250s BC

This article concerns the period 259 BC – 250 BC.

Events

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259 BC

By place

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Seleucid Empire
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Sicily
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China
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258 BC

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By place

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Roman Republic
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  • The Romans are able to regain the initiative in Sicily against Carthage by retaking Enna and Camarina. In central Sicily, they take the town of Mytistraton, which they have attacked twice previously. The Romans also move in the north by marching across the northern coast toward Panormus, but are not able to take the city due to the city's heavily fortified walls.
  • Gaius Duilius Nepos, the Roman commander who has won a major naval victory over the Carthaginians is made censor with Lucius Cornelius Scipio. The election of a novus homo (i.e. the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or be elected as consul) to the censorship is a very rare honor.
Egypt
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Greece
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China
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Vietnam
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257 BC

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By place

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Roman Republic
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China
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  • The State of Chu and the State of Wei send armies to assist Zhao against the Qin, and they defeat the Qin army of Wang He outside Handan. This forces Wang He to lift the siege.
  • The Qin general Bai Qi is executed for his refusal to take command of the siege.[4]
Vietnam
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256 BC

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By place

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Roman Republic
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North Africa
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  • Following the Battle of Cape Ecnomus, the Romans land an army near Carthage (Tunesia, North Africa) and begin ravaging the Carthaginian countryside. The Roman army soon forces the capitulation of Clupea, a town 40 miles (64 kilometres) east of Carthage. After setting up Roman defenses for the city, the two consuls receive instructions from Rome that Vulso is to set sail for Rome, taking most of the fleet with him. Regulus, on the other hand, is to stay with the infantry and cavalry to finish the war.[6]
  • Marcus Atilius Regulus marches to Aspis and takes the town after a short siege.
  • From their new base at Aspis the Romans march on towards Carthage; they encounter and defeat the Carthaginian army at the Battle of Adys.
China
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255 BC

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By place

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Roman Republic
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  • The Battle of Adis (or Adys) is fought near the city of that name, 40 miles (64 kilometres) southeast of Carthage, between Carthaginian forces and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. The Romans inflict a crushing defeat upon the Carthaginians, and the latter then sue for peace. The ensuing negotiations between the parties lead to Regulus demanding Carthage agree to an unconditional surrender, cede Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia to Rome, renounce the use of their navy, pay an indemnity, and sign a vassal-like treaty. These terms are so harsh that the people of Carthage resolve to keep fighting.[10]
  • The Carthaginians, angered by Regulus' demands, hire Xanthippus, a Spartan mercenary, to reorganize the army. The revitalised Carthaginian army, led by Xanthippus, decisively defeat the Romans in the Battle of Tunis and capture their commander Marcus Atilius Regulus. A Roman fleet, sent to rescue Regulus and his troops, is wrecked in a storm off Sicily.[11]
Egypt
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Bactria
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China
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254 BC

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By place

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Roman Republic
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253 BC

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By place

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  • The second Syrian War between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies ends. Antiochus II regains much of Anatolia from Ptolemy II, including the cities of Miletus and Ephesus, and also the Phoenician coast.[18]
  • The war is concluded with the marriage of Antiochus to Ptolemy II's daughter, Berenice Syra. Antiochus divorces his previous wife, Laodice, and transfers the succession to Berenice's children.[18]
  • In recapturing the city of Miletus, Antiochus II overthrows the tyrant of the city. In response, the citizens worship him as a god in thanksgiving leading to the addition of Theos to Antiochus II's name.[19]
  • Alexander, Antigonus II's nephew and regent, leads a revolt in Corinth with Ptolemy II's help and declares himself an independent monarch. As a result, Antigonus loses Corinth and Chalcis, the two bases from which he has dominated southern Greece. As the Aetolians occupy Thermopylae, Antigonus II is cut off from Athens and the Peloponnese.
  • Macedonia's involvement in the second Syrian War ceases when Antigonus becomes preoccupied with the rebellion of Corinth and Chalcis, as well as an increase in enemy activity along Macedon's northern frontier.

