__NOTOC__ Year 223 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaminus and Philus (or, less frequently, year 531 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 223 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 Copti ...

became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Seleucid Empire

* The

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

king

Seleucus III Seleucus III Soter, called Seleucus Ceraunus (Greek: ; c. 243 BC – April/June 223 BC, ruled December 225 – April/June 223 BC), was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom, the eldest son of Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II. Biograph ...

is assassinated in Phrygia by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

. * Seleucus is succeeded by his younger brother,

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...

. From the previous administration, Antiochus III retains

Hermeias Hermeias () or Hermias (; Greek: Ἑρμείας or Ἑρμίας; died 220 BC) was a Carian by birth, who had raised himself to be the favourite and chief minister of Seleucus III Ceraunus (225–223 BC), and was left at the head of affairs i ...

as his

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

, Achaeus as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, and

Molon Molon ( or ) or Molo (; grc, Mόλων; died 220 BC) was a general and satrap of the Seleucid king Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC). He held the satrapy of Media at the accession of that monarch (223 BC); in addition to which, Antiochus c ...

and his brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

as governors of the eastern

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s of

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

and

Persis Persis ( grc-gre, , ''Persís''), better known in English as Persia ( Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''; fa, پارس, ''Pârs''), or Persia proper, is the Fars region, located to the southwest of modern-day Iran, now a province. T ...

Roman Republic

* Gaius Flaminius is elected

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

for the first time and, with

Publius Furius Philus Publius Furius Philus was a consul in 223 BC, a praetor in 216, and a censor in 214. He died the following year, before resigning his office. Family and background Furius was a member of the patrician '' gens Furia'', an ancient and noble house a ...

, he forces the Cisalpine Gauls to submit to Rome, creating the province of Cisalpine Gaul.

Greece

* The

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

n king

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...

destroys and burns the city of

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...

but the inhabitants are saved by

Philopoemen Philopoemen ( el, Φιλοποίμην ''Philopoímēn''; 253 BC, Megalopolis – 183 BC, Messene) was a skilled Greek general and statesman, who was Achaean strategos on eight occasions. From the time he was appointed as strategos in 209 BC, ...

who leads the defence of the city until the inhabitants can escape. * The king of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

ia,

Antigonus III Doson Antigonus III Doson ( el, Ἀντίγονος Γ΄ Δώσων, 263–221 BC) was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He was a member of the Antigonid dynasty. Family background Antigonus III Doson was a half-cousin of his predecessor, Demetr ...

, restores Macedonian influence in the Peloponnese for the first time in almost two decades. After signing alliances with the Achaeans,

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

ns,

Thessalians Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessa ...

and the Acarnanians, Antigonus invades the Peloponnese and drives the Spartans out of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

, taking Orchomenus and

Mantineia Mantineia (also Mantinea ; el, Μαντίνεια; also Koine Greek ''Antigoneia'') was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. In modern times it is a former municipality in ...

in the process.

Persia

* King

Diodotus II Diodotus II Theos (Greek: , ''Diódotos Theós''; died c. 225 BC) was the son and successor of Diodotus I Soter, who rebelled against the Seleucid empire, establishing the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom. Diodotus II probably ruled alongside his father ...

of Bactria is killed by a usurper,

Euthydemus I Euthydemus I (Greek: , ''Euthydemos'') c. 260 BC – 200/195 BC) was a Greco-Bactrian king and founder of the Euthydemid dynasty. He is thought to have originally been a governor (Satrap) of Sogdia, who seized the throne by force from Diodotus I ...

, founder of the

Greco-Bactrian The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic-era Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world in Central Asia and the India ...

Euthydemid dynasty.

China

* The

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

generals Wang Jian and

Meng Wu Meng Wu (, 3rd century BCE) was a general in the state of Qin during the Warring States period, who played a major role in the conquest of Chu. He was a son of and the father of Meng Tian and Meng Yi, all Qin generals. Biography The son ...

defeat the Chu general Xiang Yan and the king of Chu,

Lord Changping Lord Changping (昌平君; died 223 BC) was an important military commander and lord of Qin, who later departed from the state of Qin and went to the state of Chu where he became the last king of Chu (223 BC) in the last days of the Chinese War ...

. Lord Changping is killed, and Xiang Yan commits suicide soon afterwards.

Births

Deaths

, the last king of Chu, one of the

Seven Warring States The Seven Warring States or Seven Kingdoms () were the seven leading hegemonic states during the Warring States period (c. 475 to 221 BCE) of Ancient China: * Qin (秦) * Qi (齊/齐) * Chu (楚) * Yan (燕) * Han (韓/韩) * Zhao (趙/ ...

in ancient China. *

, King of Bactria, the son and successor of

Diodotus I Diodotus I Soter (Greek: , ''Diódotos Sōtḗr''; c. 315-300 BC – c. 235 BC), was the first Hellenistic King of Bactria. Diodotus became independent of the Seleucid empire around 255 or 245 BC, and established the Diodotid Bactrian Kingdom, w ...

(approximate date) (b. c. 252 BC) *

, king of the Seleucid dynasty from

226 BC __NOTOC__ Year 226 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Fullo (or, less frequently, year 528 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 226 BC for this ...

(assassinated) (b. c.

243 BC __NOTOC__ Year 243 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fundulus and Galus (or, less frequently, year 511 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 243 BC for this year has been ...

)

References

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