text: Antigonus, the ruler of the Asian parts of the late Alexander the Great's empire, faces a coalition consisting of Cassander, the Macedonian regent; Lysimachus, the satrap of Thrace; and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt, who have taken the side of the ousted satrap of Babylon, Seleucus.


year_label: 314 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Success seems to be going the Samnites' way in their ongoing battles against the Romans. Campania is on the verge of deserting Rome. Peace is established between Rome and some Samnite towns.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: As Cassander fights to retain control over central Greece, Antigonus promises freedom to the Greek cities in a bid to gain support from them against Cassander.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


section: Crime & Justice

text: Antigonus does not trust Peithon's growing power. So Antigonus tricks Peithon to come to his court, where Antigonus has him executed.

source_section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire


text: Alexander, son of Polyperchon, is killed by Alexion of Sicyon. Alexander's wife Cratesipolis assumes power and holds his army together.


section: Culture & Society

text: The city of Guilin is founded by the Qin dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › China


section: Deaths

text: Alexander (son of Polyperchon)

source_section: Deaths


text: Aeschines, Athenian orator and politician (b. 389 BC)


text: Xenocrates, Greek philosopher, pupil of Plato and head of the Greek Academy (b. 396 BC)


year_label: 315 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Polyperchon is appointed general of the Peloponnesus


text: Cassander appoints Apollonides as Governor of Argos


text: Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse, seizes the city of Messina.

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


text: Ptolemy's armies fight supporters of Antigonus in Cyprus. Ptolemy is able to re-conquer the island.

source_section: Events › By place › Cyprus


text: Cassander sends Prepelaus to Alexander (son of Polyperchon) and he convinces Alexander to desert Antigonus by offering command of all the Peloponnesus and making him general of an army


text: Peithon consolidates his power base in the eastern part of the Empire.


text: The Samnites defeat a Roman army led by dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus at the Battle of Lautulae.


text: Antigonus claims authority over most of Asia, seizes the treasury at Susa and enters Babylon, where Seleucus is governor. Seleucus flees to Ptolemy in Egypt and enters into a league with him, Lysimachus (the ruler of Thrace) and Cassander, against Antigonus. This leads to the First Coalition War.


text: The Romans take Ferentum, a city of Apulia, and this pushes the citizens of Nuceria to end their friendship with Rome.


text: Antigonus drives out Cassander's Macedonian forces of occupation from the Greek islands and forms the island cities in the Aegean into the "League of the Islanders", preparatory to his invasion of Greece. His ally, the city of Rhodes, furnishes him with the necessary fleet.


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Alexander (son of Polyperchon) sails to Antigonus in Asia. They make a pact of friendship and, by order of Antigonus, Alexander sails back to the Peloponnesus


text: In Macedonia the port city of Thessaloniki is founded by Cassander and named after his wife Thessalonike.


text: Aristodemus of Miletus, by order of Antigonus, sails to Laconia, where he receives permission from the Spartans to recruit 8000 mercenaries. He also meets Alexander and Polyperchon, thus establishing friendship between them and Antigonus


text: Apollonides initiates a raid on Arcadia during the night.


text: The King of Epirus, Aeacides, faces a revolt from his people and they drive him from the kingdom. His son, Phyrrhus, who is then only two years old, is saved from being killed by some faithful servants. Cassander takes control of Epirus.


text: The Indian king Porus, ally of Alexander the Great, is killed by Eudemus, another general of Alexander. The son of Porus, Malayketu, seizes his territory back by killing Eudemus.

source_section: Events › India


section: Births

text: Aratus, Macedonian Greek mathematician, astronomer, meteorologist, botanist and poet (d. 240 BC)

source_section: Births


text: Zhou Shen Jing Wang, king of the Zhou dynasty of China


year_label: 316 BCE

text: Thebes, which has been destroyed by Alexander the Great, begins to be rebuilt by Cassander with the help of the citizens of Athens.


text: Agathocles, the new tyrant of Syracuse, extends his rule over the eastern part of the island.


text: The Romans, with an eye to capturing Apulia, send an army (led by dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus) to seize the town of Lucera from the Samnites. They are badly beaten in the Battle of Lautulae and the Samnites go on to reach within 32 kilometres of Rome.


text: Cassander returns from the Peloponnesus and defeats Macedonia's regent Polyperchon in battle. Cassander blockades Olympias, mother of the late Alexander the Great, in Pydna, where she surrenders. Cassander takes Roxana and her son Alexander IV of Macedon into his custody.


text: King Hui of Qin decides, on the advice of General Sima Cuo, to invade and annex the ancient states of Ba and Shu in Sichuan, in order to increase Qin's agricultural output and obtain a strategic platform from which to defeat the state of Chu.


text: Cassander founds, on Pallenê, a city called Cassandreia


text: Olympias is condemned to death by Cassander, but his soldiers refuse to carry out the sentence. She is eventually killed by relatives of those she has previously had executed.


section: Climate & Environment

text: In Rhodes (city), a major flood occurs. At least five hundred people die and many houses collapse.


text: Cassander marries Thessaloniki, half-sister of Alexander the Great. He has Alexander's widow, Roxana and son, Alexander IV of Macedon, imprisoned at Amphipolis in Thrace. They are never to be seen alive again.


text: Arsinoe II, Queen of Thrace and later co-ruler of Egypt with her brother and husband Ptolemy II of Egypt (d. 270 BC)


text: Olympias, Epirote princess, wife of Macedonian king Philip II and the mother of Alexander the Great (b. c. 376 BC)


text: Eumenes, Greek general and diadochi (b. c. (362 BC)


text: Eudemus (general), Greek general


text: Sun Bin, Chinese military strategist and general from the State of Qi


text: Antigenes (general), Greek general


year_label: 317 BCE

text: Acestorides, a native of Corinth, is made supreme commander by the citizens of Syracuse.


text: After capturing Athens from Macedonia's regent Polyperchon, Cassander entrusts the government of Athens to the Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher, Demetrius Phalereus.


text: Polyperchon flees to Epirus, where he joins Alexander the Great's mother Olympias, Alexander's widow Roxana, and Alexander's infant son Alexander IV. He forms an alliance with Olympias, who is acting as regent for Alexander IV, and King Aeacides of Epirus.


text: Armenia's Persian satrap, Ardvates, frees his country from Macedonian control.


text: Battle of Paraitacene: The first battle of Western armies each with an elephant corps who fight for control over Alexander's empire. The armies of Antigonus and Eumenes fight each other near today's Isfahan in Persia with no clear victor.


text: Seleucus joins Antigonus against Eumenes and recaptures Babylon.


section: Health & Medicine

text: Private funeral monuments are banned in Athenian cemeteries.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: After twice being banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party, Agathocles returns with an army and banishes or murders about 10,000 citizens (including the oligarchs), and sets himself up as tyrant of Syracuse. Acestorides is banished from the city.


text: While Cassander is occupied in the Peloponnesus, Olympias leads an army into Macedonia. She is initially successful, defeating the army of King Philip III Arrhidaeus and capturing King Philip and his wife, Eurydice, as well as Cassander's brother, Nicanor. She then has them murdered.


text: Menander wins the first prize at the Lenaian festival with his play Dyskolos (The Grouch).

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: Ptolemy marries Berenice, lady-in-waiting to his first wife Eurydice.


text: King Philip III of Macedon (b. c. 359 BC)


text: Nicanor Macedonian officer of Cassander and the son in law of Aristotle.


year_label: 318 BCE

text: The state of Qin moves into the Sichuan basin, giving them control of that great food-producing plain.


text: Although Polyperchon is initially successful in securing control of the Greek cities, whose freedom he proclaims, his fleet is destroyed by Antigonus.


text: Antigonus resolves to become lord of all Asia, and in conjunction with Cassander and Ptolemy. He enters into negotiations with Eumenes; but Eumenes remains faithful to the royal house. He raises an army and forms a coalition with the satraps of the eastern provinces. He then captures Babylon from Antigonus.


text: Antigonus marches against Eumenes, so Eumenes withdraws east to join the satraps of the provinces beyond the Tigris River.


text: Cassander, who has allied himself with Ptolemy and Antigonus, declares war on the regent, Polyperchon. Most of the Greek states support him, including Athens. Cassander further effects an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King Philip III Arrhidaeus of Macedon.


section: Science & Discovery

text: Aristoxenus, a Greek peripatetic philosopher, and writer on music and rhythm, and a pupil of Aristotle, writes a treatise on music called the "Elements of Harmony".

source_section: Events › By topic › Music


text: Phocion, Athenian statesman and general (b. c. 402 BC)


text: Cleitus the White, Officer of Alexander the Great


text: In a power struggle in Athens after the death of Antipater, Phocion is deposed as the ruler of Athens, convicted of treason, and executed by those Athenians hoping to restore democracy to the city. Shortly afterward, the Athenians decree a public burial and a statue in his honor.


year_label: 319 BCE

text: Eumenes retreats to the fortress of Nora. Antigonus follows him there and starts a siege.


text: Polyperchon's authority is challenged by Antipater's son Cassander, who refuses to acknowledge the new regent. With the aid of Antigonus, ruler of Phrygia, and with the support of Ptolemy and Lysimachus, Cassander seizes most of Greece including Macedonia.


text: Battle of Cretopolis: Antigonus leaves a small force to besiege Eumenes, marches with the rest of his army against the remnants of the Perdiccan faction and defeats them at Cretopolis.


text: Battle of Orkynia: Antigonus marches his army against Eumenes in Cappadocia and defeats him in battle at Orkynia.


text: Eumenes allies himself with the regent Polyperchon. He manages to escape from the siege of Nora, and his forces soon threaten Syria and Phoenicia. Polyperchon recognises Eumenes as the royal general in Asia Minor.


text: The Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, is sent to the Macedonian court, but either the Macedonian regent Antipater or his son Cassander, learning that Demades has intrigued with the former regent Perdiccas, puts him to death.


text: Alexander the Great's widow, Roxana, joins Alexander's mother, Olympias, in Epirus.


text: Antigonus II Gonatas, Macedonian king (approximate date) (d. 239 BC)


text: Pyrrhus of Epirus, King of the Molossians, Epirus and Macedonia (d. 272 BC)


text: Antipater, Macedonian general, regent of Alexander the Great's empire (b. 397 BC)


text: Antipater becomes ill and dies shortly after, leaving the regency of the Macedonian Empire to the aged Polyperchon, passing over his son Cassander, a measure which gives rise to much confusion and ill-feeling.


year_label: 320 BCE

text: Judea and Syria are annexed by Ptolemy and he gives Judea a large measure of self-government.


text: Alexander the Great's various generals control different parts of Alexander's empire. Ptolemy controls Egypt, Seleucus controls Babylon and Syria, Antipater and his son Cassander control Macedon and Greece, Antigonus controls Phrygia and other parts of Asia Minor, Lysimachus controls Thrace and Pergamum and Eumenes controls the Cappadocia and Pontus areas.


text: Eudemus makes himself master of the territories of the Indian king Porus, and treacherously puts that monarch to death.


text: Alexandria in Macedonian Egypt becomes the largest city of the world, taking over the lead from Babylon in Macedonian Babylonia.

source_section: Events › By topic › Demography


text: Theophrastus begins the systematic study of botany.

source_section: Events › By topic › Biology


text: Timocharis of Alexandria, Greek astronomer responsible for the first recorded observation of Mercury and the first star catalogue (d. 260 BC)


text: Bindusara, the heir to the throne of the Mauryan Empire, is born. (d. 272 BC)


text: Zoilus, Greek grammarian, cynic philosopher and literary critic from Amphipolis in Macedon (b. c. 400 BC)


text: Menaechmus, Greek mathematician and geometer


text: Anaximenes of Lampsacus, Greek rhetorician and historian (b. c. 380 BC)


year_label: 33 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes consul for the second time. His partner is Lucius Volcatius Tullus. Octavian delivers a speech; de summa Republica in the Roman Senate, in which he subjects the Donations.

source_title: 33 BC


text: The second term of the Second Triumvirate expires.


text: The Kinambroi surrender to Octavian.


