The 2nd century BCE

The 2nd century BCE spans the period from 200 BCE to 101 BCE. It was a century marked by Roman expansion across the Mediterranean, while the Hellenistic kingdoms descended from Alexander the Great's division of his empire grew weaker.

In the east, the Han dynasty of China strengthened centralized administration and long-distance trade. Northern India saw competing dynasties following the collapse of the Mauryan Empire. Overall, the century witnessed the consolidation of trade routes both overland and by sea.

Rome and the Mediterranean

Rome, after its victory over Carthage in the Second Punic War, began sustained intervention eastward. Wars against the Macedonian and Seleucid kingdoms brought Greece under Roman influence. Carthage itself was destroyed in the Third Punic War in 146 BCE; in the same year the city of Corinth was taken.

Within Rome, changes in landholding and wealth generated political conflict. The Gracchus brothers proposed land redistribution and social reform, a cause that ended in political upheaval and their deaths. Later, military leaders such as Marius introduced army reorganization that became a foundation for politics in the following century.

Asia

In China, the Han emperor Wu expanded the empire's borders and sent envoys westward, opening trade connections that would later be known as the Silk Road. Parthia dominated Persia and Mesopotamia, having taken over Seleucid territory. Bactria and northern India were home to Greco-Bactrian kingdoms that blended currency and culture.

Culture and knowledge

The century is associated with mathematical and astronomical works from the Greek world, as well as historians who documented Rome's rise. Chinese papermaking, the reading of state archives, and Hellenistic libraries exemplified how knowledge was preserved.