310s BC

This article concerns the period 319 BC – 310 BC.

Events

319 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• The Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, is sent to the Macedonian court, but either the Macedonian regent Antipater or his son Cassander, learning that Demades has intrigued with the former regent Perdiccas, puts him to death.
• Antipater becomes ill and dies shortly after, leaving the regency of the Macedonian Empire to the aged Polyperchon, passing over his son Cassander, a measure which gives rise to much confusion and ill-feeling.
• Polyperchon's authority is challenged by Antipater's son Cassander, who refuses to acknowledge the new regent. With the aid of Antigonus, ruler of Phrygia, and with the support of Ptolemy and Lysimachus, Cassander seizes most of Greece including Macedonia.
• Eumenes allies himself with the regent Polyperchon. He manages to escape from the siege of Nora, and his forces soon threaten Syria and Phoenicia. Polyperchon recognises Eumenes as the royal general in Asia Minor.
• Alexander the Great's widow, Roxana, joins Alexander's mother, Olympias, in Epirus.

318 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• Antigonus resolves to become lord of all Asia, and in conjunction with Cassander and Ptolemy. He enters into negotiations with Eumenes; but Eumenes remains faithful to the royal house. He raises an army and forms a coalition with the satraps of the eastern provinces. He then captures Babylon from Antigonus.
• Antigonus marches against Eumenes, so Eumenes withdraws east to join the satraps of the provinces beyond the Tigris River.
• Cassander, who has allied himself with Ptolemy and Antigonus, declares war on the regent, Polyperchon. Most of the Greek states support him, including Athens. Cassander further effects an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King Philip III Arrhidaeus of Macedon.
• Although Polyperchon is initially successful in securing control of the Greek cities, whose freedom he proclaims, his fleet is destroyed by Antigonus.

Greece

• In a power struggle in Athens after the death of Antipater, Phocion is deposed as the ruler of Athens, convicted of treason, and executed by those Athenians hoping to restore democracy to the city. Shortly afterward, the Athenians decree a public burial and a statue in his honor.

China

• The state of Qin moves into the Sichuan basin, giving them control of that great food-producing plain.

By topic

Music

• Aristoxenus, a Greek peripatetic philosopher, and writer on music and rhythm, and a pupil of Aristotle, writes a treatise on music called the "Elements of Harmony".

317 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• Seleucus joins Antigonus against Eumenes and recaptures Babylon.
• Battle of Paraitacene: The first battle of Western armies each with an elephant corps who fight for control over Alexander's empire. The armies of Antigonus and Eumenes fight each other near today's Isfahan in Persia with no clear victor.
• Armenia's Persian satrap, Ardvates, frees his country from Macedonian control.
• After capturing Athens from Macedonia's regent Polyperchon, Cassander entrusts the government of Athens to the Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher, Demetrius Phalereus.
• Polyperchon flees to Epirus, where he joins Alexander the Great's mother Olympias, Alexander's widow Roxana, and Alexander's infant son Alexander IV. He forms an alliance with Olympias, who is acting as regent for Alexander IV, and King Aeacides of Epirus.
• While Cassander is occupied in the Peloponnesus, Olympias leads an army into Macedonia. She is initially successful, defeating the army of King Philip III Arrhidaeus and capturing King Philip and his wife, Eurydice, as well as Cassander's brother, Nicanor. She then has them murdered.
• Ptolemy marries Berenice, lady-in-waiting to Eurydice, wife of Ptolemy.

Sicily

• Acestorides, a native of Corinth, is made supreme commander by the citizens of Syracuse.
• After twice being banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party, Agathocles returns with an army and banishes or murders about 10,000 citizens (including the oligarchs), and sets himself up as tyrant of Syracuse. Acestorides is banished from the city.

By topic

Art

• Private funeral monuments are banned in Athenian cemeteries.

Literature

• Menander wins the first prize at the Lenaian festival with his play Dyskolos (The Grouch).