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa is self demoted to Aedile, and builds the Aqua Julia, one of the aqueducts on which Rome's water supply depends, as well as cleaning the Cloaca Maxima sewerage system.


text: Mark Antony annexes the kingdom of Media and arranges the marriage of his son Alexander Helios with princess Iotapa, the daughter of king Artavasdes I.


text: Crown Prince Ao ascends to the throne as Emperor Cheng of Han of the Han dynasty (until 7 BC).


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Yuan of Han, Chinese emperor of the Han dynasty (b. 75 BC)


text: Tiberius Claudius Nero, Roman politician and father of Tiberius (b. 85 BC)


year_label: 321 BCE

text: Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan empire, establishes himself as the king of Magadha.

source_section: Events › By place › India


text: Antipater appoints Antigonus commander in chief of his army in Asia Minor and sends him with Craterus to fight against Eumenes, the satrap of Cappadocia and a supporter of Perdiccas.


text: Antigonus and Craterus defeat Eumenes in battle but Eumenes escapes. Antigonus and Craterus then besiege him unsuccessfully in the mountain fortress of Nora on the border between Cappadocia and Lycaonia. Craterus is killed during the fighting against Eumenes when his charging horse (Diodorus) falls over him.


text: Two Roman consuls, Spurius Postumius Albinus and Titus Veturius Calvinus, leading an invading force into Samnium, are trapped in a mountain pass known as the Caudine Forks (Caudium) near Beneventum, where they can neither advance nor retire, and after a desperate struggle, they are forced to submit to the humiliating terms imposed by the Samnite victor, Gaius Pontius. The captured consuls pledge themselves to a five-year treaty on terms most favourable for the Samnites.


text: Leaving Eumenes to hold Asia Minor against Craterus and Antigonus, Perdiccas marches against Ptolemy, but when he fails to cross the Nile he is murdered by mutinous officers. Prominent among the mutineers is Seleucus. A truce is arranged, leaving Ptolemy in power in Egypt and Seleucus in power in Babylon.


text: Continuing successes by Rome's armies against the Samnites forces the Samnites to sue for peace. However, the terms offered by Rome are so stringent that they are rejected by the Samnites and the war goes on.


text: Ptolemy further strengthens his position amongst the diadochi by marrying Eurydice, the third daughter of Antipater.


text: Perdiccas, Macedonian general and regent after the death of Alexander the Great (b. c. 365 BC)


text: Craterus, Macedonian general (b. c. 370 BC)


text: Zhou Xian Wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China


year_label: 322 BCE

date: September 5

text: September 5 – Craterus arrives to defeat the Athenians in the Battle of Crannon. This battle marks a complete victory for Antipater in the Lamian War.


text: Spring/summer – The Macedonian admiral Cleitus the White defeats the Athenian navy at the Battle of the Echinades and the Battle of Amorgos, ending Athenian thalassocracy in the Aegean.


text: Ptolemy, taking advantage of internal disturbances, acquires the African Hellenic towns of Cyrenaica without the authority of Perdiccas.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


text: The League of Corinth is dissolved.


text: The Athenians and their allies' siege of the Macedonian ruler, Antipater, in Lamia is relieved by Leonnatus with an army of 20,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry. Leonnatus is killed in the action.


text: Ptolemy executes his deputy, Cleomenes of Naucratis, on the suspicion that Cleomenes favours Perdiccas. This action removes the chief check on his authority, and allows Ptolemy to obtain the sizable funds that Cleomenes has accumulated.


text: Chandragupta Maurya captures Magadha: Chandragupta, with the help of Chanakya (Kautilya), who is also known as the Indian Machiavelli, destroys the Nanda rulers of Magadha and establishes the Maurya Empire. It is said that Chanakya met Chandragupta in the Vindhya forest, after being insulted by the Nanda king.


text: Hypereides flees to Aegina only to be captured by the Macedonians at the temple of Poseidon and put to death.


text: The Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, regains his citizenship so that he and Phocion can negotiate a peace with Antipater, thus concluding the Lamian War. Before setting out he persuades the citizens of Athens to pass the death sentence upon Demosthenes and his followers (including Hypereides, leader of the Athenian patriotic party). Demades' embassy results in a peace disadvantageous to the Athenians, with the Athenians forced to accept the occupation of Athens' port, Piraeus, by the Macedonians.


text: By custom, kings in Macedonia assert their right to the throne by burying their predecessor. To pre-empt Perdiccas, the imperial regent, Ptolemy has Alexander the Great's body brought to Memphis, Egypt and buried there in a gold sarcophagus. Ptolemy then marries Alexander's mistress, Thaïs and commences to reign as king of Egypt and the adjacent Libyan and Arabian regions.


date: October 12

text: October 12 – Demosthenes, Athenian statesman, recognized as the greatest of ancient Greek orators (b. 384 BC)


text: Hypereides, Athenian orator (b. 390 BC)


text: Aristotle, Greek philosopher and scientist (b. 384 BC)


text: Cleomenes of Naucratis, Greek deputy to the Macedonian ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy


text: Leonnatus, Macedonian officer under Alexander the Great and one of the diadochi (b. 356 BC)


text: Demosthenes flees from the Macedonians who demand his surrender. Upon being arrested, he takes poison and dies.


text: Ariarathes I of Cappadocia, Achaemenid satrap, founder of the Iranian Ariarathid dynasty


year_label: 323 BCE

text: Taxiles and Porus are to rule over their kingdoms in India;


text: The Partition of Babylon sets out the division of the territories conquered by Alexander the Great between his generals. The partition is a result of a compromise, essentially brokered by Eumenes, following a conflict of opinion between the party of Meleager, who wishes to give full power to Philip III (the illegitimate son of King Philip II of Macedon by Philinna of Larissa), and the party of Perdiccas, who wishes to wait for the birth of the heir of Alexander and his wife, Roxana (the future Alexander IV) to give him the throne under the control of a regent.


text: Under the agreement, Philip III becomes king, but Perdiccas, as the regent, effectively becomes the ruler of Alexander's empire. Perdiccas manages the partition of the territories between the former generals and saintly with Alexander's chief lieutenant Craterus);


text: Perdiccas exercises a wide authority in Asia as "supreme general". Perdiccas largely leaves Alexander's arrangements intact:


text: Following Alexander the Great's death, the Athenians recall Demosthenes from exile and provide the money to pay his fine.


text: Sibyrtius governs Arachosia and Gedrosia;


text: Lysimachus becomes governor of Thrace.


text: Antigonus gaining the governorship of Pamphylia and Lycia;


text: Stasanor rules in Aria and Drangiana;


text: Tlepolemus is left in charge of Carmania;


text: Some Greek cities, including Athens, revolt against the Macedonian regent, Antipater, following the news of Alexander's death. Athens' actions are incited by the speeches of the Athenian general Leosthenes and the Athenian orator Hypereides. Joined by cities in central and south Greece, the Athenians defeat Antipater in battle. They force him to take refuge in Lamia, where he is besieged for several months by the Greek allies.


text: Laomedon governing Syria and Phoenicia;


text: Phrataphernes rules Parthia and Hyrcania;


text: Alexander orders demolition of the ziggurat at Etemenanki.


text: Arcesilas rules northern Mesopotamia.


text: Archon of Pella controls Babylonia; and


section: Religion & Belief

text: Eumenes of Cardia as governor of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia; and


text: Alexander's father-in-law Oxyartes rules Gandhara;


text: Philip controls Bactria and Sogdiana;


text: Meleager and about 300 of his partisans are killed by forces loyal to Perdiccas. The first wife of Alexander, Roxana, arranges for Alexander's second wife, Stateira II (Barsine), to be killed.


text: Theophrastus, who has been studying in Athens under Aristotle, becomes the head of the Lyceum, the academy in Athens founded by Aristotle, when Aristotle is forced to leave Athens.


text: Alexander IV of Macedon, son of Alexander the Great and Roxana (d. 309 BC).


date: June 10

text: 10 June/11 June – In Babylon, Alexander the Great dies, ten days after being taken ill after a prolonged banquet and drinking bout. Diogenes, the philosopher he met years before, when he was just about to set out on his conquests, allegedly dies on the exact same day.


date: June 13

text: June 13 – Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire died in Babylon (b. 356 BC)


text: The Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, faces a strong anti-Macedonian reaction in Athens following the death of Alexander the Great. Aristotle is accused of impiety by the Athenians. However, he escapes to Chalcis in Euboea.


text: Diogenes of Sinope, Greek philosopher (b. c. 412 BC)


text: Meleager, Macedonian general who has served with Alexander the Great


year_label: 324 BCE

text: To further his policy of integrating the Macedonians and Persians, Alexander and 80 of his officers take Persian wives. He and Hephaestion marry Darius III's daughters Barsine (also called Stateira) and Drypteis, respectively, and 10,000 of his soldiers with native wives are given generous dowries. His determination to incorporate Persians on equal terms into his army and into the administration of the provinces is bitterly resented by the Macedonians.


text: Alexander the Great's treasurer, Harpalus, fearing arrest, flees from Susa to Athens. On arriving in Athens, he is imprisoned by the Athenians after a proposal of Demosthenes and Phocion, despite Hypereides' opposition, who wanted an immediate uprising against Alexander. Harpalus brings with him considerable wealth collected from the spoils of Alexander's conquest of Asia. This money is entrusted to a committee led by Demosthenes.


text: Greek colonists found the city of Akra Leuka (modern Alicante, Spain) on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula.


text: Winter – Alexander carries out a savage punitive expedition against the Cossaeans in the hills of Luristan.


text: Demosthenes is convicted and imprisoned after being found guilty of misappropriating some of the funds that Alexander's treasurer, Harpalus, has brought with him. He escapes into exile, although his sentence is soon repealed. Although Hypereides has supported Demosthenes in his struggle against the Macedonians, that support is withdrawn after the Harpalus affair. After Demosthenes' exile, Hypereides becomes the head of the patriotic party in Athens.


text: Dinarchus, a professional speech writer in Athens, comes to prominence in the scandal that follows the flight to Athens of Alexander the Great's treasurer, Harpalus. When Harpalus escapes and flees to Crete, Dinarchus writes the prosecution speeches against Demosthenes, Demades, Aristogiton, Philocles and other well-known politicians accused of misappropriating some of this money.


text: While at Susa, Alexander holds a feast to celebrate his capture of the Persian Empire.


