The world in the 3rd century BCE

In the 3rd century BCE (300 to 201 BCE), the timeline shows 77 states, empires and colonies and 133 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Carthage, Roman Republic, Parthian Empire, Xiongnu Empire and Ptolemaic Kingdom.

Previous: 4th century BCE Next: 2nd century BCE

Events

• 261 BCE Ashoka's Kalinga war, South Asia. Ashoka conquers Kalinga on the east coast. His own edicts record over 100,000 dead, and his remorse led him to promote Buddhism and dhamma across his empire.
• 247 BCE Buddhism reaches Sri Lanka, South Asia. Mahinda, said to be Ashoka's son, converts King Devanampiya Tissa, and the Mahavihara monastery at Anuradhapura becomes the center of Theravada Buddhism.
• 221 BCE Qin unifies China, East Asia. King Zheng of Qin conquers the last of the Warring States and takes the new title Huangdi, emperor.
• 218 BCE Hannibal crosses the Alps, Europe. The Carthaginian general leads his army and elephants from Spain over the Alps into Italy and wins at Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae.
• 210 BCE First Emperor buried with the Terracotta Army, East Asia. Qin Shi Huang dies on tour and is buried near Xi'an, guarded by about 8,000 life-size clay soldiers rediscovered by farmers in 1974.

Central and Southern Africa

• Western Bantu-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to 1400 CE
• Eastern Bantu-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to 1300 CE
• Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Khoisan hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 1100 CE
• Pastoral Neolithic herders c. 3000 BCE to 700 CE
• Bantu farmers of the Congo basin c. 500 BCE to 1500 CE
• Urewe culture c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Lower Congo hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Great Lakes hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Pre-settlement Madagascar c. 3200 BCE to 400 CE

North and West Africa

• Carthage c. 814 to 146 BCE
• Ptolemaic Kingdom 305 to 30 BCE
• Nok culture c. 1500 BCE to 1 CE
• Kingdom of Kush (Meroitic period) c. 300 BCE to 350 CE
• Kingdom of Kush (Napatan period) c. 785 to 300 BCE
• Numidia 202 to 46 BCE
• Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Cushitic-speaking pastoralists c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
• Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
• West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
• Chadic-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Sao culture c. 500 BCE to 1600 CE
• Jenne-Jeno (Middle Niger towns) c. 250 BCE to 1400 CE
• Garamantes c. 500 BCE to 700 CE
• Cyrene and the Greek Pentapolis 631 to 96 BCE
• Mauretania c. 300 BCE to 44 CE
• Masaesyli kingdom c. 220 to 202 BCE

Europe

• Roman Republic 509 to 27 BCE
• Gaelic Ireland c. 500 BCE to 1607 CE
• Nuragic civilization c. 1800 to 238 BCE
• Iron Age Britons c. 800 BCE to 43 CE
• Gauls c. 800 to 50 BCE
• Sparta c. 900 to 192 BCE
• Roman Hispania 218 BCE to 472 CE
• Sarmatians c. 300 BCE to 375 CE
• Etruscan civilization c. 720 to 90 BCE
• Kingdom of Macedon c. 700 to 168 BCE
• Syracuse c. 734 to 212 BCE
• Scythians c. 700 to 250 BCE
• La Tene culture c. 450 to 50 BCE
• Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Volga Finnic peoples c. 1800 BCE to 1100 CE
• Baltic Finnic tribes c. 1500 BCE to 1250 CE
• Basques (Vascones) c. 500 BCE to the present
• Baltic tribes c. 1000 BCE to 1290 CE
• Thracians c. 1200 BCE to 46 CE
• Talayotic culture c. 1300 to 123 BCE
• Illyrians c. 1000 BCE to 9 CE
• Italic peoples c. 1000 to 88 BCE
• Bosporan Kingdom c. 480 BCE to 370 CE
• Przeworsk culture c. 300 BCE to 450 CE
• Getae and Dacians c. 500 BCE to 106 CE
• Jastorf culture c. 600 to 1 BCE
• Iberians c. 600 to 19 BCE
• Phoenician colonies in Iberia c. 800 to 237 BCE
• Massalia c. 600 to 49 BCE
• Aquitani c. 600 to 56 BCE
• Celtiberians c. 600 to 72 BCE
• Odrysian Kingdom c. 480 BCE to 46 CE
• Pre-Roman Iron Age (Scandinavia) c. 500 BCE to 1 CE
• Magna Graecia c. 750 to 272 BCE
• Carthaginian Sicily and Sardinia c. 550 to 238 BCE
• Cisalpine Gauls c. 400 to 191 BCE
• Kingdom of Epirus c. 330 to 167 BCE
• Achaean League 280 to 146 BCE
• Carthaginian Iberia 237 to 206 BCE

