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2nd century BC

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 200 BC to 101 BC}}

{{redirect|100s BC|the decade|100s BC (decade)}}

{{Centurybox|-2}}

Image:East-Hem_200bc.jpg

File:World in 100 BCE.PNG

The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be the end of the Axial Age.{{cite book |title=Introducing Philosophy of Religion |last=Meister |first=Chad |year=2009 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon |pages=10 |isbn=978-0-203-88002-9}} In the context of the Eastern Mediterranean, it is the mid-point of the Hellenistic period.

Fresh from its victories in the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic continued its expansion in the western Mediterranean, campaigning in the Iberian Peninsula throughout the century and annexing the North African coast after the destruction of the city of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War. They became the dominant force in the Aegean by destroying Antigonid Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and Corinth in the Achaean War. The Hellenistic kingdoms of Ptolemaic Egypt and Attalid Pergamon entered into subordinate relationships with the Romans – Pergamon was eventually annexed. The end of the century witnessed the evolution of the Roman army from a citizen army into a voluntary professional force, which later scholars would misattribute to putative reforms by noted general and statesman Gaius Marius (the so-called Marian Reforms).

In the Near East, the other major Hellenistic kingdom, the Seleucid Empire collapsed into civil war in the middle of the century, following the loss of Asia Minor to the Romans and the conquest of the Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia by the Parthian empire. Outlying regions became independent kingdoms, notably the Hasmonean kingdom in Judaea.

In East Asia, China reached a high point under the Han dynasty. The Han Empire extended its boundaries from Korea in the east to Vietnam in the South to the borders of modern-day Kazakhstan in the west. The nomadic Xiongnu were at the height of their power at the beginning of the century, collecting tribute from the Han. Their victories over the Yuezhi set off a chain of westward migrations in Central Asia. Han efforts to find allies against the Xiongnu by exploring the lands to their west would ultimately lead to the opening of the Silk Road.{{Cite web|url=https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18006|title=Silk Road, North China|website=The Megalithic Portal}}

In South Asia, the Mauryan Empire in India collapsed when Brihadnatha, the last emperor, was killed by Pushyamitra Shunga, a Mauryan general who founded of the Shunga Empire. The Greco-Bactrians crossed the Hindu Kush and established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, but lost their homeland in Bactria to the Sakas, themselves under pressure from the Yuezhi.

Events

File:Rosetta Stone.JPG, a trilingual decree recording the coronation of Ptolemy V at Memphis in Egypt.]]

  • 200 BC: Battle of Panium: Antiochus III of the Seleucid empire defeats Ptolemy V of Egypt.{{cite book |last1=Walbank |first1=F. W. |title=The Hellenistic world |date=1992 |publisher=Fontana |location=London |isbn=0-00-686104-0 |page=101 |edition=[Rev.]}}
  • c.200 BC: In ancient Philippines, the archipelago's indigenous people began to increase their contact with other nations in Southeast and East Asia, resulting in the establishment of fragmented city-states-like polities formed by complex sociopolitical units known as barangay or barangay states.{{cite web|url=https://historylearning.com/history-of-the-philippines/pre-history/barangay-states/|title=Barangay States|website=History Learning}}

