Ancient World
Seleucid Empire (312-63 BC): Greek Kingdom From Syria to Bactria
After losing its eastern provinces to Parthia and its western lands to Rome, the Seleucid kingdom was reduced to Syria and annexed by Pompey as a Roman province.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Petra: Rock-Cut Capital of the Nabataean Kingdom in Jordan
Petra grew into the wealthy capital of the Nabataean kingdom, became part of the Roman province of Arabia in AD 106 and is now Jordan's best-known World Heritage Site.
Ancient World
Aqueducts of Ancient Rome: From Aqua Appia to Aqua Claudia
Eleven aqueducts gave Rome one of the largest public water supplies of the ancient world, feeding fountains, baths and homes.
Ancient World
Via Appia (312 BC): The Appian Way, Queen of Roman Roads
Rome gained a strategic all-weather road to Campania that became the main route to southern Italy and the eastern Mediterranean.
Ancient World
King Wuling of Zhao's Reform (307 BC): Nomad Dress and Cavalry
Zhao built a strong force of mounted archers, conquered Zhongshan and expanded north; cavalry became a standard arm of Chinese warfare.
Ancient World
Epicurus and the Garden (306 BC): A School of Pleasure and Peace
The Garden became one of the four great philosophical schools of Athens, and Epicureanism spread across the Greek and Roman world.
Ancient World
Siege of Rhodes (305-304 BC): Demetrius the Besieger Fails
Rhodes resisted successfully and kept its independence; Demetrius made peace and withdrew after about a year.
Ancient World
Ptolemy I Soter: Founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt
Ptolemy turned Egypt into an independent Hellenistic kingdom; his dynasty ruled until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.
Ancient World
Seleucid-Mauryan War (305 BC): Chandragupta and Seleucus
Treaty: Seleucus ceded his easternmost provinces to Chandragupta in return for 500 war elephants and a marriage alliance.
Ancient World
Megasthenes and the Indica: A Greek Envoy in Mauryan India
Megasthenes' Indica became the main source of Greek and Roman knowledge about India for centuries.
Ancient World
Euclid's Elements (c. 300 BC): The Most Influential Maths Book
The Elements became the standard textbook of geometry and the model of mathematical proof for over two millennia.
Ancient World
Zeno of Citium and the Founding of Stoicism (c. 300 BC)
Zeno's school became Stoicism, one of the most influential philosophies of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds.