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