Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BCE in Guangzong County, aged about 49. 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 214 BCE to 148 BCEMacedonian Wars
- 212 BCEDeath of Archimedes
- 211 BCEIntroduction of sestertius
- 210 BCEBattle of Numistro
- 210 BCEDeath of Qin Shi Huang
- 209 BCEBattle of Canusium
- 208 BCEBattle of Baecula
- 207 BCEBattle of the Metaurus
- 206 BCEOrigins of Italica
More in Wars, politics & history
- 587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
- from 264 BCE to 241 BCEFirst Punic War
- 203 BCEScipio defeats Hannibal at Zama
- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- 293 CEDiocletian establishes the Tetrarchy
- 17 January 395 CEThe Roman Empire is permanently divided
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.