Epoch Report

300 B.C to 0

 

 

  1. Asoka’s Empire-

He was the third emperor of the Maurya dynasty of India, and his dream was to take on Kalinga, a city in India in the Bay of Bengal.  The war was dramatically horrific, and even though Asoka won the war with his army, he believed that both armies had a massive loss on both sides.  After seeing war and the affects that it does, he had accepted Buddhism and spread the religion to Southeast Asia to even as far as Egypt and the Mediterranean.

 

  1. Punic Wars-

These were the three wars between the Romans and Carthaginians over control of Italy.  The Romans took the city of Carthage and the city was razed.  This lasted three years long.

 

  1. Hannibal-

He was the greatest leader of Carthage, who led them to bring war against the Romans.  He defeated the Romans in a battle at Cannae, but Hannibal was finally defeated at the Battle of Zama.  This all took place during the 2nd Punic War.

 

  1. Great Wall of China Built-

The wall, over 2,500 miles long, was designed to keep the invading Mongols in the north out of the country of China.  It is in fact several different networks of towers and walls.  Also, the wall was built in several pieces over several hundred years.

 

  1. Macedonian Wars-

There were four of these wars that were between the Romans and the Macedonians.  This led to the total control of the entire eastern Mediterranean area by the Romans.

 

  1. Battle of Pydna-

The Battle of Pydna was part of the 3rd Mecedonian War and took place in 146 BC.  The Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paullus and his army of Roman soldiers terminated the Macedonian soldiers in an utter rout thus making Macedonia a Roman providence.

 

  1. Day of Eleusis-

This is where Demeter was reunited with her daughter after her abduction.  This created a day of celebration from the common people.

 

  1. Judas Macabaeus-

He was the son of Mattityahu, who was the priest of the Jews during the time of 167 B.C.  Judas was able to liberate Jerusalem and purify the Temple.  Independence for Judea resulted from his actions.

 

  1. Cleopatra-

Caesar took her back to Rome, but then she fled back to Egypt after Caesar was assassinated.  She was introduced to Marc Anthony and both later became lovers and the rulers of Egypt.  Octavian confined Cleopatra, but she later committed suicide.

 

  1. Pompey The Great-

He performed noble services by clearing the Mediterranean Sea of pirates, which was a sincere problem with trade.  Between 65BC to 62BC, he took over Antichus (King of Syria), Tigranes (King of Armenia), Mithridates (King of Pontus), and conquered Jerusalem.  He joined with Julius Caesar and Crassus to make a coalition named “The First Triumvirate.” 

 

  1. 1st Triumvirate-

This was the division of Rome between Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Crassus. After Crassus died, a civil war broke out between Caesar and Pompey.  The senate backed Pompey and Caesar decided to fight and the struggle lasted for five years.

 

  1. Julius Caesar-

As general of the Roman army, Caesar defeated Britain and invaded the Celtic Gaul, thus stretching even further the Roman Empire.  Caesar also conquered Italy, Spain, and Greece.  He served as both Consul and Pro-Consul of the Roman republic and played a key role in its transition from a republic to an empire.

 

  1. 2nd Triumvirate-

This again was the division of Rome between Marc Anthony, Octavian, and Lepidus.  This was different from the first triumvirate, because this was a three- man dictatorship.  Lepidus died and at the Battle of Actium, which led to Marc Anthony and Cleopatra committing suicide.

 

  1. Marc Anthony-

Since he was having an affair, he divorced his wife (who was the sister of Octavian), and that’s what brought himself and the Roman ruler to war.  Since his fleet couldn’t hold (and the result was defeat), he had taken his own sword (or by possibly for Cleopatra, who was the one he ran away with, getting rumor she had committed suicide).  Later it was realized that she was only in hiding, and Marc Anthony died in the hands of Cleopatra once returning to her.

 

  1. Herod The Great-

He was the pro-Roman King of the Jewish state in the time before the common era.  He started as a general, then Marc Anthony recognized him as the Jewish national leader.

 

  1. Battle of Actium-

This was the battle that was the mark of the start of the Roman Empire.  Octavian (soon to be Augustus Caesar) goes to war against Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, which the battle was fought over the Ambracian Gulf.  In the end Marc Anthony, Cleopatra, and their ships fled from the battle, knowing that Octavian had won, and Octavian follows the fleeing army and destroys what is left.

 

  1. Octavian/ Augustus Caesar-

He became Julius Caesar’s successor to the empire after his assassination in 44 BC.  Upon taking the throne, Octavius assumed the name Gaius Julius Caesar, and since historians have added the name Octavianus.  Augustus was the first emperor of Rome, and many scholars look at him as ruthless in his quest for power as Julius Caesar.

 

  1. Rise of Roman Empire-

Rome as an empire emerged as one of the greatest civilizations in human history. Over a period of several hundred years, Rome expanded from a small city in western Italy to nearly all of modern day Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.  Many of the ideas that evolved out of their system of government are still in use today.

 

  1. Successor of States-

This was the division of Greece into three parts with their own leaders. There was the Antigonids in Greece, The Seleucids in Persia, and Ptolemies in Egypt.

 

  1. Birth of Jesus-

During Augustus' reign, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  This is the event that much of the modern western religions were based on.

 

  1. Hellenism
  2. Aqueducts Bring Water To Rome
  3. First Stone Bridge Built
  4. Aqueducts Bring Water To Rome
  5. Kingdoms of Korea Founded