Time Line of Sumer

  • Homo sapiens inhabiting China (c. 75000 BC)
  • Ainu thriving in Japan (c. 38000 BC)
  • Jomon culture in Japan (c. 12000 BC)
  • first pottery in Japan (c. 10000 BC)
  • stone age settlements thriving in Canaan (c. 7000 BC)
  • rice cultivation in Yangtze Valley (c. 6500 BC)
  • first settlements on Crete (c. 6000 BC)
  • Ubaid Period in Mesopotamia (c. 5900 BC)
  • first Mesopotamian cities erected (c. 5000 BC)
  • site of Nineveh inhabited (c. 5000 BC)
  • Yang-shao culture in China (c. 5000 BC)
  • wheat and barley first cultivated in the Nile Valley (c. 5000 BC)
  • first temple of Ashur is built (c. 4750 BC)
  • Sumerians develop pictographs (c. 4000 BC)
  • copper in use in Egypt (c. 4000 BC)
  • Sumerians settle in Mesopotamia (c. 3500 BC)
  • Nagada culture in Upper Egypt (c. 3500 BC)
  • Bronze Age begins on Crete (c. 3400 BC)
  • Early Minoan Period until 2100 BC (c. 3400 BC)
  • towns develop along the Nile (c. 3300 BC)
  • Indus script in use (c. 3300 BC)
  • wheel in use in Mesopotamia (c. 3250 BC)
  • unfication of Upper and Lower Egypt by Menes (c. 3100 BC)
  • Sumerian writing evolves into cuneiform (c. 3000 BC)
  • towns and fortifications built in China (c. 3000 BC)
  • potter's wheel in China (c. 3000 BC)
  • copper and silk manufactured in China (c. 3000 BC)
  • hieroglyphs developed (c. 3000 BC)
  • fortress at Mycenae inhabited (c. 3000 BC)
  • Byblos founded (c. 3000 BC)
  • Hayasa-Azzi tribes inhabiting Urartu (c. 3000 BC)
  • Elam utilizing a script known as proto-Elamite (c. 2900 BC)
  • Old Kingdom founded in Egypt (c. 2800 BC)
  • Egypt introduces a 365 day calendar (c. 2772 BC)
  • Phoenician city of Tyre founded (c. 2750 BC)
  • The Step Pyramid of King Zoser built by Imhotep in Egypt (c. 2650 BC)
  • Gilgamesh rules Uruk (Erech) (c. 2600 BC)
  • Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt built (c. 2550 BC)
  • Mis-anni-padda, king of Ur, first recorded ruler of Sumer (c. 2500 BC)
  • cities of Ashur, Nineveh, and Arbel flourishing (c. 2500 BC)
  • Indus Civilization flourishing (c. 2500 BC)
  • Eannatum of Lagash repels the Elamites from Lagash while consolidating control of Sumer (c. 2457 BC)
  • Sargon of Akkad defeats Hishap-Resher and sacks Susa (c. 2360 BC)
  • Sargon defeats Lugalzaggisi and becomes ruler of Sumer-Akkad (c. 2340 BC)
  • Naram-Sin of Akkad signs a treaty with Elam making Elam a vassal state (c. 2270 BC)
  • Kutik-Inshushinak overthrows Akkadian rule over Elam (c. 2240 BC)
  • Gutians conquer Sumer-Akkad (c. 2230 BC)
  • Xia dynasty founded in China by Yu the Great (c. 2205 BC)
  • climatic conditions and government corruption hasten the end of the Old Kingdom (c. 2160 BC)
  • civil war in Egypt (c. 2150 BC)
  • Ur revolts and throws off Akkadian rule (c. 2125 BC)
  • Utuhegal expels the Gutians (c. 2120 BC)
  • Ur-Nammu of Ur usurps Utuhegal and becomes king of Sumer (c. 2112 BC)
  • Abraham leaves Ur (c. 2100 BC)
  • earliest known legal texts written by Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (c. 2100 BC)
  • Middle Minoan Period until 1580 BC (c. 2100 BC)
  • Shulgi of Ur conquers Susa of Elam, but independent Elamite kings continue to rule from Simashki (c. 2060 BC)
  • Middle Kingdom founded in Egypt (c. 2040 BC)
  • Enpi-Luhhan of Elam drives the Sumerians from Ur (c. 2021 BC)
  • Ibbi-Sin of Ur counterattacks and captures Enpi-Luhhan, but is unable to control Elam ( 2017 BC)
  • Ishbi-Erra, king of Isin and former general of Ibbi-Sin, begins conquest of Sumer (c. 2016 BC)
  • Hutran-Tempti of Elam attacks and destroys Ur (c. 2000 BC)
  • Gubla (Byblos) maintaining a thriving trade partnership with Egypt (c. 2000 BC)
  • Amorites sack many coastal Canaanite cities leading to their abandonment (c. 2000 BC)
  • irrigation in Egypt (c. 2000 BC)
  • early Greek speaking people settle the Peloponnese (c. 2000 BC)
  • early Minoan palaces erected at Knossos, Phaistos and Mallia (c. 2000 BC)
  • first cities in China at Erlitou (c. 1900 BC)
  • earliest Chinese bronzes made at Erlitou (c. 1900 BC)
  • early Mycenaeans arrive on the Greek mainland (c. 1900 BC)
  • Shamshi-Adad I rules the city of Ashur in Assyria (c. 1813 BC)
  • Jerusalem is a thriving fortified city (c. 1800 BC)
  • bronze working in Egypt (c. 1800 BC)
  • T'ang, first king of Shang dynasty in China ( 1766 BC)
  • Hammurabi of Babylon conquers Elam ( 1764 BC)
