- 343 BC
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Events
By place
Persian Empire
* The King of Persia,
Artaxerxes III , personally leads the Persian forces invadingEgypt . The Persians are keen to access Egypt's gold and corn supplies. The town ofPelusium in theNile Delta puts up resistance, but PharaohNectanebo II is forced to retreat to Memphis. [George Rawlinson, "The History of Herodotus", J.G. Wilkinson, J. Murray, 1880] As the situation deteriorates, Nectanebo II leaves for exile inNubia . His departure marks the end of the 30th Dynasty, the last native house to rule Egypt.
* With Nectanebo II's flight, all organised resistance to the Persians collapses, and Egypt once again is reduced to asatrapy of the Persian Empire. A Persian satrap is put in place in Egypt. The walls of the country's cities are destroyed and its temples are plundered.Artaxerxes and his commander-in-chief, GeneralBagoas , leave Egypt loaded with treasure.Greece
* The Athenian statesman
Demosthenes hasAeschines indicted for treason. However, Aeschines drags up the inappropriate past of one of Demosthenes' associates, Timarchus and is acquitted by a narrow margin.
* KingPhilip II of Macedon again marches againstCersobleptes , King ofThrace , and defeats him in several battles, and reduces him to the condition of being a tributary.
*Phalaikos unsuccessfully lays siege toKydonia on the island ofCrete . [ [http://letmespeaktothedriver.com/site/10881/cydonia.html#fieldnotes C. Michael Hogan, "Cydonia", Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 2008] ]Italy
* The native Italian tribes, the
Lucanians andBruttians , press down upon the Greek colonies ofMagna Graecia , including Tarentum. Responding to calls for help from these former Greek colonies, KingArchidamus III ofSparta sets sail with a band of mercenaries forItaly .
* After his surrender to theCorinth ian generalTimoleon , who takes over as ruler of Syracuse, the formertyrant , Dionysius II, is allowed to retire toCorinth to live in exile, although he dies within the year. The Syracusan constitution is changed by Timoleon with the new constitution designed to have safeguards against tyranny. Timoleon invites new settlers fromGreece to come toSicily .Roman Republic
* The most powerful group of the native tribes in highland
Italy , the confederatedSamnites , swarm down intoCampania . The citizens of the city ofCapua appeal to Rome for help in settling their internal quarrels and to save their city from destruction from the Samnites. The Romans respond, which beings theFirst Samnite War .Births
*
Philetaerus , founder of theAttalid dynasty ofPergamum inAnatolia (approximate date) (d.263 BC )Deaths
* Dionysius II,
tyrant of Syracuse (b. c.397 BC )References
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