3rd century BC

The 3rd century BC started the first day of and ended the last day of. It is considered part of the Classical, , or.

The first few decades of this century were characterized by a balance of power between the  kingdoms in the east, and the great mercantile power of  in the west. This balance was shattered when conflict arose between and the. In the following decades, the was first humbled and then destroyed by the Romans in the first and second  wars. Following the, Rome became the most important power in the western.

In the 3rd century BC the were at the height of their power in. The period in China drew to a close, with  conquering other nation-states and establishing the  dynasty, the first empire of China. The began in the.

290s BC

 * The, seizing their chance when Rome is engaged on the plain, start the  with a collection of mercenaries from  and  and  allies to help them.
 * The defeat the  under  in the, first battle of the.
 * The Chinese reduced the threat of the  and the  with the Qin victory in the.
 * Roman armies penetrate into the heart of the Samnite territory and then capture the Samnite cities of Taurasia, Bovianum Vetus and.
 * , king of, assists the Italian Greeks against the and supported the Greeks against the Romans.
 * gives his stepdaughter Theoxena in marriage to Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse (in south-eastern ).
 * Ptolemy finally brings the rebellious region of Cyrene under his control. He places the region under the rule of his stepson Magas.
 * succeeds his father as emperor of the.
 * Theater,, is built with later additions.

280s BC

 * , on the assassination of his father becomes emperor of the.
 * King invades Italy in an attempt to subjugate the  and bring  under a new empire ruled by himself.
 * Construction of the is completed

270s BC

 * and, today's and , founded by  Celts.
 * end of history of.
 * After failing to decisively defeat the Romans, withdraws from Italy.
 * migration to, and.
 * – ruled the.

260s BC

 * breaks out between the Carthaginian Empire and the.
 * , 2nd son, at the death of his father becomes emperor of the.
 * between the and the  in China; a decisive Qin victory.



240s BC

 * ends in Carthaginian defeat. Rome demands large reparations, and annexes and.

230s BC

 * The Chinese conquers.

220s BC

 * The Chinese conquers.
 * The Chinese conquers.
 * The Chinese conquers  and.
 * With the conquest of the, unifies the whole of China into one empire that also included northern Vietnam, forming the.

210s BC

 * begins. makes his famous  crossing to invade, the Roman heartland.
 * of the Chinese ordered construction of the.

200s BC

 * - Civil war of the in China after the fall of the Qin Dynasty.
 * Romans defeat Carthaginians, ending the . Carthage's territories are reduced to the city itself, and crippling reparations are demanded by Rome.
 * n traders regularly visited.
 * ns occupy, in modern-day.
 * of China was founded (–).
 * The is built.
 * Appearance of the in,.
 * , Mexico begun.

Significant persons



 * ,  and sage (–)
 * , geometer (c. –)
 * , ruler of  (–)
 * , mathematician, physicist, and engineer (c. –)
 * (c. –), Greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer
 * , mathematician (c. –)
 * , Emperor (–, reigned –)
 * , founder of the in China, (-, reigned -)
 * (-), Chinese rebel general against the Qin Dynasty and arch nemesis of Liu Bang in the.
 * , military leader of (–)
 * the "second", Gaulish chieftain, invades Macedonia in
 * The rules
 * Soter (–) and his wives and
 * Philadelphos (–) and his wives and  Philadelphos
 * Euergetes I (–) and his wife
 * Philopater (–) and his wife
 * Epiphanes (–) and his wife
 * ,, , invented letter
 * , founder of new
 * , wrote History of Egypt
 * , founder of
 * , founder of
 * , Chinese general
 * , Chinese poet

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

 * accurately calculates diameter of the
 * well-established in, and may date back to the
 * Stone of Canopus (for Ptolemy III), No. 1, in Rosetta Stone Series of 3 stones. Implements Leap year in Egypt. Leap year not formally recognized until Caesar in 55 B.C.
 * 293 BC: first Roman [Pliny (79ce): Natural History 7.213]
 * Water screw invented by
 * Invention of the, the precursory to the  by Ktesibios, a Greek engineer working in.
 * China discovers an elaborate in the treasury of the previous ruler.
 * The enormous of China is engineered and constructed by  in.

Evidence
Much of what we know of this century comes down to us from the works of the Roman historian, whose main concern is the story of how Rome comes to dominate the known world.