The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of

101 BC __NOTOC__ Year 101 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Aquillius (or, less frequently, year 653 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Fourth Year of Taichu. The denominatio ...

. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be the end of the Axial Age. In the context of the Eastern Mediterranean, it is the mid-point of the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

. Fresh from its victories in the Second Punic War, the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

continued its expansion in the western Mediterranean, campaigning in the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

throughout the century and annexing the North African coast after the destruction of the city of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

at the end of the Third Punic War. They became the dominant force in the Aegean by destroying Antigonid Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

in the Achaean War. The Hellenistic kingdoms of Ptolemaic Egypt and Attalid Pergamon entered into subordinate relationships with the Romans – Pergamon was eventually annexed. The end of the century witnessed the reform of the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

from a citizen army into a voluntary professional force, under the guidance of the noted general and statesman

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

(

Marian Reforms The Marian reforms were reforms of the ancient Roman army implemented in 107 BC by the statesman Gaius Marius, for whom they were later named. The reforms originated as a reaction to the military and logistical stagnation of the Roman Republic ...

). In the Near East, the other major Hellenistic kingdom, the Seleucid Empire collapsed into civil war in the middle of the century, following the loss of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

to the Romans and the conquest of the Iranian plateau and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

by the

Parthian empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqu ...

. Outlying regions became independent kingdoms, notably the Hasmonean kingdom in Judaea. In

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

reached a high point under the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

. The Han Empire extended its boundaries from Korea in the east to Vietnam in the South to the borders of modern-day Kazakhstan in the west. The nomadic

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

were at the height of their power at the beginning of the century, collecting tribute from the Han. Their victories over the Yuezhi set off a chain of westward migrations in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

. Han efforts to find allies against the Xiongnu by exploring the lands to their west would ultimately lead to the opening of the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

. In

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, the Mauryan Empire in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

collapsed when Brihadnatha, the last emperor, was killed by Pushyamitra Shunga, a Mauryan general who founded of the Shunga Empire. The

Greco-Bactrians The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the Indi ...

crossed the Hindu Kush and established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, but lost their homeland in

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...

to the Sakas, themselves under pressure from the Yuezhi.

Events

* 200 BC: Battle of Panium:

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...

of the Seleucid empire defeats Ptolemy V of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. * c. 200 BC: In ancient Philippines, the archipelago's indigenous people began to increase their contact with other nations in Southeast and East Asia, resulting in the establishment of fragmented city-states-like polities formed by complex sociopolitical units known as barangay or barangay states.

190s BC

198 BC __NOTOC__ Year 198 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Catus and Flamininus (or, less frequently, year 556 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 BC for this year has been ...

: Fifth Syrian War: Antiochus III takes control of Coele Syria and

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

. **(November 12): Antiochus issues a decree requiring registration of all Egyptians taken slave during the war (''somata Aigyptia'') for census purposes. * 197 BC: (June) Flamininus defeats Philip V, king of Antigonid Macedonia at the Battle of Cynoscephalae, ending the Second Macedonian War. * 196 BC: **(March 27) Upon reaching the age of 14, Ptolemy V Epiphanes is crowned as the King of Egypt at Memphis. The decree made in conjunction with the coronation, dated the first day of the Egyptian month of Pharmouthi, is written in the

Egyptian language The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts which were made accessible to the modern world following the deciphe ...

in both

hieroglyphics Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1 ...

and in demotic script, as well as in Greek on the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Anci ...

, providing the key to deciphering the hieroglyphics almost 20 centuries later.Alan K. Bowman, ''Egypt After the Pharaohs, 332 BC-AD 642: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest'' (University of California Press, 1989), p30 ** Lampsacus and

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...

appeal to Rome for protection against

's expansion into western

and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. ** Empress Lü's execution of

Han Xin Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the e ...

leads to the Ying Bu rebellion. * 195 BC: **(June 1) In China, Emperor Gaozu of Han dies and is succeeded by his 15-year-old son Prince Liu Ying. As the second

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

ruler, Liu Ying is given the regnal name of Emperor Hui and reigns until his death in 188 BC at the age of 22. However, the true resides with his mother, the

Empress Lü Zhi An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

, who serves as the Regent as widow of Gaozu. **The War against Nabis marks the end of

