Wudi’s Han Chinese forces arrive at Nam Viet’s Red River delta in 113 and conquer the kingdom within two years, annexing the Dong-son homeland of Tonkin to the Chinese empire.

The conquered Nam Viet, divided into nine military administrative districts, becomes the Chinese province of Giao Chi.

The empire dispatches Chinese peasant-soldiers to set up villages and build forts in the region, which the Chinese call Annam (“Pacified South”).

The southward expansion of the Han dynasty comprises a series of military campaigns and expeditions in what is now modern southern China and northern Vietnam.

Military expansion to the south had begun under the previous Qin dynasty and continues during the Han.

Campaigns have dispatched against the Yue tribes, leading to the annexation of Minyue by the Han in 135 BCE and 111 BCE, Nanyue in 111 BCE, and Dian in 109 BCE.

To the northeast, a campaign launched by the Han empire against Wiman Joseon of the Gojoseon kingdom between 109 and 108 BCE and fought in the Liaodong Peninsula, Korean Peninsula, and Bohai Sea, results in the fall of Gojoseon.

The Tauri, probably a fragment of the Cimmerians, have remained a major threat to Greek power in the northern Black Sea region, although the Crimean coast had eventually come to be dominated by Greek (and subsequently Roman) colonies, notably the one at Chersonesos, Engaged in piracy against ships on the Black Sea, the Tauri mount raids from their base at Symbolon (today's Balaklava).

The Greeks of the Tauric Chersonese and the Cimmerian Bosporus (Crimea and Straits of Kerch), prosperous from the fourth century BCE, have maintained a free constitution of the Greek type and fought for their continued independence against the Scythians of southern Russia, against the native Tauri of the southern Crimea, and against the kings of Bosporus in the west.

They traded with Athens and cities on the Pontic coast in the early period and with Delos, Rhodes, and Delphi in the Hellenistic Age.

Having turned to Pontus for protection against the Scythians, the region is subsequently incorporated into the Pontic Empire of Mithridates VI.

Viewing Mithridates as a deliverer from their Scythian enemies, they gladly surrender their independence in about 110 BCE in return for the protection given to them by his armies.

The Middle East: 117–106 BCE

Parthian Consolidation and the Rise of Ctesiphon

The period from 117 to 106 BCE marks a significant phase of Parthian consolidation in Mesopotamia, following their decisive victory over the Seleucid Empire. The Parthian arrival alters the political landscape minimally, as local dynasts throughout Mesopotamia had already asserted substantial autonomy by the mid-second century BCE.

Under Parthian control, Mesopotamian cities like Seleucia experience greater autonomy and better governance than during the previous Seleucid regime. The Parthians notably refrain from direct occupation of these cities, opting instead to establish a separate military presence in a nearby garrison site called Ctesiphon, located near Seleucia.

Initially established as a strategic military outpost, Ctesiphon gradually grows into an influential urban center. Over time, it will supplant Seleucia itself, becoming the new capital and administrative heart of the Parthian Empire. This development symbolizes the gradual yet significant shift of political and economic power from Hellenistic-dominated cities to distinctly Parthian centers.

This era thus illustrates a transition in governance marked by pragmatic administrative choices by the Parthians, reinforcing local autonomy while effectively consolidating their overarching control. The foundation and subsequent rise of Ctesiphon underscore the lasting impact of Parthian rule in reshaping the political and cultural landscape of Mesopotamia.

The coming of the Parthians has changed Mesopotamia even less than the establishment of the Seleucid kingdom had, for as early as the middle of the second century BCE local dynasts had proclaimed their independence.

There is no evidence indicating whether the cities of Mesopotamia had surrendered piecemeal or all at once or whether they had submitted voluntarily or after fighting.

Seleucia is in any case treated better by the Parthians than it had been by the Seleucids, and the local government retains its autonomy.

Parthian troops do not occupy Seleucia but remain in a garrison site called Ctesiphon near Seleucia; it will later grow into a city and replace Seleucia as the capital.

Near East (117–106 BCE): Rise of the Himyarites and Changing Trade Dynamics

The period from 117 to 106 BCE sees significant geopolitical and economic transformations, particularly in southwestern Arabia, driven by shifts in trade routes and regional power dynamics.

The Himyarites, a prominent tribal confederacy in the region of southwestern Arabia, rise to prominence around 115 BCE, overtaking their Sabaean kin. Their ascendancy is likely facilitated by the discovery and utilization of a sea route from Egypt to India, which undermines the inland trade dominance of the Sabaean kingdom. This shift redirects economic power from traditional overland routes to coastal maritime trade, significantly reshaping the regional economic landscape.

Centered at their capital Zafar, located southwest of Yarim in what is today southern Yemen, the Himyarites inherit and build upon Sabaean language, culture, and institutions. Under Himyarite rule, cultural and political influence expands eastward toward the Persian Gulf and northward into the Arabian Desert, marking the kingdom as a dominant regional power. Zafar emerges as a celebrated urban center, renowned not only within Arabia but also recognized by Greek and Roman writers, highlighting its international significance in trade and cultural exchange.

Legacy of the Era

The era 117–106 BCE establishes the Himyarite kingdom as a major political and economic force in southwestern Arabia, altering longstanding trade networks and cultural dynamics. The Himyarite rise effectively transforms regional power balances, laying foundations that will significantly shape Arabian and broader Near Eastern geopolitics in subsequent centuries.

The Himyar, an important tribal confederacy in the Sabaean kingdom of southwestern Arabia, are concentrated in the area known as Dhu Raydan on the coast of present-day Yemen (San’a).

They are probably aided in the overthrow, in about 115 BCE, of their Sabaean kinsmen by the discovery of a sea route from Egypt to India, which deprives the inland Sabaean kingdom of its importance as a center for overland trade.

The Himyarites (classical Homeritae) inherit the Sabaean language and culture, and from their capital at Zafar, located southwest of Yarim in southern Yemen, their power will at times extend eastward as far as the Persian Gulf and northward into the Arabian Desert.

Zafar is one of the most important and celebrated towns in southern Arabia, a fact attested to not only by Arab geographers and historians but also by Greek and Roman authors.

The Cimbri, who for unknown reasons leave their original lands around the Baltic sea in the Jutland peninsula and southern Scandinavia sometime around 120–115 BCE, journey to the southeast and are soon joined by their neighbors and possible relatives the Teutons, or Teutones.

Together they defeat the Scordisci, along with the Boii, many of whom apparently join them.

They arrive on the Danube, in Noricum, home to the Roman-allied Taurisci, in 113 BCE.

The Taurisci, unable to hold back these new, powerful invaders on their own, call on Rome for aid.

The Roman consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo leads the legions into Noricum the following year, and after making an impressive show of force, takes up a strong defensive position and demand that the Cimbri and their allies leave the province immediately.

The Cimbri initially set about complying peacefully with Rome's demands, but soon discover that Carbo has laid an ambush against them.

Infuriated by this treachery, they attack and, at the Battle of Noreia, annihilate Carbo's army, almost killing Carbo in the process.

Italy is now open to invasion, yet for some reason, the Cimbri and their allies move west over the Alps and into Gaul.

They invade the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis in 109 BCE and defeat the Roman army there under Marcus Junius Silanus.

They defeat another Roman army in this same year at the Battle of Burdigala (modern day Bordeaux) and kill its commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravalla.

The Romans in 107 BCE are defeated again, this time by the Tigurini, who are allies of the Cimbri, whom they had met on their way through the Alps.