196 BC

Centuries:	3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC
Decades:	220s BC 210s BC 200s BC - 190s BC - 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC
Years:	199 BC 198 BC 197 BC - 196 BC - 195 BC 194 BC 193 BC

196 BC by topic
Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states
Birth and death categories
Births - Deaths
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Establishments - Disestablishments v • d • e

Events

The Insubres, Gauls of the Po Valley, believed by the Romans to have been incited to revolt by Carthage, are finally defeated.
A new category of Roman priests, the tresviri epulones, are elected to supervise the feasts of the gods; the first three men selected are Gaius Licinius Lucullus, Publius Manlius, and Publius Porcius Laeca.
At the Isthmian Games at Corinth, the Roman general and pro-consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus proclaims that all Greeks are to be free and governed by their own laws. For this deed he is hailed in many Greek cities as a saviour and accorded homage alongside the gods.
Flamininus accuses the Spartan ruler, Nabis, of tyranny, takes Gythium in Laconia and forces Nabis to surrender Argos.

According to the Roman scholar and writer Marcus Terentius Varro, the foundation of a library at Pergamum around this time by Eumenes II of Pergamum, combined with an embargo on papyrus by Ptolemy V, leads to the invention of parchment.

The Rosetta Stone is created. This stone is a Ptolemaic era stele written with the same text in two Egyptian language scripts (hieroglyphic and demotic) and in classical Greek. The translation of the Greek passage reveals that the inscription is a royal edict recording the benefits conferred on Egypt by the pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes at the time of his coronation. This stone will provide the key to the hieroglyphic, or pictographic writing, of ancient Egypt and the decree on it reveals the increasing influence of Egyptian natives, remitted debts and taxes, released prisoners, pardoned rebels who have surrendered, and granted increased benefactions to the temples.

Antiochus III's army crosses the Hellespont into Thrace, where he claims sovereignty over territory that has been won by Seleucus I in 281 BC. A war of harassment and diplomacy with Rome ensues. The Romans send ambassadors demanding that Antiochus stay out of Greece and set free all the autonomous communities in Anatolia. To meet these demands would have meant Antiochus III giving up the western part of his Seleucid Empire. Thus Antiochus refuses the Romans' demands.

Han Xin (Marquess of Huaiyin), military commander who has served under Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty
Han Xin, descendant of the Han (state) royal house and general of the Western Han Dynastyast:196 edC