220s BC

220s BC: events by year

Contents: 229 BC 228 BC 227 BC 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC 221 BC 220 BC

229 BC

By place

Anatolia

• Attalus I of Pergamon wins the Battle of the Harpasus in western Anatolia.

Greece

• The First Illyrian War starts when the Roman Senate dispatches an army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus to Illyria. Rome forces the withdrawal of Illyrian garrisons in the Greek cities of Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Pharos and establishes a protectorate over these Greek towns.
• The Illyrian tribe of the Ardiaei is subdued by the Romans.
• The King of Macedonia, Demetrius II, dies. His nephew, Antigonus III comes to the Macedonian throne as regent for his half-cousin and the future king Philip V, who is only ten years old.
• Concerned at Rome's expansion, Antigonus III pursues a policy of befriending the Illyrians, even though the Greeks in the region support Rome in quelling the Illyrian pirates.
• The involvement of Rome in Illyria leads to the establishment of friendly relations between Rome and the enemies of Macedonia: the Aetolian League and Achaean League, which approve the suppression of Illyrian piracy.
• Aratus of Sicyon brings Argos into the Achaean League and then helps liberate Athens. This brings Aratus into conflict with Sparta.

China

• The state of Qin conquers the state of Zhao.

228 BC

By place

Carthage

• The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca is killed in a battle in Hispania, ending his lengthy campaign to conquer the Iberian Peninsula for Carthage. In eight years, by force of arms and diplomacy, he had secured an extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula, but his death in battle prevents him from completing the conquest. Command of his army in the Iberian Peninsula passes to his son-in-law Hasdrubal.
• Hasdrubal makes immediate policy changes, emphasizing the use of diplomatic rather than military methods for expanding Carthaginian Hispania and dealing with Rome. He founds Carthago Nova or New Carthage (modern Cartagena) as his capital city.

Asia Minor

• King Attalus I Soter of Pergamum defeats Antiochus Hierax (brother of the Seleucid king Seleucus II) in three battles and thereby gains control over all the Seleucid domains in Anatolia except Cilicia in the southeast.

Greece

• The Illyrian Queen Teuta's governor, Demetrius of Pharos has little alternative but to surrender to the overwhelming Roman force. In return, the Romans award him a considerable part of Teuta's holdings to counter-balance the power of Teuta. Meanwhile, the Roman army lands farther north at Apollonia. The combined Roman army and fleet proceed northward together, subduing one town after another and besieging Shkodra, the Illyrian capital.
• Archidamus V, brother of the murdered Spartan King Agis IV, is called back to Sparta by the Agiad King Cleomenes III, who has no counterpart on the throne by then. However, Archidamus V is assassinated shortly after returning.

227 BC

By place

Illyria

• Queen Teuta of Illyria finally surrenders to Roman forces and is forced by the Romans to accept an ignominious peace. The Romans allow her to continue her reign but restrict her to a narrow region around the Illyrian capital, Shkodra, deprive her of all her other territory, and forbid her to sail an armed ship below Lissus just south of the capital. They also require her to pay an annual tribute and to acknowledge the final authority of Rome.

Greece

• The Macedonian regent, Antigonus III, marries the former king Demetrius II's widow, Phthia, and assumes the crown thus deposing the young Philip V.
• The Spartan King Cleomenes III imposes reforms on his kingdom which include the cancelling of debts, providing land for 4,000 citizens, and restoring the training of youth in the martial arts. The Ephorate, five elected magistrates who, with the King, form the main executive body of the state, is abolished (four of the five ephors being executed); the powers of the Gerousia, the oligarchic council of elders, is curtailed; and the patronomoi (the board of six elders) is introduced. Cleomenes' changes are designed to make the monarchy supreme and re-create a society of aristocrats, while neglecting Sparta's helots (serfs) and perioikoi (free but non-citizen inhabitants). Eighty opponents of the reforms are exiled, while his brother Eucleidas is installed as co-ruler in the place of the murdered Archidamus V.
• Cleomenes III defeats the Achaeans under Aratus of Sicyon at Mount Lycaeum and at Ladoceia near Megalopolis.

Roman Republic

• Sardinia and Corsica are made a combined province. Rome appoints, and in the future annually elects, two praetors (with autocratic consular powers) for this province and for Sicily.
• Gaius Flaminius Nepos becomes Rome's first governor of Sicily.

Seleucid Empire

• Antiochus Hierax tries to raise revolts against his brother Seleucus II in Syria and the east of the Seleucid kingdom. However, he is captured and exiled to Thrace, where he lives as a virtual prisoner.

