istoryworld
All Events
The earliest inscriptions in an American script are those of the Zapotecs, from about this period
Rome picks a quarrel with Carthage to begin the Third Punic War
Carthage is destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War
Simon the Maccabee is appointed high priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, with the position declared hereditary in his family
The Greek astronomer Hipparchus is credited with the invention of the astrolabe, measuring the angle of sun or star above the horizon
The priestly Sadducees are confronted in the Sanhedrin by a new opposition party - the Pharisees
A secret ballot is instituted for Roman citizens, who mark their vote on a tablet and place it in an urn
Zhang Qian, a Chinese diplomat, begins a spell of twelve years as a captive of the nomadic horde, the Xiongnu
The tribune Tiberius Gracchus is murdered by a mob which includes Roman senators
The Greek astronomer Hipparchus, mapping the stars, observes but cannot explain the precession of the equinoxes
Hipparchus proposes a grid of 360° of latitude and longitude for mapmaking
Hipparchus completes the first scientific star catalogue, mapping some 850 stars
Zhang Qian reaches Bactria and is the first to bring news of western Asia back to China
Under the Han dynasty the Confucians become the official civil servants in China, with entry to the service regulated by examination
The Romans establish a province in the south of France, still acknowledged in the name Provence
The tribune Gaius Gracchus is murdered by an armed group, led by a consul, after which 3000 of his supporters are rounded up and executed
Antipater, a Greek author living on the Phoenician coast, lists the seven wonders of the world
Sima Qian undertakes (and carries through against unusual odds) a major survey of Chinese history
A caravan leaves China with goods destined for Persia - proof that the eastern half of the Silk Road is now open
The Roman general Gaius Marius defeats the Teutones, a German tribe which has made deep inroads into southern Gaul
A German tribe, the Cimbri, press into northern Italy until they are defeated at Vercellae and driven out of the peninsula
The Essenes, a Jewish sect, withdraw from secular life to form monastic communities in the desert
A Venus is carved in marble, and centuries later becomes an ideal of female beauty after being found on the island of Milo
Hindu temple sculptors develop a sinuous and full-bodied style for the naked female form
Julius Caesar is born into a patrician Roman family
