World History Timeline - By Tarini Carr

9000-5000 BCE

7500BC- Ancient bricks dated at the Gulf of Cambay. Remains of what may have been a pre-Harappan city.
7000BC- Earliest Pre-Harappan settlement of Mehrgarh.
6150BC Çatalhoyük is a major Neolithic center in Turkey.
5000-3400BC- first signs of maize, bean and cotton domestication in Mesoamerica.
5000 BC The practice of ritual burial and artificial mummification is begun by the Chincorro people of north coastal Chile, attesting to the Andean concern for the veneration and preservation of the dead.
5000BC - Yang Shao Culture. Farming villages in the Yellow River valleys.

4000-3000BCE

4000BC- Excavations from this period at Sumerian sites of Kish and Susa reveal existence of Indian trade products.
3372BC- First date in Mayan Calendar.
3700-3100BC- The Uruk Period of Sumeria, people moved from villages to cities, writing developed, and the creation of monumental temples. Uruk become one of the most important centers in Mesopotamia.
3100BC – First Egyptian Dynasty founded by Menes.
3100BCFirst Mycenaean Culture begins.

3000BC Stonehenge in England built
3000BC Egyptian Hieroglyphs developed

3000-2500BCE

2952BC- Fu-Xi, first of the Three Noble Emperors rules. He develops the Chinese alphabet and culture.
2870BC – Troy founded.
2800BC- Foundation of the ‘Old Kingdom’ in Egypt, covering 3rd Dynasty to the 7th.
2780BC- Zoser becomes ruler of Egypt. His physician Imhotep designs the first pyramid at Saqqara.
2700BC – Great Pyramid age begins in Egypt with Khufu building the Great Pyramid of Giza.
2697BC- Huang-ti, the “Yellow Emperor” comes to power in China.
2613BC – Death of king Khufu, succeeded by his son Redjedef who introduces the worship of Ra into the royal tutelary and religion.
2603BC –Khafre rules and builds his tomb at Giza.
2600-1800BC Indus Civilization at its height.The Harappan cities have sophisticated water and sewer systems, the like which would not be seen until Roman times.
2586BC – The temple of Sri Rangam in south India completed.
2578BC –Menkaure rules Egypt, builds the smallest of the 3 pyramids at Giza.
2500BC- Sphinx built at Giza
2500BC -Long Shan Culture .East China and Central River valleys. Wheel-made pottery, divination and ancestral worship
2500BC – Papyrus used for writing in Egypt.
2500BC -Residential communities on the north Pacific coast of Peru grow large. The extensive Aspero, covered over thirty acres , with ceremonial mounds, plazas, and terraces.

2500-1600BCE

2371BC- Sargon of Agade founds the Akkadian Empire and unites Sumer and Akkad.
2350BC Sargon of Akkad destroys Babylon (which rises again)
2350BC- Yao Dynasty in China.
2205-1766BC – Xia Dynasty begins in China. Ritual bronze vessels and "oracle bones" calligraphy. Evidence of a relatively sophisticated medical system using acupuncture needles and medical observations
2150BC- Civil War in Egypt
2100BC- The Kingdom of Ur 2100-2000. Abraham leads his people from Ur to Canaan (Palestine).
2000BC- The so-called Temple of the Crossed Hands, a large square building with mud reliefs of crossed human arms in an interior chamber, is built at Kotosh in the north central Andean highlands
1925BC- Hittites conquer Babylon.
1800-900BC Early Formative Period of Mesoamerica. Neolithic farming villages;looms, ground stone figurines; rule by groups of elders, shamans, or chiefs; rain & fertility cults
1878BC – Sesostris II dies and is succeeded by his son Sesostris III who builds a canal at the first cataract of the Nile, forms a standing army and erects forts at the Southern border.
1700BC- The Minoan civilization on Crete is at its height
1700 BC Construction begins on the pyramid at the site of Cerro Sechin in the north-central valley of Casma, Peru.
1728BC- Accession of Hammurabi the Great of Babylon, author of the great Code of Laws.
1650-rise of Mycenaean civilization.

1600-1500BCE

1600BC – Hebrews enter Egypt.
1600BC-Linear A (writing) in common use over Crete.
1595BC – First Babylonian Empire destroyed by the Hittites.
1570BC- Beginning of the New Kingdom in Egypt: Hyksos driven out by Ahmose I and the Temple of Amun at Karnak begun. Reunification of Egypt begins.
1551BC – Ahmose I dies and is succeeded by Amenhotep I. He begins the custom of hiding his burial place.
1504BC- Thutmose II dies and is succeeded by his young son Thutmose III. His mother Hatshepsut governs as regent and within a year is crowned pharaoh. Mother and son then rule jointly.
1500BC – Cinnamon is exported from Kerala to Middle East.
1500BC- First tomb in the Valley of the Kings Egypt.
1500BC-Polynesians migrate throughout Pacific islands.
1500BC-Mittani Kingdom begins in Asia Minor.

