Timeline of Ancient Civilizations

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BC

c. 20000

Cave painting flourishes in Spain and France, the most famous being the Cave of Lascaux in France.

c. 11700

End of the most recent glacial episode within the current Quaternary Ice Age.

c. 12,500-9500

The Natufian culture

c. 10000

Beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East.

c. 9000

Cultivation of wild cereals in the Fertile Crescent.
Wild sheep flocks are managed in the Zagros mountains.

c. 8000

Ovens in use in the Near East are applied to pottery production.

c. 7700

First domesticated wheats in the Fertile Crescent.

c. 7500

Long-distance trade in obsidian begins.
Jarmo is established, one of the earliest known agricultural village settlements.

c. 7000

Domestication of goats.

c. 7000-2500

Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods on Cyprus.

c. 6700

Domestication of sheep.

c. 6500

Domestication of pigs.
Flax used to make textiles

c. 6500 – 6000

Hassuna Culture (in northern Iraq), known for early farming and distinct pottery.

c. 6500 – 3800

The Ubaid people established the first settled agricultural villages in southern Iraq, laying the foundation for the Sumerian civilization.

c. 6200

First copper smelting in Anatolia.

c. 6200–5700

Samarra Culture (central Mesopotamia), characterized by finely painted pottery; the Ubaid may have developed directly from this, particularly in the south.

c. 6000

First irrigation.
Domestication of cattle.
First fortified settlement at Ugarit.
Çatal Höyük develops: Wheat, vegetables, and barley are grown.
Nineveh is first settled.

c. 6000-5400

Halaf Culture (northern Syria and Mesopotamia). The Ubaid eventually replaced or integrated with them.

c. 5400

Founding of Eridu

c. 5000

Irrigation and agriculture begin in earnest in Mesopotamia.
Hierarchical societies emerge in southeast Europe.
Godin Tepe settled.

c. 5000-4500

The city of Uruk founded, the very first true city. At its peak around 2800 BC, it had a population between 40,000 and 80,000, making it the largest city in the world to date.

c. 5000-4000

Megaliths are erected at the Neolithic site of Locmariaquer, north-west France

c. 5000-3000

Megalithic structures erected at Carnac, north-west France..

c. 4500

Invention of the plow.
The Sumerians built their first temple.

c. 4500-3750

The Neolithic village of Banpo is inhabited.

c. 4300

First megalithic tombs in Europe.

c. 4000

First settlement of Ur.
Use of wool for textiles.
Medway Tombs of Kent, including Chesnuts, Addington and Coldrum, are constructed.

c. 4000-3500

Clyde Tombs of Western Scotland and the Carlingford Tombs of Northern Ireland are constructed.

c. 4000-3000

The Sumer civilization emerges
Uruk period in Mesopotamia.
First cities in the region of Sumer

c. 4000-1750

Sumerian civilization in the Tigris-Euphrates valley.

c. 3807-3806

The Sweet Track, a Neolithic wooden pathway, is constructed in Somerset, Britain.

c. 3700-2800

Neolithic farmstead the Knap of Howar inhabited on Papa Westray, Orkney.

c. 3600

Invention of writing in Sumer at Uruk.

c. 3500

Cotswold-Severn Group Long Barrows are constructed, which spanned from the north Wessex Downs, Cotswold Hills, South Wales coast, and the Brecon Beacons.

c. 3500-3200

Refinement and spread of Sumerian cuneiform writing

c. 3400

Priests become the rulers of Mesopotamian cities.

c. 3300-2600

The Barnhouse Settlement constructed and inhabited.

c. 3200

Cycladic culture in Greece.
Caral–Supe civilization begins in Peru.
Rise of Proto-Elamite Civilization in Iran.

c. 3200–3000

Egyptian hieroglyphs are first used.

c. 3100

Stonehenge Phase I – construction begins. In its first version, it consisted of a circular ditch and bank, with 56 wooden posts.