  • Hammurabi founds Babylonia (c. 1763 BC)
  • Hammurabi of Babylon conquers Ashur ending the first Assyrian empire (c. 1760 BC)
  • Code of Hammurabi (c. 1758 BC)
  • Kutur-Nahhunte of Elam conquers southern Babylonia (c. 1752 BC)
  • Hittite kingdom founded by Hattusilis I (c. 1700 BC)
  • Hittites begin using iron (c. 1700 BC)
  • sudden decline of the Indus Civilization (c. 1700 BC)
  • Rise of the Kushite empire (c. 1700 BC)
  • destruction of early Minoan palaces at Crete (c. 1700 BC)
  • Hyksos conquer Egypt (c. 1675 BC)
  • Hittites, under King Mursilis, conquers Aleppo (c. 1650 BC)
  • Mycenaean civilization rises (c. 1650 BC)
  • Hurrian attacks cripple the Hittite kingdom (c. 1630 BC)
  • Hittites, under King Mursilis I, sack Babylon (c. 1600 BC)
  • pictograph writing in China (c. 1600 BC)
  • Israelites journey to Egypt to avoid famine (c. 1600 BC)
  • Linear A in common use over Crete (c. 1600 BC)
  • palaces rebuilt at Knossos, Phaistos, Tylissos, Hagia Triada and Gaurnia (c. 1600 BC)
  • Kassite dynasty established in Babylon (c. 1595 BC)
  • Late Minoan Period until 1250 BC (c. 1580 BC)
  • New Kingdom founded in Egypt ( 1560 BC)
  • Hyksos expelled from Egypt by Ahmose ( 1560 BC)
  • King Telipinus reorganizes the Hittite kingdom (c. 1525 BC)
  • Thutmose I builds the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings (c. 1506 BC)
  • Assyria subject to Mitanni rule (c. 1500 BC)
  • Egypt conquers Kush (c. 1500 BC)
  • Parattarna is the first king of the Mitanni kingdom (c. 1500 BC)
  • Queen Hatshepsut rules Egypt (c. 1490 BC)
  • Egypt reaches greatest extent under Tuthmosis III (c. 1469 BC)
  • Kaska incursions threaten the Hittite kingdom (c. 1450 BC)
  • Linear B comes into use (c. 1450 BC)
  • final destruction of Minoan palaces at Crete (c. 1450 BC)
  • Mycenaean influence reaches Crete (c. 1450 BC)
  • Mycenaeans adopt Linear A from Minoa, which evolves to Linear B (c. 1450 BC)
  • Kurigalzu I of Babylonia conquers Elam (c. 1400 BC)
  • Ashur-Uballit revolts against Mitanni rule and founds the Assyrian Empire ( 1363 BC)
  • Amenhotep IV institutes monotheism in Egypt (c. 1363 BC)
  • Egyptian capital moved to El Amarna (c. 1363 BC)
  • King Suppiluliumas I of the Hittites conquers the Mitanni (c. 1360 BC)
  • Elam regains independence from Babylonia under King Igi-Halki (c. 1350 BC)
  • war chariot introduced to China (c. 1350 BC)
  • reign of Tutankhamon begins ending in 1341 BC (c. 1350 BC)
  • Lion Gate of Mycenae built (c. 1350 BC)
  • Hittites under King Mursilis II conquer the Arzawa kingdom (c. 1340 BC)
  • Canaanite cities revived (c. 1300 BC)
  • Egyptian army halted at Qadesh by the Hittites ( 1285 BC)
  • Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt (c. 1280 BC)
  • Shalmaneser of Assyria conquers the Mitanni ( 1273 BC)
  • peace treaty between Egypt and the Hittites (c. 1269 BC)
  • Assyrian scribes first mention Urartu (c. 1260 BC)
  • Untash-napir-risha founds a new capital, Dur-Untash (c. 1250 BC)
  • disasterous fires cripple several Mycenaean cities (c. 1250 BC)
  • Assyrians sack Babylon (c. 1240 BC)
  • Israelite invasions of Canaan begin (c. 1230 BC)
  • invasion of the Sea Peoples halted by Merenptah (c. 1218 BC)
  • Assyria resists incursions by the Mushki and Urartu (c. 1200 BC)
  • Gilgamesh Epic (c. 1200 BC)
  • invasions by the Sea Peoples lead to the abandonment of Ugarit (c. 1200 BC)
  • Greeks living in tribal communities (c. 1200 BC)
  • Dorians migrate to Greece (c. 1200 BC)
  • Hittite kingdom overran by the Sea Peoples and their allies (c. 1200 BC)
  • foundations of the kingdom of Lydia by the Heraclid dynasty (c. 1200 BC)
  • Agamemnon, king of Mycenae (c. 1200 BC)
  • kingdom of Phrygia founded by settlers from the Balkans (c. 1200 BC)
  • Troy destroyed after a ten year war between the Trojans and Greeks (c. 1184 BC)
  • Sea Peoples establish Philistia on Canaan's southern coast ( 1180 BC)
  • invasion of the "Sea Peoples" halted by Ramesses III (c. 1180 BC)
  • Shutruk-Nahhunte of Elam invades Babylon and places his son on the throne (c. 1168 BC)
  • Assyria and Elam attack Babylonia ending Kassite rule (c. 1155 BC)
  • Nebuchadnezzar I, king of Babylonia, begins reign until c. 1104. (c. 1125 BC)
  • King Wu overthrows the Shang dynasty and begins the Chou dynasty ( 1122 BC)