226 BC

By place

Greece

• An earthquake destroys the city of Kameiros on the island of Rhodes and the Colossus of Rhodes.
• The Spartan King Cleomenes III captures Mantineia and defeats the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon at Hecatombaeum, near Dyme in north-eastern Elis.

Roman Republic

• A formidable host of Gauls, some of them from across the Alps, threaten Rome.
• The Greek merchants of Massilia, frightened by Carthaginian successes in Spain (including their exploitation of the Spanish silver mines), appeal to Rome. Rome makes an alliance with the independent Spanish port city of Saguntum south of the Ebro River.
• The Romans send an embassy to Hasdrubal and conclude a treaty which prohibits him from waging war north of the river Ebro, but allowing him a free hand to the south even at the expense of the interests of the town of Massilia.

Seleucid Empire

• Antiochus Hierax, brother of the Seleucid King Seleucus II manages to escape from captivity in Thrace and flees to the mountains to raise an army, but he is killed by a band of Galatians.
• Seleucus II dies after a fall from his horse and is succeeded by his eldest son Seleucus III Soter. At the time of Seleucus II's death, the empire of the Seleucids, with its capital at Antioch on the Orontes, stretches from the Aegean Sea to the borders of India and includes southern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Persia, and northern Syria. Dynastic power is upheld by a mercenary army and by the loyalty of many Greek cities founded by Alexander the Great and his successors. The strength of the empire is already being sapped by repeated revolts in its eastern provinces and dissention amongst the members of the Seleucid dynasty.

225 BC

By place

Roman Republic

• A coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes (Taurini, Taurisces, Insubres, Lingones, Salasses, Agones, and Boii), reinforced by large numbers of Transalpine adventurers called Gaesatae (Gaesati), invade Italy. Avoiding the Romans at Ariminum, the Gauls cross the Apennines into Etruria, plunder the country.
• To meet this invasion, the Romans call on the Insubres' enemies, the Adriatic Veneti, the Patavini, and the Cenomani, who rapidly mobilise defensive forces. These armies are placed under the command of consuls Lucius Aemilius Papus and Gaius Atilius Regulus. After the Battle of Faesulae (near Montepulciano) between the Gauls and a Roman army in which the Romans lose many men, the combined Roman forces succeed in outmaneuvering the Gauls and force the invaders towards the coast of Tuscany.

Seleucid Empire

• Seleucus III takes up the task of reconquering Pergamum in Anatolia from Attalus. However, Andromachus, the first general whom he sends, is decisively defeated and captured by Attalus.

China

• The state of Qin conquers the state of Wei.

224 BC

By place

Greece

• After the Spartan King Cleomenes III takes Pellene, Phlius and Argos, Aratus of Sicyon is forced to call upon King Antigonus III of Macedonia for assistance. Antigonus III's forces fail to pierce Cleomenes' lines near Corinth, but a revolt against Cleomenes at Argos put the Spartans on the defensive.

Roman Republic

• The Romans, led by Consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, decisively defeat the coalition of Cisalpine Gallic tribes at the Battle of Telamon thus extending Roman influence over northern Italy. On the Roman side Gaius Atilius Regulus, commander of the Roman cavalry, is killed in the battle. On the Gallic side, one of the leaders, Concolitanus, is captured in battle, while the leader of the Gaesatae, Aneroëstes, kills himself when the battle is lost.

223 BC

By place

Seleucid Empire

• The Seleucid king Seleucus III is assassinated in Phrygia by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus of Pergamon.
• Seleucus is succeeded by his younger brother, Antiochus III. From the previous administration, Antiochus III retains Hermeias as his chief minister, Achaeus as governor of Anatolia, and Molon and his brother Alexander as governors of the eastern provinces of Media and Persis.

Roman Republic

• Gaius Flaminius Nepos is elected consul for the first time, and with Publius Furius Philus he forces the Cisalpine Gauls to submit to Rome, creating the province of Cisalpine Gaul.

Greece

• The Spartan king Cleomenes III destroys and burns the city of Megalopolis but the inhabitants are saved by Philopoemen who leads the defence of the city until the inhabitants can escape.
• The king of Macedonia, Antigonus III Doson, restores Macedonian influence in the Peloponnese for the first time in almost two decades. After signing alliances with the Achaeans, Boeotians, Thessalians and the Acarnanians, Antigonus invades the Peloponnese and drives the Spartans out of Argos, taking Orchomenus and Mantineia in the process.