text: Antiochus I Soter, King of the Seleucid dynasty (d. 261 BC)


date: October

text: October – Hephaestion, son of Amyntor, a Macedonian general, soldier, aristocrat, and possibly lover of Alexander the Great (b. c. 356 BC).


text: Alexander the Great spends the summer and autumn at the Median capital, Ecbatana, where his best friend, Hephaistion, dies during the autumn. Alexander indulges in extravagant mourning for his closest friend.


text: On returning to Susa, Persia, Alexander the Great punishes those who he considers to have failed in their duties in his absence in India, particularly those who have plundered tombs and temples. Alexander continues his policy of replacing senior officials and executing defaulting governors. Over a third of his satraps are replaced and six are put to death. Three generals in Media, including Cleander, the brother of Coenus (who died in 326 BC), are accused of extortion and are arrested, tried and executed.


year_label: 325 BCE

text: While returning to Persia, Alexander's army runs into the Malli clans (in modern day Multan). The ensuing battle severely weakens his army. Alexander sends much of his remaining army to Carmania (modern southern Iran) with his general Craterus, while he leads the rest of his forces back to Persia by the southern route through the Gedrosian Desert (now part of southern Iran and Makran in southern Pakistan).


text: King Wuling ascends to the throne of Zhao.


text: By the end of the year, Alexander's army reaches Persepolis, while his navy, under Nearchus, reaches Susa at around the same time.


text: Going against his loyalty to the figurehead monarch of the Zhou dynasty, the Qin ruler, Duke Huiwen, takes on the title of King Huiwen, claiming royal title and sparking a trend amongst other Warring States rulers to do the same.


text: Alexander the Great orders his admiral, Nearchus, to sail from the Hydaspes River in western India to the Persian Gulf and up the Euphrates River to Babylon while Alexander's army starts marching through Gedrosia (Baluchistan).


text: (around this year) – Pytheas made a voyage of naval exploration to northwestern Europe, reaching Britain and the Baltic Sea, and mentioning Thule as the furthest island to the north in the Atlantic.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Alexander the Great leaves India and nominates his officer Peithon, son of Agenor, as the satrap of the region around the Indus.


text: The first known reference to sugar cane appears in writings by Alexander the Great's admiral Nearchus, who writes of Indian reeds "that produce honey, although there are no bees".


text: Aristotle writes Ta Ethika on virtue and moral character (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Philosophy


text: Agathocles, a rich and ambitious citizen of Syracuse, is exiled for attempting to overthrow the oligarchic party in the city.


section: Disasters & Accidents

text: La Venta, an Olmec island city, is believed to be completely abandoned by this time.

source_section: Events › By place › Americas


text: The fourth-century (Late Classical) period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the Hellenistic period (approximate date).


text: Euclid, Greek mathematician who will come to live in Alexandria (d. c. 275 BC)


text: Zhaoxiang of Qin, Chinese king of the Qin State (d. 250 BC)


text: Gongsun Long, Chinese scholar and philosopher (approximate date)


year_label: 326 BCE

text: Alexander continues on to conquer all the headwaters of the Indus River. East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, Alexander faces the powerful empire of Magadha ruled by the Nanda dynasty. Fearing the prospects of facing another powerful Indian army and exhausted by years of campaigning, his army mutinies at the Hyphasis River (the modern Beas River) and refuses to march further east, thus making this river mark the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests.

source_section: Events › By place › Macedonian Empire


text: Spring – Alexander the Great crosses the Indus near Attock and enters ancient Taxila, whose ruler, Taxiles (or Ambhi), furnishes 130 war elephants and troops in return for aid against his rival Porus, who rules the lands between the Hydaspes (modern Jhelum River) and the Acesines (modern Chenab River).


text: Following their defeat by the Roman forces in Naples, the Samnites declare war on Rome starting the Second Samnite War. To help defeat the Samnites, the Romans make alliances with the peoples of Central Italy to the north of Samnium and with the Apulians to the southeast.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: Following the mutiny of his army at the Hyphasis River, Alexander is persuaded by his army leaders to abandon his plans for invading the Ganges Valley. Alexander appoints Nearchus, a Cretan with naval experience, as admiral and places under his command all in the ranks of his army with any knowledge of seafaring. Nearchus has Indian shipwrights build 800 vessels, some as large as 300 tons, to take the army through Persian Gulf waters to Babylon. Alexander the Great begins the return march down the Indus to the sea.


text: After the departure of Alexander from India, Philip is assassinated by some of the mercenary troops under his command. Alexander names Eudamus and Taxilas as replacement rulers of Philip's territories.


text: Philip, an officer in the service of Alexander the Great, is appointed satrap of India, including the provinces to the west of the Hydaspes, as far south as the junction of the Indus with the Acesines. Philip is put in charge by Alexander of building the city of Alexandria on the Indus.


text: Pharnavaz I of Iberia, later King of Iberia


text: On the left bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander fights his last great battle, the Battle of the Hydaspes River. He and his general Craterus defeat the Indian King Porus. Alexander founds two cities there, Alexandria on the Indus or Alexandria Nicaea (to celebrate his victory) and Alexandria Bucephalous or Bucephala (named after his horse Bucephalus, which dies there); and Porus becomes his friend and ally.


text: Coenus, son of Polemocrates and son-in-law of Parmenion and one of Alexander the Great's generals in his Persian and Indian expeditions

source_section: Deaths


year_label: 327 BCE

text: Alexander the Great invades northern India. Recrossing the Hindu Kush, Alexander divides his forces. Half the army with the baggage under Hephaestion and Perdiccas, both cavalry commanders, are sent through the Khyber Pass, while Alexander leads the rest, together with his siege train, through the hills to the north. His advance through Swat and Gandhara is marked by the storming of the almost impregnable pinnacle of Aornos, a few miles west of the Indus.


text: The relations between Alexander and Aristotle are embittered by the execution of Aristotle's nephew, the historian Callisthenes of Olynthus, who is charged with treason. Callisthenes has been accompanying Alexander to write a chronicle of the campaign.


text: The Samnite army captures Neapolis (present-day Naples). The Romans, who are meanwhile moving south while the Samnites are occupied with Tarentum, take the opportunity to recover Neapolis and, after a long siege, evict the Samnite garrison from the city and make it an ally of Rome.


text: Moggaliputta-Tissa, Indian Buddhist monk, scholar and philosopher (approximate date)


text: Heracles, illegitimate son of Alexander the Great by his mistress Barsine, daughter of Satrap Artabazus of Phrygia and later claimant to the throne of Macedon (d. 309 BC)


text: Callisthenes of Olynthus, Greek historian, great nephew and pupil of Aristotle (b. c. 360 BC)


year_label: 328 BCE

date: December

text: December – Spitamenes is badly defeated by Alexander's general Coenus. At this point Spitamenes' allies, feeling the situation desperate, kill their leader and send his head as a gift to Alexander.


text: Spitamenes raises all Sogdiana in revolt behind him, bringing in the Massagetae, a people of the Scythian confederacy. He besieges the Macedonian garrison in Maracanda. Alexander the Great sends an army under the command of Pharnuches of Lycia which is promptly annihilated with a loss of more than 2,000 infantry and 300 cavalry.


text: Understanding now the danger represented by his enemy, Alexander moves personally to relieve Maracanda, only to learn that Spitamenes has left Sogdiana. Spitamenes then attacks Bactra, from where he is repulsed with great difficulty by the satrap of Bactria, Artabazus of Phrygia.


text: Alexander attacks Oxyartes and the remaining Bactrian barons who are holding out in the hills of Paraetacene (modern Tajikistan). The Macedonians seize the crag on which Oxyartes has his stronghold (the Sogdian Rock), and among the captives is his daughter, Roxana. In the reconciliation that follows the battle, Alexander marries Roxana. The rest of Oxyartes' opponents are either won over or crushed.


text: At Maracanda, Alexander murders Cleitus, one of his most trusted commanders, friend and foster-brother, in a drunken quarrel; but his excessive display of remorse leads the army to pass a decree convicting Cleitus posthumously of treason.


text: Cleitus, lieutenant and friend of Alexander the Great (b. c. 375 BC)


text: Artabazos II, Persian general and satrap (fl. 389 BC)


text: Spitamenes, Persian nobleman (b. 370 BC)


year_label: 329 BCE

text: In Bactria, Bessus raises a national revolt in the eastern satrapies using the title of King Artaxerxes V of Persia.


text: Macedonian expeditionary corps in Central Asia is defeated in the Battle of the Polytimetus.


text: Crossing the Hindu Kush northward, probably over the Khawak Pass, Alexander brings his army, despite food shortages, to Drapsaka. Outflanked, Bessus flees beyond the Oxus river.


text: From Maracanda, Alexander advances through Cyropolis to the Jaxartes river, the boundary of the Persian Empire. There he breaks the opposition of the Scythian nomads by his use of catapults and, after defeating them in a battle on the north bank of the river, pursues them into the interior. On the site of modern Khujand on the Jaxartes, he founds a city, Alexandria Eschate, "the farthest."


text: From Phrada, Alexander the Great presses on up the valley of the Helmand River, through Arachosia, and over the mountains past the site of modern Kabul into the country of the Paropamisade, where he founds Alexandria by the Caucasus.


text: Marching west to Bactra (Zariaspa), Alexander appoints Artabazus of Phrygia as the satrap of Bactria.


text: Bessus (Artaxerxes V), Persian nobleman and satrap of Bactria, and later the last claimant to the Achaemenid throne of Persia


text: Crossing the Oxus, Alexander sends his general Ptolemy in pursuit of Bessus. In the meantime, Bessus is overthrown by the Sogdian Spitamenes. Bessus is captured, flogged, and sent to Ptolemy in Bactria with the hope of appeasing Alexander. In due course, Bessus is publicly executed at Ecbatana. With the death of Bessus (Artaxerxes V), Persian resistance to Alexander the Great ceases.


year_label: 330 BCE

text: Alexander appoints Atropates as the satrap of Media while Mithrenes is appointed by Alexander as satrap of Armenia.


date: January 20

text: January 20 – Alexander the Great defeats the Persians, led by satrap Ariobarzanes, at the Persian Gates. In this battle, Ariobarzan, supported by only 700 Persian Immortals, holds the vast Macedonian army of 17,000 men at bay for 30 days. At the end, his troops are surrounded by Alexander's army, because of a Persian shepherd, who leads it around the Persian defenses. However, instead of surrendering, Ariobarzan and his 700 Immortals fight to the last man. Some historians consider him to be the Leonidas of Persia.


date: January 30

text: January 30 – After gaining the Pass of the Persian Gates, Alexander enters Persepolis. There he ceremonially burns down the palace of Xerxes I, as a symbol that the Panhellenic war of revenge is at an end.


text: Alexander's regent in Macedonia, Antipater, makes peace with the Thracians (with whom he has been warring) and then marches south with a large force of over 40,000 men. He wins a hard-fought Battle of Megalopolis in Arcadia against Agis III of Sparta and his Greek mercenaries. Agis III is killed, and Spartan resistance is broken.

source_section: Events › By place › Macedonia


text: The Italian cities of Fondi and Privernum, led by Vitruvius Vaccus, launch a failed revolt against Rome.


