198 BCAntiochus III, The Great Ends Fifth Syrian War-The Fifth Syrian War ended at the Battle of Banyais, between Antiochus II (King of the Seleucid Empire) and Ptolemy V of Egypt. The Egyptians were decisively defeated by Antiochus' forces, and were forced to cede all their territory -- with the exception of the Sinai Desert -- to the Seleucids.
197 BC 2nd Macedonian War Ends- The Romans became involved in the second Macedonian War after an appeal by Athens and the other Greek city-states against Philip and Antiochus of Syria. Rome defeated Philip at the Battle of Cynocephalae and the Greeks were forced to surrender. Under terms of the agreement, the Greeks were left nominally independent.
195 BCKao Tsu- 1st Han Emperor Dies- Kao Tsu, first emperor of the Han dynasty, died in 195 B.C. During his reign, he expanded the Empire pushing the Huns out of China and occupying inner Mongolia. Han opened the silk route to Syria and founded the Chinese civil service.
172 -168 BC3rd Macedonian War - The Third Macedonian War broke out after Perseus revived the Macedonian army and became a renewed threat to Roman influence. The Roman Legions, led by Consul Aemilius, destroyed the Macedonian army at the Battle of Pydna.
160 BCJudas Macabaeus - The Jews in Judea were prohibited from practicing their religion. In 167 B.C. the Jews, led by an aged priest Mattityahu and his five sons, led a revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattityahu, liberated Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. This led to independence for Judea.
149 BCThird Punic War- The Third Punic War occurred as a result of Rome's obsession with Carthage. Roman Senator Cato would end every speech with "Carthage must be destroyed". The Roman army landed at Carthage and laid siege to the city. The siege lasted three years, but in the end, the Romans captured Carthage and razed the city.
149 - 148 BC 4th Macedonian War- The Macedonians led by Andricus, who claimed to be a son of Perseus, rebelled against Roman rule. The Romans defeated the Macedonians, made Macedonia a province of Rome and executed Andricus.
148 BCMasinissa, King Of Numidai Dies- Masinissa, King of the Numidia, changed the lifestyle of the Berbers from nomadic to agricultural. He died in 148 B.C. after a rule of 60 years.
146 BCCathrage Razed- At the end of a three-year siege, the Romans captured Carthage. The city was completely razed. The area was reorganized as the Roman province of Africa.
144 BCAqueducts Bring Water To Rome- By 144 BC the Roman had developed an extensive aquedeuct system to bring water to Rome. The Romans had developed hydralic cement which did not dissolve in water, and this allowed them to build bigger aqueducts.
142 BCFirst Stone Bridge With Arches- The Pons Aemilius bridge was built across the Tiber River. It was the first bridge to use stone arches.
135 BC 1st Serville Wars- The slaves of Sicily revolted. The revolt was led by the Syrian Eunus. In the course of three years of fighting, the revolt was put down. Most of the rebels were executed.
134 BCSimon Macabaeus- Simon Maccabeus and his two older sons were assassinated by his son-in law. Simon was succeeded by his remaining son, John Hyrcanus. He successfully extended Judea to include Samaria and lands to the east of the Jordan River.
133 BCTiberius Gracchus- Tribune- Gaius Gracchus came to power. he was more forceful then his slain brother Tiberias. Gaius reenstated the land reforms of his brother with a vengeance. His actions were not popular with the senate, and they refused him a third term as tribune. The result was chaos in Rome. The ensuing fighting resulted in the death of Gaius and many of his supporters.
123 BCThe Gracchi- Gaius Gracchus came to power. he was more forceful then his slain brother Tiberias. Gaius reenstated the land reforms of his brother with a vengeance. His actions were not popular with the senate, and they refused him a third term as tribune. The result was chaos in Rome. The ensuing fighting resulted in the death of Gaius and many of his supporters.
120 BCHipparchus Astronomer- In 120 BC Hipparchus died. He was the greatest astronomier of ancient times. He created a complete catalogue of the stars, listing their latitudes and longitudes.
103 - 101 BC2nd Servile War- The second Servile War broke out when slaves in Sicily under Tryphon and Athenion revolted. The Roman consul M. Aquilas quelled the revolt only after great effort.
