2nd century BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	3rd century BC · 2nd century BC · 1st century BC
Decades:	190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC
Categories:	Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments

Eastern hemisphere at the end of the 2nd century BC.

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 proper (for instance, if regarding only the Eastern Mediterranean, it would best be called part of the Hellenistic period).

1 Overview
2 Events
3 Significant persons
4 Inventions, discoveries, introductions
5 References
6 Decades and years

Overview

Fresh from its victories in the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic continued its expansion into neighbouring territories, eventually annexing Greece, and the North African coast after completely destroying the city of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War. Rome's influence was also felt in the near east, as crumbling Hellenistic states like the Seleucid Empire were forced to make treaties on Roman terms in order to avoid confrontation with the new masters of the western Mediterranean. The period is noted for the emergence of a new arrogance on the part of the Romans, which manifested itself in provincial corruption, and a shameless lust for wealth and status among the privileged classes. The end of the century witnessed the reforming of the Roman Army from a citizen army to a voluntary professional force, under the guidance of the great general and statesman Gaius Marius—(Marian Reforms).

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. Also in the 2nd century BC, the Han dispatched the explorer Zhang Qian to explore the lands to the west and to form an alliance with the Yuezhi people in order to combat the nomadic tribe of the Xiongnu.^[1]

Events

Coin of Antiochus IV. Reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. The Greek inscription reads ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ (Antiochus, image of God, bearer of victory). He was the last ruler of the Seleucid Empire to rule unopposed

March 14, 190 BC: Solar eclipse^[2] recorded in Rome [Livy: Ab Urbe Condita 37.4.4].
175 BC: Antiochus IV Epiphanes, took possession of the Syrian throne, at the murder of his brother Seleucus IV Philopator, which rightly belonged to his nephew Demetrius I Soter.
168 BC: Battle of Pydna—The Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans.
June 21, 168 BC: Lunar eclipse recorded in Rome [Livy: Ab Urbe Condita 44.37.8].
164 BC, 25 Kislev: Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Events commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.
147 BC: Hasmonean victories restore autonomy to Judea.
148 BC: Rome conquers Macedonia.
146 BC: Rome destroys and razes the city of Carthage in the Third Punic War.
- Rome conquers Corinth.
129 BC: collapse of the Seleucid Empire.
108 BC: Gojoseon-Han War—Han Dynasty finally destroyed Wanggeom seong, the capital of Gojoseon. And Han Dynasty founded Four Commanderies of Han to govern Gojoseon.
107 BC: Roman consul Gaius Marius passes the Marian Reforms, which remove all ownership restrictions for joining the Roman Army.
113 BC – 101 BC: Migration of the Cimbri and the Teutons, defeated at the battles of Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae.
Theravada Buddhism is officially introduced to Sri Lanka by the Venerable Mahinda.
2nd or 1st century BC: Hagesandros, Polydoros, Athanadoros of Rhodes make Laocoön and his Sons. Perhaps the original or a Roman copy of the 1st century AD is discovered in 1506. It is now at Musei Vaticani, Museo Pio Clementino, Cortile Ottagono, Rome.
Porta Augusta, Perugia, is built.
House of the Vettii, Pompeii, is built.
Late 2nd century BC – Temple perhaps dedicated to Portunes, Forum Boarium, Rome, is built.
Late 2nd century BC or early 1st century BC – Aulus Metellus, found near Perugia, is made. It is now kept at Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence.
Shortly before 100 BC the Scythians overran Parthia.^[3]
Buddhist monks begin to hew caves for their own use out of the stone plateaus in the region of south-central India known as the Deccan (approximate date).
The Segestani were attacked by the Romans

Significant persons

Gaius Marius, instigator of the Marian reforms, which allowed the recruitment of landless citizens as professional soldiers

