One hundred years, from 300 BC to 201 BC
Hannibal
crosses the Alps during the
Second Punic War
The 3rd century BC started the first day of
300 BC and ended the last day of
201 BC . It is considered part of the
Classical Era ,
epoch , or
historical period .
In the
Mediterranean Basin , the first few decades of this century were characterized by a balance of power between the
Greek
Hellenistic kingdoms in the east, and the great mercantile power of
Carthage in the west. This balance was shattered when conflict arose between
ancient Carthage and the
Roman Republic . In the following decades, the
Carthaginian Republic was first humbled and then destroyed by the Romans in the
First and Second
Punic Wars . Following the
Second Punic War , Rome became the most important power in the western Mediterranean.
In the
eastern Mediterranean , the
Seleucid Empire and
Ptolemaic Kingdom ,
successor states to the empire of
Alexander the Great , fought a series of
Syrian Wars for control over the
Levant . In
mainland Greece , the short-lived
Antipatrid dynasty of
Macedon was overthrown and replaced by the
Antigonid dynasty in 294 BC, a royal house that would dominate the affairs of
Hellenistic Greece for roughly a century until the stalemate of the
First Macedonian War against
Rome . Macedon would also lose the
Cretan War against the Greek city-state of
Rhodes and its allies.
In
India ,
Ashoka ruled the
Maurya Empire . The
Pandya ,
Chola and
Chera dynasties of the classical age flourished in the
ancient Tamil country .
The
Warring States period in
China drew to a close, with
Qin Shi Huang conquering the six other nation-states and establishing the short-lived
Qin dynasty , the first empire of China, which was followed in the same century by the long-lasting
Han dynasty . However, a brief interregnum and civil war existed between the Qin and Han periods known as the
Chu-Han contention , lasting until 202 BC with the ultimate victory of
Liu Bang over
Xiang Yu .
The
Protohistoric Period began in
Korea . In the following century the Chinese Han dynasty would conquer the
Gojoseon kingdom of northern Korea. The
Xiongnu were at the height of their power in
Mongolia . They defeated the Han Chinese at the
Battle of Baideng in 200 BC, marking the beginning of the forced
Heqin tributary agreement and marriage alliance that would last several decades.
The world in the 3rd century BC
Map of the world in 300 BC, the beginning of the third century BC.
Map of the Hellenistic world and Maurya Empire in 281 BC.
Map of the world in 200 BC, the end of the third century BC.
Events
The
Lion Capital of Ashoka of
Sarnath ,
Uttar Pradesh , India, now the
National Emblem of India , 3rd century BC, dated to the reign of
Ashoka the Great during the
Maurya Empire
The
Chinese
Terracotta Army of
Qin Shi Huang 's tomb at
Xi'an ,
Shaanxi , China
208 BC :
Zhao Tuo (Triệu Đà) defeats the
Vietnamese king
An Dương Vương .
207 BC :
Triệu dynasty of Viet Nam is inaugurated.
206 BC :
Qin dynasty falls after men from all over China revolts, attacking officials, raising armies, and declaring themselves kings of seized territories.
206 BC –
202 BC : Civil war of the
Chu-Han contention in China.
205 BC : the
Cretan War (205–200 BC) begins between
Macedonia and its allies against the Greek
polis of
Rhodes and its allies, resulting in a Rhodian victory.
202 BC : Romans defeat Carthage, ending the
Second Punic War . Carthage's territories are reduced to some of its North African holdings, and crippling reparations are demanded by Rome.
202 BC : In East Asia, the Chu-Han contention comes to a close,
Xiang Yu commits suicide, and the
Han dynasty of China is founded (202 BC–220 AD) by
Liu Bang .
200 BC : The
Second Macedonian War between Rome and Macedon begins.
Indian traders regularly visit
Arabia .
Scythians occupy
Sogdiana , in modern-day
Uzbekistan .
Inventions, discoveries, introductions
Eratosthenes accurately calculates
Earth's circumference and introduces the
sieve of Eratosthenes , an algorithm for identifying
prime numbers .
Weiqi , known as Go in English, well-established in
China , and may date back to the
2nd millennium BC .
Crucible steel was first produced in Southern
India .
Canopus stele of
Ptolemy III implements the
leap year in Egypt. Leap year not formally recognized until Caesar in 55 BC.
First Roman
sundial (293 BC).
[1]
Toe stirrup finds its earliest manifestation in
India .
Water screw invented by
Archimedes .
The
Euclidean algorithm , the oldest algorithm still in use today, introduced by
Euclid .
Invention of the
hydraulis (the precursor to the
Pipe organ ) by
Ctesibius , a Greek engineer working in
Alexandria .
