300 B.C.–276 B.C.

300 B.C.: commerce

Carthage in North Africa gains economic ascendancy in the Mediterranean by trading in slaves, Egyptian linen, products of the African interior that include ivory and animal skins (lion and leopard), Greek pottery and wine, iron from Elba, copper from Cyprus, silver from Spain, tin from what later will be called the British Isles (see Pytheas, 325 B.C.), incense from Arabia, and purple-black dyestuffs from Tyre.

300 B.C.: transportation

Carthaginians are the world's greatest shipbuilders, sailing the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Tyrrhenian seas in quinquiremes—ships with five banks of oars manned by well-drilled government-owned galley slaves.

300 B.C.: science

Elements by the Greek mathematician Euclid is a 13-volume work that states the principles of geometry for the first time in formal style (see 1500 B.C.). Euclid has founded a school at Alexandria and his work shows the influence of the late scientist, philosopher, and Pythagorean mathematician Archytas of Tarentum, who died in about 350 and may have founded mathematical mechanics.

300 B.C.: agriculture

Carthaginian planters own fertile lands in Libya; some have as many as 20,000 slaves.

Sugar from India arrives in the Middle East, where it is planted in areas wet enough to support its growth (see 325 B.C.; 1099 A.D.).

298 B.C.: political events

Rome resumes hostilities with her neighbors in a Third Samnite War (see 304 B.C.). It will continue until 290 B.C. as the Samnites make their final attempts to retain independence, but the Romans have organized a rudimentary navy, constructed military roads, increased the size of their annual military levy, founded a dozen colonies against the Samnites, and created new rustic tribes in annexed territories, extending their suzerainty into Etruria and Umbria, whose cities have been forced to ally themselves with Rome (see 295 B.C.).

297 B.C.: political events

Macedonia's Cassander dies at age 53, and Demetrius I Poliorcetes returns to Greece with the aim of becoming master of Macedonia and Asia.

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, regains the throne that he lost 5 years ago, having been helped by his friend Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. He shares power initially with his kinsman Neoptolemus but will soon have him assassinated and reign alone (see 294 B.C.).

296 B.C.: political events

The former Roman censor Appius Claudius Caecus is elected for a second time and mobilizes troops for battle once again against the Samnites (see 298 B.C.; Sentinum, 295 B.C.).

295 B.C.: political events

Athens falls to Demetrius Poliorcetes after a bitter siege, and its tyrant Lachares is destroyed. Demetrius makes himself king of Macedonia and will reign until 288 B.C. as Demetrius I Poliorcetes.

The Battle of Sentinum west of Anconum ends in defeat for Samnites and Gauls at the hands of Roman legions, who lose nearly 8,000 dead but kill some 25,000 of the enemy, avenge the humiliation of 321 B.C., and force peace on the Etruscans (see 290 B.C.; Claudius Caecus, 296 B.C.).

294 B.C.: political events

Macedonia's Demetrius I Poliorcetes defeats Sparta's Archidamus IV in a second Battle of Mantinea but is called away by threatening actions on the part of his rivals Lysimichus and Ptolemy I Soter, allowing Sparta to remain independent.

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, takes advantage of the dynastic struggle in Macedonia to seize Parauaea and Tymphaea, on his border with Macedonia, and also takes Acarnania, Ampholochia, and Ambracia. Pyrrhus will acquire Corcyra and Leucas through marriage but will soon go to war with his erstwhile ally Demetrius I Poliorcetes (see 280 B.C.).

292 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Seleucus I Nictor appoints his 32-year-old son Antiochus king of his eastern possessions, which have been invaded by nomads between the Caspian and Aral seas. Antiochus will drive out the invaders, repair some of the damage that they have wrought, and rebuild three cities.

290 B.C.: political events

The Roman consul Manius Curius Dentatus gains a decisive victory over the Samnites (see 295 B.C.), ending a conflict that has continued for half a century. Having snuffed out pockets of resistance that have continued since the great victory at Sentinum 5 years ago, he also forces the submission of other Sabine insurgents, granting them citizenship but without the right to vote (civitas sine suffragio), but other tribes continue to oppose efforts by the Romans to extend their realm (see 284 B.C.).

289 B.C.: political events

The Chinese philosopher Mencius (Meng Zu) dies at age 83 (approximate) after decades of trying to unify China's kingdoms (see 246 B.C.).

288 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucus I Nicator, Egypt's Ptolemy I Soter, and Lysimachus form a coalition to block plans by Macedonia's Demetrius I Poliorcetes to invade Asia Minor. Helped by Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, they drive Demetrius out of Macedonia (see 285 B.C.).

285 B.C.: political events

Egypt's Macedonian king Ptolemy I Soter abdicates at age 82 after a 38-year reign that has founded a dynasty that will rule until 30 B.C. He is succeeded by his 23-year-old son, who will reign as Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Greek for brother-loving) until 246 B.C., initially with the Thracian princess Arsinoe, daughter of Lysimachus, as his wife (see 276 B.C.).

Demetrius I Poliorcetes is deserted by his troops and surrenders to Syria's Seleucus I Nicator, who will keep him prisoner until his death in 283 B.C.

285 B.C.: transportation

A 300-foot tall lighthouse on the island of Pharos in Alexandria's harbor serves as a landmark for ships in the eastern Mediterranean. Flames from its wood fire, reflected by convex mirrors at its top, can be seen by some accounts for 70 miles. Built by Sostratus of Cnidus for Ptolemy II Philadelphus, it is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and will remain an important navigational aid for 1600 years.

284 B.C.: political events

Armenia's satrap Ardvates dies after a 33-year reign, having founded a dynasty that will rule until 211 B.C.

The Roman consul Manius Curius Dentatus turns back an invasion by Senones tribesmen (see 290 B.C.; Pyrrhus, 280 B.C.).

284 B.C.: literature

The Library of Alexandria founded in the Temple of the Muses (Mouseion) by Ptolemy II Philadelphus is the world's first great library and will survive for nearly 700 years as the repository of papyruses, scrolls, metal and stone tablets, and other records (year approximate) (see Museum, 323 B.C.). Emigré Athenian orator Demetrius of Phaleron has organized the project, which is part of a complex that includes also botanical gardens and a zoological park; the Greek grammarian Zenodotus of Ephesus, 39, serves as its first superintendent. It has living quarters for scholars, and it will be called one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ptolemy asks the leaders of Athens and all other major city-states in the known world to send all writings worthy of serious attention, ships that dock at the port city are searched for such writings (which sometimes contain revolutionary ideas about architecture, astronomy, geography, mathematics, or other science), port officials offer collateral for the precious works, whose owners receive copies of whatever has been seized and are allowed to keep the collateral. The Alexandrians will trick the Athenians into letting them have a complete set of the Greek tragedies, pay a huge sum for what they believe to be the library of Aristotle (see 335 B.C.), employ 72 Jewish scholars to translate the Torah, create a Greek version of the Old Testament that will be called the Septuagint, collect Buddhist texts from India, acquire a work on Zoroastrianism said to include 2 million lines, and amass a collection will grow to have perhaps 500,000 scrolls (but see 391 A.D.).

283 B.C.: political events

The former Macedonian king Demetrius I Poliorcetes dies in captivity in Cilicia at age 53 (approximate).

281 B.C.: political events

The third wife of Thrace's aged king Lysimachus has his eldest son, Agathocles, charged with conspiring against his father with the Syrian king Seleucus I Nicator and put to death. The Egyptian-born woman has schemed to have her own sons succeed to the Macedonian throne (see 276 B.C.). Seleucus invades Asia Minor, defeats (and kills) the 79-year-old Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium in Lydia, and makes himself king of Syria.

