Hellenistic kingdoms
The Greek-ruled kingdoms that succeeded Alexander (323-30 BCE): the Ptolemies, Seleucids, Antigonids and others, and their culture.
Category: States
- April 331 BCEAlexander founds Alexandria
In April 331 BCE Alexander founds Alexandria on Egypt's coast, planned on a grid by the architect Dinocrates of Rhodes. After his death Ptolemy makes it his capital, and it becomes a centre of Hellenistic learning.
- 323 BCELamian War
On news of Alexander's death, Athens and other Greek states revolt against Macedon in 323 BCE. Antipater is besieged at Lamia, but wins at Crannon in August 322. Athens gets a garrison and an oligarchy; its citizen body falls from about 21,000 to 9,000.
- 323 BCEPartition of Babylon
After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, the infantry back his half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus while Perdiccas holds the signet ring. Philip III and the unborn Alexander IV are made joint kings in name; Perdiccas distributes the satrapies.
- 321 BCEPerdiccas is assassinated
In 321 BCE, after a failed crossing of the Nile into Ptolemy's Egypt, Perdiccas is killed by his own officers, including Seleucus. The regency passes to others and the wars of Alexander's successors begin in earnest.
- 312 BCESeleucus returns to Babylon
In 312 BCE Seleucus, one of Alexander's generals, returns to Babylon with Ptolemy's help. The year counts as the first of the Seleucid era and the start of the Seleucid Empire, which will stretch from Anatolia to the east.
- 306 BCEThe Successors proclaim themselves kings
In 306 BCE Antigonus and his son Demetrius take the royal crown, and Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus and later Cassander follow. Alexander's empire is formally split into rival kingdoms. Ptolemy is crowned king and pharaoh about 305-304.
- 305 BCESiege of Rhodes
In 305-304 BCE Demetrius besieges Rhodes for about a year until a Ptolemaic relief fleet arrives. The Rhodians sell his abandoned siege machines for 300 talents and use the money for the Colossus.
- c. 303 BCESeleucus and Chandragupta make a treaty
About 303 BCE Seleucus makes a treaty with Chandragupta Maurya, ceding eastern territory for 500 war elephants. Their use at Ipsus is decisive. Whether Seleucus lost a war first, and how much he ceded, is disputed.
- 301 BCEBattle of Ipsus
In 301 BCE Seleucus, Lysimachus and Cassander's forces defeat Antigonus, who is killed. Elephants are decisive. Demetrius escapes. Antigonus's empire is divided among the victors.
- 300 BCESeleucus founds Antioch
In 300 BCE Seleucus I founds Antioch, one of many cities he establishes, along with Seleucia on the Tigris. Antioch becomes a main city of the Seleucid kingdom.
- c. 300 BCEEuclid and the Elements
Around 300 BCE Euclid works in Alexandria. His Elements gathers earlier mathematics into an ordered system of proofs. Little is known of his life, and later editors may have added material to the text.
- c. 292 BCEThe Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of about 33 metres by Chares of Lindos, is begun about 292 BCE and finished in 280. An earthquake topples it in 226. The image of it straddling the harbour is unsupported.
- c. 287 BCEArchimedes of Syracuse
Archimedes is born about 287 BCE in Syracuse. His works include On the Sphere and Cylinder, On Floating Bodies, which states the principle of buoyancy, and the Method. The bath-and-"Eureka" story comes from Vitruvius, two centuries later.
- c. 285 BCEThe Library of Alexandria
The Library of Alexandria, part of the royal Mouseion, was probably founded under Ptolemy II, after Ptolemy I laid the groundwork. Its scholars include Zenodotus, Callimachus and Eratosthenes. Estimates of its holdings range from 40,000 to 700,000 scrolls.
- 284 BCEThe Pharos of Alexandria
Ptolemy I commissions the great lighthouse of Alexandria, and Ptolemy II completes it, after about twelve years and at a cost of 800 silver talents. It stands at least 100 metres tall and survives until earthquakes in the 14th century.
- 281 BCESeleucus is assassinated
In 281 BCE Seleucus defeats Lysimachus at Corupedium, and then is murdered in September by Ptolemy Keraunos near Lysimachia.
- c. 280 BCEThe Achaean League is revived
About 280 BCE the Achaean League is refounded by four Peloponnesian cities and grows as more join. It has an assembly, a council and an elected general. Under Aratus and Philopoemen it becomes a major power until Rome ends its independence in 146.
- c. 280 BCEAristarchus proposes a heliocentric cosmos
Aristarchus of Samos, who observed the solstice of 280 BCE, proposes that the Sun is fixed and the Earth orbits it. His book is lost; Archimedes' Sand Reckoner reports the idea. Plato, Aristotle and Ptolemy prefer an Earth-centred cosmos.
- 280 BCEPyrrhus lands in Italy and wins at Heraclea
Called by Tarentum, King Pyrrhus of Epirus crosses to Italy in 280 BCE and defeats a Roman army at Heraclea. Some Greek and Italian cities in Rome's sphere defect to him.