Middle East

• Parthian Empire 247 BCE to 224 CE
• Kingdom of Saba c. 1000 BCE to 275 CE
• Greek cities of Asia Minor c. 1050 to 129 BCE
• Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli) c. 302 BCE to 580 CE
• Seleucid Empire 312 to 63 BCE
• Kingdom of Pontus 281 to 63 BCE
• Kingdom of Pergamon 282 to 133 BCE
• Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
• Aramaic-speaking Mesopotamians c. 1100 BCE to 700 CE
• Kingdom of Hadramawt c. 800 BCE to 300 CE
• Kingdom of Qataban c. 800 BCE to 200 CE
• Gerrha c. 650 BCE to 300 CE
• Kingdom of Ma'in c. 800 to 100 BCE
• Atropatene c. 323 BCE to 226 CE
• Kingdom of Persis c. 280 BCE to 224 CE
• Qedarites c. 800 to 300 BCE
• Dedan and Lihyan c. 600 to 100 BCE
• Colchis c. 600 to 101 BCE
• Orontid Armenia c. 570 to 200 BCE
• Kingdom of Cappadocia c. 331 BCE to 17 CE
• Galatia 278 to 25 BCE
• Kingdom of Bithynia 297 to 74 BCE
• Ptolemaic Coele-Syria 301 to 200 BCE

South Asia

• Maurya Empire 322 to 185 BCE
• Anuradhapura Kingdom 377 BCE to 1017 CE
• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom c. 256 to 120 BCE
• Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
• Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
• Eastern Iranian peoples c. 1500 BCE to 1000 CE
• Megalithic culture of the Deccan c. 1200 to 100 BCE
• Iron Age villages of western India c. 1200 to 200 BCE
• Tamil Iron Age c. 1000 to 300 BCE
• Early Cholas c. 300 BCE to 300 CE
• Early Cheras c. 300 BCE to 300 CE
• Early Pandyas c. 300 BCE to 250 CE
• Northern Black Polished Ware culture c. 700 to 200 BCE

Central and North Asia

• Xiongnu Empire c. 209 BCE to 93 CE
• Sogdiana c. 545 BCE to 722 CE
• Saka c. 800 BCE to 100 CE
• Pazyryk culture c. 600 to 250 BCE
• Yuezhi c. 400 to 130 BCE
• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom c. 256 to 125 BCE
• Uralic hunter-fishers of western Siberia c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Ancient Chorasmia c. 600 BCE to 305 CE
• Subeixi culture c. 1000 to 100 BCE
• Slab grave culture c. 1100 to 300 BCE
• Tagar culture c. 800 to 200 BCE
• Massagetae c. 600 to 100 BCE
• Donghu c. 700 to 209 BCE