c. 3100-2600

Early Dynastic period of Egypt

c. 3100-2500

The Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Scotland was inhabited, stone walls built.

c. 3000

Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is established in Romania and Ukraine.
Jiroft culture begins in Iran.
First known use of papyrus by Egyptians.
Domestication of the horse in the Yamnaya culture.
Aegina inhabited during Neolithic period.
Stonehenge Phase II – Digging of the Aubrey Holes, which probably contained wooden posts (or perhaps bluestones). Stonehenge functions as a cremation cemetery.

c. 3000-2900

Mari, the earliest known planned city, is built near the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

c. 3000-2800

The Neolithic chambered cairn known as Maeshowe constructed and in use.

c. 3000-2500

Earliest evidence of autochthonous iron production in West Africa.

c. 3000-2300

The Pastoral Neolithic culture builds East Africa’s earliest and largest monumental cemetery at Lothagam North Pillar Site.

c. 2900-2750

Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia

c. 2800

Kot Diji phase of the Indus Valley Civilisation begins.
Longshan culture begins in China.

c. 2700

Historical reign of Gilgamesh
Minoan civilization ancient palace city Knossos reaches 80,000 inhabitants.
Rise of Elam in Iran.

c. 2700 – 2200

Egypt- The Old Kingdom

c. 2600

Oldest known surviving literature: Sumerian texts from Abu Salabikh, including the Instructions of Shuruppak and the Kesh temple hymn.
Mature Harappan phase of the Indus Valley civilization (in present-day Pakistan and India) begins.
Emergence of Mayan culture in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Structure Eight (so called) erected at Barnhouse Settlement after village abandoned.

2600-2130

Building of the pyramids
Pyramid Texts

2560

King Khufu completes the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Land of Punt in the Horn of Africa first appears in Egyptian records around this time.

c. 2550

Phase III at Stonehenge, the refashioning of the simple earth and timber henge into a unique stone monument.

c. 2500

Village of Skara Brae is abandoned for unknown reasons.
First Dynasty of Lagash under King Eannutum is first empire in Mesopotamia.
Mohenjo-daro was built (original name unknown). It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization.

c. 2500-2000

The Balnuaran of Clava (Clava Cairns) is built.

c. 2500 – 1500

Kerma culture begins in Nubia.

Late 24th century

Akkadian Empire is founded, dating depends upon whether the Middle chronology or the Short chronology is used.

c. 2400

Earliest Sumerian sources to mention migrating Amorites in Mesopotamia.

2350

First code of laws by Urukagina, king of Lagash.

2334 – 2279

Sargon of Akkad (the Great) reigns over Mesopotamia and thus creates the world’s first empire.

2334 – 2218

The Akkadian Empire rules Sumer.

c. 2330

Sargon of Akkad sacks Ur.

2291

Pharaoh Teti is thought to be the earliest known victim of assassination.

c. 2250

Oldest known depiction of the Staff God, the oldest image of a god to be found in the Americas.

c. 2200

Completion of Stonehenge.

c. 2200 – 2100

4.2-kiloyear event: a severe aridification phase, likely connected to a Bond event, which was registered throughout most of North Africa, Middle East and continental North America. It was one of the most severe climatic events of the Holocene epoch. It defines the beginning of the current Meghalayan age in the Holocene epoch. Starting around 2200 BC, it most likely lasted the entire 22nd century BC. Related droughts very likely caused the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt and the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia.

c. 2150-1400

The tales of Gilgamesh written which inform the Epic of Gilgamesh.