1500BC The Huaca de los Reyes, a grand building complex of plazas, sunken courts, colonnades, towers, and adobe sculptures, is built of stone and clay mortar at the site of Caballo Muerto in Peru's Moche Valley.
1500BC Gold is hammered into thin foil and placed in the hands and mouth of a youth upon burial at the central highland site of Waywaka in Peru. The gold foil is the first evidence for the working of metals in South America

1500-1000BCE

1483BC –Thutmose III of Egypt reconquers Syria and Palestine and expands his empire.
1400BC- Cretan Culture ends: Knossos burnt..
1379BC – Amenhotep introduces monotheistic Sun-worship and abolishes all old gods.
1375BC- Suppiluliumas becomes king of the Hittites in Asia Minor and begins building Hittite Empire.
1361BC- The boy-pharaoh Tutankhamen succeeds Akhenaton: his advisors restore the worship of the old gods of Egypt.
1350BC-The Lion Gate of Mycenae built.
1304BC- Rameses II the Great, becomes pharaoh of Egypt

1300BC-Phoenician settlements founded in Helias and Cadiz.
1276BC – Lifetime of Tiglath Pileser I of Assyria. He conquers the Armenians, Hittites, Babylonians and forces Egypt to pay tribute to him
1250BC - Moses leads 600,000 Jews out of Egypt.
1200BC-Agamemnon, king of Mycenae
1193BC- Probable time of the legendary Greek Trojan War celebrated in Homer's epic poems, Iliad and Odyssey (ca -750).
1175BC- Invasion of Egypt by confederation of Greeks, Philistines, Sardinians, and Sicilians: all defeated by Ramses III.
1124BC - Elamite Dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar I moves capital to Babylon, world's largest city, covering 10,000 hectares, slightly larger than present-day San Francisco.
1122BC- Emperor Wu Wang founds the Western Chou Dynasty in China
1000-400BC Height of the Olmec civilization. Famous for the sculptures of giant stone heads with Negroid features.Incipient forms of writing appear as early as 500BC.

1000-700 BCE

975BC - King Hiram of Phoenicia, for the sake of King Solomon of Israel, trades with the port of Ophir (Sanskrit- Supara) near modern Bombay, showing the trade between Israel and India. Same trade goes back to Harappan era.
953BC- Solomon builds the Great Temple.
950BC - Jewish people arrive in India in King Solomon's merchant fleet. Later Jewish colonies find India a tolerant home.
850BC - The Chinese use the 28-nakshatra zodiac called Shiu, adapted from the Vedic jyotisa system.
814BC- Carthage founded by Phoenicians.
800BC – Traditional date of the composition of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
776BC - First Olympic Games are held in Greece.
770BC – Eastern Chou Dynasty in China (till 256BC).
753BC – Traditional date of the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus.
722BC- Capture of Samaria by Sargon II.
710BC – Assyrians destroy the kingdom of Chaldea.
705BC – Sennacherib becomes king of Assyria till 682BC.
701BC – Sennacherib establishes his capital at Nineveh.

700-600 BCE

689BC – Assyrians destroy Babylon and flood the area.
650-600BC Zarathustra, founder of Persian Zoroastrianism
647BC – Assurbanipal sacks the Persian city of Susa, enslaves the Elamites and sows salt on the ground so that nothing will grow there.
621BC – Dracon introduces Athens first written laws, which are noted for their severity.
612BC – Nineveh destroyed by Medes, Babylonians and Scythians led by the Babylonian king Nabopollassar.
608BC – Necho of Egypt defeats and kills Josiah, king of Judah, at the Battle of Megiddo.
604BC – Era of Hebrew prophet Daniel.
600BC - Life of Susruta, of Varanasi, the father of surgery. His ayurvedic treatises cover pulse diagnosis, hernia, cataract, cosmetic surgery, medical ethics, 121 surgical implements, antiseptics, use of drugs to control bleeding, toxicology, psychiatry, classification of burns, midwifery, surgical anesthesia and therapeutics of garlic.
600BC Lifetime of Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism in China, author of Tao-te Ching. Its esoteric teachings of simplicity and selflessness shape Chinese life for 2,000 years and permeate the religions of Vietnam, Japan and Korea.