text: Crossing the Elburz Mountains to the Caspian Sea, Alexander seizes Zadracarta in Hyrcania and receives the submission of a group of satraps and Persian notables, some of whom he confirms in their offices. He then travels westward and defeats the Mardi, a mountain people who inhabit the Elburz Mountains. He also accepts the surrender of Darius' Greek mercenaries.


text: Following his defeat in the courts by Demosthenes, Aeschines leaves Athens for Rhodes, to teach rhetoric.


text: In Aria, Alexander's army defeats the satrap Satibarzanes, who initially offers to submit, only to later revolt. Alexander then founds the town of Alexandria of the Arians (modern Herat).


text: At Phrada, in Drangiana, Philotas, Parmenion's son and commander of the elite Macedonian companion cavalry, is implicated in an alleged plot against Alexander's life. He is condemned by the army, and executed. A secret message is sent by Alexander to Cleander, Parmenion's second in command, who obediently kills Parmenion at Ecbatana in Media for fear that he will rise up in revolt at the news of his son's death. All of Parmenion's adherents are now eliminated and men close to Alexander are promoted.


text: Before continuing his pursuit of Darius III, who has retreated into Bactria, Alexander assembles all the Persian treasure and entrusts it to Harpalus, who is to hold it at Ecbatana as chief treasurer. Parmenion is also left behind in Media to manage communications between Alexander and the rest of his rapidly growing lands.


date: July 17

text: July 17 – King Darius III is deposed and killed by Bessus, the satrap of Bactria. Bessus assumes the kingship as Artaxerxes V.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian Empire


text: Lysippos makes a bronze statue called The scraper (Apoxyomenos) (approximate date). A Roman copy after the original statue is today kept at Musei Vaticani in Rome.


text: Aeschines continues to try to prevent Demosthenes from being awarded a golden crown for his services to Athens. The case, which has begun in 336 BC, finally concludes with the overwhelming defeat of Aeschines, largely because of Demosthenes' brilliant speech for Ctesiphon (On the Crown).


text: Theopompus of Chios, Greek historian and rhetorician (b. c. 380 BC)


text: Parmenion (also Parmenio), Macedonian general (murdered) (b. c. 400 BC)


text: Philotas, Macedonian officer and son of Parmenio (executed)


text: Darius III, king of Persia, was killed in Bactria (b. c. 380 BC)


text: Kidinnu, Chaldean astronomer and mathematician


text: Agis III, Eurypontid king of Sparta (killed in battle)


year_label: 34 BCE

text: Autumn – The Donations of Alexandria: Antony distributes the eastern kingdoms as a gift to the children of Cleopatra; he declares Caesarion, Caesar's illegitimate son, as co-ruler of Egypt and Cyprus. Alexander Helios receives Armenia and Media; to Cleopatra Selene II he gives the kingdoms of Cyrenaica and Libya. His youngest son Ptolemy Philadelphus receives the Egyptian possessions in Phoenicia, Syria and Cilicia. Antony establishes Cleopatra as a Hellenistic monarch at Alexandria and gives her the title of "Queen of Kings".

source_title: 34 BC


text: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian pacifies Dalmatia and Pannonia forming the province of Illyricum, while Antony regains Armenia from Parthia. Octavian reduces the outposts defending the Liburnian town of Promona, sets up siege works and forces its surrender.


text: Antony advances into Armenia with an expeditionary force (16 legions) and marches to the capital Artaxata. He arrests king Artavasdes II and takes him to Alexandria.


text: Mark Antony becomes Roman Consul for the second time. His partner is Lucius Scribonius Libo. The latter is replaced with Aemilius Lepidus Paullus during the year.


year_label: 331 BCE

text: The Gallic tribe of the Senones and the Romans conclude a peace and enter upon a period of friendly relations which lasts the rest of the century.


date: October 1

text: October 1 – Alexander is victorious in the Battle of Gaugamela (near ancient Ninevah) over the Persian King Darius III. Alexander pursues the defeated Persian forces to Arbela, Darius moves his Bactrian cavalry and Greek mercenaries into Media.


text: Alexander departs from Egypt and leads his forces towards Phoenicia. He leaves Cleomenes of Naucratis as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt.


text: While Alexander is fighting in Asia, Agis III of Sparta, profiting from the Macedonian king's absence from Greece, leads some of the Greek cities in a revolt. With Persian money and 8,000 Greek mercenaries, he holds Crete against Macedonian forces. In the Peloponnesus he routs a force under the Macedonian general Coragus and, although Athens stays neutral, he is joined by Elis, Achaea (except Pellene) and Arcadia, with the exception of Megalopolis, the staunchly anti-Spartan capital of Arcadia, which Agis III's forces besiege.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: From Thapsacus on the Euphrastes River, Alexander led the Greek army toward the Tigris River, leading to a victory over the Persians on October 31 at Gaugamela, after which Darius fled and escaped.


text: Alexander's regent Antipater leads the Macedonians to victory over King Agis III in the Battle of Megalopolis.


text: Tarentum turns against Alexander of Epirus when they realize that he intends to create a kingdom of his own in southern Italy. Alexander is defeated and killed in the Battle of Pandosia on the banks of the Acheron.

source_section: Events › By place › Italy


text: For the first time, Alexander encounters war elephants after the battle in Darius' camp. In the capital, Susa, Alexander gains access to huge treasures amounting to 50,000 gold talents (equivalent of today circa 77 billion USD).


text: Alexander of Epirus takes Heraclea from the Lucanians, and Terina and Sipontum from the Bruttii.


text: Alexander I of Epirus, Aeacid dynasty king of Epirus (b. c. 370 BC)


text: Vahe, legendary king of Armenia and last of the Hyke dynasty


year_label: 332 BCE

text: After a victory over the Samnites and Lucanians near Paestum, Alexander of Epirus makes a treaty with the Romans.


text: The Persian King Darius III twice sends on horseback to Alexander letters of friendship. The second time he offers a large ransom for his family, the ceding of all of the Persian Empire west of the Euphrates River, and the hand of his daughter in return for an alliance. Alexander rejects both letters and marches into Mesopotamia.


text: Alexander spends the winter organizing the administration of Egypt. He employs Egyptian governors, while keeping the army under a separate Macedonian command.


text: Alexander the Great occupies Damascus and, after a siege lasting seven months, destroys Tyre during which there is great carnage and the sale of the women and children into slavery.


text: Alexander conquers Egypt from the Persians. The Egyptians welcome him as their deliverer, and the Persian satrap Mazaces wisely surrenders. Alexander's conquest of Egypt completes his control of the whole eastern Mediterranean coast.


text: Leaving Parmenion in Syria, Alexander advances south without opposition until he reaches Gaza where bitter resistance halts him for two months, and he sustains a serious shoulder wound during a sortie.


text: Alexander founds the city of Alexandria near the western arm of the Nile on a site between the sea and Lake Mareotis, protected by the island of Pharos, and has the city laid out by the Rhodian architect Deinocrates.


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Alexander is crowned as pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt – god and king all at once – son of Ra and Osiris, Horus the "Golden One" and beloved of Amun.


text: At the acropolis in Susa, an unidentified woman is buried in a bronze sarcophagus, wearing "a mass of finely-wrought and artistic gems and jewels" and two coins, one dating from 350 BC and the other from 332 BC. The tomb will remain unopened for more than 22 centuries, until French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan unearths it on February 10, 1901.


year_label: 333 BCE

text: Alexander has a great victory over the Persians in the Battle of the Issus River in Cilicia, but the Persian Emperor Darius III escapes. Darius leaves behind his wife, his two daughters, his mother Sisygambis.

source_section: Events


text: King Darius III of Persia executes Charidemus, a Greek mercenary leader living in exile in Persia, for criticising preparations taken for the Battle of Issus.


text: Nastasen king of kush repelled an invasion by a Egyptian leader named "Kambustan", likely the rebel leader khabash and won many valuable war spoils including river faires.


text: In reply to a letter from Darius offering peace, Alexander demands Darius' unconditional surrender.


text: King Alexander of Macedonia conquers western Asia Minor, subduing the hill tribes of Lycia and Pisidia.


text: From Issus, Alexander marches south into Syria and Phoenicia, his object being to isolate the Persian fleet from its bases and so to destroy it as an effective fighting force. The Phoenician cities of Marathus and Aradus do not resist Alexander's armies. Parmenion is sent ahead to try to secure Damascus and its rich booty, including Darius' war chest.


text: After taking Byblos and Sidon, Alexander lays siege to Tyre.


text: Alexander makes one of his officers, Nearchus, satrap of the newly conquered Lycia and Pamphylia in Anatolia and he appoints his general, Antigonus, satrap of Phrygia.


text: Charidemus, Greek mercenary leader


text: Memnon of Rhodes, Greek mercenary leader (b. 380 BC)


year_label: 334 BCE

text: The rulers of Wei and Qi agree to recognize each other as kings, formalizing the independence of the Warring States and the powerlessness of the Zhou dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Alexander of Epirus, at the request of the colony of Taras (Tarentum) crosses over into Italy, to aid them against the Lucanians and Bruttii. He wins victories over the Italian Samnite tribes.


date: May

text: May – Alexander wins a major victory against the Persians commanded by the Greek mercenary Memnon of Rhodes, in the Battle of the Granicus near the Sea of Marmara. A large number of King Darius III's Greek mercenaries are massacred, but 2,000 survivors are sent back to Macedonia in chains.


text: As the Persian satraps have gathered for a war council at Zeleia, Memnon argues that it is preferable for the Persians to avoid a pitched battle and adopt a scorched earth tactic. Arsites, the satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, will not allow his land to be burned and agrees with other satraps to reject this cautious advice.


text: Alexander's victory exposes western Asia Minor to the Macedonians, and most of the cities in the region hasten to open their gates. The Ionian city of Miletus defies Alexander and he has to subdue it through a siege.


text: At Halicarnassus, Alexander successfully undertakes the first of many sieges, eventually forcing his opponents, the mercenary captain Memnon of Rhodes and the Persian satrap of Caria, Orontobates, to withdraw by sea. Alexander leaves Caria in the hands of Ada, who was the ruler of Caria before being deposed by her brother-in-law, Pixodarus.


text: Alexander accepts the surrender of the Persian provincial capital of Sardis (and its treasury) and proceeds down the Ionian coast.


text: King Alexander III of Macedonia crosses the Dardanelles, leaving Antipater, who has already faithfully served his father, Philip II, as his deputy in Greece with over 13,000 men. Alexander himself commands about 30,000 foot soldiers and over 5,000 cavalry, of whom nearly 14,000 are Macedonians and about 7,000 are allies sent by the Greek League.


text: Zeno of Citium, Greek philosopher and the father of Stoicism (approximate date) (d. c. 262 BC)

source_section: Births


text: The king of Caria, Pixodarus, dies and is succeeded by his son-in-law, Orontobates.


year_label: 335 BCE

text: Marcus Valerius Corvus is elected consul of the Roman Republic for the fourth time.