- 279 BCEBattle of Asculum: the original "Pyrrhic victory"
In 279 BCE Pyrrhus beats the Romans again at Asculum but at a heavy cost. The phrase "Pyrrhic victory" comes from a remark ascribed to him, though historians doubt he said it.
- 279 BCEThe Gauls invade Greece
Celtic armies kill the Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos and push into Greece. In 279 BCE they get past Thermopylae but are defeated at Delphi. Survivors settle in Thrace or cross into Asia Minor, where they found Galatia.
- 275 BCEPyrrhus withdraws after Beneventum
After a campaign in Sicily against Carthage, Pyrrhus returns to Italy and is defeated or held to a draw by the Romans at Beneventum in 275 BCE. He leaves Italy for Epirus.
- c. 255 BCEThe Greco-Bactrian kingdom
About 255 BCE (some say 246) the satrap Diodotus I breaks from the Seleucids and founds a Greek kingdom in Bactria. It lasts until about 120 BCE and later reaches into India.
- c. 250 BCE – 132 BCEThe Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek: the Septuagint
Jews in Ptolemaic Egypt, probably around Alexandria, translate the Torah into Greek in the 3rd century BCE and the other books by 132 BCE. Some copies include books later called deuterocanonical.
- c. 247 BCEArsaces founds the Parthian dynasty
About 247 BCE Arsaces I, chief of the Parni, founds the Arsacid dynasty in Parthia, as Seleucid control of the east weakens. The date is debated; some put it as late as 238.
- c. 246 BCEEratosthenes measures the Earth
After Ptolemy III comes to the throne in 246 BCE, Eratosthenes of Cyrene is called to Alexandria as chief librarian. He measures the Earth's circumference from shadows at Syene and Alexandria, with a result perhaps within 1% of the truth.
- c. 238 BCEAttalus I defeats the Galatians
About 238 BCE Attalus I of Pergamon defeats the Galatians and leads an independent kingdom. The Attalids, founded by Philetaerus in 281, rebuild Pergamon on a monumental scale and keep a library second only to Alexandria.
- June 22, 217 BCEBattle of Raphia
On 22 June 217 BCE Ptolemy IV defeats Antiochus III at Raphia. About 20,000 native Egyptians trained as phalangites are key to the victory. African and Indian elephants fight each other here. Egyptian influence in Ptolemaic rule grows.
- 214 BCEFirst Macedonian War
After Cannae, Philip V of Macedon allies with Hannibal (215 BCE). Rome keeps him busy in Greece through Aetolian allies until the stalemate ends in the Peace of Phoenice in 205 BCE.
- 200 BCEBattle of Panium
In 200 BCE Antiochus III defeats the Ptolemaic army under Scopas near Paneas, and Coele-Syria passes to the Seleucids. A peace treaty follows in 195. The Ptolemaic state then cuts back its Macedonian phalanx.
- 197 BCEBattle of Cynoscephalae
In 197 BCE Flamininus's legions defeat Philip V's Macedonian phalanx in Thessaly. Philip accepts Roman terms: he withdraws from the Greek cities, pays 1,000 talents and gives up most of his fleet.
- 196 BCEFlamininus proclaims the "freedom of the Greeks"
At the Isthmian Games of 196 BCE the Roman general Flamininus declares the Greek cities free of Macedonian rule. Rome nonetheless keeps garrisons in Corinth, Chalcis and Demetrias until 194.
- March 27, 196 BCEThe Rosetta Stone decree
On 27 March 196 BCE priests at Memphis issue a decree for Ptolemy V, written in hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek. Found in 1799, the stone lets Champollion, building on Young and others, announce the decipherment of hieroglyphs in 1822.
- 190 BCEBattle of Magnesia defeats Antiochus III
Rome and Pergamon crush the Seleucid king Antiochus III at Magnesia ad Sipylum in December 190 BCE. Pergamene cavalry is decisive; Antiochus loses his hold on Asia Minor.
- 188 BCETreaty of Apamea
In 188 BCE Antiochus III gives up Asia Minor west of the Taurus, pays 15,000 talents, limits his fleet and drops his elephants. Pergamon and Rhodes gain most of the land; Rome gains hegemony without annexing it.
- c. 180 BCEDemetrius I invades India
Before 180 BCE the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I invades northwest India and creates the Indo-Greek kingdoms. Some conquests are credited by historians to Menander instead.
- 168 BCEBattle of Pydna ends the Macedonian kingdom
On 22 June 168 BCE Aemilius Paullus beats Perseus of Macedon. The legions break the phalanx on uneven ground; Perseus is paraded in Rome and Macedon is split into four republics.
- 167 BCEThe Maccabean revolt begins
In 167 BCE, as Antiochus IV's decrees ban Jewish practices, the priest Mattathias kills a Jew sacrificing to an idol and a Seleucid officer, and the revolt begins. His son Judas Maccabeus leads it after 166.
