123 BC
Year 123 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Balearicus and Flamininus and the Sixth Year of Yuanshuo. The denomination 123 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.
Events
By place
Roman Republic
- Gaius Gracchus elected Roman tribune for the first time. He waits until after his re-election the following year before pushing forward the various civil and agrarian reforms that his brother championed in 133 BC.
- Aix-en-Provence founded under the name of Aquae Sextiae by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus.
- Quintus Caecilius Metellus conquers the Balearic Islands for Rome, for which he earns the agnomen "Balearicus." He settles 3,000 Roman and Iberian colonists on the islands and founds the cities of Palma and Pollentia.
China
- Spring: The Han General-in-Chief Wei Qing launches two invasions of Xiongnu territory from Dingxiang, defeating two Xiongnu armies and killing or capturing several thousand of the enemy.
- A conspiracy led by Liu An, king of Huainan, is discovered. Liu An commits suicide, and his queen and crown prince are executed. Huainan becomes Jiujiang Prefecture.
Deaths
- Alexander II Zabinas, king of the Seleucid Empire