Andriscus, last independent ruler of Macedon
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the last effective ruler of the Seleucid Empire
Antiochus VII Sidetes, last King of a United Seleucid Empire
Apollonius of Perga, Greek geometer
Apollonius of Rhodes, author of Jason and the Argonauts
Appius Claudius Pulcher, Roman consul and censor
Boiorix, king of the Cimbri
Flaccus, musical collaborator of Terence
Hipparchus, considered the greatest astronomical observer
Jonathan Maccabaeus, leader of the Hasmonean rebellion and first autonomous ruler of Judea
Judas Maccabeus, leader of the Hasmonean rebellion and its first successful general
Liu An, Chinese prince and noted geographer
Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman general and politician
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Roman general and politician
Lucius Mummius Achaicus, conqueror of Corinth
Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician
Perseus of Macedon, last King of the Antigonid dynasty
Plautus, Latin playwright
Quintus Lutatius Catulus, Roman general
Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, conqueror of Carthage
Sima Qian, father of Chinese historiography
Terence, Latin playwright
Teutobod, King of the Teutons
Emperor Wu of Han, considered one of the greatest emperors throughout the History of China
Zhang Qian, Chinese diplomat and explorer

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Hipparchus' equatorial ring.

The Chinese first produce Paper.^[3]
Silk Road between Europe and Asia
Hipparchus discovers precession of Earth's equinoxes and compiles first trigonometric tables
Liu An invented tofu
The Roman concrete (pozzolana) first used
Rotary mill invented by the ancient Greeks
A system for sending signs to communicate quickly over a long distance is described by Polybios
The earliest known winnowing machine is depicted in a Han Dynasty Chinese tomb model.

References

↑ C.Michael Hogan, Silk Road, North China, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham
↑ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=-01890314
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Roberts, J: "History of the World.". Penguin, 1994.

Decades and years

2nd century BC
4th century BC←3rd century BC← ↔ →1st century BC→1st century

209–200 BC	209 BC	208 BC	207 BC	206 BC	205 BC	204 BC	203 BC	202 BC	201 BC	200 BC
190s BC	199 BC	198 BC	197 BC	196 BC	195 BC	194 BC	193 BC	192 BC	191 BC	190 BC
180s BC	189 BC	188 BC	187 BC	186 BC	185 BC	184 BC	183 BC	182 BC	181 BC	180 BC
170s BC	179 BC	178 BC	177 BC	176 BC	175 BC	174 BC	173 BC	172 BC	171 BC	170 BC
160s BC	169 BC	168 BC	167 BC	166 BC	165 BC	164 BC	163 BC	162 BC	161 BC	160 BC
150s BC	159 BC	158 BC	157 BC	156 BC	155 BC	154 BC	153 BC	152 BC	151 BC	150 BC
140s BC	149 BC	148 BC	147 BC	146 BC	145 BC	144 BC	143 BC	142 BC	141 BC	140 BC
130s BC	139 BC	138 BC	137 BC	136 BC	135 BC	134 BC	133 BC	132 BC	131 BC	130 BC
120s BC	129 BC	128 BC	127 BC	126 BC	125 BC	124 BC	123 BC	122 BC	121 BC	120 BC
110s BC	119 BC	118 BC	117 BC	116 BC	115 BC	114 BC	113 BC	112 BC	111 BC	110 BC
109–100 BC	109 BC	108 BC	107 BC	106 BC	105 BC	104 BC	103 BC	102 BC	101 BC	100 BC
90s BC	99 BC	98 BC	97 BC	96 BC	95 BC	94 BC	93 BC	92 BC	91 BC	90 BC

Centuries and millennia

Millennium	Century
BCE (BC)
4th	40th	39th	38th	37th	36th	35th	34th	33rd	32nd	31st
3rd	30th	29th	28th	27th	26th	25th	24th	23rd	22nd	21st
2nd	20th	19th	18th	17th	16th	15th	14th	13th	12th	11th
1st	10th	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
CE (AD)
1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
2nd	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
3rd	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th
4th	31st	32nd	33rd	34th	35th	36th	37th	38th	39th	40th