label: 219 BCE

lead: The Roman Senate sends the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus to Illyria with an army. On discovering Rome's intent, the Illyrian leader Demetrius of Pharos puts to death those Illyrians who oppose his rule, fortifies Dimale and goes to Pharos. After a seven-day siege by the Roman fleet under Lucius Aemilius Paulus, Dimale is taken by direct assault. From Dimale, the Roman navy heads to Pharos, where the Roman forces rout the Illyrians. Demetrius flees to Macedonia, where he becomes a trusted councilor at the court of King Philip V. The Romans extend their area of domination around the head of the Adriatic Sea as far as the peninsula of Histria by the conquest of peoples who dwell to the east of the Veneti. Thus, with the exception of Liguria and the upper valley of the Po River, all Italy south of the Alps is brought within the Roman sphere. Following the defection of one of Ptolemy IV's leading commanders, Egypt's Syrian territories are seriously threatened by Antiochus III, thus initiating the Fourth Syrian War. When the Seleucid ruler captures the important eastern Mediterranean sea ports of Seleucia-in-Pieria, Tyre, and Ptolemais, Ptolemy IV's advisor, Sosibius, and the Ptolemaic court enter into delaying negotiations with the enemy, while the Ptolemaic army is reorganized and intensively drilled.

title: 219 BC


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

title: 22nd century BC

license: CC BY-SA 4.0


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

sections:
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 22nd century BC


label: 220 BCE

lead: Together with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece. Qin Shi Huang begins a system of tree-lined roads to interconnect all parts of China, and begins to join regional walls to form the beginnings of the Great Wall (Wan li chang cheng). A bronze statue called Dying Gallic trumpeter is made (possibly by Epigonus) (230-220 BC). A marble Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Capitolino in Rome.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 220 BC


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

title: 22nd century BC


label: 23 BCE

lead: In response to Meroë's incursions into Upper Egypt, the Roman legions move south and raze Napata. (History of Sudan). The Nubians, led by queen Kandake Amanirenas, take the initiative against the Roman Empire, and attack the Roman province of Egypt moving towards Elephantine. Herod the Great builds a palace in Jerusalem and the fortress Herodium in Judaea. He also marries his third wife, named Mariamne, the daughter of high priest Simon.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Economy & Finance
Health & Medicine
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 23 BC


label: 221 BCE

lead: The state of Qi – by now the only other independent state in China –, is invaded by the Qin generals Wang Ben, Li Xin and Meng Tian and surrenders after offering minimal resistance. Ying Zheng, the king of Qin unifies China and proclaims himself the First Emperor, as he is the first Chinese sovereign able to rule the whole country, thus ending the Warring States period. He is known by historians as Qin Shi Huang. King Cleomenes III of Sparta, who is in exile in Egypt, is imprisoned by Ptolemy IV on a charge of conspiracy. Gaius Flaminius builds a second race track for Rome, the Circus Flaminius.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 221 BC


label: 222 BCE

lead: The Qin generals Wang Ben and Li Xin conquer Liaodong, thereby completing the subjugation of Yan. Battle of Sellasia: Cleomenes III of Sparta is defeated by Antigonus III of Macedon and his allies (the Achaean League, the Boeotian League, the Acarnanians, Epirus and the Illyrians under the command of Demetrius of Pharos) near Sellasia (north of Sparta) and flees to Egypt under the protection of King Ptolemy III. Antigonus III's forces occupy Sparta, which is the first time this city has ever been occupied. Mithridates II of Pontus gives his daughter Laodice in marriage to the Seleucid king Antiochus III. Another of his daughters, also named Laodice, is married about the same time to general Achaeus.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 222 BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


lead: c. 2220 BC: Mount Edgecumbe volcano erupts near present-day Sitka, Alaska. c. 2220 BC: Scord of Brouster farmstead established in the Shetland islands.

sections:
Exploration & Expansion
Climate & Environment

title: 23rd century BC


label: 223 BCE

lead: King Diodotus II of Bactria is killed by a usurper, Euthydemus I, founder of the Greco-Bactrian Euthydemid dynasty. The Seleucid king Seleucus III is assassinated by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus of Pergamon in Phrygia. The king of Macedonia, Antigonus III Doson, restores Macedonian influence in the Peloponnese for the first time in almost two decades. After signing alliances with the Achaeans, Boeotians, Thessalians and the Acarnanians, Antigonus invades the Peloponnese and drives the Spartans out of Argos, taking Orchomenus and Mantineia in the process.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Deaths

title: 223 BC


label: 224 BCE

lead: The Qin Prime Minister Lord Changping, who was born in Chu, incites a Chu rebellion against the Qin invaders. He and the Chu general Xiang Yan then surprise and defeat the Qin army led by Li Xin and Meng Tian in the Battle of Chengfu. After the Spartan King Cleomenes III takes on Pellene, Phlius and Argos, Aratus of Sicyon is forced to call upon King Antigonus III of Macedonia for assistance. Antigonus III's forces fail to pierce Cleomenes' lines near Corinth, but a revolt against Cleomenes at Argos put the Spartans on the defensive. The Romans, led by Consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, decisively defeat the coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes at the Battle of Telamon thus extending Roman influence over northern Italy. On the Roman side Gaius Atilius Regulus, commander of the Roman cavalry, is killed in the battle. On the Gallic side, one of the leaders, Concolitanus, is captured in battle, while the leader of the Gaesatae, Aneroëstes, kills himself when the battle is lost.

title: 224 BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


label: 225 BCE

lead: The state of Qin, its armies led by Wang Ben, conquers the state of Wei. Battle of Telamon: The Romans, led by the consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, defeated the Celts led by the Gaesatae kings Concolitanus and Aneroëstes. A coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes (Taurini, Taurisces, Insubres, Lingones, Salasses, Agones, and Boii), reinforced by large numbers of Transalpine adventurers called Gaesatae (Gaesati), invade Italy. Avoiding the Romans at Ariminum, the Gauls cross the Apennines into Etruria and plunder the country.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 225 BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


label: 226 BCE

lead: An earthquake destroys the city of Camirus and the Colossus of Rhodes on the island of Rhodes. The Greek merchants of Massilia, frightened by Carthaginian successes in Spain (including their exploitation of the Spanish silver mines), appeal to Rome. Rome makes an alliance with the independent Spanish port city of Saguntum south of the Ebro River. The Qin generals Wang Jian, Li Xin and Wang Ben conquer western Yan and its capital Ji. To secure peace, king Xi of Yan executes his son Crown Prince Dan, who is wanted for the attempted assassination of the king of Qin, Ying Zheng.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
Deaths

title: 226 BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


label: 227 BCE

lead: Sardinia and Corsica are made a combined province. Rome appoints, and in the future annually elects, two praetors (with autocratic consular powers) for this province and for Sicily. The Qin generals Wang Jian, Li Xin and Wang Ben invade the State of Yan in vengeance for an assassination attempt against the king of Qin, Ying Zheng, that had been organized by Crown Prince Dan. Queen Teuta of Illyria finally surrenders to Roman forces and is forced by the Romans to accept an ignominious peace. The Romans allow her to continue her reign but restrict her to a narrow region around the Illyrian capital, Shkodra, deprive her of all her other territory, and forbid her to sail an armed ship below Lissus just south of the capital. They also require her to pay an annual tribute and to acknowledge the final authority of Rome.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 227 BC


label: 228 BCE

lead: Archidamus V, brother of the murdered Spartan King Agis IV, is called back to Sparta by the Agiad King Cleomenes III, who has no counterpart on the throne by then. However, Archidamus V is assassinated shortly after returning. The Illyrian queen Teuta's governor, Demetrius of Pharos has little alternative but to surrender to the overwhelming Roman force. In return, the Romans award him a considerable part of Teuta's holdings to counter-balance the power of Teuta. Meanwhile, the Roman army lands further north at Apollonia. The combined Roman army and fleet proceed northward together, subduing one town after another and besieging Shkodra, the Illyrian capital. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca is killed in a battle in Hispania, ending his lengthy campaign to conquer the Iberian Peninsula for Carthage. In eight years, by force of arms and diplomacy, he has secured an extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula, but his death in battle prevents him from completing the conquest. Command of his army in the Iberian Peninsula passes to his son-in-law Hasdrubal.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 228 BC


label: 229 BCE

lead: Attalus I of Pergamon wins the Battle of the Harpasus in western Anatolia. The First Illyrian War started when the Roman Senate dispatched an army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus to Illyria. Rome forced the withdrawal of Illyrian garrisons in the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Pharos and establishes a protectorate over these Greek towns. The Qin general Wang Jian launches a three-pronged invasion of the state of Zhao but is hindered by the Zhao general Li Mu.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 229 BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


