| 289 BC Ptolemy Builds First Light House- Ptolmey II the King of Egypt built a lighthouse on an island on the mouth of the Nile. The lighthouse was 400 feet high and could be seen from 40 miles away. |
| 274 - 236 BC Asoka's Empire- Asoka became the emperor of the Mauryan Empire of India. He was a devout convert to Buddhism and ruled the empire according to Buddhist law. Asoka conquered the Kalinga and thus extending his control to over two-thirds of the Indian peninsula. |
| 265 - 241 BC First Punic War - The first Punic War developed as a result of a dispute over the Sicilian city of Messina. Rome sent an army to Sicily, which Carthage held to be part of its sphere of influence. For the first time, Rome was forced to raise a navy. After a protracted and difficult conflict, during which both sides won and lost battles, the Romans defeated the Carthaginian navy off the coast of Sicily. Carthage was forced to sue for peace. It renounced all claims to Sicily and agreed to pay an indemnity to Rome. |
| 245 BC Third Syrian War- The Third Syrian War started when Ptolemy III's sister, (Antiochus II Theo current wife) was killed by his former wife. Ptolemy responded by invading the Seleucid Empire, advancing all the way to Bactria. He captured Babylon and Susa along the way, amassing much spoils. A revolt at home forced Ptolemy to return to Egypt. |
| 240 BC Archemides Shows Value Of Pi- Archemides the Greek mathmatician was the first to determine the value of pi. He also successfully calculated the area of a circle. |
| 238 BC Rome Annexes Sardinia And Corsica- The Romans annexed Sardinia and Corsica during a revolt against Carthage. Thus Roman rule was extended even farther. |
| 230 BC Aritstarchus Of Samos - Aristarchus died in 230 BC. He caluculated the size of the earth, sun and the moon. He showed that the earth orbited the sun and the moon orbited the earth. |
218 - 201 BC 2nd Punic War- Hannibal - After Carthage was defeated in the first Punic War, it recovered and rebuilt its army. When Rome provoked Carthage by encouraging a rebellion in one of its colonies -- Spain -- Carthage struck back. Led by its greatest general Hannibal, Carthage was determined to bring war to Rome. Hannibal crossed the Alps with between 30,000 and 40,000 men, 6,000 horses and even elephants. Hannibal defeated the Romans in a battle at Cannae. His armies were free to roam Italy at will. Hannibal's forces, however, were not strong enough to lay siege to any city, including Rome.
Rome responded by pushing the Carthaginians out of Spain, transforming it into another Roman province.
Finally, Rome took the war to Carthage, prompting Hannibal's recall from Italy. The Romans defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 B.C.; the next year a peace treaty was signed. |
| 221 BC Great Wall Of China Built- The Great Wall of China was begun in 221 BC by Shih Huang Ti. The wall was built along 1,200 miles of China's northern border. It was between 20-50 feet high and 18-30 feet wide. |
| 217 BC 4th Syrian War- The Fourth Syrian War come to an end at the Battle of Rafiah. Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III, who had earlier captured Egyptian territory in Syria. The war ended with Ptolemy getting back territory lost earlier in the war, but without any other substantial changes. |
| 216 BC 1st Macedonian War- The first Macedonian War broke out when Philip V of Macedonia invaded Illyria. The Romans made use of their superior control of the seas to thwart the Macedonians. |
| 215 BC Specific Gravity Discovered- Archimedes the Greek mathmetician discovered the principles of specific gravity. The principle states that a body submersed in a liquid, the liquid loses the same weight as the weight of the body submersed. This was used by the Greeks to determine the purity of gold.. |
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