Editing 280 BC

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{{Year nav|-280}}
{{BC year in topic|280}}
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Year '''280 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 Laevinus and Coruncanius''' (or, less frequently, '''year 474 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 280 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 ===
==== Seleucid Empire ====
* [[Antiochus I Soter|Antiochus]] makes his eldest son, Seleucus, king in the east, but he proves to be incompetent.
* Antiochus is compelled to make peace with his father's murderer and King of Macedon, [[Ptolemy Keraunos]], abandoning, for the time being, his plans to control Macedonia and Thrace.
* [[Nicomedes I of Bithynia|Nicomedes]], King of [[Bithynia]], is threatened with an invasion from Antiochus who has already made war upon his father, [[Zipoites I of Bithynia|Zipoites]]. Antiochus actually invades Bithynia but withdraws again without risking a battle.
* Antiochus is unable to bring under his control the Persian dynasties that rule in [[Cappadocia]].
* Antiochus is defeated by [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt's]] [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Ptolemy II]] in the Damascene War.

==== Greece ====
* [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]] makes an alliance with [[Ptolemy Keraunos]], King of [[Macedon]]. This allows him to go to southern [[Italy]] with his army.
* The [[Achaean League]] is reformed by twelve towns in the northern [[Peloponnesus]] and will later grow to include non-Achaean cities. It has two generals, a federal council with proportional representation of members and an annual assembly of all free citizens. The League achieves a common coinage and foreign policy and the member cities pool their armed forces.
* [[Rhodes]], rising in prosperity, becomes head of an Island League and helps to keep the peace and freedom of the Greek islands in the [[Aegean Sea]].
* The [[Colossus of Rhodes]] is completed by the sculptor [[Chares of Lindos]] after twelve years' work. It becomes one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World|seven wonders of the ancient world]]. The Colossus of Rhodes is a giant statue of the Greek god Helios. It stands 70 cubits tall (over 30 metres or 100&nbsp;feet), making it the tallest statue of the ancient world.

==== Roman Republic ====
* Responding to an appeal from [[Taranto|Tarentum]], King Pyrrhus of Epirus uses his army of over 20,000 men against the [[Roman Republic|Romans]]. In the [[Battle of Heraclea]] he defeats a Roman army led by consul [[Publius Valerius Laevinus]]. Pyrrhus's judicious use of his elephants plays a large part in his victory. Several tribes including the [[Lucanians|Lucani]], [[Bruttii]] and the [[Messapians]] as well as the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] cities of [[Crotone]] and [[Locri]] join Pyrrhus.
* Roman commander and statesman, [[Gaius Fabricius Luscinus]], is sent to negotiate the ransom and exchange of prisoners. Pyrrhus is so impressed by Fabricius refusing to accept a bribe, that Pyrrhus releases the prisoners without the requirement of a ransom. Following his victory, Pyrrhus advances as far north as [[Latium]].

==== China ====
* General Sima Cuo of the [[State of Qin]] attacks the [[State of Chu]], conquering the western region of Qianzhong by marching through the region of [[Shu (state)|Bashu]]. This conquest makes it easier for future Qin armies to invade Chu.
* General [[Bai Qi]] of Qin attacks the [[State of Zhou]] and captures the city of Guanglang.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sima|last= Qian|title=Records of the Grand Historian, Section: Basic Annals of Qin, Section: Bai Qi}}</ref>

=== By topic ===
==== Astronomy ====
* [[Aristarchus of Samos]] uses the size of the Earth's shadow on the [[Moon]] to estimate that the Moon's radius is one-third that of the Earth. He proposes, for the first time, a heliocentric view of the [[Solar System]], but is ignored due to the lack of evidence of the Earth's motion.</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
* [[Han Fei]], Chinese philosopher who has developed [[Xun Kuang|Xun Zi]]'s philosophy (approximate date) 
* [[Li Si]], influential prime minister (or chancellor) of the feudal state and later of the dynasty of Qin (approximate date) (d. [[208 BC]])
* [[Philo of Byzantium]], a Greek writer on mechanics (approximate date) (d. c. [[220 BC]])

== Deaths ==
* [[Demetrius of Phaleron]] (or [[Demetrius Phalereus]]), Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher, who has become prominent at the court of [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy I]], enjoying a high reputation as an orator (b. c. [[350 BC]])
* [[Herophilus]], Alexandrian physician who has been an early performer of public dissections on human cadavers; often called the father of anatomy (b. c. [[335 BC]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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