The Memphis decree of the Rosetta Stone
One decree in three scripts, the future key to hieroglyphs
A synod of Egyptian priests at Memphis issued a decree honouring the young king Ptolemy V in hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek. One copy, carved on a stele, was found by French soldiers near Rosetta in 1799. By comparing the texts, Jean-François Champollion deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 2nd century BC
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 218 BC Hannibal crosses the Alps — 22 years earlier
- 216 BC Battle of Cannae — 20 years earlier
Asia
- 221 BC Qin Shi Huang unifies China — 25 years earlier
- c. 214 BC Great Wall of China — 18 years earlier
- 210 BC Terracotta Army — 14 years earlier
- 209 BC Modu Chanyu builds the Xiongnu empire — 13 years earlier
- 202 BC Founding of the Han dynasty — 6 years earlier
Alive at the time
- Hannibal (aged 51)
- Eratosthenes (aged 80)
- Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) (aged 60)
- Scipio Africanus (aged 40)
- Empress Lü (Lü Zhi) (aged 45)
- Cato the Elder (aged 38)
- Modu Chanyu (aged 38)