166 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 166 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 Galus (or, less frequently, year 588 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 166 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 Marcellus and Galus (or, less frequently, year 588 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 166 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.
Seleucid Empire
- The Seleucid king Antiochus IVAntiochus IV EpiphanesAntiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....
mounts a campaign against the ParthiaParthiaParthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
ns who are threatening his empire in the east. He leaves his chancellor, LysiasLysias (Syrian chancellor)Lysias, or Lusias was a 2nd century Seleucid General and governor of Syria under the Seleucid Empire.He was described as, "A noble man, and one of the blood royal"...
, with responsibility for the government of southern SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and the guardianship of his son. - The leader of the Jewish revolt against Syria rule, MattathiasMattathiasMattathias ben Johanan was a Jewish priest whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Syrian Greeks is related in the Books of the Maccabees...
, dies and his third son, JudasJudas MaccabeusJudah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...
, assumes leadership of the revolt in accordance with the deathbed disposition of his father. - The Battle of Beth HoronBattle of Beth HoronThe Battle of Beth Horon was fought in 166 BC between Jewish forces led by Judas Maccabaeus and a Seleucid Empire force under the command of Seron....
is fought between Jewish forces led by Judas Maccabeus and a Seleucid army. Maccabeus gains the element of surprise and successfully routs the much larger Syrian army. - The Battle of EmmausBattle of EmmausThe Battle of Emmaus took place in 166 BC between the Hasmonean forces of Judea, led by Judas Maccabeus, also spelled Machabeus, or Maccabaeus, known to history as Judas the Hammer, and the third expedition of Greek forces given by Antiochus IV Epiphanes to Lysias...
takes place between the Jewish rebels led by Judas Maccabeus and Seleucid forces sent by Antiochus IV and led by Lysias and his general, GorgiasGorgias (general)Gorgias was a Syrian-Seleucid General of the 2nd century BC, in the service of Antiochus Epiphanes .-Life:After Judas Maccabeus's forces defeated the Seleucid army at the Battle of Beth Horon, they were determined to send a stronger force against him. According to 1 Maccabees iii. 38, which...
. In the ensuing battle, Judas Maccabeus and his men succeed in repelling Gorgias and forcing his army out of JudeaJudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
and down to the coastal plain in what is an important victory in the war for Judea's independence.
Roman Republic
- 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...
playwright TerenceTerencePublius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
's AndriaAndria (comedy)Andria is a comedy by Terence, a Roman playwright. It was Terence's first play, and he wrote it when he was approximately 19 years old. Terence adapted through translation from Menander's play, although as he is at pains to point out in his prologue he goes beyond mere translation. It was first...
(The Girl from Andros) is first performed at the Megalesian games.
China
- Laoshang leads 140,000 XiongnuXiongnuThe Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
cavalry in a raid in AndingAnding-Mainland China or Taiwan:Districts *Anding District, Tainan, Taiwan*Anding District, Dingxi, GansuTowns *Anding, Beijing, in Daxing District, Beijing*Anding, Pingjiang County, in Pingjiang County, Hunan*Anding, Taonan, in Taonan City, Jilin...
, and they reach as far as the royal retreat at Yong.
Deaths
- MattathiasMattathiasMattathias ben Johanan was a Jewish priest whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Syrian Greeks is related in the Books of the Maccabees...
, father of Judas Maccabaeus, Jewish priest from Modi'in, near Jerusalem, who has started and briefly led a rebellion by the Jews in JudeaJudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
against the Seleucid kingdom of SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.... - PerseusPerseus of MacedonPerseus was the last king of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great...
, the last Macedonian king of the Antigonid dynasty (b. c. 212 BC212 BCYear 212 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Pulcher...
)