the Battle of Cape Ecnomus, the Romans land an army near Carthage (Tunesia, North Africa) and begin ravaging the Carthaginian countryside. The Roman army soon forces the capitulation of Clupea, a town 40 mi km east of Carthage. After setting up Roman defenses for the city, the two consuls receive instructions from Rome that Vulso is to set sail for Rome, taking most of the fleet with him. Regulus, on the other hand, is to stay with the infantry and cavalry to finish the war.

source_section: Events › By place › North Africa


text: From their new base at Aspis the Romans march on towards Carthage; they encounter and defeat the Carthaginian army at the Battle of Adys.


text: Marcus Atilius Regulus marches to Aspis and takes the town after a short siege.


text: Luoyang falls without much resistance to the armies of the Qin, ending the reign of the emperor Zhou Nan Wang. Although a successor was appointed as Dong Zhou Hui Wang, traditionally in Chinese history this is considered the end of the Zhou dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Rome aims for a quick end to hostilities in the First Punic War and decides to invade the Carthaginian colonies in Northern Africa to force the enemy to accept terms. A major fleet is built, including transports for the army and its equipment, and warships for their protection. Carthage under Hamilcar tries to intervene but a force under the Roman general and consul Marcus Atilius Regulus and his colleague Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus defeat the Carthaginian fleet in the Battle of Cape Ecnomus off the southern coast of Sicily.


text: The Great Wall of China construction starts.


text: The Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System is constructed, ending flooding and irrigating thousands of square miles of land through an ingeniously designed system.


text: Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty of China (d. 195 BC)


text: Zhou Nan Wang, Chinese king of the Zhou dynasty


year_label: 257 BCE

text: The Romans attack Sardinia and try to capture it from the Carthaginians.


text: The Battle of Tyndaris is fought between the Roman fleet (with Gaius Atilius Regulus in command) and the Carthaginian fleet off Tyndaris (modern Tindari) in Sicily. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, has allowed Tyndaris to be a base for the Carthaginians. However, after this battle, the town falls to Roman forces.


text: Thục Phán (An Dương Vương), Chief of the Thục Tribe of the Âu Việts, defeats the Văn Lang Confederacy and unifies all Âu Việt and Lạc Việt tribes, thus founding the Kingdom of Âu Lạc and the Thục dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › Vietnam


text: The Qin siege of Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao:


text: Aristophanes of Byzantium, Greek scholar and grammarian (approximate date)


text: Bai Qi, Chinese general of the Qin State (Warring States Period)


text: 2570 BC: Reigns of Uhub, king of Kish, and of En-hegal, king of Lagash.


year_label: 258 BCE

text: According to legend, the Hồng Bàng dynasty comes to an end.


text: The State of Qin besieges Handan, the capital of the State of Zhou, but the Qin army under Wang Ling sustains heavy casualties. Wang Ling is then replaced by Wang He.


text: The forces of the Macedonian King Antigonus II and the Seleucid King Antiochus II win a naval victory at Cos against their common enemy, Ptolemy II. This victory secures Antigonus control over the Aegean Sea and the League of the Islanders. It also diminishes Ptolemaic naval power.


text: Ptolemy II loses control of the territory of Cyrenaica.


text: The merchant Lu Buwei rescues the Qin prince Ying Yiren, a hostage at the Zhao court, from Handan. Ying Yiren will eventually become King Zhuangxiang of Qin.


text: The Romans are able to regain the initiative in Sicily against Carthage by retaking Enna and Camarina. In central Sicily, they take the town of Mytistraton, which they have attacked twice previously. The Romans also move in the north by marching across the northern coast toward Panormus, but are not able to take the city due to the city's heavily fortified walls.


text: Gaius Duilius Nepos, the Roman commander who has won a major naval victory over the Carthaginians is made censor with Lucius Cornelius Scipio. The election of a novus homo (i.e. the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or be elected as consul) to the censorship is a very rare honor.


text: Erasistratus of Ceos founds a medical school at Alexandria.


