Texts in Context:
Timeline of Classical Antiquity—Part I

This timeline covers approximately the first half of Classical Antiquity, i.e. the early fifth to late first centuries BC. It is not exhaustive; some dates below are approximate or conjectural, and a few especially uncertain ones have a question mark. Our previous summary timelines include one covering prehistory and the Bronze Age, and one covering the Early Iron Age (or pre-Classical antiquity).

The End of the Early Iron Age

Our posts on the Roman monarchy and Second Temple Judaism go back to this period.

• 516 BC—Consecration of Second Temple in Jerusalem.
• 509 BC—Roman monarchy overthrown; Roman Republic established.
• 508 BC—Following expulsion of former tyrant Hippias, Athenian democracy established by Cleisthenes.
• 499 BC—Ionian Revolt against Persians in western Anatolia begins Græco-Persian War (conventional beginning of classical history proper).

Classical Hellas

This period coincides with that of the somewhat more stable, earlier part of the history of the Roman Republic, discussed here.

The Athenian Golden Age

This period is discussed in more detail in our posts on the beginning and end of the Græco-Persian War, the zenith of Athenian artistry, the Peloponnesian War, and the reign and demise of the Thirty Tyrants.

• 493 BC—Ionian Revolt put down; Ionia remains under Persian rule.
• 490 BC—Battle of Marathon: surprise Athenian victory against Persia.
• 480 BC—Battle of Thermopylæ: narrow Persian victory over minuscule Spartan force, followed by Greek withdrawal south. Battle of Salamis: resounding Greek victory; Persian navy effectively destroyed.
• 479 BC—Battle of Platæa: Greek victory. Persian war effort effectively defeated.
• 478 BC—Founding of Delian League, which slowly transforms in practice into Athenian empire.
• ca. 475-406 BC—Career of Sophocles.
• ca. 460 BC—Beginning of Pericles’ political career; Herodotus writes Histories.
• ca. 460-406 BC—Career of Euripides.
• 455 BC—Death of Æschylus.
• ca. 450-430 BC?—Beginning of career of Socrates.
• 448 BC?—Peace of Callias: formal end of war between Delian League and Persian Empire.
• 443-429 BC—Zenith of Pericles’ power.
• 431 BC—Beginning of Peloponnesian War: Athens declares war on Sparta.
• 430-426 BC—Plague of Athens: something between one fourth and two thirds of populace die, including Pericles in 429.
• 421 BC—Truce interrupts Peloponnesian War.
• 415-413 BC—Sicilian Expedition reignites Peloponnesian War; Alcibiades (originally meant to lead invasion of Sicily) threatened with trial for sacrilege, betrays Athenian defenses to Sparta.
• 404 BC—End of Peloponnesian War: Spartan victory. Post-war, Spartan-backed dictatorship of Thirty rules Athens for about eight months, governing arbitrarily and vengefully; democracy restored following year.
• 399 BC—Socrates tried and executed on trumped-up charges of sacrilege.

The Athenian Silver Age

This period is discussed in more detail in our posts on the death and legacy of Socrates and the career of Alexander the Great.

• ca. 399-390 BC?—Beginning of career of Plato.
• 387 BC—Foundation of Academy.
• 367 BC?—Aristotle comes to Athens, becomes Plato’s star pupil.
• 348 BC—Death of Plato. Headship of Academy passes to his nephew.
• 343 BC—Aristotle invited to become royal tutor of court of Macedon; he begins educating the crown prince Alexander and other Macedonian nobles’ sons.
• 343-290 BC—Samnite Wars, between Samnites and Roman Republic: Roman victory; Rome extends power throughout center of Italian peninsula.
• 338 BC—Battle of Chæronea: King Philip II of Macedon effectively conquers most of Greece.
• 336 BC—Philip II assassinated; his son Alexander III, later “Alexander the Great,” succeeds him.
• 334 BC—Alexander invades Anatolia, beginning rapid conquest of Persian Empire.
• ca. 330 BC—Persian Empire effectively under Alexander’s complete control; beginnings of attempted fusion of Greek and Persian customs.
• 327-325 BC—Indian campaign of Alexander ends in mutiny by army, who insist on going home.
• 323 BC—Abrupt death of Alexander the Great, with no clear heir. Political situation quickly spirals out of control; the Successors’ Wars begin.
• 322 BC—Death of Aristotle.

The Hellenistic Age

This era is discussed in our posts on Hellenistica in general and Hellenistic religion in particular.

The Early Hellenistic Period

All three of Rome’s Punic Wars are discussed in this post.

