329-201 B.C. - Enter (and Exit) Alexander the Great

 

325 B.C.

RULERS & ROYALTY: Alexander the Great is ruler over the Greek Empire

Pytheas, a Greek navigator, makes a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe and sails around the British Isles, he notices that it is a country of many kings...

“he came from the western colony of Massilia—modern Marseilles, he was the author of the book On the Ocean, which we only know about insofar as it was quoted by later writers, such as the Roman geographer Strabo, who was working during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, and the Roman natural historian of the first century A.D., Pliny the Elder.”

(Under Another Sky pg. 8)

Pytheas names the island "Prettanike" or "Brettaniai," this is the origin of the name Britain—the land of the Picts is known by the diminutive Prydyn

Pytheas visits Cornwall and watches the inhabitants work the ore and purify the metal; On another stage of his journey he is told by the natives that the mother of Apollo, Leto, was born on the island, ‘and for this reason Apollo is honored among them above all other gods; and the inhabitants are looked upon as priests of Apollo’ (Foundation pg. 19-20)

Pytheas also reports that he saw ‘a wonderful sacred precinct of Apollo and a celebrated temple festooned with many offerings’; it was ‘spherical in shape’ and close by there was a city ‘sacred to this god’ whose lings are called ‘Boreades’ after the god of the north wind, (the identity of this precinct, temple and city have long been a matter of debate, some argue that Pytheas was describing the sacred landscapes of Stonehenge and Silbury Hill; others believe that it refers to a temple of Apollo where Westminster Abbey now stands, and the adjacent ‘city’ of London, it is clear however, that Pytheas was reporting the claims of a people deeply imbued in ritual worship, with the names of Apollo and Boreas simply being used by him as tokens of holiness, the Parthenon had already been built in Athens, and all foreign gods were seen by the Greeks in classical terms, the religion of the Iron Age in England, however, has always been associated with the cult of Druidism. See 50 B.C.) (Foundation pg. 19-20)

 

324 B.C.

Alexander the Great visits the tomb of Cyrus the Great (who died in 529 B.C.) in Pasargadae only to find it desecrated with the jewels, robe, cape and scimitar stolen and the bones scattered everywhere, this angered Alexander, who wanted to be seen as the true inheritor of Cyrus’ throne, he ordered the tomb to be repaired (Through the British Museum with the Bible pg. 14)

 

323  B.C.

Alexander the Great dies and wars erupt between his generals over who should rule his vast empire

 

322 B.C. 

Aristotle dies in Chalcis, Greece

The Mauryan Empire is founded in India (History of the World, Map by Map, pg. 47)

 

312 B.C.

Seleucus I Nikator (one of Alexander’s generals) finally wins/founds and expands his Seleucid Empire over Media, Persia and Babylon

 

305 B.C. 

RULERS & ROYALTY: Ptolemy I Soter (one of Alexander’s generals) becomes Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt

 

300 B.C.

Euclid dies

Seleucus I Nikator (meaning conqueror) founds Antioch

Iron Age Britons begin building a vast hillfort at Maiden Castle in Dorset, (see 43 A.D. when the Roman army takes it) (Castles, Palaces, and Historic Homes pg. 14)

In Korea, iron comes into use for making objects, such artifacts from here are similar in style to earlier objects found in China;

Around this time, Chinese sources begin referring to a “Joseon kingdom” (also called Gojoseon) in this area, and it may have come from the meaning of the words chao, which means morning or dawn, and xian which means fresh or calm, so even today in tourist brochures, Korea is referred to the “Land of the Morning Calm,” (North Koreans today refer to themselves as Joseonaram or “Joseon people,” that is, Koreans), this Joseon or Gojoseon kingdom may have been nothing more than a confederation of tribes to begin with, but it did have a king (see year 109 BC for the last king of the Joseon kingdom) (A Brief History of Korea pg. 17)

The Celts cross the English Channel to Britain (History of the World, Map by Map, pg. 47)

 