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

n power in Greece. * 194 BC: **(April 4) — The first Games of Megalesia and a festival are held in Rome after games were promised in honor of Cybele following Rome's triumph over Carthage in the Punic Wars. The festival and games last seven full days, closing on April 10. ** Wiman of Gojoseon establishes Wiman Joseon in Korea. * 192 BC: **The Yue Kingdom of Eastern Ou established in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

with Chinese support. **(February)— Antiochus, the son of Antiochus III and co-regent for the Seleucid throne since 209 BC, dies; according to cuneiform tablets, news reaches Babylon sometime during the month of Addara after April 8. **(November) — Antiochus III leads an army into Greece to challenge Roman control, at the invitation of the Aetolians, starting the Roman-Syrian War. * 191 BC: (April 24) Battle of Thermopylae: Manius Acilius Glabrio drives Antiochus III out of Greece. *

190 BC __NOTOC__ Year 190 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asiaticus and Laelius (or, less frequently, year 564 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 190 BC for this year has bee ...

: (December or January 189 BC)

Battle of Magnesia The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied Kingdom of ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and Pergamon drive

out of

180s BC

I17 1karshapana Sunga MACW4325 1ar (8485402873)

* 189 BC: Galatian War: Gnaeus Manlius Vulso and Pergamon defeat the

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace ...

ns. *

188 BC __NOTOC__ Year 188 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Salinator (or, less frequently, year 566 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 188 BC for this year has be ...

: (September 26) Prince Liu Gong, the 5-year old younger brother of Emperor Hui becomes the third

Emperor of China upon his brother's death, taking the regnal name of Emperor Qianshao. Because of his minority, his grandmother, Empress Lü continues as the actual ruler and serves as the regent. * 187 BC: (July 3) Seleucid king Antiochus III dies at the age of 53 and is succeeded by his son Seleucus IV Philopator. *

186 BC __NOTOC__ Year 186 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Philippus (or, less frequently, year 568 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 186 BC for this year has bee ...

: Ptolemy V defeats Ankhwennefer and regains control of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

. *

185 BC __NOTOC__ Year 185 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pulcher and Puditanus (or, less frequently, year 569 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 185 BC for this year has bee ...

: Pushyamitra Shunga assassinates the last Maurya emperor, founding the Shunga dynasty. * 184 BC: (June 15)

Emperor Qianshao of Han Emperor Qianshao of Han (, 193 BC – 15 June 184 BC), personal name said to be Liu Gong (), was the third emperor of the Han dynasty in China. He was a son, likely the oldest son, of Emperor Hui, likely by a concubine—although there is ...

, the 11-year old nominal ruler of China, is removed, imprisoned and then put to death on order of his grandmother, Empress Lü. Prince Liu Hong, the brother of Qianshao, is installed by the regent as the new Emperor, under the name of Emperor Houshao. * 183 BC: Zhao Tuo of Nanyue declares himself Emperor and attacks

. *

180 BC __NOTOC__ Year 180 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscus and Piso/Flaccus (or, less frequently, year 574 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 180 BC for this year has b ...

: (November 14) Lü Clan Disturbance: with the death of Empress Lü of China, the nominal Houshao is killed along with the rest of the Lü Clan. Another son of Gaozu, the first Han emperor, Prince Liu Heng, becomes the fifth Han emperor and takes the name of Emperor Wen.

170s BC

179 BC __NOTOC__ Year 179 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Fulvianus (or, less frequently, year 575 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 179 BC for this year has bee ...

: ** Zhao Tuo of Nanyue makes peace with Han China. ** Upon the death of Philip V, Perseus becomes king of Antigonid Macedon. *

178 BC __NOTOC__ Year 178 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Brutus and Vulso (or, less frequently, year 576 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 178 BC for this year has been use ...

: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ends the First Celtiberian War. * 176 BC: The

defeat the Yuezhi, who subsequently emigrate from

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

to the Qilian Mountains and the Ili valley. * 175 BC: (September 3) Upon the assassination of Seleucus IV Philopator, his brother

Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his de ...

takes possession of the Seleucid throne. *

171 BC __NOTOC__ Year 171 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crassus and Longinus (or, less frequently, year 583 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 171 BC for this year has been ...

: At the prompting of the Attalid king Eumenes II, the Romans declare war on Perseus, beginning the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...