  • settlements on the site of future Peking (c. 1121 BC)
  • Nebuchadnezzar I of Babylon invades and conquers Elam (c. 1120 BC)
  • reign of Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria ( 1114 BC)
  • Canaan vying for control with the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon until 700 B.C. (c. 1100 BC)
  • Mycenaean culture succumbs to Greek expansion (c. 1100 BC)
  • Saul becomes the first king of Israel until 1000 BC ( 1020 BC)
  • Urartu overruns much of Assyria (c. 1000 BC)
  • Lydians from Asia Minor settle in Italy (c. 1000 BC)
  • Ionians settle on the west coast of Asia Minor (c. 1000 BC)
  • iron in use in Greece (c. 1000 BC)
  • David is the king of Judah and Israel until 960 BC ( 1000 BC)
  • David, king of Israel, captures Jerusalem and makes it the capital of Israel (c. 1000 BC)
  • Kingdoms of Media and Parsa founded by migrating Aryans (c. 1000 BC)
  • Phoenicia founded (c. 1000 BC)
  • Phoenician alphabet developed (c. 1000 BC)
  • Thracians and Phyrgians migrate to Urartu (c. 1000 BC)
  • collapse of the New Kingdom in Egypt allows Kush to expand ( 970 BC)
  • King Hiram I rules Tyre until 936 BC ( 969 BC)
  • Solomon becomes the king of Israel and builds Yahweh Temple until 925 BC ( 960 BC)
  • Assyria reclaims lands lost to the Urartian invasion ( 934 BC)
  • according to legend, Menelik I, the son of King Solomon of Israel and Queen Makeda of Sheba, founds a Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia (c. 930 BC)
  • Shesonq sacks Jerusalem (c. 925 BC)
  • Israel divides into two kingdoms: Judah and Israel (c. 922 BC)
  • Urartu adopts the Assyrian cuneiform script (c. 900 BC)
  • first Greek city-states (c. 900 BC)
  • Ashurnasirpal II moves the Assyrian capital to Calah (c. 880 BC)
  • Phoenician city of Carthage founded ( 878 BC)
  • Omri rules Israel ( 876 BC)
  • Shalmeneser III of Assyria defeats the first known king of Urartu, Aramu ( 856 BC)
  • Egypt divides into five kingdoms until 712 BC ( 828 BC)
  • Humban-Tahrah moves the Elamite capital back to Susa (c. 820 BC)
  • Etruscan civilization in Italy (c. 800 BC)
  • Iliad and Odyssey written by Homer (c. 800 BC)
  • Greek alphabet first used (c. 800 BC)
  • Phoenicians settle in Cyprus (c. 800 BC)
  • Kingdom of Urartu expands under Menva (c. 800 BC)
  • Argishti I builds a royal capital at Erebuni ( 782 BC)
  • first recorded Olympic Games ( 776 BC)
  • Assyrian incursions of Phoenicia begin ( 774 BC)
  • Chou capital moved from Hao to Luoyang due to barbarian incursions ( 770 BC)
  • Sarduri II expands Urartian control over northern Syria (c. 760 BC)
  • legendary founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus ( 753 BC)
  • Semetic speaking peoples from south Arabia cross the Red Sea and settle in Ethiopia (c. 750 BC)
  • Kush occupies Egypt (c. 750 BC)
  • iron working in Egypt (c. 750 BC)
  • Amos, the first Hebrew prophet (c. 750 BC)
  • Tiglath-Pileser III rebuilds the decaying Assyrian empire ( 745 BC)
  • Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria defeats Urartu and re-asserts Assyrian control over northern Syria ( 743 BC)
  • Assyria invades Phoenicia ( 738 BC)
  • Assyrians begin incursions into Urartu ( 735 BC)
  • Tyre falls to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria ( 734 BC)
  • King Midas rules over Phrygia until 675 BC (c. 725 BC)
  • Sargon II reorganizes the Assyrian empire into 70 provinces (c. 722 BC)
  • Samaria, the capital of Israel, captured by Sargon II of Assyria ( 721 BC)
  • Sargon II of Assyria deports 28,000 Israelites who become the "Ten Lost Tribes of Israel" ( 721 BC)
  • Humban-Nikash of Elam defeats Sargon II of Assyria at the Battle of Der ( 721 BC)
  • Chaldaeans enter Babylonia and compete for the Babylonian throne until 703 B.C. (c. 721 BC)
  • Hezekiah, king of Judah until 687 BC ( 715 BC)
  • Sargon II of Assyria defeats a Urartian army under Rusa I ( 714 BC)
  • Egypt reunited under Nubian rule ( 712 BC)
  • Phrygia becomes a tributary to Assyria ( 709 BC)
  • Cimmerians attacks on Urartu begin ( 707 BC)
  • Sargon II moves the Assyrian capital to Dur Sharrukin (c. 705 BC)
  • Assyria attacks Jerusalem ( 701 BC)
  • Assyrians invade and conquer most of Phoenicia ( 701 BC)
  • Sennacherib moves the Assyrian capital to Nineveh (c. 700 BC)
  • town of Byzantium founded by the Greek sailor, Byzas (c. 700 BC)