280 B.C.: political events

Seleucus I Nicator tries to seize Macedonia but falls into a trap set by Ptolemy III Ceraunus, who has married the Egyptian-born widow of the late Lysimachus, murders Seleucus, and takes Macedonia for himself (see 307 B.C.; 279 B.C.). Seleucus is succeeded by his son Antiochus, now 44, who will reign until 261 B.C. but lose Miletus to Egypt's Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and Phoenicia, and western Cilicia to Macedonia's Ptolemy III Ceraunus in the Damascene War (280-279 B.C.) and First Syrian War (276-272 B.C.).

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, arrives in southern Italy with 20 elephants and 20,000 well-trained troops in response to a call for help from the Greek city of Tarentum. He defeats a Roman army at Heraclea, and although he suffers a good number of casualties he takes many prisoners (sent to negotiate the ransom and exchange of prisoners, the former Roman consul Gaius Fabricius Luscinus refuses to accept a bribe, and legend will have it that Pyrrhus is so impressed that he releases the prisoners without a ransom). The Roman defeat at Heraclea emboldens the Samnites to rebel (see 290 B.C.), Pyrrhus offers peace terms that would require Rome to give up power in southern Italy, the Senate at Rome is tempted to accept, but the former censor Appius Claudius Caecus, now a blind and aged senator, delivers an eloquent oration that persuades his colleagues to continue the fight (see 279 B.C.).

The (Second) Achaean League formed by twelve towns in the northern Peloponessus will grow to include non-Achaean cities (including Corinth, in 243 B.C.). It has two generals, a federal council with proportional representation of members, and an annual assembly of all free citizens (see 146 B.C.)

280 B.C.: art

The Colossus of Rhodes completed by the sculptor Chares of Lindus after 12 years' work is an iron-reinforced bronze statue of the god Helios. Made from spoils left by Demetrius Poliorcetes when he raised his siege in 305, it celebrates the end of that siege, rising to a height of 105 feet (32 meters) beside the harbor of Mandrákion that has grown rich in the slave trade. It is weighted with stones and will stand as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world until an earthquake shatters it in 224 B.C. (see 654 A.D.).

279 B.C.: political events

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, follows up his success last year by defeating a Roman army at Asculum, but his casualties for the two battles amount to 7,500 men—nearly one-third of his entire force. Congratulated on his victory, he says, "Another such victory and we are ruined" (a triumph that has cost the victor more than the vanquished will be called a Pyrrhic victory). The former Roman consul Gaius Fabricius Luscinus reportedly suppresses a plot to poison Pyrrhus, who leaves to help his fellow Greeks in Sicily fight the Carthaginians (see 275 B.C.; Syracuse, 276 B.C.).

Celtic tribesmen (Gauls) invading Macedonia kill Ptolemy III Ceraunus, but fierce mountain tribesmen (Phocians, Aetolians) will force them to move east across the Hellespont (see 278 B.C.).

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus I loses Miletus in southwestern Asia Minor to Egypt's Ptolemy II (but see 276 B.C.).

278 B.C.: political events

Some 20,000 Celtic tribesmen (Gauls) cross the Hellespont into Asia Minor, where they are recruited by Phrygia and other independent states to harass Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus I.

277 B.C.: political events

The Macedonian leader Antigonus II Gonatas crosses the Hellespont and defeats Celtic forces near Lysimacheia.

276 B.C.: political events

Egyptian forces invade northern Syria under the command of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (see 279 B.C.), but the Seleucid king Antiochus I defeats his enemy, drives him out of the country, and forms an alliance with Ptolemy's half brother Magas, who rules Cyrene. Ptolemy banishes his wife, Arsinoe, and marries his own sister, who has been widowed by the deaths both of Macedonia's Lysimachus and Macedonia's Ptolemy III Ceraunus. She becomes Arsinoe II. The marriage shocks Greek public opinion, but Alexandrian court poets such as Callimachus and Theocritus celebrate it.

Antigonus II Gonatas gains recognition as king of Macedonia, which he will rule until his death in 239 B.C.

Syracuse appoints the 30-year-old soldier Hieron as commander of Greek troops in Sicily following the departure of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. Hieron will soon marry the daughter of the city's leading citizen, one Leptines (see 270 B.C.).

275 B.C.–251 B.C.

275 B.C.: political events

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, returns to the Italian mainland and is defeated by a Roman army at Beneventum under the command of Manius Curius Dentatus (see 279 B.C.). The Roman general Gaius Fabricius Luscinus becomes consul for a third time and negotiates a peace with Pyrrhus, who returns to Greece, leaving the Romans to put down resistance to their growing power.

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus I uses Indian elephants brought from the East to defeat the army of Gauls that invaded Asia Minor 3 years ago. The Gauls find refuge in neighboring Phrygia, the Ionian city-states hail Antiochus as a god and give him the name Soter (Savior) for having delivered them from the threat of being ravaged by the Gauls, and his half sister marries Macedonia's Antigonus II Gonatus. Antiochus encourages Greek immigration and establishes new Greek cities in Asia Minor to counterbalance the large Celtic population, building also some new cities in Persia to resist Parni tribesmen on his eastern border.

275 B.C.: medicine

The Museum of Alexandria founded in 323 employs knowledge gained by the Egyptians in the practice of embalming to expand knowledge of anatomy and physiology. The museum's leading medical professor is the Greek Hippocratist Herophilus of Chalcedon, who scorns the traditional fear of dissecting human bodies and conducts postmortem examinations that enable him to describe the alimentary canal (he gives the duodenum its name), the liver, the spleen, the circulatory system, the eye, the brain tissues, and the genital organs. Herophilus is the first to make a distinction between sensory nerves and motor nerves, concludes that the brain is the center of the nervous system and the seat of intelligence, and founds the first school of anatomy.

274 B.C.: political events

Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, returns to Greece and drives Antigonus II Gonatas out of Upper Macedonia and Thessaly, leaving Antigonus only a handful of Macedonian cities.

The Roman general Manius Curius Dentatus conquers the Lucanians and is made consul for the fourth (and last) time.

272 B.C.: political events

Egypt's Ptolemy II Philadelphus annexes Miletus, Phoenicia, and western Cilicia after defeating his rebellious half brother Magas and the Seleucid emperor Antiochus I Soter in the First Syrian War.

The Greek city of Tarentum in Italy surrenders to a Roman siege force, ending the 8-year war between Rome and Pyrrhus of Epirus. Pyrrhus is killed in a street fight at Argos at age 47 when a woman watching from a rooftop throws a tile that knocks him to the ground. His death leaves Antigonus II Gonatas undisputed ruler of Macedonia and chief of the Thessalian League; Antigonus keeps occupation troops in Corinth, Chalcis (in Euboea), and Demetrias (in Thessaly) to maintain his authority while remaining on friendly terms with Illyria and Thrace.

270 B.C.: political events

Rome becomes undisputed master of the Italian peninsula by recapturing Rhegium from the Mamertines. Her armies have defeated the Brutians, Lucanians, Calabrians, and Samnites (but see Samnites, 82 B.C.).

The Roman general and former censor Manius Curius Dentatus dies, leaving incomplete an aqueduct that he began 2 years ago to carry waters of the Arno River into Rome. He will be idealized in years to come as a paragon of frugal simplicity, as will the former consul and censor Gaius Fabricius Luscinus.

Hieron seizes power in Syracuse, having defeated in pitched battle the Campanian mercenaries (Mamertini) employed by the city's former tyrant Agathocles (see 276 B.C.). The Mamertini have captured Messana (later Messina) in central Sicily and been harassing the Syracusans (see 269 B.C.).