316 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• Eumenes and Antigonus, rivals to Cassander for control of Macedonia, meet in the Battle of Gabiene in Media to the northeast of Susa. Antigonus defeats Eumenes, with the aid of Seleucus and Peithon (the satraps of Babylonia and Media, respectively). The result is inconclusive. However, some of Eumenes' soldiers take matters into their own hands. Learning that Antigonus has captured many of their wives, children and the cumulative plunder of nearly 40 years of continuous warfare, they secretly open negotiations with Antigonus for their safe return. They hand over Eumenes and his senior officers to Antigonus in return for their baggage and families. Eumenes is put to death by Antigonus after a week's captivity.

Greece

• Cassander returns from the Peloponnesus and defeats Macedonia's regent Polyperchon in battle. Cassander blockades Olympias, mother of the late Alexander the Great, in Pydna, where she surrenders. Cassander takes Roxana and her son Alexander IV of Macedon into his custody.
• Olympias is condemned to death by Cassander, but his soldiers refuse to carry out the sentence. She is eventually killed by relatives of those she has previously had executed.
• Cassander marries Thessaloniki, half-sister of Alexander the Great. He has Alexander's widow, Roxana and son, Alexander IV of Macedon, imprisoned at Amphipolis in Thrace. They are never to be seen alive again.
• Cassander founds, on Pallenê, a city called Cassandreia
• Thebes, which has been destroyed by Alexander the Great, begins to be rebuilt by Cassander with the help of the citizens of Athens.
• In Rhodes (city), a major flood occurs. At least five hundred people die and many houses collapse.

Sicily

• Agathocles, the new tyrant of Syracuse, extends his rule over the eastern part of the island.

Roman Republic

• The Romans, with an eye to capturing Apulia, send an army (led by dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus) to seize the town of Lucera from the Samnites. They are badly beaten in the Battle of Lautulae and the Samnites go on to reach within 32 kilometres of Rome.

China

• King Hui of Qin decides, on the advice of General Sima Cuo, to invade and annex the ancient states of Ba and Shu in Sichuan, in order to increase Qin's agricultural output and obtain a strategic platform from which to defeat the state of Chu.

315 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• Antigonus claims authority over most of Asia, seizes the treasury at Susa and enters Babylon, where Seleucus is governor. Seleucus flees to Ptolemy in Egypt and enters into a league with him, Lysimachus (the ruler of Thrace) and Cassander, against Antigonus. This leads to the First Coalition War.
• Aristodemus of Miletus, by order of Antigonus, sails to Laconia, where he receives permission from the Spartans to recruit 8000 mercenaries. He also meets Alexander (son of Polyperchon) and Polyperchon, thus establishing friendship between them and Antigonus
• Polyperchon is appointed general of the Peloponnesus
• Alexander (son of Polyperchon) sails to Antigonus in Asia. They make a pact of friendship and, by order of Antigonus, Alexander sails back to the Peloponnesus
• Peithon consolidates his power base in the eastern part of the Empire.
• Antigonus drives out Cassander's Macedonian forces of occupation from the Greek islands and forms the island cities in the Aegean into the "League of the Islanders", preparatory to his invasion of Greece. His ally, the city of Rhodes, furnishes him with the necessary fleet.

Greece

• The King of Epirus, Aeacides, faces a revolt from his people and they drive him from the kingdom. His son, Phyrrhus, who is then only two years old, is saved from being killed by some faithful servants. Cassander takes control of Epirus.
• In Macedonia the port city of Thessaloniki is founded by Cassander and named after his wife Thessalonike.
• Cassander appoints Apollonides (governor of Argos) as Governor of Argos
• Apollonides (governor of Argos) initiates a raid on Arcadia during the night.
• Cassander sends Prepelaus to Alexander (son of Polyperchon) and he convinces Alexander to desert Antigonus by offering command of all the Peloponnesus and making him general of an army

Cyprus

• Ptolemy's armies fight supporters of Antigonus in Cyprus. Ptolemy is able to re-conquer the island.

Sicily

• Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse, seizes the city of Messina.

Roman Republic

• The Romans take Ferentum, a city of Apulia, and this pushes the citizens of Nuceria to end their friendship with Rome.

India

• The Indian king Porus, ally of Alexander The Great, is killed by Eudemus, another general of Alexander. The son of Porus, Malayketu, seizes his territory back by killing Eudemus.

In fiction

• In the historical novel Funeral Games by Mary Renault, Cassander visits the Lyceum in Athens and tells Theophrastos evil slanderous lies against Alexander the Great.

