290 BC
Year 290 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufinus and Dentatus. The denomination 290 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
- Third Samnite War:
Egypt
- Berenice, wife of Ptolemy, is proclaimed queen of Egypt. Ptolemy has the city of Berenice built on the Red Sea in her honour. It becomes a great emporium for Egyptian trade with the East.
China
- The city of Yuan is returned by the State of Qin to the State of Wei in exchange for the cities of Puban and Pishi.
Births
- Lucius Caecilius Metellus, Roman consul and Pontifex Maximus
Deaths
- Megasthenes, Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer