__NOTOC__ Year 263 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mesella and Crassus (or, less frequently, year 491 ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

''). The denomination 263 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, the current year is numbered in the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era ...

became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Republic

* The

Romans 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

under the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Manius Valerius Messalla Manius Valerius Maximus Messalla was consul in 263 BC with Manius Otacilius Crassus as his consular collegae. Messalla served as censor in 252 BC. Biography Manius Valerius Maximus was the son of Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvinus, consul in 28 ...

secure the alliance of

Hiero II of Syracuse Hiero II (; also Hieron ; ; c. 308 BC – 215 BC) was the Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Greek Sicily, from 275 to 215 BC, and the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon. He was a former general of Pyrrhus ...

. The treaty with Rome restricts Hiero's kingdom to southeast

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and the eastern coast of Sicily as far as

Tauromenium Taormina ( , , also , ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, incl ...

. From this date until his death, Hiero remains loyal to the Romans. * The Romans capture

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

in Sicily under Messalla. A sundial is part of the booty, which is placed in the

Comitium The Comitium () was the original open-air public meeting space of Ancient Rome, and had major religious and prophetic significance. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium location at the northwest corner of the Roman Foru ...

in Rome and will be significant in

Roman timekeeping In Roman timekeeping, a day was divided into periods according to the available technology. Initially, the day was divided into two parts: the ''ante meridiem'' (before noon) and the ''post meridiem'' (after noon). With the introduction of the Anc ...

Greece

Alexander II of Epirus Alexander II (Greek: Άλέξανδρος) was a king of Epirus, and the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles. Reign He succeeded his father as king in 272 BC, and continued the war which his father had be ...

attacks and conquers the greater part of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ia. However, he is then driven out of both Macedonia and

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

by Demetrius II, the son of King

Antigonus II Gonatas Antigonus II Gonatas (, ; – 239 BC) was a Macedonian Greek ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for his victory over the Gauls who had inv ...

of Macedonia. * The

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

ns, worn down by several years of war and the devastation of their lands, make peace with Antigonus II of Macedonia who thus retains his hold on southern Greece. *

Cleanthes Cleanthes (; ; c. 330 BC – c. 230 BC), of Assos, was a Greek Stoic philosopher and boxer who was the successor to Zeno of Citium as the second head ('' scholarch'') of the Stoic school in Athens. Originally a boxer, he came to Athens where ...

succeeds

Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium (; , ; c. 334 – c. 262 BC) was a Hellenistic philosophy, Hellenistic philosopher from Kition, Citium (, ), Cyprus. He was the founder of the Stoicism, Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. B ...

in his

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...

School in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Asia Minor

Eumenes I Eumenes I () was dynast (ruler) of the city of Pergamon in Asia Minor from 263 BC until his death in 241 BC. He was the son of Eumenes, the brother of Philetaerus, the founder of the Attalid dynasty, and Satyra, daughter of Poseidonius. As he h ...

succeeds his uncle

Philetaerus Philetaerus (; , ''Philétairos'', c. 343 –263 BC) was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia. Early life and career under Lysimachus Philetaerus was born in Tieium (Greek: ''Tieion''), a small town on the Black Sea co ...

on the throne of

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...

. As Philetaerus is a eunuch, he adopts his nephew Eumenes (the son of Philetaerus' brother also named Eumenes) as his successor.

China

* General

Bai Qi Bai Qi (; – January 257 BC), also known as Gongsun Qi (), was a Chinese military general of the Qin (state), Qin state during the Warring States period. Born in Mei (present-day Mei County, Shaanxi), Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin ...

of the

State of Qin Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

captures the Han province of Nan, thereby cutting off

Shangdang Commandery Shangdang Commandery or Shangdang Prefecture (, also named Shangtang) was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771–403 BCE). Consisting of a number of districts or ''Zhōu'' (, or prefectur ...

from the rest of the Han state. This commandery subsequently surrenders itself to the

State of Zhao Zhao () was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It emerged from the tripartite division of Jin, along with Han and Wei, in the 5th century BC. Zhao gained considerable strength from the military ...

rather than transfer to Qin control, which will set up the climactic

Battle of Changping The Battle of Changping () was a military campaign during the Warring States period of ancient China, which took place from 262 to 260 BC at Changping (northwest of present-day Gaoping, Shanxi), between the two strongest military powers, the St ...

in 260 BC.

Births

Antigonus III Doson Antigonus III Doson () was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He was a member of the Antigonid dynasty. He was called Euergetes, Soter and Guardian (ἐπίτροπος) as he was the Legal guardian, guardian of Philip V of Macedon. Family ...

, king of Macedonia from

229 __NOTOC__ Year 229 ( CCXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Cassius (or, less frequently, year 982 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 22 ...

221 BC __NOTOC__ Year 221 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Rufus/Lepidus (or, less frequently, year 533 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 22 ...

(d.

)

Deaths

, founder (reigned from

282 BC __NOTOC__ Year 282 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscinus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 472 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 282 BC for this year has been u ...

) of the

Attalid kingdom The Kingdom of Pergamon, Pergamene Kingdom, or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; ). The ...

, in northwest

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

(b. c.

343 BC __NOTOC__ Year 343 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corvus and Arvina (or, less frequently, year 411 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 343 BC for this year has been us ...

) * Qingxiang of Chu, Chinese king of

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

(

Warring States Period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:263 Bc