Editing 240 BC (section)

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>

=== By place ===

==== Carthage ====
* Two of [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]]'s [[mercenary]] commanders &ndash; [[Spendius]] and [[Mathos]] &ndash; convince the [[Libya]]n conscripts of the mercenary army occupying the Carthaginian city of [[Tunis]] to accept their leadership. They persuade the native Libyans that Carthage will take revenge against them for their part in the conflict once the foreign mercenaries are paid and sent home. They then convince the combined mercenary armies to revolt against Carthage and convince the various native Libyan towns and cities to back the revolt. Spendius and Mathos then take the Carthaginian commander Gesco as a hostage. What has started as an argument over pay owed to soldiers by the Carthaginian Government, explodes into a full-scale revolt, known as the [[Mercenary War]].
* The Libyan forces loyal to the mercenaries besiege the towns of [[Utica, Tunisia|Utica]] and [[Hippacritae]], which refuse to defect to the mercenaries.
* [[Hanno the Great]] is given command of the Carthaginian forces. However, the mercenaries defeat the Carthaginian armies in the [[Battle of Utica]].
* Carthage decides to give [[Hamilcar Barca]] joint command with Hanno the Great. Hamilcar Barca is able to end the siege of Utica by the mercenaries. He is then placed in complete command of the Carthaginian forces and defeats the mercenaries in the [[Battle of the Bagradas River (239 BC)|Battle of the Bagradas River]].
* After the [[Numidia]]n mercenary leader Narawas defects to Hamilcar Barca, Numidian reinforcements (about 2,000 men) help him defeat the mercenaries again. Hamilcar pardons his captured prisoners, accepting into his army anyone who will fight for Carthage, and exiling anyone who will not.

==== Roman Republic ====
* [[Roman Republic|Rome]] takes over full control of [[Sicily]] and stations a legion there.

==== China ====
* The [[State of Qin|Qin]] general Meng Ao takes the [[State of Zhao|Zhao]] cities of Long, Hu and Qingdu but then dies en route to the [[State of Wei|Wei]] city of Ji. This is then captured by Meng Ao's son Meng Wu.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sima|last= Qian|title=Records of the Grand Historian, Section: The First Emperor}}</ref>

=== By topic ===

==== Literature ====
* The first [[Latin]] tragedy by [[Livius Andronicus]], ''Achilles'', is first produced.

==== Astronomy ====
* [[May 25]] &ndash; Chinese [[astronomer]]s make the first recorded observation of [[Halley's Comet]].<ref>''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]''.</ref>
*The [[Hellenistic period]] Mathematician [[Eratosthenes]] estimates the Earth's circumference to be 252,000 [[stadion (unit)|stadia]], a figure between 2%-20% off modern measurements.</onlyinclude>