year_label: 259 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Antiochus II starts the Second Syrian War against Ptolemy II Philadelphus to avenge his father's losses. Antiochus II finds a willing ally in Antigonus II Gonatas, the king of Macedonia, who has been dealing with Ptolemy II's attempts to destabilize Macedonia.


text: The State of Zhou cedes to the State of Qin the Han region of Yuanyong and six cities of Zhao in exchange for peace.


text: The Carthaginians under Hamilcar take advantage of their victory at Thermae in Sicily by counterattacking the Romans and seizing Enna. Hamilcar continues south to Camarina, in Syracusan territory, to try to convince the Syracusans to rejoin the Carthaginian side.

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China (d. 210 BC)


text: Bashu Guafu Qing, Chinese businesswoman (d. 210 BC)


year_label: 260 BCE

text: Battle of Changping between the state of Qin and state of Zhao:


text: In the north of Sicily, the Romans, with their northern sea flank secured by their naval victory in the Battle of Mylae, advance toward Thermae. They are defeated there by the Carthaginians under Hamilcar.


text: The Roman advance continues westward from Agrigentum with their forces relieving the besieged cities of Segesta and Macella. These cities have sided with the Roman cause, and have come under Carthaginian attack for doing so.


text: Having lost the confidence of his peers, Hannibal Gisco is subsequently executed for incompetence shortly afterwards, together with other defeated Punic generals.


text: Confident in Carthage's superiority at sea, Hannibal Gisco deploys his ships for the Battle of Mylae in the traditional long line arrangement. Although inexperienced in sea battles, the Romans, led by consul Gaius Duilius Nepos, heavily defeat the Carthaginian fleet, mainly due to the innovative use of land tactics in naval warfare (including the use of the grappling irons and the corvus boarding bridge).


text: Hannibal Gisco returns to fight in Sicily as the admiral in charge of the Carthaginian fleet in the Strait of Messina. With the Romans about to launch their first ever navy, Carthage is determined that this innovation be thwarted. Gisco defeats part of the Roman fleet and captures the Roman consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina in an encounter near Lipari; the consul's nickname Asina (which means donkey) is earned in this encounter. However, this Carthaginian victory is of limited practical value as the bulk of the Roman fleet continues to manoeuvre in the surrounding waters.


text: Callimachus of Cyrene, learned poet and grammarian, becomes chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria.


text: Zheng, who will later become king of the State of Qin, and then later the First Emperor of China (d. 210 BC)


text: Zhao Kuo, Chinese general of the State of Zhao


text: Timocharis of Alexandria, Greek astronomer and philosopher


text: Orontes III, king of Armenia and Sophene (modern-day Turkey)


text: Hannibal Gisco, Carthaginian military commander in charge of both land armies and naval fleets (b. c. 300 BC)


text: c. 2600 BC: Reign of Akalamdug, king of Ur.


year_label: 27 BCE

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Octavian formally returns full power to the Senate; they give him the titles of Princeps and Augustus. He accepts this honor, having declined the alternative title of Romulus, thus becoming first Roman emperor.

source_title: 27 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic/Empire


text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the seventh time. His partner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa becomes Consul for the third time.


text: Agrippa divides Hispania Ulterior into Baetica and Lusitania, and enlarges Hispania Citerior.


text: Caesar Augustus starts a new military reform. He reduces the number of legions to 26 and creates the Praetorian Guard (1,000 men).


text: Augustus forms the Classis Misenensis, based in the harbor of Portus Julius at Misenum.


text: Marcus Agrippa begins the construction of the old Pantheon, Rome.


text: Augustus' first census of the Roman Empire (formerly the Roman Republic) reports a total of 4,063,000 citizens.


text: Northern statue of the Colossi of Memnon is shattered by an earthquake in Egypt (according to Strabo).


text: Ai of Han, Chinese emperor of the Han Dynasty (d. 1 BC)


text: Marcus Terentius Varro, Roman scholar and writer (b. 116 BC)


year_label: 261 BCE

text: The armies of the State of Qin and State of Zhao contest control of the area around Changping. After suffering defeats to general Wang He of Qin and the superior Qin army, general Lian Po of Zhao refuses to give battle, resulting in a stalemate.


