160 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 160 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallus and Cethegus (or, less frequently, year 594 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 160 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
calendar era
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallus and Cethegus (or, less frequently, year 594 Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
). The denomination 160 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
calendar era
Calendar era
A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Seleucid Empire
- The Seleucid king, Demetrius IDemetrius I SoterDemetrius I , surnamed Soter , was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire....
, on campaign in the east of his empire, leaves his general Bacchides to govern the western portion of it. - In response to the Jewish high priest, AlcimusAlcimusAlcimus , also called Jacimus, or Joachim , was a High Priest of Israel for three years, 162 BCE-159 BCE, who espoused the Syrian cause....
', request for assistance, the Seleucid general Bacchides leads an army into JudeaJudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
with the intent of reconquering this now independent kingdom. Bacchides rapidly marches through Judea after carrying out a massacre of the Assideans in GalileeGalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. He quickly makes for Jerusalem, besieging the city and trapping Judas MaccabeusJudas MaccabeusJudah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...
, the spiritual and military leader of the MaccabeesMaccabeesThe Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
, inside. However, Judas and many of his supporters manage to escape the siege. - Judas Maccabeus and many of his supporters regroup to face the Seleucid forces in the Battle of ElasaBattle of ElasaThe Battle of Elasa was fought between Jewish and Seleucid armies during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire.-Background:In 160 BC, the Seleucid King Demetrius, on campaign in the east, left his general Bacchides to govern the western portion of the empire...
(near modern day RamallahRamallahRamallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
). Greatly outnumbered, the Maccabees are defeated and Judas Maccabeus is killed during the battle. - Judas MaccabeusJudas MaccabeusJudah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...
is succeeded as army commander and leader of the MaccabeesMaccabeesThe Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
by his younger brother, Jonathan. - Demetrius I defeats and kills the rebel general TimarchusTimarchusTimarchus or Timarch was a usurper in the Seleucid empire between 163-160 BCE.A Greek nobleman, possibly from Miletus in Asia Minor, Timarchus was a friend of the Seleucid prince Antiochus IV Epiphanes during his time as hostage to Rome...
and is recognized as king of the Seleucid empire by the Roman SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. Demetrius acquires his surname of Soter (meaning Saviour) from the BabyloniaBabyloniaBabylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
ns, for delivering them from the tyranny of Timarchus. The Seleucid empire is temporarily united again. - The ParthiaParthiaParthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n King, Mithradates I, seizes MediaMedesThe MedesThe Medes...
from the Seleucids following the death of Timarchus.
Bactria
- The king of BactriaBactriaBactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
, Eucratides IEucratides IEucratides I Megas was one of the most important Greco-Bactrian kings, descendants of dignitaries of Alexander the Great. He uprooted the Euthydemid dynasty of Greco-Bactrian kings and replaced it with his own lineage...
, is considered to have killed Apollodotus IApollodotus IApollodotus I Soter was an Indo-Greek king between 180 and 160 BCE or between 174 and 165 BCE who ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from Taxila in Punjab to the areas of Sindh and possibly Gujarat.-Ruler of the Indo-Greek...
, an Indo-Greek king who rules the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, when he invades the western territories of that kingdom.
China
- A Painted banner, from the tomb of the wife of the Marquis of Dai (of the Han DynastyHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
in Mawangdui, Changsha, HunanHunan' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
, is made (approximate date). It is nowadays preserved at the Historical museum in BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Armenia
- Artavasdes IArtavasdes I of ArmeniaArtavasdes I of Armenia was the son of Artaxias I and Queen Satenik....
succeeds his father Artaxias IArtaxias IArtaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries....
as king of ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
.
Roman Republic
- The RomanRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
playwright TerenceTerencePublius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
's play AdelphoeAdelphoeAdelphoe is a play by Roman playwright Terence, adopted partly from plays by Menander and Diphilus. It explores the best form of child-rearing...
(The Brothers) is first performed at the funeral of the Roman general, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus.
Births
- JugurthaJugurthaJugurtha or Jugurthen was a King of Numidia, , born in Cirta .-Background:Until the reign of Jugurtha's grandfather Masinissa, the people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from the other Libyans in North Africa...
, King of NumidiaNumidiaNumidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
(d. 104 BC104 BCYear 104 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Fimbria...
) - Theodosius of BithyniaTheodosius of BithyniaTheodosius of Bithynia was a Greek astronomer and mathematician who wrote the Sphaerics, a book on the geometry of the sphere. Born in Tripolis, in Bithynia, Theodosius is cited by Vitruvius as having invented a sundial suitable for any place on Earth...
, Greek astronomer and mathematician who will write the Sphaerics, a book on the geometry of the sphere (d. c. 100 BC100 BCYear 100 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Flaccus...
)
Deaths
- Gaius LaeliusGaius LaeliusGaius Laelius — also Caius Lelius — general and statesman, was a friend of Scipio Africanus, whom he accompanied on his Iberian campaign...
, RomanRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
general and politician who has been involved in Rome's victory during the Second Punic WarSecond Punic WarThe Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
between Rome and CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
(approximate date) - Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman consulConsulConsul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
, politician and general whose victory over the Macedonians in the Battle of PydnaBattle of PydnaThe Battle of Pydna in 168 BC between Rome and the Macedonian Antigonid dynasty saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenic/Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to Alexander the Great.Paul K...
has ended the Third Macedonian WarThird Macedonian WarThe Third Macedonian War was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King Philip V of Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army...
(b. c. 229 BC229 BCYear 229 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Centumalus...
) - Artaxias IArtaxias IArtaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries....
, king of ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
who has ruled since 190 BC190 BCYear 190 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asiaticus and Laelius...
and the founder of the Artaxiad DynastyArtaxiad DynastyThe Artaxiad Dynasty or Ardaxiad Dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD 12. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and intermittently Lesser Armenia and parts of Mesopotamia...
, whose members would rule the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries - Apollodotus IApollodotus IApollodotus I Soter was an Indo-Greek king between 180 and 160 BCE or between 174 and 165 BCE who ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from Taxila in Punjab to the areas of Sindh and possibly Gujarat.-Ruler of the Indo-Greek...
, Indo-Greek king who, since 180 BC180 BCYear 180 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscus and Piso/Flaccus...
, has ruled the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from TaxilaTaxilaTaxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
in PunjabPunjab (Pakistan)Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
to the areas of SindhSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and possibly Gujarat - Judas MaccabeusJudas MaccabeusJudah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...
, third son of the Jewish priest MattathiasMattathiasMattathias ben Johanan was a Jewish priest whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Syrian Greeks is related in the Books of the Maccabees...
, who has led the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid EmpireSeleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
until his death - TimarchusTimarchusTimarchus or Timarch was a usurper in the Seleucid empire between 163-160 BCE.A Greek nobleman, possibly from Miletus in Asia Minor, Timarchus was a friend of the Seleucid prince Antiochus IV Epiphanes during his time as hostage to Rome...
, Seleucid nobleman, possibly from MiletusMiletusMiletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
in AnatoliaAnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, appointed governor of MediaMedesThe MedesThe Medes...
in western IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV EpiphanesAntiochus IV EpiphanesAntiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....
and who has rebelled against his successor, Demetrius I SoterDemetrius I SoterDemetrius I , surnamed Soter , was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire....
, until he is killed in a battle with Demetrius' forces