2115

Traditional date for the legendary foundation of Armenia by Hayk.

c. 2112-2004

Ur III Dynasty
Shulgi I institutes scribal academies.
Bilgames poems (version of The Epic of Gilgamesh)

c. 2100-1300

Assyria existed as a city-state in Mesopotamia.

c. 2055

The Middle Kingdom begins in Egypt.

c. 2040-1640

Tale of Sinuhe (a classic work of ancient Egyptian literature)
Coffin Texts (a collection of over 1,100 ancient Egyptian funerary spells, incantations, and maps)

c. 2000

Bronze Age begins in Northern Europe.
Domesticated horses introduced in Mesopotamia.
The last mammoth population, on Wrangel Island in Siberia, goes extinct.

c. 2000-1600

Amorite period in Mesopotamia.

c. 1900

Founding of Babylon
Ashur, capital of Assyria, is founded.
Erlitou culture begins in China.

c. 1900-1400

Trade flourishes between Mesopotamia and other regions.

c. 1850

Alphabetic writing emerges.

c. 1894-1595

First Babylonian Empire

c. 1800

“Dialogue Between a Man and his Soul” (or Dispute Between a Man and His Ba) – a renowned Ancient Egyptian philosophical text. It features a suicidal man debating the value of life versus death with his soul (ba).
Teaching of Khety, aka The Satire of the Trades, aka The Instruction of Kheti: a didactic work of ancient Egyptian literature. It takes the form of an instruction and was composed by a scribe from Sile named Kheti for his son Pepi.
The Old Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh constitutes the earliest complete version of that narrative.

c. 1800-238

Nuragic Civilization. Flourished on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, renowned for building over 7,000 megalithic, defensive stone towers. They produced sophisticated bronze, monumental “Giants’ Tombs” and large-scale stone sculptures.

1795-1750

Reign of Hammurabi, king of Babylon.

c. 1792

King Hammurabi builds walls of Babylon.

1787

Hammurabi of Babylon conquers Uruk and Isin.

1780

Oldest Record of Code of Hammurabi.

c. 1772

Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian legal text, comprising 282 laws). One of the earliest codes of law in the world.
Surpassing All Other Kings (version of The Epic of Gilgamesh)
The specific Akkadian epic was known by different titles. “Surpassing All Other Kings” was an earlier title, while the most famous version, the Standard Babylonian version, begins with the words “He who Saw the Deep”.

c. 1760-1757

Hammurabi of Babylon destroys the city of Mari. The people of Mari are spared according to Hammurabi.

1755

Hammurabi rules the whole of Mesopotamia from Babylon.

c. 1750

Mycenaean civilization begins in mainland Greece.
Elamite invades and conquers Ur. This and the Amorite migration ends the Sumerian civilization.

1700 – 1400

The Proto-Sinaitic script is the oldest alphabet created in Egypt.

c. 1700

Indus Valley Civilization comes to an end but is continued by the Cemetery H culture; The beginning of Poverty Point culture in North America.

1680

Hurrians occupy Assyria.

c. 1600

Minoan eruption destroys Akrotiri and causes damage to some Minoan sites in eastern Crete.
The beginning of Shang dynasty in China; evidence of a fully developed writing system (see Oracle bone script).

c. 1600-1200

Tumulus culture

c. 1600-1100

Mycenaean Civilization

1595

King Mursilis of the Hittites sacks Babylon, ending Amorite rule.
Babylonian “dark ages” begins

c. 1570-1155

Kassite Dynasty in Babylon

c. 1570-1070

Egypt- The New Kingdom

1550

The Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni is founded.

c. 1550-1150

Egypt- Construction of the temples at Karnak

c. 1550-1070

Egypt:
Book of the Dead;
Horus and Seth;
The Hymn to Osiris;
Love Lyrics and Harpers Songs

c. 1550

The New Kingdom begins in Egypt.

c. 1500

Composition of the Rigveda is completed.
Nok culture begins in West Africa.
Rise of the kingdom of Mitanni.
Egyptian empire extends to the Euphrates.
Zoroastrianism founded by the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster)

c. 1500 – 400

Olmec civilization flourishes in Pre-Columbian Mexico, during Mesoamerica’s Formative period.