  • Achaemenes, first king of Parsa (c. 700 BC)
  • Assyrians destroy Babylon ( 689 BC)
  • Gyges founds the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia (c. 685 BC)
  • Rusa II builds a new Urartian capital at Rusahinili (c. 680 BC)
  • Invading Cimmerians devastate Phrygia (c. 676 BC)
  • first recorded circumnavigation of Africa by Phoenicians (c. 672 BC)
  • Assyrian rule in Egypt ( 671 BC)
  • Kushites driven from Egypt by the Assyrians ( 654 BC)
  • Elam becomes an Assyrian vassal ( 653 BC)
  • Babylonians rebel against their Assyrian rulers ( 652 BC)
  • Cimmerian invaders driven from Lydia by Ardys (c. 651 BC)
  • coinage invented in Lydia ( 650 BC)
  • Ashurbanipal of Assyria sacks Susa bringing Elamite power to an end ( 646 BC)
  • Macedonia founded by Perdiccas (c. 640 BC)
  • A revolt occurs within the Assyrian court following the death of Ashurbanipal ( 627 BC)
  • Chaldaean king, Nabopolassar, secures Babylonian throne until 605 B.C. (c. 625 BC)
  • Etruscan influence reaches Rome (c. 625 BC)
  • Medes capture Ashur ( 614 BC)
  • Medes ally with Babylonia to conquer Assyria ( 612 BC)
  • Ashur-Uballit II, the last Assyrian king, retreats and is defeated at Harran ( 609 BC)
  • Alyattes rules Lydia until 560 BC ( 605 BC)
  • earliest known use of iron in China (c. 600 BC)
  • Etruscan kings rule over Rome (c. 600 BC)
  • last Greek monarchies at Argos, Sparta, and Thera (c. 600 BC)
  • Kush capital moved from Napata to Meroe ( 591 BC)
  • Medes attack Urartu and destroy Rusahinili ( 590 BC)
  • Kingdom of Urartu begins to decline ( 590 BC)
  • Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia captures Jerusalem ( 587 BC)
  • Judah becomes a province of Babylonia ( 587 BC)
  • exile of the Jews to Babylon ( 586 BC)
  • Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia conquers Phoenicia ( 586 BC)
  • war between Media and Lydia ends when a solar eclipse prompts a peace settlement ( 585 BC)
  • birth of Pythagoras, Greek philosopher and mathematician (c. 582 BC)
  • Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia burns Jerusalem ( 581 BC)
  • Croesus of Lydia subjugates Greek Ionian colonies (c. 560 BC)
  • Croesus of Lydia conquers Phrygia (c. 560 BC)
  • Cyrus the Great of Parsa rebels against the Medes and founds the Persian empire ( 559 BC)
  • birth of Confucius ( 551 BC)
  • Lao-tse founds Taoism in China ( 550 BC)
  • Persia conquers the Medes ( 550 BC)
  • Persia conquers Lydia including the Ionian Greeks ( 547 BC)
  • Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylonia absorbing Babylon into the Persian empire ( 539 BC)
  • Cyrus the Great of Persia frees the captive Jews from Babylonia ( 539 BC)
  • Cyrus the Great absorbs Phoenicia into the Persian Empire ( 539 BC)
  • Elam is absorbed into the Persian Empire ( 538 BC)
  • Egypt conquered by the Persians ( 525 BC)
  • Darius I quells a rebellion in Persia and becomes king ( 522 BC)
  • birth of Xerxes, future king of Persia ( 519 BC)
  • democracy in Athens ( 509 BC)
  • republic established at Rome as Etruscan rule ends ( 509 BC)
  • Sun Tzu writes The Art of War (c. 500 BC)
  • Pericles of Athens is born ( 500 BC)
  • Ionian War until 494 BC ( 499 BC)
  • Alexander I rules over Macedonia until 452 BC (c. 495 BC)
  • Darius I of Persia defeated by the Greeks at Marathon ( 490 BC)
  • Persian Wars between Persia and Greece until 449 BC ( 490 BC)
  • birth of Herodotus ( 485 BC)
  • Warring States period begins in China ending in 221 B.C. ( 480 BC)
  • Persia, led by Xerxes, invades Greece ( 480 BC)
  • Persians suffer defeat by the Greeks at Plataea and Mycale; Persian expansion halted ( 479 BC)
  • Carthaginians defeat the Etruscans in a naval battle at Cumae ( 474 BC)
  • birth of Socrates ( 470 BC)
  • birth of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine ( 460 BC)
  • First Pelopennesian war between Athens and Sparta ending in 445 BC ( 457 BC)
  • wars over succession following the death of Alexander I in Macedonia until 359 BC (c. 452 BC)
  • Laws of the Twelve Tables codified in Rome ( 451 BC)
  • Second Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta ending in 404 BC ( 431 BC)
  • plague in Athens ending in 423 BC ( 430 BC)
  • birth of Plato ( 427 BC)
  • Thucydides is exiled from Athens ( 424 BC)
  • Plato becomes the pupil of Socrates ( 407 BC)
  • Egypt overthrows Persian rule ( 405 BC)
