Editing 168 BC

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{Year nav|-168}}
{{BC year in topic|168}}
[[File:Plan battle of Pydna-en.svg|thumb|[[Battle of Pydna]] ([[Greece]])]]
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Year '''168 BC''' was a year of the [[Roman calendar|pre-Julian Roman calendar]]. At the time it was known as the '''Year of the Consulship of Macedonicus and Crassus''' (or, less frequently, '''year 586 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 168 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the [[Anno Domini]] [[calendar era]] became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>
=== By place ===
==== Albania ====
* The king of [[Illyria]], Gentius, is defeated at [[Scodra]] by a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] force under Lucius Anicius Gallus and then brought to Rome as a captive to be interned in [[Iguvium]]. This loss removes Illyria as an important ally for [[Macedon]]ia and effectively weakens [[Perseus of Macedon]] in his battle with Rome.
* The Roman general, [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus|Lucius Aemilius Paulus]], is elected [[consul]] and arrives in [[Thessaly]] to lead the Roman army which has been trapped by Perseus' forces.
* [[June 22]] &ndash; The [[Battle of Pydna]] (in southern Macedonia) gives Roman forces under Lucius Aemilius Paulus a crushing victory over Perseus and his Macedonian forces, thus ending the [[Third Macedonian War]]. Perseus is captured by the Romans and will spend the rest of his life in captivity at [[Alba Fucens]], near Rome.
* The Macedonian kingdom is broken up by the Romans into four smaller states, and all the Greek cities which have offered aid to Macedonia, even just in words, are punished. The Romans take hundreds of prisoners from the leading families of Macedonia, including the historian [[Polybius]].

==== Egypt ====
* The joint rulers of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Ptolemy VI Philometor|Ptolemy VI]], [[Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II]] and their sister [[Cleopatra II of Egypt|Cleopatra II]] send a renewed request to Rome for aid.

==== Seleucid Empire ====
* The fleet of the [[Seleucid]] king [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus IV]] wins a victory off [[Cyprus]], whose governor then surrenders the island to him.
* Antiochus IV then invades Egypt again and occupies Lower Egypt and his forces camp outside [[Alexandria]]. However, the Roman ambassador in Alexandria, [[Gaius Popillius Laenas]], intervenes. He presents Antiochus IV with an ultimatum that he evacuate Egypt and Cyprus immediately. Antiochus, taken by surprise, asks for time to consider. Popillius, however, draws a circle in the earth (i.e. "a line in the sand") around the king with his walking stick and demands an unequivocal answer before Antiochus leaves the circle. Fearing the consequences of a war with Rome, the king agrees to comply with the ambassador's demands. In return, the Romans agree that Antiochus IV can retain southern [[Syria]], to which Egypt has laid claim, thus enabling Antiochus IV to preserve the territorial integrity of his realm.
* [[Jason (high priest)|Jason]] removes [[Menelaus (High Priest)|Menelaus]] as High Priest in [[Jerusalem]], which Antiochus IV regards as an affront to his majesty.
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== Births ==
* [[Tiberius Gracchus]], Roman politician who would create turmoil in the Republic through his attempts to legislate agrarian reforms in the Roman Republic (d. [[133 BC]])

== Deaths ==
* [[Caecilius Statius]], Roman comic poet, admirer and imitator of the Greek playwright [[Menander]] (b. c. [[219 BC]])
* [[Jia Yi]], Chinese statesman and poet (b. [[200 BC]])
* [[Xin Zhui]], wife of Li Cang (利蒼), the Marquis of Dai and Chancellor of [[Changsha Kingdom]], during the [[Western Han dynasty]] of ancient China. (b. c. [[217 BC]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:168 Bc}}
[[Category:168 BC| ]]