1472

Mittani annexes Assyria.

c. 1450

Development of Linear B (Minoan) script

c. 1400

Oldest known song with notation.
Assyria regains its independence.

c. 1400-1000

He Who Saw the Deep compiled by Sîn-lēqi-unninni (version of The Epic of Gilgamesh)

c. 1365–612

Marks the rise, peak, and fall of the Middle and Neo-Assyrian Empires. Centered in Mesopotamia, Assyria became a dominant military power, expanding across the Near East before its collapse in 612 BC.

c. 1350

Peak of Mitanni power

c. 1350-1250

The Hittite Empire is at its peak.

c. 1344-1322

King Suppiluliuma I of the Hittites sacks the Mitanni capital Washukanni and installs Artatama II as vassal king.

c. 1332-1323

Rule of Tutankhamun

c. 1321

Western Mittani is conquered by the Hittites.

c. 1300-750

Urnfield culture

c. 1285

Peak of Hittite power.

c. 1250

Tollense battle- Massive Bronze Age battle, took place in current day northern Germany.

c. 1250-1220

The Trojan War [Troy]

1244-1208

Reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, King of Assyria.

1220

Babylon is under Assyrian control.

c. 1209

The Merneptah Stele is the first non-biblical reference to the Israelites.

c. 1200

The Hallstatt culture begins.

c. 1200-1150

Late Bronze Age collapse occurs in Southwestern Asia and in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Collapse of Mycenaean Civilization; loss of writing
Egypt invaded by Sea Peoples
Invasion by Sea Peoples and drought cause mass abandonment of cities in Mesopotamia.
This period is also the setting of the Iliad and the Odyssey epic poems (which were composed about four centuries later).

c. 1180

Disintegration of Hittite Empire.

c. 1100

Use of Iron spreads.

c. 1150-800

Greek Dark Age

c. 1100-900

Greece: Post-Mycenaean Era. Small, isolated communities developed, laying the groundwork for independent rule.

1080

Aramaeans invade Mesopotamia.

1069-664

Egypt: Third Intermediate Period – Period of political disunity

c. 1050

The Phoenician alphabet is created.

1050-950

Greek colonization of Asia Minor (western coast of Turkey)

c. 1046

The Zhou force, led by King Wu of Zhou, overthrows the last king of Shang dynasty; Zhou dynasty established in China.

c. 1000

Chaldeans occupy Ur.
The second stream of Bantu expansion reaches the great lakes region of Africa, creating a major population center.

c. 1000-961

Reign of King David in Israel (some sources say 1010-970)

c. 970-931

Reign of King Solomon

c. 924

Israelites split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah,

c. 911-609

Neo-Assyrian Empire

c. 900

Greece- Beginning of the rise of the polis (city-state)

c. 890

Approximate date for the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

c. 858-853

Assyrians conquer Babylon

853

Babylonian kings depend on Assyrian military support.

814

Foundation of Carthage by the Phoenicians in Tunisia.

808

Formation of the Kingdom of Macedonia by King Karanos

c. 800

Rise of Greek city-states, exemplified by the rise of Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and others.

c. 800-480

Greece – Archaic Period. This age saw the emergence of democracy, the invention of coinage, the rise of hoplite warfare, and the emergence of the Greek alphabet.

c. 788

Iron Age begins in Sungai Batu (Old Kedah).

c. 785

Rise of the Kingdom of Kush.
Classical antiquity, defined by the rise and influence of Ancient Greece and Rome.

776

Greece Olympic Games established

c. 770-750

Greeks adopt Phoenician alphabet via Ionian colonies

c. 770–476

Spring and Autumn period begins in China (named after the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle attributed to Confucius). Zhou dynasty’s power diminished, warring vassal states rose to power.

753

Traditional date of the Founding of Rome.

c. 750

Greek colonization of Southern Italy and Sicily begins

747-656

Dynasty 25 – Nubian kings conquer and unify Egypt

745

Tiglath-Pileser III becomes the new king of Assyria. He conquers neighboring countries and turns Assyria into an empire.

734

Babylon is captured by Chaldeans.

c. 732

Assyrian captivity begins, creating the Ten Lost Tribes.