  • Athens surrenders to Sparta to end the Peloponnesian War ( 404 BC)
  • Cyrus the Younger rebels in Persia, but is defeated by Artaxerxes II at Cunoxa ( 401 BC)
  • Etruscan city of Veii falls to Rome; Etruscan civilization in decline ( 396 BC)
  • Rome begins conquest of Italy ( 396 BC)
  • Gauls sack Rome ( 390 BC)
  • birth of Aristotle ( 384 BC)
  • Philip II (Philip of Macedon) born ( 382 BC)
  • Illyrians invade western Macedonia ( 359 BC)
  • Philip II elected regent of Macedonia ( 359 BC)
  • Philip II repulses the Illyrian invasion ( 358 BC)
  • birth of Alexander the Great ( 356 BC)
  • crossbow invented in China (c. 350 BC)
  • revolt of Jews against Artaxerxes III in Persia ( 350 BC)
  • Rome signs treaty with Carthage ( 348 BC)
  • First Samnite War between Rome and the Samnites until 341 BC ( 343 BC)
  • Philip of Macedon defeats an invading Athenian army at Chaeronea ( 338 BC)
  • first Roman coins ( 338 BC)
  • Philip of Macedon assassinated ( 336 BC)
  • Lydia becomes a tributary of Macedon after Persia is conquered by Alexander the Great ( 334 BC)
  • Israel comes under the rule of Alexander the Great ( 333 BC)
  • Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia at Issus ( 333 BC)
  • Phrygia falls under Macedonian rule ( 333 BC)
  • Alexander the Great conquers Egypt ( 332 BC)
  • remants of the Persian Empire fall to Alexander the Great ( 332 BC)
  • Tyre falls to Alexander the Great ( 332 BC)
  • Persian capital of Persepolis burned by Alexander the Great ( 331 BC)
  • Second Samnite War between Rome and the Samnites until 304 BC ( 327 BC)
  • Alexander the Great dies without naming a successor ( 324 BC)
  • Ptolemy Soter becomes pharoah of Egypt after Alexander's death ( 323 BC)
  • Lydia absorbed into the Seleucid kingdom ( 323 BC)
  • Alexander's generals fight the "War of the Diadochi" over Alexander's conquered lands until 304 BC ( 321 BC)
  • Phrygia becomes a part of the Seleucid empire ( 301 BC)
  • Greek culture begins to influence Axum (c. 300 BC)
  • rice farming begins in Japan (c. 300 BC)
  • Third Samnite War between Rome and the Samnites until 290 BC ( 298 BC)
  • Lighthouse at Alexandria built ( 297 BC)
  • birth of Archimedes, Greek mathematician ( 287 BC)
  • Merotic script is introduced in Kush (c. 280 BC)
  • Gauls invade Macedonia ( 279 BC)
  • Antigonus Gonatus drives the Gauls from Macedonia ( 276 BC)
  • Pyrrhus of Epirus invades Italy, but is forced to withdrawal ( 275 BC)
  • Colossus of Rhodes completed (c. 275 BC)
  • First Punic War between Rome and Carthage until 241 BC ( 264 BC)
  • first public gladiator combat in Rome ( 264 BC)
  • Antigonus Gonatus, king of Macedonia, conquers some of the Greek states ( 262 BC)
  • Egyptians introduce the concept of the leap year ( 239 BC)
  • Dardanians invade Macedonia ( 229 BC)
  • Ch'in dynasty in China begins with Shih Huang Ti; founding of China ( 221 BC)
  • Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage until 202 BC ( 218 BC)
  • the Great Wall of China is built ( 215 BC)
  • civil war in China results in the overthrow of the Ch'in dynasty ending in 202 B.C. ( 209 BC)
  • Former Han dynasty in China to 9 A.D. (c. 207 BC)
  • Rome and Macedonia sign a non-aggression pact ( 205 BC)
  • Rosetta Stone ( 200 BC)
  • last Etruscan cities fall to Roman expansion (c. 200 BC)
  • Rome attacks Macedonia ( 200 BC)
  • Rome defeats Macedonian army under Philip V at Cynoscephalae ( 197 BC)
  • Lydia absorbed into the Pergamum kingdom ( 190 BC)
  • first known paved streets appear in Rome ( 170 BC)
  • Rome defeats Macedonia at Pydna ( 168 BC)
  • Macedonia forced to pay tribute to Rome ( 168 BC)
  • Judas Maccabaeus defeats the Syrians and frees Jerusalem ( 164 BC)
  • first water clock in Rome (c. 159 BC)
  • Macedonian revolt led by Andriscus defeats a Roman legion ( 150 BC)
  • Third Punic War between Rome and Carthage ending in 146 BC ( 149 BC)
  • Rome puts down a Macedonian revolt ( 148 BC)
  • Macedonia annexed by Rome ( 148 BC)
  • Greece falls under Roman control ( 147 BC)
  • Lydia absorbed into the Roman Empire ( 133 BC)
  • birth of Gaius Julius Caesar ( 100 BC)
  • civil war in Rome ( 90 BC)
  • revolt of slaves and gladiators led by Spartacus ( 71 BC)
  • birth of Virgil ( 70 BC)
  • Pompey of Rome captures Jerusalem and places Judah under Roman rule ( 63 BC)