text: Returning to Macedonia by way of Delphi (where the Pythian priestess acclaims him "invincible"), King Alexander III of Macedonia advances into Thrace in order to secure the Danube as the northern boundary of the Macedonian kingdom. After forcing the Shipka Pass and crushing the Triballi, he crosses the Danube to disperse the Getae. Turning west, he then defeats and shatters a coalition of Illyrians who are invading Macedonia.


text: After conquering Thebes, Alexander demands the surrender of the mercenary commanders, Chares and Charidemus, among others. Chares escapes to the Troad while Charidemus is banished and flees to Persia.


text: The admiration of Alexander for the Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, leads the conqueror to treat Athens leniently despite its involvement in the rebellion. A special Athenian embassy led by Phocion, an opponent of the anti-Macedonian faction, is able to persuade Alexander to give up his demand for the exile of the leaders of the anti-Macedonian party, particularly Demosthenes.


text: Cales (modern Calvi), a city in Campania, is taken by the Romans and a Roman colony is established there.


text: A rumour that Alexander has been killed by the Illyrians leads the Thebans and Athenians to take up arms again. Alexander defeats the Greeks and razes Thebes. In Thebes, 6,000 people are killed and all survivors are sold into slavery.


text: Aristotle returns to Athens from Macedon and opens a peripatetic school in an old gymnasium called the Lyceum. It contains a museum of natural history, zoological gardens and a library.


text: The sculptor Praxiteles ends his active career in Athens (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: Herophilos, Greek physician and first anatomist (d. 280 BC)


text: Eubulus, Athenian statesman (b. c. 405 BC)


text: Hicetas of Syracuse, Greek mathematician and philosopher (b. c. 400 BC)


year_label: 336 BCE

text: Conscription is introduced in Athens. Young men are required to perform duties which are part military and part civic.


text: Following Philip II of Macedon's marriage to Eurydice, Alexander and his mother, Olympias, flee to Epirus, with Alexander later moving to Illyria. However, shortly afterward, father and son are reconciled and Alexander returns; but his position as heir is tenuous.


text: Alexander puts down a rebellion in Macedonia and crushes the rebellious Illyrians. He then appears at the gates of Thebes and receives the city's submission. After that he advances to the Corinthian isthmus and is elected by the assembled Greeks as their commander against Persia.


text: At a grand celebration of his daughter Cleopatra's marriage to Alexander I of Epirus (brother of Olympias), Philip II is assassinated at Aegae by Pausanias of Orestis, a young Macedonian bodyguard with a bitter grievance against the young queen's uncle Attalus and against Philip for denying him justice. Pausanias is killed on the spot.


text: Following his assassination, Philip II of Macedon is succeeded by his son Alexander III. Suspecting the princes of the Lynkestis region of killing Phillip II, Alexander executes them all. The League of Corinth promotes Alexander to general of a unified Greek army for its planned invasion of Asia Minor.


text: Macedonian troops, commanded by Parmenion, trusted lieutenant of Philip II, arrive in Asia Minor, but are driven back by Persian forces under the command of the Greek mercenary Memnon of Rhodes.


text: Bagoas then seeks to install a new monarch who will be easier to control. He chooses Codomannus, a distant relative of the royal house, who takes the name Darius III. When Darius tries to assert his independence from Bagoas' control, Bagoas attempts to poison him, but the king is warned and forces Bagoas to drink the poison himself.

source_section: Events › By place › Achaemenid Empire


text: Alexander immediately has Amyntas IV, son of King Perdiccas III and his cousin, executed.


text: The young king of Persia, Arses, objects to being controlled by Bagoas and attempts to poison him. Instead, Arses and all his children are killed by Bagoas.


text: Aeschines brings a suit against Ctesiphon for illegally proposing the award of a crown to the Athenian leader Demosthenes in recognition of his services to Athens.


text: Pausanias of Orestis, personal bodyguard of Philip II of Macedon


text: Attalus, Macedonian general (b. c. 390 BC)


text: Philip II, King of Macedonia (b. 382 BC)


text: Eurydice, 7th wife of Philip II, queen of Macedonia


text: Amyntas IV, usurper king of Macedon


year_label: 337 BCE

text: Olympias is put aside by her husband Philip II, following Philip's marriage to a girl named Cleopatra (who is renamed Eurydice). Their son, Alexander, is effectively disowned by Philip's actions. Philip II has Ptolemy, along with other companions of his son, exiled.


text: A plebeian is chosen to be praetor of Rome for the first time.


text: Minucia, a Vestal Virgin, is convicted of unchastity.


text: Demetrius I Poliorcetes ("Besieger"), Antigonid dynasty king of Macedon (d. 283 BC)


text: Approximate date – Timoleon, Greek statesman and general (b. c. 411 BC)


text: Shen Pu-hai, Chinese bureaucrat, chief minister of Han


year_label: 338 BCE

text: Philip II advances into Peloponnesus. He defeats Thessaly, subdues Sparta and summons a Pan-Hellenic Congress at Corinth. This results in the establishment of Macedonian hegemony over central Greece (including Athens).


text: Athenian statesman and orator, Lycurgus, is given control of the state's finances and goes about doubling the annual public revenues.


text: Athens arranges an alliance with Euboea, Megara, Achaea, Corinth, Acarnania and some other states in the Peloponnesus. However, the most desirable ally for Athens is Thebes. Therefore, the Athenian leader, Demosthenes, goes to the Boeotian city and secures an alliance with Thebes despite the efforts of a Macedonian deputation to persuade Thebes to join with Macedonia. In return, Athens agrees to Thebes controlling Boeotia, Thebes being in command solely on land and jointly at sea, and Athens paying two thirds of the campaign's cost.


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Philip II of Macedon defeats the Athenians and Thebans in the Battle of Chaeronea in western Boeotia. His son, Alexander, commands the left wing of the Macedonian army during the battle. In victory, Philip II is harsh on Thebes, but merciful on Athens, thanks to the efforts of the Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, who helps negotiate a peace agreement between Macedonia and Athens.


text: With peace finally achieved with Carthage, Timoleon of Syracuse is able to depose two more tyrants in Sicily and then retires into private life.

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


text: The Latin War ends with the Latin League being dissolved and the individual Latin cities having to accept Rome's terms. Many of the cities are incorporated into the Roman state. In making peace with the cities of the defeated Latin League, Rome offers liberal terms. The men of many of these cities are granted citizenship and, as a result, Rome gains friends rather than enemies.


text: With the fall of their chief city, Antium, to the Romans, the Volsci finally abandon their resistance against the Romans and accept an alliance with Rome.


text: Carthage makes another effort to conquer all of Sicily. The Carthaginians dispatch some mercenaries to extend the conflict between Timoleon and the Sicilian tyrants. But this effort ends in the defeat of Hicetas, the tyrant of Leontini, who is taken prisoner and put to death. By a treaty between Syracuse and Carthage, the dominion of Carthage in Sicily is confined to the lands west of the Halycus (Platani) River.


text: King Archidamus III of Sparta, after five years of campaigning in southern Italy, fails to achieve any decisive results and while leading a mercenary army to help Tarentum against the Lucanians, is killed with most of his troops at Manduria in Calabria.


text: After his significant victory over the Locrians, Philip II of Macedon swiftly enters Phocis. He then turns southeast down the Cephissus valley, seizes Elateia and restores the fortifications of the city.


text: Philip II invaded and devastated much of Laconia, turning the Spartans out, though he did not seize Sparta itself.


text: King Archidamus III is succeeded as the Eurypontid King of Sparta by his son, Agis III.


text: The Persian general and vizier, the eunuch Bagoas, falls out of favour with King Artaxerxes III. Bagoas seeks to remain in office by replacing Artaxerxes with his youngest son Arses, whom he thinks will be easier to control. So Bagoas murders Artaxerxes III and all his sons, other than Arses, who is then placed on the throne by Bagoas. Artaxerxes IV Arses is little more than a puppet-king while Bagoas acts as the power behind the throne.


text: Xuan, Chinese queen dowager of Chu (d. 265 BC)


text: Shang Yang, Chinese statesman of Qin (b. 390 BC)


text: Artaxerxes III, king of Persia (murdered) (b. c. 425 BC)


text: Xiao of Qin, Chinese duke of Qin (b. 381 BC)


text: Isocrates, Athenian orator and rhetorician (b. 436 BC)


text: Archidamus III, king of Sparta (killed in battle)


year_label: 339 BCE

text: Xenocrates is elected as head of the Greek Academy replacing Speusippus.


text: The Roman consul Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus defeats the Latins in the Battle of Trifanum.


text: Philip II of Macedon decides to attack the Scythians, using as an excuse their reluctance to allow Philip to dedicate a statue of Heracles at the Danube estuary. The two armies clash on the plains of modern-day Dobruja. The ninety-year-old King of the Scythians, Ateas, is killed during the battle and his army is routed.


text: Alexinus, Greek philosopher of Elis (approximate date)


text: Ateas, king of the Scythians (b. c. 429 BC)


text: Speusippus, head of Plato's Academy (b. 407 BC)


year_label: 340 BCE

text: Pixodarus, the youngest of the three sons of King Hecatomnus of Caria, gains possession of the satrapy of Caria by expelling his sister Ada, the widow and successor of her brother Idrieus.


text: The Romans succeed in detaching the Campanians from their alliance with the Latins (through their fear of the Samnites) and induce them to make a separate peace. Three Campanian cities, including Capua and Cumae, are granted Roman citizenship and thus become part of the Roman state. The Roman state now extends to the Bay of Naples.


text: Rhodes falls to Persian forces.


text: Philip II fails in his siege of Byzantium and is forced to respond to attacks by the Scythians near the mouth of the Danube. His son, Alexander is regent while his father fights against Byzantium and the Scythians.


text: The Athenians give Demosthenes a public vote of thanks after Philip's unsuccessful siege of Byzantium.


text: The Roman-Samnite army under consuls Publius Decius Mus and Titus Manlius Torquatus attack and defeat the Latins and Campanians near Mount Vesuvius in the Battle of Vesuvius.


text: When King Philip II of Macedon invaded Perinthus and Byzantium, King Artaxerxes III of Persia sent support to those cities.


text: Hicetas, the tyrant of Leontini, again persuades Carthage to send a large army to Sicily, which lands at Lilybaeum. Timoleon of Syracuse meets this large Carthaginian army in the Battle of the Crimissus in the west of Sicily and achieves a brilliant victory against superior odds. Despite this victory, the Carthaginians continue to occupy the western half of Sicily, with a treaty being concluded that confines the Carthaginians to the area west of the Halycus (Platani) River.


text: c. Derveni papyrus in a nobleman's grave in a necropolis of Lete.


text: Appius Claudius Caecus, Roman politician and consul (approximate date)


text: Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Maurya Empire (approximate date)


text: Qu Yuan, Chinese poet and minister (approximate date)


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


text: Mentor of Rhodes, Greek mercenary and satrap (approximate date)


text: Lais of Hyccara, Greek hetaira (courtesan) (approximate date)


year_label: 35 BCE

text: Pannonia is attacked by Octavian Caesar, who conquers and sacks the stronghold Siscia (Sisak) of the Segestani, which is taken after a 30-day siege. The country is not definitely subdued, however, until 9 BC.

source_title: 35 BC


text: Marcus Titius arrives in Syria with a large army and marches to Asia Minor. Sextus is caught in Miletus and executed without trial.