729

Babylon is occupied by Assyrians.

c. 728

Rise of the Median Empire.

722-705

Peak of the Assyrian empire under the reign of Sargon II.

c. 721-612

Sargonid Dynasty begins in Assur

c. 720

Homer, Iliad

c. 705-689

Sennacherib I moves Assyrian capital to Nineveh; wages war on Babylon and Judah

c. 700

Homer, Odyssey;
Hesiod, Theogony and; Works and Days [Ithaca]
The construction of Marib Dam in Arabia Felix, in modern Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

c. 680

Archilochus (lyric poet) [Paros]

c. 680-669

Assyrian conquest of Egypt

664-332

Egypt -Late Period

664-610

Reign of Psammetichus I; Greek and Carian mercenaries settle in Egypt

664-539

Saite Dynasty (Dynasty 26); Egypt is unified and a major power in the Near East

c. 653

Rise of Achaemenid dynasty.

c. 650

Greek colonization around the Black Sea begins

c. 650-630

Tyrtaeus (poet/soldier) [Sparta]

c. 650 – 550

The Urewe culture dominates the African Great Lakes region. It was one of Africa’s oldest iron smelting centres.

c. 626-539

Neo-Babylonian Empire

621

Draco replaces oral law with written law in Classical Athens, considered one of the earliest developments of the Athenian democracy.

612

The Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians create an alliance and destroy Nineveh, causing the fall of the Neo-Assyrian empire.

605-562

Nebuchadnezzar II is king of Babylon.

c. 600

Sappho (lyric poet) [Lesbos]
Thales (philosopher) [Miletus]
Sixteen Mahajanapadas (“Great Realms” or “Great Kingdoms”) emerge in India.
Evidence of writing system appears in Oaxaca used by the Zapotec civilization.
Rise of the Sao civilisation near Lake Chad.
Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam literature.

c. 594

Solon (politician and poet) is appointed Archon of Classical Athens and begins issuing citizenship and judicial reforms, giving Athenian citizens the right to participate in government.

587-586

Babylonians capture Jerusalem and destroy temple; beginning of the Babylonian exile [Babylon]

c. 582-485

Anacreon (poet/reveler

570-526

Reign of Amasis

c. 570-475

Xenophanes (poet/philosopher)

563

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), founder of Buddhism is born as a prince of the Shakya clan, which ruled parts of Magadha, one of the Mahajanapadas.

551

Confucius, founder of Confucianism, is born.

550

Foundation of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia) by Cyrus the Great.

c. 550-450

Genesis and Exodus

c. 550-350

Book of Job

549

Mahavira, founder of Jainism, is born.

546

Cyrus the Great overthrows Croesus, King of Lydia.

544

Rise of Magadha as the dominant power under Bimbisara.

539

Cyrus the Great marched his Achaemenid Persians into Elam, ending the 2,500-year existence of the Elamite state.

539-530

Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon and frees the captive peoples, including the Israelites
Cyrus Cylinder is created

530

Death of Cyrus the Great.

525

King Cambyses II of Persia conquers Egypt

522-486

Reign of King Darius I (Darius the Great) in Persia
Bisitun Inscription

516–515

Darius expanded the Achaemenid Empire into the Indus Valley

c. 512-513

Darius subjugates eastern Thrace, annexes the Libyan Kingdom, and Macedonia submits voluntarily

509

Expulsion of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, founding of Roman Republic (traditional date).

508-507

Cleisthenes Reforms the Athenian Constitution, establishing democracy.

500

Pāṇini standardizes the grammar and morphology of Sanskrit in the text Aṣṭādhyāyī. Panini’s standardized Sanskrit is known as Classical Sanskrit.

500-330

The Achaemenid Empire rules in Mesopotamia
Persian Royal Road in use.

499

King Aristagoras of Miletus incites all of Hellenic Asia Minor to rebel against the Persian Empire, beginning the Greco-Persian Wars.

