World History Timeline

Timeline

14 events

24th century BCE

  1. c. 2334 BCE★★★★★

    Sargon founds the Akkadian Empire

    Sargon of Akkad conquers the Sumerian city-states, creating the first known multi-ethnic empire in Mesopotamia.

    PoliticsWar· Iraq

7th century BCE

  1. 612 BCE★★★★★

    Fall of Nineveh

    A Babylonian and Median coalition sacks Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, marking the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

    War· Iraq

6th century BCE

  1. 539 BCE★★★★★

    Fall of Babylon to Persia

    Cyrus the Great takes Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire; he later allows exiled Judeans to return to Judah.

    WarPolitics· Iraq

4th century BCE

  1. October 331 BCE★★★★★

    Battle of Gaugamela

    Alexander the Great defeats Darius III, sealing the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.

    War· Iraq

3rd century

  1. 224★★★★★

    Founding of the Sasanian Empire

    Ardashir I defeats the last Parthian king, founding the Sasanian Empire, the last Iranian empire before the rise of Islam.

    DynastyWar· Iran, Iraq

7th century

  1. c. 636★★★★★

    Battle of al-Qadisiyyah

    Rashidun forces defeat the Sasanian army in Iraq, opening the way to the capture of the capital Ctesiphon.

    War· Iraq
  2. October 10, 680★★★★★

    Battle of Karbala

    Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad, is killed by Umayyad forces at Karbala, an event central to Shia Muslim memory.

    WarReligion· Iraq

13th century

  1. February 10, 1258★★★★★

    Mongol sack of Baghdad

    Hulagu's Mongol army takes and devastates Baghdad, killing Caliph al-Musta'sim and ending the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad.

    War· Iraq

20th century

  1. May 15, 1948 – 1949★★★★★

    1948 Arab–Israeli War

    Neighbouring Arab states go to war with Israel; the war ends with the 1949 armistice agreements, and about 700,000 Palestinians flee or are expelled from their homes.

    War· Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq
  2. September 22, 1980 – August 20, 1988★★★★★

    Iran–Iraq War

    Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades Iran, beginning an eight-year war of attrition that kills hundreds of thousands.

    War· Iran, Iraq
  3. August 2, 1990★★★★★

    Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

    Iraqi forces invade and occupy Kuwait, prompting UN sanctions and the formation of a US-led coalition.

    War· Iraq, Kuwait
  4. January 17, 1991 – February 28, 1991★★★★★

    Gulf War

    A US-led coalition launches Operation Desert Storm, expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

    War· Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United States

21st century

  1. March 20, 2003 – December 2011★★★★★

    Iraq War

    A US-led coalition invades Iraq and topples Saddam Hussein, beginning a long period of occupation and conflict.

    War· Iraq, United States, United Kingdom
  2. June 29, 2014★★★★★

    ISIS proclaims a caliphate

    The Islamic State group proclaims a 'caliphate' over territory seized in Iraq and Syria; it loses nearly all of it by 2017–2019.

    WarPolitics· Iraq, Syria
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