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Year 423 BC was a year of the
pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atratinus and Ambustus (or, less frequently, year 331 ''
Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 423 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
Persian empire
* Ochus, satrap of Hyrcania
Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian ...
and son of Artaxerxes I and a Babylonian concubine, seizes the Persian throne from his half brother Secydianus (or Sogdianus), whom he has executed. The new king rules as Darius II.
Greece
* The Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
general, Laches, successfully moves in the Athenian Assembly for an armistice with 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 ...
to check the progress of Sparta's most effective general, Brasidas
Brasidas ( el, Βρασίδας, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War who fought in battle of Amphipolis and Pylos. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning ...
. However, the "Truce of Laches" has little impact on Brasidas and collapses within a year.
* Brasidas ignores the proposed year-long truce and proceeds to take Scione
Scione or Skione ( grc, Σκιώνη) was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice, on the southern coast east of the modern town of Nea Skioni.
Scione was founded by settlers from Achaea; the Scionaeans claimed ...
and Mende in the hope of reaching Athens and freeing Spartan prisoners. Athens sends reinforcements under Nicias
Nicias (; Νικίας ''Nikias''; c. 470–413 BC) was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy and had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was inve ...
who retakes Mende.
Rome
* Gaius Sempronius Atratinus and Quintus Fabius Vibulanus are elected as 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 ...
s
* Sextus Tempanius, Aulus Sellius, Sextus Antistius, and Spurius Icilius are chosen by the commons as tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...
s
By topic
Drama
* Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
' play ''The Clouds
''The Clouds'' ( grc, Νεφέλαι ''Nephelai'') is a Greek comedy play written by the playwright Aristophanes. A lampooning of intellectual fashions in classical Athens, it was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423BC and was not ...
'' is performed as is Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
' play ''Maidens of Trachi'' and ''The Putine'' (''The Bottle''), by Cratinus
Cratinus ( grc-gre, Κρατῖνος; 519 BC – 422 BC) was an Athenian comic poet of the Old Comedy.
Life
Cratinus was victorious 27 known times, eight times at the City Dionysia, first probably in the mid-to-late 450s BCE (IG II2 2325. 50), ...
.
Births
Deaths
*
Sogdianus, King of
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
(assassinated)
References
Frey, Wendy, and Diane Hart. ''History Alive!'' Palo Alto, CA: TCI, 2004. Print.
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