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

title: 23rd century BC


label: 230 BCE

lead: With Roman merchants being killed by the Illyrian pirates, envoys are sent by Rome to Illyria. After the Roman ambassador Lucius Coruncanius and the Issaean ambassador Cleemporus are murdered at sea by Illyrian soldiers after causing offence to Queen Teuta, Roman forces occupy the island of Corcyra with the aim of humbling Teuta. King Agron of Illyria dies. Pinnes, the son of Agron and Agron's first wife Triteuta, officially succeeds his father as king, but the kingdom is effectively ruled by Agron's second wife, Queen Teuta (Tefta), who expels the Greeks from the Illyrian coast and then launches Illyrian pirate ships into the Ionian Sea, preying on Roman shipping. She continues her husband's policy of attacking cities on the west coast of Greece and practising large-scale piracy in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. King Kubera rules Bhattiprolu in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 230 BC


lead: c. 2300 BC – 2184 BC: The Disc of Enheduanna, from Ur (modern Muqaiyir, Iraq) is made. It is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. c. 2300 BC – 2200 BC: "Head of a man from Nineveh" (modern Kuyunjik, Iraq) is made. It is now in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad. c. 2300 BC: Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan) flourishing in modern-day eastern Pakistan - western India.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Culture & Society

title: 23rd century BC


label: 24 BCE

lead: Caesar Augustus becomes Roman Consul for the tenth time. His partner is Gaius Norbanus Flaccus. Herod the Great marries for a third time, to Mariamne II, after a 4-year hiatus from family life (after putting to death his 2nd wife Mariamne I). Augustus founds the city of Nicopolis in Egypt to commemorate his final victory over Mark Antony.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Exploration & Expansion
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 24 BC


label: 231 BCE

lead: Demetrius II, king of Macedonia, seeks military help from Agron, king of Illyria, a loosely organized state on the Adriatic coast north of Epirus, against the advancing Aetolians. The Illyrian army routs the Aetolians and returns home as the victor. The Romans send envoys to Massilia (modern Marseille, France) to negotiate with the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca who is based there.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Births
Deaths

title: 231 BC


label: 232 BCE

lead: The king of Qin, Ying Zheng, invites Prince Han Fei, a legalist philosopher and member of the Han royal family, to the Qin court. However, at the instigation of Li Si, he then has him imprisoned and executed as a threat to the state. Following the death of his mentor, Cleanthes of Assos, Chrysippus of Soli succeeds him as the third head of the Stoic school. The many writings of Chrysippus, about the Stoic doctrines, will later earn him the title of Second Founder of Stoicism. The Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus undertakes an expedition into the interior of Iran to try to regain Parthia, but his efforts come to nothing. According to some sources, he is even taken prisoner for several years by the Parthian king, Arsaces I. Other sources mention that he establishes a peace with Arsaces I by recognising his sovereignty over Parthia.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 232 BC


label: 233 BCE

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

sections:
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 233 BC


label: 234 BCE

lead: The city of Pleuron is destroyed by Demetrius II of Macedon. The Epirote Alliance is replaced by the Epirote League, which is a federal state with its own parliament (or synedrion). After the resignation of Lydiadas, the city of Megalopolis joins the Achaean League.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Births
Deaths

title: 234 BC


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

title: 24th century BC


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

title: 24th century BC


label: 235 BCE

lead: Under King Attalus I, Pergamum begins to build up its power and importance. The ephor, Lysander, claims to have seen a sign from the gods against King Leonidas II of Sparta so Leonidas flees to avoid his trial. In his absence Leonidas is deposed from the throne and replaced by his son-in-law Cleomenes III. In Rome, the consul Titus Manlius Torquatus presides over the first ever closing of the gates of the Temple of Janus, signifying peace.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 235 BC


lead: c. 2345 BC: End of Fifth Dynasty. Pharaoh Unas died. c. 2345 BC: Sixth Dynasty of Egypt starts (other date is 2460 BC).

sections:
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 24th century BC


lead: c. 2350 BC: Lugal-Zage-Si of Umma conquers Gu-Edin and unites Sumer as a single kingdom. c. 2350 BC: The 2350 BC Middle East Anomaly (apparent comet or asteroid impact) happened. c. 2350 BC: End of the Early Dynastic III period in Mesopotamia.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Science & Discovery

title: 24th century BC


label: 236 BCE

lead: Buddhism is introduced to Sri Lanka by Mahinda, a monk acting on behalf of the late Ashoka. Eratosthenes is appointed by King Ptolemy III Euergetes as head and third librarian of the Alexandrian library. Antiochus Hierax, supported by his mother Laodice I, allies himself with the Galatians (Celts) and two other states that are traditional foes of the Seleucid kingdom. With the aid of these forces, he inflicts a crushing defeat on his older brother Seleucus II's army at Ancyra in Anatolia. Seleucus leaves the country beyond the Taurus Mountains to his brother and the other powers of the peninsula.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Births

title: 236 BC


label: 237 BCE

lead: Hamilcar Barca's success in defeating the rebels results in a growth in his strength as leader of Carthage's popular party and support for his proposed invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. However, as spokesman for the landed nobility, Hanno opposes the policy of foreign conquest pursued by Hamilcar Barca. Lü Buwei is deposed as the Prime Minister of Qin. Nevertheless, Hamilcar Barca leads a Carthaginian army in an invasion of the Iberian Peninsula with the aim of building a base from which war with Rome can be renewed. By skillful generalship and able diplomacy, Hamilcar extends Carthaginian dominion over many Spanish tribes.

title: 237 BC


label: 238 BCE

lead: Arsaces, chief of an Iranian nomad tribe, the Parni, invades and conquers Parthia killing, in the process, the local ruler Andragoras. Hamilcar Barca strikes at the supply lines of the mercenary army besieging Carthage, forcing them to cease the siege of the city. He then fights a series of running engagements with the mercenary armies, keeping them off balance. Hamilcar manages to force the mercenary armies into a box canyon in the Battle of "The Saw". The mercenaries are besieged in the canyon. The Decree of Canopus, also called "Table of Tanis", is a memorial stone promulgated by an assemblage of priests in honour of Ptolemy III Euergetes and his consort Berenice. The decree, written in Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphs is an ancient bilingual Egyptian decree that provides a key for deciphering hieroglyphic and the simpler demotic scripts.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 238 BC


label: 239 BCE

lead: Qin Prime Minister Lü Buwei publishes the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Lü Buwei" (Lüshi Chunqiu). Concerned that Hamilcar Barca's leniency in pardoning those who he has captured who have participated in the Mercenary War will encourage others to defect, Mathos and Spendius order the mutilation and execution of "about seven hundred" Carthaginian prisoners, including Gesco. With the mercenaries jointly guilty of these atrocities, defectors dare not face Carthaginian justice under Hamilcar. Diodotus of Bactria defeats an army of Parthians. He dies shortly thereafter and is succeeded by his son Diodotus II.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Science & Discovery
Births
Deaths

title: 239 BC


label: 240 BCE

lead: The first Latin tragedy by Livius Andronicus, Achilles, is first produced. The Hellenistic period Mathematician Eratosthenes estimates the Earth's circumference to be 252,000 stadia, a figure between 2%-20% off modern measurements. Hanno the Great is given command of the Carthaginian forces. However, the mercenaries defeat the Carthaginian armies in the Battle of Utica.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Deaths

title: 240 BC


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

title: 24th century BC


label: 25 BCE

lead: Estimation: Rome, capital of the Roman Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Chang'an, capital of China. The Roman colony of Emerita Augusta is founded (present-day Mérida). The temple to Neptune on the Circus Flaminius is built.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Births
Deaths

title: 25 BC


label: 241 BCE

lead: Battle of the Aegates: The Carthaginian fleet sent to relieve the Roman blockade of the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum is totally defeated near the Aegates Islands off western Sicily by the Roman fleet led by Roman consul and commander Gaius Lutatius Catulus. The result is a decisive Roman victory which forces an end to the protracted First Punic War, to Rome's distinct advantage. The Falisci people of Falerii Veteres revolt against Rome, but is crushed in six days. Falerii Veteres is destroyed and the people resettled to the less defensible Falerii Novi. Given their strong position, the mercenaries inflate their demands and request payment for the non-mercenary Libyan conscripts in the army as well. Gesco is sent to negotiate with the mercenaries at Tunis. Negotiations break down, Gisco is captured, and the Mercenary War commences.

title: 241 BC


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

title: 25th century BC


label: 242 BCE

lead: The Zhao general Pang Nuan defeats the army of the State of Yan and kills its general Chu Xin. The destruction of the Egyptian fleet by the Macedonians ends the naval supremacy of the Ptolemies but does not force them to relinquish their territories in Syria and the Aegean Sea. The Roman consul and commander, Gaius Lutatius Catulus, blockades the Sicilian cities of Lilybaeum and Drepanum with a fleet of 200 ships.

