139 BCE
Wei Zifu enters Emperor Wu's palace as a concubine and becomes pregnant. Enraged, Liu Piao, the mother of the childless Empress Chen Jiao (wife of Emperor Wu), kidnaps Zifu's brother Wei Qing, who is rescued by Gongsun Ao. Wu responds by advancing the careers of members of the Wei family. Hipparchus makes a very precise determination of the length of the synodic month. The Lusitanian War ends when the rebellion collapses after the assassination of Viriathus by a Roman agent.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- The Achaean League is reestablished.source
Conflict & Security
- Emperor Wu of Han sends the diplomat Zhang Qian west to form an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. Wu does this after learning from Xiongnu defectors that the Xiongnu had defeated and killed the king of the Yuezhi, had expelled the Yuezhi from their lands and were using their king's skull as a wine goblet. The Yuezhi had subsequently migrated further west.source
- The Lusitanian War ends when the rebellion collapses after the assassination of Viriathus by a Roman agent.source
Religion & Belief
- Hipparchus makes a very precise determination of the length of the synodic month.source
Crime & Justice
- Wei Zifu enters Emperor Wu's palace as a concubine and becomes pregnant. Enraged, Liu Piao, the mother of the childless Empress Chen Jiao (wife of Emperor Wu), kidnaps Zifu's brother Wei Qing, who is rescued by Gongsun Ao. Wu responds by advancing the careers of members of the Wei family.source
- Soon after his departure for the west, Zhang Qian is detained by Junchen Chanyu of the Xiongnu. He would remain in Xiongnu custody for more than ten years and would be given a Xiongnu wife.source
Deaths
- Viriathus, Lusitanian leader (assassinated)source