2nd Century BC

Events in the 2nd Century BC 13

• 753 BC – 476 The Roman Civilisation The Roman civilisation — kingdom, republic and empire — shaped Western law, language, architecture, religion and governance more profoundly than any other ancient civilisation. From the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus in 753 BC to the deposition of the last western emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476 AD, Rome endured for over twelve centuries, governing at its peak an empire of 70 million people stretching from Scotland to Mesopotamia.
• 322 BC – 185 BC Maurya Empire First empire to unify the subcontinent The Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BC, was the first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent under one centralised administration. From its capital Pataliputra it became one of the largest empires of the ancient world.
• 312 BC – 63 BC Seleucid Empire Greek successor state rules Persia After Alexander's death his general Seleucus seized the eastern territories, founding the Seleucid Empire that ruled Persia for some two and a half centuries. It spread Hellenistic culture across the region before fragmenting and giving way to the resurgent Parthians.
• 300 BC – 1279 Chola dynasty (South India) A great maritime and temple-building power The Cholas of the Tamil south were one of the longest-ruling dynasties in history, rising from the Sangam age to a medieval maritime empire that projected naval power across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. They built magnificent temples such as the Brihadeeswarar at Thanjavur and patronised bronze sculpture and Tamil literature.
• 300 BC – 300 Yayoi period Rice farming, bronze and iron arrive from the mainland The Yayoi period brought wet-rice cultivation, bronze and iron metallurgy, and the potter's wheel to Japan from Korea and China. These innovations drove population growth and the emergence of stratified society and local chieftaincies — the foundations of the Japanese state.
• 247 BC – 224 Parthian Empire Persian revival; rival of Rome The Parthian (Arsacid) Empire restored native Iranian rule and became Rome's great rival in the east for nearly five centuries, its famed horse-archers and cataphracts repeatedly checking Roman expansion — most notably annihilating Crassus's legions at Carrhae in 53 BC.
• 202 BC – 220 Han Dynasty The golden age that defined what it means to be Chinese The Han dynasty ruled for over 400 years and is considered China's first golden age. It consolidated Confucianism as state ideology, expanded the empire into Central Asia, and opened the Silk Road. Paper was invented during the Han period. The ethnic majority of China still call themselves "Han people" after this dynasty. It fell to internal rebellion and warlordism — giving rise to the Three Kingdoms period immortalised in Chinese literature.
• 149 BC – 146 BC Third Punic War — Destruction of Carthage The Third Punic War ends with the total destruction of Carthage in 146 BC. The city is besieged for three years; when it falls, the surviving 50,000 inhabitants are sold into slavery and the city is burned for 17 days. The site is later salted — or so the legend goes (the salting is almost certainly apocryphal). The phrase "Carthago delenda est" (Carthage must be destroyed), attributed to Cato the Elder who appended it to every Senate speech, defines Rome's ruthlessness when threatened.
• 146 BC Destruction of Corinth — Rome masters Greece In the same year as Carthage's destruction, Rome sacks Corinth — the greatest city of mainland Greece — after the Achaean League resists Roman authority. The male population is killed, the women and children enslaved. Greece becomes the Roman province of Achaea. Rome has now absorbed the entire Hellenistic world; Greek culture floods back into Rome in the form of philosophy, art, architecture and literature. "Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit" — captive Greece captured her savage conqueror (Horace).
• 133 BC – 121 BC The Gracchi — land reform and political murder Tiberius Gracchus (tribune 133 BC) proposes redistributing public land to landless citizens, breaking the power of great senatorial estates. He is clubbed to death by senators in the Forum — the first political murder in Rome since the kings. His brother Gaius (tribune 123–122 BC) goes further: grain subsidies, new colonies, extended citizenship. He too is killed, along with 3,000 supporters. The Gracchi open a century of political violence that will end only with Augustus.
• 130 BC Silk Road opens under Emperor Wu Zhang Qian's mission links China to Central Asia and Rome Emperor Wu of Han sent diplomat Zhang Qian on a mission to forge alliances in Central Asia around 130 BC. Though the military alliance failed, Zhang Qian returned with knowledge of previously unknown kingdoms and trade routes. This opened the Silk Road — the network of overland and maritime routes connecting China to Rome via Central Asia, Persia and the Middle East, carrying silk, spices, glass, and ideas for the next 1,500 years.
• 107 BC – 86 BC Gaius Marius — the new army Gaius Marius, elected consul seven times (unprecedented), reforms the Roman army by abolishing the property qualification for military service. The Roman legions are now professional soldiers equipped and paid by the state — loyal to their general, not to Rome. Marius defeats Jugurtha of Numidia (106 BC) and destroys two Germanic tribes threatening Italy (Cimbri and Teutones, 102–101 BC). His army reforms, intended to strengthen Rome, create the conditions for a century of civil war.
• 105 BC Paper invented in China Cai Lun develops papermaking — the most transformative invention in history Although early forms of paper existed earlier, court official Cai Lun standardised and improved papermaking around 105 AD using bark, hemp, rags and fishing nets. Paper replaced heavy bamboo and silk as the writing medium of choice. It spread along the Silk Road to the Islamic world by the 8th century and to Europe by the 12th century, eventually enabling the printing press and the information revolution of the Renaissance.