The 3rd century

Africa

1. BWAPeoples & Migration

   Botswana · c. 200 CE

   Early Bantu settlement

   Bantu-speaking settlers, among them the ancestors of the Kalanga, establish farming and cattle-keeping communities in the eastern part of the region.

   Hunters, Herders and the Painted Hills

   Sources: History of Botswana (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. MMRReligion

   Myanmar · early centuries CE

   Buddhism takes root

   The Pyu cities provide the earliest evidence of Buddhism's introduction into Southeast Asia, embedding the religion in the region's culture and statecraft.

   The Pyu City-States and the Coming of Buddhism

   Sources: Pyu Ancient Cities (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Africa

1. MARCulture & Ideas

   Morocco · c. 3rd century CE

   Volubilis flourishes as a Roman city

   Volubilis reaches its height as a thriving provincial city, adorned with a basilica, triumphal arch, temples and elaborate mosaics before Rome withdraws from the interior.

   Amazigh Mauretania and Roman Volubilis

   Sources: Archaeological Site of Volubilis (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Asia

1. CHNWar & Rupture

   China · 220 CE

   Collapse of the Han and centuries of division

   The Han empire fragments into the Three Kingdoms and successive Northern and Southern Dynasties, a long era of disunion during which Buddhism takes deep root in China.

   Division, Reunification, and the Tang-Song Golden Age

   Sources: China (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. IRNFormation

   Iran · 224 CE

   Ardashir I founds the Sasanian Empire

   Ardashir I overthrows the last Parthian king and establishes the Sasanian Empire, the last great pre-Islamic Persian state, with its capital at Ctesiphon.

   Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian Persia

   Sources: Sasanian Empire (World History Encyclopedia) · Sāsānian dynasty (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. IRNCulture & Ideas

   Iran · 3rd century CE

   Sasanian kings style themselves rulers of Ērān, the Iranians

   Sasanian royal inscriptions of the 3rd century CE name their kings as king of kings of the Ērān, the Iranians: at Naqsh-e Rajab in Fars, Shapur I is 'the king of kings in Iran and abroad' in Livius.org's translation. Encyclopaedia Iranica's entry, as cited by Wikipedia, dates the first attestation of the word to Ardashir I's relief at Naqsh-e Rostam and reads the later term Ērānšahr, 'realm of the Iranians', as the empire's own name for itself.

   Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian Persia

   Sources: Naqsh-e Rajab, equestrian relief of Shapur I (Livius.org) · Iran (word) (Wikipedia)

3. IRNReligion

   Iran · 3rd century CE

   Zoroastrianism as state religion

   The Sasanian kings establish Zoroastrianism, the faith attributed to the prophet Zoroaster, as the official religion of Iran, supported by a powerful priesthood and network of fire temples.

   Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian Persia

   Sources: Zoroastrianism (World History Encyclopedia) · Sāsānian dynasty (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. IRQPolitics & Power

   Iraq · 224 CE

   Mesopotamia under the Sasanians

   The Sasanian dynasty replaces the Parthians and rules Mesopotamia from Ctesiphon, making the fertile 'Sawad' the agricultural and administrative core of the Sasanian Empire for four centuries.

   Persians, Greeks and the Coming of Islam

   Sources: Iraq — History (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Africa

1. TUNCulture & Ideas

   Tunisia · c. 238 CE

   Amphitheatre of El Djem

   The colossal amphitheatre of Thysdrus is built, the largest Roman amphitheatre in Africa and a later UNESCO World Heritage Site.

   Roman Africa, Christianity & the Vandals

   Sources: Amphitheatre of El Jem — World Heritage List (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

North America

1. MEXCulture & Ideas

   Mexico · c. 250-900 CE

   Classic Maya civilisation

   Maya city-states reach their height, producing hieroglyphic writing, advanced calendars, and astronomy, before the southern lowland centres are abandoned by about 900 CE.

   Mesoamerican Civilisations

   Sources: Maya (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. ERIEconomy & Trade

   Eritrea · c. 3rd century CE

   Aksumite coinage

   Aksumite kings begin minting gold, silver and bronze coins, advertising the kingdom's wealth and its place among the great powers of the age.

   Aksum, Adulis and the Red Sea Trade

   Sources: Aksumite Empire (New World Encyclopedia)

2. ETHEconomy & Trade

   Ethiopia · c. 3rd century CE

   Aksum issues its own coinage

   Aksumite kings begin minting gold, silver and bronze coins, among the first African states to do so, advertising the kingdom's wealth and reach.

   The Kingdom of Aksum and Early Christianity

   Sources: Aksum — World Heritage Centre (UNESCO) · Kingdom of Aksum (World History Encyclopedia)

Europe

1. ROUPeoples & Migration

   Romania · 271–275 CE

   Aurelian abandons Dacia

   Under mounting frontier pressure the emperor Aurelian withdrew the Roman army and administration from Dacia, yet a Latin-speaking population persisted, carrying forward the Daco-Roman heritage.

   Dacia and Rome: the Latin foundation

   Sources: Dacia (World History Encyclopedia) · Dacia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. SYRWar & Rupture

   Syria · 272 CE

   Zenobia, Palmyra and the war with Rome

   Queen Zenobia of Palmyra breaks from Rome and conquers Egypt and Asia Minor, before the emperor Aurelian defeats her armies and captures the city; Palmyra's ruins are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

   Aramaeans, Rome and the Glory of Palmyra

   Sources: Zenobia — Queen of Palmyra (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Site of Palmyra — UNESCO World Heritage List (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Europe

1. KOSPolitics & Power

   Kosovo · late 3rd c. CE

   Province of Dardania

   In the administrative reorganisation of the later Roman Empire, the region was constituted as a province again bearing the ancient name of Dardania, within the diocese of Moesia.

   Ancient Dardania, Rome and Byzantium

   Sources: History of Kosovo (ancient Dardania to the medieval period) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)