600-500BCE

594BC – Solon becomes sole Archon of Athens. He introduces milder laws to replace Dracon’s. Creates courts of citizens and reforms elections of magistrates.
586BC- Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon captures Jerusalem: People of Judah deported to Babylon.
580BC - Nebuchadnezzar II begins building ‘The Hanging Gardens of Babylon’.
559BC – Cyrus the Great founds the Persian Empire.
551-497BC - Lifetime of Confucius, founder of Confucianism faith.
546BC –Battle of Sardis: Croesus, last king of Lydia defeated by Cyrus; Persians overrun Asia Minor.
539BC- Babylon captured by Persians: Judah and Phoenicia become Persian provinces.
539BC Greeks defeat the Carthaginians in battle.
538BC – Cyrus allows some Jewish exiles to return to Judah.
520BC – Work is resumed on the Temple of Jerusalem (completed 515BC).
517-509BC – Darius I conquers the Indus region and makes it part of the Persian Empire.
509BC – Foundation of Roman Republic.
508BC- Democratic constitution proclaimed in Athens.
500-200 BC-precocious ceremonial centers emerged in the Maya lowlands at sites like El Mirador, Nakbé, Cerros, and Uaxactún.
500BC- China- Agriculture begins to make more advances including the use of an iron plow.

500-300BCE

500BC – Iron Age begins in Britain.
499BC – Revolt of Ionian Greek cities against Persian King Darius.
486BC – Xerxes, son of Darius, becomes king of Persia.
480BC – Battle of Thermopylae: Spartans wiped out by Persians. Persian invasion of Greece halted.
461BC – Pericles comes to power in Athens.
460BC – Birth of Demetrius (460-370BC), Greek philosopher who constructs a working mechanical model of the universe.
450BC - Athenian philosopher Socrates flourishes (ca -470-400).

432BC The Parthenon is completed
428-348BC - Lifetime of Plato, Athenian disciple of Socrates. This great philosopher founds Athens Academy in 387BC.
403BC-Warring States Period of Chinese History (403-221BC)
400BC- Lifetime of Hippocrates, Greek physician and "father of medicine," formulates Hippocratic oath, code of medical ethics still pledged by present-day Western doctors.
332BC – Alexander invades Egypt and ends Persian rule, appointing his generals Cleomenes and Ptolemy to govern.
330 BC – Alexander conquers Persia and sets fire to Persepolis.
326BC -Alexander invades, but fails to conquer, Northern India. His soldiers mutiny. He leaves India the same year. Greek sculpture impacts Hindu styles. Bactria kingdoms later enhance Greek influence.
300BC Nak'be becomes a major center in central America. Enormous stucco-surfaced limestone masks embellish a major temple, the first occurrence of a longlived Maya religious pattern.

300BCE-8AD

282BC- The Colossus of Rhodes is constructed.
221BC-Great Wall of China is built, ultimately 2,600 miles long, the only man-made object visible from the moon.
220BC-standardization of weights, measures, calligraphy in China. Emperor Qin Shi Huang creates burial pit city including thousands of Terracotta warriors.
150BC - Ajanta Buddhist Caves are begun near present-day Hyderabad. Construction of the 29 monasteries and galleries continues until approximately 650AD. The famous murals are painted between 600AD and 650AD
150 BC The site of Tiwanaku on Bolivia's Lake Titicaca is laid out in a grid pattern with civic-ceremonial structures and elite residences forming the center. Stone sculptures with low-relief carvings of human, animal, and undulating snake figures are erected.
100BC the Nazca peoples living in the Ica Valley and in the Río Grande de Nazca drainage are impressive weavers, producing complex works.
113BC- Heliodorus column is erected
100BC – Scythians invade North India and take over.
50BC - Kushana Empire begins (50BC-220AD). This Mongolian Buddhist dynasty rules most of the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia.
44BC – Julius Caesar assassinated in Senate house.
30BC – As her forces are routed by Octavian (Augustus Caesar), Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt commits suicide.
5BC – Birth of Jesus Christ.
8AD – China ruled by Wang Mang, a commoner who had served the Han Dynasty who was appointed emperor after a power struggle.

100-300AD

10AD – Indian embassy to Emperor Trajan in Rome.
30AD – Christ crucified.
60AD - Buddhism is introduced in China by Emperor Ming-di after he converts to the faith.
79AD – Mount Vesuvius erupts and destroys Pompeii.
100AD - Zhang Qian of China establishes trade routes to India and as far west as Rome, later known as the "Silk Roads."
100AD- The Pyramids of the Sun and Moon are constructed in Mexico at Teotihuacan
117AD - The Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent.
180AD -Mexican city of Teotihuacan has a population of more than 125,000 and covered at least 8 square miles. It is one of the largest cities in the world betwen200-700 AD.
205-270AD - Lifetime of Plotinus, Egyptian-born monistic Greek philosopher and religious genius who transforms a revival of Platonism in the Roman Empire into what present-day scholars call Neo-Platonism.
225AD – Later Han Dynasty of China collapses. China is plunged into 350 years of chaos among 3 feuding kingdoms.
250AD- Nazca lines in Peru
250-600AD- The Mayan have long-count calendar, writing, sculpture, mathematics, ceramics, and large-scale urban planning widespread in many areas.