text: Azes I, Indo-Scythian ruler, completes the domination of the Scythians in northern India.

source_section: Events › By place › India


text: Sextus Pompeius defeats the governor of Asia, Gaius Furnius, with three legions and seizes Nicaea and Nicomedia (modern Izmit).


text: Illyria becomes a Roman province. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian conducts a rendezvous with the Roman fleet under Agrippa, which is engaged in clearing the Dalmatian coast of piracy.


text: Phraates IV ascended the Parthian throne after eliminating his father Orodes II and several royal rivals. The Mahestan (the noble council of the Parthian Empire) initially opposed his rise due to concerns about his violent methods. However, Phraates IV consolidated power by executing or exiling many council members, significantly weakening the influence of the Mahestan.

source_section: Events › By place › Parthian Empire


text: Sextus Pompeius, Roman general (executed) (b. 67 BC)


text: Aristobulus III, high priest of Judea (drowned) (b. 53 BC)


year_label: 341 BCE

text: Demosthenes delivers his Third Philippic. In it, he demands resolute action against Philip II. Demosthenes now dominates Athenian politics and is able to considerably weaken the pro-Macedonian faction led by Aeschines. As a result, Demosthenes becomes controller of the Athenian navy.


text: A grand alliance is organised by Demosthenes against Philip II, which includes Byzantium and former enemies of Athens, such as Thebes. These developments worry Philip and increase his anger towards Demosthenes. The Athenian Assembly, however, lays aside Philip's grievances against Demosthenes' conduct and denounces the Peace of Philocrates which has been signed by both sides in 346 BC, an action equivalent to an official declaration of war by Athens against Macedonia.


text: The First Samnite War ends with Rome triumphant and the Samnites willing to make peace.


text: Philip II of Macedon completes his annexation of Thrace. This is regarded by Athens as a further threat to the city's safety.


text: Epicurus, Greek philosopher was born in Samos


year_label: 342 BCE

text: Philip begins a series of campaigns in Thrace with the aim of annexing it to be a province of Macedonia. When the Macedonian army approaches Thracian Chersonese (the Gallipoli Peninsula), an Athenian general named Diopeithes ravages this district of Thrace, thus inciting Philip's rage for operating too near one of his towns in the Chersonese. Philip demands his recall. In response, the Athenian Assembly is convened. Demosthenes convinces the Athenians not to recall Diopeithes.


text: The Battle of Mount Gaurus is fought between the Romans and the Samnites. The battle is a success for the Romans, who, it is said, are led by Marcus Valerius Corvus. Fought at the foot of Mount Gaurus, near Cumae, it is the most notable engagement of the First Samnite War.


text: In the course of the Warring States period, the army of the state of Qi defeats the army of the state of Wei in the Battle of Maling. This battle involves the military strategy of the general Sun Bin (descendant of Sun Tzu), and is the first battle in recorded history to give a reliable account of the handheld crossbow with trigger mechanism.


text: The Corinthian general Timoleon spreads his rule over Sicily, removing a number of other tyrants and preparing Sicily for another threatened Carthaginian invasion.


text: The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, is invited by Philip II to his capital at Pella to tutor his son, Alexander. As the leading intellectual figure in Greece, Aristotle is commissioned to prepare Alexander for his future role as a military leader. (or 343 BC)


text: Menander, Greek playwright (d. 291 BC)


text: Antiphon, Greek arsonist, execution


year_label: 343 BCE

text: Phalaikos unsuccessfully lays siege to Kydonia on the island of Crete.


text: The King of Persia, Artaxerxes III, personally leads the Persian forces invading Egypt. The Persians are keen to access Egypt's gold and corn supplies. The town of Pelusium in the Nile Delta puts up resistance, but Pharaoh Nectanebo II is forced to retreat to Memphis. As the situation deteriorates, Nectanebo II leaves for exile in Nubia. His departure marks the end of the 30th Dynasty, the last native house to rule Egypt.


text: With Nectanebo II's flight, all organised resistance to the Persians collapses, and Egypt is once again reduced to a satrapy of the Persian Empire. A Persian satrap is put in place in Egypt. The walls of the country's cities are destroyed and its temples are plundered. Artaxerxes and his commander-in-chief, General Bagoas, leave Egypt loaded with treasure.


text: King Philip II of Macedon again marches against Cersobleptes, King of Thrace, defeats him in several battles, and reduces him to the condition of being a tributary.


text: First Samnite War began when Rome fought the confederated Samnites over disputed territory in the Middle Liris Valley.


text: The native Italian tribes, the Lucanians and Bruttians, press down upon the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia, including Tarentum. Responding to calls for help from these former Greek colonies, King Archidamus III of Sparta sets sail with a band of mercenaries for Italy.


text: The Athenian statesman Demosthenes has Aeschines indicted for treason. However, Aeschines drags up the inappropriate past of one of Demosthenes' associates, Timarchus and is acquitted by a narrow margin.


text: Philetaerus, founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamum in Anatolia (approximate date) (d. 263 BC)


text: Dionysius II, tyrant of Syracuse (b. c. 397 BC)


text: After his surrender to the Corinthian general Timoleon, who takes over as ruler of Syracuse, the former tyrant, Dionysius II, is allowed to retire to Corinth to live in exile, although he dies within the year. The Syracusan constitution is changed by Timoleon with the new constitution designed to have safeguards against tyranny. Timoleon invites new settlers from Greece to come to Sicily.


year_label: 344 BCE

text: The Athenian statesman, Demosthenes, travels to Peloponnesus, in order to detach as many cities as possible from Macedon's influence, but his efforts are generally unsuccessful. Most of the Peloponnesians see Philip II as the guarantor of their freedom, so they send a joint embassy to Athens to express their grievances against Demosthenes' activities. In response to these complaints, Demosthenes delivers the Second Philippic, which is a vehement attack against Philip II.


text: The aristocracy of Syracuse appeal to their mother city of Corinth against their tyrant Dionysius II. The Corinthian general Timoleon is chosen to lead a liberation force to Sicily. Landing at Tauromenium (Taormina) on March 21st, Timoleon faces two armies, one under Dionysius and the other under Hicetas (tyrant of nearby Leontini), who has also called in Carthaginian forces. By shrewd tactics Timoleon defeats his enemies and occupies Syracuse.


text: Philip divides his army, leaving one part to besiege Perinthus and taking the other to besiege Byzantium.


text: Philip II of Macedon besieges Perinthus, which had defied him and was inclining towards his opponents the Athenians, the Perinthian's allies Byzantium and the Achaemenid Empire support Perinthus in their defence of the city.


text: Dionysius II goes into exile once more after the successful invasion by Timoleon of Corinth.


text: The Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, travels from Assus to Lesbos to study natural history, especially marine biology.

source_section: Events › By topic › Science


text: The king of Caria, Idrieus, dies, leaving the Persian satrapy, by his will, to his sister Ada, to whom he was married.


year_label: 345 BCE

text: The Nanda Empire is founded in Magadha.


text: Carthaginians ravage and blockade Entella.


text: Supported by Thebes and Thessaly, Macedonia takes over Phocis' votes in the Amphictyonic League, a Greek religious organisation formed to support the greater temples of Apollo and Demeter. Despite some reluctance on the part of the Athenian leaders, Athens finally accepts Philip II's entry into the Council of the League. The Athenian statesman Demosthenes is among those who recommend this stance in his oration On the Peace.


text: Nicochares, Athenian poet of the Old Comedy


text: Mahanandin, last king of the Shishunaga dynasty of the Indian subcontinent.


year_label: 346 BCE

text: The Peace of Philocrates is signed between Macedonia and Athens. The document agrees to a return to the status quo, but Philip II of Macedon keeps the right to punish the Phocians for starting the Sacred War.


text: Dionysius II is restored to power in Syracuse.


text: Following the conclusion of the Peace of Philocrates, Philip II's army moves through the pass of Thermopylae and subdues Phocis. Athens makes no move to support the Phocians.


text: The Athenian politicians, Demosthenes and Timarchus, prepare to prosecute Aeschines for treason after he has sought to reconcile the Athenians to Macedonia's expansion into Greece. Eubulus loses his influence on Athenian affairs.


text: Demosthenes, though condemning the terms of the Peace of Philocrates, argues that it has to be honoured.


year_label: 347 BCE

text: In the wake of the Macedonian victory at Olynthus, Athens seeks to make peace with Macedonia. Because his financial policy is based on the assumption that Athens should not be involved in major wars, the Athenian leader, Eubulus, works for peace with Philip II of Macedon. Demosthenes is among those who support a compromise.


text: An Athenian delegation, comprising Demosthenes, Aeschines and Philocrates, is officially sent to Pella to negotiate a peace treaty with Philip II. During the negotiations, Aeschines seeks to reconcile the Athenians to Macedonia's expansion into Greece. Demosthenes became unhappy with the result.


text: Aristotle leaves Athens due to the anti-Macedonian feeling that arises in Athens after Philip II of Macedon has sacked the Greek city-state of Olynthus in 348 BC. With him goes another Academy member of note, Xenocrates of Chalcedon. They establish a new academy on the Asia Minor side of the Aegean Sea at the newly built town of Assus.

source_section: Events › By topic › Philosophy


section: Economy & Finance

text: Coinage is introduced into Rome for the first time.


text: Plato, Greek philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens (b. c. 427 BC)


text: Eudoxus of Cnidus, Greek philosopher and astronomer who has expanded on Plato's ideas (or 355 BC) (b. 410 BC or 408 BC)


text: Plato dies and his nephew Speusippus is named as head of the Academy.


text: Archytas, Greek philosopher, mathematician and statesman (or 350 BC) (b. 428 BC)


year_label: 348 BCE

text: The city of Eretria on the island of Euboea successfully rebels against the rule of Athens and Euboea is declared independent. The Athenian statesman and general, Phocion's tactical skills save an Athenian force sent to fight the supporters of Philip II on Euboea.


text: After being besieged by the Persian forces of King Artaxerxes III, Sidon is taken and its population is punished with great cruelty.


text: The Athenian help to its cities in Macedonia is diverted by a revolt in Euboea which Philip II of Macedon has fomented. He conquers the city of Olynthus in the Chalcidice and he annexes Chalcidice to Macedonia.


text: Aristotle leaves Athens and Plato's Academy, after which he resided in Assus in northwestern Anatolia.


text: Rome and Carthage make a trade agreement under which Carthage will not attack those Latin states which are faithful to Rome. This agreement demonstrates that Rome is now the dominant power in the Latin League.


text: Plato, Greek philosopher and author


year_label: 349 BCE

text: Sidon is besieged by Persian forces. The Persian Empire reasserted its dominance over Egypt after Nectanebo II was forced to flee following the Persian military campaign under Artaxerxes III. The native Egyptian rule briefly came to an end, and the Persians regained control. This was just a precursor to the later events that would lead to Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt in the early 4th century BCE, ultimately ending Persian rule and ushering in the Hellenistic period.


text: After recovering from illness, Philip II of Macedon turns his attention to the remaining Athenian controlled cities in Macedonia and to the city of Olynthus, in particular. The Athenians organize to send help.


text: Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis


year_label: 350 BCE

text: The Gauls, once more threatening Rome, are decisively beaten by an army comprising Rome and its allies.