=[[190s BC]]=

  • 198 BC: Fifth Syrian War: Antiochus III takes control of Coele Syria and Judea.{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Peter |title=Alexander to Actium : the historical evolution of the Hellenistic age |date=1990 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |page=304|isbn=978-0-520-08349-3}}
  • (November 12): Antiochus issues a decree requiring registration of all Egyptians taken slave during the war (somata Aigyptia) for census purposes.Willy Clarysse, Dorothy J. Thompson, Ulrich Luft, Counting the People in Hellenistic Egypt, Volume 2, Historical Studies (Cambridge University Press, 2006) p263
  • 197 BC: (June) Flamininus defeats Philip V, king of Antigonid Macedonia at the Battle of Cynoscephalae, ending the Second Macedonian War.Bernard Mineo, A Companion to Livy (Wiley, 2014) p412 (drawn by author from Polybius and Livy{{cite book |last1=Walbank |first1=F. W. |title=The Hellenistic world |date=1992 |publisher=Fontana |location=London |isbn=0-00-686104-0 |page=98|edition=[Rev.]}}
  • 196 BC:
  • (March 27) Upon reaching the age of 14, Ptolemy V Epiphanes is crowned as the King of Egypt at Memphis. The decree made in conjunction with the coronation, dated the first day of the Egyptian month of Pharmouthi, is written in the Egyptian language in both hieroglyphics and in demotic script, as well as in Greek on the Rosetta Stone, providing the key to deciphering the hieroglyphics almost 20 centuries later.Alan K. Bowman, Egypt After the Pharaohs, 332 BC-AD 642: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest (University of California Press, 1989), p30
  • Lampsacus and Smyrna appeal to Rome for protection against Antiochus III's expansion into western Asia Minor and Thrace.{{cite book |last1=Errington |first1=R. M. |editor1-last=Astin |editor1-first=A. E. |editor2-last=Walbank |editor2-first=F. W. |editor3-last=Frederiksen |editor3-first=M. W. |editor4-last=Ogilvie |editor4-first=R. M. |title=The Cambridge Ancient History 8: Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 BC |date=1989 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge [England] |isbn=978-0-521-23448-1 |page=271 |edition=Second |chapter=Rome against Philip and Antiochus}}
  • Empress Lü's execution of Han Xin leads to the Ying Bu rebellion.
  • 195 BC:
  • (June 1) In China, Emperor Gaozu of Han dies and is succeeded by his 15-year-old son Prince Liu Ying. As the second Han dynasty ruler, Liu Ying is given the regnal name of Emperor Hui and reigns until his death in 188 BC at the age of 22. However, the true power resides with his mother, the Empress Lü Zhi, who serves as the Regent as widow of Gaozu.
  • The War against Nabis marks the end of Spartan power in Greece.{{cite book |last1=Cartledge |first1=Paul |last2=Spawforth |first2=A. |title=Hellenistic and Roman Sparta : a tale of two cities |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-415-26277-1 |pages=74–79 |edition=2nd}}
  • 194 BC:
  • (April 4) — The first Games of Megalesia and a festival are held in Rome after games were promised in honor of Cybele following Rome's triumph over Carthage in the Punic Wars. The festival and games last seven full days, closing on April 10.Eckart Kèohne, Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome (University of California Press, 2000) p10
  • Wiman of Gojoseon establishes Wiman Joseon in Korea.{{cite book |last =Kim |first =Jinwung |title=A history of Korea: from "Land of the Morning Calm" to states in conflict |date=2012 |location=Bloomington, IN | publisher = Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-00024-8 |page=16}}
  • 192 BC:
  • The Yue Kingdom of Eastern Ou established in Zhejiang with Chinese support.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}
  • (February)— Antiochus, the son of Antiochus III and co-regent for the Seleucid throne since 209 BC, dies; according to cuneiform tablets, news reaches Babylon sometime during the month of Addara after April 8.T. Boiy, Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon (Peeters Publishers, 2004) p157
  • (November) — Antiochus III leads an army into Greece to challenge Roman control, at the invitation of the Aetolians, starting the Roman-Syrian War.{{cite book |last1=Bringmann |first1=Klaus |title=A history of the Roman republic |date=2007 |publisher=Polity |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0-7456-3371-8 |page=91}}{{cite book |last1=Walbank |first1=F. W. |title=The Hellenistic world |date=1992 |publisher=Fontana |location=London |isbn=0-00-686104-0 |page=237|edition=[Rev.]}}
  • 191 BC: (April 24) Battle of Thermopylae: Manius Acilius Glabrio drives Antiochus III out of Greece.{{cite book |last1=Grainger |first1=John D. |title=The Roman war of Antiochos the Great |date=2002 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-12840-8 |pages=240–246}}
  • 190 BC: (December or January 189 BC) Battle of Magnesia: Rome and Pergamon drive Antiochus III out of Asia Minor.{{cite book |last1=Grainger |first1=John D. |title=The Roman war of Antiochos the Great |date=2002 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-12840-8 |pages=320–329}}

=[[180s BC]]=

File:Changling 2.jpg, Shaanxi]]

File:I17 1karshapana Sunga MACW4325 1ar (8485402873).jpg of King Pushyamitra Shunga (185-149 BC), founder of the Shunga dynasty.]]

