Crime & Justice in the 2nd century BC

32 sourced entries, 196 BCE to 100 BCE, oldest first. Also see Crime & Justice across every century or everything else in the 2nd century BC.

• 196 BCEIncreasingly paranoid, Gaozu briefly arrests Prime Minister Xiao He but is persuaded to release him.source
• 195 BCEFacing the suspicion of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Lu Wan, the king of the State of Yan, flees north of the Great Wall of China.source
• 195 BCEAristophanes of Byzantium, Greek scholar, critic and grammarian, becomes the chief librarian at Alexandria.source
• 192 BCENabis then appeals to the Aetolians for help. They send 1,000 cavalry under the command of Alexamenus to Sparta. However, the Aetolians murder Nabis and temporarily occupy Sparta. The Aetolian troops seize the palace and set about looting the city, but the inhabitants of Sparta are able to rally and force them leave the city. Philopoemen, however, takes advantage of the Aetolian treachery and enters Sparta with his Achaean army. Now in full control of Sparta, Philopoemen forces Sparta to become a member state of the Achaean League.source
• 187 BCETiberius Sempronius Gracchus is elected tribune of the plebs, in which capacity he is recorded as having saved Scipio Africanus from prosecution by interposing his veto. Tiberius is no friend nor political ally of Scipio's, but feels that the general's services to Rome merit his release from the threat of trial like any common criminal. Supposedly, in gratitude for this action, Scipio betrothes his youngest daughter, Cornelia, to him.source
• 180 BCEAfter three years of intriguing against his younger brother Demetrius, including accusing him of coveting the succession to the Macedonian throne and being allied to Rome, Perseus persuades his father King Philip V of Macedon to have Demetrius executed.source
• 175 BCELatest murder date for Old Croghan Man.source
• 169 BCELex Voconia (The Voconian Law) is introduced in Rome by the tribune, Quintus Voconius Saxa, with the support of Cato the Elder. This law prohibits those who own property valued at 100,000 sesterces from making a woman their heir.source
• 167 BCEPrivate documents collected by the Romans when they capture Perseus of Macedon incriminate political leaders of the Achaean League. Many influential Greeks are deported to Rome.source
• 162 BCEThe Maccabees, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, continue their struggle against the Seleucids and persecute the Hellenising faction in Judea.source
• 159 BCEWhile Eucratides I is in north west India to claim possession of the previous Bactrian King Demetrius I's territory there, the Parthians, under Mithradates I, annex two Bactrian provinces. Returning from India to reconquer them, Eucratides is murdered by his son.source
• 151 BCEAt Polybius' request, Scipio Aemilianus manages to gain the support of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (whose son has married Scipio's sister Aemilia) for a proposal to release (and return to Greece) the 300 Achaean internees who are still being held without trial after being deported to Rome in 167 BC.source
• 149 BCEServius Sulpicius Galba is prosecuted for corruption while serving in Spain, but is acquitted after he parades his weeping family members before the tribunal.source
• 149 BCELucius Calpurnius Piso passes the lex Calpurnia de repetundis which establishes the first permanent criminal court in Rome.source
• 139 BCEWei Zifu enters Emperor Wu's palace as a concubine and becomes pregnant. Enraged, Liu Piao, the mother of the childless Empress Chen Jiao (wife of Emperor Wu), kidnaps Zifu's brother Wei Qing, who is rescued by Gongsun Ao. Wu responds by advancing the careers of members of the Wei family.source
• 139 BCESoon after his departure for the west, Zhang Qian is detained by Junchen Chanyu of the Xiongnu. He would remain in Xiongnu custody for more than ten years and would be given a Xiongnu wife.source
• 138 BCEAntiochus VII expels Diodotus Tryphon.source
• 138 BCEGrand Empress Dowager Dou, the grandmother of Emperor Wu of Han, purges the high administration of officials to consolidate her power. Among those dismissed are Prime Minister Dou Yong and her own half-brother, the General-in-Chief Tian Fen. Two of the young emperor's closest advisors, Zhao Wan and Wang Zang, are arrested and commit suicide.source
• 137 BCEQ. Pompeius is brought to trial by Q.Metellus and others, but acquitted.source
• 134 BCEJohn Hyrcanus becomes high priest and prince (ruler) of Judea, until 104 BC, following the murder of his father Simon Maccabaeus by Ptolemy the son of Abubus in 135 BC.source
• 133 BCETiberius Sempronius Gracchus, is elected tribune of the people. He attempts to pass a law to redistribute the public land to benefit small landowners. Opposed by wealthier factions in the Roman Senate, he is killed by a group of senators and their followers that same year.source
• 133 BCEForeign Minister Wang Hui, who, against the opposition of Han Anguo, had advocated for war, fails to attack the retreating supply column of the Xiongnu and is sentenced to death. He commits suicide.source
• 131 BCEThe Roman censor Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus attempts to remove the tribune Gaius Atinius Labeo Macerio from the Senate, the angry Atinius drags him to be thrown off the Tarpeian Rock, and Metellus is only saved by the intervention of other senators.source
• 130 BCEKing Ptolemy VIII murders Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator or Ptolemy Memphites, the puppet ruler of Cleopatra II.source
• 126 BCEAutumn: The Xiongnu cross into Yanmen and kill or capture over 1000 of the inhabitants.source
• 121 BCEA tribunal is established in Rome that executes 3,000 followers of Gracchus.source
• 118 BCEEmperor Wu of Han secretly executes his favourite necromancer Shao Weng for fraud.source
• 112 BCEEmperor Wu executes his favourite necromancer Luan Da for fraud.source
• 111 BCEJugurtha, king of Numidia, bribes the commander Lucius Calpurnius Bestia and Roman friends to secure easy terms. He is given a safe conduct to Rome in order to account for his actions in the Roman Senate. Jugurtha contemptuously bribes his way through all difficulties.source
• 106 BCEThe Romans under Quintus Servilius Caepio seize the Gold of Tolosa while recapturing the Volcae town.source
• 101 BCEWar of the Heavenly Horses: Han general Li Guangli detaches forces to attack Yucheng. After a failed attack by Wang Shengshen and Hu Chongguo, in which Wang is killed, a new Han detachment under Shangguan Jie defeats and captures the king of Yucheng. The king is then killed by the soldiers escorting him to Li Guangli.source
• 100 BCEMural room in the Maya pyramid at San Bartolo, Guatemala, painted.source