Wikipedia Timeline of Ancient History
Category: Other
Updated: 6 May 2024
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Created byDaniel Judd
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Sumerian cuneiform writing system and Egyptian hieroglyphs are first usedCycladic culture in GreeceCaral-Supe civilization begins in PeruRise of Proto-Elamite Civilization in IranFirst Dynasty of EgyptSkara Brae is built in ScotlandCucuteni–Trypillia culture is established in Romania and Ukraine.Jiroft culture begins in IranFirst known use of papyrus by EgyptiansDomestication of the horse in the Yamnaya culture.Kot Diji phase of the Indus Valley Civilisation beginsLongshan culture begins in ChinaMinoan civilization ancient palace city Knossos reaches 80,000 inhabitantsRise of Elam in Iran.The Old Kingdom begins in Egypt.Oldest known surviving literatureMature Harappan phase of the Indus Valley civilization beginsEmergence of Mayan culture in the Yucatán PeninsulaKing Khufu completes the Great Pyramid of Giza.The Land of Punt in the Horn of Africa first appears in Egyptian records around this time.The last mammoth population, on Wrangel Island in Siberia, goes extinct.Traditional date for the legendary foundation of Armenia by Hayk.1st possible date for the founding of the Akkadian Empire2nd possible date for the founding of the Akkadian EmpireOldest known depiction of the Staff God, the oldest image of a god to be found in the AmericasCompletion of StonehengeThe Akkadian Empire collapsesThe Old Kingdom in Egypt collapsesThe Middle Kingdom begins in EgyptErlitou culture begins in ChinaAlphabetic writing emergesThe Old Babylonian text of the Epic of Gilgamesh is written. Possibly the oldest significant work of literatureOldest Record of Hammurabi's Code.Indus Valley Civilization comes to an end but is continued by the Cemetery H cultureThe beginning of Poverty Point culture in North AmericaMinoan civilization on Crete is destroyed by the Minoan eruption of Santorini islandMycenaean GreeceThe beginning of Shang dynasty in ChinaEvidence of a fully developed writing system in China, see Oracle bone scriptBeginning of Hittite dominance of the Eastern Mediterranean regionThe New Kingdom begins in EgyptComposition of the Rigveda is completedOldest known song with notationThe Hallstatt culture beginsDisintegration of Hittite EmpireUse of Iron spreads as a result of the fall of the Hittite EmpireThe Phoenician alphabet is createdThe Zhou force (led by King Wu of Zhou) overthrow the last king of Shang dynasty; Zhou dynasty established in ChinaNok culture begins in West AfricaThe second stream of Bantu expansion reaches the great lakes region of Africa, creating a major population centreApproximate date for the composition of the Iliad and the OdysseyFoundation of Carthage by the Phoenicians in today known TunisiaRise of Greek city-statesIron Age begins in Sungai Batu (Old Kedah)Rise of the Kingdom of KushFirst recorded Ancient Olympic GamesSpring and Autumn period begins in ChinaFounding of Rome (traditional date)Tiglath-Pileser III becomes the new king of Assyria. With time he conquers neighboring countries and turns Assyria into an empire.Rise of the Median Empire.The construction of Marib Dam in Arabia Felix, in modern Saudi Arabia and Yemen.Rise of Achaemenid dynasty.An alliance between the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians succeeds in destroying Nineveh and causing subsequent fall of the Assyrian empirePandyan kingdom is founded in South India.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 civilization near Lake Chad.Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), founder of Buddhism is born as a prince of the Shakya clan, which ruled parts of Magadha, one of the MahajanapadasConfucius, founder of Confucianism, is bornFoundation of the Achaemenid Empire by Cyrus the Great.Mahavira, founder of Jainism, is born.Cyrus the Great overthrows Croesus, King of Lydia.Rise of Magadha as the dominant power under Bimbisara.The fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and liberation of the Jews by Cyrus the Great.Death of Cyrus the GreatCambyses II of Persia conquers Ancient Egypt.Persian Empire at largest extentExpulsion of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, founding of Roman Republic (traditional date).Athenian democracy instituted at the Republic of AthensPanini standardizes the grammar and morphology of Sanskrit in the text Ashtadhyayi.King Aristagoras of Miletus incites all of Hellenic Asia Minor to rebel against the Persian Empire, beginning the Greco-Persian Wars.Greek city-states defeat Persian invasion at Battle of MarathonDeath of Gautama BuddhaPersian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I; Battles of Thermopylae and SalamisDeath of ConfuciusWarring States period begins in China as the Zhou king became a mere figurehead; China is annexed by regional warlordsMurder of Xerxes IBirth of DemocritusThe Oresteia by Aeschylus, the only surviving trilogy of ancient Greek plays, is performed.The Greco-Persian Wars end.Building of the Parthenon at Athens startedConstruction of the Parthenon is completedBeginning of the Peloponnesian War between the Greek city-statesSophocles's play Oedipus Rex is first performedBirth of PlatoNanda dynasty comes to power in Magadha.End of the Peloponnesian WarZapotec culture flourishes around city of Monte AlbánRise of the Garamantes as an irrigation-based desert state in the Fezzan region of LibyaDeath of SocratesBirth of AristotleDeath of DemocritusBirth of Alexander the GreatPhillip II, King of Macedon and father of Alexander the Great, is assassinated by the captain of his bodyguards. Alexander assumes the throne.Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela, completing his conquest of Persia.Death of Alexander the Great at Babylon.Death of AristotleChandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nanda dynasty of Magadha.Establishment of the Seleucid Empire by Seleucus I Nicator. The empire existed until 63 BC.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.Completion of Euclid's ElementsPingala uses zero and binary numeral systemSangam literature period in the history of ancient southern IndiaChola Empire forms in South IndiaConstruction of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the world's largest pyramid by volume, begins in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.Ashoka becomes the emperor of the Maurya EmpireBirth of Ashoka the GreatKalinga WarAn Durong Vurong takes over Việt Nam (then Kingdom of u Lạc)Mahinda Thero, first-born son of Ashoka the Great, brings Buddhism to to Sri Lanka (then Lanka) as a buddhist missionaryRise of Parthia (Ashkâniân), the second native dynasty of ancient PersiaDeath of Emperor Ashoka; Decline of the Mauryan EmpireEmergence of Satavahana in South IndiaQin 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 by the Qin dynasty begins.Battle of Cannae - Rome defeated in major battle in the second Punic WarKingdom of Nanyue extends from Guangzhou to North Việt NamHan 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.Scipio Africanus defeats Hannibal at Battle of Zama.El Mirador, largest early Maya city, flourishes.Paper is invented in the Han dynasty.Chera dynasty in South India.Shunga Empire founded.Roman conquest of GreeceEucratides I dies; Greco-Bactrian Kingdom collapses. Remnants move southwards to form the Indo-Greek Kingdom.Roman armies enter Gaul for the first time.First Chinese domination of Việtnam in the form of the Nanyue Kingdom.Chola dynasty rises in prominence.Burebista becomes the king of Dacia.Death of Spartacus. End of the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman RepublicThe Siege of Jerusalem leads to the conquest of Judea by the Romans.Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great.Julius Caesar murdered by Marcus Brutus and others; End of Roman Republic; beginning of Roman Empire.Burebista is assassinated in the same year like Julius Caesar and his empire breaks into 4 and later 5 kingdoms in modern-day Romania.Cleopatra ends her reign as the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of EgyptFormation of Roman Empire. Beginning of Pax Romana.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 Christ.Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the Imperial Roman Army's bloodiest defeat.Death of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar (Octavian), ascension of his adopted son Tiberius to the throne.Death of Emperor Tiberius, ascension of his nephew Caligula to the throne.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.Emperor Nero commits suicide, prompting the Year of the Four Emperors in 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, his adopted son Trajan succeeds him.Trajan dies of natural causes. His adopted son Hadrian succeeds him. Hadrian pulls out of Iraq and Armenia.Construction of Hadrian's Wall begins.Hadrian completes the Roman Pantheon.Hadrian dies of natural causes. His adopted son Antoninus Pius succeeds him.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.Reign of Marcus Aurelius officially ends.Kingdom of Champa founded in Tay Nguyen.Three Kingdoms period begins in China after the fall of Han dynasty.Fall of the Parthian Empire and Rise of the Sassanian Empire.Defeat of Gordian III (238–244), Philip the Arab (244–249), and Emperor Valerian (253–260), by Shapur I of PersiaPeriods
Stonehenge construction begins.Earliest evidence of autochthonous iron production in West Africa.The East African Pastoral neolithic culture builds East Africa's earliest and largest monumental cemetery at Lothagam North Pillar Site.Kerma culture begins in Nubia4.2-kiloyear eventThe Proto-Sinaitic script is the oldest alphabet created in Egypt.Olmec civilization flourishes in Pre-Columbian Mexico, during Mesoamerica's Formative periodBronze Age collapse occurs in Southwestern Asia and in the Eastern Mediterranean regionEarly HistoryClassical AntiquityThe Urewe culture dominates the African Great Lakes region. It was one of Africa's oldest iron smelting centresBirth of SocratesMaccabean Revolt.Third Punic War between Rome and Carthage.Battle of Actium. The Roman conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt.Amanirenas, the kandake (Queen) of the Kingdom of Kush, leads Kushite armies against the Romans.Bantu speaking communities in the great lakes region of Africa develop iron forging techniques that enable them to produce carbon steel.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.Burebista conquers territories from south Germany to Thrace, reaching the coast of the Aegean sea.The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a Graeco-Roman manuscript is written. It describes an established Indian Ocean Trade routeCrucifixion of Jesus Christ, exact date unknown.Kingdom of Aksum forms in the Horn of Africa.Roman Empire at largest extent under Trajan after having conquered modern-day Romania, Iraq and Armenia.Commodus becomes Roman Emperor.The Buddhist Srivijaya Empire established in Maritime Southeast Asia.
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