  • birth of Gaius Octavius (Augustus) future Roman Emperor ( 63 BC)
  • Triumvirate formed between C. Licinius Crassus, Gaius Julius Caesar, and Pompeius Magnus ( 59 BC)
  • Gaius Julius Caesar begins conquest of Gaul ( 58 BC)
  • Cleopatra becomes ruler of Egypt ( 48 BC)
  • Caesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus in Greece ( 48 BC)
  • Caesar murdered ( 44 BC)
  • Herod the Great rules Israel as a Roman vassal until 4 BC ( 34 BC)
  • Egypt becomes a Roman province ( 31 BC)
  • Gaius Julius Octavianus (Augustus) defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium ( 31 BC)
  • Augustus becomes the first Emperor of the Roman Empire ( 27 BC)
  • Kush assists the Nubians in a revolt against Rome ( 24 BC)
  • Roman army razes Kushite city of Napata ( 23 BC)
  • birth of Jesus Christ (c. 4 BC)
  • Hsin dynasty in China to 23 A.D. ( 9 AD)
  • Later Han dynasty in China ( 22 AD)
  • crucifixion of Jesus Christ (c. 30 AD)
  • Rome invades the British Isles ( 30 AD)
  • Zoskales, the earliest known king of Axum, rules (c. 50 AD)
  • Titus suppresses a revolt in Jerusalem ( 70 AD)
  • Titus suppresses a revolt in Jerusalem ( 70 AD)
  • Silk Road from China to Rome opened ( 74 AD)
  • Silk Road from China to Rome opened ( 74 AD)
  • the empire of Axum, modern day Ethiopia in Africa, expands control over the Red Sea (c. 100 AD)
  • Buddhism reaches China (c. 100 AD)
  • Aksum becomes the royal capital (c. 150 AD)
  • Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor of Rome ( 161 AD)
  • plague in the Roman Empire ( 164 AD)
  • last Han emperor deposed ( 220 AD)
  • China divides into three kingdoms ( 220 AD)
  • Ardashir rebels against the Parthians founding the Sassanian empire ( 226 AD)
  • Shapur I rules the Sassanian empire until 270 AD ( 241 AD)
  • Sassanians defeat a Roman legion at Edessa and capture Emperor Valerian I ( 260 AD)
  • Goths sack Athens, Sparta, and Corinth ( 268 AD)
  • compass invented in China ( 271 AD)
  • Diocletian divides the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves ( 286 AD)
  • Jimmu Tenno becomes the first emperor of Japan (c. 300 AD)
  • first states in Japan (c. 300 AD)
  • Constantine the Great becomes emperor of Rome and reunites the empire ( 306 AD)
  • Constantine the Great accepts Christianity ( 313 AD)
  • Gupta kingdom founded under the rule of Candaragupta I ( 320 AD)
  • Constantinople becomes the capital of the Roman empire ( 330 AD)
  • Coptic Christian missionaries from Egypt and Syria reach Axum ( 341 AD)
  • Axum conquers Kush and Nubia (c. 350 AD)
  • King Ezana of Axum converts to Chrisianity ( 350 AD)
  • Shapur II of Sassania campaigns against the Chionite Huns ( 353 AD)
  • the works of Ramayana and Mahabharata are completed (c. 400 AD)
  • first records of Japanese history (c. 400 AD)
  • Visigoths sack Rome ( 410 AD)
  • Hephthalites invade Gupta (c. 430 AD)
  • Attila the Hun bribed into sparing Constantinople from attack ( 447 AD)
  • Scania settled by the Danes (c. 450 AD)
  • Vandals sack Rome ( 455 AD)
  • Hephthalites driven from Gupta by Skandagupta (c. 460 AD)
  • Odoacer conquers Italy effectively bringing the Roman Empire to an end ( 476 AD)
  • Sassania becomes a tributary to the Hephthalites ( 484 AD)
  • Aryabhalta calculates Pi ( 499 AD)
  • a second Hephthalite invasion hastens the decline of the Gupta kingdom (c. 500 AD)
  • Buddhism reaches Japan (c. 500 AD)
  • Danes settle Jutland (c. 500 AD)
  • Danish king, Cochilaicus, raids western Europe ( 515 AD)
  • Angles and Jutes settle western Europe ( 515 AD)
  • King Kaleb of Axum annexes Yemen ( 525 AD)
  • Justinian I becomes Emperor of Byzantium ( 527 AD)
  • Justinian becomes emperor of the eastern Roman Empire ( 527 AD)
  • Belisarius, Byzantium general, conquers the Vandal kingdom ( 533 AD)
  • Corpus of Civil Law published ( 534 AD)
  • Belisarius, Byzantium general, captures Carthage ( 534 AD)
  • Belisarius and Narses, Byzantium generals, conquer the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy ending in 562 A.D. ( 536 AD)
  • Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom, completed by Emperor Justinian ( 537 AD)
  • Belisarius, Byzantium general, recaptures Rome ( 539 AD)
  • war between Byzantium and Persia ending in 562 A.D. ( 539 AD)
  • Sassania, under Khusrau I, sacks Antioch ( 540 AD)
  • Justinian conquers southern Spain ( 554 AD)