Persia

• King Diodotus II of Bactria is killed by an usurper, Euthydemus I, founder of the Greco-Bactrian Euthydemid dynasty.

China

• The state of Qin conquers the state of Chu.

222 BC

By place

Roman Republic

• Mediolanum (modern Milan), stronghold of the Gallic tribe of the Insubres (led by Viridomarus), falls to Roman legions in Lombardy (led by consul, Marcus Claudius Marcellus), in the Battle of Clastidium. Marcus Claudius Marcellus personally slays the chief, Viridomarus. This victory removes the Gallic threat to Rome. Marcellus wins the spolia opima ("spoils of honour"; the arms taken by a general who kills an enemy chief in single combat) for the third and last time in Roman history.

Greece

• Cleomenes III of Sparta is defeated in the Battle of Sellasia (north of Sparta) by Antigonus III and his allies, the Achaean League and the Illyrians (under the command of Demetrius of Pharos), and flees to Egypt under the protection of King Ptolemy III. Antigonus III's forces occupy Sparta, which is the first time this city has ever been occupied.
• Almost all of Greece falls under Macedonian suzerainty after Antigonus III re-establishes the Hellenic Alliance as a confederacy of leagues, with himself as president.

Seleucid Empire

• The Seleucid forces under their general Achaeus succeed in winning back from Pergamum all the Seleucid domains in Anatolia lost six years earlier.
• Mithridates II of Pontus gives his daughter Laodice in marriage to the Seleucid king Antiochus III. Another of his daughters, also named Laodice, is married about the same time to Achaeus, a cousin of Antiochus.

China

• The state of Qin conquers the state of Yan and defeats the last defensive forces of the state of Zhao.

221 BC

By place

Carthage

• The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal is murdered by a Celtic assassin while campaigning to increase the Carthaginian hold on Spain. Following the assassination of Hasdrubal, Hannibal, the son of the Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, is proclaimed commander-in-chief by the army and his appointment is confirmed by the Carthaginian government.
• Hannibal immediately moves to consolidate Carthage's control of Spain. He marries a Spanish princess, Imilce, then begins to conquer various Spanish tribes. He fights against the Olcades and captures their capital, Althaea; quells the Vaccaei in the northwest; and, making the seaport of Cartagena (Carthago Nova, the capital of Carthaginian Spain) his base, wins a resounding victory over the Carpetani in the region of the Tagus River.

Egypt

• Egypt's Ptolemy III dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy IV. Sosibius is appointed by Ptolemy IV as his Chief Minister and immediately has a great influence over the young king, directing all of the affairs of state.
• At Sosibius' direction, Ptolemy IV puts to death in succession his uncle, Lysimachus, his brother Magas, and his mother Berenice II.
• King Cleomenes III of Sparta, who is in exile in Egypt, is imprisoned by Ptolemy IV on a charge of conspiracy.

Seleucid Empire

• The satrap of Media, Molon, and his brother, Alexander, revolt against Antiochus III, primarily due to their hatred towards Hermeias, Antiochus' chief minister. Molon is able to become master of the Seleucid domains to the east of the Tigris. He is stopped by Antioochus III's forces in his attempts to pass that river. Xenoetas, one of Antiochus' generals, is sent against Molon with a large force, but is surprised by Molon's forces and his whole army is cut to pieces and Xenoetas is killed. The rebel satrap now crosses the Tigris, and makes himself master of the city of Seleucia on the Tigris, together with the whole of Babylonia and Mesopotamia.

Greece

• Antigonus III dies during a battle against the Illyrians and is succeeded by his young cousin Philip V as King of Macedonia.

Roman Republic

• Gaius Flaminius Nepos builds a second race track for Rome, the Circus Flaminius.

China

• The state of Qi – by now the only other independent state in China – surrenders to the state of Qin without a fight. Ying Zheng, the king of Qin unifies China and proclaims himself the First Emperor, as he is the first Chinese sovereign able to rule the whole country, thus ending the Warring States period. He is known by historians as Qin Shi Huang.
• The Chinese bronze age ends (approximate date).

220 BC

By place

Greece

• Together with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece.
• Scerdilaidas and the Aetolians invade Achaea. With the help of Cynaethan traitors, they attack, seize and burn Cynaetha, a town in the north of Arcadia.
• Rome strikes again against the Illyrian pirates precipitating the Second Illyrian War.
• Demetrius seeks refuge with Philip V of Macedon, who is very resentful of the Roman interference. Rome occupies Demetrius' chief fortresses, Pharos and Dimillos.
• Aratus of Sicyon counters Aetolian aggression by obtaining the assistance of the Hellenic League now under the leadership of Philip V of Macedon. In the resulting Social War, the Hellenic League of Greek states is assembled in Corinth at Philip V's instigation. He then leads the Hellenic League in battles against Aetolia, Sparta and Elis.
• The Gortynians occupy Matala, on the island of Crete.

