__NOTOC__ Year 128 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavius and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 626 ''

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 First Year of Yuanshuo. The denomination 128 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

* Cn. Octavius and T. Annius Rufus are this year's consuls

Bactria

* The

Greco-Bactrian kingdom The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Hellenistic Greece, Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Helleni ...

is overrun by the Tokhari.

Parthia

Artabanus II Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He wa ...

becomes king of

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

(approximate date)

China

* In response to

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

incursions, in 128 or 127 the Xiongnu invade northern China. They kill the governor of Liaoxi, defeat the governor of Yuyang, carry off 2000 of the inhabitants of Liaoxi and Yuyang and defeat the Han general Han Anguo. Han Anguo and his cavalry force are surrounded in their camp, but the arrival of relief forces coming from Yan causes the Xiongnu army to withdraw. The Xiongnu also invade Yanmen and kill or carry off 1000 people. * The Han general

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. ...

, with an army of 30,000 cavalrymen, defeats a Xiongnu army north of Yanmen. The Han general Li Xi attacks the Xiongnu further to the east, riding out of Dai Prefecture. * Having spent a year in

Greater Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat a ...

, the Han diplomat

Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...

begins his return journey to China, having failed to persuade Yuezhi's king to form an alliance against the Xiongnu. Passing by the Pamir, Kunlun, Altun and Qilian Mountains, he and his retinue are then captured by the Xiongnu and taken into custody.

By topic

Arts and sciences

Limenius Limenius ( grc-gre, Λιμήνιος; fl. 2nd century BC) was an Athenian musician and the creator of the Second Delphic Hymn in 128 BC. He is the earliest known composer in recorded history for a surviving piece of music, or one of the two earli ...

composes the Second Delphic Hymn.

Births

Liu Ju Liu Ju (; 128–91 BC), formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li (戾太子, literally "the Unrepentant Crown Prince", where Li is an unflattering name) was a Western Han Dynasty crown prince. He was the ...

, Chinese prince 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 ...

(d.

91 BC __NOTOC__ Year 91 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Caesar (or, less frequently, year 663 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Second Year of Zhenghe. The denominatio ...

)

Deaths

* Liu Fei, Chinese prince of the Han Dynasty (b.

169 BC __NOTOC__ Year 169 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Caepio (or, less frequently, year 585 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 169 BC for this year has bee ...

) *

Phraates II Phraates II (also spelled Frahad I; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I (). Because he was still very young when he came to the throne, his moth ...

, king of

(approximate date)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:128 Bc