Decade · 240 – 249
The world in the 240s
From 240 to 249 the atlas holds 97 states standing at some time. 9 things began - Plague of Cyprian, Battle of Resaena and Battle of Misiche among them - and 3 ended; 10 people were born and 8 died, 1 of all these dated only to the decade.
What began in the 240s
By kind, the best known first.
States 1
- Abhira kingdom · state · 248 – 415
Wars and battles 6
- Battle of Resaena · battle · 243
- Battle of Misiche · battle · 244
- Gothic War · war · 248 – 253
- Goguryeo–Wei War · war · 244 – 245
- Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions · war · 240 – 262
- Sasanian campaign of Gordian III · battle · 242 – 244
Regime change 1
- Incident at the Gaoping Tombs · adverse regime change · 249
Famine and plague 1
- Plague of Cyprian · plague · 249 – 262
What ended in the 240s
States 1
- Gordian dynasty · state · 236 – 244
Wars and battles 2
- Goguryeo–Wei War · war · 244 – 245
- Sasanian campaign of Gordian III · battle · 242 – 244
Born and died
Born 10
- Diocletian · monarch · 240 – 316
- Maximian · politician · 240 – 310
- Zenobia · ruler · 240 – 274
- Lactantius · writer · 240 – 320
- Saloninus · monarch · 242 – 260
- Cao Huan · monarch · 246 – 302
- Cao Mao · politician · 241 – 260
- Sun Liang · politician · 243 – 260
- Sun Hao · politician · 243 – 284
- Sima Lun · politician · 240 – 301
Died 8
- Philip the Arab · politician · 204 – 249
- Gordian III · politician · 225 – 244
- Ardashir I · politician · 180 – 242
- Sextus Julius Africanus · philosopher · 160 – 240
- Philip II · politician · 237 – 249
- Philostratus · philosopher · 170 – 245
- Dongcheon of Goguryeo · ruler · 209 – 248
- Man Chong · politician · 209 – 242
States of the 240s
The states that stood at some time in the 240s, by region, the best known first, with who held the highest office in 240.
Europe17 states
- Roman Empire · 27 BCE – 395 CE · Gordian III, Roman emperor since 238
- Ancient Greece · 1201 BCE – 600 CE
- Ancient Rome · 753 BCE – 476 CE · Gordian III, Roman emperor since 238
- Huns · 106 – 673
- Goths · 100 – 1475
- Sarmatians · 200 BCE – 370 CE
- Burgundians · 154 – 409
- Bosporan Kingdom · 437 BCE – 370 CE · Tiberius Julius Rhescuporis V, King of the Bosporus since 240
and 9 more; every state of Europe.
Middle East and North Africa21 states
- Troy · 3000 BCE – 500 CE
- Rhodes · 188 BCE – 1249 CE
- Sasanian Empire · 224 – 651 · Ardashir I, emperor of the Sasanian Empire since 224 and Shapur I, emperor of the Sasanian Empire since 240
- Persian Empire · 550 BCE – 1979 CE · Ardashir I, emperor of the Sasanian Empire since 224 and Shapur I, emperor of the Sasanian Empire since 240
- Kingdom of Aksum · 401 BCE – 960 CE · `DBH, Ethiopia, AKSUM since 230 and Sembrouthes, Ethiopia, AKSUM since 240
- Ghana Empire · 100 – 1200
- Kingdom of Iberia · 299 BCE – 580 CE
- Kingdom of Kush · 2180 BCE – 350 CE
and 13 more; every state of Middle East and North Africa.
South Asia18 states
- Kushan Empire · 30 – 375
- Chola dynasty · 300 BCE – 1279 CE
- Gandhara · 751 BCE – 535 CE
- Indo-Scythian Kingdom · 200 BCE – 400 CE
- Pandya dynasty · 300 BCE – 1650 CE
- Kingdom of Khotan · 56 – 1006
- Wusun · 170 BCE – 450 CE
- Kucha · 111 – 648
and 10 more; every state of South Asia.
East and Southeast Asia23 states
- Xiongnu · 301 BCE – 500 CE
- Silla · 57 BCE – 892 CE
- Goguryeo · 37 BCE – 668 CE · Dongcheon of Goguryeo, wang since 227
- Champa · 192 – 1832
- Paekche · 18 BCE – 660 CE · Goi, king since 234
- Cao Wei · 220 – 265 · Cao Fang, Emperor of China since 239
- Eastern Wu · 198 – 280 · Sun Quan, Emperor of China since 229
- Shu Han · 221 – 263 · Liu Shan, Emperor of China since 223
and 15 more; every state of East and Southeast Asia.
Americas and Oceania4 states
- Maya civilization · 2001 BCE – 1521 CE
- Teotihuacan · 50 BCE – 704 CE
- Zapotec civilization · 6701 BCE – 1201 CE
- United Provinces of New Granada · 181 – 1816
Location unknown14 states
- Eastern Ye · 301 BCE – 500 CE
- Langkasuka · 100 – 1500
- Geumgwan Gaya · 43 – 532
- Oddiyana · 401 BCE – 1100 CE
- Daegaya · 42 – 562
- Shanshan · 92 BCE – 445 CE
- Kingdom of Munster · 101 BCE – 1138 CE
- Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania · 2 BCE – 428 CE
and 6 more; every state of Location unknown.
Open in the atlas
- On the timeline, 220 – 269: every state, war and life of the 240s, region by region.
- On the map in 245: the borders of the year, its cities under their names of the year, and what happened where.
Wikidata (CC0) · data built 2026-10-07 · Pastlas v2.13.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.