View source for 321 BC

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{{BC year in topic|321}}
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Year '''321 BC''' was a year of the [[Roman calendar|pre-Julian Roman calendar]]. At the time, it was known as the '''Year of the Consulship of Calvinus and Caudinus''' (or, less frequently, '''year 433 ''[[Ab urbe condita]]'''''). The denomination 321 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 ==
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=== By place ===

==== Macedonian Empire ====
* [[Antipater]] appoints [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus|Antigonus]] commander in chief of his army in [[Asia Minor]] and sends him with [[Craterus]] to fight against [[Eumenes]], the [[satrap]] of [[Cappadocia]] and a supporter of [[Perdiccas]].
* Leaving [[Eumenes]] to hold [[Asia Minor]] against [[Craterus]] and Antigonus, Perdiccas marches against [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy]], but when he fails to cross the [[Nile]] he is murdered by mutinous officers. Prominent among the mutineers is [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus]]. A truce is arranged, leaving Ptolemy in power in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and Seleucus in power in [[Babylon]].
* The key remaining generals ([[diadochi]]) of the late [[Alexander the Great]] agree to the [[Partition of Triparadisus]] (a town in northern [[Syria]]). This is a power-sharing agreement providing for a new regent to replace Perdiccas and it repartitions the satrapies of the empire that has been created by Alexander the Great. It follows but modifies the [[Partition of Babylon]] made two years earlier following the death of Alexander the Great. Under the agreement, Antipater becomes the regent of the Macedonian Empire on behalf of the two kings: the intellectually retarded [[Philip III Arrhidaeus]] and the infant [[Alexander IV of Macedon]] while Ptolemy is confirmed in possession of Egypt and [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]].
* Ptolemy further strengthens his position amongst the diadochi by marrying [[Eurydice of Egypt|Eurydice]], the third daughter of Antipater.
* Antigonus and Craterus defeat Eumenes in battle but Eumenes escapes. Antigonus and Craterus then besiege him unsuccessfully in the mountain fortress of Nora on the border between [[Cappadocia]] and [[Lycaonia]]. Craterus is killed during the fighting against Eumenes when his charging horse (Diodorus) falls over him.

==== Roman Republic ====
* Continuing successes by [[Roman Republic|Rome's]] armies against the [[Samnites]] forces the Samnites to sue for peace. However, the terms offered by Rome are so stringent that they are rejected by the Samnites and the war goes on.
* Two Roman [[consul]]s, Spurius Postumius Albinus and Titus Veturius Calvinus, leading an invading force into [[Samnium]], are trapped in a mountain pass known as the [[Caudine Forks]] ([[Montesarchio|Caudium]]) near [[Benevento|Beneventum]], where they can neither advance nor retire, and after a desperate struggle, they are forced to submit to the humiliating terms imposed by the Samnite victor, Gaius Pontius. The captured consuls pledge themselves to a five-year treaty on terms most favourable for the Samnites.

==== India ====
* [[Chandragupta Maurya]], founder of the [[Mauryan empire]], establishes himself as the king of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/mauryan-empire/#:~:text=The%20Mauryan%20Empire%20was%20the,was%20founded%20around%20321%20B.C.E.|title=Mauryan Empire|work=National Geographic Society |date=August 20, 2020}}</ref>
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== Births ==
*

== Deaths ==
* [[Craterus]], [[Macedon]]ian general (b. c. [[370 BC]])
* [[Perdiccas]], Macedonian general and regent after the death of [[Alexander the Great]] (b. c. [[365 BC]])
* [[Zhou Xian Wang]], King of the Zhou Dynasty of China

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:321 BC| ]]