East Asia

• Western Han 202 BCE to 9 CE
• Qin dynasty 221 to 206 BCE
• Jomon culture c. 3200 to 300 BCE
• Chu c. 1030 to 223 BCE
• Gojoseon c. 700 to 108 BCE
• Yayoi period c. 300 BCE to 250 CE
• Qin (Zhou state) c. 770 to 221 BCE
• Eastern Zhou 770 to 256 BCE
• Nanyue 204 to 111 BCE
• Formosan Austronesian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Qiang peoples c. 1300 BCE to the present
• Sushen and Yilou c. 1100 BCE to 400 CE
• Baiyue peoples c. 1000 BCE to 200 CE
• Mumun pottery period c. 1500 to 300 BCE
• Zhangzhung c. 500 BCE to 644 CE
• Epi-Jomon culture c. 300 BCE to 700 CE
• Qi c. 1046 to 221 BCE
• Yan c. 1046 to 222 BCE
• Lu c. 1042 to 249 BCE
• Dian kingdom c. 400 to 109 BCE
• Minyue c. 334 to 110 BCE
• Zhao 403 to 222 BCE
• Wei 403 to 225 BCE
• Han (Zhou state) 403 to 230 BCE

Southeast Asia

• Austronesian peoples c. 2200 BCE to 900 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers c. 2000 BCE to 500 CE
• Ban Chiang culture c. 2000 BCE to 200 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers of the Mekong c. 2000 BCE to 100 CE
• Austronesian peoples of Sumatra and Malaya c. 1500 BCE to 500 CE
• Austronesian farmers of Java and Wallacea c. 1500 BCE to 400 CE
• Dong Son culture c. 1000 BCE to 100 CE
• Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 2000 BCE to the present
• Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Neolithic and Bronze Age farmers of Burma c. 2000 to 200 BCE
• Sa Huynh culture c. 1000 BCE to 200 CE
• Plain of Jars culture c. 500 BCE to 500 CE
• Buni culture c. 400 BCE to 500 CE
• Van Lang c. 700 to 258 BCE
• Nanyue (Nam Viet) 204 to 111 BCE
• Au Lac 257 to 179 BCE

North America

• Dorset culture c. 500 BCE to 1300 CE
• Adena culture c. 500 BCE to 100 CE
• Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
• California Archaic hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 500 BCE to the present
• Locarno Beach and Marpole cultures c. 1800 BCE to 500 CE
• Basketmaker culture c. 1500 BCE to 750 CE
• Early Agricultural period farmers c. 2100 BCE to 50 CE
• Woodland period cultures c. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE
• Norton tradition c. 1000 BCE to 800 CE
• Laurel complex c. 500 BCE to 1000 CE
• Plains Woodland cultures c. 500 BCE to 900 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

• Chibchan chiefdoms (Costa Rica and Panama) c. 500 BCE to 1570 CE
• Zapotec state (Monte Albán) c. 500 BCE to 850 CE
• Saladoid culture c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• El Mirador c. 600 BCE to 150 CE
• Casimiroid culture c. 3200 to 200 BCE
• Guayabo de Turrialba c. 1000 BCE to 1400 CE
• Early farmers of the northern deserts c. 1500 BCE to 700 CE
• Greater Nicoya cultures c. 500 BCE to 1522 CE
• Cholula c. 300 BCE to 1519 CE
• Kaminaljuyu c. 800 BCE to 800 CE
• Teuchitlán tradition c. 300 BCE to 900 CE
• Cuicuilco c. 800 BCE to 250 CE
• Izapa c. 600 BCE to 100 CE
• Epi-Olmec culture c. 300 BCE to 250 CE

South America

• Chavín culture c. 900 to 200 BCE
• Paracas culture c. 800 BCE to 100 CE
• Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Sambaqui shell-mound builders c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Barrancoid culture c. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE
• Chiripa culture c. 1500 to 100 BCE
• Upano valley settlements c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• Formative cultures of northwest Argentina c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• Chorrera culture c. 1300 to 300 BCE
• Tumaco-La Tolita culture c. 600 BCE to 400 CE
• Pukara culture c. 400 BCE to 300 CE

Oceania

• Aboriginal Australian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Papuan farmers and foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Ancestral Polynesian society c. 850 BCE to 1000 CE
• Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1280 CE
• Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Uninhabited c. 3200 to 100 BCE
• Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
• Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
• Pre-Latte Chamorro c. 1500 BCE to 900 CE
• Fijian chiefdoms c. 500 BCE to 1874 CE