title: 242 BC


label: 243 BCE

lead: Without a declaration of hostilities, Greek statesman, Aratus of Sicyon, who has gradually built up the Achaean League into a major power in Greece, makes a surprise attack on Corinth and forces the withdrawal of the Macedonian occupation troops. Megara, Troezen, and Epidaurus also desert the Macedonian King Antigonus II. Ptolemy III returns from Syria due to a revolt in Egypt. As a result, Seleucus II is able to regain control of his kingdom with the Egyptians being pushed out of Mesopotamia and part of Northern Syria. Ptolemy III returns from his conquests of Seleucid territory with a large amount of treasure and works of art, including many statues of Egyptian gods carried off to Persia by Cambyses. He restores the statues to the Egyptian temples and earns the title of Euergetes ("Benefactor").

title: 243 BC


label: 244 BCE

lead: Agis IV succeeds his father, Eudamidas II, as Eurypontid king of Sparta. Hamilcar Barca transfers his army to the slopes of Mount Eryx, from which he is able to lend support to the besieged garrison in the neighbouring town of Drepanum (Trapani). By defeating the Egyptian fleet at Andros, Antigonus II is able to maintain his control over the Aegean Sea.

title: 244 BC


label: 245 BCE

lead: Approximate date – Callimachus produces the Pinakes, a subject index to the Library of Alexandria. Babylon and Susa fall to the Ptolemaic armies of Ptolemy III. Following a long engagement, Ptolemy III marries Berenice II, the daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene; thereby reuniting Egypt and Cyrenaica.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Science & Discovery
Births
Deaths

title: 245 BC


lead: c. 2450 BC: Kish is lost to Hamazi tribesmen of the Kurdistan mountains; Elam under the Awan dynasty occupies parts of Sumer. (Roux 1980). c. 2450 BC: End of the Early Dynastic IIIa Period and beginning of the Early Dynastic IIIb Period in Sumer.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Culture & Society

title: 25th century BC


label: 246 BCE

lead: The Ashokan pillar in Lauriya, Nandangarh (from the Maurya period) is made. Egypt's Ptolemy II dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy III. At the time of Ptolemy II's death, Egypt comprises the ancient kingdom of Egypt in the Nile Valley, Cyrene, Judea and the coast of southern Syria, Cyprus and a number of cities on the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The Macedonian Ptolemies maintain their authority over their territories with a small mercenary army made up of Macedonians and other Greeks. Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III, sets about to avenge his sister's murder by invading Syria which begins the Third Syrian War (also known as the Laodicean War). Ptolemy III's navy, perhaps with the aid of rebels in the cities, advances against Seleucus II's forces as far as Thrace, across the Hellespont, and also captures some islands off the Anatolian coast.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 246 BC


label: 247 BCE

lead: The 13-year-old Ying Zheng, later called Qin Shi Huang, succeeds his father Zhuangxiang of Qin (Zichu) on the throne. Prime Minister Lü Buwei becomes the regent of the king. In Numidia Carthaginian general Hanno conquered the city of Theveste (nicknamed: Hekatompylos) after which he negotiated a peace settlement with the Numidians ending Carthage's war with the Numidians. He was praised by both parties for the fairness of the treaty. General Wang He of the State of Qin takes the city of Shangdang from the State of Zhao and establishes Taiyuan Commandery.

title: 247 BC


label: 248 BCE

lead: The Qin general Meng Ao captures the Wei cities of Gaodu and Ji. The Mauryan king Ashoka is dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism and begins establishing monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. Meng Ao then annexes 37 towns and cities from the State of Zhao, conquering the cities of Yuci, Xincheng and Langmeng.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief

title: 248 BC


label: 249 BCE

lead: Following the disastrous defeat of Roman forces at the Battle of Drepana, Publius Claudius Pulcher is fined 120,000 asses and his colleague, Lucius Junius Pullus, commits suicide. Aulus Atilius Calatinus is then elected dictator and leads an army into Sicily, becoming the first dictator to lead a Roman army outside Italy. The Roman forces at Lilybaeum are relieved, and Eryx, near Drapana, is seized. Its idol of Astarte is transported to Rome, where it becomes the Erycine Venus. King Kaolie of Chu annexes the State of Lu. The Battle of Drepana involves the Romans, under the command of the Roman consul Publius Claudius Pulcher, attacking the Carthaginian fleet, under the command of Adherbal, in the harbour of Drepanum (modern Trapani, Sicily). The Romans are badly defeated and lose 93 of their 123 vessels.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 249 BC


label: 250 BCE

lead: According to the Letter of Aristeas, Ptolemy II invited the Jewish residents of Alexandria to have their torah translated into Greek. Because around seventy translators are used to achieve this, the translation is known as the Septuagint. Andragoras, a Seleucid satrap of the province of Partahia (Parthia), tries to gain independence from the Seleucid Kingdom under Antiochus II. The Mauryan sculpture Didarganj Yakshi holding a Fly Whisk, from Patna, Bihar in India, is made (approximate date). It is now kept at the Patna Museum in Patna.

title: 250 BC


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

title: 25th century BC


lead: c. 2500 BC: Rice was first introduced to what is now modern-day Malaysia. c. 2500 BC: N1c Y-DNA first found from Europe from Serteya II (located in modern day Smolensk Oblast in Russia). c. 2500 BC: Scribal schools flourish throughout Sumer.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society

title: 25th century BC


label: 26 BCE

lead: Christian Cross Asterism (astronomy) at Zenith of Lima, Peru. The Andhra dynasty replaces the Kanva dynasty, and rules over the eastern part of India. Tiridates II invades Parthia and issues coins dated from March and May, 26 BC.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 26 BC


label: 251 BCE

lead: Paseas, the tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon, is assassinated by Nicocles, with the acquiescence of the Macedonian king Antigonus II. Nicocles reigns as tyrant of Sicyon for only four months, during which period he drives into exile eighty of the city's citizens. Then the citadel of Sicyon is surprised in the night by a party of Sicyonian exiles, headed by a young nobleman, Aratus. The palace of the tyrant is set on fire, but Nicocles escapes from the city through a subterranean passage. With Panormus captured, much of western inland Sicily falls with it. The cities of Ieta, Solous, Petra and Tyndaris agree to peace with the Romans in the same year. This defeat marks the end of significant Carthaginian land-based campaigning in Sicily. The Romans, led by Lucius Caecilius Metellus, attack the Carthaginian held port city of Panormus after taking Kephalodon. After fierce fighting in the Battle of Panormus, the Carthaginians, led by Hasdrubal (the Fair), are defeated and the city falls.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 251 BC


label: 252 BCE

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

sections:
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 252 BC


label: 253 BCE

lead: Tiberius Coruncanius is the first plebeian to be elected pontifex maximus of Rome. Macedonia's involvement in the second Syrian War ceases when Antigonus becomes preoccupied with the rebellion of Corinth and Chalcis, as well as an increase in enemy activity along Macedon's northern frontier. The war is concluded with the marriage of Antiochus to Ptolemy II's daughter, Berenice Syra. Antiochus divorces his previous wife, Laodice, and transfers the succession to Berenice's children.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Births

title: 253 BC


label: 254 BCE

lead: A Roman army led by consuls Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina and Aulus Atilius Calatinus capture Panormus in Sicily. The Romans lose control of the Sicilian city of Agrigentum to the Carthaginians.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Births
Deaths

title: 254 BC


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

title: 26th century BC


label: 255 BCE

lead: The Carthaginians, angered by Regulus' demands, hire Xanthippus, a Spartan mercenary, to reorganize the army. The revitalised Carthaginian army, led by Xanthippus, decisively defeat the Romans in the Battle of Tunis and capture their commander Marcus Atilius Regulus. A Roman fleet, sent to rescue Regulus and his troops, is wrecked in a storm off Sicily. The Battle of Adis (or Adys) is fought near the city of that name, 40 mi km southeast of Carthage, between Carthaginian forces and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. The Romans inflict a crushing defeat upon the Carthaginians, and the latter then sue for peace. The ensuing negotiations between the parties lead to Regulus demanding Carthage agree to an unconditional surrender, cede Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia to Rome, renounce the use of their navy, pay an indemnity, and sign a vassal-like treaty. These terms are so harsh that the people of Carthage resolve to keep fighting. Diodotus I, Seleucid satrap of Bactria, rebels against Antiochus II and becomes the founder of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Births

title: 255 BC


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

title: 26th century BC


label: 256 BCE

lead: From their new base at Aspis the Romans march on towards Carthage; they encounter and defeat the Carthaginian army at the Battle of Adys. Luoyang falls without much resistance to the armies of the Qin, ending the reign of the emperor Zhou Nan Wang. Although a successor was appointed as Dong Zhou Hui Wang, traditionally in Chinese history this is considered the end of the Zhou dynasty. Rome aims for a quick end to hostilities in the First Punic War and decides to invade the Carthaginian colonies in Northern Africa to force the enemy to accept terms. A major fleet is built, including transports for the army and its equipment, and warships for their protection. Carthage under Hamilcar tries to intervene but a force under the Roman general and consul Marcus Atilius Regulus and his colleague Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus defeat the Carthaginian fleet in the Battle of Cape Ecnomus off the southern coast of Sicily.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Technology & Infrastructure
Climate & Environment
Births
Deaths

title: 256 BC


label: 257 BCE

lead: The Battle of Tyndaris is fought between the Roman fleet (with Gaius Atilius Regulus in command) and the Carthaginian fleet off Tyndaris (modern Tindari) in Sicily. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, has allowed Tyndaris to be a base for the Carthaginians. However, after this battle, the town falls to Roman forces. Thục Phán (An Dương Vương), Chief of the Thục Tribe of the Âu Việts, defeats the Văn Lang Confederacy and unifies all Âu Việt and Lạc Việt tribes, thus founding the Kingdom of Âu Lạc and the Thục dynasty. The Qin siege of Handan, the capital of the State of Zhao.

