Skip to content

Region

Africa

Library of Alexandria: Founding, Scholars and Destruction

Alexandria became the leading centre of Greek scholarship for centuries; the Library declined gradually and had disappeared by late antiquity.

c. 285 BC · 8 min read

Lighthouse of Alexandria: The Pharos, a Wonder of the World

The tower guided ships into Alexandria for some 1,500 years before earthquakes ruined it; its name became the word for lighthouse in many languages.

c. 280 BC · 8 min read

First Punic War (264-241 BC): Rome and Carthage Clash at Sea

Roman victory; Carthage gave up Sicily and paid a large indemnity, and Sicily became Rome's first overseas province.

264–241 BC · 8 min read

Djenné-Djenno: West Africa's Oldest Known City on the Niger

An indigenous town grew into a large trading centre long before Arab merchants crossed the Sahara, overturning older ideas about the origins of West African cities.

c. 250 BC · 6 min read

Eratosthenes Measures the Earth (c. 240 BC): Syene and Alexandria

Eratosthenes estimated Earth's circumference at 250,000 stadia, a figure within roughly 1 to 16 percent of the true value, depending on the stadion used.

c. 240 BC · 6 min read

Temple of Edfu: The Best-Preserved Temple of Ancient Egypt

A complete Ptolemaic temple of Horus survived almost intact, preserving a vast library of inscriptions on Egyptian religion and temple life.

237–57 BC · 6 min read

Second Punic War (218-201 BC): Hannibal Against Rome

Roman victory; Carthage lost Spain and its navy, paid 10,000 talents, and Rome became the dominant power of the western Mediterranean.

218–201 BC · 8 min read

Battle of Raphia (217 BC): Ptolemy IV's Great Elephant Battle

Ptolemaic victory; Egypt kept Coele-Syria and the Fourth Syrian War ended.

217 BC · 7 min read

Battle of Zama (202 BC): Scipio Africanus Defeats Hannibal

Decisive Roman victory; Carthage accepted peace in 201 BC, surrendering its fleet, elephants and independence in foreign policy.

202 BC · 8 min read

Meroitic Script: The Undeciphered Language of Ancient Kush

Kush gained its own writing system; its sounds were worked out in 1909–1911, but most of its vocabulary remains unknown.

c. 2nd century BC · 4 min read

Rosetta Stone: The Decree of 196 BC That Unlocked Hieroglyphs

The bilingual decree gave scholars the key to Egyptian hieroglyphs, deciphered by Champollion in 1822.

196 BC · 8 min read

Third Punic War (149-146 BC): The Destruction of Carthage

Rome captured and destroyed Carthage, enslaved its survivors and turned its territory into the province of Africa.

149-146 BC · 8 min read