Egypt's queen Arsinoe II dies July 9 after a career in which she has encouraged the armies of her brother (and third husband) Ptolemy II Philadelphus to secure Phoenicia and much of coastal Anatolia. The court poet Callimachus writes a poem urging her deification.

269 B.C.: political events

Syracusans elevate their military commander Hieron to the throne, and as Hieron II he begins a reign that will continue until his death in 215 B.C. (see 270 B.C.). Carthaginian forces have thwarted his efforts to capture Messana (later Messina) (see 264 B.C.).

268 B.C.: commerce

The Roman denarius is minted for the first time. The silver coin will become familiar throughout the Western world (see 81 A.D.).

267 B.C.: political events

Macedonia's Antigonus II Gonatus quells a rebellion by an Athens-led Hellenic coalition of Spartans, Arcadians, and Achaeans that has tried to expel the Macedonian garrison (see 272 B.C.; 264 B.C.).

266 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter is drawn into a war with Pergamum that will continue until 261 B.C. (see 262 B.C.).

265 B.C.: technology

The Archimedian screw devised by the Greek mathematician Archimedes, 22, for raising water is a 10-foot-long endless screw encased in a barrel that can elevate water by two to three feet for irrigation; it has no moving parts, which keeps it from being fouled by the muddy water of the Nile. A native of Syracuse who is studying at Alexandria, Archimedes says he could move the earth if he had a lever long enough and a fulcrum strong enough ("Give me where to stand and I will move the earth"). He has discovered ("Eureka!") while sitting in his bathtub a principle that will bear his name: a body immersed in a liquid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the liquid displaced; if the body is lighter than this force, then it can rise to the surface and float at a level where the weight of the liquid displaced equals the weight of the body (see Galileo, 1586 A.D.). Variations on his endless screw will be used to press grapes for wine, press flax, and have other adaptations; Archimedes will also invent the pulley, but slave labor for such tasks is abundant and he considers his ingenious mechanical contrivances beneath the dignity of pure science.

264 B.C.: political events

The Syracusan king Hieron II in Sicily attacks Messana (later Messina), the mercenaries (Mamertini) call on Rome for aid, and Hieron joins forces with the Carthaginian commander Hanno, who has recently arrived in Sicily (see 269 B.C.). Roman forces under the command of their consul Appius Claudius defeat the Carthaginian-Syracusan army, and Hieron withdraws to Syracuse (see 263 B.C.).

A Punic War embroils Rome in a conflict with Carthage that will continue for 23 years (see 260 B.C.).

264 B.C.: sports

Gladiatorial combat gains huge popularity as a spectacle in Rome.

263 B.C.: political events

Hieron II, king of Syracuse, concludes a treaty with Rome that limits his territory to southeast Sicily and the eastern coast as far as Tauromenium (later Taormina). Hieron will henceforth remain a loyal supporter of Rome, supplying troops and provisions in Rome's wars with Carthage.

Pergamum's king Philetaerus dies and is succeeded by his nephew, who will liberate the city from Syrian overlordship and rule until 241 B.C. as Eumenes I (see 262 B.C.).

262 B.C.: political events

Pergamum's Eumenes I defeats a Syrian army fielded by the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter near Sardis and makes his city-state independent of outside control (see 266 B.C.).

Athens surrenders after a long siege to the Macedonian forces of Antigonus Gonatas.

262 B.C.: transportation

The seagoing vessel Syracusa designed by Greek naval architect Archias for Hieron II has three masts, 20 banks of oars, and can carry up to 1,500 tons of wheat or other cargo (year approximate). Armed with a giant catapult designed by Hieron's scientific adviser Archimedes (who has also devised means to launch her), the great ship has cranes that can drop stones on enemy vessels, 200 marines stationed in eight armored turrets ward off pirates who may be tempted to attack the vessel, her freshwater tank holds 20,000 gallons and adjoins a tank that holds live fish, the lavishly decorated officers' deck has a bathroom with three bronze tubs, a gymnasium, and a shrine to the goddess Aphrodite. There are stalls for 20 horses, but the ship is so large that only one of the harbors of Hieron's Mediterranean trading vessels can accommodate her, and she will make only one voyage, delivering grain to Alexandria as a gift to Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

261 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter dies after a 19-year reign in which he has consolidated his realm despite almost constant harassment from Egyptians, Gauls, and Pergamum. He is succeeded by his 26-year-old son, who will reign until 246 B.C. as Antiochus II, allying himself with Macedonia's Antigonus Gonatas to resist the Egyptians as he embarks on a program of imperialist expansion (see 259 B.C.).

260 B.C.: political events

The Battle of Mylae off the north coast of Sicily gives Rome her first naval victory over Carthage. The Roman admiral Gaius Duilius Nepos commands quinquiremes modeled after a Carthaginian ship found stranded on the Italian coast, and he uses grappling irons and boarding bridges to revolutionize naval warfare and to defeat a larger, more maneuverable Carthaginian flotilla.

Qin (Chin) forces in China destroy the military power of the Zhou (Chao) dynasty in a decisive battle near the northern frontier, but it will take some years for the Qin to consolidate their conquest (see 246 B.C.).

260 B.C.: religion

Buddhism gains a convert in the person of the third emperor of India's Mauyra dynasty, which arose following the confusion of Alexander the Great's invasions in the last century (see 483 B.C.). The emperor Asoka establishes India's first hospitals and herbal gardens and places them under Buddhist control in opposition to the Hindu Brahmins (see China, 517 A.D.).

259 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus II goes to war with Egypt's Ptolemy II Philadelphus, hoping to avenge the losses sustained by his late father.

255 B.C.: political events

The Zhou (Chou) dynasty that has ruled much of China since 1122 B.C. ends as the last Zhou emperor is deposed (see 246 B.C.).

Syria and Egypt make peace after a 4-year war in which the fleet of Macedonia's Antigonus Gonatas has defeated the Egyptian fleet and the Seleucid king Antiochus II has recovered Miletus, Ephesus, much of Anatolia, and the Phoenician coast.

255 B.C.: religion

The people of Miletus worship Antiochus II as a god for having liberated them from the city's tyrant. He will organize a cult and gain the epithet Theos (God).

253 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus II renounces his wife, Laodice, and marries the Egyptian princess Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (year approximate) (but see 246 B.C.) B.C..

250 B.C.–226 B.C.

250 B.C.: political events

The satrap (provincial governor) of Bactria rebels against his Seleucid overlords and founds the Greek kingdom of Bactria, ruling as Diodatus I (year approximate). He will be succeeded by his son, who will reign as Diodatus II (see 208 B.C.).

247 B.C.: political events

The Scythian leader Arsaces in central Asia is crowned king by his Parni followers (see 238 B.C.).

246 B.C.: political events

Modern China has her beginnings in the Qin (Chin) dynasty founded by the 28-year-old illegitimate son of a prostitute by a merchant (see 255 B.C.). Zhao Zheng (Qin Shihuang) has proved himself a brilliant general and will reign until 221 B.C. as the emperor Shihuangdi (Huangdi means "dread lord").

Syria's Antiochus II Theos comes to Ephesus and is assassinated there at age 41 (approximate) after a 15-year reign in which he gained freedom for many Ionian cities and encouraged the founding of more cities. He forsook his first wife, Laodice, to marry the Egyptian princess Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy's first wife (Arsinoe I) (see 253 B.C.). Antiochus has left Berenice and moved back with Laodice, who has persuaded him to make her children the heirs to his throne in preference to the children that he has had by Berenice. Laodice poisons the king, a civil war erupts between the two queens, and Laodice orders her supporters to murder Berenice, who has fled with her children to Daphne, near Antioch. Antiochus is succeeded by Laodice's eldest son, who will reign until 225 B.C. as Seleucus II Callinicus.

Egypt's Ptolemy II Philadelphus dies at age 63 after a prudent and peaceful 39-year reign in which he has used diplomacy to extend his power into Syria, Asia Minor, and the Aegean and gained influence in Ethiopia and among the Aegean Islands while the Antigonids and Seleucids were at each other's throats. Ptolemy has developed agriculture and commerce and made Alexandria a leading center of the arts and sciences. He is succeeded by his 36-year-old son, who will reign less peacefully until 221 B.C. as Ptolemy III Euergetes. The new king has married Berenice II, daughter of Cyrene's king Mgas, and thereby reunited Egypt and Cyrenaica, which have been divided since 258 B.C.; he promptly invades Coele Syria, seeking vengeance for the murder of his sister Berenice, widow of the Seleucid king Antiochus II (see 245 B.C.).

245 B.C.: political events

Babylon and Susa fall to the Egyptian armies of Ptolemy III Euergetes as he wreaks revenge on Syria's Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus and Seleucus's mother, Laodice (see 246 B.C.). Seleucus escapes to the interior while Ptolemy's fleet conquers the coastal region, enabling him to annex the eastern provinces.

244 B.C.: political events

The Spartan king of the Eurypontids Eudamidas II dies and is succeeded by his 19-year-old son, who will reign until 241 B.C. as Agis IV. Having inherited a plutocracy marked by great inequality in the distribution of wealth and land, the new king will try to correct the situation (see 243 B.C.).

243 B.C.: political events

Egypt's Ptolemy III Euergetes returns from Syria to suppress a revolt at home (see 245 B.C.); he ceases his martial interests and his support of the Egyptian army to address issues created by a drop in the water level of the Nile, which has produced famine. Syria's Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus recovers the northern part of his realm as well as some neighboring Persian provinces.

The Spartan king of the Eurypontids Agis IV proposes that all debts be canceled and that the land be divided into 4,500 lots for the country's 700 full citizens. He proposes, also, that full citizenship be extended to foreigners and to the many freemen (perioikoi) who have no voting rights, with 15,000 lots to be distributed among the remaining perioikoi. Agis's rich mother and grandmother surrender their property, as does his uncle Agesilaus, and so does Lysander, the magistrate (ephor) who is charged with limiting the king's power, but the other Spartan king Leonidas II leads the rich landowners in opposition to Agis's plan (see 242 B.C.).

242 B.C.: political events

Spartans depose their Eurypontid king Agis IV, and when the magistrates (ephors) try to restore him to the throne they are replaced by a board headed by Agis's uncle Agesilaus (see 241 B.C.).

Syria's Seleucus II pushes the Egyptian forces of Ptolemy III Euergetes out of Mesopotamia and by next will have forced the Egyptians to leave part of Syria (see 243 B.C.).

241 B.C.: political events

Sparta's deposed Eurypontid king Agis IV begins to carry out his program of canceling debts but is called away to help Sparta's ally Aratus of Sicyon and returns to find that Leonidas II has gained power with help from mercenaries and that his own supporters have grown discontented with the delay in reforms under his uncle Agesilaus; unable to challenge Leonidas, Agis IV finds refuge but is lured out, given a summary trial, and executed along with his mother and grandmother; his brother succeeds to power as Archidamus V but flees to Messina lest he suffer the same fate as Agis IV (see 235 B.C.).

Pergamum's Eumenes I dies after a 22-year reign in which he has freed his city-state from Syrian control and made it independent.

240 B.C.: political events

Egypt and Syria end hostilities after years of fighting (see 242 B.C.). Ptolemy III Euergetes contrives to retain control of the Orontes River region and Antioch, Ephesus, Thrace, and possibly Cilicia as well.

240 B.C.: theater, film

Rome stages its first dramatic performance as part of the Ludi Romani, the annual games put on to honor Jupiter. Tarentum-born Graeco-Roman poet Lucius Livius Andronicus, 44, has translated a Greek play and will continue for years to write comedies and tragedies in which he will sometimes play roles. Originally a Greek slave, Livius Andronicus was freed by a member of the Livian family and has been teaching Latin and Greek at Rome.

239 B.C.: political events

Macedonia's Antigonus II Gonatas dies at age 80 after a 37-year reign in which he has rebuilt the power of his realm and established its hegemony over Greece. He is succeeded by his 37-year-old son, who distinguished himself in his youth by defeating and dethroning Alexander of Epirus, thereby saving his country; the son will reign until 229 B.C. as Demetrius II, but he faces threats from an Aetolian and Achaean coalition.

238 B.C.: political events

The Scythian king Arsaces overthrows the Seleucid governor of Parthia to begin a Parthian empire that will continue for nearly 500 years (see 247 B.C.).

238 B.C.: communications, media

The Decree of Canopus promulgated March 7 by an assemblage of Egyptian priests provides a key for deciphering hieroglyphs (pictographs) and simpler demotic scripts. Inscribed on a tablet in Greek characters, hieroglyphs, and demotic scripts, it has been prepared in honor of Egypt's Macedonian king Ptolemy III Euergetes and his consort, Berenice, but will be lost to history and not discovered until 1866 (see Ptolemy V Epiphanes decree, 196 B.C.; Rosetta Stone, 1799 A.D.).

238 B.C.: everyday life

The Decree of Canopus adopts what later will be called 311 B.C. as the first year of a "Ptolemaic Era" and introduces an extra day every 4 years in the basic 365-day calendar, following a practice adopted by the Syrians in 312 B.C. After noting that the annual flooding of the Nile River corresponds with the reappearance of the Dog Star Sothis (Sirius), Egyptians have used a 365-day solar calendar for centuries, but although they have added 5 days to the end of their 12th 30-day month their calendar has gradually developed a significant error, and although their astronomers have recognized that the true duration of the year is 365¼ days the new calendar will not gain popular acceptance (see 45 B.C.).

237 B.C.: political events

A Carthaginian army under the command of Hamilcar Barca, 33, invades the Iberian Peninsula in a move to extend Punic power into Europe (see 228 B.C.).

235 B.C.: political events

Syria's fourth Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus loses a battle to a younger brother, who has the support of their mother, Laodice, and takes over as Antiochus Hierax, ruling western Anatolia beyond the Taurus (year approximate). Antiochus Hierax will flee to Thrace and die there as a fugitive in 228 or 227 B.C.

The Agiad Spartan king Leonidas II dies and is succeeded by his son, who will reign until 222 B.C. as Cleomenes III (see 229 B.C.).

231 B.C.: education

The Stoic philosopher Cleanthes dies at age 99 (year and age approximate), having numbered among his pupils Macedonia's late king Antigonus II and the philosopher Chrysippus of Soli, now about 49, who will systematize Stoic philosophy.

230 B.C.: science

Greek mathematician and astronomer Aristarchus of Samos dies at age 80 (year and age approximate), having been the first to propose a sun-centered universe, a theory that was never accepted (see Ptolemy, 140 A.D.; Nikolaus von Cusa, 1440 A.D.; Rheticus, 1540 A.D.; Copernicus, 1543 A.D.). Realizing that moonlight was reflected sunlight, Aristarchus reasoned that measuring the angle between the moon and the sun when the moon is exactly half illuminated would enable one to compute the ratio of their distances, but for lack of accurate instruments his estimates of the sun and moon's distances from Earth are far too low.