  • 189 BC: Galatian War: Gnaeus Manlius Vulso and Pergamon defeat the Galatians.{{cite book |last1=Grainger |first1=John D. |title=The Roman war of Antiochos the Great |date=2002 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-12840-8 |pages=341–344}}
  • 188 BC: (September 26) Prince Liu Gong, the five-year old younger brother of Emperor Hui becomes the third Han dynasty Emperor of China upon his brother's death, taking the regnal name of Emperor Qianshao. Because of his minority, his grandmother, Empress Lü continues as the actual ruler and serves as the regent.
  • 187 BC: (July 3) Seleucid king Antiochus III dies at the age of 53 and is succeeded by his son Seleucus IV Philopator.{{cite book|author=Wilson. Nigel Guy|title=Encyclopedia of ancient Greece|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000unse_a6l6/page/58 58]|isbn=978-0-415-97334-2|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000unse_a6l6/page/58}}
  • 186 BC: Ptolemy V defeats Ankhwennefer and regains control of Upper Egypt.{{cite book |last1=Hölbl |first1=Günther |title=A History of the Ptolemaic Empire |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-135-11983-6 |page=156}}
  • 185 BC: Pushyamitra Shunga assassinates the last Maurya emperor, founding the Shunga dynasty.{{cite book |last1=Thapar |first1=Romila |title=The past before us: historical traditions of early north India |date=2013 |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=978-0-674-72651-2 |page=296 |edition=First Harvard University Press | publisher = Harvard University Press }}
  • 184 BC: (June 15) Emperor Qianshao of Han, the 11-year old nominal ruler of China, is removed, imprisoned and then put to death on order of his grandmother, Empress Lü. Prince Liu Hong, the brother of Qianshao, is installed by the regent as the new Emperor, under the name of Emperor Houshao.
  • 183 BC: Zhao Tuo of Nanyue declares himself Emperor and attacks China.{{The Cambridge History of China|volume=1 | last=Loewe | first=Michael| chapter=The Former Han Dynasty |page=136}}
  • 180 BC: (November 14) Lü Clan Disturbance: with the death of Empress Lü of China, the nominal Houshao is killed along with the rest of the Lü Clan. Another son of Gaozu, the first Han emperor, Prince Liu Heng, becomes the fifth Han emperor and takes the name of Emperor Wen.

=[[170s BC]]=

File:Antiokhos IV.jpg

  • 179 BC:
  • Zhao Tuo of Nanyue makes peace with Han China.
  • Upon the death of Philip V, Perseus becomes king of Antigonid Macedon.{{cite book|last=Bringmann|first=Klaus|title=A History of the Roman Republic|year=2007|orig-year=2002|location=Cambridge & Malden|translator=Smyth, W. J.|publisher=Polity Press|isbn=978-0-7456-3371-8|url=http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745633701|page=97}}
  • 178 BC: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ends the First Celtiberian War.{{cite book |last1=Harris|first1=W. V. |editor1-last=Astin |editor1-first=A. E. |editor2-last=Walbank |editor2-first=F. W. |editor3-last=Frederiksen |editor3-first=M. W. |editor4-last=Ogilvie |editor4-first=R. M. |title=The Cambridge Ancient History 8: Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 BC |date=1989 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge [England] |isbn=978-0-521-23448-1 |page=125|edition=Second |chapter=Roman Expansion in the West}}
  • 176 BC: The Xiongnu defeat the Yuezhi, who subsequently emigrate from Gansu to the Qilian Mountains and the Ili valley.{{cite book |last=Beckwith |first=Christopher I. |author-link=Christopher I. Beckwith |year=2009 |title=Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Ue8BxLEMt4C |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-2994-1|pages=380–383}}
  • 175 BC: (September 3) Upon the assassination of Seleucus IV Philopator, his brother Antiochus IV Epiphanes takes possession of the Seleucid throne.M. Zambelli, "L'ascesa al trono di Antioco IV Epifane di Siria," Rivista di Filologia e di Istruzione Classica 38 (1960) 363–389
  • 171 BC: At the prompting of the Attalid king Eumenes II, the Romans declare war on Perseus, beginning the Third Macedonian War.{{cite book|last=Bringmann|first=Klaus|title=A History of the Roman Republic|year=2007|orig-year=2002|location=Cambridge & Malden|translator=Smyth, W. J.|publisher=Polity Press|isbn=978-0-7456-3371-8|url=http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745633701|pages=98–99}}

