160 BC

(Redirected from 160 BCE)

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Contents

Events

By place

Syria

Bactria

Armenia

Roman Republic

Births

Deaths

Events

By place

Syria

★ The Seleucid king Demetrius I, on campaign in the east of his empire, leaves his general Bacchides to govern the western portion of the empire.

★ In response to Jewish high priest, Alcimus, request for assistance, Seleucid general Bacchides leads an army into Judea with the intent of reconquering this now independent kingdom. Bacchides rapidly marches through Judea after carrying out a massacre of the Assideans in Galilee. He quickly makes for Jerusalem, besieging the city and trapping Judas Maccabeus, the spiritual and military leader of the Maccabees, inside. However, Judas and many of his supporters managed to escape the siege.

★ Judas Maccabeus and many of his supporters regroup to face the Seleucid forces in the Battle of Elasa (near modern day Ramallah). Greatly outnumbered, the Maccabees are defeated and Judas Maccabeus is killed during the battle.

★ Judah Maccabeus is succeeded as army commander of the Maccabees by his younger brother, Jonathan, who is already high priest following the departure of Alcimus.

★ Demetrius I defeats and kills the rebel general Timarchus and is recognized as king of Syria by the Roman Senate. Demetrius acquires his surname of Soter, or Saviour, from the Babylonians, for delivering them from the tyranny of Timarchus. The Seleucid empire is temporarily united again.

★ Parthian King Mithradates I seizes Media from the Seleucids following the death of Timarchus.

Bactria

★ The king of Bactria, Eucratides I, is considered to have killed Apollodotus I, an Indo-Greek king who rules the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom when he invades the western territories of that kingdom.

Armenia

★ Artavasdes I succeeds his father Artaxias I as king of Armenia.

Roman Republic

★ Roman playwright Terence’s play ''Adelphoe'' (The Brothers) is first performed at the funeral of Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus.

Births

★ Jugurtha, King of Numidia (d. 104 BC)

★ Theodosius of Bithynia (ca. 160 BC–ca. 100 BC), Greek astronomer and mathematician who wrote the ''Sphaerics'', a book on the geometry of the sphere. (d. c. 100 BC)

Deaths

★ Gaius Laelius, Roman general and politician who was involved in Rome's victory during the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. (approximate date)

★ Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Roman consul, politician and general whose victory over the Macedonians at the Battle of Pydna ended the Third Macedonian War. (b. c. 229 BC)

★ Artaxias I, king of Armenia who ruled from 190 BC. He was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members would rule the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries.

★ Apollodotus I, Indo-Greek king who ruled from 180 BC the western and southern parts of the Indo-Greek kingdom, from Taxila in Punjab to the areas of Sindh and possibly Gujarat.

★ Judas Maccabeus, third son of the Jewish priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire until his death.