title: 257 BC


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

title: 26th century BC


label: 258 BCE

lead: The State of Qin besieges Handan, the capital of the State of Zhou, but the Qin army under Wang Ling sustains heavy casualties. Wang Ling is then replaced by Wang He. The Romans are able to regain the initiative in Sicily against Carthage by retaking Enna and Camarina. In central Sicily, they take the town of Mytistraton, which they have attacked twice previously. The Romans also move in the north by marching across the northern coast toward Panormus, but are not able to take the city due to the city's heavily fortified walls. Erasistratus of Ceos founds a medical school at Alexandria.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Health & Medicine

title: 258 BC


label: 259 BCE

lead: The Seleucid king Antiochus II starts the Second Syrian War against Ptolemy II Philadelphus to avenge his father's losses. Antiochus II finds a willing ally in Antigonus II Gonatas, the king of Macedonia, who has been dealing with Ptolemy II's attempts to destabilize Macedonia. The State of Zhou cedes to the State of Qin the Han region of Yuanyong and six cities of Zhao in exchange for peace. The Carthaginians under Hamilcar take advantage of their victory at Thermae in Sicily by counterattacking the Romans and seizing Enna. Hamilcar continues south to Camarina, in Syracusan territory, to try to convince the Syracusans to rejoin the Carthaginian side.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Births

title: 259 BC


label: 260 BCE

lead: Hannibal Gisco returns to fight in Sicily as the admiral in charge of the Carthaginian fleet in the Strait of Messina. With the Romans about to launch their first ever navy, Carthage is determined that this innovation be thwarted. Gisco defeats part of the Roman fleet and captures the Roman consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina in an encounter near Lipari; the consul's nickname Asina (which means donkey) is earned in this encounter. However, this Carthaginian victory is of limited practical value as the bulk of the Roman fleet continues to manoeuvre in the surrounding waters. The Roman advance continues westward from Agrigentum with their forces relieving the besieged cities of Segesta and Macella. These cities have sided with the Roman cause, and have come under Carthaginian attack for doing so. Callimachus of Cyrene, learned poet and grammarian, becomes chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Births
Deaths

title: 260 BC


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

title: 26th century BC


label: 27 BCE

lead: Octavian formally returns full power to the Senate; they give him the titles of Princeps and Augustus. He accepts this honor, having declined the alternative title of Romulus, thus becoming first Roman emperor. Northern statue of the Colossi of Memnon is shattered by an earthquake in Egypt (according to Strabo). Augustus' first census of the Roman Empire (formerly the Roman Republic) reports a total of 4,063,000 citizens.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Health & Medicine
Climate & Environment
Births
Deaths

title: 27 BC


label: 261 BCE

lead: The armies of the State of Qin and State of Zhao contest control of the area around Changping. After suffering defeats to general Wang He of Qin and the superior Qin army, general Lian Po of Zhao refuses to give battle, resulting in a stalemate. Mauryan Emperor Ashoka wages a war against the independent kingdom of Kalinga, culminating in the Battle of the Dhauli Hills. In the aftermath, Kalinga is annexed into the Mauryan Empire, but the brutality of the war is believed to have led to Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, as described in his many Edicts of Ashoka. The Romans, determined to win control of Sicily from Carthage, build a fleet based on the model of a captured Carthaginian quinquereme.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Deaths

title: 261 BC


label: 262 BCE

lead: After Athens surrenders in the Chremonidean War following a long siege by Macedonian forces, Antigonus II Gonatas re-garrisons Athens and forbids the city from making war. Otherwise, he leaves Athens alone as the seat of philosophy and learning in Greece. Rome besieges the city of Agrigentum which is held by Carthage under the command of Hannibal Gisco. Rome's siege involves both consular armies – a total of four Roman legions – and takes several months to resolve. The garrison of Agrigentum manages to call for reinforcements and a Carthaginian relief force commanded by Hanno comes to the rescue and destroys the Roman supply base at Erbessus. Nevertheless, after a few skirmishes, the battle of Agrigentum is fought and won by Rome, and the city falls. Gisco manages to escape to Carthage in the late stages of the battle. Following the surrender of the Shangdang Commandery, formerly of Han, to the State of Zhao, fighting between Zhao and the State of Qin begins in the area of Changping.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Births
Deaths

title: 262 BC


label: 263 BCE

lead: Alexander II of Epirus attacks and conquers the greater part of Macedonia. However, he is then driven out of both Macedonia and Epirus by Demetrius II, the son of King Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia. The Romans capture Catania in Sicily under Messalla. A sundial is part of the booty, which is placed in the Comitium in Rome and will be significant in Roman timekeeping. The Romans under the consul Manius Valerius Messalla secure the alliance of Hiero II of Syracuse. The treaty with Rome restricts Hiero's kingdom to southeast Sicily and the eastern coast of Sicily as far as Tauromenium. From this date until his death, Hiero remains loyal to the Romans.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 263 BC


label: 264 BCE

lead: The Confucian philosopher Xunzi visits the State of Qin. He writes of his and others' admiration for the government officials of Qin, who he says are serious and sincere, free from the tendency to form cliques. The Qin officials are disciplined by a meritocracy of rather harsh methods imposed by the Legalist philosophy. The temple to Vertumnus is built on the Aventine Hill in Rome. Abantidas, the son of Paseas, becomes tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon after murdering Cleinias. He either banishes or puts to death Cleinias' friends and relations. Cleinias' young son, Aratus, narrowly escapes death.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society

title: 264 BC


label: 265 BCE

lead: Although the Egyptian fleet blockades the Saronic Gulf, the Macedonian King Antigonus II defeats the Spartans and kills the king of Sparta, Areus I near Corinth, after which he besieges Athens. The Archimedes screw for raising water is devised by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, who is studying at Alexandria. The Battle of Messana (265-264 BCE) takes place as the first military clash between the Roman Republic and Carthage.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 265 BC


label: 266 BCE

lead: Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Julius Libo celebrate triumphs over the Salentini. Caparronia, an ancient Roman Vestal virgin died by hanging after being convicted of unchastity. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka converts to Buddhism.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Religion & Belief
Births
Deaths

title: 266 BC


label: 267 BCE

lead: Macedonia's King Antigonus II Gonatas has to deal with a rebellion by an Athenian-led coalition of Spartans (led by King Areus I of Sparta), Athenians (led by Chremonides), Arcadians and Achaeans that tries to expel the Macedonian forces located in southern Greece. The rebellion has the support of Ptolemy II of Egypt.

title: 267 BC


label: 268 BCE

lead: Ashoka becomes emperor of the Maurya Empire. The Romans found a colony at Ariminum. The Romans found a colony at Malventum which they, for superstitious reasons, call Beneventum (since male means bad and bene means good in Latin).