314 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• Aristodemus of Miletus convinces the common assembly of the Aetolians to support Antigonus
• Alexander (son of Polyperchon) is killed by Alexion of Sicyon. His wife Cratesipolis assumes power and holds the army together
• Antigonus, the ruler of the Asian parts of the late Alexander the Great's empire, faces a coalition consisting of Cassander, the Macedonian regent; Lysimachus, the satrap of Thrace; and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt, who have taken the side of the ousted satrap of Babylon, Seleucus.
• Antigonus does not trust Peithon's growing power. So Antigonus tricks Peithon to come to his court, where Antigonus has him executed.
• Antigonus invades Syria, then under Ptolemy's control, and besieges and captures Tyre. Antigonus then occupies Syria, proclaiming himself regent.

Greece

• As Cassander fights to retain control over central Greece, Antigonus promises freedom to the Greek cities in a bid to gain support from them against Cassander.
• The Aetolians enter into an alliance with Antigonus, and the League of the Islanders is established under Antigonus' hegemony. Cassander marches against them with his allies Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus and destroys the city of Agrinio.

Roman Republic

• Success seems to be going the Samnites' way in their ongoing battles against the Romans. Campania is on the verge of deserting Rome. Peace is established between Rome and some Samnite towns.

China

• Zhou Nan Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
• The city of Guilin is founded by the Qin Dynasty.

313 BC

By place

Macedonian Empire

• Antigonus sends Telesphorus (general) to the Peloponnesus to free the cities.

Egypt

• Ptolemy, whose Egyptian kingdom includes Cyprus, puts down a revolt there. A revolt in Cyrene is also crushed.

Greece

• Becoming tired of the Macedonian rule, the people of Epirus recall their former king Aeacides. Cassander immediately sends an army against him under his brother, Philip, who is diverted from invading Aetolia.
• Philip defeats Aeacides in a battle. Aeacides, with the remnant of his forces, joins the Aetolians. A second battle takes place, in which Philip is again victorious, and Aeacides is killed. The remaining Aetolian army takes refuge in the surrounding mountains.

312 BC

By place

Seleucid Empire

• Ptolemy and Seleucus, the satrap of Babylonia, invade the satrapy of Syria. The resulting Battle of Gaza leads to a triumph for Ptolemy and Seleucus over Antigonus' son, Demetrius Poliorcetes ("sieger of cities"), who is captured but immediately released. Seleucus ceases his service to Ptolemy and returns to his former province, Babylonia. This event takes place on October 1 and becomes the starting point of the Seleucid era.

Greece

• Telesphorus enters Elis and fortifies the citadel, and enslaves the city.
• Telesphorus ends his friendship with Antigonus through betrayal.

Sicily

• The Syracusans ask for help against their tyrant Agathocles from the Carthaginians, who, fearing for their own possessions in Sicily, send a large force to the island.

Roman Republic

• The Roman censor, Appius Claudius Caecus, a patrician, enters office and begins construction of the Appian Way (the Via Appia) between Rome and Capua. He also embarks on a program of political reform, including the distribution of the landless citizens of Rome among the tribes, which at this time constitute basic political units. Appius also admits sons of freedmen into the Roman Senate. He also asserts the right of freed slaves to hold office.
• Rome gets its first pure drinking water as engineers complete the first aqueduct into the city, the Aqua Appia.

311 BC

By place

Seleucid Empire

• Seleucus reestablishes himself as satrap of Babylonia and asserts control over Media and Susiana (Elam).

Asia Minor and Syria

• Ptolemy tries to occupy Syria. However, Demetrius Poliorcetes wins a battle over Ptolemy's forces and Antigonus enters Syria in force. So, after only a few months, Ptolemy evacuates his forces from Syria.
• In view of the threat by Seleucus to his control of the East, Antigonus decides to make peace with all of his adversaries, except Seleucus, who now holds Babylon. All of the diadochi confirm the existing boundaries and the freedom of the Greek cities. Ptolemy and Lysimachus are confirmed as satraps of Egypt and Thrace, respectively, and Antigonus and Cassander are confirmed as commanders of the army in Asia and Europe. Antigonus, no longer regent but now titled the strategos (officer in charge) of the whole of Asia, rules in Syria from the Hellespont to the Euphrates, including Asia Minor.
• It is agreed by all parties that the young king Alexander IV of Macedon, son of Alexander the Great, will become king of the whole empire when he comes of age in six years' time.
• The peace agreement between the diadochi is soon violated. On the pretext that garrisons have been placed in some of the free Greek cities by Antigonus. Ptolemy and Cassander renew hostilities against him.

