247 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	4th century BC – 3rd century BC – 2nd century BC
Decades:	270s BC  260s BC  250s BC  – 240s BC –  230s BC  220s BC  210s BC
Years:	250 BC 249 BC 248 BC – 247 BC – 246 BC 245 BC 244 BC

247 BC in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	247 BC CCXLVI BC
Ab urbe condita	507
Ancient Egypt era	XXXIII dynasty, 77
- Pharaoh	Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 37
Ancient Greek era	133rd Olympiad, year 2
Assyrian calendar	4504
Bengali calendar	−839
Berber calendar	704
Buddhist calendar	298
Burmese calendar	−884
Byzantine calendar	5262–5263
Chinese calendar	癸丑年 (Water Ox) 2450 or 2390     — to — 甲寅年 (Wood Tiger) 2451 or 2391
Coptic calendar	−530 – −529
Discordian calendar	920
Ethiopian calendar	−254 – −253
Hebrew calendar	3514–3515
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−190 – −189
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2855–2856
Holocene calendar	9754
Iranian calendar	868 BP – 867 BP
Islamic calendar	895 BH – 894 BH
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	2087
Minguo calendar	2158 before ROC 民前2158年
Seleucid era	65/66 AG
Thai solar calendar	296–297

Year 247 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Buteo (or, less frequently, year 507 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 247 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

Carthage

• By this stage in the Punic War, Carthage has lost to Rome all its Sicilian possessions except Lilybaeum (now Marsala) and Drepanum (now Trapani). Hamilcar Barca takes over the chief command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily at a time when the island is almost completely in the hands of the Romans. Landing on the north-west of the island with a small mercenary force, he seizes a strong position on Mount Ercte (Monte Pellegrino, near Palermo), and not only successfully defends himself against all attacks, but also carries his raids as far as the coast of southern Italy.

Roman Republic

• Rome enters into a treaty, on equal terms, with Hiero II, the tyrant of Syracuse.

Births

• Hannibal of Carthage, distinguished Carthaginian military commander (d. c. 183 BC)