text: Philip II has Abdera in Thrace sacked.


text: Sidon, the centre of the revolt against Persia, seeks help from its sister city of Tyre and from Egypt but gets very little.


text: Alexander I becomes king of Epirus after his brother-in-law, Philip II of Macedon, aids him in ousting the previous king, Arymbas.


text: Aristotle argues for a spherical Earth using lunar eclipses and other observations. Also he discusses logical reasoning in Organon.


text: Plato proposes a geocentric model of the universe with the stars rotating on a fixed celestial sphere.


text: Praxiteles makes the Aphrodite of Knidos (approximate date). A composite of two similar Roman copies after the original marble is now kept at Musei Vaticani, Museo Pio Clementino, Gabinetto delle Maschere in Rome.


text: The Corinthian capital is made in the tholos at Epidaurus. It is now preserved at the Archaeological Museum in Epidaurus, Greece (approximate date).


text: The building of the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum in Turkey) is completed (approximate date). It is the grave of the Persian satrap and Carian ruler Mausolos and is built under the direction of his wife Artemisia. The mausoleum, which is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is today partly preserved at the British Museum in London.


text: Dicaearchus, Greek philosopher, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and polymath (d. c. 285 BC)


text: Megasthenes, Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer (approximate date)


text: Shen Dao, Chinese philosopher known for his blend of Legalism and Taoism (approximate date) (d. c. 275 BC)


text: Artemisia II, queen of Caria and sister and wife of king Mausolus of Caria


text: Tollund Man, human sacrifice victim on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, possibly the earliest known evidence for worship of the Norse god Odin (approximate date)


text: Idrieus, the second son of Hecatomnus, succeeds to the throne of Caria on the death of Artemisia II, the widow of his elder brother Mausolus. Shortly after his accession, at the request of the Persian king, Artaxerxes III, Idrieus equips a fleet of 40 triremes and assembles an army of 8,000 mercenary troops and despatches them against Cyprus, under the command of the Athenian general Phocion.


text: Archytas, Greek philosopher, mathematician and statesman (or 347 BC) (b. 428 BC)


year_label: 36 BCE

text: Consuls: Lucius Gellius Poplicola and Marcus Cocceius Nerva.

source_title: 36 BC


date: June

text: June – Mark Antony launches a major offensive against the Parthians, in which he marches with 10 legions and 10,000 cavalry to Carana in Anatolia.


date: July

text: July – Octavian's fleet (102 warships) embarks from Puteoli and tries to invade Sicily, but it is caught in a storm at Vibo and forced to return.


date: September 3

text: September 3 – Battle of Naulochus: Agrippa defeats Sextus Pompeius, a son of Pompeius, in a naval engagement off Naulochus. Sextus escapes with 17 ships to Messana and then to Asia Minor.


text: October–December – The Han dynasty Chinese army under General Chen Tang and General Gan Yanshou defeat the Xiongnu leader Zhizhi Chanyu in the Battle of Zhizhi. This leads to half a century of peace between the Han dynasty and the Xiongnu until Wang Mang enrages them in the year AD 10, resuming hostilities between both sides.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: October – Antony abandons the siege of Phraaspa (near Maragheh, Iran). He retreats, loses many men to disease and starvation in the subsequent retreat to Egypt, and marries Cleopatra VII while still married to Octavia.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: Publius Canidius Crassus invades Armenia and Iberia (Georgia); he forces Parnavaz II into an alliance against Zober, king of Albania.


text: Marcus Lepidus lands 12 legions from Africa and lays siege to Lilybaeum. He loses his army to Octavian when his men mutiny. Lepidus is kept in luxurious captivity in Rome until his death.


text: Antony crosses the frontier into Media Atropatene and commences the siege of Phraaspa. He establishes a line of circumvallation and builds siege engines.


date: August

text: August – Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, an admiral of Octavian Caesar, secures the Lipari Islands and harasses the coast from Mylae to Tyndaris. Octavian transports his legions, via Leucopetra, to Tauromenium (modern Taormina).


text: Judea: Aristobulus III, the last of the Hasmoneans, becomes High Priest in Jerusalem, replacing Ananelus, who has only held the position for one year.


text: Agrippa receives the unprecedented honor of a Naval Crown (corona navalis), wrought of gold and decorated with the prows of ships.


date: January 31

text: January 31 – Antonia Minor, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, mother of the emperor Claudius


text: Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Pomponia Caecilia Attica (d. AD 20)


text: Ptolemy Philadelphus, son of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony (d. 29 BC)


text: Aristobulus III, high priest of Jerusalem (Hasmonean dynasty)

source_section: Deaths


text: Ariarathes X (or Eusebes Philadelphos), king of Cappadocia


text: Zhizhi Chanyu, Chinese ruler of the Xiongnu Empire


year_label: 351 BCE

text: The Etruscans are badly defeated by the Romans and abandon their attacks on the city and sue for peace.


text: First use of the heavy throwing spear, the pilum, (according to Livy) in battle against the Gauls.


text: Encouraged by a failed effort at invasion of Egypt by King Artaxerxes III, Phoenicia and Cyprus revolt against Persia.


text: Demosthenes tries to get the Athenians to cease depending on paid mercenaries and return to the old concept of a citizen army. He also delivers his First Philippic, warning Athenians of the folly of believing that Philip's ill health will save Athens from the Macedonians. In response, Athens' citizens vote for increased armaments.


text: Gaius Marcius Rutilus becomes the first Roman plebeian to be elected to the office of censor.


year_label: 352 BCE

text: Consuls: Publio Valerio Publicola & Gaius Marcius Rutilus

source_section: Events › By place › Rome


text: Philip then moves against Thrace. He makes a successful expedition into Thrace, gaining a firm ascendancy in the country, and brings away a son of Cersobleptes, the King of Thrace, as a hostage. Philip II's Thessalian victory earns him election as president (archon) of the Thessalian League.


text: Thessalonica, queen of Macedonian dynasty, sister of Alexandrus the Great


year_label: 353 BCE

text: The Phocians threaten Thessaly to their north. Philip II of Macedon saw his opportunity to penetrate south.


text: Clearchus, the tyrant of Heraclea, a Greek city on the Black Sea, is murdered by some of the city's citizens led by Chion after a reign of twelve years. Most of the conspirators are killed by the tyrant's body-guards upon the spot, while others are captured and put to death. Within a short time, the city falls under the rule of the new tyrant Satyrus, Clearchus' brother.


text: Iphicrates, Athenian general (b. c. 418 BC)


text: Mausolus, King and Persian satrap of Caria, dies and is succeeded in 352 BC by Artemisia, his sister and wife.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian Empire


text: Mausolus, King and Persian satrap of Caria


text: Clearchus of Heraclea, tyrant of Heraclea Pontica (assassinated) (b. c. 401 BC)


year_label: 354 BCE

text: Athens recognises the independence of Chios, Kos and Rhodes and makes peace with Mausolus of Caria.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: Reflecting the growing level of discontent with his tyrannical conduct, Dion is assassinated by Callippus, an Athenian who has accompanied him on his expedition to take over as tyrant of Syracuse. Dionysius II remains in exile in Italy.


text: Philip II of Macedon takes and destroys Methone, a town which has belonged to Athens. During the siege of Methone, Philip loses an eye.


text: Rome allies itself with the Samnites and they agree on a mutual defence pact.


text: Rome defeats the Etruscans of the city of Caere.


text: The State of Qi is victorious over the State of Wei in the Battle of Guiling, a conflict which involves the military strategy of Sun Bin.


text: The Phocians suffer a defeat in the Sacred War against Athens.


text: The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Caria, the tomb of King Mausolus and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is built.

source_section: Events › By topic › Architecture


text: Hieronymus of Cardia, Greek general and historian (d. 250 BC)


text: Timotheus, Athenian statesman and general


text: Dion, Greek tyrant of Syracuse (assassinated) (b. c. 408 BC)


text: Xenophon, Greek historian, soldier, mercenary and an admirer of Socrates (b. c. 431 BC)


year_label: 355 BCE

text: Chares' war party in Athens is replaced by one under Eubulus which favours peace. Eubulus restores the economic position of Athens without increasing the burden of taxation and improves the Athenian fleet while its docks and fortifications are repaired.


text: King Artaxerxes III of Persia forces Athens to conclude a peace which requires the city to leave Asia Minor and to acknowledge the independence of its rebellious allies.


text: King Archidamus III of Sparta supports Phocis against Thebes in the "Sacred War".


text: Cassander, companion of Alexander the Great, successor king of Macedonia and founder of Antipatrid dynasty (approximate date) (d. c. 297 BC)


year_label: 356 BCE

text: With his reforms initiated in this year, the Chinese prime minister Shang Yang starts to transform the once marginal and frontier State of Qin to become the most dominant military force amongst the Warring States of China by the 3rd century BC.


text: Chares is given sole command of the Athenian fleet and withdraws to the Hellespont to move against Byzantium. The generals Timotheus, Iphicrates and his son Menestheus are sent with 60 ships to help him when the enemy fleet is sighted on the Hellespont. Timotheus and Iphicrates refuse to engage due to a severe gale, but Chares does engage and lose many of his ships. Timotheus and Iphicrates are accused by Chares and put on trial, however only Timotheus is condemned to pay a fine.


text: The Athenian generals Chares and Chabrias are given command of the Athenian fleet with the aim of defeating the rebellious cities. However, Chabrias' fleet is defeated and he is killed in its attack on the island of Chios, off the coast of Ionia.


text: The Achaemenid King Artaxerxes III orders all the satraps (governors) of his empire to dismiss their mercenaries. The Athenians, who have originally approved their mercenaries' collaboration with Artabazus of Phrygia, order them to leave due to their fear of Achaemenid support for the rebellion of Chios, Rhodes, and Cos. Thebes follows suit and withdraws its mercenaries.


text: Philip II of Macedon secretly offers the city of Amphipolis back to the Athenians in exchange for the valuable port of Pydna. Despite the Athenians being willing to comply, both Pydna and Potidaea are conquered by the Macedonians (along with other Athenian strongholds in Thessaly and Chalcidice) despite being defended by Athenian forces led by general and mercenary commander, Chares, as well as generals Iphicrates and Timotheus.


text: The Phocians capture and sack Delphi in whose territory the famous temple and oracle stand. A sacred war is declared against them by the other members of the Great Amphictyonic League. The Phocians, led by two capable generals, Philomelus and Onomarchus, use Delphi's riches to hire a mercenary army to carry the war into Boeotia and Thessaly.


text: Artabazus is also supported by the Thebans, who send him 5,000 men under one of their generals Pammenes. With the assistance of these and other allies, Artabazus defeats his Achaemenid enemies in two great battles.


text: With King Artaxerxes III succeeding in depriving Artabazus of his Athenian and Theban allies, Artabazus is defeated by the Persian King's general, Autophradates.


text: Having blamed their defeats to Philip II in Thessaly and Chalcidice on his colleagues (Iphicrates and Timotheus), Chares is left in sole command of the Athenian fleet. Chares, in need of money for his war effort, frowns upon asking it from Athens, so, partly compelled by his mercenaries, he enters the service of the insurgent Achaemenid satrap of Phrygia Artabazus who rewards Chares very generously.


