Sima Qian
c. 145 BC – 86 BC · 59 years · Chang'an · Asia
The 'Father of Chinese history', author of the Records of the Grand Historian spanning two millennia.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 2nd century BC
Portrait: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Contemporaries around the world
Europe
- Julius Caesar — Roman general and dictator, 45 years younger
- Cicero — Roman orator and statesman, 39 years younger
- Pompey the Great — Roman general and statesman, 39 years younger
- Spartacus — gladiator, leader of a slave revolt, 42 years younger
Middle East
- Mithridates VI Eupator — king of Pontus, enemy of Rome, 10 years younger
Asia
- Emperor Wu of Han — emperor of the Han dynasty, 11 years older
- Zhang Qian — Han diplomat and explorer, 19 years older
The world in their lifetime
- c. 138 BC–126 BC Zhang Qian's mission to the West — aged 7, Asia