51 BC

Year 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Rome

• Consuls: Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Servius Sulpicius Rufus.
• Pompey demands that Julius Caesar lay down his command before he can stand for consul.

Egypt

• Spring — Pharaoh Ptolemy XII dies and is succeeded by his eldest surviving daughter Cleopatra VII and her younger brother and co-ruler Ptolemy XIII.

Asia

• The Hsiung-nu split into two hordes. The Eastern horde is subject to China.

Births

• Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, Roman governor of Syria
• Cheng, Emperor of the Han Dynasty of China (d. 7 BC)

Deaths

• Spring — Pharaoh Ptolemy XII of Egypt
• Posidonius of Apamea, Greek philosopher, astronomer, geographer