Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 200 BC, the beginning of the second century BC.Map of the world in 100 BC, the end of the second century BC.
The2nd century BC started the first day of200 BC and ended the last day of101 BC. It is considered part of theClassicalera, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be the end of theAxial Age.[1] In the context of theEastern Mediterranean, it is the mid-point of theHellenistic period.
Fresh from its victories in theSecond Punic War, theRoman Republic continued its expansion in the western Mediterranean, campaigning in theIberian Peninsula throughout the century and annexing theNorth African coast after the destruction of the city ofCarthage at the end of theThird Punic War. They became the dominant force in theAegean by destroyingAntigonidMacedonia in theMacedonian Wars andCorinth in theAchaean War. The Hellenistic kingdoms ofPtolemaic Egypt andAttalid Pergamon entered into subordinate relationships with the Romans – Pergamon was eventually annexed. The end of the century witnessed the evolution of theRoman army from a citizen army into a voluntary professional force, which later scholars would misattribute to putative reforms by noted general and statesmanGaius Marius (the so-calledMarian Reforms).
c.200 BC: In ancient Philippines, the archipelago's indigenous people began to increase their contact with other nations in Southeast and East Asia, resulting in the establishment of fragmented city-states-like polities formed by complex sociopolitical units known as barangay orbarangay states.[4]
(June 1) In China,Emperor Gaozu of Han dies and is succeeded by his 15-year-old sonPrince Liu Ying. As the secondHan dynasty ruler, Liu Ying is given the regnal name of Emperor Hui and reigns until his death in 188 BC at the age of 22. However, the true power resides with his mother, theEmpress Lü Zhi, who serves as the Regent as widow of Gaozu.
(April 4) The firstGames of Megalesia and a festival are held in Rome after games were promised in honor ofCybele following Rome's triumph over Carthage in thePunic Wars. The festival and games last seven full days, closing on April 10.[12]
(February) Antiochus, the son of Antiochus III and co-regent for the Seleucid throne since 209 BC, dies; according to cuneiform tablets, news reaches Babylon sometime during the month of Addara after April 8.[14]
(November) Antiochus III leads an army into Greece to challenge Roman control, at the invitation of theAetolians, starting theRoman-Syrian War.[15][16]
188 BC: (September 26)Prince Liu Gong, the five-year old younger brother of Emperor Hui becomes the thirdHan dynasty Emperor of China upon his brother's death, taking the regnal name of Emperor Qianshao. Because of his minority, his grandmother, Empress Lü continues as the actual ruler and serves as the regent.
184 BC: (June 15)Emperor Qianshao of Han, the 11-year old nominal ruler of China, is removed, imprisoned and then put to death on order of his grandmother, Empress Lü.Prince Liu Hong, the brother of Qianshao, is installed by the regent as the new Emperor, under the name of Emperor Houshao.
180 BC: (November 14)Lü Clan Disturbance: with the death ofEmpress Lü of China, the nominalHoushao is killed along with the rest of the Lü Clan. Another son of Gaozu, the first Han emperor,Prince Liu Heng, becomes the fifth Han emperor and takes the name of Emperor Wen.
Greco-Bactrian city ofAi-Khanoum is sacked (possibly by theYuezhi).
141 BC (March 9):Emperor Jing of Han dies and is succeeded by his sonPrince Liu Che, who is enthroned as the Emperor Wu and begins a 54-year reign. The new emperor's attempts at reform are immediately stymied byhis grandmother.
Greek astronomerHipparchus continues lifelong studies, becoming the first to calculate the precession of moon and sun and to create a sizable catalog of stars.
Heliocles I, the last Greek king of Bactria, dies.
TheFibonacci numbers and their sequence first appear in Indian mathematics as mātrāmeru, mentioned byPingala in connection with the Sanskrit tradition of prosody.[30]
Pingala was the first who accidentally discovered binary numbers in which he used laghu(light) and guru(heavy) rather than 0 and 1.
Tube drawn technology:Indians used tube drawn technology for glass bead manufacturing which was first developed in the 2nd century BC
^Green, Peter (1990).Alexander to Actium : the historical evolution of the Hellenistic age. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 304.ISBN978-0-520-08349-3.
^Willy Clarysse, Dorothy J. Thompson, Ulrich Luft,Counting the People in Hellenistic Egypt, Vol. 2, Historical Studies (Cambridge University Press, 2006) p. 263
^Bernard Mineo,A Companion to Livy (Wiley, 2014) p. 412 (drawn by author fromPolybius andLivy
^Walbank, F. W. (1992).The Hellenistic world ([Rev.] ed.). London: Fontana. p. 98.ISBN0-00-686104-0.
^abAlan K. Bowman,Egypt After the Pharaohs, 332 BC–AD 642: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest (University of California Press, 1989), p. 30
^Errington, R. M. (1989). "Rome against Philip and Antiochus". In Astin, A. E.; Walbank, F. W.; Frederiksen, M. W.; Ogilvie, R. M. (eds.).The Cambridge Ancient History 8: Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 BC (Second ed.). Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. p. 271.ISBN978-0-521-23448-1.
^Cartledge, Paul; Spawforth, A. (2002).Hellenistic and Roman Sparta : a tale of two cities (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 74–79.ISBN0-415-26277-1.
^Eckart Kèohne,Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome (University of California Press, 2000) p. 10
^Kim, Jinwung (2012).A history of Korea: from 'Land of the Morning Calm' to states in conflict. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 16.ISBN978-0-253-00024-8.
^T. Boiy,Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon (Peeters Publishers, 2004) p. 157
^Bringmann, Klaus (2007).A history of the Roman republic. Cambridge, UK: Polity. p. 91.ISBN978-0-7456-3371-8.
^Walbank, F. W. (1992).The Hellenistic world ([Rev.] ed.). London: Fontana. p. 237.ISBN0-00-686104-0.
^Grainger, John D. (2002).The Roman war of Antiochos the Great. Leiden: Brill. pp. 240–246.ISBN978-90-04-12840-8.
^Grainger, John D. (2002).The Roman war of Antiochos the Great. Leiden: Brill. pp. 320–329.ISBN978-90-04-12840-8.
^Grainger, John D. (2002).The Roman war of Antiochos the Great. Leiden: Brill. pp. 341–344.ISBN978-90-04-12840-8.
^Thapar, Romila (2013).The past before us: historical traditions of early north India (First Harvard University Press ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 296.ISBN978-0-674-72651-2.
^Harris, W. V. (1989). "Roman Expansion in the West". In Astin, A. E.; Walbank, F. W.; Frederiksen, M. W.; Ogilvie, R. M. (eds.).The Cambridge Ancient History 8: Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 BC (Second ed.). Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. p. 125.ISBN978-0-521-23448-1.
^Joseph Needham,Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering (Cambridge University Press, 1985) p. 118