World History Timeline

Timeline

102 events

35th century BCE

  1. c. 35th century BCE★★★★★

    Invention of the wheel

    The earliest evidence of wheeled vehicles appears around the mid-4th millennium BCE in Mesopotamia, the northern Caucasus and Central Europe.

    Technology

32nd century BCE

  1. c. 32nd century BCE★★★★★

    Cuneiform writing emerges in Sumer

    The Sumerians of Mesopotamia develop cuneiform, one of humanity's earliest writing systems, first used for economic record-keeping.

    CultureTechnology· Iraq

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

18th century BCE

  1. c. 1754 BCE★★★★★

    Code of Hammurabi

    King Hammurabi of Babylon issues one of the oldest and most complete written legal codes known.

    Politics· Iraq

13th century BCE

  1. c. 1274 BCE★★★★★

    Battle of Kadesh

    Ramesses II's Egyptian army fights the Hittites near Kadesh in Syria, one of the largest chariot battles of antiquity.

    War· Syria
  2. c. 1259 BCE★★★★★

    Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty

    Ramesses II and the Hittite king Hattusili III conclude one of the earliest peace treaties whose text survives.

    TreatyPolitics· Egypt, Turkey

12th century BCE

  1. c. 12th century BCE★★★★★

    Late Bronze Age collapse

    Many Eastern Mediterranean states, including the Hittite Empire, collapse or decline sharply during a prolonged period of upheaval.

    PoliticsWar· Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Greece
  2. c. 12th century BCE★★★★★

    Trojan War (traditional date)

    Ancient Greek tradition placed the war between the Greeks and Troy around the 12th century BCE; its historicity remains debated.

    WarCulture· Turkey

11th century BCE

  1. c. 11th century BCE★★★★★

    The Phoenician alphabet

    The Phoenicians use a consonantal alphabet that became the ancestor of the Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Arabic scripts.

    CultureTechnology· Lebanon

8th century BCE

  1. c. 722 BCE★★★★★

    Assyria conquers the Kingdom of Israel

    The Neo-Assyrian Empire captures Samaria, ending the northern Kingdom of Israel and deporting part of its population.

    War· Israel, Palestine

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

  2. c. 550 BCE★★★★★

    Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire

    Cyrus II defeats the Median king Astyages, laying the foundation of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the largest empire of its time.

    PoliticsDynasty· Iran
  3. 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
  4. 522 BCE★★★★★

    Darius I becomes king of Persia

    Darius I takes the throne, organising the empire into satrapies and building Persepolis and the Royal Road.

    PoliticsDynasty· Iran

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
  2. 323 BCE★★★★★

    Death of Alexander the Great

    Alexander the Great dies in Babylon aged 32, leaving an empire stretching from Greece to India.

    DeathPolitics· Iraq, Greece

1st century BCE

  1. 53 BCE★★★★★

    Battle of Carrhae

    Parthian forces crush the Roman army of Crassus, opening centuries of Roman–Iranian rivalry.

    War· Turkey

1st century

  1. 70★★★★★

    Rome destroys the Second Temple

    Roman forces under Titus take Jerusalem during the First Jewish–Roman War and destroy the Second Temple.

    WarReligion· Israel, Palestine

2nd century

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
  2. 235 – 284★★★★★

    Crisis of the Third Century

    The Roman Empire nearly collapses under civil wars, invasions, plague and economic crisis until Diocletian's accession.

    PoliticsEconomy· Italy

4th century

  1. 325★★★★★

    First Council of Nicaea

    The first ecumenical council of Christianity, convened by Constantine, condemns Arianism and formulates the Nicene Creed.

    Religion· Turkey
  2. May 11, 330★★★★★

    Dedication of Constantinople

    Emperor Constantine I dedicates Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire.

    Politics· Turkey

6th century

  1. 541★★★★★

    Plague of Justinian

    The first recorded pandemic of bubonic plague sweeps the Mediterranean, devastating the Byzantine Empire and killing vast numbers.

    Disease· Turkey, Egypt

7th century

  1. c. 610★★★★★

    Muhammad's first revelation

    According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad receives his first revelation in the cave of Hira near Mecca, beginning his prophetic mission.

    Religion· Saudi Arabia
  2. 622★★★★★

    The Hijra

    The Prophet Muhammad and his followers migrate from Mecca to Medina; the year becomes the start of the Islamic calendar.

