Qin Shi Huang was born in 259 BCE in Handan. The first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang was born Ying Zheng and became king of the state of Qin as a boy. Using a strong army and Legalist advisers, he conquered the other warring states and proclaimed himself emperor in 221 BCE. He standardised the writing system, currency, weights and measures, divided the empire into commanderies governed by officials and connected earlier defensive walls, the ancestors of the Great Wall. According to traditional accounts, he burned books and persecuted scholars. His tomb near Xi'an, guarded by an army of thousands of terracotta warriors, was discovered in 1974. His dynasty collapsed soon after his death.
Before and after
- from 267 BCE to 261 BCEChremonidean War
- from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
- from 264 BCE to 241 BCEFirst Punic War
- 261 BCEBattle of Agrigentum
- 259 BCEBirth of Qin Shi Huang
- 258 BCEBattle of Sulci
- 3rd century BCEArchimedes' principle
- c. 250s BCEThe Hebrew Torah is translated into Greek at Alexandria
- c. 250 BCEEruption of Raoul Island
More in Wars, politics & history
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- from 149 BCE to 146 BCEThird Punic War
- from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
- 49 BCECaesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus
- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- from June 68 CE to December 69 CEYear of the Four Emperors
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 3rd century BCE.