160s BC

* 168 BC: **Third Macedonian War:

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

victory in the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back ...

leads to the dissolution of the Antigonid Kingdom of Macedon. ** Sixth Syrian War:

Antiochus IV Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his deat ...

of the Seleucid empire invades Ptolemaic Egypt, but is forced to turn back by

Gaius Popillius Laenas Gaius Popillius Laenas ( 172–158 BC) twice served as one of the two consuls of the Roman Republic, in 172 and 158 BC. He was sent as an envoy to prevent a war between Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt. On being ...

at the Day of Eleusis. * 167 BC: Mithradates I of Parthia takes Margiana and

Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. *

164 BC __NOTOC__ Year 164 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Longinus (or, less frequently, year 590 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 164 BC for this year has be ...

**25 Kislev: Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

(

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nig ...

Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ende ...

). **

Ptolemy VIII Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης Τρύφων, ''Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphon'' "Ptolemy the Benefactor; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon ( "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolema ...

drives his brother Ptolemy VI out of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. He flees to Rome. **

dies on campaign, leaving the Seleucid empire to his nine-year-old son, Antiochus V. * 163 BC: **(May 20) Chinese mathematicians observe and record the passage of the Halley's Comet. **Ptolemy VI regains Alexandria. Ptolemy VIII takes Cyrenaica. ** Timarchus rebels against the Seleucid empire and seizes control of Media and

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c ...

. *

161 BC __NOTOC__ The Year 161 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Strabo (or, less frequently, year 593 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Third Year of Houyhnhnm. The denom ...

: **

Battle of Vijithapura The Battle of Vijithapura was a decisive battle fought in the campaign carried out by Sri Lankan king Dutthagamani against the invading South Indian king Ellalan. The battle is documented in detail in the ancient chronicles of the country. How ...

Dutthagamani Dutugamunu the Great (, , also spelled as ''Dutthagamani''), also known as Dutthagamani Abhaya ("fearless Gamini"), was the greatest king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for reuniting the whole island ...

defeats the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

King Ellalan. **

Demetrius I Soter Demetrius I ( Greek: ''Δημήτριος Α`'', 185 – June 150 BC), surnamed Soter ( Greek: ''Σωτήρ'' - "Savior"), reigned as king (basileus) of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from November 162 – June 150 BC. Demetrius grew up in Ro ...

seizes the Seleucid throne, beginning a succession war that would consume the Seleucid realm for almost a century. * 160 BC: The Wusun drive the Yuezhi out of the Ili valley.

150s BC

Mural painting of four animals in clouds

* 158 BC: The

attack northern China. *

157 BC __NOTOC__ Year 157 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Orestes (or, less frequently, year 597 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Seventh Year of Houyuan. The denomination ...

: (July 6) Emperor Wen of Han dies and is succeeded by his son Prince Liu Qi who takes the regnal name of the Emperor Jing. *

155 BC __NOTOC__ Year 155 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corculum and Marcellus (or, less frequently, year 599 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 155 BC for this year has be ...

: The Lusitanians begin the

Lusitanian War The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war of resistance fought by the Lusitanian tribes of Hispania Ulterior against the advancing legions of the Roman Republic from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitanians re ...

against

. * 154 BC **The Celtiberians of Numantia begin the

Numantine War The Numantine WarThe term Numantine War can refer to the whole conflict lasting from 154 to 133 or to just the latter part, from 143 to 133. Thus, the two conflicts are sometimes called the Numantine Wars (plural) and subdivided into the First an ...

against

. ** Liu Pi leads the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further. Background ...

against Emperor Jing of Han China and is defeated. * 152 BC: Alexander Balas starts a revolt against

with the support of

Jonathan Maccabaeus Jonathan Apphus (Hebrew: ''Yōnāṯān ʾApfūs''; Ancient Greek: Ἰωνάθαν Ἀπφοῦς, ''Iōnáthan Apphoûs'') was one of the sons of Mattathias and the leader of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. Name H J Wolf n ...

140s BC

* 148 BC: ** Mithradates I of Parthia takes Ecbatana from the Seleucids. **

conquers

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled ...

ia (

Fourth Macedonian War The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by the pretender Andriscus, and the Roman Republic. It was the last of the Macedonian Wars, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the ...

). *

147 BC __NOTOC__ Year 147 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aemilianus and Drusus (or, less frequently, year 607 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 147 BC for this year has bee ...