229 B.C.: political events

The Greek king Aratus of Sicyon heads an Achaean League that goes to war with Sparta's Cleomenes III (see 227 B.C.).

Macedonia's Demetrius II moves north to repel a Dardanian invasion, suffers defeat, and dies at age 47 (approximate) after a 10-year reign; his son Philip succeeds to the throne but Demetrius has named his half brother Antigonus as guardian of the new king. Antigonus will marry Demetrius's widow, Phthia, in 227 B.C., and he will reign himself until his death in 221 B.C. as Antigonus II Doson.

228 B.C.: political events

Carthage's Gen. Hamilcar Barca falls in battle (see 237 B.C.). Command of his army in the Iberian Peninsula passes to his son-in-law Hasdrubal (see 226 B.C.).

227 B.C.: political events

Sparta's Cleomenes III recalls Archidamus V from exile to help him in his war with the Achaean League, but Archidamus is soon assassinated, probably by the people who killed his brother Agis IV in 241 B.C. and fear retribution. Cleomenes defeats the Achaeans at Mt. Lycaeum and at Ladoceia, near Megalopolis (see 226 B.C.).

Cleomenes III of Sparta undertakes reforms not unlike those attempted by his late brother Agis IV in 243 B.C. He cancels debts, redistributes the land to provide 4,000 new citizen holdings, abolishes the Ephorate (whose five elected magistrates have together with the king represented Sparta's chief executive power), executes four of its members, and revives the old system of schooling the country's youth. He trains his soldiers to use longer pikes and works to re-create a society of aristocrats at the expense of Sparta's perioikoi (non-voting freemen) and helots (serfs).

226 B.C.: political events

Rome concludes a treaty with Carthage aimed at producing peace between the most powerful state in the Western world and the North African country whose troops are aggressively expanding Punic power on the Iberian Peninsula. Carthage agrees to limit its expansion to territory south of the Ebro River, but the Carthaginians are encouraged by what they perceive as an attempt at appeasement, and Roman vacillation will lead to a new outbreak of hostilities (see 218 B.C.)

Sparta's Cleomenes III captures Mantineia from the Achaean League and defeats them at Hecatombaeum, near Dyme.

225 B.C.–201 B.C.

225 B.C.: political events

Syria's fourth Seleucid king Seleucus II Callinicus dies in a fall from his horse after a 21-year reign and is succeeded by his eldest son, who will try to reconquer Pergamum from his cousin Attalus I and reign until his murder in 223 B.C. as Seleucus III Soter.

The Achaean League loses Pellene, Philius, Argos, and other cities to Sparta's Cleomenes III, prompting Aratus of Sicyon to call upon Macedonia's Antigonus III Doson for help (see 224 B.C.).

A Roman census shows that the rising Italian nation can draw upon its citizenry and allies for 700,000 infantry and 70,000 cavalry. The Pyrrhic War that ended 50 years ago brought Rome hegemony over the entire peninsula, forced her to develop the military, political, and legal practices needed to conquer and absorb alien peoples, demonstrated the ability of her civilian army to win a war of attrition against even the most highly skilled mercenary army, and whetted her appetite for conquest (see Mediolanum, 222 B.C.).

224 B.C.: political events

Sparta's Cleomenes III repels efforts by Macedonia's Antigonus Boson to penetrate his lines outside Corinth, but a revolt at Argos forces Cleomenes to adopt a defensive posture against the Achaean League as he diverts forces to suppress the insurrection (see 222 B.C.).

The Lingones submit to Roman rule after periodic wars between the Celtic tribe and their Roman neighbors.

223 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Seleucus III Soter leads an army across the Taurus to recover his general Andromachus, who was defeated and captured by Seleucus's cousin Attalus I of Pergamum. Seleucus III is assassinated after a 2-year reign and succeeded by his 19-year-old brother, who will reign until 187 B.C. as Antiochus III. The new king will reduce the size of his provinces in order to reform their administration.

222 B.C.: political events

Mediolanum (Milan) falls to Roman legions in Lombardy (see 225 B.C.). The town has been occupied successively by Ligurians, Etruscans, and Celts.

Macedonia's Antigonus III Doson defeats Sparta's Cleomenes III at Sellasia, moves south, and conquers all of Sparta, ending her independence. Cleomenes takes refuge in Egypt, where he is given protection by Ptolemy III Euergetes. Antigonus returns to Macedonia and defeats invading Illyrian forces.

221 B.C.: political events

The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal dies by an assassin's hand; command of his troops falls to the 25-year-old Hannibal, who will prove one of the foremost military leaders in history (see 218 B.C.).

Egypt's Ptolemy III Euergetes dies at age 61 after a 25-year reign in which his country has reached new heights of power and prosperity. Ptolemy the Benefactor is succeeded by his 23-year-old son, who will rule with his sister-wife, Arsinoe III, until 203 as Ptolemy IV Philopater; court favorites will dominate the reign. The new pharaoh imprisons Sparta's former king Cleomenes III (see 219 B.C.).

Macedonia's Antigonus III Doson dies at age 42 (approximate) after a 6-year reign and is succeeded by his stepson, who will reign as Philip V.

China's Qin emperor Shihuang Di (Shi Huang Ti) unites the country after 25 years of fighting in which he has conquered six warring feudal states, taking Hunan and other areas (see 246 B.C.). His dynasty will continue for only 15 years but in that time will extend China's waterworks, build a network of roads, and raise a great defensive wall (see 214 B.C.).

221 B.C.: medicine

Egyptian medical studies at Alexandria gain support from Ptolemy IV, who is weaker politically than his predecessors but devoted to the pursuit of science.

Alexandrian medical science is headed by Herophilus of Chalcedon and his rival Erasistratus, formerly court physician to the Seleucides of Syria. Erasistratus gives heart valves the names that they will henceforth carry, establishes the connection between arteries and veins, investigates the lymphatic ducts, expands knowledge of the nervous system (distinguishing between motor nerves and sensory nerves), and describes in detail the convolutions of the brain.

220 B.C.: transportation

The Flaminian Way is completed between Rome and Rimini.

219 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III seizes the province of Coele-Syria from Egypt, initiating a fourth war with the Egyptians.

The former Spartan king Cleomenes III escapes from his Egyptian prison, tries unsuccessfully to raise a revolt against Ptolemy IV Philopater at Alexandria, and commits suicide there.

218 B.C.: political events

A second Punic War that will continue for 18 years begins as a Carthaginian army under Hannibal crosses to the Iberian Peninsula and attacks Rome's Hispanic allies (see 226 B.C.). Hannibal besieges the town of Sagunto, whose inhabitants eat their own dead rather than surrender but are eventually forced to yield. Rome fails to intervene, Hannibal crosses the Alps, he defeats Roman forces at the Ticino River, and he does so again at the Trebbia River (see 217 B.C.).

217 B.C.: political events

The Battle of Lake Trasimene in Umbria June 24 ends in victory for Hannibal, who nearly destroys a large Roman army led by Gaius Flaminius (see 218 B.C.). Carthaginians and Gauls kill some 16,000 Romans, including Flaminius, and turn the lake red with blood (see Cannae, 216 B.C.).

A 68,000-man Syrian army under the command of the Seleucid king Antiochus III engages a 75,000-man army of Egyptian hoplites under the command of Ptolemy IV Philopater at Raphia. He routs the left wing of Ptolemy's army, but a newly formed Egyptian phalanx crushes his central phalanx and he is forced to make peace. Antiochus had hoped to conquer territory in the Palestinian region, but the Egyptians require him to give up all of his conquests except the city of Seleucia-in-Pieria.