252 BC

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By place

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Greece
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251 BC

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By place

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Greece
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  • Paseas, the tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon, is assassinated by Nicocles, with the acquiescence of the Macedonian king Antigonus II. Nicocles reigns as tyrant of Sicyon for only four months, during which period he drives into exile eighty of the city's citizens. Then the citadel of Sicyon is surprised in the night by a party of Sicyonian exiles, headed by a young nobleman, Aratus. The palace of the tyrant is set on fire, but Nicocles escapes from the city through a subterranean passage.
  • Aratus recalls back to Sicyon those exiled by Nicocles. This leads to confusion and division within the city. Fearing that Antigonus II will exploit these divisions to attack the city, Aratus applies for the city to join the Achaean League, a league of a few small Achaean towns in the Peloponnese. Aratus then gains the financial support of the Egyptian king Ptolemy II to enable the Achaean League to defend itself against Macedonia.
Roman Republic
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  • The Romans, led by Lucius Caecilius Metellus, attack the Carthaginian held port city of Panormus after taking Kephalodon. After fierce fighting in the Battle of Panormus, the Carthaginians, led by Hasdrubal (the Fair), are defeated and the city falls.[23]
  • With Panormus captured, much of western inland Sicily falls with it. The cities of Ieta, Solous, Petra and Tyndaris agree to peace with the Romans in the same year. This defeat marks the end of significant Carthaginian land-based campaigning in Sicily.
China
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250 BC

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By place

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Egypt
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Roman Republic
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Persia
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India
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China
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Births

259 BC

257 BC

256 BC

255 BC

254 BC

253 BC

252 BC

250 BC

Deaths

257 BC

256 BC

254 BC

252 BC

251 BC

250 BC

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  2. ^ Qian, Sima. Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Bai Qi.
  3. ^ Qian, Sima. Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Lu Buwei.
  4. ^ Qian, Sima. Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Bai Qi.
  5. ^ Casson, Lionel (1995). Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World (1st ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5130-0.
  6. ^ "Clupea - Livius". www.livius.org. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  7. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "The Great Wall". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  8. ^ Qian, Sima (1995). The Grand Scribe's Records, Vol. 1: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China (1st ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
  9. ^ Zhang, Kan (2006). World Heritage in China. Guangzhou: The Press of South China University of Technology. ISBN 7-5623-2390-9.
  10. ^ LLC, Arcadian Venture. "First Punic War | Battle of Adys". Arcadian Venture LLC. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  11. ^ "Battle of Tunis, 255 BC". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  12. ^ "Second Syrian War, 260-255 BC". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  13. ^ Ramirez-Faria, Carlos (2007). Concise Encyclopedia of World History. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-269-0775-5. Bactria was sheared of by Diodotus, a Greek viceroy, from the post-Alexandrian Seleucid Empire in 256 BCE.
  14. ^ Schinz, Alfred (1996). The Magic Square: Cities in Ancient China (2nd ed.). Stuttgart, London: Deahan Printing & Publishing Co.
  15. ^ "Siege of Panormus, 254 B.C." www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  16. ^ "Punic Wars | Summary, Causes, Battles, & Maps | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  17. ^ "Sack of Agrigentum, 254 B.C." www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  18. ^ a b "Syrian Wars | Hellenistic history | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  19. ^ "Antiochus II 'Theos' King of Syria". homepages.rpi.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  20. ^ "Rome's Woe on the Waves : Rome's Navy Falls Short Repeatedly". Rebellion Research. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  21. ^ "Tiberius Coruncanius". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  22. ^ a b Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich) (2006-10-01), "Abantidas", Brill’s New Pauly, Brill, retrieved 2022-11-30
  23. ^ "Battle of Panormus, 251 B.C." www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  24. ^ Qian, Sima. Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Lian Po.
  25. ^ Qian, Sima. Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Basic Annals of Qin.
  26. ^ "Gaozu | emperor of Han dynasty | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  27. ^ "Plautus | Roman dramatist | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  28. ^ "Philopoemen | Greek general | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  29. ^ "Wuwang | ruler of Zhou | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.