260 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 260 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Duilius (or, less frequently, year 494 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 260 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
calendar era
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Duilius (or, less frequently, year 494 Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
). The denomination 260 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
calendar era
Calendar era
A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Sicily
- The RomanRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
advance continues westward from Agrigentum with their forces relieving the besieged cities of SegestaSegestaSegesta was the political center of the Elymian people, located in the northwestern part of Sicily, in what are now the province of Trapani and the comune of Calatafimi-Segesta....
and MacellaMacellaMacella - The word traces its origins back to the Ancient Roman Empire, where moneylenders would set up their stalls in the middle of enclosed courtyards called macella on a long bench called a bancu, from which the words banco and bank are derived...
. These cities have sided with the Roman cause, and have come under CarthaginianCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
attack for doing so. - Hannibal GiscoHannibal GiscoHannibal Gisco was a Carthaginian military commander in charge of both land armies and naval fleets during the First Punic War against Rome...
returns to fight in SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
as the admiral in charge of the Carthaginian fleet in the Strait of MessinaStrait of MessinaThe Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
. With the Romans about to launch their first ever navy, Carthage is determined that this innovation be thwarted. Gisco defeats part of the Roman fleet and captures the Roman consulConsulConsul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio AsinaGnaeus Cornelius Scipio AsinaGnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina was a Roman politician involved in the First Punic War.Scipio Asina was a patrician member of the Scipiones branch of the famous Cornelii, a family with a history as old as the Roman Republic itself. He was son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus and brother of Lucius...
in an encounter near LipariBattle of the Lipari IslandsThe Battle of the Lipari Islands or Lipara was the first encounter between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War...
; the consul's nickname Asina (which means donkey) is earned in this encounter. However, this Carthaginian victory is of limited practical value as the bulk of the Roman fleet continues to manoeuvre in the surrounding waters. - Confident in Carthage's superiority at sea, Hannibal Gisco deploys his ships for the Battle of MylaeBattle of MylaeThe Battle of Mylae took place in 260 BC during the First Punic War and was the first real naval battle between Carthage and the Roman Republic. This battle was key in the Roman victory of Mylae as well as Sicily itself...
in the traditional long line arrangement. Although inexperienced in sea battles, the Romans, led by consul Gaius DuiliusGaius DuiliusGaius Duilius was a Roman politician and admiral involved in the First Punic War.Not much is known about his family background or early career, since he was a novus homo, meaning not belonging to a traditional family of Roman aristocrats. He managed, nevertheless, to be elected consul for the year...
Nepos, heavily defeat the Carthaginian fleet, mainly due to the innovative use of land tactics in naval warfare (including the use of the grappling irons and the corvusCorvus (weapon)The corvus or harpago was a Roman military boarding device used in naval warfare during the First Punic War against Carthage....
boarding bridge). - Having lost the confidence of his peers, Hannibal Gisco is subsequently executed for incompetence shortly afterwards, together with other defeated Punic generals.
- In the north of Sicily, the Romans, with their northern sea flank secured by their naval victory in the Battle of Mylae, advance toward Thermae. They are defeated there by the Carthaginians under HamilcarHamilcar (Drepanum)Hamilcar was a general who succeeded to the command of the Carthaginians in the First Punic War, and after successes at Therma and the Battle of Drepanum was defeated at Ecnomus . Subsequently, apart from unskillful operations against Marcus Atilius Regulus, nothing certain is known of him.He is...
.
Egypt
- CallimachusCallimachusCallimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
of CyreneCyrene, LibyaCyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
, learned poet and grammarian, becomes chief librarian at the Library of AlexandriaLibrary of AlexandriaThe Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
.
China
- In the Battle of ChangpingBattle of ChangpingThe Battle of Changping was a military campaign that took place during the Warring States Period in China. It concluded in 260 BC with a decisive victory by the State of Qin over the State of Zhao, and ultimately allowed Qin to conquer and unify China decades later...
, the army of the QinQin (state)The State of Qin was a Chinese feudal state that existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history...
state routs the army of ZhaoZhao (state)Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others...
, establishing its military superiority over all other ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
states during the Warring States PeriodWarring States PeriodThe Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
. The battle, in which Zhao forces are led by Lian PoLian PoLian Po was a prominent military General of Zhao during the Warring States period of China. Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Li Mu and he were commonly known as the Four Greatest Generals in Warring States....
and Zhao KuoZhao KuoZhao Kuo was a general of the States of Zhao in Warring States Period , son of the famous general Zhao She, during the epic Battle of Changping between the States of Zhao and Qin in ancient China. ."...
, while Qin is led by Wang He and Bai QiBai QiBái Qǐ was an outstanding military leader of the State of Qin during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Born in Mei , as commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years, Bai Qi was responsible for the deaths of a total over 890,000 enemy soldiers, earning him the nickname Ren Tu...
, takes place near modern-day GaopingGaopingGaoping is a county-level city in Shanxi Province, China with a history stretching back to the Warring States Period . Part of the city was formerly known as Changping where a noted battle took place in 260 BCE between forces from the rival States of Qin and Zhao.Gaoping is also famed as the...
in ShanxiShanxi' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
and hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Zhao are executed after the battle.
Births
- ZhengQin Shi HuangQin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
, who will later become King of the State of QinQin (state)The State of Qin was a Chinese feudal state that existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history...
, and then later the First Emperor of ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(d. 210 BC210 BCYear 210 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Laevinus...
)
Deaths
- Hannibal GiscoHannibal GiscoHannibal Gisco was a Carthaginian military commander in charge of both land armies and naval fleets during the First Punic War against Rome...
, CarthaginianCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
military commander in charge of both land armies and naval fleets (b. c. 300 BC300 BCYear 300 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corvus and Pansa...
)