Zinc mining was first smelted from zinc ore in
India
Emperor Gaozu of Han China discovers an elaborate
mechanical puppet theater in the treasury of the previous ruler
Qin Shi Huang .
The enormous
Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System of China is engineered and constructed by
Li Bing (李冰) in
256 BC .
Great Stupa,
Sanchi ,
Madhya Pradesh ,
India ,
Maurya period , is founded by King
Chandragupta Maurya .
Silk is exported to
Europe from China.
Armillary spheres , models of objects in the sky developed by the Greeks, are in use as teaching tools.
Rotary mill invented by the ancient Greeks.
[2]
Significant people
Seleucus I
Ptolemy Soter
Demetrius Poliorcetes
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Hannibal
Scipio Africanus
Menander
Zeno of Citium
Politics
Appius Claudius Caecus , Roman statesman
Aratus of Sicyon , Greek statesman
Arsinoe II , co-ruler of
Egypt
Ashoka ,
Mauryan ruler of
India
Bindusara , ruler of the
Mauryan Empire
Diodotus I , first ruler of
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
Emperor Gaozu of Han (高皇帝), founder of the
Han dynasty in China
Hamilcar Barca ,
Carthaginian general and politician
Hannibal , Carthaginian general and politician
Hanno the Great , Carthaginian politician
Ilamchetchenni , king of the
Chola dynasty in
South India
Nedunjeliyan I , ruler of the
Pandya dynasty in South India
King Zhaoxiang of Qin , Chinese king of the
Qin state
Li Bing (李冰), Chinese administrator and engineer
Li Si (李斯), Chinese
Chancellor of the
Qin dynasty
Lü Buwei , Chinese merchant and Chancellor of Qin
Lin Xiangru , Chinese politician
Marcus Porcius Cato , Roman statesman and writer
Masinissa , king of
Numidia
Modu Chanyu ,
Xiongnu chieftain
Philip V of Macedon , King of Macedonia
Ptolemy I ,
pharaoh of Egypt
Ptolemy II , pharaoh of Egypt
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , Roman general and politician
Pyrrhus of Epirus , King of Epirus
Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), Chinese Emperor
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus , Roman general and politician
Xiao He , Chinese statesman and
Chancellor of the
Han dynasty
Zhang Liang , Chinese strategist and statesman
Military
Bai Qi (白起), Chinese general
Gaius Lutatius Catulus , Roman general
Han Xin , Chinese general
Hasdrubal Barca , Carthaginian general
Lian Po , Chinese general
Li Mu , Chinese general
Mago Barca , Carthaginian general
Manius Curius Dentatus , Roman general
Marcus Atilius Regulus , Roman general
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , Roman general
Meng Tian , Chinese general
Xanthippus of Carthage , Greek general
Wang Jian , Chinese general
Xiang Yu (項羽), Chinese rebel general against the Qin dynasty
Zhao Tuo , Chinese military commander who conquered the Vietnamese Kingdom of
Au Lac
Literature
Apollonius of Rhodes , Greek poet
Aratus , Greek poet
Callimachus , Greek poet and scholar
Gnaeus Naevius , Roman poet
Herodas , Greek satirist
Menander , Greek playwright
Menippus , Greek satirist
Plautus , Old Latin playwright
Song Yu (宋玉), Chinese poet
Theocritus , Greek poet
Timaeus , Greek Historian
Qu Yuan (屈原), Chinese poet and scholar
Sangam literature (300BC-100AD), of the Tamil language
Science and philosophy
Apollonius of Perga , Greek mathematician
Arcesilaus , Greek philosopher
Archimedes , Greek mathematician, physicist, and engineer
Aristarchus of Samos , Greek astronomer and mathematician
Aristillus , the Greek astronomer
Berossus Hellenistic Babylonian historian and astronomer
Conon of Samos , the Greek astronomer
Demetrius of Phalerum , Greek philosopher and orator
Dicaearchus , Greek philosopher and scientist
Epicurus , Greek philosopher
Eratosthenes , Greek mathematician, geographer, and astronomer
Euclid , the Greek geometer
Han Fei (韓非), Chinese philosopher
Manetho , Hellenistic Egyptian historian
Mencius , Chinese philosopher
Philo of Byzantium , Greek mechanic
Pyrrho , Greek philosopher
Theophrastus , Greek philosopher
Timon of Phlius , Greek philosopher
Xun Kuang (荀況, Xun Li), Chinese philosopher
Zeno of Citium , Greek philosopher
Zenodotus , Greek grammarian
Sovereign states
See:
List of sovereign states in the 3rd century BC .
References