Sicily

• The Carthaginian general Hamilcar crosses the Mediterranean with an army and wins the Battle of Himera against Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse.
• Hamilcar then proceeds with laying siege to Syracuse, where Agathocles had retreated.

310 BC

By place

Macedonia

• Ptolemy (general) forms an alliance with Cassander revolting against Antigonus

Cyprus

• By order of Ptolemy, Nicocles (Paphos) kills himself

Seleucid Empire

• Antigonus orders Nicanor, one of his generals, to invade Babylonia from the east and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes to attack it from the west. Nicanor assembles a large force but it is surprised and defeated by Seleucus at the river Tigris, and his troops are either cut to pieces or defect to the enemy. Similarly, Demetrius Poliorcetes fails to oust Seleucus.

Asia Minor

• Ptolemy attacks Cilicia, territory held by Antigonus.
• The cities of Antigonia Troas (later known as Alexandria Troas) and Antigoneia (later known as Nicaea) are founded by Antigonus I Monophthalmus.

Sicily and Africa

• The tyrant of Syracuse, Agathocles, escapes from the siege of the city by the Carthaginians with a fleet and carries the war with the Carthaginians back into his enemy's territory. He defeats the Carthaginians in the Battle of White Tunis.

Roman Republic

• Rome deals with renewed trouble from the Etruscans, who are persuaded by the Samnites to cease their alliance with the Romans. In the Battle of Lake Vadimo, the Romans under Fabius Maximus Rullianus defeat the Etruscans.

Illyria

• The Autariatae disappear due to Celtic migrations.

Births

319 BC

• Antigonus II Gonatas, Macedonian king (approximate date) (d. 239 BC)
• Pyrrhus of Epirus, King of the Molossians, Epirus and Macedonia (d. 272 BC)

316 BC

• Arsinoe II, Queen of Thrace and later co-ruler of Egypt with her brother and husband Ptolemy II of Egypt (d. 270 BC)

315 BC

• Aratus, Macedonian Greek mathematician, astronomer, meteorologist, botanist and poet (d. 240 BC)

310 BC

• Aristarchus of Samos, Greek astronomer and mathematician (approximate date) (d. c. 230 BC)
• Huiwen of Zhao, Chinese king of Zhao (Warring States Period) (d. 266 BC)
• Xun Zi, Chinese philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 230 BC)

Deaths

319 BC

• Antipater, Macedonian general, regent of Alexander the Great's empire (b. 397 BC)

318 BC

• Phocion, Athenian statesman and general (b. c. 402 BC)
• Cleitus the White, Officer of Alexander the Great

317 BC

• King Philip III of Macedon (b. c. 359 BC)
• Queen Eurydice III of Macedon
• Nicanor Macedonian officer of Cassander and the son in law of Aristotle.

316 BC

• Olympias, Epirote princess, wife of Macedonian king Philip II and the mother of Alexander the Great (b. c. 376 BC)
• Eumenes, Greek general and diadochi (b. c. (362 BC)
• Antigenes (general), Greek general
• Eudemus (general), Greek general
• Sun Bin, Chinese military strategist and general from the State of Qi

315 BC

• Zhou Shen Jing Wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China

314 BC

• Xenocrates, Greek philosopher, pupil of Plato and head of the Greek Academy (b. 396 BC)
• Aeschines, Athenian orator and politician (b. 389 BC)
• Alexander (son of Polyperchon)

313 BC

• Aeacides, King of Epirus

312 BC

• Peithon (son of Agenor)

310 BC

• Roxana, Bactrian or Sogdian princess, widow of Alexander the Great
• Pytheas, Greek merchant, geographer and explorer from the Greek colony Massilia (today Marseille) (b. c. 380 BC)
• Nicocles (Paphos) king of Paphos