Editing 260 BC

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{Year nav|-260}}
{{BC year in topic|260}}
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Year '''260 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 Asina and Duilius''' (or, less frequently, '''year 494 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 260 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 ==
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=== By place ===

==== Sicily ====
* The [[Roman Republic|Roman]] advance continues westward from [[Agrigentum]] with their forces relieving the besieged cities of [[Segesta]] and Macella. These cities have sided with the Roman cause, and have come under [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] attack for doing so.
* [[Hannibal Gisco]] returns to fight in [[Sicily]] as the admiral in charge of the Carthaginian fleet in the [[Strait of Messina]]. With the Romans about to launch their first ever navy, Carthage is determined that this innovation be thwarted. Gisco defeats part of the Roman fleet and captures the Roman [[consul]] [[Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina]] in an encounter near [[Battle of the Lipari Islands|Lipari]]; the consul's nickname Asina (which means ''donkey'') is earned in this encounter. However, this Carthaginian victory is of limited practical value as the bulk of the Roman fleet continues to manoeuvre in the surrounding waters.
* Confident in Carthage's superiority at sea, Hannibal Gisco deploys his ships for the [[Battle of Mylae]] in the traditional long line arrangement. Although inexperienced in sea battles, the Romans, led by consul [[Gaius Duilius]] Nepos, heavily defeat the Carthaginian fleet, mainly due to the innovative use of land tactics in naval warfare (including the use of the grappling irons and the [[Corvus (weapon)|corvus]] boarding bridge).
* Having lost the confidence of his peers, Hannibal Gisco is subsequently executed for incompetence shortly afterwards, together with other defeated Punic generals.
* In the north of Sicily, the Romans, with their northern sea flank secured by their naval victory in the Battle of Mylae, advance toward Thermae. They are defeated there by the Carthaginians under [[Hamilcar (Drepanum)|Hamilcar]].

==== Egypt ====
* [[Callimachus]] of [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]], learned poet and grammarian, becomes chief librarian at the [[Library of Alexandria]].

==== China ====
* [[Battle of Changping]] between the [[state of Qin]] and [[state of Zhao]]:
:* Frustrated with the stalemate and encouraged by Qin spies, [[King Xiaocheng of Zhao]] replaces general [[Lian Po]] with the less cautious [[Zhao Kuo]]. Hearing of this, King [[Zhaoxiang of Qin]] secretly sends the famous general [[Bai Qi]] to take control of the Qin army.
:* The Qin army under Bai Qi destroys the army of Zhao, establishing Qin's military superiority over all other [[China|Chinese]] states during the [[Warring States period]]. The battle takes place near modern-day [[Gaoping]] in [[Shanxi]] and hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Zhao are executed after the battle.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sima|last= Qian|title=Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Bai Qi, Section: Lian Po}}</ref>
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== Births ==
* [[Qin Shi Huang|Zheng]], who will later become king of the [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]], and then later the [[First Emperor]] of [[China]] (d. [[210 BC]])

== Deaths ==
* [[Hannibal Gisco]], Carthaginian military commander in charge of both land armies and naval fleets (b. c. [[300 BC]])
* [[Orontes III]], king of [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] and [[Sophene]] (modern-day [[Turkey]])
* [[Timocharis|Timocharis of Alexandria]], Greek [[astronomer]] and [[philosopher]]
* [[Zhao Kuo]], Chinese general of the [[Zhao (state)|State of Zhao]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:260 BC| ]]