51 BC

51 BC in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	51 BC LI BC
Ab urbe condita	703
Ancient Egypt era	XXXIII dynasty, 273
- Pharaoh	Cleopatra VII, 1
Ancient Greek Olympiad (summer)	182nd Olympiad, year 2
Assyrian calendar	4700
Balinese saka calendar	N/A
Bengali calendar	−644 – −643
Berber calendar	900
Buddhist calendar	494
Burmese calendar	−688
Byzantine calendar	5458–5459
Chinese calendar	己巳年 (Earth  Snake) 2647 or 2440     — to — 庚午年 (Metal  Horse) 2648 or 2441
Coptic calendar	−334 – −333
Discordian calendar	1116
Ethiopian calendar	−58 – −57
Hebrew calendar	3710–3711
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	6–7
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	3050–3051
Holocene calendar	9950
Iranian calendar	672 BP – 671 BP
Islamic calendar	693 BH – 692 BH
Javanese calendar	N/A
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	2283
Minguo calendar	1962 before ROC 民前1962年
Nanakshahi calendar	−1518
Seleucid era	261/262 AG
Thai solar calendar	492–493
Tibetan calendar	ས་མོ་སྦྲུལ་ལོ་ (female Earth-Snake) 76 or −305 or −1077     — to — ལྕགས་ཕོ་རྟ་ལོ་ (male Iron-Horse) 77 or −304 or −1076

Year 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Sulpicius (or, less frequently, year 703 Ab urbe condita ). The denomination 51 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

Roman Republic

• Consuls: Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Servius Sulpicius Rufus. ^{[1] [2]}
• Pompey demands that Julius Caesar lay down his command before he can stand for consul. ^[3]

Egypt

• Spring – King Ptolemy XII (Auletes) dies and is succeeded by his eldest surviving daughter Cleopatra VII and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII as co-rulers of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. ^[4]

Asia

• The Xiongnu split into two hordes. The Eastern horde is subject to China.^{[ citation needed ]}

Births

• Cheng, Chinese emperor of the Han dynasty (d. 7 BC)
• Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, Roman aristocrat (d. 21 AD)

Deaths

• Ariobarzanes II (Philopator), king of Cappadocia
• Julia Minor, sister of Julius Caesar (b. 100 BC)
• Marcus Atius Balbus, Roman praetor and governor (b. 105 BC)
• Posidonius, Greek philosopher, astronomer and geographer
• Ptolemy XII (Auletes), king (pharaoh) of the Ptolemaic Kingdom ^[3]

References

1. Farquhar Chilver, Guy Edward; Seager, Robin J. (2012). "Claudius (RE 229) Marcellus (4), Marcus". The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
2. "Sulpicius Rūfus, Servius". The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World. Oxford University Press. 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
3. Morstein-Marx, Robert (2021). "Chapter 6 - No Return". Julius Caesar and the Roman People. Cambridge University Press. pp. 272–273. ISBN   978-1-108-83784-2 . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
4. "Ptolemaic Kingdom". Dynasties of the World (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2025.