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Births

title: 268 BC


label: 269 BCE

lead: The Mamertines, a body of Campanian mercenaries who have been employed by Agathocles, the former tyrant of Syracuse, capture the stronghold of Messana (Messina in north-eastern Sicily), from which they harass the Syracusans. The Syracusan military leader, Hieron, defeats them in a pitched battle at the Longanus River near Mylae, but Carthaginian forces intervene to prevent him from capturing Messana. His grateful countrymen then choose Hieron as their king and tyrant, to be known as Hieron II.

title: 269 BC


label: 270 BCE

lead: Carthage, already in control of Sardinia, southern Spain and Numidia, is ruled by an oligarchy of merchants under two Suffetes or chief magistrates. While Carthage's military commanders are strong, the state relies on mercenaries (including Spanish ones) for its soldiers. Rome's subjugation of Italy is completed by the recapture of Rhegium (southern Italy) from the Mamertines and the defeat of the Brutians, the Lucanians, the Calabrians and the Samnites. The town of Rhegium is then restored by the Romans to its Greek inhabitants.

title: 270 BC


lead: c. 2698 BC: Supposed beginning of the mythical reign of the legendary Yellow Emperor of China.

title: 27th century BC


lead: c. 2700 BC: The beginning of statuary in Ancient Egypt, with shale and limestone statues of Khasekhemwy created in Nekhen.

title: 27th century BC


label: 28 BCE

lead: The earliest dated record of a sunspot by Chinese astronomers. The Roman Senate grants Octavian Caesar imperium maius (supreme command) of the Roman armed forces (Around 28 legions). Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the sixth time. His partner Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa becomes Consul for the second time.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Deaths

title: 28 BC


label: 271 BCE

lead: With the restoration of the territories captured by Pyrrhus, and with grateful allies in Sparta and Argos, and garrisons in Corinth and other Greek key cities, Antigonus II securely controls Macedonia and the other states of Greece. Antigonus becomes the chief of the Thessalian League and is on good terms with neighbouring Illyria and Thrace. He secures his position in central and south Greece by keeping Macedonian occupation forces in the cities of Corinth, Chalcis on the island of Euboea, and Demetrias in Thessaly, the three "shackles" of Hellas. The Mauryan empire annexes the southern kingdoms till the realms of the three crowned kings of Chola, Chera and Pandya.

title: 271 BC


label: 272 BCE

lead: The Mauryan emperor, Bindusara, sends the Mauryan army to conquer the southern kingdoms. Kadamba is conquered. Following his death in Argos, Pyrrhus is succeeded as king of Epirus by his son Alexander II while Antigonus II Gonatas regains his Macedonian throne which he has lost to Pyrrhus two years earlier. Egypt's victories solidify the kingdom's position as the undisputed naval power of the eastern Mediterranean; the Ptolemaic sphere of power now extends over the Cyclades to Samothrace, and the harbours and coastal towns of Cilicia Trachea, Pamphylia, Lycia and Caria.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Technology & Infrastructure
Deaths

title: 272 BC


label: 273 BCE

lead: Impressed by Rome's defeat of Pyrrhus of Epirus, Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus sends a friendly embassy. The visit is reciprocated. General Bai Qi of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei and State of Zhou. He captures the city of Huyang and wins three battles, defeating the army of the Zhao general Jia Yan.

title: 273 BC


label: 274 BCE

lead: Magas of Cyrene marries Apama, the daughter of Antiochus and uses his marital alliance to foment a pact to invade Egypt. He opens hostilities against his half brother Ptolemy II, by declaring his province of Cyrenaica to be independent and then attacks Egypt from the west as Antiochus I takes the Egyptian controlled areas in coastal Syria and southern Anatolia, after which he attacks Palestine. Pyrrhus returns from Italy and Sicily and invades Macedonia defeating Antigonus II Gonatas at the Battle of the Aous and conquering Upper Macedonia and Thessaly while Antigonus holds onto the coastal Macedonian towns. Antigonus' troops desert him and Pyrrhus is declared King of Macedonia. The Romans under Manius Curius Dentatus conquer the Lucanians.

title: 274 BC


label: 275 BCE

lead: When Pyrrhus returns from Sicily, he finds himself vastly outnumbered by a superior Roman army under the command of consul Manius Curius Dentatus. After the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum, Roman commander and statesman, Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, negotiates a peace with Pyrrhus, after which Pyrrhus decides to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus, which results in the loss of all his Italian holdings. The Museum of Alexandria is founded by the Egyptian King Ptolemy II. General Lian Po of the State of Zhou invades the State of Wei and captures the cities of Fangling and Anyang.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 275 BC


lead: c. 2750 BC: Estimated ending of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture in the region of modern-day Romania, Moldova, and southwestern Ukraine.

title: 28th century BC


label: 276 BCE

lead: The Egyptian King Ptolemy II's first wife, Arsinoe I (daughter of the late King Lysimachus of Thrace) is accused, probably at instigation of Ptolemy II's sister (who also has the name Arsinoe), of plotting his murder and is exiled by the King. Arsinoe then marries her own brother, a customary practice in Egypt, but scandalous to the Greeks. The suffix "Philadelphoi" ("Brother-Loving") consequently is added to the names of King Ptolemy II and Queen Arsinoe II. The former queen, Arsinoe I, is banished to Coptos, a city of Upper Egypt near the Wadi Hammamat, while her rival adopts her children. The first of the Syrian Wars starts between Egypt's Ptolemy II and Seleucid emperor Antiochus I Soter. The Egyptians invade northern Syria, but Antiochus defeats and repels his opponent's army. General Lian Po of the State of Zhou captures the Wei city of Qi.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Births

title: 276 BC


label: 277 BCE

lead: Battle of the Cranita Hills: Roman forces are defeated by the Samnites at the Cranita Hills during the Pyrrhic War. Pyrrhus captures Eryx, the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompts the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities in Sicily to defect to Pyrrhus. Antigonus crosses the Hellespont and defeats the Celts under the command of Cerethrius at the Battle of Lysimachia near Lysimachia at the neck of the Thracian Chersonese. After this success, he is acknowledged by the Macedonians as their king.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Births
Deaths

title: 277 BC


label: 278 BCE

lead: Nicomedes I becomes the first ruler of Bithynia to assume the title of king. He founds the city of Nicomedia, which soon rises to great prosperity. Pyrrhus is proclaimed king of Sicily. He plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to inherit Italy. Qu Yuan writes the poem "Lament for Ying" after the fall of the capital of Chu.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 278 BC


lead: 2775 BC – 2650 BC: Second Dynasty wars in Ancient Egypt.

title: 28th century BC


label: 279 BCE

lead: Scordisci Celts found a city called Singidon (Roman Singidunum) which is today the Serbian city of Belgrade. In renewed fighting, Pyrrhus of Epirus, leading the combined Tarantine, Oscan, Samnite, and Greek forces, wins a 'Pyrrhic victory' against the Romans led by consul Publius Decius Mus at the Battle of Asculum, called such because his victory comes at a great cost to his own forces. Pyrrhus is reported to have said afterwards, "One more victory against the Romans and we shall be utterly ruined!" Disheartened, Pyrrhus retires to Tarentum and sends Cineas to make renewed peace overtures to Rome. These talks are inconclusive. The Phocians are readmitted into the Amphictyonic League after they have joined in the defence of Delphi against the Gauls.

title: 279 BC


label: 280 BCE

lead: Pyrrhus makes an alliance with Ptolemy Keraunos, King of Macedon. This allows him to go to southern Italy with his army. Responding to an appeal from Tarentum, King Pyrrhus of Epirus uses his army of over 20,000 men against the Romans. In the Battle of Heraclea he defeats a Roman army led by consul Publius Valerius Laevinus. Pyrrhus's judicious use of his elephants plays a large part in his victory. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii and the Messapians as well as the Greek cities of Crotone and Locri join Pyrrhus. The Colossus of Rhodes is completed by the sculptor Chares of Lindos after twelve years' work. A giant statue of the Greek god Helios, it is the last completed of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It stands 70 cubits tall (over 30 metres or 100 feet), making it the tallest statue of the ancient world.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Economy & Finance
Science & Discovery
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 280 BC


lead: c. 2800 BC – 2700 BC: Seated Harp Player, from Keros, Cyclades, is made. It is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

title: 28th century BC


label: 29 BCE

lead: Horace writes the ode Occidit Daci Cotisonis agmen. Octavian celebrates, in Rome, three triumphs on consecutive days (August 13, August 14, and August 15) to commemorate his victories in Illyricum, Actium and Egypt. Octavian Caesar becomes Roman Consul for the fifth time. His partner is Sextus Appuleius. He is granted the title of imperator, and for the third time in Roman history the doors of the Temple of Janus are closed, signalling peace.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 29 BC


label: 281 BCE

lead: Cineas, a Thessalian serving as chief adviser to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, after visiting Rome attempts, without success, to dissuade Pyrrhus from invading southern Italy. Seleucus takes over Thrace and then tries to seize Macedonia. However, he falls into a trap near Lysimachia, Thrace, set by Ptolemy Keraunos, one of the sons of Ptolemy I and Arsinoe II's half brother, who murders Seleucus and takes Macedonia for himself. The Battle of Corupedium in Lydia is the last battle of the Diadochi, the rival successors to Alexander the Great. It is fought between the armies of Lysimachus, King of Thrace, Macedonia, Western Anatolia and Seleucus, ruler of Eastern Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Babylonia and Iran. Seleucus kills Lysimachus during the battle.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 281 BC


lead: 2807 BC: Suggested date for an asteroid or comet impact occurring between Africa and Antarctica, around the time of a lunar eclipse on May 10, based on an analysis of flood stories. Possibly causing the Burckle crater and Fenambosy Chevron.

