253 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	4th century BC – 3rd century BC – 2nd century BC
Decades:	280s BC  270s BC  260s BC  – 250s BC –  240s BC  230s BC  220s BC
Years:	256 BC 255 BC 254 BC – 253 BC – 252 BC 251 BC 250 BC

253 BC in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	253 BC CCLII BC
Ab urbe condita	501
Ancient Egypt era	XXXIII dynasty, 71
- Pharaoh	Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 31
Ancient Greek era	131st Olympiad, year 4
Assyrian calendar	4498
Bengali calendar	−845
Berber calendar	698
Buddhist calendar	292
Burmese calendar	−890
Byzantine calendar	5256–5257
Chinese calendar	丁未年 (Fire Goat) 2444 or 2384     — to — 戊申年 (Earth Monkey) 2445 or 2385
Coptic calendar	−536 – −535
Discordian calendar	914
Ethiopian calendar	−260 – −259
Hebrew calendar	3508–3509
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−196 – −195
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2849–2850
Holocene calendar	9748
Iranian calendar	874 BP – 873 BP
Islamic calendar	901 BH – 900 BH
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	2081
Minguo calendar	2164 before ROC 民前2164年
Seleucid era	59/60 AG
Thai solar calendar	290–291

Year 253 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Blaesus (or, less frequently, year 501 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 253 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

Seleucid Empire

• The second Syrian War between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies ends. Antiochus II regains much of Anatolia from Ptolemy II, including the cities of Miletus and Ephesus, and also the Phoenician coast.
• The war is concluded with the marriage of Antiochus to Ptolemy II's daughter, Berenice Syra. Antiochus divorces his previous wife, Laodice, and transfers the succession to Berenice's children.
• In recapturing the city of Miletus, Antiochus II overthrows the tyrant of the city. In response, the citizens worship him as a god in thanksgiving leading to the addition of Theos to Antiochus II's name.

Roman Republic

• A second Roman war fleet of 150 ships is wrecked on the voyage from Lilybaeum (in Sicily) to Rome.
• Tiberius Coruncanius is the first plebeian to be elected pontifex maximus of Rome.

Greece

• Alexander, Antigonus II's nephew and regent, leads a revolt in Corinth with Ptolemy II's help and declares himself an independent monarch. As a result, Antigonus loses Corinth and Chalcis, the two bases from which he has dominated southern Greece. As the Aetolians occupy Thermopylae, Antigonus II is cut off from Athens and the Peloponnese.
• Macedonia's involvement in the second Syrian War ceases when Antigonus becomes preoccupied with the rebellion of Corinth and Chalcis, as well as an increase in enemy activity along Macedon's northern frontier.