216 B.C.: political events

Egypt's fourth Syrian War ends following the defeat last year of the Seleucid king Antiochus III.

The Battle of Cannae August 2 ends in victory for the Carthaginian general Hannibal, whose 40,000-man army defeats a heavily armored and unmaneuverable Roman force of 70,000 (see 217 B.C.). Some 50,000 Roman and allied troops are butchered, 10,000 are taken prisoner, but Hannibal lacks the catapults and battering rams needed to besiege Rome and contents himself with laying waste the fields of Italy, forcing Rome to import grain at war-inflated prices (see 210 B.C.).

Rome starves out Capua and loots Syracuse as an object lesson to other allies who may think of deserting.

215 B.C.: political events

The Syracusan king Hieron II dies after a 54-year reign in which he has supported Rome against Carthage.

215 B.C.: theater, film

Theater: The Menaechmi by Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus, 39 (dates of all Plautus' plays are conjectural).

214 B.C.: political events

Construction begins anew on a great Chinese defensive wall to keep out Mongol Xiongnu horsemen who menace the territories of the Qin (Chin) emperor Shihuangdi (Shi huang-ti), raiding villages, taking people into slavery, and carrying off livestock. Work on the project first began in the 7th century B.C., when vassal states of the Zhou dynasty built their own walls, and the new Qin emperor sets out to join the walls together. He puts one of his generals in charge and drafts 300,000 workers to implement the design. Made initially of mud and wood and rising 20 feet in height, with a 26-foot-high guardhouse every 200 paces, the Great Wall is an undertaking the dwarfs Egypt's pyramids in scope and audacity; it will grow to extend more than 10,000 li (some 5,000 kilometers, or 3,000 miles) east to west from the Gulf of Chihli to a pass in what later will become Kansu province, snaking over mountainous terrain from Mongolia to the sea (brick and stone will later supplant its earthworks).

214 B.C.: theater, film

Theater: The Merchant (Mercator) by Titus Maccius Plautus.

213 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III captures the rebel Achaeus in his capital at Sardis and has him tortured to death.

213 B.C.: theater, film

Theater: The Comedy of Asses (Asinaria) by Titus Maccius Plautus: "Such things are easier said than done" (I, iii); "Man is a wolf to man" (Homo homini lupus, II, iv).

212 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III gives his sister Antiochis in marriage to Armenia's king Xerxes, who recognizes Syrian suzerainty and agrees to pay tribute (but see 211 B.C.). Antiochus begins a 7-year campaign to the East that will take him as far as India.

212 B.C.: science

The Greek mathematician Archimides is killed in the autumn at the siege of his native Syracuse at age 75 (approximate), being so preoccupied by a mathematical problem that he ignored the challenge of a Roman soldier who burst into his study. Employed in earlier years by the late Hieron II, he is credited with having discovered the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder, for inventing a device for raising water (the Archimedean screw), inventing the pulley, and formulating a hydrostatic principle that will be known as Archimedes's principle. The war machines that he has constructed for the defense of Syracuse have enabled the city to hold out against the Romans far longer than otherwise would have been possible, and the Romans wanted to capture him alive.

Treatises written on papyrus by the late Archimedes include "On the Method of Mechanical Theorems," "On Falling Bodies," "On the Measurement of the Circle," "On the Sphere and the Cylinder," and "On the Equilibrium of Planes." The most prominent scientific thinker of his time, he has taken the first steps toward understanding the mathematics of change that will be called calculus (see Newton, 1666 A.D.; Liebniz, 1675 A.D.), and although his original scrolls will be lost they will be copied onto other papyrus scrolls (see 1000 A.D.).

212 B.C.: literature

China's Qin emperor Shihuangdi burns writings by dissidents, makes it a criminal offense to own books of history prior to his reign, and has hundreds of scholars buried alive. Shihuangdi saves only works on medicine, agriculture, and astrology (but priests and scholars hide other books, which will survive).

211 B.C.: political events

Syria's Seleucid emperor Antiochus III removes Armenia's king Xerxes (his brother-in-law) by treachery and divides the country into two satrapies (see 190 B.C.).

Parthia's Arsaces I dies after a 27-year reign that has established his kingdom in central Asia; his son will reign until 191 B.C. as Arsaces II (see 209 B.C.).

210 B.C.: political events

Rome gives command of its army to Publius Cornelius Scipio as the Second Punic War continues (see 216 B.C.). Scipio will defeat the Carthaginians and gain renown as Scipio Africanus (the Elder) (see 209 B.C.).

China's Qin emperor Shihuangdi (Shi Huang Ti) dies at age 49 after a 36-year reign (9 years as emperor) that has united the many petty states of the old Zhou dynasty; created 36 provinces with a uniform system of laws, weights, and measures; greatly expanded the empire; assimilated conquered peoples; and kept 700,000 conscripts employed building the Great Wall and the new capital of Xian (tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands have died working on the projects). He has had 3,000 concubines, but he has had most of the country's books collected and burned. Shihuangdi has required the men of his country to spend 1 month each year in military training; buried in his tomb are more than 8,000 life-size terra cotta figures of soldiers, including cavalrymen, archers, and crossbowmen (each with a unique face), and horses (see art, 1974 A.D.). Shihuangdi's son Huhai inherits the throne and becomes the emperor Ershihuangdi but will reign only until 208 before being overthrown by his brother Ziying, who will become the emperor Sanshihuangdi but will also reign only briefly (see 206 B.C.).

209 B.C.: political events

Roman forces under the command of Publius Cornelius Scipio capture the Carthaginian stronghold of Tarantum in the ongoing Second Punic War (see 210 B.C.). Marcus Porcius Cato, 25, distinguishes himself in the battle (see 208 B.C.).

Achaean League cavalry forces defeat the Aetolians on the Elean frontier. Former mercenary leader Philopoemen, 43, has returned from Crete, reorganized the league's cavalry, and is elected its commander (see 208 B.C.).

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III occupies the capital of the Parthian king Arsaces II at Hecatompylos, southeast of the Caspian Sea, and forces him into an alliance.

208 B.C.: political events

Hannibal orders his brother Hasdrubal Gisco in Spain to join him in Italy for an assault on Rome (see 209 B.C.). Hasdrubal winters in southern France en route to the Alps (see 207 B.C.).

The Achaean League general Philopoemen equips his forces with heavier Macedonian armor (see 209 B.C.; Mantinaea, 207 B.C.).

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III attacks the Bactrian king Euthydemus, who fails in his efforts to defend his line on the Arius River and is forced to fall back to his capital, where a 2-year siege begins (see 206 B.C.).

The Chinese warlord Xiang Yu who has controlled much of the country since 232 joins forces with a minor Qin dynasty official of peasant origin to capture the Qin capital Xianyang. Qin troops have laid siege for nearly a month to the city of Julu, which sends an urgent plea for assistance; the veteran statesman Song Yi leads a relief force with Xiang Yu as second in command, but Song wants to let the Qin siege force exhaust itself taking Julu before launching an attack, and he waits for 46 days in cold, wet weather while his troops run short of food. The impetuous Xiang grows impatient, kills Song at a meeting, and intimidates the generals into electing him their leader. Part of his army fails to lift the siege of Julu, so Xiang sends his entire force into battle; when they have crossed the Zhang River he gives orders that all the boats are to be sunk, and after a 3-day supply of food has been prepared he has all cooking pots smashed. Given no choice but to advance, Xiang's troops raise the siege and go on to conquer a huge area that comprises five former states. The 48-year-old minor Qin official Liu Bang fights his way westward meanwhile with a smaller force, proceeds through Hangu Pass, takes the Qin capital (see 206 B.C.).