490

Greek city-states defeat the Persians at the Battle of Marathon.

490-479

War between Greece and Persia

486

Death of Darius the Great

485

Babylon is destroyed by Xerxes, King of Persia.

483

Death of Gautama Buddha.

480

Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I; Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.

c. 480-323

Classical Greece

479

Death of Confucius.

475

Warring States period begins in China as the Zhou king became a mere figurehead; China is annexed by regional warlords.

c. 470-469

Birth of Socrates.

465

Murder of Xerxes I.

460

Birth of Democritus.

458

Oresteia by Aeschylus, the only surviving trilogy of ancient Greek plays, is performed.

c. 450-430

Herodotus visits Egypt

c. 450-420

Herodotus composes his Histories of the Persian War

449

The Greco-Persian Wars end.

447

Construction of the Parthenon begins in Athens

441

Sophocles, Antigone

432

The Parthenon is completed.

431-404

Peloponnesian War (Athens and allies vs. Sparta and allies)

c. 424-400

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Rise of Sophistic Philosophy (Gorgias, Antiphon, Protagoras, Prodicus and Hippias)

431

Beginning of the Peloponnesian War between the Greek city-states.

429

Sophocles’s play Oedipus Rex is first performed.

427

Birth of Plato.

424

Nanda dynasty comes to power in Magadha.

404

Athens loses Peloponnesian War to Sparta

404-343

Dynasties 28-30: Persians expelled from Egypt; last period of indigenous rule

c. 400

Rise of the Garamantes as an irrigation-based desert state in the Fezzan region of Libya.
Zapotec culture flourishes around city of Monte Albán.
Pandya dynasty is founded in South India.

c. 400-300

Book of Esther

399

Trial of Socrates.

384

Birth of Aristotle.

370

Death of Democritus.

343

Persian Re-conquest of Egypt

334-330

Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) defeated the Persian armies at Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, completing his conquest of Persia. Then he marched on Susa and Persepolis, which surrendered and was destroyed by fire in early 330 BC.

326

Alexander the Great defeats Indian king Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes River.

323

Death of Alexander the Great at Babylon.

c. 323-31

The Hellenistic Age. Greek thought and culture infuses with indigenous people.

322

Death of Aristotle.

321

Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nanda dynasty of Magadha.
Establishment of the Seleucid Empire by Seleucus I Nicator. The empire existed until 63 BC.

312

Seleucos conquers Babylon and founds the Seleucid dynasty.

c. 312-63

Duration of the Seleucid Empire.

305

Chandragupta Maurya seizes the satrapies of Paropamisadae (Kabul), Aria (Herat), Arachosia (Qanadahar) and Gedrosia (Baluchistan) from Seleucus I Nicator, the Macedonian satrap of Babylonia, in return for 500 elephants.

c. 300

Completion of Euclid’s Elements.
Pingala uses zero and binary numeral system.
Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், Canka ilakkiyam) period in the history of ancient southern India (known as the Tamilakam)
Construction of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the world’s largest pyramid by volume begins in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico (the Great Pyramid of Giza built 2560 BC Egypt stands 146.5 meters, making it 91.5 meters taller).

273

Ashoka becomes the emperor of the Maurya Empire.

261

Kalinga War.

257

An Dương Vương takes over Việt Nam (then Kingdom of Âu Lạc).

255

Ashoka sends a Buddhist missionary led by his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka (then Lanka).

250

Rise of Parthia (Ashkâniân), the second native dynasty of ancient Persia.

232

Death of Emperor Ashoka; Decline of the Mauryan Empire.

230

Emergence of Satavahana in South India.

221

Qin Shi Huang unifies China, end of Warring States period; marking the beginning of Imperial rule in China which lasts until 1912. Construction of the Great Wall of China by the Qin dynasty begins.

216

Battle of Cannae – Rome defeated in major battle in the second Punic War.