  • war between Byzantium and Persia ending in 591 A.D. ( 572 AD)
  • China reunited under the Sui dynasty by Yang Jian ( 589 AD)
  • Emperor Maurice of Byzantium wars against the Avars ending in 602 A.D. ( 592 AD)
  • Prince Shotoku creates the first Japanese constitution (c. 600 AD)
  • emergence of Viking Sweden (c. 600 AD)
  • Emperor Maurice of Byzantium is murdered as his army mutinees ( 602 AD)
  • eastern Roman Empire becomes the Byzantine Empire ( 610 AD)
  • Persians capture Damascus and Jerusalem ( 614 AD)
  • Sassanians capture Damascus and Jerusalem ( 614 AD)
  • Tang dynasty begins under Li Yuan ( 618 AD)
  • Emperor Heraclius of Byzantium invades Sassania ( 622 AD)
  • Heraclius of Byzantium defeats a Sassanian army at Nineveh ending the war with Sassania ( 627 AD)
  • Arab invasion into Byzantium territory begins (c. 630 AD)
  • rise of feudal nobility in Japan ( 636 AD)
  • Ctesiphon, the capital of Sassania, falls to Muslim attack ( 637 AD)
  • Arabs conquer Palestine ( 638 AD)
  • founding of Cairo ( 641 AD)
  • Arabs conquer Persia and Egypt ( 641 AD)
  • Muslim invasions end the Sassanian empire ( 642 AD)
  • Greek fire invented by Kallinikos ( 671 AD)
  • Arab attacks on Constantinople begin, but are repulsed in 678. ( 674 AD)
  • the rise of Islam cuts Axum off from its trading partners leading to its decline ( 700 AD)
  • future capital of the Toltecs, Tollan, settled (c. 700 AD)
  • Old Norse comes into use (c. 700 AD)
  • Nara, the first capital of Japan is established ( 710 AD)
  • first printed newspaper appears in Peking ( 748 AD)
  • Teotihucan destroyed (c. 750 AD)
  • first Viking raids on the east coast of England ( 793 AD)
  • monastery of Lindisfarne sacked by Vikings ( 793 AD)
  • first Viking raids into the Frankish kingdom ( 799 AD)
  • Northmen invade Germany (c. 800 AD)
  • Vikings control Ireland ( 802 AD)
  • Viking raids into Frisia begin ( 810 AD)
  • Folke Vilgerdsson of Rogaland reaches Iceland ( 814 AD)
  • Norwegian Vikings reach Iceland ( 825 AD)
  • Danish vikings begin a series of attacks on England ( 835 AD)
  • founding of Dyflinn (Dublin) by Thorgisl ( 839 AD)
  • Viking attacks on the Carolingian empire ( 840 AD)
  • Vikings settlers found the city of Dublin ( 840 AD)
  • Vikings overrun Frisia until 891 AD ( 845 AD)
  • Ulrich founds Novgorod in Russia ( 862 AD)
  • Basil I begins the Macedonian dynasty in Byzantium ( 867 AD)
  • Harald I controls Norway ( 872 AD)
  • Danes defeated at Edington by Alfred, king of Wessex ( 878 AD)
  • Kiev becomes the capital of the Rus state ( 882 AD)
  • Danish Vikings siege Paris ( 885 AD)
  • viking control in northern England established under the Danelaw ( 886 AD)
  • Yodit, a Jewish queen, defeats the last Axumite king, Del Na'od, and attempts to eradicate Christianity from Ethiopia (c. 900 AD)
  • Oleg the Wise, the Swedish ruler of Kiev, bribed into not attacking Constantinople ( 907 AD)
  • collapse of the Tang dynasty in China ( 907 AD)
  • Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ending in 960 A.D. ( 907 AD)
  • Treaty of St.-Clair-sur-Epte between the viking leader, Rollo, and Charles the Simple, king of the Franks, results in the creation of Neustria (Normandy) ( 911 AD)
  • the Solomonic dynasty falls and is replaced by the Zagwe dynasty ( 916 AD)
  • King Edward of England defeats the Danes at York ( 927 AD)
  • Althing begins in Iceland ( 930 AD)
  • Jutland conquered by King Gorm the Old of Hedeby ( 935 AD)
  • Rus vikings attack Constantinople ( 941 AD)
  • Byzantium captures Crete from the Arabs ( 961 AD)
  • Baptism of Harald Bluetooth ( 966 AD)
  • Erik the Red banished from Iceland ( 982 AD)
  • Erik the Red discovers Greenland ( 985 AD)
  • Sven Forkbeard Christianizes Denmark ( 985 AD)
  • discovery of Vinland by Leif Eriksson (c. 992 AD)
  • Olav I conquers Norway and converts it to Christianity ( 995 AD)
  • Olav I dies and Norway falls under Danish rule ( 1000 AD)
  • Vikings expelled from Ireland by King Brian Boru ( 1000 AD)
  • King Ethelred of England orders the death of all Danes in England ( 1002 AD)
  • Thorfinn Karlsefni attempts to colonize North America ( 1010 AD)
  • Sven Forkbeard, king of Denamark, invades England ( 1013 AD)
  • Olav II regains control of Norway ( 1016 AD)
  • Bulgaria becomes a province of Byzantium ( 1018 AD)
  • Knut the Great conquers Wessex establishing rule over all of England ( 1019 AD)