• 322-281 BC—The Successors’ Wars. Alexander’s empire eventually divided into: Ptolemaic Egypt (controlled Egypt, Cyprus, Cyrenaica, Judea); Kingdom of Pergamon (controlled northern and western Anatolia, Thrace); Macedon (controlled most of modern Greece); and Seleucid Empire (controlled mainly modern Iran, Iraq, Syria).
• ca. 307 BC—Ptolemy I founds Musæum, Library of Alexandria.
• ca. 300 BC—Career of Euclid.
• ca. 265?-212 BC—Career of Archimedes.
• 264-241 BC—First Punic War: Roman victory; Rome annexes Sicily, Corsica.
• ca. 255?-194 BC—Career of Eratosthenes, head of Library of Alexandria and first mathematician to correctly* calculate circumference of earth.
• 247 BC—Founding of Parthian Empire, reviving native Persian power.
• 222-175 BC—Roman campaigns in Po Valley lead to conquest of northern Italy.
• 218 BC—Beginning of Second Punic War: Hannibal invades Italy from the north with coalition army, war elephants.
• 217 BC—Battle of Trasimene: Carthaginian victory. 30,000 Roman casualties from force of 40,000.
• 216 BC—Battle of Cannæ: Carthaginian victory. 67,500 Roman casualties from force of 86,400.
• 214-148 BC—Macedonian Wars: Roman victory. Conquest of Greece.
• 205-192 BC—Romans absorb Greek colonies of southern Italy (“magna Græcia”).
• 204 BC—Roman forces invade Africa; Hannibal returns to defend Carthage.
• 202 BC—Battle of Zama: Roman victory. Hannibal defeated by Scipio Africanus.
• 201 BC—End of Second Punic War: Roman victory. Hannibal goes into exile, commits suicide.

The Late Hellenistic Period

• 200-150 BC?—Origin of Sadducees?
• 196 BC—Coronation of Pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes, commemorated in traditional hieroglyphics, contemporary Demotic, and Greek, leading to creation of Rosetta Stone.
• 167-147 BC—Maccabean Revolt: following imperial attempt to suppress Judaism and desecration of Second Temple, traditional Jews under leadership of Hasmonean family rebel against Seleucid rule; chief leader of Hasmoneans, namesake of revolt is Judah Maccabee.**
• ca. 166-159 BC—Career of Terence.
• 164 BC—Recover,d reconsecration of Temple by Hasmoneans (basis of Chanukkah).
• 161 BC—Alliance formed with Roman Republic by Judah Maccabee.
• 149-146 BC—Third Punic War: Roman victory. Carthage razed, populace enslaved.
• 137-121 BC—Political careers of Roman populist reformer Tiberius Gracchus (grandson of Scipio Africanus), younger brother Gaius Gracchus; both end in assassinations (in 131ab.
• 133 BC—King Attalus III of Pergamon dies, leaving realm to Rome in his will.
• 133-121 BC—Political career of Gaius Gracchus (younger brother of Tiberius), with similar aims; also ends in his assassination.
• ca. 110-100 BC?—Establishment of Silk Road, connecting Rome to China.
• 91-87 BC—Social War between Rome and Italian allies (led by Samnites and others) seeking equality with Roman citizens: partial Roman victory; citizenship extended to Italian allies that had not fought against Rome.
• 83-80 BC—Roman civil war, followed by dictatorship of Sulla, who reduces rights, powers of political representatives of plebeian class; Pompey the Great comes to political prominence.
• 74 BC—King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia dies, leaving realm to Roman Republic in his will; will contested by King Mithridates VI of Pontus, leading to Third Mithridatic War.
• 73 BC—Beginning of career of Julius Cæsar, initially as supporter of Pompey.
• 73-71 BC—Third Servile War (slave revolt led by Spartacus): Roman victory.
• 66-63 BC—Conflict over succession in Judea; both sides appeal to Rome to arbitrate, culminating in invasion by Pompey.
• 63 BC—Suicide of Mithridates VI ends Third Mithridatic War: Roman victory; Rome conquers Anatolia and Syria, gains Armenia and Judea as protectorates.
• 63-62 BC—Cicero denounces conspiracy of Catiline; Catiline defeated in battle, other conspirators executed without trial.

The Last Crisis of the Roman Republic

This period, and what led up to it, are discussed in this post.

• 60 BC—Cæsar, Crassus (wealthiest Roman citizen), Pompey form First Triumvirate.
• 58-50 BC—Gallic Wars: Roman victory. Cæsar conquers Gaul (approx. equivalent to modern France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Rhineland).
• 53 BC—Death of Crassus in battle with Parthians; Cæsar, Pompey turn against each other.
• 49 BC—Cæsar’s Civil War begins, between Cæsarian and Pompeian factions.
• 48 BC—Battle of Pharsalus: Cæsarian victory; assassination of Pompey the Great; Pompeians then led by Cato the Younger, Metellus Scipio, and others.
• 48-47 BC—Ptolemaic Civil War between Ptolemy XIII and his elder sister Cleopatra VII: Cleopatran victory, with aid from Cæsar.
• 45 BC—End of Cæsar’s Civil War: Cæsarian victory.
• 44 BC—Cæsar named dictator-for-life, assassinated by M. Junius Brutus, Cassius Longinus, and others (“the Liberators”).
• 43 BC—Lepidus (former ally of Cæsar), Mark Antony (the same), Octavian (adoptive son of Cæsar) form Second Triumvirate, take control of Rome.
• 43-42 BC—Liberators’ Civil War, waged by Second Triumvirate against Liberators to avenge Cæsar: Triumvirate victory.
• 37 BC—Herod the Great takes throne of Judea, with Roman backing.
• 34 BC—Donations of Alexandria: Cleopatra, Antony declare various Near Eastern realms (including Roman territory) domains of theirs, their children; Second Triumvirate collapses.
• 31 BC—Battle of Actium, between Rome under Octavian and Cleopatra with Antony: Roman victory. Octavian effectively becomes emperor (voted title Augustus, “exalted,” in 27 ).