Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 200 BC, the beginning of the second century BC.Map of the world in 100 BC, the end of the second century BC.
The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be the end of the Axial Age.[1] In the context of the Eastern Mediterranean, it is the mid-point of the Hellenistic period.
Fresh from its victories in the Second Punic War, the Roman Republic continued its expansion in the western Mediterranean, campaigning in the Iberian peninsula throughout the century and annexing the North African coast after the destruction of the city of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War. They became the dominant force in the Aegean by destroying Antigonid Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars and Corinth in the Achaean War. The Hellenistic kingdoms of Ptolemaic Egypt and Attalid Pergamon entered into subordinate relationships with the Romans – Pergamon was eventually annexed. The end of the century witnessed the evolution of the Roman army from a citizen army into a voluntary professional force, which later scholars would misattribute to putative reforms by noted general and statesman Gaius Marius (the so-called Marian Reforms).
In the Near East, the other major Hellenistic kingdom, the Seleucid Empire collapsed into civil war in the middle of the century, following the loss of Asia Minor to the Romans and the conquest of the Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia by the Parthian empire. Outlying regions became independent kingdoms, notably the Hasmonean kingdom in Judaea.
In East Asia, China reached a high point under the Han dynasty. The Han Empire extended its boundaries from Korea in the east to Vietnam in the South to the borders of modern-day Kazakhstan in the west. The nomadic Xiongnu were at the height of their power at the beginning of the century, collecting tribute from the Han. Their victories over the Yuezhi set off a chain of westward migrations in Central Asia. Han efforts to find allies against the Xiongnu by exploring the lands to their west would ultimately lead to the opening of the Silk Road.[2]
In South Asia, the Mauryan Empire in India collapsed when Brihadnatha, the last emperor, was killed by Pushyamitra Shunga, a Mauryan general who founded of the Shunga Empire. The Greco-Bactrians crossed the Hindu Kush and established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, but lost their homeland in Bactria to the Sakas, themselves under pressure from the Yuezhi.
^Meister, Chad (2009). Introducing Philosophy of Religion. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-203-88002-9.
The 2ndcenturyBC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on...
the 3rd centuryBC – State leaders in the 1st centuryBC – State leaders by year This is a list of state leaders in the 2ndcenturyBC (200–101 BC). Libya...
The 3rd centuryBC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC. It is considered part of the Classical Era, epoch, or historical...
mosaic variant of a 2nd-centuryBC painting by Sosos of Pergamon. It is now kept at the Musei Vaticani in Rome. 2nd or 3rd century – Standing Buddha, from...
The 2nd millennium BC spanned the years 2000 BC to 1001 BC. In the Ancient Near East, it marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. The...
The 20th centuryBC was a century that lasted from the year 2000 BC to 1901 BC. c. 2000 BC: Farmers and herders traveled south from Ethiopia and settled...
The 19th centuryBC was the century that lasted from 1900 BC to 1801 BC. 1900 BC: Transition from Early Helladic III to Middle Helladic culture in Greece...
millennium BC, also known as the last millennium BC, was the period of time lasting from the years 1000 BC to 1 BC (10th to 1st centuriesBC; in astronomy:...
The 17th centuryBC was the century that lasted from 1700 BC to 1601 BC. c. 1700 BC: Indus Valley civilisation comes to an end but is continued by the...
in the 2ndcenturyBC – State leaders in the 1st century– State leaders by year This is a list of state leaders in the 1st centuryBC (100–1 BC). Libya...
The 13th centuryBC was the period from 1300 to 1201 BC. c. 1300–1046 BC: in China, the Shang dynasty flourishes as it settles its capital, Yin, near...
The 18th centuryBC was the century that lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC. 1800 BC: Beginning of the Nordic Bronze Age in the period system devised by Oscar...
is a list of the 10 longest total eclipses between the 30th centuryBC and the 4th century. All eclipses listed are annular. See § Longest total eclipses...
The 4th century BCE started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical...
29th centuryBC was a century that lasted from the year 2900 BC to 2801 BC. c. 2900 BC: Beginning of the Early Dynastic Period I in Sumer. c. 2900 BC – 2600...
The 11th centuryBC comprises all years from 1100 BC to 1001 BC. Although many human societies were literate in this period, some of the individuals mentioned...
the 2ndcenturyBC List of state leaders in the 3rd centuryBC List of state leaders in the 4th centuryBC List of state leaders in the 5th centuryBC List...
from the later Han dynasty. 2ndcenturyBC: Paper in Han dynasty China 206 BC: Compass in Han dynasty China Early 2ndcenturyBC: Astrolabe invented by Apollonius...
The 16th centuryBC was a century that lasted from 1600 BC to 1501 BC. 1700 BC – 1500 BC: Hurrian conquests. 1601 BC: Sharma-Adad II became the King of...
15th centuryBC was the century that lasted from 1500 BC to 1401 BC. 1504 BC – 1492 BC: Egypt conquers Nubia and the Levant. 1500 BC – 1400 BC: The Battle...
These changes seem widely attested from the 2ndcenturyBC in Egyptian Greek, and in the early 2ndcentury AD in learned Attic inscriptions; it is therefore...
Celtic since about 900 BC, and by Greek colonists since about 600 BC. It was conquered by Rome at the end of the 2ndcenturyBC. From 879 until 1486, it...
political entities in the 2ndcenturyBC List of political entities in the 3rd centuryBC List of political entities in the 4th centuryBC List of political entities...
Global Information