title: 29th century BC


label: 282 BCE

lead: The city of Pergamum in Asia Minor ends its allegiance to Lysimachus. Its ruler, Philetaerus, transfers his allegiance, as well as the important fortress of Pergamon and his treasury, to Seleucus, who allows him a far larger measure of independence than he had hitherto enjoyed. The Battle of Populonia is fought between Rome and the Etruscans. The Romans are victorious and, as a result, the Etruscan threat to Rome is sharply diminished. Arsinoe, daughter of Lysimachus, king of Thrace, marries Ptolemy II of Egypt as part of the alliance between Thrace and Egypt against Seleucus.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Disasters & Accidents
Deaths

title: 282 BC


label: 283 BCE

lead: At the Battle of Lake Vadimo, Roman forces finally quell the allied Etruscans and Gauls. The Roman army is led by consul Publius Cornelius Dolabella. Rome is at last undisputed master of northern and central Italy. The canal from the Nile River to the Red Sea, initially started but not completed by the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II and repaired by the Persian king Darius I, is again repaired and made operational by Ptolemy II. Ptolemy II enlarges the library at Alexandria and appoints the grammarian Zenodotus to collect and edit all the Greek poets.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Deaths

title: 283 BC


label: 284 BCE

lead: The Gallic tribe called the Senones, who have settled on the Adriatic coast north of Picenum, attack Arretium in Etruria. While attempting to relieve this allied city, the Romans under the command of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter suffer a costly defeat in the Battle of Arretium. Aroused by this disaster, a Roman army under Manius Curius Dentatus invades the Senones' territory, defeating them and driving them out of the Italian peninsula. The Ptolemaic court appoints Zenodotus of Ephesus as first Director of the Library of Alexandria. Ptolemy I's eldest (legitimate) son, Ptolemy Keraunos, whose mother, Eurydice, the daughter of Antipater, had been repudiated by the new King Ptolemy II, flees Egypt to the court of Lysimachus, the king of Thrace, Macedon and Asia Minor.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 284 BC


lead: 2832 BC: Estimated germination of the oldest living tree and organism on earth as of 2020 the Methuselah Tree, the second-oldest known organism. Sprouting in what would become Inyo County, California.

title: 29th century BC


label: 285 BCE

lead: Egypt's Ptolemy I Soter abdicates. He is succeeded by his youngest son by his wife Berenice, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who has been co-regent for three years. Demetrius Poliorcetes is deserted by his troops and surrenders to Seleucus at Cilicia, where Seleucus keeps him a prisoner. A 110 metre tall lighthouse on the island of Pharos in Alexandria's harbour is completed and serves as a landmark for ships in the eastern Mediterranean. Built by Sostratus of Cnidus for Ptolemy II of Egypt, it is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is a technological triumph and is the archetype of all lighthouses since. A broad spiral ramp leads to the top, where a fire burns at night.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Science & Discovery
Deaths

title: 285 BC


label: 286 BCE

lead: General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the Henei area of the State of Wei. Wei responds by handing over the major city of Anyi. As Demetrius Poliorcetes and his army are chased across Asia Minor to the Taurus Mountains by the armies of Lysimachus and Seleucus, in Greece his son Antigonus meets with success. Ptolemy's fleet is driven off and Athens surrenders to Antigonus. The new law, Lex Aquilia, is enacted. This is a Roman law which provides compensation to the owners of property injured as a result of someone's fault.

title: 286 BC


lead: 2852 BC: The beginning of the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in China.

title: 29th century BC


lead: 2860 BC: Saqqara Tomb A construction started.

title: 29th century BC


label: 287 BCE

lead: Demetrius besieges Athens without success. He leaves Antigonus in charge of the war in Greece, assembles all his ships and embarks with his troops to attack Caria and Lydia, provinces in Asia Minor controlled by Lysimachus. The Macedonians resent the extravagance and arrogance of Demetrius Poliorcetes and are not prepared to fight a difficult campaign for him. When Pyrrhus of Epirus takes the Macedonian city of Verroia, Demetrius' army promptly deserts and goes over to Pyrrhus' side as he is much admired by the Macedonians for his bravery. At this change of fortune, Phila, the mother of Antigonus, kills herself with poison. Agathocles is sent by his father Lysimachus against Demetrius. Agathocles defeats Demetrius and drives him out of his father's provinces.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Births
Deaths

title: 287 BC


lead: 2863 BC: Egyptian 2nd Dynasty Prince Raneb born around this year in history.

title: 29th century BC


label: 288 BCE

lead: Following the death of Agathocles, some of his disbanded mercenaries seize Messana in northeast Sicily and set up a society, calling themselves Mamertines (Sons of Mars). The city becomes a base from which they will ravage the Sicilian countryside. The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Sacred Fig tree is planted at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This is the earliest known planting date for any planted tree still surviving. King Zhao of Qin and King Min of Qi take the title "Di", (帝 literally emperor), of the west and east respectively. They swear a covenant and begin planning an attack on the State of Zhao.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Deaths

title: 288 BC


lead: c. 2874 BC: The 365-day calendar year was installed in ancient Egypt, with fixed lunar months of 30 days + 5 epagomenal days.

title: 29th century BC


lead: 2879 BC: Hùng Vương Kinh Dương Vương established the Hồng Bàng dynasty in Vietnam (then known as Xích Quỷ).

title: 29th century BC


lead: 2880 BC: Estimated germination of the Prometheus Tree, previously thought to be the world's oldest living organism until it was cut down in 1964 AD.

title: 29th century BC


label: 289 BCE

lead: The tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles, dies after restoring the Syracusan democracy on his death bed by stating that he does not want his sons to succeed him as king. However, the resulting dissension among his family about the succession leads to a renewal of Carthaginian power in Sicily. General Sima Cuo of the State of Qin attacks the State of Wei, recaptures the city of Yuan and captures the cities of Heyong and Jueqiao.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 289 BC


lead: 2890 BC: Ancient Egypt: Pharaoh Qa'a died. End of First Dynasty, start of Second Dynasty. Pharaoh Hotepsekhemwy started to rule. 2890 BC: Akkadian language names are recorded from about this time period.

sections:
Science & Discovery
Deaths

title: 29th century BC


label: 290 BCE

lead: The city of Yuan is returned by the State of Qin to the State of Wei in exchange for the cities of Puban and Pishi. Berenice, wife of Ptolemy, is proclaimed queen of Egypt. Ptolemy has the city of Berenice built on the Red Sea in her honour. It becomes a great emporium for Egyptian trade with the East.

title: 290 BC


lead: c. 2900 BC: 2600 BC: Votive statues from the Square Temple of Eshnunna (modern Tell Ashmar, Iraq) were made. One of them is now in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Excavated 1932–1933. c. 2900 BC: Beginning of the Early Dynastic Period I in Sumer. 2900 BC: 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Culture & Society

title: 29th century BC


label: 30 BCE

lead: Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. Octavian Caesar captures Alexandria. This marks the official annexation of Ancient Egypt to the Roman Republic. Cleopatra evacuates her court and treasury to Berenice on the west coast of the Red Sea, but king Malchus of Nabatea attacks from the desert and burns the Egyptian ships. Or 12 – With the death of Cleopatra, probably by suicide, in Alexandria and the probable murder soon afterwards of her son and nominal co-ruler Caesarion, the Ptolemaic dynasty, the last of Ancient Egypt, comes to an end. The first year of Octavian's reign in Egypt.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Technology & Infrastructure
Health & Medicine
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 30 BC


label: 291 BCE

lead: Demetrius Poliorcetes joins his son, Antigonus, in the siege of Thebes. As the Thebans defend their city stubbornly, Demetrius forces his men to attack the city at great cost. Demetrius finally takes the city after using siege engines to demolish its walls. Bai Qi then captures the city of Wan in the state of Chu. Generals Sima Cuo and Bai Qi of the State of Qin attack the State of Wei and capture the city of Yuan. Next, Sima Cuo captures the cities of Zhi and Deng.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Births
Deaths

title: 291 BC


lead: c. 2910 BC: Death of Egyptian pharaoh Semerkhet.

