291 BC
Year 291 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Megellus and Brutus. The denomination 291 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
Greece
- Demetrius Poliorcetes joins his son, Antigonus, in the siege of Thebes. As the Thebans defend their city stubbornly, Demetrius forces his men to attack the city at great cost. Demetrius finally takes the city after using siege engines to demolish its walls.
Roman Republic
- Third Samnite War:
China
- Generals Sima Cuo and Bai Qi of the State of Qin attack the State of Wei and capture the city of Yuan. Next, Sima Cuo captures the cities of Zhi and Deng.
- Bai Qi then captures the city of Wan in the state of Chu.
Births
- Lü Buwei, Chinese politician and chancellor of the Qin State
Deaths
- Menander, Athenian dramatist, considered to be a master of Greek New Comedy
- Dinarchus, Athenian speech writer whose work is generally thought to reflect the gradual decline of Attic oratory
- Gavius Pontius, Samnite general
- Emperor Kōan of Japan, according to legend.