Ancient civilizations: writing, cities and empires

The ancient world stretches from about 3200 BCE to 500 CE. Writing, cities and states appear in Mesopotamia and Egypt, followed by the Indus valley, China, Greece, Persia and Rome.

Pyramids, philosophy, law codes and great empires belong to these centuries, which end with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century CE.

Explore this era on the timeline

Key events of the Ancient civilizations

7,073 events are on the timeline for this era; these are among the most notable, in date order.

from c. 3,150 BCE to 2,890 BCEFirst Dynasty of Egypt
c. 3,101 BCENarmer unifies Egypt
from c. 3,100 BCE to 2,686 BCEEarly Dynastic Period of Egypt
from 31st century BCE to 14th century BCEConstruction of Stonehenge
c. 3,000 BCECuneiform
from c. 3,000 BCE to 1,800 BCEIndus Valley Civilization
from c. 2,601 BCE to 1,901 BCEThe Indus Valley cities reach maturity
26th century BCEThe Great Sphinx
c. 2,560 BCEConstruction of Great Pyramid of Giza
from c. 2,500 BCE to 64 BCEPhoenicia
c. 2,300 BCEEruption of Blanco, Cerro
c. 2,100s BCEEpic of Gilgamesh
from c. 2,025 BCE to 609 BCEAssyrian Empire
from 3rd millennium BCE to 2nd millenniumMaya civilization
from 20th century BCE to 6th century BCEBabylonia
c. 1,900 BCEConstruction of Karnak Temple Complex
c. 1,752 BCECode of Hammurabi
c. 1,610 BCEEruption of Santorini
from c. 1,600 BCE to 1,100 BCEMycenaean Greece
from c. 1,550 BCE to 1,070 BCEEgyptian Empire
from 16th century BCE to 5th century BCEVedic period
16th century BCEVedas
c. 1,500 BCERigveda
c. 1,500 BCEOrigins of Zoroastrianism
c. 1,400 BCEOlmecas
from c. 1,400 BCE to 1,301 BCE14th century BC
c. 1,274 BCEConstruction of Abu Simbel
from c. 1,258 BCE to 1,180 BCETrojan War
from 13th century BCE to 6th centuryAncient Greece
13th century BCEAncient Celts
c. 1,200 BCEIron Age
from c. 1,200 BCE to 150 BCEPhoenician script
c. 1,051 BCEThe Phoenician alphabet spreads
from c. 996 BCE to 586 BCEConstruction of Solomon's Temple
from c. 911 BCE to 609 BCENeo-Assyrian Empire
10th century BCEFounding of Arezzo
from c. 814 BCE to 146 BCEAncient Carthage
from c. 808 BCE to 167 BCEMacedonia
9th century BCEConstruction of Roman Forum
from 8th century BCE to 3rd centuryClassical antiquity
from c. 776 BCE to 500 CEAncient Olympic Games
from c. 771 BCE to 476 BCESpring and Autumn period
c. 754 BCERomulus founds Rome (traditional date)
from c. 753 BCE to 476 CEAncient Rome
c. 750s BCEThe Homeric epics are composed
c. 700s BCEConstruction of Great Wall of China
7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
7th century BCERise of Nyaya
c. 601 BCEThe Lydians mint the first coins
600 BCEFounding of Milan
587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
550 BCEFounding of Verona
from 550 BCE to 330 BCEAchaemenid Empire
c. 520 BCECarving of the Behistun inscription
c. 510 BCEThe Roman Republic is founded
from 509 BCE to 27 BCERoman Republic
c. 509 BCECleisthenes lays the foundations of Athenian democracy
6th century BCEConstruction of Parthenon
6th century BCEOrigins of Judaism
from 499 BCE to 449 BCEGreco-Persian Wars
from 476 BCE to 221 BCEWarring States period
466 BCEDiscovery of Halley's Comet
from 448 BCE to 433 BCEConstruction of the Parthenon begins
from 431 BCE to 404 BCEPeloponnesian War
from c. 430s BCE to 470sStatue of Zeus at Olympia
c. 430s BCEHerodotus writes the Histories
5th century BCERise of Cynicism