298 B.C.

The Celts, after Alexander's death, consider their peace treaty with him (made in 335) null and void; Under their leader Cambaules, they conquer the Greek city of Thrace and settle it (The Druids, pg. 26)

 

283 B.C.

Ptolemy I Soter dies in Alexandria, Egypt

 

280 B.C.

Three Celtic armies are poised on the northern border of Macedonia (The Druids, pg. 26)

 

279 B.C.

One of the three Celtic armies poised on the northern border of Macedonia, under Bolgios, defeat the Macedonians and slay Ptolemy Ceraunos, the heir of Alexander and his once favorite general, in battle; Another Celtic army, led by Brennos and Acichorios, enter the Greek peninsula and defeat a combined army of the Greek city states, commanded by Calippus of Athens, at Thermopylae; The Celts sack the temple of Delphi, site of the Pythia, the Greek oracle and priestess of Apollo; "For some inexplicable reason, the Celts halted in their conquest. Their leader Brennos, committed suicide, and the combined Celtic armies broke up. One section of them withdrew back into Celtic territory, carrying some of the treasures of Delphi, later found by the Romans near Toulouse, while another section were defeated by Antigonus Gonatas, the new Macedonian king. Some 20,000 Celtic warriors and their families were persuaded to cross into Asia Minor (modern Turkey) to serve Nicomedes of Bythinia against Antiochus of Syria. They were eventually granted lands in central Asia Minor and established the Celtic state of Galatia, becoming the first Celtic peoples to later be converted to Christianity of Paul of Tarsus, to whom he wrote his famous Epistle." (The Druids, Pg. 27)

 

273 B.C.

RULERS & ROYALTY: Bindusara dies around this year, and his son Ashoka "The Great," becomes emperor of Maurya in India (according to The Druids, pg. 214, dates are not certain) 

 

272 B.C.

RULERS & ROYALTY: Ashoka the Great is emperor of Maurya in India

According to another source, Ashoka the Great becomes emperor of Maurya in India this year, and expands the empire greatly (History of the World, Map by Map, pg. 47)

 

271 B.C.

RULERS & ROYALTY: Ashoka the Great is emperor of Maurya in India

 

270 B.C.

RULERS & ROYALTY: Ashoka the Great is emperor of Maurya in India

 

269 B.C.

RULERS & ROYALTY: Ashoka the Great is emperor of Maurya in India

 

264 B.C.

Punic Wars, or Carthaginian Wars begin between the Phoenician city of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia) and Rome, they last until 146

 

218 B.C.

The area of the present-day city of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain, is captured by the Roman generals Gnaeus and Publius Scipio; Up until now, it has been the seat of an Iberian tribe; The Roman general set about improving the city's walls and harbors (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Fast Forward ----->> Caesar Augusts (Roman Emperor from 27 B.C. - 14 A.D.) initiates a period of splendor in city, now named Tarraco, and made the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis in present day Spain; Tarraco becomes the center of the Imperial Cult and a temple to Augustus is built; The amphitheater is also built and is used for both gladiator fights and executions (it can still be seen in the present-day along with fragments of the Roman forum, hippodrome, aqueduct, necropolis, and more)

Fast Forward ----->> The year is 60. Tradition says that Paul the apostle, along with Thecla, found a church in Tarraco

Fast Forward ----->> The year is 719. The city of Tarraco is razed by the moors and remains unimportant until the 1100's

Fast Forward ----->> The year is 1119. Tarraco is recaptured by the Christians and is incorporated into the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon

  

210 B.C.

The Terra Cotta Army is buried in X’ian, China, to protect China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in his afterlife, it consists of about 7,000 life size warriors, 150 cavalry horses, 130 chariots, and 520 chariot horses

 

206 B.C. 

The rebel leader Liu Bang reunifies China and founds the Han Empire (lasts until 220 AD, the Later Han Dynasty) (History of the World, Map by Map pg. 83)

 

200 B.C.

The use of iron in the Celtic world expands significantly (History of the World, Map by Map, pg. 47)