c. 5th century BCE – c. 5th century★★★★★
Nazca Lines created
In the desert of southern Peru, the Nazca and earlier cultures create enormous geoglyphs on the ground, best seen in full from above.
CultureArt· Peru
Timeline
11 events5th century BCE
1st century BCE
- c. 1st century BCE – c. 6th century★★★★★
Teotihuacan flourishes
Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico grows into one of the largest cities in the world of its time, with the Pyramid of the Sun and the Avenue of the Dead.
Culture· Mexico
3rd century
- c. 3rd century – c. 9th century★★★★★
Classic period of Maya civilization
Maya city-states such as Tikal, Palenque and Calakmul reach their height in architecture, writing, astronomy and calendrics.
CultureScience· Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras - c. 3rd century – c. 11th century★★★★★
The Ghana Empire in West Africa
The Soninke Ghana Empire (Wagadu) flourished in what is now Mauritania and Mali, growing rich from control of the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade.
DynastyEconomy· Mauritania, Mali
5th century
- August 24, 410★★★★★
Visigoths sack Rome
Visigoths under Alaric I enter and sack Rome, the first time in about 800 years the city had fallen to a foreign enemy.
War· Italy - 415★★★★★
Murder of Hypatia
The mathematician and philosopher Hypatia is murdered by a mob in Alexandria.
DeathScience· Egypt - c. 420s★★★★★
Founding of Nalanda Mahavihara
Under the Guptas, the monastery of Nalanda in Bihar is founded and becomes Asia's foremost centre of Buddhist learning for centuries.
ReligionCulture· India - 451★★★★★
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
A Roman and Visigothic coalition under Aetius halts the invasion of Gaul by Attila and the Huns.
War· France - September 4, 476★★★★★
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Odoacer deposes Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman emperor, a conventional end of antiquity in Europe.
PoliticsDynasty· Italy - c. 496★★★★★
Baptism of Clovis I
Clovis I, unifier of the Franks, converts to Catholic Christianity; traditionally dated to around 496 at Reims.
ReligionPolitics· France - 499★★★★★
Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya
Mathematician-astronomer Aryabhata completes the Aryabhatiya, treating place-value notation, an approximation of pi and the Earth's rotation.
Science· India