In 168 BCE, Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes started (yet another Seleucid) war against Ptolemaic Egypt. The Ptolemies asked Rome (not yet a great power) for help. So the Roman Senate sent Gaius Popillius Laenas to Egypt, where he met with Antiochus. Popillius Laenas drew a line in the sand around the Seleucid king with his cane and informed him, that if he steps out of the circle without promising to withdraw from Egypt, Roman Senate will declare war on the Seleucids. After standing in the circle for a long time, thinking, Antiochus and his army withdrew from Egypt.

This event is nowadays probably most known for the English phrase "line in the sand".

Sorry, we don't allow throughout history questions. These tend to produce threads which are collections of trivia, not the in-depth discussions about a particular topic we're looking for. If you have a specific question about a historical event or period or person, please feel free to re-compose your question and submit it again.