300-500AD

300AD- Mayan Empire at its height (300-800AD)
313AD- Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire.
358AD -Huns, excellent archers and horsemen, invade Europe from the East.
391AD- Roman Emperor Theodosius destroys Greek Hellenistic temples in favor of Christianity.
400AD – Polynesians sailing in open outrigger canoes reach as far as Hawaii and Easter Island.
405AD – Chinese pilgrim Fa Hein begins his travels through the Gupta Kingdom.
419AD - Moche people of Peru build a Sun temple 150 feet high using 50 million bricks.
430AD – Attila the Hun ravages Europe.
440AD – Pope Leo I proclaims papal supremacy over the teachings of Christianity.
450AD– Hunas invade India
452AD- Pope Leo I persuades Attila the Hun not to sack Rome.
476AD – Birth of the astrologer Aryabhatta. who by using Vedic numerals accurately calculates pi () to 3.1416, and the solar year to 365.3586805 days. A thousand years before Copernicus.

500-1000AD

570AD – Birth of Mohammed.
618-907AD -Tang Dynasty. the silk road trade to Europe thrives
641AD-Arab Muslims conquer Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia in 4 years.
686AD- Reign of Pallava King Rajasinha who begins the extensive sculptural art in the thriving sea-port of Mahabalipuram.
691AD – The Dome of the Rock is built in Jerusalem.
750AD-Kailasa temple is carved out of a hill of rock at Ellora, India.
875AD - Muslim conquests extend from Spain to Indus Valley.
1000AD- A few Hindu communities from Rajasthan, Sindh and other areas, gradually move to Persia and on to Europe becoming the ancestors of present-day Romani, or gypsies.
1000AD-Vikings reach North America, landing in Nova Scotia.
1000AD-Polynesians arrive in New Zealand, last stage in the greatest migration and navigational feat in history, making them the most widely-spread race on Earth.

1000-1500AD Inca Empire at its height.

1000-1300AD

1000-1250AD- Chichen Itza flourishes as the economic and political center of the Mayas
1100-1200AD-Rise of Toltec Empire centered at Tula. They dominate Mexico
1001AD- Turkish Muslims sweep through the Northwest under Mahmud of Ghazni, in the first major Muslim conquest of India.
1040AD –Chinese invent the compass and moveable type and perfect the use of gunpowder, first invented and used in India as an explosive mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal to power guns, cannons and artillery.
1150AD – Building of the present Jagannatha Temple in Puri.
1096-1099AD- First Crusade
1167AD – Birth of Genghis Khan.
1175AD- Toltec Empire of Mexico crumbles.
1199AD – Genghis Khan becomes supreme leader of the Mongol tribes.
1200-1400AD-Rise of the Aztec Empire; disintegration of Maya civilization
1227AD- Mongolian Emperor Genghis Khan, conqueror of a vast area from Beijing, China, to Iran and north of Tibet, the largest empire the world has yet seen, dies.
1238AD – T’ai Kingdom established at Sukhot’ai, capital of the Angkor Empire, after two T’ai chiefs defeat the Khmer. This area later becomes Siam / Thailand.

1276AD - Kublai Khan completes conquest of China.
1297AD – Marco Polo visits South India.

1300-1600AD

1325AD- Southern Aztecs under Tènoc found Tenochtìtlan while northern Aztecs found Tlatelòlco just north of it
1336AD– Kingdom of Vijayanagara, last Hindu empire in India, extends as far as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines (till 1565).
1300-1600AD- Renaissance in Europe.
1400-1500AD – Aztec Empire at it’s height
1433AD - China cloisters itself from outside world by banning further voyages to the West. (First bamboo curtain.)
1492AD- Looking for India, Christopher Columbus lands on San Salvador island in the Caribbean, thus "discovering" the Americas and proving that the earth is round, not flat.

1519AD-Tenochtìtlan/ Tlatelòlco
probably has 200,000 to 300,000 people
1520AD-Montezuma II, last Aztec emperor of Mexico is murdered by the Spaniards.
1533AD -Pizarro captures the Inca capital of Cuzco and conquers Peru.

FROM ARCHEOLOGYONLINE.NET