Ancient World
Bakhshali Manuscript: Ancient Indian Mathematics and Zero
The manuscript is the oldest surviving Indian mathematical manuscript and an early witness to a written zero, though its exact date is still debated.
Region
Asia
Ancient World
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions (228-234) Against Wei
Shu won some territory and battles but failed to break Wei's hold on the north; Zhuge Liang died in camp in 234.
Ancient World
Queen Himiko of Yamatai: Japan's Shaman Ruler in Chinese Records
Wei recognised Himiko as 'Queen of Wa, Friend of Wei'; her embassy is the best-documented early diplomatic contact between a Japanese ruler and China.
Ancient World
Mani and Manichaeism: A New World Religion in Sasanian Persia
Mani founded a missionary religion that spread across Eurasia, flourished for centuries in Central Asia and China, and then disappeared as an organised faith.
Ancient World
Liu Hui and the Nine Chapters: Mathematics in Ancient China
Liu Hui's commentary turned a book of practical rules into a reasoned mathematical work and gave a rigorous method for approximating pi.
Ancient World
Jin Reunification of China (280): The End of the Three Kingdoms
Wu surrendered to the Western Jin, reuniting China under one dynasty for the first time since the collapse of Han authority, though only for about a generation.
Ancient World
Disaster of Yongjia (311): The Sack of Luoyang by the Xiongnu
Han-Zhao forces sacked Luoyang and captured Emperor Huai, wrecking the Western Jin and driving many northern Chinese families south of the Yangtze.
Ancient World
Gupta Empire: The Golden Age of Classical India, AD 320-550
The Guptas built the largest Indian empire since the Mauryas and presided over a classical flowering of art, science and Sanskrit literature before declining in the 6th century.
Ancient World
First Council of Nicaea (325): The Nicene Creed and Arianism
The council condemned Arius's teaching, adopted the Nicene Creed declaring the Son 'of one substance' with the Father, and set a common rule for dating Easter.
Ancient World
Founding of Constantinople (330): Constantine's New Rome
Constantine's new city became the main residence of the eastern emperors and, for over a thousand years, the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Ancient World
Samudragupta and the Allahabad Pillar Inscription
Samudragupta made the Gupta kingdom the dominant power of northern India, and Harisena's inscription preserved a detailed account of his conquests.
Ancient World
Orchid Pavilion Gathering (353): Wang Xizhi's Famous Calligraphy
The gathering produced a collection of poems and Wang Xizhi's preface, the Lantingji Xu, which became the most admired model of Chinese running-script calligraphy.