: Hasmonean victories restore autonomy to

. * 146 BC:

destroys and razes the city of

( Third Punic War) and destroys the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

and razes

( Achaean War). * 145 BC: ** Battle of Antioch: Alexander Balas of the Seleucid empire loses his throne and Ptolemy VI of

loses his life. **

takes control of

. ** Ai-Khanoum is sacked (possibly by the Yuezhi). *

141 BC __NOTOC__ Year 141 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Pompeius (or, less frequently, year 613 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 141 BC for this year has been ...

(March 9): Emperor Jing of Han dies and is succeeded by his son Prince Liu Che, who is enthroned as the Emperor Wu and begins a 54-year reign. The new emperor's attempts at reform are immediately stymied by his grandmother.

130s BC

* 139 BC: **The assassination of

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or ...

marks the end of the

. ** Mithradates I of Parthia defeats the Seleucid king Demetrius II Nicator and captures

. * 138 BC:

Minyue Minyue () was an ancient kingdom in what is now the Fujian province in southern China. It was a contemporary of the Han dynasty, and was later annexed by the Han empire as the dynasty expanded southward. The kingdom existed approximately fro ...

's invasion of Eastern Ou sparks off the Han campaigns against Minyue *

135 BC __NOTOC__ Year 135 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Piso (or, less frequently, year 619 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Sixth Year of Jianyuan. The denomination 13 ...

's invasion of Nanyue leads to

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...

of its western half by

. The eastern half survives as Dongyue. ** Eunus begins the First Servile War. * 133 BC: ** Attalus III of Pergamon dies, bequeathing his kingdom to the

. ** Emperor Wu sets an ambush for the

, beginning the Han–Xiongnu War **Assassination of Tiberius Gracchus. ** Scipio Aemilianus wins the Siege of Numantia and conquers the Celtiberians. * 132 BC: Rioting on the streets of

leads to civil war between

and Cleopatra II. *

130 BC Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

: Greek astronomer

Hipparchus Hipparchus (; el, Ἵππαρχος, ''Hipparkhos''; BC) was a Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician. He is considered the founder of trigonometry, but is most famous for his incidental discovery of the precession of the e ...

continues lifelong studies, becoming the first to calculate the precession of moon and sun and to create a sizable catalog of stars.

120s BC

Coin of Mithridates II of Parthia, Ray mint

* 129 BC:

Battle of Ecbatana The Battle of Ecbatana was fought in 129 BC between the Seleucids led by Antiochus VII Sidetes and the Parthians led by Phraates II, and marked the final attempt on the part of the Seleucids to regain their power in the east against the Parthia ...

Antiochus VII Sidetes Antiochus VII Euergetes ( el, Ἀντίοχος Ευεργέτης; c. 164/160 BC129 BC), nicknamed Sidetes ( el, Σιδήτης) (from Side, a city in Asia Minor), also known as Antiochus the Pious, was ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empir ...

of the Seleucid empire attempt to reclaim the Iranian Plateau from

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

ends in failure. * 127 BC: Hyspaosines of Characene takes control of

. * 126 BC:

regains control of

. * 125 BC: Zhang Qian returns to China after a protracted journey through the west. * 124 BC: Artabanus II of Parthia is killed in battle with the Yuezhi and succeeded by his son Mithridates II *

122 BC 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

: Mithradates II of Parthia regains control of

and Characene *

121 BC __NOTOC__ Year 121 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Opimius and Allobrogicus (or, less frequently, year 633 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Second Year of Yuanshou. The denomi ...

: Assassination of Gaius Gracchus

110s BC

116 BC __NOTOC__ Year 116 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Geta and Eburnus (or, less frequently, year 638 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the First Year of Yuanding. The denomination 11 ...

: (June 28) Ptolemy VIII of Egypt dies and is succeeded by his wife

Cleopatra III Cleopatra III ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα; c.160–101 BC) was a queen of Egypt. She ruled at first with her mother Cleopatra II and husband Ptolemy VIII from 142 to 131 BC and again from 127 to 116 BC. She then ruled with her sons Ptole ...

and son Ptolemy IX Soter. *

113 BC 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113 Year 113 ( CXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Celsus ...

: The

Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate ...

and

Teutones The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with t ...

arrive on the banks of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the nor ...

