阳木龙年 (male Wood-
Dragon) −69 or −450 or −1222 — to — 阴木蛇年 (female Wood-
Snake) −68 or −449 or −1221
Year 196 BC was a year of the
pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Purpureo and Marcellus (or, less frequently, year 558 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 196 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the
Anno Dominicalendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
A new category of Roman priests, the
tresviri epulones, are elected to supervise the feasts of the gods; the first three men selected are Gaius Licinius Lucullus, Publius Manlius, and Publius Porcius Laeca.
At the
Isthmian Games at
Corinth, the Roman proconsul
Titus Quinctius Flamininus proclaims that all Greeks are to be free and governed by their own laws. For this deed he is hailed in many Greek cities as a saviour and accorded homage alongside the gods.
The
Rosetta Stone is created. This stone is a
Ptolemaic era
stele written with the same text in two
Egyptian language scripts (
hieroglyphic and
demotic) and in classical Greek. The translation of the Greek passage reveals that the inscription is a royal
edict recording the benefits conferred on Egypt by the pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes at the time of his
coronation. This stone will provide the key to the hieroglyphic, or
pictographic writing, of ancient Egypt and the decree on it reveals the increasing influence of Egyptian natives, remitted debts and taxes, released prisoners, pardoned rebels who have surrendered, and granted increased benefactions to the temples.
Seleucid Empire
Antiochus III's army crosses the
Hellespont into
Thrace, where he claims sovereignty over territory that has been won by
Seleucus I in
281 BC. A war of harassment and diplomacy with Rome ensues. The Romans send ambassadors demanding that Antiochus stay out of Greece and set free all the autonomous communities in
Anatolia. To meet these demands would mean Antiochus III giving up the western part of his
Seleucid Empire. Thus Antiochus refuses the Romans' demands.
China
Empress Lü and Prime Minister
Xiao He of the
Han dynasty have the former General-in-Chief
Han Xin executed, suspecting that he was planning a rebellion in cooperation with the rebel
Chen Xi.
A Han army defeats a raid on the northern frontier by the rogue
Xin of Han. Xin is killed in battle.
Gaozu deposes the king of
Liang,
Peng Yue, on suspicion of conspiracy. He is then executed on the orders of Empress Lü.
The king of
Huainan,
Ying Bu, fearing execution, rebels against the Han dynasty. Gaozu and Cao Shen crush the rebellion but Gaozu is wounded by an arrow, and his health subsequently deteriorates.
Increasingly paranoid, Gaozu briefly arrests Prime Minister Xiao He but is persuaded to release him.
Gaozu sends
Zhao Tuo, the king of
Nanyue in present-day Vietnam and southern China, a seal recognizing his rulership in return for his nominal submission to the Han. Zhao Tuo accepts his vassal status.[2]