-0218
Carthaginian general Hannibal crosses the Alps with elephants to attack Northern Italy.
-0206 - 0220
The Han Dynasty in China. The Silk Road develops in this period and silver coinage is introduced. State granaries help to control grain prices.
-202 - 220
Probable invention of porcelain in China under the Han dynasty in the region of Sin p-ing.
-0200
Cloves are popular in China and are used to freshen breath and spice food.
-0200
Bacchanalia are held in Rome (festivals to Bacchus, the Roman name for Dionysus).
-0200 - 0500
The Nazca people expand and make mysterious patterns in the desert that can only be properly seen from the air.
-0200
Greek physician Galen observes copper miners and notes the danger of acid mists.
-200
The Romans use linen sieves to produce fine flour.
-200
The Chinese burn natural gas to produce sea salt.
-0181
Austria becomes part of the Roman Empire and gold mines are developed in Noricum.
-168
Foundation of the Collegium Pistorum or Roman Baker's Guild.
-0160
Cato the Elder writes De Agri Cultura on farming and viticulture.
-0150
Grape vines are cultivated in China.
-0150
Crates of Mallus creates the first terrestrial globe.
-0150
Hipparchus is credited with creating an early astrolabe.
-0145 - -0090
Sima Qian, historian of ancient China.
-0128
Chinese Emperor Wudi conquers part of Korea.
-0111
Chinese Emperor Wudi conquers part of Vietnam.
-0106 - -0043
Cicero.
-0100 - -0044
Julius Caesar.
-0087
The Antikythera Mechanism is built in Rhodes to track the movement of the stars.
-0086
The Roman Empire expands to cover what is now Greece, Italy, Turkey, Syria, Spain, Sardinia and Macedonia. It exploits metal deposits in Spain, Northern Italy, Greece and Turkey.
-85
Watermills are introduced to the Middle East.
-0080
Alexandria, Egypt, now under Roman control, becomes a major spice port moving cargoes through the 'pepper gate'.
-0070 - -0001
Virgil, author of the Aeneid.
-0059 - 0017
Livy.
-0058
Julius Caesar conquers Gaul and captures vast amounts of gold.
-0054
The Romans bring mustard to Britain.
-0050
The golden Aureus goes into circulation in the Roman Empire.
-0050
Glass blowing is invented in Syria, leading to the creation of bottles for liquids.
-0043 - 0017
Ovid.
-0030
Roman ships regularly sail to the Malabar Coast to pick up cargoes of black pepper.
-0027 - 0476
The Roman Empire emerges after the dictatorship of Caesar.
-27
Imperial Rome is dependent on wheat supplies from Egypt as it still grows poorly in Europe.
-0025
The Romans introduce hydraulic methods to mine gold in Spain.
-23
Porcelain production starts in Japan with emigrants from Korea.
-0015
Vitruvius writes De Architectura. It is published in the 1480s.
-0005 - 0033
Jesus.
-0001
Early Americans learn to chew and smoke tobacco.
0011
The Yellow River changes its course provoking famine in China.
0023 - 0079
Pliny the Elder, author of the great Natural History, collecting knowledge from around the world.
0033
Judas Iscariot accepts 30 silver coins to betray Jesus.
40
Horace describes Lagene - fried sheets of dough made from durum wheat.
0047
Gold mining in France and Central Europe declines after the Fall of the Roman Empire.
0048
The Romans establish vineyards in St Emilion, Bordeaux.
0050
Distilling is known to be practised in Greece.
0065
Cinnamon is used at the funeral of Poppaea, Nero's wife.
0065
Columella writes De Re Rustica on viticulture. He explains the trellis system.
0074
The Romans find gold in Dolaucothi, Wales, and also exploit Britain's tin and iron resources.
0075
Pliny the Elder documents the use of water wheels and machinery to extract ore.
0080
The Roman Senate passes a law to protect water stored during dry periods so it can be used for street and sewer cleaning.
0092
Roman Emperor Domitian orders that half of the vines outside Italy be uprooted.
0100
Gallic wine is transported to Rome in wooden barrels.
0100 - 0400
The fall of the Roman Empire may have been caused by lead poisoning as lead acetate was used to sweeten old wine and would have caused gout, sterility and insanity.
0105
Paper is invented and its use for keeping records spreads along the Silk Route.
0114
Roman Emperor Trajan annexes Armenia and Mesopotamia, in part to capture the Spice Trade.
0121 - 0180
Marcus Aurelius.
0122
The Romans establish vineyards in Languedoc, Bordeaux.
0150 - 0650
The city state of Teotihuacan becomes a major trading hub before suddenly being defaced and abandoned.
0150
Ptolemy writes the Almagest and the Geographia, crucial works of astronomy, mathematics and geography, including an early world map and a plan of the heavens.
0200
Cotton is traded in India as a luxury good.
0200
Roman traders begin to use barrels after the Gaulish practice.
The trading of coal begins in Britain.
0220 - 0280
Three Kingdoms period in China. The Wei in the north, the Shu in the Southwest and the Wu in the Southeast.