3th Century BC - Ancient History Timeline

300 - 200 BC

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B.C.

300 Rice farming begins in Japan

300 Latin gradually wins over other Italic languages

298 Gauls join Samnites and Latins against Rome in the Third Samnite War

297 Lighthouse at Alexandria built

290 Third Samnite War ends with Roman victory in central Italy

287 Full equality between patricians and plebeians is agreed

287 The plebeians pass a new law: the decisions of the assembly can override the Senate

287 Birth of Archimedes (Greek mathematician)

285 Reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Egypt)

279 Gauls invade Macedonia

278 Three Hellenistic kingdoms developed

278 Ptolemies in Egypt, Seleucids in Babylonia & Syria, and Antigonids in Macedonia

276 Antigonus Gonatus drives the Gauls from Macedonia

276 Birth of Euclid (mathematician)

275 Pyrrhus of Epirus invades Italy with his fearful elephant cavalry and 20,000 soldiers

275 Pyrrhus and his weakend army leave Italy, power of Greece in s. Italy is broken

275 Colossus of Rhodes is completed

273 King Asoka (Buddhist) rules Mauryan empire uniting central and northern India.

272 The Gauls sack Delphi while heading to Asia Minor

265 Rome dominates the entire Italian peninsula

265 Rome begins pursuing a larger empire. Many more wars develop.

264 First recorded public gladiator fight in Rome

264 First Punic War between Rome and Carthage

262 Antigonus Gonatus, king of Macedonia, conquers some of the Greek states

254 Rome takes Panormus in Sicily from Carthage

250 Judea is part of Ptolemaic empire based in Egypt

250 Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek (Septuagint)

250 Apollonius (Greek mathematician) begins work in astronomy

247 Arsaces founds the Parthian dynasty

246 Birth of Hannibal the great war general and enemy of Rome

246 Ptolemy III rules rules in Egypt

241 End of First Punic War

241 Carthage gives up Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia and pays Rome an indemnity

241 Sicily becomes the first Roman province

239 Carthaginian mercenaries revolt which Hamilcar Barca crushes

239 Egyptians introduce the concept of the leap year

238 Carthaginians begin conquest of Spain

237 Birth of Scipio Africanus, the general who leads Rome in the Second Punic War

234 Cato the Elder is born

232 The Mauryan Empire begins to disintregate and Greeks set up kingdoms

229 Dardanians invade Macedonia

225 Gallic invasion crushed at Telamon, n. Italy

223 Antiochus III (the Great) succeeds his father and restores power to Seleucid empire

221 Ch'in dynasty in China begins with Shih Huang Ti, declares himself emperor,

221 The founding of China

221 Philip V rules Macedonia

221 Ptolemy IV Philopater rules in Egypt

218 Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage

218 Hannibal crosses the Pyrannes then the Alps with elephants and invades Italy

217 Hannibal defeats Roman army at Lake Trasimene in Italy

216 Hannibal wins another great victory, at Cannae (worst defeats the Romar s suffer)

215 Hannibal is defeated by the Roman, Marcellus, at Nola in southern Italy

215 The Great Wall of China is built

214 Marcellus begins conquest of Sicily

212 Shi Huangdi has all historical documents burned and books are banned

211 First Macedonian War, in which the Macedonians and the Carthaginians fight Rome

210 Silk-based material is used for writing on, and Chinese script is standardized

209 Civil war in China results in the overthrow of the Ch'in dynasty

207 Former Han dynasty in China

206 Scipio defeats the Carthaginians in Spain

205 Rome and Macedonia sign a non-aggression pact

205 Reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes in Egypt

205 Polybius is born (historian)

203 Rosetta Stone carved (records Epiphanes ascension)

203 Hannibal is recalled to Carthage to repel a Roman invasion by Scipio

202 Hannibal is defeated by Scipio at Zama in n. Africa

202 Reign of the Han dynasty founded by Lui Pang

201 Second Punic War ends,

201 Carthage pays another indemnity and releases Spain and other colonies