=[[160s BC]]=

File:Lagid queen Isis Ma3546.jpg ruled Egypt in co-operation and competition with her brothers Ptolemy VI and VIII for most of the century.]]

=[[150s BC]]=

File:Mural painting of four animals in clouds.jpg whose principality was at the heart of the Rebellion of the Seven States]]

=[[140s BC]]=

=[[130s BC]]=

File:漢武帝.jpg was probably the most powerful man in the world at the end of the century]]

=[[120s BC]]=

File:Coin of Mithridates II of Parthia, Ray mint.jpg of Mithridates II of Parthia, wearing a bejeweled tiara.]]

=[[110s BC]]=

=[[109–100 BC|100s BC]]=

Significant people

File:Bronze statue of a Hellenistic prince, 1st half of 2nd century BC, found on the Quirinal in Rome, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome (31479801364).jpg]]

File:Antiochos III.jpg]]

File:Marius Glyptothek Munich 319.jpg]]

File:Stele des Polybios.jpg]]

File:Portrait of Terence from Vaticana, Vat. lat.jpg]]

File:MenandrosCoin.jpg, the Greek king who ruled most of Northern India ({{Circa|150-130}}) and converted to Buddhism.]]

File:Posidonio, replica augustea (23 ac.-14 dc ca) da originale del 100-50 ac. ca. 6142.JPG was acclaimed as the greatest polymath of his age.]]

=Politics=

=Military=

=Literature=

=Science and philosophy=

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Image:equatorial ring.png.]]

  • The Chinese first produce paper.
  • Silk Road between Europe and Asia.
  • Hipparchus discovers precession of Earth's equinoxes and compiles first trigonometric tables.{{Cite web |last1= O'Connor |first1=J.J. |last2=Robertson |first2=E F |title=Hipparchus |website=Maths History |publisher=St Andrews University |date=April 1999 |url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hipparchus/|access-date=March 15, 2024}}
  • According to legend, Liu An invents tofu.
  • The Fibonacci numbers and their sequence first appear in Indian mathematics as mātrāmeru, mentioned by Pingala in connection with the Sanskrit tradition of prosody.{{Cite web|title=15 Significant Science and Tech Discoveries Ancient India Gave the World – Arise Arjuna Foundation|url=https://ancientindia.info/15-significant-science-and-tech-discoveries-ancient-india-gave-the-world/|access-date=2021-06-12|language=en-US}}
  • Pingala was the first who accidentally discovered binary numbers in which he used laghu(light) and guru(heavy) rather than 0 and 1.
  • Tube drawn technology: Indians used tube drawn technology for glass bead manufacturing which was first developed in the 2nd century BCE
  • The Roman concrete (pozzolana) first used.
  • A system for sending signs to communicate quickly over a long distance is described by Polybios.{{Cite web|title=Polybius • Histories — Book 10|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/10*.html#45.6|access-date=2020-06-22|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}
  • The earliest known winnowing machine is depicted in a Han dynasty Chinese tomb model.Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering (Cambridge University Press, 1985) p118

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Decades and years}}

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