Who Was Alive

Were Zhang Heng and Ptolemy alive at the same time?

Yes. Zhang Heng and Ptolemy were alive at the same time, from c. AD 100 to AD 139.

Zhang Heng

Chinese cartographer

Born AD 78 · died AD 139

Ptolemy

Ptolemy

Roman mathematician and astronomer

Born c. AD 100 · died c. AD 170

  1. Pliny the Elder, 20s – AD 79
  2. Plutarch, c. AD 45 – c. AD 120
  3. Epictetus, c. AD 50 – c. AD 131
  4. Tacitus, c. AD 55 – c. AD 120
  5. Zhang Heng, AD 78 – AD 139
  6. Ptolemy, c. AD 100 – c. AD 170
  7. Marcus Aurelius, AD 121 – AD 180
  8. Nagarjuna, c. AD 150 – c. AD 250

Zhang Heng and Ptolemy in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries; dashed lines mark world events. Drag across, or use the arrow keys, to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.

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Where Zhang Heng and Ptolemy were born

Zhang Heng and Ptolemy are labelled, with the contemporaries on the timeline. Each dot is a birthplace from Wikidata (7 of 8 placed); tap one to open that person.
Birthplaces as a list