THE WORLD ATLAS

Chapter · Late Hellenistic Age

The Silk Road Opens

The world in 100 BCE

In 100 BCE the Han dynasty of China and the Roman Republic are the great powers of the world, linked by the trade routes we now call the Silk Road. Emperor Wu of Han has pushed China's borders into Korea, southern China, northern Vietnam and the Gansu corridor, and his envoy Zhang Qian has opened contact with Central Asia; Chinese silk now travels west.

Rome, which destroyed Carthage and Corinth in 146 BCE, rules most of the Mediterranean coast, but is torn by political violence; Gaius Marius, consul for the sixth time, has just saved Italy from invading Germanic tribes, and Julius Caesar is born this year. Between them, the Parthian king Mithridates II has made Parthia the great power of Iran and Mesopotamia, while the once-mighty Seleucid kingdom is reduced to a quarrelling rump in Syria. In India, the Shunga dynasty rules the Ganges and Indo-Greek kings the north-west. In the Americas, the Maya city of El Mirador is at its height.

Open the map in 100 BCE

The great powers

Region by region

Southern Africa

Khoisan hunter-gatherers live across southern Africa, and herding of sheep and cattle is spreading among some Khoe peoples. Iron-using Bantu farmers continue their spread southward through East Africa.

Northern Africa

Ptolemy X Alexander I rules Egypt from Alexandria, but the dynasty is weak and dependent on Rome. Roman Africa (old Carthage) is a province, Numidia is ruled by Gauda after Jugurtha's defeat, and Mauretania by Bocchus I. The kingdom of Meroë flourishes in Nubia, and early Aksum is emerging in the Ethiopian highlands.

Europe

The Roman Republic rules Italy, much of Spain, southern Gaul, Greece, Macedonia and western Anatolia, though its politics are turning violent. Marius has destroyed the migrating Cimbri and Teutones at Aquae Sextiae (102 BCE) and Vercellae (101 BCE). Celtic tribes hold Gaul and Britain, Dacians the Carpathians, Germanic peoples the north, and Sarmatians the steppe; Mithridates VI of Pontus controls much of the Black Sea coast.

Middle East & South Asia

Mithridates II of Parthia rules from Iran to Mesopotamia, while rival Seleucid kings fight over what is left of Syria. Pontus, Armenia, the Nabataeans and the South Arabian kingdoms are growing. In India, the Shunga dynasty rules the Ganges plain, Indo-Greek kings rule the Punjab and Gandhara, and the Satavahanas are rising in the Deccan, with Tamil kingdoms in the far south.

Northern & Central Asia

The Yuezhi, driven west by the Xiongnu, have conquered Greek Bactria and settled north of the Hindu Kush; one of their clans will found the Kushan Empire. Saka tribes have pushed south into Iran and India, while Sarmatians and Kangju nomads hold the steppe.

East Asia

Emperor Wu of Han rules from Chang'an over an empire that now includes southern China, northern Vietnam and northern Korea, where four commanderies were set up in 108 BCE. The Xiongnu, under Qiedihou Chanyu, still rule Mongolia but have been driven back by Han armies. Yayoi Japan is divided into many small states.

Southeast Asia

Northern Vietnam is now part of Han China, governed as the commanderies of Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen. Elsewhere, Đông Sơn bronze drums are traded widely, and Indian merchants sail to Southeast Asia's ports, while kingdoms such as early Arakan arise.

Northern North America

The Dorset culture hunts in the Arctic, and the Norton tradition along Alaska's coasts. In southern Canada, the Laurel and Point Peninsula cultures fish, hunt and make pottery around the Great Lakes.

Southern North America

The Hopewell culture of the Ohio valley builds geometric earthworks and trades across the continent. The Maya city of El Mirador, with its huge pyramids, is at its height, Monte Albán rules Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan is growing in the Valley of Mexico.

Northern South America

On Peru's south coast, the Nazca culture is emerging from the Paracas and will soon create its famous ground drawings. Regional cultures flourish along the Andes, and Amazonian peoples farm and fish along the rivers.

Southern Cone

Hunter-gatherers live across the Pampas, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and farming villages grow in north-west Argentina and northern Chile.

Australasia & Oceania

Aboriginal Australians and Papuan farmers live as before. Polynesians are settled in Tonga and Samoa, and New Zealand and most of the Pacific remain unsettled.

Events

  1. Rome destroys Carthage and Corinth
  2. Zhang Qian returns to Chang'an after his journey to Central Asia
  3. Han conquers Nanyue and northern Vietnam
  4. Han conquers Gojoseon and sets up commanderies in Korea
  5. Marius defeats the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae
  6. Han armies defeat Dayuan (Ferghana) and win its famous horses
  7. Julius Caesar is born in Rome

Moments of this period

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Sources