207 B.C.: political events

The Battle of Metaurus on the Adriatic coast in Umbria ends Hannibal's hopes of success in Italy and restores the morale of Rome's legions (see 208 B.C.). Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal Gisco has crossed the Alps with an army of 50,000 Spaniards, Gauls, and Ligurians, but letters between the brothers have been intercepted, and the Roman consul Claudius Nero has marched 6,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry 250 miles north in 7 days to reinforce his fellow consul, Marcus Livius Salinator. Their combined forces equal 50,000, and when the Ligurians' war elephants become unmanageable Hasdrubal sees that the battle is lost; he deliberately rides into a Roman cohort, which kills him. About 10,000 of his men are killed; Roman casualties total about 2,000 (see 206 B.C.).

The Achaean League general Philopoemen crushes a Spartan army under Machanidas at Mantineia (see 208 B.C.); the Spartan strongman Nabis assumes power as battles with Macedonia and Carthage preoccupy the Romans. Nabis will reign until 192 B.C., carrying on the efforts by the late Agis IV and Cleomenes III to redistribute his country's wealth, confiscating property and allowing more helots (serfs) to vote.

207 B.C.: music

Roman authorities commission the poet Lucius Livius Andronicus to help ward off threatening omens by composing a hymn to be sung in procession to the goddess Aventine Juno, asking her to intervene. Now about 77, Livius Andronicus has been president of a poet-actor guild and is rewarded by having the guild granted residence in the temple of Minerva on the Aventine.

206 B.C.: political events

The Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio wins a brilliant victory over Carthaginian forces in the Battle of Ilipa on the Iberian Peninsula (see 207 B.C.). Hasdrubal Gisco and Mago have met the legions with 45,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry near what later will be Seville in the Second Punic War, and although Scipio is outnumbered by about 10,000 men he uses superior tactics to end Carthaginian power in Spain and prepares to invade North Africa (see 204 B.C.).

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III forces Parthia's Arsaces II to acknowledge his supremacy and makes peace with the Bactrian king Euthydemus, who has withstood a 2-year siege. He permits Euthydemus to retain his royal title and continue his rule on provision that he recognize Seleucid overlordship and then marches across the Hindu Kush into the Kabul Valley, where he renews his friendship with the Indian ruler Sophagasenos. Euthydemus will help himself to much of Parthia (see 190 B.C.).

Civil war begins in China as the warlord Xiang Yu (Hsiang Yü) clashes with the peasant leader Liu Bang (see 208 B.C.; 202 B.C.).

206 B.C.: religion

China's Five Pecks of Rice (Wudoumi) movement begins as the Qin dynasty nears its end (see 208 B.C.; 202 B.C.). A Daoist-inspired religious rebellion, it will continue until 220 A.D.

206 B.C.: education

The Greek Stoic philosopher Chrysippus dies at age 74 (year and age approximate), having cofounded the academy at the Athens Stoa (Greek Porch) and been among the first to organize propositional logic as an intellectual discipline.

205 B.C.: political events

The Peace of Phoenice ends hostilities between Rome and Macedonia's new king Philip V.

Sparta's Nabis goes to war with the Achaean League but will lose Messene to the Achaean general Philopoemen, now 47, who will defeat Nabis at Scotitas in Laconia.

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III returns from India through the Persian provinces of Arachosia, Drangiana, and Carmania, arriving at Persis and receiving 500 talents of silver in tribute from the mercantile state of Gerrha on the east coast of the Persian Gulf. Having established a system of vassal states, Antiochus adopts the old Achaemenid title of "great king."

Egypt's Macedonian king Ptolemy IV Philopator dies at age 39 (approximate) after a 16-year reign and is succeeded by his 5-year-old son, who will reign until 180 B.C. as Ptolemy V Epiphanes (the Illustrious), initially with the corrupt minister Sosibius as regent. Sosibius has murdered the boy's mother and made himself guardian of her son before announcing the deaths of the boy's parents; he banishes all prominent government officials to give himself a free hand. Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III and Macedonia's Philip V recognize Egypt's weakness and plot to seize her Asiatic and Aegean territories (see 202 B.C.)

204 B.C.: political events

Roman forces under Publius Cornelius Scipio lay siege to Carthage (see 206 B.C.). Carthaginians immolate 100 boys of noble birth in an effort to propitiate the god Moloch in hopes of raising the siege (see 202 B.C.).

204 B.C.: literature

Poet-playwright Lucius Livius Andronicus dies at Rome at age 80 (age and year approximate), having pioneered Roman epic poetry and drama.

202 B.C.: political events

Egypt's corrupt regent Sosibius retires and is succeeded as chief minister by Agathocles, a member of his clique (see 205 B.C.). Agathocles alienates Tlepolemus, governor of Egypt's eastern frontier city of Pelusium, Tlepolemus marches on Alexandria, his supporters gather up a mob, Agathocles is deposed in the uprising that ensues, he goes into hiding, the boy king Ptolemy V Epiphanes is enthroned in the city's stadium while the mob agitates against the murderers of his parents, a courtier prods the boy into nodding approval for vengeance, the mob discovers Agathocles and butchers him along with his family, but Tlepolemus will soon prove incompetent and be removed. Upper Egypt remains in revolt, and Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III seizes the opportunity to recover much of Coele Syria. Although the Egyptians mount a counteroffensive and capture Jerusalem, their new king will lose most of Egypt's foreign possessions in his 25-year reign (see 201 B.C.).

The Battle of Sama (Zama) 60 miles southwest of Tunis October 19 ends the Second Punic War and largely destroys the power of Carthage (see 204 B.C.). Publius Cornelius Scipio commands a Roman army of 34,000 infantry and 9,000 Numidian cavalry, which defeats a combined army of 45,000 Carthaginian and Numidian infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and 80 war elephants under the command of Hannibal. Hannibal turns his elephants loose on the invaders, but the animals are quickly dispersed, Prince Masinissa's cavalry charges the Carthaginian cavalry, which flees the field, whereupon Roman infantry legions crush the first and second Carthaginian lines. Masinissa's cavalry returns from its pursuit of Hannibal's cavalry and attacks his rear, Hannibal is decisively defeated, and he loses 20,000 killed and 15,000 captured. The Romans lose about 1,500 dead and about 4,000 wounded; Hannibal escapes and will live to 183 B.C., but the Romans force Carthage to capitulate (see 201 B.C.). Scipio is awarded the surname Africanus to celebrate his triumph.

China's civil war ends as the warlord Xiang Yu (Hsiang Yü) defeats Qin forces (see 206 B.C.), but many of the country's lesser kings and barons have deserted Xiang, who tries to restore the pre-Qin feudal system, reinstating former nobles and dividing the land among his generals, who soon fall to fighting among themselves. The peasant rebel leader Liu Bang has received the kingdom of Han in western China (later Sichuan and southern Shensi provinces); now 54, he defeats Xiang, who takes his own life, his favorite concubine joins him in death, and the last Qin emperor is dethroned. Liu Bang ascends the imperial throne as the emperor Gaozu (Kao-tsu), beginning a reign that will continue until 195 and founding the Han dynasty that will rule until 220 A.D.

202 B.C.: theater, film

Theater: The Casket (Cistellaria) by Titus Maccius Plautus.

201 B.C.: political events

Carthage surrenders all of her Mediterranean possessions to Rome, her Iberian territories included (see 202 B.C.). The Carthaginians agree to pay Rome 200 talents per year for 50 years, make no war without Rome's permission, and destroy all but 10 of their warships (see 150 B.C.).