    Religion· Saudi Arabia
  3. 630★★★★★

    Conquest of Mecca

    Muhammad and his followers enter Mecca almost without bloodshed, making it the centre of Islam.

    ReligionPolitics· Saudi Arabia
  5. 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
  6. August 636★★★★★

    Battle of the Yarmuk

    Rashidun Muslim forces defeat the Byzantine army, opening the way to the conquest of Syria and the Levant.

    War· Syria, Jordan
  7. 651★★★★★

    Fall of the Sasanian Empire

    The last Sasanian king, Yazdegerd III, is killed, completing the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia.

    WarDynasty· Iran, Turkmenistan
  8. 661 – 750★★★★★

    Umayyad Caliphate founded

    Muawiya I establishes the Umayyad dynasty with its capital at Damascus, making the caliphate hereditary.

    DynastyPolitics· Syria
  9. 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
  10. c. 691★★★★★

    Dome of the Rock completed

    Caliph Abd al-Malik completes the Dome of the Rock, one of the oldest surviving works of Islamic architecture.

    ReligionArt· Israel, Palestine

8th century

  1. 747 – 750★★★★★

    Abbasid Revolution overthrows the Umayyads

    A movement rising from Khorasan defeats the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab, establishing the Abbasid Caliphate.

    RevolutionDynasty· Iraq, Iran
  2. 762★★★★★

    Founding of Baghdad

    Caliph al-Mansur builds the 'Round City' of Baghdad as the Abbasid capital; it soon becomes one of the world's largest cities.

    PoliticsCulture· Iraq

9th century

  1. c. 820s★★★★★

    Al-Khwarizmi's treatise on algebra

    At Baghdad's House of Wisdom, al-Khwarizmi writes his treatise on completion and balancing, founding algebra as a discipline; the word "algebra" derives from its title.

    Science· Iraq
  2. c. 830s★★★★★

    House of Wisdom in Baghdad

    Under Caliph al-Ma'mun the House of Wisdom becomes a centre of translation and scholarship, preserving and extending Greek, Persian and Indian learning.

    ScienceCulture· Iraq

11th century

  1. c. 1011 – c. 1021★★★★★

    Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics

    Ibn al-Haytham composes the Book of Optics, explaining vision as light entering the eye and emphasising experimental method.

    Science· Egypt
  2. c. 1025★★★★★

    Ibn Sina completes the Canon of Medicine

    Ibn Sina (Avicenna) completes The Canon of Medicine, a medical encyclopedia used as a standard text in the Islamic world and Europe for centuries.

    Science· Iran
  3. July 16, 1054★★★★★

    East–West Schism

    Papal legates lay a bull of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia, marking the split between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

    Religion· Turkey, Italy
  4. August 26, 1071★★★★★

    Battle of Manzikert

    The Seljuks defeat and capture Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV, opening Anatolia to Turkish settlement.

    War· Turkey
  5. July 15, 1099★★★★★

    Crusaders capture Jerusalem

    The First Crusade takes Jerusalem after a siege, followed by a massacre of its inhabitants.

    WarReligion· Israel, Palestine

12th century

  1. 1147 – 1149★★★★★

    Second Crusade

    Launched after the fall of Edessa and led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, the crusade ends in failure before Damascus.

    WarReligion· Syria, Turkey, France, Germany
  2. July 4, 1187★★★★★

    Battle of Hattin

    Saladin destroys the army of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem near Tiberias, causing most Crusader strongholds to fall.

    War· Israel
  3. October 2, 1187★★★★★

    Saladin captures Jerusalem

    After a short siege, Saladin takes Jerusalem, ending 88 years of Crusader rule and prompting the Third Crusade.

    WarReligion· Israel, Palestine
  4. 1189 – 1192★★★★★

    The Third Crusade

    Richard the Lionheart and other European monarchs retake Acre but not Jerusalem; the Treaty of Jaffa with Saladin ends the campaign.

    WarReligion· Israel, Palestine, Lebanon

13th century

  1. 1250 – 1517★★★★★

    Mamluk Sultanate established in Egypt

    Mamluk slave-soldiers overthrow the Ayyubids and seize power in Egypt, ruling Egypt and Syria for over two and a half centuries.

    DynastyPolitics· Egypt, Syria
  2. 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
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