text: The new Seleucid king Antiochus II reaches an agreement with the king of Macedonia, Antigonus II Gonatas, to work together in trying to push Ptolemy II's fleet and armies out of the Aegean Sea. With Macedonia's support, Antiochus II launches an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia Minor.

source_section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire


text: Mauryan Emperor Ashoka wages a war against the independent kingdom of Kalinga, culminating in the Battle of the Dhauli Hills. In the aftermath, Kalinga is annexed into the Mauryan Empire, but the brutality of the war is believed to have led to Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, as described in his many Edicts of Ashoka.

source_section: Events › By place › India


text: The Romans, determined to win control of Sicily from Carthage, build a fleet based on the model of a captured Carthaginian quinquereme.


text: Antiochus I Soter, Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (or 262 BC)


year_label: 262 BCE

text: After Athens surrenders in the Chremonidean War following a long siege by Macedonian forces, Antigonus II Gonatas re-garrisons Athens and forbids the city from making war. Otherwise, he leaves Athens alone as the seat of philosophy and learning in Greece.


text: Antiochus I tries to break the growing power of Pergamum by force of arms. Eumenes I, the new ruler of Pergamum, liberates his city from the overlordship of the Seleucids by defeating the army of Antiochus I near Sardis (the capital of Lydia), and thereby establishing an independent city-state.


text: Rome besieges the city of Agrigentum which is held by Carthage under the command of Hannibal Gisco. Rome's siege involves both consular armies – a total of four Roman legions – and takes several months to resolve. The garrison of Agrigentum manages to call for reinforcements and a Carthaginian relief force commanded by Hanno comes to the rescue and destroys the Roman supply base at Erbessus. Nevertheless, after a few skirmishes, the battle of Agrigentum is fought and won by Rome, and the city falls. Gisco manages to escape to Carthage in the late stages of the battle.


text: Following the surrender of the Shangdang Commandery, formerly of Han, to the State of Zhao, fighting between Zhao and the State of Qin begins in the area of Changping.


text: Seleucid king Antiochus I's eldest son Seleucus, who has ruled in the east of the kingdom as viceroy for a number of years, is put to death by his father on the charge of rebellion.


text: After the loss of Agrigentum, the Carthaginians retire to organise their fleet. In the meantime, the Romans sack Agrigentum and enslave its Greek inhabitants. The Romans are now determined to drive the Carthaginians out of Sicily.


text: Apollonius of Perga (Pergaeus), Greek astronomer and mathematician specialising in geometry and noted for his writings on conic sections (d. c. 190 BC)


text: Antiochus I dies and is succeeded by his second son Antiochus II Theos.


text: Antiochus I Soter, king of the Seleucid Kingdom from 281 BC (b. c. 323 BC)


text: Acrotatus II, Agiad king of Sparta


text: Zeno of Citium, Hellenistic Stoic philosopher from Citium, Cyprus (b. 333 BC)


text: Philemon, Athenian poet and playwright of the New Comedy (b. c. 362 BC)


year_label: 263 BCE

text: The Romans under the consul Manius Valerius Messalla secure the alliance of Hiero II of Syracuse. The treaty with Rome restricts Hiero's kingdom to southeast Sicily and the eastern coast of Sicily as far as Tauromenium. From this date until his death, Hiero remains loyal to the Romans.


text: Alexander II of Epirus attacks and conquers the greater part of Macedonia. However, he is then driven out of both Macedonia and Epirus by Demetrius II, the son of King Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia.


text: The Athenians and Spartans, worn down by several years of war and the devastation of their lands, make peace with Antigonus II of Macedonia who thus retains his hold on southern Greece.


text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin captures the Han province of Nan, thereby cutting off Shangdang Commandery from the rest of the Han state. This commandery subsequently surrenders itself to the State of Zhao rather than transfer to Qin control, which will set up the climactic Battle of Changping in 260 BC.