title: 30th century BC


label: 292 BCE

lead: While Demetrius Poliorcetes is campaigning in Boeotia, he receives news that Lysimachus, the ruler of Thrace, has been taken prisoner by Dromichaetes. Hoping to seize Lysimachus's territories in Thrace, Demetrius delegates command of his forces in Boeotia to his son, Antigonus and immediately marches north. However, while he is away, the Boeotians rise in rebellion, but are defeated by Antigonus, who bottles them up in the city of Thebes and puts them under siege. General Bai Qi of the State of Qin defeats the State of Wei in a major battle and captures cities in Wei. Wei cedes control of 61 towns and cities. Lysimachus tries to extend his influence beyond the Danube River, but he is defeated and taken prisoner by the Getae (Dacian) king Dromichaetes (Dromihete). Eventually, Lysimachus is set free and a peace is agreed between the Getae and Lysimachus. This peace agreement is strengthened further by the marriage of Dromichaetes with Lysimachus' daughter.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief

title: 292 BC


lead: c. 2920 BC: Troy is founded on this date (assuming the interpretation of Manfred Korfmann is followed). c. 2920 BC: Death of Egyptian pharaoh Anedjib.

sections:
Technology & Infrastructure
Deaths

title: 30th century BC


label: 293 BCE

lead: The Boeotians revolted against Demetrius Poliorcetes, the King of Macedon. They received help from the Aetolians and the Spartans. The worship of Aesculapius is introduced from Epidaurus to Rome in the hope of ending a plague. When an invasion of nomads threatens the eastern possessions of his realm (i.e. between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea and the Indian Ocean), Seleucus hands over the government of these lands west of the Euphrates to his son Antiochus. Antiochus is appointed co-regent and commander-in-chief of these territories.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Health & Medicine

title: 293 BC


lead: c. 2930 BC: Death of Egyptian pharaoh Den.

title: 30th century BC


label: 294 BCE

lead: Stratonice, daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes and wife of Seleucus marries her stepson Antiochus. Seleucus has reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son by his late wife Apama was in danger of dying of lovesickness as he has fallen in love with his beautiful stepmother. Pyrrhus of Epirus exploits the dynastic quarrel in Macedonia involving Alexander V of Macedon, his brother, Antipater II and Demetrius Poliorcetes to take over the frontier areas of Parauaea and Tymphaea, along with Acarnania, Ampholochia, and Ambracia. Archidamus IV, king of Sparta, son of Eudamidas I and grandson of Archidamus III, is defeated by Demetrius Poliorcetes of Macedonia in a battle at Mantinea. Sparta is saved only because Demetrius is called away by the threatening activities of his rivals Lysimachus and Ptolemy.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society

title: 294 BC


label: 295 BCE

lead: The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges. The king of Macedon, Antipater II, murders his mother Thessalonike, accusing her of being too fond of his brother and co-ruler Alexander V. Athens falls to Demetrius Poliorcetes after a bitter siege, and its tyrant Lachares flees into exile.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 295 BC


label: 296 BCE

lead: Ptolemy makes peace with Demetrius Poliorcetes, to whom he betrothes his daughter Ptolemais. The temple to Bellona is erected at the south end of the prata Flaminia, later the Circus Flaminius, in Rome.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Religion & Belief

title: 296 BC


label: 297 BCE

lead: Chandragupta Maurya goes to Sravana Belagola, near Mysore, to live in the way of Jains. Ptolemy decides to support Pyrrhus of Epirus and restores him to his kingdom. At first, Pyrrhus reigns with a kinsman, Neoptolemus II of Epirus (who is a son of Cleopatra of Macedonia and a nephew of Alexander the Great), but soon he has him assassinated. Bindusara, his son, ascends to the Pataliputra throne.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 297 BC


lead: c. 2970 BC: Death of Egyptian pharaoh Djet.

title: 30th century BC


label: 298 BCE

lead: Agathocles, king of Syracuse, assists the Italian Greeks against the Bruttians and supports the Greeks against the Romans. Bindusara succeeds his father Chandragupta Maurya as emperor of the Mauryan Empire. King Huai of Chu visits the State of Qin to negotiate peace but is detained.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security

title: 298 BC


label: 299 BCE

lead: The consul Marcus Fulvius Paetinus sacks the Umbrian city of Nequinum, which Rome had been besieging since the previous year, and he possibly also fights with success against the Sabines. The State of Zhao annexes the State of Zhongshan. The State of Qin annexes eight cities of the state of Chu. Chu then sends an envoy to ask the King of Huai to go to Qin to negotiate peace. Qu Yuan risks his life to go up to the court to persuade the King of Huai not to go to the negotiation.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 299 BC


label: 300 BCE

lead: In Pella, the capital of Macedonia, the artist Gnosis creates his Stag Hunt mosaic floor decoration. Pilgrims travel to the healing temples of Asclepieion to be cured of their ills. After a ritual purification the followers bring offerings or sacrifices. Pyrrhus, the King of Epirus, is taken as a hostage to Egypt after the Battle of Ipsus and makes a diplomatic marriage with the princess Antigone, daughter of Ptolemy and Berenice.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 300 BC


lead: c. 3000 BC: Stonehenge begins to be built. In its first version, it consists of a circular ditch and bank, with 56 wooden posts. c. 3000 BC: Camels are domesticated in Egypt. c. 3000 BC: Austronesian expansion begins.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Science & Discovery
Culture & Society

title: 30th century BC


label: 4 BCE

lead: Namhae becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Silla. Herod the Great dies, which causes unrest in his client kingdom of Judea. His son, Herod Archelaus, becomes the new ruler. Herod Antipas becomes tetrarch of Galilee and Perea,and the governor of Syria, Publius Quinctilius Varus, marches down to Jerusalem from Antioch to restore order; around 3000 Jews are crucified.

title: 0s BC


label: 31 BCE

lead: Roman Civil War: Battle of Actium: Off the western coast of Greece, Octavian Caesar defeats naval forces under Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Agrippa storms Leucas, giving Octavian an anchorage and a second depot for his land supplies. He seizes the garrison at Patrae, and takes Antony's headquarters. Amyntas, king of Galatia, deserts with 2,000 cavalry to Octavian. One-third of Antony's oarsmen are lost to malnutrition, disease and desertion.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Climate & Environment
Births
Deaths

title: 31 BC


label: 301 BCE

lead: Antigonus' defeat and death secures Cassander's control of Macedonia. Through this victory, Lysimachus is able to add the greater part of Asia Minor to his European possessions while Seleucus now controls most of Syria. However, Demetrius is able to keep a foothold in Greece. The southern part of Syria is occupied by Ptolemy. In the Battle of Ipsus in Phrygia, the armies of Antigonus, the ruler of Syria, Asia Minor, Phoenicia and Judea, and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes are defeated by the forces of Lysimachus and Seleucus. Antigonus is killed in the battle.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Deaths

title: 301 BC


label: 302 BCE

lead: Antigonus' son Demetrius Poliorcetes attacks Cassander's forces in Thessaly. Cassander loses his possessions south of Thessaly to Demetrius. Antigonus and Demetrius crown their success by renewing the pan-Hellenic league. Ambassadors from all the Hellenic states (with the exception of Sparta, Messenia and Thessaly) meet at Corinth to elect Antigonus and Demetrius protectors of the new league. Docimus, the regent of Phrygia, and Phoenix, the strategos of Lycia, desert Antigonus. The Macedonian general, Philetaerus, moves his allegiance from Antigonus to Antigonus' rival, Lysimachus. In return, Lysimachus makes Philetaerus guardian of the fortress of Pergamum with its treasure of some 9,000 talents.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Births
Deaths

title: 302 BC


label: 303 BCE

lead: Demetrius Poliorcetes invades the Peloponnese and occupies Corinth, Sicyon, and Argos in the Peloponnese, and Achaea, Elis and almost all of Arcadia join his side. Seleucus I Nicator expands his kingdom throughout Persia as far east as India, but his advance is eventually halted by Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya dynasty of India. In a pact concluded by the two leaders, Seleucus agrees to territorial concessions in exchange for 500 war-trained elephants. The citizens of Tarentum seek the help of the Spartan general, Cleonymus. He is able to pacify the Lucanians with the agreement of the Romans.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Births

title: 303 BC


label: 304 BCE

lead: The second Samnite war formally ends with a peace agreement in which the Samnites obtain peace on terms that are severe but not as crushing as those agreed by the Romans with the Etruscans four years earlier. Under the peace, Rome gains no territory, but the Samnites renounce their hegemony over Campania. Rome is also successful in ending the revolts amongst the tribes surrounding Roman territory. Cassander invades Attica and besieges Athens. He captures the island of Salamis off the coast of Athens. The Mauryan emperor Chandragupta defeats Seleucus I Nicator as he tries to invade India.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Technology & Infrastructure
Births