Seleucid Empire

• With Molon occupying significant parts of the Seleucid kingdom and assuming the title of king, on the advice of his chief Minister, Hermeias, Antiochus III abandons a campaign to conquer southern Syria from Egypt. Antiochus III instead marches against Molon, defeating and killing him and his brother Alexander on the far bank of the Tigris. Antiochus goes on conquer Atropatene, the north-western part of Media.
• Meanwhile, the birth of a son to Antiochus III and Laodice (daughter of Mithridates II, king of Pontus) leads Hermeias to consider getting rid of the king so that he can rule under the name of the infant son. Antiochus discovers the scheme and arranges the assassination of Hermeias.

Anatolia

• Antiochus III's commander in Anatolia, Achaeus, having recovered all the districts which Attalus of Pergamum has gained, is accused by Hermeias, the chief minister of Antiochus, of intending to revolt. In self-defence, Achaeus assumes the title of king and rules over the Anatolian parts of the Seleucid kingdom.

Egypt

• Arsinoe III marries her brother, King Ptolemy IV of Egypt.

Roman Republic

• During his censorship, the Roman political leader, Gaius Flaminius, builds the Circus Flaminius on the Campus Martius and constructs the Via Flaminia from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini).

China

• Qin Shi Huang begins a system of tree-lined roads to interconnect all parts of China, and begins to join regional walls to form the beginnings of the Great Wall (Wan li chang cheng).

By topic

Art

• A bronze statue called Gallic Chieftain killing his wife and himself is made (approximate date). A Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome.
• A bronze statue called Dying Gallic trumpeter is made (possibly by Epigonos) (230-220 BC). A marble Roman copy after the original statue is today preserved at Museo Capitolino in Rome.

Births

• 229 BC
  • Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman general, consul and politician (d. 160 BC)
  • Qin Er Shi, Emperor of Qin China (d. 207 BC)
• 228 BC
  • Prusias I Chlorus, king of Bithynia (d. 182 BC)
  • Titus Quinctius Flamininus, a Roman politician and general who will be instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece (d. 174 BC)

Deaths

• 229 BC – Demetrius II, King of Macedonia from 239 BC (b. c. 276 BC)
• 228 BC
  • Hamilcar Barca, Carthaginian general who has assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of the First Punic War with Rome, helped Carthage win the Mercenary War and brought extensive territory in the Iberian Peninsula under Carthaginian control (b. c. 270 BC)
  • Archidamus V, king of Sparta of the Eurypontid line
• 226 BC
  • Seleucus II Callinicus, king of the Seleucid kingdom from 246 BC
  • Antiochus Hierax, younger brother of Seleucus II, who has fought with him over the control of the Seleucid dominions in the Middle East (b. c. 263 BC)
• 224 BC – Aneroëstes, leader of the Gallic Gaesatae (suicide)
• 223 BC
  • Seleucus III, king of the Seleucid dynasty from 226 BC (assassinated)
  • Diodotus II, King of Bactria, the son and successor of Diodotus I
• 222 BC – Ctesibius (or Tesibius) of Alexandria, Greek inventor and mathematician
• 221 BC
  • Ptolemy III, King of Egypt, who has reunited Egypt and Cyrenaica and successfully waged the Third Syrian War against the Seleucid kingdom
  • Hasdrubal, Carthaginian general and son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca (assassinated)
  • Antigonus III Doson, King of Macedon from 227 BC (b. 263 BC)
  • Berenice II, queen of Egypt, daughter of Magas, King of Cyrenaica (in modern Libya), whose marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes has reunited her country with Egypt (b. c. 267 BC)
  • Lucius Caecilius Metellus, Roman consul and general during the First Punic War (b. c. 290 BC)
• 220 BC
  • Conon of Samos, Greek mathematician and astronomer whose work on conic sections (curves of the intersections of a right circular cone with a plane) serves as the basis for the fourth book of the Conics of Apollonius of Perga (b. c. 280 BC)
  • Molon, general of the Seleucid king Antiochus III who has rebelled against his rule
  • Hermeias, the favourite and chief minister of the Seleucid king Seleucus III and, for a short time, chief minister to Antiochus III

References