text: Cleanthes succeeds Zeno of Citium in his Stoic School in Athens.


text: Eumenes I succeeds his uncle Philetaerus on the throne of Pergamum. As Philetaerus is a eunuch, he adopts his nephew Eumenes (the son of Philetaerus' brother also named Eumenes) as his successor.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia Minor


text: The Romans capture Catania in Sicily under Messalla. A sundial is part of the booty, which is placed in the Comitium in Rome and will be significant in Roman timekeeping.


text: Antigonus III Doson, king of Macedonia from 229 to 221 BC (d. 221 BC)


text: Qingxiang of Chu, Chinese king of Chu (Warring States Period)


text: Philetaerus, founder (reigned from 282 BC) of the Attalid kingdom of Pergamum, in northwest Asia Minor (b. c. 343 BC)


year_label: 264 BCE

text: The Confucian philosopher Xunzi visits the State of Qin. He writes of his and others' admiration for the government officials of Qin, who he says are serious and sincere, free from the tendency to form cliques. The Qin officials are disciplined by a meritocracy of rather harsh methods imposed by the Legalist philosophy.


text: Start of war between the Romans and the Carthaginians-First Punic War


text: Appius Claudius Caudex leads his forces to Messina, and as the Mamertines have convinced the Carthaginians to withdraw, he meets with only minimal resistance. The Mamertines hand the city over to Appius Claudius, but the Carthaginians return to set up a blockade. The Syracusans, meanwhile, are also stationed outside the city.


text: General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Han and captures the city of Jing, defeating its large garrison. He then captures various other towns and cities.


text: Appius Claudius leads his troops outside the city of Messina to defeat the Syracusans in battle forcing Hiero to retreat back to Syracuse. The next day Claudius defeats the Carthaginians.


text: The Roman consul Appius Claudius Caudex and his two legions are deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army has gone into action outside the Italian peninsula.


text: The temple to Vertumnus is built on the Aventine Hill in Rome.


text: Abantidas, the son of Paseas, becomes tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon after murdering Cleinias. He either banishes or puts to death Cleinias' friends and relations. Cleinias' young son, Aratus, narrowly escapes death.


text: Three pairs of gladiators face off in the first recorded gladiatorial combat, held at the funeral games in honour of aristocrat Junius Brutus Pera in the Forum Boarium.


year_label: 265 BCE

text: Although the Egyptian fleet blockades the Saronic Gulf, the Macedonian King Antigonus II defeats the Spartans and kills the king of Sparta, Areus I near Corinth, after which he besieges Athens.


text: Hiero II threatens to renew his attack on the Mamertines. They appeal to Carthage and receive the support of a Carthaginian garrison. The Mamertines also appeal to the Romans who are also willing to help.

source_section: Events › By place › Italy


text: The State of Zhao stations general Li Mu in Yanmen Commandery, where he proceeds to win multiple victories over the Xiongnu.


text: Acrotatus II succeeds his father Areus I as king of Sparta.


text: The Battle of Messana (265-264 BCE) takes place as the first military clash between the Roman Republic and Carthage.


text: The Archimedes screw for raising water is devised by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who is studying at Alexandria.

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts & sciences


text: The Etruscan city of Volsinii is brought under Roman control. During a siege, the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges is killed.


text: Agis IV, king of Sparta (approximate date)


text: Ziaelas, king of Bithynia (approximate date)


text: Xuan, Chinese queen dowager of Chu (b. 338 BC)


text: Xiang of Qi, Chinese king of Qi (Warring States Period)


text: Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges, Roman consul


text: Alexinus, Greek philosopher of Elis


text: Areus I, king of Sparta (killed in battle)


year_label: 266 BCE

text: Ariobarzanes becomes the second king of Pontus, succeeding his father Mithridates I Ctistes.


text: Calabria and Messapia are annexed by the Roman Republic.


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Julius Libo celebrate triumphs over the Salentini.


text: The Mauryan emperor Ashoka converts to Buddhism.


text: Berenice II, queen and co-regent of Egypt (or 267 BC)