, clashing with Roman allies, beginning the

Cimbrian War The Cimbrian or Cimbric War (113–101 BC) was fought between the Roman Republic and the Germanic and Celtic tribes of the Cimbri and the Teutons, Ambrones and Tigurini, who migrated from the Jutland peninsula into Roman controlled territory, ...

. *

112 BC __NOTOC__ Year 112 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Drusus and Caesoninus (or, less frequently, year 642 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Fifth Year of Yuanding. The denominati ...

: Jugurtha of Numidia's elimination of his co-regents sparks the Jugurthine War with

. * 111 BC: A power struggle in

Nam Viet Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establishe ...

leads to its

, ending the Triệu dynasty and beginning the First Chinese domination of Vietnam.

100s BC

* 109 BC **

conquers Dian. **King Ugeo of Gojoseon kills a Chinese envoy, sparking the

Gojoseon–Han War The Han conquest of Gojoseon was a campaign launched by Emperor Wu of Han China against Wiman Joseon between 109 and 108 BCE. It resulted in the fall of Gojoseon and the establishment of the Four Commanderies of Han in the northern half of the ...

. *

108 BC __NOTOC__ Year 108 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Galba and Hortensius/Scaurus (or, less frequently, year 646 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Third Year of Yuanfeng. The de ...

: Chinese troops destroy Wanggeom seong, capital of Wiman Joseon, establishing the

Four Commanderies of Han The Four Commanderies of Han (; ) were Chinese commanderies located in the north of the Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula from around the end of the second century BC through the early 4th AD, for the longest lasting. The comman ...

to govern the northern part of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

. * 107 BC:

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

passes the

, which remove all ownership restrictions for joining the

Roman Army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

. * 106 BC:

and Sulla bring an end to the Jugurthine War. * 105 BC:

Battle of Arausio The Battle of Arausio took place on 6 October 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio (now Orange, Vaucluse), and the Rhône River. Ranged against the migratory tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutoni under Teutobod were two ...

and

annihilate a Roman army. * 104 –

: War of the Heavenly Horses,

defeats

Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' <

LHC

: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese

104 BC: A mass-

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...

leads to the

Second Servile War The Second Servile War was an unsuccessful slave uprising against the Roman Republic on the island of Sicily. The war lasted from 104 BC until 100 BC. Background The Consul Gaius Marius was recruiting soldiers for the war against the Cimbri a ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

102 BC __NOTOC__ Year 102 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Catulus (or, less frequently, year 652 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Third Year of Taichu. The ...

defeats the

at the

Battle of Aquae Sextiae The Battle of Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence) took place in 102 BC. After a string of Roman defeats (see: the Battle of Noreia, the Battle of Burdigala, and the Battle of Arausio), the Romans under Gaius Marius finally defeated the Teutones and ...

defeats the

at the

Battle of Vercellae The Battle of Vercellae, or Battle of the Raudine Plain, was fought on 30 July 101 BC on a plain near Vercellae in Gallia Cisalpina (modern day Northern Italy). A Germanic-Celtic confederation under the command of the Cimbric king Boiorix was ...

, ending the

Significant people

Politics

* Andriscus, last independent ruler of Macedon *

, the last effective ruler of the Seleucid Empire *

, last King of a United Seleucid Empire *

Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul 143 BC) Appius Claudius Pulcher (Latin: APP•CLAVDIVS•C•F•APP•N•PVLCHER) was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC. Life Son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher (who was consul in 177 BC), he was elected consul for 143 BC, and, to obtain a pretext fo ...

, Roman consul and censor *

Boiorix Boiorix was a king of the Cimbri tribe during the Cimbrian War. His most notable achievement was the victory against the Romans at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. He was later defeated and slain along with Lugius at the Battle of Vercellae in 101 ...

, king of the

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write hi ...

, Roman politician, writer and historian * Gaius Gracchus, Roman politician *

, Roman general and politician *

, leader of the Hasmonean rebellion and first autonomous ruler of

* Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman general and politician *

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

, Roman general and politician *

Lucius Mummius Achaicus Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC), was a Roman statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Scipio Aemilianus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to the rank of consul thereby making him a novus homo. He received the ...

, conqueror of

* Marcus Claudius Marcellus (consul 166 BC), Roman politician * Perseus of Macedon, last King of the

Antigonid dynasty The Antigonid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Hellenistic dynasty of Dorian Greek provenance, descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-Eyed") that ruled mainly in Macedonia. History ...

