Editing 261 BC

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{{BC year in topic|261}}
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Year '''261 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 Flaccus and Crassus''' (or, less frequently, '''year 493 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 261 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 ===
==== Roman Republic ====
* The [[Roman Republic|Romans]], determined to win control of [[Sicily]] from [[Carthage]], build a fleet based on the model of a captured Carthaginian [[quinquereme]].

==== Seleucid Empire ====
* The new [[Seleucid]] king [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochus II]] reaches an agreement with the king of [[Macedon]]ia, [[Antigonus II Gonatas]], to work together in trying to push [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Ptolemy II's]] fleet and armies out of the [[Aegean Sea]]. With Macedonia's support, Antiochus II launches an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in [[Asia Minor]].

====India====
* Mauryan Emperor [[Ashoka]] wages a [[Kalinga War|war]] against the independent kingdom of [[Kalinga (region)|Kalinga]], culminating in the Battle of the [[Dhauli|Dhauli Hills]]. In the aftermath, Kalinga is annexed into the [[Mauryan Empire]], but the brutality of the war is believed to have led to Ashoka's conversion to [[Buddhism]], as described in his many [[Edicts of Ashoka]].
====China====
* The armies of the [[State of Qin]] and [[State of Zhao]] contest control of the area around [[Battle of Changping|Changping]]. After suffering defeats to general Wang He of Qin and the superior Qin army, general [[Lian Po]] of Zhao refuses to give battle, resulting in a stalemate.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sima|last= Qian|title=Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Lian Po}}</ref>
</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
*

== Deaths ==
* [[Antiochus I Soter]], Greek king of the Hellenistic [[Seleucid Empire]] (or [[262 BC]])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antiochus-I-Soter | access-date=February 25, 2024 | title=Antiochus I Soter | date=February 13, 2024 | series=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

== References == 
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:261 BC| ]]