title: 304 BC


label: 305 BCE

lead: Seleucus, former officer of Alexander the Great, considers himself emperor of Persia. He attempts to recover lands taken by Chandragupta that had been a part of Alexander's Empire. Seleucus establishes Seleucia on the Tigris River as his capital. The Roman consuls, Marcus Fulvius Curvus Paetinus and Lucius Postumius Megellus, decisively defeat the Samnites in the Battle of Bovianum to end the Second Samnite War. Antigonus I Monophthalmus sends his son Demetrius to initiate the Siege of Rhodes, as the city has refused him armed support against Ptolemy.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Births

title: 305 BC


label: 306 BCE

lead: The Romans invade Iapygia and begin a siege of Silvium (garrisoned by the Samnites). Eventually, they take the city by storm, taking 5,000 prisoners. After the Siege of Silvium they invade Samnium itself, pillaging the countryside for five months. A four-drachma coin, picturing Alexander the Great, is issued by Lysimachos from this time until 281 BC. At least one of them is now preserved at the British Museum in London. The Samnites take Sora and Calatia, cities allied to the Romans, and enslave their inhabitants.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 306 BC


label: 307 BCE

lead: Demetrius of Phalerum, who ruled Athens for 10 years with the support of Cassander, recognizes his position has become untenable. He opens up negotiations, and after several diplomatic exchanges involving Aristodemus of Miletus, Antigonus top diplomat, he is given safe conduct to Thebes. Eventually he settles in Alexandria. The Chinese King Wuling of Zhao reforms the military of the State of Zhao by putting more emphasis on cavalry over charioteers. Epicureanism, a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus, is founded (approximate date).

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 307 BC


label: 308 BCE

lead: The Carthaginians send out an army to coerce the Zuphones, a Numidian tribe, back into their alliance with Carthage; they are successful in their endeavour. The Second Samnite War escalates when the tribes of the central Apennines, the Umbrians, Picentes, and Marsians join the war against Rome. However, Rome is able to control the uprising. After an arduous march from Cyrenaica to Carthaginian Libya Ophellas' forces link up with Agathocles' army.

title: 308 BC


label: 309 BCE

lead: The Samnites again rise against Rome. Lucius Papirius Cursor is appointed dictator for the second time and wins a great victory at Longula over the Samnites. Areus I succeeds his grandfather Cleomenes II as king of Sparta. Ptolemy I Soter personally commands a fleet that takes the coastal regions of Lycia and Caria from Antigonus I Monophthalmus, capturing the cities of Phaselis, Xanthos, Kaunos, Iasos and Myndus.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Technology & Infrastructure
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 309 BC


label: 310 BCE

lead: The tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles, escapes from the siege of the city by the Carthaginians with a fleet and carries the war with the Carthaginians back into his enemy's territory. He defeats the Carthaginians in the Battle of White Tunis. Ptolemy attacks Cilicia, territory held by Antigonus, but is driven out by Demetrius. Rome deals with renewed trouble from the Etruscans, who are persuaded by the Samnites to cease their alliance with the Romans. In the Battle of Lake Vadimo, the Romans under Fabius Maximus Rullianus defeat the Etruscans.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Climate & Environment
Births
Deaths

title: 310 BC


label: 32 BCE

lead: The Roman Senate declares war upon Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. Octavian Caesar is proclaimed dux and the West - Gallic and Spanish provinces, Africa, Sicily and Sardinia - swear an oath (sacramentum) of loyalty to him. In order to assure this oath, Octavian forces the high priest of the Vestal Virgins in Rome to hand over Antony's will, which contains information about the Roman-conquered territories as kingdoms and plans to build a tomb in Alexandria for him and Cleopatra. Spring – Final War of the Roman Republic: Mark Antony transfers his headquarters from Samos to Athens, where he assembles a fleet of 500 combat vessels and 300 transport ships, crewed by 150,000 men. Winter – Antony distributes garrisons along the west coast of Greece, stations the fleet at Actium and establishes his headquarters at Patrae.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 32 BC


label: 311 BCE

lead: The Second Samnite War continues, the Roman consuls Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus and Quintus Aemilius Barbula divide their command. Upon entering Mesopotamia Seleucus manages to persuade some of the Macedonian veterans settled at Carrhae to join his cause. He then marches on to his old satrapy (province) of Babylonia gathering additional force along the way. The remaining Antigonid loyalists in Babylonia retreat to the citadel of Babylon. They also put Seleucus' remaining friends in Babylon there (under a strong guard). Seleucus besieges the citadel and manages to take it by storm.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion

title: 311 BC


label: 312 BCE

lead: Cassander marches on Apollonia, which people had driven out his garrison with the help of the Illyrians, but the Appolonians and Illyrians defeat him in battle, driving him out of western Greece for the time being. The Corcyraeans come to the aid of Apollonia and Epidamus and help the Apollonians and the people of Epidamus to remove the garrisons Cassander put there. They free Apollonia, but give the city of Epidamus to the Illyrian king Glaucias. After putting down the revolt in Cyrene, Ptolemy sails to Cyprus with a great force. He arrests the rulers of Kition, Lapethus, Kyrenia, and Marion for being too friendly towards Antigonus and/or too hostile towards himself, he then establishes his friend Nicocreon of Salamis as strategos (governor-general) of Cyprus .

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Technology & Infrastructure
Crime & Justice
Disasters & Accidents
Culture & Society

title: 312 BC


label: 313 BCE

lead: Aristodemus and his mercenary army (recruited the year prior) cross over to the Peloponnese and fight Alexander, the son of Polyperchon, at Cyllene, and liberate Patrae and Aegium from Cassander's garrisons. Aristodemus then returns to Aetolia, leaving a sizeable force in the Pelopponese who help the city of Dyme eject its garrison, despite a failed intervention by Alexander. Philip marches into Acarnania to prevent Aeacides from linking up with the Aetolians. Philip defeats Aeacides in battle, killing many Epirotes and capturing 50 leading supporters of Aeacides, sending them as prisoners to Macedon. Aeacides, with the remnant of his forces, joins the Aetolians. Philip catches up to Aeacides and the Aetolians at Oeniadae and defeats them in battle. Aeacides, who was wounded in the Battle of Oeniadae, dies a few days later. The remaining Aetolian army takes refuge in the surrounding mountains. The consul Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus is credited with the capture of Nola, Atina, and Calatia by some sources.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 313 BC


label: 314 BCE

lead: The Aetolians enter into an alliance with Antigonus, and the League of the Islanders is established under Antigonus' hegemony. Cassander marches against them with his allies Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus and destroys the city of Agrinio. The Roman consuls march their combined army to Tarracina and defeat a Samnite army there; killing 10,000 Samnites in the battle and the subsequent pursuit. Zhou Nan Wang becomes King of the Zhou dynasty of China.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 314 BC


label: 315 BCE

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

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Births
Deaths

title: 315 BC


label: 316 BCE

lead: 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. 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. 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.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 316 BC


label: 317 BCE

lead: Menander wins the first prize at the Lenaian festival with his play Dyskolos (The Grouch). 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. After capturing Athens from Macedonia's regent Polyperchon, Cassander entrusts the government of Athens to the Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher, Demetrius Phalereus.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 317 BC


label: 318 BCE

lead: 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. 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". 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.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Science & Discovery
Deaths

title: 318 BC


label: 319 BCE

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

sections:
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 319 BC


label: 320 BCE

lead: Theophrastus begins the systematic study of botany. 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. Eudemus makes himself master of the territories of the Indian king Porus, and treacherously puts that monarch to death.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Science & Discovery
Births
Deaths

title: 320 BC


label: 33 BCE

lead: 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. 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. 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.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Technology & Infrastructure
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 33 BC


label: 321 BCE

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

title: 321 BC


label: 322 BCE

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

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Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Deaths

title: 322 BC


label: 323 BCE

lead: /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. Taxiles and Porus are to rule over their kingdoms in India. Philip controls Bactria and Sogdiana.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 323 BC


label: 324 BCE

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

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
Deaths

title: 324 BC


label: 325 BCE

lead: Aristotle writes Ta Ethika on virtue and moral character (approximate date). (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. Alexander the Great leaves India and nominates his officer Peithon, son of Agenor, as the satrap of the region around the Indus.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Science & Discovery
Health & Medicine
Disasters & Accidents
Culture & Society
Births

title: 325 BC


label: 326 BCE

lead: 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. 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). 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.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Births
Deaths

title: 326 BC


label: 327 BCE

lead: 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. 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. 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.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Births
Deaths

title: 327 BC


label: 328 BCE

lead: 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. 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. 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.

sections:
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 328 BC


label: 329 BCE

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

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Religion & Belief
Deaths

title: 329 BC


label: 330 BCE

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

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 330 BC


label: 34 BCE

lead: 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. 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. 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.

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Religion & Belief

title: 34 BC


label: 331 BCE

lead: 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. 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. 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).

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Crime & Justice
Deaths

title: 331 BC


label: 332 BCE

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

sections:
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
Exploration & Expansion
Culture & Society

title: 332 BC