79: Mount Vesuvius erupts burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. To navigate the timeline, click and drag it with your mouse, or click on the timeline overview on the bottom. The existence of written documents from long ago has allowed the development in China of precise historiographical tradition that offers a continuous narration from the first dynasties to the contemporary age.2100-1600 BCThe First Chinese Dynasty, Xia, was a slavery-based society that allowed private property. 31: At the Battle of Actium, Antony and the last Ptolemaic pharaoh Cleopatra VII are defeated and soon after Augustus (Octavian) becomes the first emperor of Rome. Ancient Times - Empires and Civilizations Timeline. 240: Greek mathematician Eratosthenes (276–194) measures the Earth's circumference. 23rd BC - 3500: The first cities are built by the Sumerians at Tell Brak, Uruk, and Hamoukar in Mesopotamia's Fertile Crescent. 483: Indian philosopher Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (563–483) dies and his followers begin to organize a religious movement based on his teachings. Cities & Buildings 180: Reign of Marcus Aurelius officially ends. These naturally-occurring ores typically included arsenic as a common impurity. 31st BC - The period known as the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt begins with the founding of the Third Dynasty. 3rd BC - 336: Philip's son Alexander the Great (356–323) rules Macedonia. Ancient History Timeline. 21st BC - 332: Alexander conquers Egypt, founds Alexandria, and installs a Greek government but leaves the next year. A Time Line of Ancient Egyptian History. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. 3000: Cuneiform writing is developed in Uruk as a way to track commercial trade and taxes. 43: The 2nd Triumvirate, that of Marc Antony, Octavian, and M Aemillius Lepidus, is established. 22nd BC - 508: Athenian lawgiver Cleisthenes reforms the constitution of ancient Athens, setting it on a democratic footing. 11th BC - 1200: Fall of Troy (if there was a Trojan War). 24th BC - Nature & Climate 17th BC - 133–123: The Gracchi brothers attempt to reform Rome's social and political structure to help the lower classes. It is used to refer to various other periods of ancient history, like, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_ancient_history&oldid=977434467, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. 19th BC - 995: The Judean King David captures Jerusalem. 10th BC - 212: The Edict of Caracalla extends Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. 430–426: The Plague of Athens kills an estimated 300,000 people, among them Pericles. 26th BC - His adopted son, 138: Hadrian dies of natural causes. Rulers & Politics In some parts of the world, a Copper Age follows the Neolithic and precedes the Bronze Age. 1600: The Minoan culture is replaced by the Mycenaean civilization of mainland Greece, thought to be the Trojan civilization recorded by Homer. 122: Roman soldiers begin building Hadrian's Wall, a defensive structure that will eventually stretch 70 miles across Northern England and marks the northern limit of the empire in Great Britain. Philosophy & Religion 14th BC - 1st AD - Free Ancient History Presentations in PowerPoint format. 509: Traditional date for the founding of the Roman Republic. 546–538: Cyrus and the Medes defeat Croesus and capture Lydia. 9: German tribes destroy 3 Roman legions under P. Quinctilius Varnus in the Teutoberg Forest. He then invades Italy but is convinced to withdraw by Pope Leo I. 449: Persia and Athens sign the Peace of Callias, officially ending the Persian Wars. 331: At the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander defeats the Persian king Darius III. 499: After paying tribute and arms to the Persian Empire for several decades, Greek city-states revolt against Persian rule. BBC - History - Timelines, interactive. 492–449: The Persian king Darius the Great invades Greece, kicking off the Persian Wars. 479: Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479) dies, and his disciples carry on. The date used as the end of the ancient era is arbitrary. 451: Attila the Hun (406–453) faces the Visigoths and Romans together in the Battle of Chalons. Search through the entire ancient history timeline. This coincides roughly with the traditional date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC and the beginning of the history of Rome.[5][6]. 60: Roman leaders Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar form the 1st Triumvirate. 550: Greek colonies include almost all of the Black Sea area, but begin to find it difficult to survive so far from Athens and make diplomatic compromises with the Persian Empire. 20th BC - The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. This timeline of ancient history lists historical events of the documented ancient past from the beginning of recorded history until the Early Middle Ages.