4th century BC

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Centuries:	5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC
Decades:	390s BC 380s 370s 360s 350s 340s 330s 320s 310s 300s BC

Millennia:		2nd millennium BC -	1st millennium BC -	1st millennium

The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC.

1 Overview
2 Events
3 Significant People
4 Inventions, discoveries, introductions
5 Decades and years

[edit] Overview

This century marks the height of the Classical Greek civilization in all of its aspects. With the conquests of Alexander and the civil war of his generals that followed his death the Hellenistic age began.

[edit] Events

Bust of Alexander the Great in the British Museum.

Mid-4th century BC - Priene, Western Turkey is rebuilt.
4th century BC - Pectoral, from the tomb of a Scythian at Ordzhonikidze, Russia, is made. It is now at Historical Museum, Kiev.
Late 4th century BC - Diadem, reputed to have been found in a tomb near the Hellespont. It is now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
399 BC Socrates is executed in Athens on charges of impiety and corrupting Athenian youth.
383 BC Second Buddhist Councel at Vesali, 100 years after the Parimirvana.
373 BC The important Greek city of Helike sinks into the sea with the loss of its whole population other than the animals, which had fled five days earlier.
323 BC Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire, decline and depopulation of Ancient Greece with large migrations towards the conquered lands.
312 BC Seleucus I Nicator establishes himself in Babylon, founding the Seleucid Empire.
Invasion of the Celts into Ireland.
Battle of the Allia and subsequent Gaulish sack of Rome.
The Scythians are beginning to be absorbed into the Sarmatian people.
The Romans conquer the Abruzzi region, decline of the Etruscan civilization.

[edit] Significant People

"The safest general characterisation of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." (Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality, 1929).

Marcus Furius Camillus, Roman dictator (c.446–365 BC).
Plato, philosopher (c.427–347 BC).
Tollund Man, Human sacrifice victim on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, possibly the earliest known evidence for worship of Odin.
Aristotle, philosopher and scientist (384–322 BC).
Philip II of Macedonia (born 382, reigned 359–336 BC).
Demosthenes (384–322 BC), a prominent Athenian statesman and orator, who became a fierce opponent of Philip II and Alexander of Macedon.
Darius III of Persia, last King of the Achaemenid dynasty (born 380, reigned 359–330 BC).
Mencius, Chinese philosopher and sage (371–289 BC).
Yang Zhu (also Yang Chu), Chinese philosopher for egoism and intellectual rival of Mencius.
Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty (c.367–283 BC).
Shang Yang, Prime Minister of Qin, his reform helped Qin to become the strongest country and later unified China (term 361–338 BC).
Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire (c.358–281 BC).
Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, invades Asia Minor, Persia and reaches India (born 356, reigned 336–323 BC).
Brennus, Gaulish chieftain
Zhuangzi
Archon of Pella, Babylonian satrap

[edit] Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Oldest Brahmi script dates from this period (Brahmi is the ancestor of Indic scripts).
Romans build first aqueduct.
Chinese use bellows.
The first crossbow, the gastraphetes, is invented at Syracuse.
Burnt brick first used in Greece.
Donkey-powered mills first used in Greece.
Torque with lion's-head terminals, from Susa (modern Shush, Iran) was made. It is now in Musee du Louvre, Paris.
Daric, a coin first minted under Darius I of Persia was made. It is now in Heberden Coin room, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

[edit] Decades and years

v • d • e

4th century BC

6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC

400s BC	409 BC	408 BC	407 BC	406 BC	405 BC	404 BC	403 BC	402 BC	401 BC	400 BC
390s BC	399 BC	398 BC	397 BC	396 BC	395 BC	394 BC	393 BC	392 BC	391 BC	390 BC
380s BC	389 BC	388 BC	387 BC	386 BC	385 BC	384 BC	383 BC	382 BC	381 BC	380 BC
370s BC	379 BC	378 BC	377 BC	376 BC	375 BC	374 BC	373 BC	372 BC	371 BC	370 BC
360s BC	369 BC	368 BC	367 BC	366 BC	365 BC	364 BC	363 BC	362 BC	361 BC	360 BC
350s BC	359 BC	358 BC	357 BC	356 BC	355 BC	354 BC	353 BC	352 BC	351 BC	350 BC
340s BC	349 BC	348 BC	347 BC	346 BC	345 BC	344 BC	343 BC	342 BC	341 BC	340 BC
330s BC	339 BC	338 BC	337 BC	336 BC	335 BC	334 BC	333 BC	332 BC	331 BC	330 BC
320s BC	329 BC	328 BC	327 BC	326 BC	325 BC	324 BC	323 BC	322 BC	321 BC	320 BC
310s BC	319 BC	318 BC	317 BC	316 BC	315 BC	314 BC	313 BC	312 BC	311 BC	310 BC
300s BC	309 BC	308 BC	307 BC	306 BC	305 BC	304 BC	303 BC	302 BC	301 BC	300 BC
290s BC	299 BC	298 BC	297 BC	296 BC	295 BC	294 BC	293 BC	292 BC	291 BC	290 BC

v • d • e

Centuries and Millennia

Millennium	Century
Before Christ / Before Common Era (BC/BCE)
4th:	40th	39th	38th	37th	36th	35th	34th	33rd	32nd	31st
3rd:	30th	29th	28th	27th	26th	25th	24th	23rd	22nd	21st
2nd:	20th	19th	18th	17th	16th	15th	14th	13th	12th	11th
1st:	10th	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
Anno Domini / Common Era (AD/CE)
1st:	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
2nd:	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
3rd:	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th
4th:	31st	32nd