The world in the 4th century BC

400 BC–301 BC

The Panathenaic Stadium was built in Athens in approximately the 4th century BC. A horseshoe-shaped stadium, it hosted the Panathenaic Games in antiquity and was reconstructed in 1896 to serve as the main venue for the first modern Olympic Games. It is the only major stadium in the world constructed entirely of marble.

400 BC–301 BCWorld Heritage

In the mid-5th century BC, construction of the Temple of Zeus began in Olympia, Greece. Dedicated to Zeus, this Doric temple became the model of the fully developed classical Greek temple, influencing later architecture.

400 BC–301 BCWorld Heritage

The Appian Way began construction in 312 BC, initiated by the Roman censor Appius Claudius Caecus. It originally connected Rome to Capua and is one of the earliest and most strategically important Roman roads.

400 BC–301 BCWorld Heritage

A circular tholos built in the Altis of Olympia to commemorate Philip II's victory at the Battle of Chaeronea, housing chryselephantine statues of the Macedonian royal family. It was the only structure in the Altis dedicated to humans rather than gods.

400 BC–301 BCWorld Heritage

In the early 4th century BC, the Temple of Asclepius was built at Epidaurus in the Peloponnese, becoming the principal sanctuary of the Greek god of medicine. It drew pilgrims from across Greece seeking healing and hosted theatrical and athletic contests. The temple was later inscribed on the World Heritage List.

400 BC–301 BC

Around 387 BC, Plato founded the first comprehensive school in Europe, the Platonic Academy, in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years. The name derives from the hero Akademos, on whose burial ground the Academy was established.

400 BC–301 BCWorld Heritage

Around the 6th century BCE, Lydian king Croesus sponsored the reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The temple, built in the Ionic order, was one of the largest in the Greek world and was later counted among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

331 BCGaugamela

On October 1, 331 BC, Alexander’s Macedonian army met Darius III’s Persian forces at Gaugamela (also called Arbela). It was the second and final clash between the two kings. The Macedonian victory proved decisive, delivering the final blow to the Achaemenid Empire and leading to its complete conquest by Alexander.

301 BC

In 301 BC, the successors of Alexander the Great fought a decisive battle near Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius were defeated by a coalition of Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus I Nicator. Antigonus died, and his Asian territories were partitioned, marking a turning point in the Diadochi Wars and shaping the Hellenistic kingdoms.

387 BCSusa

In 387 BCE, the Spartan diplomat Antalcidas negotiated a peace treaty with King Artaxerxes II of Persia at Susa, ending the Corinthian War. Also called the King's Peace, it reflected deep Persian influence, as Persian gold had fueled the conflict. The treaty was a Common Peace, akin to the Thirty Years' Peace that ended the First Peloponnesian War.

366 BC–360 BCAnatolia

In the late 360s BC, several satraps in western Anatolia rebelled against King Artaxerxes II of the Achaemenid Empire, seeking secession. Led by Datames, Ariobarzanes, Orontes, Autophradates, and Mausolus, their uprisings were uncoordinated and never posed a direct threat to the throne, ultimately failing.

334 BC

In May 334 BC, Alexander of Macedon fought the Persian satraps’ field army at the crossing of the Granicus in the Troad, on the road from Abydus to Dascylium (the river now called the Biga in Turkey). This was the first of three major battles against the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander won, defeating the force guarding the river, which pushed the Persians onto the defensive in the cities they still held and opened the way into Asia Minor.

400 BC–301 BCPataliputra

The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in Magadha in the late 4th century BCE, with its capital at Pataliputra. This event marked the rise of the first extensive empire in the Indian subcontinent during the Iron Age.

329 BC

In 329 BC, Alexander the Great targeted Cyropolis, the largest town in Sogdiana, as part of his campaign to conquer the region. He dispatched Craterus to surround the town with a ditch and stockade and assemble siege engines. The aim was to pin down the defenders and prevent them from aiding other towns. This siege was a key step in Alexander's control of strategic Central Asia.

327 BC–325 BCIndus Valley

In 327 BC, after subduing the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great led his Macedonian army into the northwestern Indian subcontinent. By 325 BC, he extended his empire to include Gandhara and the Indus Valley of Punjab and Sindh, surpassing the earlier Persian conquests.

305 BC–303 BCIndus basin

The Seleucid and Mauryan empires clashed in the Indus basin between around 305 and 303 BCE. Seleucus I crossed the Indus River to reclaim former Macedonian Indian satrapies already taken by Chandragupta Maurya. The conflict ended in a peace treaty ceding large territories to the Maurya Empire.

327 BC–326 BC

Between May 327 BC and March 326 BC, Alexander the Great conducted the Cophen campaign against the Aspasioi, Guraeans, and Assakenoi tribes in the valleys of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, aiming to secure the Macedonian line of communications for the advance into India.

326 BC

In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great fought Porus of the Pauravas on the banks of the Hydaspes (Jhelum) River in present-day Punjab, Pakistan. After a hard-fought battle the Macedonians prevailed and captured Porus; Alexander kept him in power as a satrap, and parts of Punjab came under Alexander’s control.

400 BC–301 BC

Around the 4th century BC, a large moated settlement known as Yoshinogari was established in northern Kyūshū, Japan. Located on a hill in Saga Prefecture, the site covers about 50 hectares and features raised-floor buildings, watchtowers, and double moats, later seen as the origin of Japanese castle defenses.

354 BCHandan

In 353 BC, the Qi army decisively defeated the Wei army at Guiling, capturing the Wei general Pang Juan. The battle originated from Qi's intervention to relieve the siege of Zhao's capital, Handan. Sun Bin employed the stratagem of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao', luring the enemy back and ambushing them at Guiling. This engagement exemplifies the diplomatic and military maneuverings of the Warring States period, and is celebrated as a classic of military strategy.

319 BC临淄区

Around the 4th century BC, the state of Qi established the Jixia Academy near the Ji Gate in Linzi, which became a major center of intellectual exchange during the Warring States period.

329 BC

In 329 BC, Alexander the Great and his Hellenic army fought the Saka, a Scythian people, at the Jaxartes River (modern Syr Darya). The battle took place near the borders of present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.

327 BC

In the early spring of 327 BC, as part of his conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great besieged and captured the Sogdian Rock, a seemingly impregnable fortress in Sogdiana (near modern-day Samarkand). The stronghold, ruled by Arimazes, fell after a daring assault where Macedonian climbers scaled the steep cliffs, forcing a surrender. This victory solidified Alexander's control over Central Asia and facilitated further campaigns eastward.

323 BC–30 BCAlexandria, Egypt

The Hellenistic period began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ended with the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the fall of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year. It was characterized by Greek dominance in the eastern Mediterranean and a new wave of Greek colonization, establishing many Hellenistic cities in Egypt and Western Asia.

400 BC–301 BCWorld Heritage

Volubilis was founded in the 3rd century BC, initially as a Phoenician or Carthaginian settlement, later becoming a Roman city.

400 BC–301 BCAxum

The Kingdom of Aksum emerged around the 4th century BC in the Horn of Africa, centred on the city of Axum, and later developed into a major trading power covering modern Eritrea, northern Ethiopia and beyond. It is first attested in written sources in the 1st century AD.

400 BC–301 BC

Choquepuquio is a Wari archaeological site in the Cusco Valley of Peru, likely founded during the Wari Empire period. Located in Quispicanchi Province, Lucre District, near Huacarpay village and lake, it features extensive ruins that reflect Wari cultural expansion in the region.