- c. 166 BCEThe Great Altar of Pergamon
Under Eumenes II the Pergamon Altar is built in the first half of the 2nd century BCE, probably about 166-156. Its frieze shows the gods fighting the Giants, and an inner frieze tells the story of Telephus. It was excavated by Carl Humann from 1878.
- 164 BCEThe Temple is rededicated: Hanukkah
In 164 BCE the Maccabees take Jerusalem, and cleanse and rededicate the Temple on 25 Kislev, the origin of Hanukkah. The Seleucid ban on Jewish practice is revoked. Judas dies at Elasa in 160.
- 148 BCEMacedonia becomes a Roman province
Andriscus, a pretender, revives the Macedonian kingdom in 150 BCE. He is defeated in 148 by Metellus Macedonicus, who makes Macedonia a Roman province, a process that may have been gradual. Some sources give 146.
- 146 BCERome sacks Corinth; Achaean League dissolved
After defeating the Achaean League in 146 BCE, Lucius Mummius plunders and destroys Corinth. Greece is brought under the governor of Macedonia and Corinth stays in ruins until Caesar refounds it in 44 BCE.
- 141 BCEJudea becomes independent
In 141 BCE Simon Thassi expels the Seleucid garrison from the Acra citadel in Jerusalem. The year before, Demetrius II had exempted Judea from tribute. This marks the start of the Hasmonean state.
- 134 BCEJohn Hyrcanus succeeds Simon
Simon Thassi is assassinated in 135 or 134 BCE and his son John Hyrcanus succeeds him. Antiochus VII besieges Jerusalem for about a year; a truce costs Hyrcanus a payment, the city walls and troops against the Parthians. After Antiochus dies he stops paying tribute.
- 133 BCEAttalus III leaves Pergamon to Rome
The last king of Pergamon, Attalus III, dies childless in 133 BCE and wills his kingdom to Rome. A pretender, Aristonicus, raises a revolt in 131 that Rome suppresses in 129.
- 127 BCEHipparchus and the precession of the equinoxes
Hipparchus of Nicaea is credited with discovering the precession of the equinoxes in 127 BCE, at a rate of not less than 1 degree a century. He is known as the father of trigonometry and compiled a star catalogue, perhaps in 135.
- c. 100 BCEThe Antikythera mechanism
A hand-cranked analogue computer of the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE predicts the Sun, Moon and eclipses, and tracks the Olympiad cycle. Sponge divers recover it from a Roman wreck at Antikythera in 1900-1901. Its date and origin are debated.
- 89 BCEFirst Mithridatic War
Rome fights Mithridates VI of Pontus in Anatolia and Greece, 89-85 BCE. Sulla wins the battles but must settle by the Treaty of Dardanos in 85: Mithridates keeps his kingdom; the Senate never ratifies it.
- 64 BCESyria becomes a Roman province
Pompey annexes the Seleucid-held cities of Syria in 64 BCE, creating the Roman province of Syria. Judea becomes a client state of Rome.
- 63 BCEMithridates VI dies; the Third Mithridatic War ends
Cornered in the Crimea by a revolt of his son Pharnaces, Mithridates VI dies in 63 BCE after a failed suicide attempt. Pontus becomes Roman and the Third Mithridatic War ends.
- 51 BCECleopatra VII takes the throne
In 51 BCE Cleopatra, aged about 18, becomes ruler of Egypt with her brother Ptolemy XIII. A descendant of Ptolemy I and the last active Ptolemaic ruler, she is the first of her dynasty reported to have learned Egyptian.
- 48 BCEAlexandrian War; Caesar and Cleopatra
Besieged in the palace quarter of Alexandria, Caesar sides with Cleopatra against her brother Ptolemy XIII. After relief arrives and Ptolemy dies in early 47 BCE, he makes her queen. Caesarion is born around June.
- 48 BCEPompey is murdered in Egypt
Pompey is killed on arrival in Egypt on the orders of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar reaches Alexandria on 2 October 48 BCE and learns of the murder there.
- 34 BCEDonations of Alexandria
In autumn 34 BCE Antony proclaims Cleopatra queen of kings and Caesarion Caesar's legitimate heir, and gives lands to his children with Cleopatra. The Senate rejects the grants and Octavian intensifies his attacks on Antony.
- September 2, 31 BCEBattle of Actium
On 2 September 31 BCE Agrippa's fleet routs Antony's and Cleopatra's off Actium on the Ionian Sea. Antony escapes with a few ships and his army later deserts.
- August 30 BCEAlexandria falls; Antony and Cleopatra die
Octavian takes Alexandria on 1 August 30 BCE. Antony stabs himself and Cleopatra kills herself on 12 August. Caesarion is put to death and Egypt ends as a kingdom, becoming Octavian's personal possession.