The Battle of Chios ends in the defeat of Philip V of Macedonia by Rhodes and Attalus of Pergamum.

Syria's Seleucid king Antiochus III defeats the Egyptian forces of Ptolemy V Epiphanes and will take over his territories in Asia Minor (see 202 B.C.; 200 B.C.).

300 B.C.–276 B.C. 275 B.C.–251 B.C. 250 B.C.–226 B.C. 225 B.C.–201 B.C.

Carthage|slavery : Carthage and|linen|tin : British|Euclid|geometry|mathematics : Archytas of Tarentum and|Archytas of Tarentum|slavery : Carthaginians and|Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Pyrrhus|Ptolemy I Soter|Claudius Caecus, Appius|Athens : sieges of|Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Sentinum, Battle of|Samnites|Gauls|Rome : ancient|Etruscans|Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Archidamus IV of Sparta|Mantinea, Battles of|Seleucus I Nictor|Antiochus I Soter|Dentatus, Manius Curius|Samnites|Mencius|Seleucus I Nicator|Lysimachus|Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Egypt|Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt|Ptolemy II (Philadelphus)|Lysimachus|Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Seleucus I Nicator|lighthouse, Alexandria|Alexandria|Armenia|Dentatus, Manius Curius|Alexandria : Library of|Library of Alexandria : Alexandria% |Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Demetrius of Phaleron|Zenodotus of Ephesus|Torah|Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Seleucus I Nicator|Syria : Seleucid dynasty in|Seleucus I Nicator|Ptolemy III Ceraunus|Antiochus I Soter|Epirus, Pyrrhus of|Fabricius Luscinus, Gaius|Samnites|Claudius Caecus, Appius|Achaean League, Second|Corinth|Rhodes : Colossus of|Colossus of Rhodes|Demetrius Poliorcetes|Rhodes : siege of|Celts|pyrrhic victory|Fabricius Luscinus, Gaius|Macedonia|Ptolemy III Ceraunus|Antiochus I Soter|Ptolemy II of Egypt|Antigonus II Gonatas|Syria : and Egypt|Egypt : and Syria|Ptolemy II of Egypt|Antiochus I Soter|Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt : & |Ptolemy III Ceraunus|Callimachus|Theocritus|Macedonia (ancient)|Hieron II of Syracuse|Dentatus, Manius Curius|Fabricius Luscinus, Gaius|Antiochus I Soter|Phrygia : Gauls in|Antigonus II Gonatus|Herophilus of Chalcedon|anatomy|Pyrrhus|Antigonus II Gonatas|Dentatus, Manius Curius|Egypt : and Phoenicia|Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Phoenicia : and Egypt|Seleucid Empire|Antiochus I Soter|Epirus, Pyrrhus|Pyrrhus|Antigonus II Gonatas|Rome : ancient|Samnites|Dentatus, Manius Curius|Fabricius Luscinus, Gaius|Hieron II of Syracuse|Callimachus|Hieron II of Syracuse|denarius|coins, metal : Roman denarius|Macedonia|Antigonus II Gonatus|Antiochus I Soter|Pergamum : and Syria|Syria : and Pergamum|Archimedes|gravity|pulley|Hieron II of Syracuse|Appius Claudius|Punic Wars|Rome : and Carthage|Carthage : and Rome|Rome : gladiators in|Hieron II of Syracuse|Pergamum|Eumenes I of Pergamum|Pergamum|Antiochus I Soter|Antigonus II Gonatas|Athens : sieges of|Antiochus I Soter|Antiochus II Theos|Mylae, Battle of|Rome : and Carthage|Carthage : and Rome|China : ancient|India : Buddhism in|India : Mauyra dynasty in|Buddha, Buddhism|China : Zhou (Chou) dynasty in|Syria : and Egypt|Egypt : and Syria|Antiochus II Theos|Bactria|China : Qin (Chin) dynasty in|Shi huang di|Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Ptolemy III|Cyrenaica, (see also Libya)|Syria : and Egypt|Syria : Seleucid dynasty in|Ptolemy III|Sparta|Eudamidas II of Sparta|Agis IV of Sparta|Egypt : ancient|Seleucus II Callinicus|Sparta|Lysander|Sparta|Agis IV of Sparta|Sparta|Agis IV of Sparta|Cleomenes III of Sparta|Pergamum|Eumenes I of Pergamum|Ptolemy III Euergetes|Livius Andronicus, Livius|Macedonia (ancient)|Antigonus II Gonatas|Demetrius II of Macedonia|Parthia|Canopus, Decree of|Ptolemy III Euergetes|calendar : Egyptian|Carthage : and Rome|Punic Wars|Hamilcar Barca|Leonidas II of Sparta|Stoicism|Cleanthes|Chrysippus|astronomy : Aristarchus of Samos and|mathematics : Aristarchus of Samos and|Aristarchus of Samos|Aratus of Sicyon|Achaean League|Hasdrubal|Sparta|Cleomenes III of Sparta|Archidamus V of Sparta|Achaean League|Aratus of Sicyon|Antigonus III Doson|Antigonus Boson of Macedonia|Lingones|Mesopotamia|Seleucid Empire|Antiochus III|Milan|Etruscans|Celts|Antigonus III Doson|Cleomenes III of Sparta|Sparta : and Macedonia|Macedonia : and Sparta|Hasdrubal|Hannibal|Ptolemy III|Ptolemy IV Philopater|Egypt : ancient|Antigonus III Doson|Macedonia, ancient|Philip V of Macedon|China : Qin dynasty in|Shi huang di|Ptolemy IV Philopater|Herophilus of Chalcedon|Erasistratus|heart function|lymphatic system|nervous system|brain|Flaminian Way|Antiochus III|Syria : ancient|Syria : Seleucid dynasty in|Ptolemy IV Philopater|Punic Wars|Carthagine : and Rome|Rome : and Carthage|Hannibal|Alps|Lake Trasimene, Battle of|Flaminius, Gaius|Gauls|Ptolemy IV Philopater|Seleucid Empire|Cannae, Battle of|Hannibal|Rome : and Carthage|Carthage : and Rome|Hieron II of Syracuse|The Menaechmi (p)|Plautus|China : Great Wall of|Shi huang di|Shih Huang di|China : Qin dynasty in|The Merchant (Mercator) (p)|Plautus|The Comedy of Asses (Asinaria) (p)|Plautus|Archimides|Hieron II of Syracuse|Archimedes|China : Qin dynasty in|Seleucid Empire|Antiochus III|Armenia|Scipio Africanus (the Elder)|China : Qin dynasty in|Shi huang di|Shih Huang di|China : Great Wall of|Cato the Elder|Philopoemen|Antiochus III|Parthia : and Syria|Syria : and Parthia|Achaean League|Philopoemen|Metaurus, Battle of|Hasdrubal|Sparta|Nabis of Sparta|Livius Andronicus, Lucius|Scipio Africanus|Ilipa, Battle of|Antiochus III of Syria|Antiochus III|China : Five Pecks of Rice movement in|Stoicism|Chrysippus|Macedonia : and Rome|Rome : and Macedonia|Nabis|Achaean League|Ptolemy IV Philopator|Macedonia : and Rome|Rome : and Macedonia|Scipio Africanus|Livius Andronicus, Lucius|Sama, Battle of|Zama, Battle of|Punic Wars|Carthage : and Rome|Rome : and Carthage|Scipio Africanus|Hannibal|China : Han dynasty in|The Casket (Cistellaria) (p)|Plautus|Carthage : and Rome|Rome : and Carthage|Chios, Battle of|Philip V of Macedonia