Editing 340 BC

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{Year nav|-340}}
{{BC year in topic|340}}
__NOTOC__
Year '''340 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 Torquatus and Mus''' (or, less frequently, '''year 414 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 340 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 ===

==== Persian Empire ====
* [[Rhodes]] falls to [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] forces.
* [[Pixodarus of Caria|Pixodarus]], the youngest of the three sons of King [[Hecatomnus]] of [[Caria]], gains possession of the [[satrapy]] of Caria by expelling his sister [[Ada of Caria|Ada]], the widow and successor of her brother [[Idrieus]].

==== Greece ====
* When King [[Philip II of Macedon]] invaded [[Perinthus]] and [[Byzantium]], King [[Artaxerxes III]] of Persia sent support to those cities.
* Philip II fails in his [[siege]] of Byzantium and is forced to respond to attacks by the [[Scythians]] near the mouth of the [[Danube]]. His son, [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] is regent while his father fights against Byzantium and the Scythians.
* The [[Athens|Athenians]] give [[Demosthenes]] a public vote of thanks after Philip's unsuccessful siege of Byzantium.
* {{circa}} [[Derveni papyrus]] in a nobleman's grave in a necropolis of [[Lete (Mygdonia)|Lete]].<ref>{{cite web |title=THE PAPYRUS OF DERVENI |url=http://www.culture.gr/2/21/215/21505/215052/e21505206.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428200149/http://www.culture.gr/2/21/215/21505/215052/e21505206.html |archive-date=28 April 2006 |access-date=1 June 2006 |work=[[Hellenic Ministry of Culture]] |df=dmy}}</ref>

==== Sicily ====
*[[Hicetas]], the [[tyrant]] of [[Leontini]], again persuades [[Carthage]] to send a large army to [[Sicily]], which lands at [[Lilybaeum]]. [[Timoleon]] of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] meets this large Carthaginian army in the [[Battle of the Crimissus]] in the west of Sicily and achieves a brilliant victory against superior [[odds]]. Despite this victory, the Carthaginians continue to occupy the western half of Sicily, with a treaty being concluded that confines the Carthaginians to the area west of the Halycus (Platani) River.

==== Roman Republic ====
* An embassy is sent by the [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latin]] peoples to the [[Roman Senate]] asking for the formation of a single republic between [[Roman Republic|Rome]] and [[Latium]], in which both parties would be considered to be equal. As Rome considers that it is the leader of the [[Latin League]], it refuses to treat the Latin people as being equal politically, or to have Latin people in the Roman Senate. With Rome's refusal of the proposal, the [[Latin War]] begins. The Latins fight with the [[Campania]]ns, while Rome joins the [[Samnites]] to attack the Latins. Only the Laurentes in Latium and the [[equites]] of Campania remain with the Romans, who, for their part, find support among the [[Paeligni]].
* The Roman-Samnite army under [[consul]]s [[Publius Decius Mus (consul 340 BC)|Publius Decius Mus]] and [[Titus Manlius Torquatus (347 BC)|Titus Manlius Torquatus]] attack and defeat the Latins and Campanians near [[Mount Vesuvius]] in the [[Battle of Vesuvius]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Veseris, 340 BC |url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_veseris.html |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=www.historyofwar.org}}</ref>
* The Romans succeed in detaching the Campanians from their alliance with the Latins (through their fear of the [[Samnium|Samnites]]) and induce them to make a separate peace. Three Campanian cities, including [[Capua]] and [[Cumae]], are granted Roman citizenship and thus become part of the Roman state. The Roman state now extends to the [[Bay of Naples]].
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== Births ==
* [[Appius Claudius Caecus]], Roman politician and [[Roman consul|consul]] (approximate date)
* [[Chandragupta Maurya]], founder of the [[Maurya Empire]] (approximate date)
* [[Qu Yuan]], Chinese [[poet]] and minister (approximate date)

== Deaths ==
* [[Lais of Hyccara]], Greek [[hetaira]] (courtesan) (approximate date)
* [[Mentor of Rhodes]], Greek [[mercenary]] and [[satrap]] (approximate date)
* [[King Xuan of Chu|Xuan of Chu]], Chinese king of [[Chu (state)|Chu]] ([[Warring States period|Warring States Period]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:340 BC| ]]