__NOTOC__ Year 119 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dalmaticus and Cotta (or, less frequently, year 635 ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'') and the Fourth Year of Yuanshou. The denomination 119 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one ''epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, it is the year as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Coptic ...

became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Republic

* The second Dalmatian war begins.

China

* Spring:

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

forces under the General-in-Chief

Wei Qing Wei Qing (died 106 BC), courtesy name Zhongqing, born Zheng Qing in Linfen, Shanxi, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty who was acclaimed for his campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his rags to riches life. ...

and the cavalry general

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-brot ...

invade the

Xiongnu Empire The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 ...

. :*

Battle of Mobei The Battle of Mobei () was a military campaign fought mainly in modern Mongolia. It was part of a major strategic offensive launched by the Han dynasty in January, 119 BC, into the heartland of the nomadic Xiongnu. The campaign was a success f ...

: Wei Qing crosses the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

, defeats

Yizhixie Chanyu Yizhixie (; r. 126–114 BC) was the brother of Junchen Chanyu and his successor to the Xiongnu throne. Yizhixie ruled during a time of conflict with the southern Han dynasty under the military expansionist, Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC) ...

and kills or captures 19,000 Xiongnu. :*Huo Qubing crosses the eastern Gobi, defeats and executes Bijuqi, defeats the Tuqi (Worthy Prince) of the Left (East), and captures three kings. He reaches as far as

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

. :* Failing to reconnoiter with Wei Qing's army, general

Li Guang Li Guang (184-119 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiong ...

commits suicide after learning that Wei has prepared charges against him. :* Emperor Wu creates the rank of Grand Marshal and gives it to both Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, thereby making Huo's rank and salary equal to that of Wei. * Emperor Wu suspends further campaigning against the Xiongnu due to a shortage of horses. * Government monopolies are established in

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

and

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

Births

Deaths

Di Shan Di Shan (, d. 119 BC) was an erudite in the court of Emperor Wu of the western Han dynasty. He was killed by a Xiongnu attack. When the Xiongnu sought an alliance and the matter was being discussed by various officials, Di Shan declared that he wa ...

, Chinese politician of the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, Chinese general of the Han Dynasty

References

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