207

Nanyue Kingdom extends from Guangzhou to North Việt Nam

206

Han dynasty established in China, after the death of Qin Shi Huang; China in this period officially becomes a Confucian state and opens trading connections with the West, i.e. the Silk Road.

202

Scipio Africanus defeats Hannibal at Battle of Zama.

c. 200

El Mirador, largest early Maya city, flourishes.
Paper is invented in the Han dynasty.
Chera dynasty in South India.

185

Shunga Empire founded.

167 – 160

Maccabean Revolt.

149 – 146

Third Punic War between Rome and Carthage. War ends with the complete destruction of Carthage, allowing Rome to conquer modern day Tunisia and Libya.

146

Roman conquest of Greece.

c. 145

Eucratides I dies.
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom collapses. Remnants move southwards to form the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

129

Parthians conquer Mesopotamia. The Silk Road to China is now controlled by the Parthians.

121

Roman armies enter Gaul for the first time.

111

First Chinese domination of Vietnam in the form of the Nanyue Kingdom.

c. 100

Chola dynasty rises in prominence.

100 BC – 100 AD

Bantu-speaking communities in the African Great Lakes regions develop iron forging techniques that enable them to produce carbon steel.

100 BC – 300 AD

The earliest Bantu settlements in the Swahili coast appear on the archaeological record in Kwale County in Kenya, Misasa in Tanzania and Ras Hafun in Somalia.

c. 82

Burebista becomes the king of Dacia.

Death of Spartacus. End of the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.

c. 63

The Siege of Jerusalem leads to the conquest of Judea by the Romans.

c. 60 – 44

Burebista conquers territories from south Germany to Thrace, reaching the coast of the Aegean Sea.

58-57

Ctesiphon becomes Parthian capital during the reign of Orodes II.

Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey.

Julius Caesar murdered by Marcus Junius Brutus and others.
Burebista is assassinated and his empire breaks into 4, and later 5 kingdoms, in modern-day Romania.

31 – 30

Battle of Actium.
The Roman conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Cleopatra ends her reign as the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.

End of the Roman Republic and formation of the Roman Empire: Augustus is given titles of Princeps and Augustus by Roman Senate – beginning of Pax Romana. Formation of influential Praetorian Guard to provide security to Emperor.

27 – 22

Amanirenas, the kandake (Queen) of the Kingdom of Kush, leads Kushite armies against the Romans.

27BC – 68AD

Julio-Claudian Dynasty (Rome)

Three Kingdoms period begins in Korea.
Herod’s Temple is reconstructed.

Earliest theorized date for birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
Roman succession: Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar groomed for the throne.

Widely accepted date (Ussher) for birth of Jesus.

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c. 1 – 50

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Graeco-Roman manuscript is written. It describes an established Indian Ocean Trade route.

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the Imperial Roman army’s bloodiest defeat.

Death of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar (Octavian), ascension of hisopted son Tiberius to the throne.

23-79

Pliny the Elder

c. 30-33

Crucifixion of Jesus, exact date unknown.

Death of Emperor Tiberius, ascension of his nephew Caligula to the throne.

39-81

Roman General Titus

Rome conquers Mauretania.

Emperor Caligula is assassinated by the Roman senate. His uncle Claudius succeeds him.

The Roman Empire enters Great Britain for the first time.

Emperor Claudius dies and is succeeded by his grand nephew Nero.

56-120

Tacitus, Roman Historian

66-73

First Jewish-Roman War

Emperor Nero commits suicide, prompting the Year of the Four Emperors in Rome.

69-79

Vespasian, emperor of Rome

Destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Titus.

Destruction of Pompeii by the volcano Vesuvius.

After a two-year rule, Emperor Nerva dies of natural causes, hisopted son Trajan succeeds him.

100 – 940

Kingdom of Aksum forms in the Horn of Africa.

106 – 117

Roman Empire at largest extent under Trajan after having conquered modern-day Romania, Iraq and Armenia.

117

Trajan dies of natural causes. His adopted son Hadrian succeeds him. Hadrian pulls out of Iraq and Armenia.

