Millennium: 1st millennium BC Centuries: 5th century BC · 4th century BC · 3rd century BC Decades: 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC Categories: Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 300 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Contents 1 Overview 2 Events 3 Inventions, discoveries, introductions 4 Decades and years // Overview Map of the world in 323 BC (at the death of Alexander the Great)

This century marked the height of Classical Greek civilization in all of its aspects. By the year 400 Greek philosophy, art, literature and architecture had spread far and wide, with the numerous independent Greek colonies that had sprung up throughout the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Arguably the most important series of political events in this period were the conquests of Alexander, bringing about the collapse of the once formidable Persian Empire and spreading Greek culture far into the east. Alexander dreamed of an east/west union, but when his short life ended, his vast empire was plunged into civil war as his generals each carved out their own separate kingdoms. Thus began the Hellenistic age, a period characterized by a more absolute approach to rule, with Greek kings taking on royal trappings and setting up hereditary successions. While a degree of democracy still existed in some of the remaining independent Greek cities, many scholars see this age as marking the end of classical Greece. Events Bust of Alexander the Great in the British Museum. Mid 4th century BC: Priene, Western Turkey is rebuilt. Pectoral, from the tomb of a Scythian at Ordzhonikidze, Russia, is made. It is now at Historical Museum, Kiev. Late 4th century BC: Diadem, reputed to have been found in a tomb near the Hellespont. It is now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Praxiteles or his followers makes Hermes and the infant Dionysos. A Hellenistic or Roman copy after a Late Classical original is at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. Discovered in the rubble or the ruined Temple of Hera at Olympia in 1875. 399 BC: Socrates is executed in Athens on charges of impiety and corrupting Athenian youth. 383 BC: Second Buddhist council at Vesali, 100 years after the Parinirvana. 373 BC: The Greek city of Helike sinks into the sea causing the death of its entire population. c. 360 BC: Theater of Tholos, at Epidauros is built. Mid-4th century BC: Skopas (?) makes Panel from the Amazon frieze, south side of the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos. It is now kept at The British Museum, London. 354 BC: the Battle of Guiling in China. 342 BC: the Battle of Maling in China. 330 BC: Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire, decline and depopulation of Ancient Greece with large migrations towards the conquered lands. 316 BC: The Chinese State of Qin conquers the State of Shu, located in modern-day Sichuan, the ultimate success of the conquest due large in part to the strategy of Zhang Yi. 312 BC: Seleucus I Nicator establishes himself in Babylon, founding the Seleucid Empire. Invasion of the Celts into Ireland. Battle of the Allia and subsequent Gaulish sack of Rome. The Scythians are beginning to be absorbed into the Sarmatian people. The Romans conquer the Abruzzi region, decline of the Etruscan civilization. The Dalmatae push the Liburni west and the Daorsi and Ardiaei east Inventions, discoveries, introductions A Han Dynasty Chinese crossbow from the 2nd century BC. Oldest Brahmi script dates from this period (Brahmi is the ancestor of Indic scripts). Romans build their first aqueduct. Chinese use the handheld trigger crossbow for the first time. The first crossbow, the gastraphetes, is invented at Syracuse. (? pre-421 BC) Burnt brick first used in Greece. (source?) Donkey-powered mills first used in Greece. (source?) Torque with lion's-head terminals, from Susa (modern Shush, Iran) was made. It is now in Musee du Louvre, Paris. Daric, a coin first minted under Darius I of Persia is made. It is now kept in Heberden Coin room, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Second half of the 4th century BC – Tomb II, so called Tomb of Philip II of Macedon, Vergina, Macedonia is made. Starting in the year 309 BC, the later Chinese historian Sima Qian (145 BC–90 BC) wrote that the Qin-employed engineer Bi Ling of the newly conquered State of Shu in Sichuan had the shoulder of a mountain cut through, making the 'Separated Hill' that abated the Mo River, and excavated two canals in the plain of Chengdu. The significance of this was phenomenal, as it allowed the new Guanxian irrigation system to populate an area of some 40 by 50 miles (60 × 80 km) with over five million people, still in use today (Needham, Science and Civilization in China, Volume 4, Part 3, 288). The Chinese astronomer Gan De divides the celestial sphere into 365¼ degrees, and the tropical year into 365¼ days at a time when most astronomers used the Babylon division of the celestial sphere as 360 degrees (Deng, Yinke. [2005] (2005). Chinese Ancient Inventions. ISBN 7508508378). Decades and years v · d · eDecades and years

4th century BC 6th century BC←5th century BC← ↔ →3rd century BC→2nd century BC 409–400 BC 409 BC 408 BC 407 BC 406 BC 405 BC 404 BC 403 BC 402 BC 401 BC 400 BC 390s BC 399 BC 398 BC 397 BC 396 BC 395 BC 394 BC 393 BC 392 BC 391 BC 390 BC 380s BC 389 BC 388 BC 387 BC 386 BC 385 BC 384 BC 383 BC 382 BC 381 BC 380 BC 370s BC 379 BC 378 BC 377 BC 376 BC 375 BC 374 BC 373 BC 372 BC 371 BC 370 BC 360s BC 369 BC 368 BC 367 BC 366 BC 365 BC 364 BC 363 BC 362 BC 361 BC 360 BC 350s BC 359 BC 358 BC 357 BC 356 BC 355 BC 354 BC 353 BC 352 BC 351 BC 350 BC 340s BC 349 BC 348 BC 347 BC 346 BC 345 BC 344 BC 343 BC 342 BC 341 BC 340 BC 330s BC 339 BC 338 BC 337 BC 336 BC 335 BC 334 BC 333 BC 332 BC 331 BC 330 BC 320s BC 329 BC 328 BC 327 BC 326 BC 325 BC 324 BC 323 BC 322 BC 321 BC 320 BC 310s BC 319 BC 318 BC 317 BC 316 BC 315 BC 314 BC 313 BC 312 BC 311 BC 310 BC 309–300 BC 309 BC 308 BC 307 BC 306 BC 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC 300 BC 290s BC 299 BC 298 BC 297 BC 296 BC 295 BC 294 BC 293 BC 292 BC 291 BC 290 BC v · d · eCenturies and millennia Millennium Century BCE (BC) 4th 40th 39th 38th 37th 36th 35th 34th 33rd 32nd 31st 3rd 30th 29th 28th 27th 26th 25th 24th 23rd 22nd 21st 2nd 20th 19th 18th 17th 16th 15th 14th 13th 12th 11th 1st 10th 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st CE (AD) 1st 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 2nd 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 3rd 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 4th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th