__NOTOC__ Year 291 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Megellus and Brutus (or, less frequently, year 463 ''

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 291 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

Greece

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

joins his son,

Antigonus Antigonus or Antigonos (), a Greek name meaning "comparable to his father" or "worthy of his father", may refer to: Rulers * Three Macedonian kings of the Antigonid dynasty that succeeded Alexander the Great: ** Antigonus I Monophthalmus (382� ...

, in the siege of Thebes. As the Thebans defend their city stubbornly, Demetrius forces his men to attack the city at great cost. Demetrius finally takes the city after using

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...

s to demolish its walls.

Roman Republic

Third Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanians, Lucania ...

: :* The proconsul Q. Fabius Maximus Gurges and legate Q. Fabius Maximus Rullianus besiege the Samnite town of Cominium Ocritum, but the consul Lucius Postumius Megellus orders Fabius Gurges to relinquish his command and evacuate

Samnium Samnium () is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The language of t ...

, despite the fact that the Senate had appointed Fabius proconsul to campaign against the Samnites. :* Fabius Gurges celebrates a triumph, at which the Samnite general Gavius Pontius is beheaded. :* Postumius captures Cominium Ocritum, the major city of

Venusia Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervas ...

and other towns, killing 10,000 and capturing 6200. At the proposal of Postumius, the Senate sends 20,000 colonists to occupy Venusia, the largest Roman colony to date. However, angered by the various crimes of Postumius, the Senate does not choose him as one of the leaders of the colony and denies him a triumph. :* Postumius celebrates a triumph on his own authority and dismisses his army before the consuls for the following year can take over.

China

* Generals Sima Cuo and

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 ...

attack the

State of Wei Wei (; ) was one of the seven major State (Ancient China), states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han (Warring States), Han and Zhao (state), Zhao. Its territo ...

and capture the city of Yuan. Next, Sima Cuo captures the cities of Zhi and Deng. * Bai Qi then captures the city of Wan in the

state of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

Births

Lü Buwei Lü Buwei (291–235 BCE) was a Chinese merchant and politician of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Originally an influential merchant from the Wey () state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a ...

, Chinese politician and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Qin State 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 ...

(d. 235 BC)

Deaths

Menander Menander (; ; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian Ancient Greek comedy, New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the Cit ...

Athenian 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 ...

dramatist, considered to be a master of Greek New Comedy (b. c. 342 BC) *

Dinarchus Dinarchus or Dinarch (; Corinth, c. 361 – c. 291 BC) was a logographer (speechwriter) in Ancient Greece. He was the last of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of ...

speech writer whose work is generally thought to reflect the gradual decline of Attic oratory (b. c.

361 BC __NOTOC__ Year 361 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stolo and Peticus (or, less frequently, year 393 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 361 BC for this year has been u ...

) * Gavius Pontius, Samnite general * Emperor Kōan of Japan, according to legend.

References

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