Mount Fuji, according to Japanese legend, is created during an earthquake in 286.

(Geologists believe that it and the rugged peaks that span Honshu from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean were created some millions of years ago during the Tertiary Period.

The dormant volcano’s elliptical crater, now approximately two thousand feet/six hundred and ten meters in diameter, was formed less than two million years ago during the Quaternary Period, when great quantities of lava flowed from its center.)

Chandragupta, having abdicated to his son Bindusara in 297 BCE and possibly become a Jain monk, spends his last days in the service of Bhadrabahu at Sravana Belgola, a famous religious site in southwest India.

He fasts to death in 286 BCE.

The Greek cities of Asia Minor had been liberated in 334 BCE when Alexander the Great defeated the Persian forces at the Battle of Granicus.

The pro-Persian tyrant Syrpax and his family were stoned to death, and Alexander was greeted warmly when he entered Ephesus in triumph.

Alexanderm,the inhabitants of Ephesus demurred, claiming that it was not fitting for one god to build a temple to another.

Ephesus in 290 BCE comes under the rule of one of the late conqueror's generals, Lysimachus.

The river Cayster had silted up the harbor, and the resulting marshes had caused malaria and many deaths among the inhabitants.

The people of Ephesus are forced to move to a new settlement two kilometers further on when the king floods the old city by blocking the sewers.

This settlement is officially called Arsinoea after the king's second wife, Arsinoe II of Egypt.

After Lysimachus destroys the nearby city of Colophon and in 292 BCE nearly destroys (and does depopulate by forced expulsion) the neighboring Ionian League city of Lebedo, he relocates their inhabitants to the new city.

Ptolemy, during the coalition war of 288 BCE-286 BCE, has obtained the protectorate over the League of the Islanders, which had been established in 315 BCE by Antigonus and includes most of the Greek islands in the Aegean.

This alliance will be the basis for Egypt's maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean in the ensuing decades.

Qu Yuan (Ch'u Yuan), a diplomat of Xu, falls from the king's favor due to his opposition to the prevalent policy of compromise to the powerful state of Qin (Ch'in).

Banished, he writes an imaginative long poem, Encountering Sorrow (Lisao), which also shows the depth of his loyalty to the state.

The distinguished poet drowns himself in despair in 278.

Gallic groups, originating from the various La Tène chiefdoms, had begun a southeastern movement into the Balkan peninsula from the fourth century BCE.

Celtic settlements are concentrated in the western half of the Carpathian basin, but there are notable incursions, and settlements, within the Balkan peninsula itself.

The Gallic invasions, originating from their new bases in northern Illyria and Pannonia, climax in the early third century BCE, with the invasion of Greece.

The 279 BCE invasion of Greece proper had been preceded by a series of other military campaigns waged toward the southern Balkans and against the kingdom of Macedon, favored by the state of confusion ensuing from the intricate succession to Alexander.

A part of the invasion crosses over to Anatolia and eventually settles in the area that comes to be named after them, Galatia.

Three Macedonian dynasties have established themselves in the natural units of Alexander’s empire by 275.

The successors of Antigonus I (the Antigonids) rule Macedonia and its Greek dependencies; those of Seleucus I (the Seleucids), the Asian provinces; and those of Ptolemy I (the Ptolemies), Egypt.

Anatolia itself is divided, as Lycia and Caria are governed by Ptolemaic Egypt while the Seleucids govern most of the other parts of the peninsula.

The new Hellenistic monarchies, whose leaders rule by force and lack Alexander's organizational ability, continue to fight each other and suffer internal struggles as well.

The Scordisci, a Celtic tribe that invades Greece during the first part of the third century BCE, finally settles east of Sirmium at the junction of the Savus and the Danube rivers. (Some Roman authorities consider them a Thracian stock, because of their admixture with an older Thraco-Illyrian population.)

The Middle East: 285–274 BCE

Hellenistic Rivalries and Regional Dynamics

Antiochus I and Ptolemaic Expansion

From 285 to 274 BCE, the Middle East continues to experience intense rivalry among Hellenistic dynasties. Antiochus I, the Seleucid king, attempts to consolidate and expand his holdings in Syria and Anatolia but faces significant setbacks. In 280 BCE, Antiochus is decisively defeated by Ptolemy II of Egypt in the Damascene War, curtailing Seleucid influence in the region.

First Syrian War and Ptolemaic Dominance

Tensions between Seleucid and Ptolemaic forces escalate once again with the onset of the First Syrian War in 274 BCE. Ptolemy II, strengthened by his recent marriage to his politically adept sister Arsinoe II, stabilizes the previously volatile Egyptian court, allowing him to conduct a vigorous and effective military campaign against Antiochus, further asserting Egypt's dominance in the eastern Mediterranean.

Consolidation of Hellenistic Dynasties

By 275 BCE, three major Macedonian dynasties have solidified their dominance over the territories of Alexander's fragmented empire. The Antigonids control Macedonia and its Greek dependencies, the Seleucids rule over Asia, and the Ptolemies dominate Egypt. Anatolia is notably divided, with Lycia and Caria under Ptolemaic control, while the Seleucids manage much of the remaining Anatolian regions.

Gallic Incursions and Settlement

The period is also marked by the significant movement of Gallic tribes from various La Tène chiefdoms, pushing southeastward into the Balkan Peninsula. These Celtic groups launch invasions into Greece proper around 279 BCE, capitalizing on the chaotic conditions following Alexander's death. Some of these groups cross into Anatolia and establish a presence in the region soon known as Galatia.

Persian Autonomy under Bagadates I

In the southern Iranian plateau, the region known today as Fars province begins to assert its independence from Seleucid authority. Bagadates I, bearing the title frataraka ("Keeper of the Fire"), becomes the first indigenous Persian satrap tolerated by the Seleucids. His rule around 280 BCE marks a notable resurgence of Persian administrative and cultural autonomy, as depicted on his coinage, which prominently features Zoroastrian symbolism.

This era, therefore, captures a dynamic and turbulent period in Middle Eastern history, marked by significant military conflicts, the solidification of dynastic realms, and notable shifts toward local autonomy amidst broader Hellenistic influences.

Antiochus I, the Seleucid king who is trying to expand his empire's holdings in Syria and Anatolia, is defeated in 280 BCE by Egypt's Ptolemy II in the Damascene War.

Ptolemy again faces Antiochus, a decade into his rule, in the First Syrian War, which begins in 274 BCE.

Ptolemy proves to be a forceful ruler and skilled general.

In addition, his recent marriage to his court-wise sister Arsinoe II of Egypt has stabilized the volatile Egyptian court, allowing Ptolemy to successfully carry out the campaign.