* Publius Mucius Scaevola (triumphator), Roman politician * Publius Mucius Scaevola (pontifex maximus), Roman politician * Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, Roman general and politician *

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus (c. 155 BC – 91 BC) was an ancient Roman statesman and general, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. He was a bitter political opponent of Gaius Marius. He was consu ...

, Roman general and politician * Teutobod, King of the

Teutons The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...

* Tiberius Gracchus Roman politician and statesman * Emperor Wu of Han (漢武帝,劉徹), seventh

emperor, who consolidated and expanded imperial power in China * Zhang Qian (張騫), Chinese diplomat and explorer * Zhao Tuo, Chinese military commander who founded the Trieu dynasty

Military

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-broth ...

, Chinese general * Judas Maccabeus, leader of the Hasmonean rebellion and its first successful general * Li Guang, Chinese general * Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus, Roman general * Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus, Roman general * Quintus Lutatius Catulus, Roman general *

Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

, Roman general that conquered

* Wei Qing, Chinese general

Literature

* Apollodorus of Athens, Greek writer, grammarian, and historian * Bion of Smyrna, Greek poet * Gaius Lucilius, Roman satirist * Lutatius Catulus, Roman poet, orator and historian * Lucius Accius, Roman poet *

Moschus Moschus ( el, Μόσχος), ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC. Aside from his poetry, he was known for his grammatical work, nothing ...

, Greek poet *

Pacuvius Marcus Pacuvius (; 220 – c. 130 BC) was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He is regarded as the greatest of their tragedians prior to Lucius Accius. Biography He was the nephew and pupil of Ennius, by whom Roman tragedy was first raised to a positi ...

, Roman poet *

Quintus Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabr ...

, Roman poet * Sima Xiangru (司馬相如), Chinese musician, poet and writer * Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman playwright *

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

, Roman playwright *

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

, corpus of ancient Tamil literature * Kaniyan Pungundranar, one of the poets of the Tamil Sangam work Purananuru

Science and philosophy

* Apollonius of Perga, Greek geometer *

Carneades Carneades (; el, Καρνεάδης, ''Karneadēs'', "of Carnea"; 214/3–129/8 BC) was a Greek philosopher and perhaps the most prominent head of the Skeptical Academy in ancient Greece. He was born in Cyrene. By the year 159 BC, he had be ...

, Greek philosopher * Crates of Mallus, Greek grammarian and philosopher * Diogenes of Babylon, Greek philosopher * Eight Immortals of Huainan (淮南八仙), Chinese philosophers *

, Greek astronomer * Hypsicles, Greek mathematician and astronomer *

Liu An Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) '' Huainanzi'' compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, a ...

(劉安), Chinese geographer *

Panaetius Panaetius (; grc-gre, Παναίτιος, Panaítios; – ) of Rhodes was an ancient Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did much to introduce Stoic ...

, Greek philosopher * Polybius, Greek historian * Posidonius, Greek philosopher, geographer, astronomer and historian *

Seleucus of Seleucia Seleucus of Seleucia ( el, Σέλευκος ''Seleukos''; born c. 190 BC; fl. c. 150 BC) was a Hellenistic astronomer and philosopher. Coming from Seleucia on the Tigris, Mesopotamia, the capital of the Seleucid Empire, or, alternatively, Seleuk ...

, Hellenistic astronomer * Sima Qian (司馬遷), Chinese historian * Zenodorus, Greek mathematician

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

*The Chinese first produce

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...

. *

between

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. *

discovers precession of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

's equinoxes and compiles first trigonometric tables. *According to legend,

invents tofu. *The Fibonacci numbers and their sequence first appear in Indian mathematics as mātrāmeru, mentioned by Pingala in connection with the Sanskrit tradition of prosody. * Pingala was the first who accidentally discovered binary numbers in which he used laghu(light) and guru(heavy) rather than 0 and 1. * Tube drawn technology: Indians used tube drawn technology for glass bead manufacturing which was first developed in the 2nd century BCE *The Roman concrete (pozzolana) first used. *A system for sending signs to communicate quickly over a long distance is described by Polybios. *The earliest known winnowing machine is depicted in a

Chinese tomb model.Joseph Needham, ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering'' (Cambridge University Press, 1985) p118

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd century BC -8 -98

Events

Significant people

Politics

Military

Literature

Science and philosophy

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

See also

References