text: The Social War begins between the Second Athenian League, led by Athens, and its revolting allies of Chios, Rhodes, and Kos as well as the independent state Byzantium. Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria, instigates the rebellion against the Athenian control of these states. The revolting allies ravage the islands of Lemnos and Imbros which are loyal to Athens.


text: With Pydna and Potidaea occupied, Philip II decides to keep Amphipolis anyway. He also takes the city of Crenides from the Odrysae and renames it Philippi.


text: Gaius Marcius Rutilus is the first plebeian to be chosen as a dictator in Rome.


date: July 21

text: July 21 (traditional date) – The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is burned down by a madman named Herostratus, destroying one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The great temple was built by Croesus, king of Lydia, in about 550 BC and was famous not only for its great size (110 metres by 55 metres), but also for the magnificent works of art that adorned it.


date: July 20

text: July 20/21 – Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia (d. 323 BC).


text: Hephaestion, Macedonian general, soldier, aristocrat, and companion of Alexander the Great (d. 324 BC).


text: Chabrias, Athenian general died at Chios


year_label: 357 BCE

text: Gaius Marcius Rutilus elected Consul


text: Rhodes falls to the Persian satrap Mausolus of Halicarnassus.


text: The Macedonian general, Parmenion, wins a great victory over the Illyrians. King Philip II of Macedon, having disposed of an Illyrian threat, occupies the Athenian city of Amphipolis (which commands the gold mines of Mount Pangaion). Philip II now has control of the strategic city which secures the eastern frontier of Macedonia and gives him access into Thrace.

source_section: Events › By place › Macedonia


text: Euboean mercenary Charidemus recaptures the Thracian Chersonese for Athens. He receives, from Athens, a golden crown for his part in the victory.

source_section: Events › By place › Thrace


text: The brother-in-law of Dionysius I, Dion, exiled from Syracuse in 366 BC by Dionysius II, assembles a force of 1,500 mercenaries at Zacynthus and sails to Sicily. Dion wrests power from the weak Dionysius II, who is exiled and flees to Locri.


text: Philip II of Macedon marries Olympias, the Molossian princess of Epirus thus helping to stabilize Macedonia's western frontier.


year_label: 358 BCE

text: Philip II of Macedonia invades the hill tribes of Paeonia and decisively beats them.


text: The Romans defeat the Volsci, annex most of their territory, and settle it with Roman colonists. The Romans also force the Latin League to renew its close alliance with Rome, an alliance which was weakened by Rome’s defeat at the hands of the Gauls in 390 BC.


text: Artaxerxes III ("Ochus") succeeds Artaxerxes II as King of Persia and restores central authority over the Persian empire's satraps. To secure his throne he puts to death most of his relatives.


text: Cersobleptes, in conjunction with his brothers, Amadocus II and Berisades, inherits the dominions of the Thracian king, Cotys I, following his murder. However, the overall management of Thracian affairs is assumed by the Euboean adventurer, Charidemus, who is connected by marriage with the royal family, and who plays the prominent part in the ensuing negotiations with Athens for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese.


text: Alexander of Pherae, Despot of Pherae in Thessaly is murdered by his wife's brother at her instigation.


text: Seleucus I Nicator, Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and founder of the Seleucid dynasty (d. 281 BC)

source_section: Births


text: Alexander of Pherae, Despot of Pherae in Thessaly, Greece


text: Artaxerxes II, King of Persia (b. c. 436 BC)


text: Bardyllis, Illyrian king (killed in battle by Phillip of Macedon) (b. c. 448 BC)


year_label: 359 BCE

text: The Macedonian King Perdiccas III is killed while defending his country against an Illyrian attack led by King Bardylis. He is succeeded by his infant son, Amyntas IV. The child's uncle, Philip II, assumes the regency.


text: The Illyrians prepare to close in, the Paeonians raid from the north and two claimants to the Macedonian throne are supported by foreign powers. Philip II buys off his dangerous neighbours and, with a treaty, cedes Amphipolis to Athens.


text: Philip III of Macedon, brother and successor of Alexander the Great (approximate date) (d. 317 BC)


text: Perdiccas III, king of Macedonia


year_label: 360 BCE

text: Plato writes the dialogues Timaeus and Critias, first mentioning Atlantis.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: With the help of King Agesilaus II of Sparta, Nectanebo II deposes Teos and becomes king of Egypt. Teos flees to Susa and makes peace with the Persians. Nectanebo II pays the Spartans 230 talents for their help.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


text: As the Illyrians attack the Molossians, the Molossian king Arymbas brings his non-combatant people to safety elsewhere. When the Illyrians have finished looting, they are burdened with booty and are thus easily defeated by the Molossians.


text: The Gauls again reach the gates of Rome, but are beaten back.


text: Jerusalem has been rebuilt and the power of Judaism's hereditary priesthood is firmly established.

source_section: Events › By place › Judea


text: Callisthenes of Olynthus, Greek historian (d. 327 BC)


text: Pyrrho of Elis, Greek skeptic philosopher (d. c. 270 BC)


text: Lysimachus, Macedonian diadochus (d. 281 BC)


text: The King of Sparta, Agesilaus II, dies at Cyrene, Cyrenaica, on his way home to Greece from Egypt. He is succeeded by his son Archidamus III as Eurypontid king of Sparta.


text: Agesilaus II, Eurypontid king of Sparta (b. c.444 BC)


year_label: 37 BCE

text: Consuls: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Titus Statilius Taurus.

source_title: 37 BC


text: Antony reorganizes Asia Minor under strongmen loyal to him. He raises troops from his allies: Amyntas and Archelaus, kings of Galatia and Cappadocia. The old kingdom of Pontus is restored, from Armenia to the River Halys under Polemon I.


text: Caesar Augustus (Octavian) engineers the "Second Pact of Tarentum" which renews the Triumvirate for an additional five years. Mark Antony exchanges 120 ships, for service against Sextus Pompeius. Octavian Caesar donates 1,000 troops from the Praetorian Guard and 20,000 legionaries for the Parthian campaign in Syria.


text: Romans conquer Jerusalem from the Parthians. Herod the Great becomes king of Judea and Ananelus is installed as High Priest; both positions are seized from Antigonus II Mattathias after a five-month siege. Thousands of Jews are slaughtered by Roman troops supporting Herod.


text: Agrippa creates the harbour "Portus Julius" in the today-submersed town of Puteoli (the modern Pozzuoli, close to Naples). The port is used to train the warships for naval battles, and a new fleet is built, with 20,000 oarsmen gathered by freeing slaves. He also incorporates, on quinqueremes, a technical innovation, called the harpax ("snatcher"): a combination ballista and grappling hook, based on the corvus.


text: The kingdom of Goguryeo in Korea is founded by the king Dongmyeong. (traditional date)


text: Shangguan, Chinese empress of the Han Dynasty


text: Orodes II, king of the Parthian Empire (b. 95 BC)


text: Antigonus II Mattathias (Antigonus the Hasmonean) (executed by order of Mark Antony)


text: Aristobulus II, king and high priest of Judea (66–63 BC; assassinated)


text: Jing Fang, Chinese mathematician and music theorist (b. 78 BC)


year_label: 361 BCE

text: The Egyptians under their King Teos and the Spartans under King Agesilaus II, with some Athenian mercenaries under their general Chabrias, set out to attack the Persian King's Phoenician cities. However, they have to return almost at once due to revolts back in Egypt. Subsequently, Agesilaus II quarrels with the Egyptian king and joins a revolt against him.


text: With the Persian empire weakening, revolts occur in many parts of the empire, including Sidon, a prosperous and rich Phoenician city.


text: Plato returns once more to Syracuse to teach the young Syracusan tyrant Dionysius II. He fails to reconcile the tyrant to Dion, who Dionysius II banished in 366 BC. Because of this, Plato is forced to flee Syracuse to save his life.

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


text: Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse (d. 289 BC)


year_label: 362 BCE

text: The states of Qin, Han and Zhao defeat the state of Wei and Qin captures the prince of Wei. The Battle of Shaoliang is then fought between Qin and Wei, which Wei loses, whereupon Qin captures the prime minister of Wei.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: King Agesilaus II of Sparta arrives with 1,000 men to assist Egypt in its fight with Persia.


text: Mausolus of Caria joins the revolt of the satraps of Anatolia against the Persian king Artaxerxes II.


text: Eumenes of Cardia, Greek general and scholar (d. 316 BC)


text: Datames, satrap of Cappadocia and military leader


text: Epaminondas of Thebes, Greek general and statesman (b. c. 418 BC)


text: Duke Xian of Qin, ruler of the Zhou dynasty state of Qin


year_label: 363 BCE

text: The Egyptian pharaoh Teos (or Tachos) succeeds his father Nectanebo I to the throne. Planning a great attack on Persia, he invites Sparta to help him.


text: The Theban general, Epaminondas, makes a bold attempt to challenge Athens' naval empire. With a new Boeotian fleet, he sails to Byzantium, with the result that a number of cities in the Athenian Empire rebel against their now threatened masters.


text: Barsine, mistress of Alexander the Great


text: Marquess Gong of Han, ruler of the State of Han


year_label: 364 BCE

text: The Athenian general, Iphicrates, fails in attempts to recover Amphipolis. Retiring to Thrace, Iphicrates fights for his father-in-law, the Thracian king Cotys I, against Athens for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese. Cotys I is victorious and controls the whole Chersonese peninsula by 359 BC.


text: Philip II of Macedon, brother of the reigning king of Macedonia, returns to his native land after having been held as a hostage in Thebes since 369 BC.


text: The army of Thebes under their statesman and general, Pelopidas, defeats Alexander of Pherae in the Battle of Cynoscephalae in Thessaly, but Pelopidas is killed during the battle. As a result of his loss of this battle, Alexander is compelled by Thebes to acknowledge the freedom of the Thessalian cities, to limit his rule to Pherae, and to join the Boeotian League.


text: Timophanes, along with a number of colleagues, including his brother Timoleon, takes possession of the acropolis of Corinth and Timophanes makes himself master of the city. Later, Timoleon, after ineffectual protests, tacitly acquiesces to his colleagues putting Timophanes to death for his actions.


text: The Spartans under Archidamus III are defeated by the Arcadians at Cromnus.


text: On the advice of the city's military leader, Epaminondas, Thebes builds a fleet of 100 triremes to help combat Athens. Thebes destroys its Boeotian rival Orchomenus.


text: The Chinese astronomer Gan De from the State of Qi reportedly discovers the moon Ganymede, belonging to Jupiter, and makes the earliest known sunspot observations.


text: Pelopidas, Theban statesman (killed in the Battle of Cynoscephalae in Thessaly)


year_label: 365 BCE

text: Perdiccas III of Macedon, son of Amyntas III and Eurydice II, kills Ptolemy of Aloros, who has been the regent of Macedon since he arranged the assassination of Perdiccas III's brother Alexander II in 368 BC. With Ptolemy's death, Perdiccas III becomes King of Macedon in his own right.


text: The Athenian forces under general Timotheus overrun Samos, then occupied by a Persian garrison, after a 10-month siege.


text: Etruscan actors stage the first theatrical performances in Rome.