By place Roman Republic • Following the death of his father,
Publius Cornelius Scipio, and his uncle,
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, at the hands of the
Carthaginians, the young
Publius Cornelius Scipio takes over command of the
Roman troops in
Spain. His appointment reflects the
Roman Senate's dissatisfaction with the cautious strategy of the
propraetor,
Gaius Claudius Nero, then
commander in
Spain north of the
Ebro. • The
famine and inflation facing Rome is eased with the pacification, by the Romans, of
Sicily. • The Carthaginian general
Hannibal proves his superiority in tactics by inflicting a severe defeat at
Herdonia in
Apulia upon a
proconsular army, slaying the
consul Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus Maximus. • The Roman general
Marcus Claudius Marcellus is elected consul for the fourth time and takes Salapia in
Apulia, which has revolted and joined forces with Hannibal. • The
Spanish language evolves from Vulgar Latin, which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War.
Egypt •
Arsinoe III, wife and sister of King
Ptolemy IV gives birth to the future
Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Thereafter, she is sequestered in the palace, while Ptolemy's depraved male and female favourites ruin both the king and his government of
Egypt. Although
Arsinoe III disapproves of the sordid state of the court, she is unable to exert any influence.
Greece • After allying with
Hannibal,
Philip V of Macedon attacks the Roman positions in
Illyria, but fails to take
Corcyra or
Apollonia, which are protected by the Roman fleet. Rome's command of the sea prevents his lending any effective aid to his Carthaginian ally in Italy. The
Aetolians,
Sparta and King
Attalus of
Pergamum join the Romans in the war against Philip V. This
coalition is so strong that Philip V has to stop attacking Roman territory.
China •
Qin Er Shi becomes
Emperor of the
Qin dynasty of
China. His advisors
Zhao Gao and Prime Minister
Li Si forge a decree by the late Emperor
Qin Shi Huang that orders the execution of Qin Er Shi's elder brother
Fusu and Fusu's ally, the general
Meng Tian. • The
Terracotta Army in the
mausoleum of Emperor
Shihuangdi,
Lintong,
Shaanxi, is made (Qin dynasty) (approximate date). == Births ==