from 387 BCE to 529 CEConstruction of Platonic Academy
c. 375 BCEWriting of The Republic
c. 375 BCEWriting of the Allegory of the Cave
from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
335 BCEAlexander the Great crosses into Asia
from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
from 322 BCE to 185 BCEMaurya empire
from 312 BCE to 63 BCESeleucid Empire
from 305 BCE to 30 BCEPtolemaic dynasty
4th century BCEElements
4th century BCEOrigins of Paris
284 BCEColossus of Rhodes
from 279 BCE to 1480Construction of Lighthouse of Alexandria
from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
from 264 BCE to 241 BCEFirst Punic War
3rd century BCEArchimedes' principle
248 BCEConstruction of Terracotta Army
from 247 BCE to 224 CEParthian Empire
c. 241 BCEEratosthenes measures the size of the Earth
from 221 BCE to 206 BCEQin dynasty
from 218 BCE to 201 BCESecond Punic War
217 BCEHannibal destroys the Roman army at Cannae
211 BCEIntroduction of sestertius
from 206 BCE to 220 CEHan dynasty
203 BCEScipio defeats Hannibal at Zama
3rd century BCEConstruction of Ajanta Caves
200 BCEOrigins of Nazca Lines
196 BCERosetta Stone
from 149 BCE to 146 BCEThird Punic War
147 BCERome destroys Carthage
141 BCEPaper
2nd century BCEVenus de Milo
139 BCEZhang Qian's mission opens the Silk Road
from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
2 September 31 BCEOctavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
from January 27 BCE to January 395 CERoman Empire
from 27 BCE to 180 CEPax Romana
c. 20 BCEVirgil's Aeneid is published
19 BCEConstruction of Western Wall
from 18 BCE to 660 CEThree Kingdoms of Korea
c. 4 BCENativity of Jesus
from 8 CE to 73 CERise of Zealotry
33 CEOrigins of Christianity
42 CEOrigins of Coptic Orthodox Church
43 CERome invades Britain
c. 47 CEOrigins of London
48 CEPublication of Epistle to the Galatians
from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
from June 68 CE to December 69 CEYear of the Four Emperors
August 70 CEThe Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem
79 CEVesuvius buries Pompeii and Herculaneum
80 CEThe Colosseum is inaugurated
81 CEConstruction of Colosseum
105 CECai Lun reports the invention of paper
117 CEThe Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent
122 CEConstruction of Hadrian's Wall
122 CEConstruction of Hadrian's Wall begins
2nd centuryConstruction of Pantheon
c. 150sPtolemy writes the Almagest
from 220 CE to 280 CEThree Kingdoms
from 224 CE to 651 CESasanian Empire
245 CERise of Neoplatonism
from 285 CE to 1453Byzantine Empire
from 285 CE to 476 CEWestern Roman Empire
293 CEDiocletian establishes the Tetrarchy
June 313 CEEdict of Milan
from 320 CE to 550 CEGupta Empire
325 CEFirst Council of Nicaea
327 CEConstruction of Church of the Nativity
11 May 330 CEConstantine dedicates Constantinople
335 CEConstruction of Church of the Holy Sepulchre
from 375 CE to 568 CEMigration Period
27 February 380 CEChristianity becomes the state religion of Rome
17 January 395 CEThe Roman Empire is permanently divided
24 August 410 CEAlaric and the Visigoths sack Rome
25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
from 22 June 431 CE to 31 July 431 CEFirst Council of Ephesus
1 November 451 CECouncil of Chalcedon
from 476 CE to 1492Middle Ages
from 476 CE to 900 CEEarly Middle Ages
495 CEConstruction of Shaolin Monastery

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