The Nok culture flourished in present-day central Nigeria, known for its terracotta sculptures and as one of the earliest iron-smelting cultures in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Olmecs develop the earliest known complex civilization of Mesoamerica along Mexico's Gulf Coast, known for their colossal stone heads.
A Bronze Age and early Iron Age culture of the Red River valley and north-central Vietnam, famous for its bronze drums.
In the desert of southern Peru, the Nazca and earlier cultures create enormous geoglyphs on the ground, best seen in full from above.
Seven major states vie for supremacy for over two centuries, an era that also sees the flourishing of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
The philosopher Socrates is convicted by an Athenian jury of impiety and corrupting the youth, and is executed by drinking hemlock.
Plato establishes the Academy in Athens, a centre of philosophy with lasting influence on the Greek world.
Philip II of Macedon defeats Athens and Thebes, establishing Macedonian dominance over Greece.
After the assassination of Philip II, his son Alexander, then about 20, succeeds to the Macedonian throne.
Alexander the Great defeats Darius III, sealing the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.
Alexander the Great dies in Babylon aged 32, leaving an empire stretching from Greece to India.
Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nanda dynasty of Magadha, founding the first empire to unite most of the Indian subcontinent.