240

Year 240 (CCXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.

 Events 
 By place 
 Roman Empire 
 The Roman Empire is threatened on several fronts at the same time. Africa revolts and tribes in northwest Germania, under the name of the Franks, are raiding the Rhine frontier.

 Asia 
 Maharaja Sri-Gupta becomes Emperor of Gupta.
 Ardashir I, Sassanid king of Persia, destroys Hatra.
 Shapur I becomes co-emperor with his father Ardashir I
 The Kushan Empire falls.

 By topic 
 Religion 
 At the court of Ardashir I, Mani, a young mystic of Ctesiphon, calls himself a prophet and preaches his doctrine, Manichaeism, throughout the Persian Empire.

 Births 
 Lactantius, Christian writer (d. 320) (approximate date)
 Sporus of Nicaea,  Greek mathematician and astronomer (approximate date)
 Zenobia, queen of the Palmyrene Empire (d. 274)

 Deaths 
 Ammonius Saccas, Neoplatonic philosopher (approximate date)
 Huang Quan, general of the Kingdom of Shu
 King Midang, king of the Qiang tribe
 Zhou Fang, general of the Kingdom of Wu

Category:240s