  • Ingvar the Great Voyager dies ( 1041 AD)
  • Byzantine rule in lower Italy halted by the Normans ( 1059 AD)
  • Harold Godwinson, king of England, defeats the Norwegian king, Harald Hardrada, at Stamford Bridge ( 1066 AD)
  • Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantines at Manzikert ( 1071 AD)
  • Axumite empire shattered as warlords vie for control ( 1140 AD)
  • the Mexica tribe migrate to the valley of Anahuac (c. 1168 AD)
  • Tollan is attacked and partially destroyed by the Chichemic (c. 1170 AD)
  • Incas migrate to Peru from the Andes (c. 1200 AD)
  • Tollan is abandoned as the Toltec empire disintegrates (c. 1200 AD)
  • Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, motivated by greed, invade Constantinople ( 1204 AD)
  • Mongol attacks on China begin ( 1211 AD)
  • Solomnic dynasty resumes in Axum ( 1270 AD)
  • Incan Empire expands from northern Ecuador to Chile (c. 1300 AD)
  • Tenochtitlan is founded on the islands of Lake Texcoco as a refuge ( 1325 AD)
  • Inca Rocca founds Henan Cuzco dynasty (c. 1350 AD)
  • expansion of the Inca empire begins under Pachacuti (c. 1438 AD)
  • Mexica tribe dominates the Valley of Mexico (c. 1440 AD)
  • Mehmet II, an Ottoman sultan, attacks Constantinople marking the end of Byzantium ( 1453 AD)
  • Tizoc begins to rebuild the temple to Huitzilopochtli ( 1484 AD)
  • Ahuitzotl dedicates the completion of Huitzilopochtli's temple by sacrificing 20,000 captives ( 1487 AD)
  • extinction of the Norse colony in Greenland (c. 1500 AD)
  • Spanish forces led by Hernando Cortes enter Tenochtitlan ( 1519 AD)
  • Aztecs drive the Spanish from Tenochtitlan ( 1520 AD)
  • Tenochtitlan falls to Cortes after it is devastated by war and disease ( 1521 AD)
  • Huayna Capac dies and divides his empire between his two sons, Atahuallpa and Huascar ( 1523 AD)
  • civil war wages between Atahuallpa and Huascar ( 1525 AD)
  • Atahuallpa defeats Huascar ( 1532 AD)
  • Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, capture Atahuallpa ( 1532 AD)
  • Atahuallpa is executed ( 1533 AD)
  • Manco is appointed as a puppet ruler of the Inca by Pizarro ( 1533 AD)
  • Manco rebels and drives the Spanish from Cuzco ( 1536 AD)

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Rome & Christianity

Christian Trials And Triumphs

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Ancient Cultures

Sumer

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World History

Fifth Millennium

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A Brief Timeline Of The Celtic People

c. 1400 BCE The beginning of Celtic culture in the upper Danube region of central Europe. c. 1200 BCE - c. 450 BCE Widest date range accepted by scholars for the Hallstatt culture in central Europe. c. 900 BCE Celtic Migration begins in Europe with many Celts landing in Scotland. c. 800 BCE - c. 600...
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Glossary

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Sumerian History

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Timelines & Charts

Timelines & Charts

Bible timelines are a useful tool for understanding the historical context of the Bible and the chronological order of events and stories mentioned in the text. These timelines provide a visual representation of the events and figures described in the Bible, and they can help readers to better under...
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The Sumerian King List was first compiled by Sumerian scribes circa 2100 B.C. Although the list is an invaluable historical resource, it does suffer from issues regarding dating as many early rulers were attributed reigns of extraordinary lengths, such as 36,000 years. This is most likely due to the...
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Mythology

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Religion

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Ancient Cultures

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Ancient Cultures

Sumerian Society

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Gods

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Timelines & Charts

Key Biblical Dates

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A Chronology of Persian History

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