122

Construction of Hadrian’s Wall begins.

126

Hadrian completes the Roman Pantheon.

138

Hadrian dies of natural causes. His adopted son Antoninus Pius succeeds him.

161

Death of Antoninus Pius. His rule was the only one in which Rome did not fight in a war.
Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor of the Roman Empire.

180

Reign of Marcus Aurelius officially ends. End of the Pax Romana.

180 – 181

Commodus becomes Roman Emperor.

192

Kingdom of Champa in Tay Nguyen.

200s

The Buddhist Srivijaya Empire established in Maritime Southeast Asia.

220

Three Kingdoms period begins in China after the fall of Han dynasty.

c. 224-226

Ardashir I defeated the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan, effectively overthrowing the Parthian Empire. This victory initiated the Sasanian Dynasty.

234

Emperor Maximinus Thrax is governor of Mesopotamia.

244 – 260

Defeat of Gordian III (238–244), Philip the Arab (244–249), and Emperor Valerian (253–260), by Shapur I of Persia (Valerian was captured by the Persians).

266

Emperor Wu of Jin established the First Jin dynasty providing a temporary unity of China after the devastating Three Kingdoms period.

284

Diocletian becomes emperor of Rome and splits the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western Roman Empires.

285

Diocletian begins a large-scale persecution of Christians.

292

The capital of the Roman empire is officially moved from Rome to Mediolanum (modern day Milan).

300 – 1000

Growth of Azanian and Zanj settlements in the Swahili coast. Local industry and international trade flourish.

301

Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices.
Armenia first to adopt Christianity as state religion.

313

Edict of Milan declared that the Roman Empire would tolerate all forms of religious worship.

316

Emperor Min of Jin executed, with northern China then controlled by various kingdoms founded by non-Han people. The Jin dynasty continues to rule the south.

325

Constantine the Great organizes the First Council of Nicaea.

330

Constantinople is officially named and becomes the capital of the eastern Roman Empire.

335

Samudragupta becomes the emperor of the Gupta Empire.

337

Emperor Constantine the Great dies, leaving his sons Constantius II, Constans, and Emperor Constantine II as the emperors of the Roman empire.

350

Constantius II is left sole emperor with the death of his two brothers.

354

Birth of Augustine of Hippo.

361

Constantius II dies, his cousin Emperor Julian succeeds him.

378

Battle of Adrianople, Roman army is defeated by the Germanic tribes.

380

Roman Emperor Theodosius I declares the Arian faith of Christianity heretical. Nicene (Catholic) Christianity is the official religion of the Roman Empire.

392

Theodosius I outlaws all religions other than Catholic Christianity and Judaism.

406

Romans are expelled from Britain.

407 – 409

Visigoths and other Germanic tribes cross into Roman-Gaul for the first time.

410

Visigoths sack Rome in 410 for the first time since 390 BC.

415

Germanic tribes enter Spain.

420

The general Liu Yu usurps the Jin in southern China, beginning the Liu Song dynasty.

429

Vandals enter North Africa from Spain for the first time.

439

Vandals have conquered the land stretching from Morocco to Tunisia by this time.
The Northern Wei dynasty unites northern China, beginning the Northern and Southern dynasties period.

455

Vandals sack Rome, capture Sicily and Sardinia.

c. 455

Skandagupta repels a Huna people attack on India.

476

Romulus Augustulus, last Western Roman Emperor is forced to abdicate by Odoacer, a chieftain of the Germanic Heruli; Odoacer returns the imperial regalia to Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno in Constantinople in return for the title of dux of Italy; most frequently cited date for the end of ancient history.

651

Muslim Conquest of Mesopotamia.

770

Last recorded use of Clava Cairns site in antiquity.

Brief ancient chronology (copied from Wikipedia)

(Common Era years in astronomical year numbering)

Key Events from Neolithic to the Bronze Age
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Key Events in Agriculture
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BC

AD

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