Year 222 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Calvus (or, less frequently, year 532 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 222 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
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👉 222 BC in the context of Battle of Sellasia
The Battle of Sellasia took place during the summer of 222 BC between Macedon and the Achaean League, led by Antigonus III Doson, and Sparta under the command of King Cleomenes III. The battle was fought at Sellasia on the northern frontier of Laconia and ended in a Macedonian-Achaean victory.
In 229 BC, Cleomenes initiated hostilities against the Achaean League, the dominant power of the Peloponnese. In a series of campaigns, Cleomenes was successful in defeating the Achaeans, making Sparta the main regional power. This prompted the chief figure of the Achaean League, Aratus of Sicyon, to approach the King of Macedon, Antigonus III Doson, for military assistance. The Macedonians acquiesced on the terms that the Achaean surrender the formidable fortress of Acrocorinth to them. The Macedonians invaded the Peloponnese in 224 BC at the head of a Greek alliance and by 222 BC managed to hem Cleomenes in Laconia.
In this Dossier
222 BC in the context of Ptolemy III Euergetes
Ptolemy III Euergetes (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης, romanized: Ptolemaîos Euergétēs, "Ptolemy the Benefactor"; c. 280 – November/December 222 BC) was the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt from 246 to 222 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom reached the height of its military and economic power during his kingship, as initiated by his father Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
Ptolemy III was the eldest son of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe I. When Ptolemy III was young, his mother was disgraced and he was removed from the succession. He was restored as heir to the throne in the late 250s BC and succeeded his father as king without issue in 246 BC. On his succession, Ptolemy III married Berenice II, reigning queen of Cyrenaica, thereby bringing her territory into the Ptolemaic realm. In the Third Syrian War (246–241 BC), Ptolemy III invaded the Seleucid empire and won a near total victory, but was forced to abandon the campaign as a result of an uprising in Egypt. In the aftermath of this rebellion, Ptolemy forged a closer bond with the Egyptian priestly elite, which was codified in the Canopus decree of 238 BC and set a trend for Ptolemaic power in Egypt for the rest of the dynasty. In the Aegean, Ptolemy III suffered a major setback when his fleet was defeated by the Antigonids at the Battle of Andros around 246 BC, but he continued to offer financial support to their opponents in mainland Greece for the rest of his reign. At his death, Ptolemy III was succeeded by his eldest son, Ptolemy IV.
222 BC in the context of Viridomarus
Viridomarus (or Britomartus as translations vary; died 222 BC) was a Gallic military leader of the Gaesatae. In 222 BC he was hired by the Insubres who were fighting the Romans. Viridomarus led a mercenary army against a Roman army at the Battle of Clastidium. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the Roman leader, earned the spolia opima by killing Viridomarus in single combat.
222 BC in the context of Battle of Clastidium
The Battle of Clastidium was fought in 222 BC between a Roman army led by the consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus and a Celtic force of the transalpine Gaesatae, called by the cisalpine Insubres. The Gaesatae were led by Viridomarus (Florus) or Britomartus (Plutarch), as the name varies in translation. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcellus earned the spolia opima, one of the highest honors in ancient Rome, by killing the king in single combat. It was also notable as one of the few battles won by the Roman cavalry without any aid by the legions.
222 BC in the context of Clastidium
Clastidium (modern Casteggio), was a village of the Ligurian tribe of Anamares (Marici named also) in Gallia Cispadana, on the Via Postumia, 5 miles east of Iria (modern Voghera) and 31 miles west of Placentia.
Here in 222 BC, Marcus Claudius Marcellus defeated the Gauls and won the spolia opima; in 218 BC, Hannibal took it and its stores of grain by treachery. It never had an independent government, and not later than 190 BC was made part of the colony of Placentia, founded in 218 BC.