EARTH TIMELINE: 7000 BC - 700 AD ================================ (nc) Tod Foley 1991 7000 Jericho; Catal Huyuk; Proto-Minoans; -Aryans; -Taiwanese; -Sumerians > SW toward Mesopotamia; 7000-3000 Neolithic Age gives way to Bronze & Copper; Sumerian civ develops Proto-Syrians; -Palestinians 4000 Proto-Indus; -Persians; -Russian Turkestans; -Amerinds; small villages in Mesoamerica & Peru 3500 Upper Egypt consolidated; Khorat civ. developing 3000 Troy; Iberians > W Europe; Minoans; Barrows in Europe; Sumerian CityStates trade with Syrians, Elamites & Amorites; Megalithic temples on Malta 3000-1500 Old Egypt; Pyramids; Crete; Elamites freq raid Sumer; Aryans; Large temple complexes in Peru (rectangular mound-buildings) 2700 Gilgamesh 2700-1250 Stonehenge built 2500 City of Ur; Akkad; migrating Amorites/Semites; Harrapans; Longshan civ developing; Afghans; Sumeria unified; Egypt/Nubia trade; Cult of Ra; the Great Pyramid; Megaliths throughout Europe; Arameans 2400 Sargon the Great of Akkad ! Elam, Syria & SE Anatolia; Irrigation by the Chavins 2300 Harrapan trade with Afghans, Persians, Sumerians & Himilayans; Xia Dynasty; Gutians >! Sumeria (50 years); Bronze Age in S Asia 2100 Egyptian collapse (for 100 years); Sumeria reunited under Ur-Nammu 2000 Middle Egypt; Troy II; Proto-Iranians; Harrapan civ thrives; Minoan trade/colonies flourishing; Chinese learn metalworking from the Khorats; Elamites/Amorites >!+ Sumerians = Babylonians; Bronze Age in Brit.Isles; Assyrians; Aryans > NE Medit (Hurrians), Anatolia (Hittites); India (IndoAryans) & Europe (Celts); New temples in Peru (U-shaped complexes); Chavins expand and conquer, > inland; Small farming settlements in Mesoamerica 1830-1810 Assyria under Babylonian rule 1800 IndoEurs > Iran/Middle East; Harrapans abandon Indus valley; Shang Dynasty; Hammurabi's Empire stretches from Persian Gulf to Syria 1700 Abraham; Hittites; Egypt controls Lebanon 1700-1450 Minoan Golden Age: Palace destroyed, rebuilt; Colonies thrive; Assyrians defend against Egyptians, Hittites & Hurrians 1650-1550 Hyksos occupy Egypt; Bronze Age in Italy; Myceneans learn Bronzeworking & writing from Minoans 1500 Tyre; Celts and Iberians in Spain; Aegean & Hittite cities/trade; Hittites destroy Babylon; Minoan Linear Alphabet; Chinese Glyphs 1500-1100 New Egypt; Mycenaeans; Philistines; Bronze Age in Balt/Scandinavia; Kassites rule Babylon 1500-800 Chavin goldworking & jewelrymaking reach zenith 1400 Crete, devastated by earthquakes, falls to the Aegeans; Egyptian sea-power waning; Myceneans make aggressive progress; Olmecs 1300 Myceneans modify Minoan Alphabet 1366-1334 Hittites ! Hurrians & Syria; Hittite Empire incl Anatolia, N Lebanon & N Mesopotamia 1250 Phoenicians; Hebrews; Aegean migrations; Hittites ! Syria 1230 Exodus of the Israelites; Moses; the Ten Commandments 1200 Hittite Empire falters; Assyrian Iron; Assyria ! Babylonia; Israelites reach Canaan, the Promised Land 1200-1190 Trojan War (Mycenae >! Troy); Medit filled with war/piracy/revolt; N/C Myceneans >! Hittites & Lydians; Philistines rule Palestine 1200-900 San Lorenzo (Ceremonial/Urban site) is center of Olmec culture; Olmec stone heads carved; Olmec culture spreads north & south 1150 Macedonian barbarians > Mycenea, displacing Dorians 1100 "Sea Peoples" overrun the Mediterranean, destroying the Mycenean and Hittite Empires; Hittite culture destroyed; Athens & Arcadia become cities of refugees known as Ionians; Philistine Kingdom at zenith; 3rd intermediate period of Egypt; Arameans & Assyrians clash; Syrian states of Hama & Damascus prosper; Mycenea enters Dark Age; Aegean migrations begin; Dorians ! Pelopennese; Chou Dynasty 1000 Israelites subdue Canaanites/Philistines; Kings of Israel & Judah; IndoAryans > E to Ganges; Phoenicians modify Mycenean alphabet; Iron Age (no Bronze) in Africa 1000-900 Ionian colonies in S Anatolia & Lebanon; Neo-Hittites in N Anatolia 1000-600 China expands throughout region 975 David unites most of Lebanon & defeats Philistines 933-745 Young Assyrian Empire controls W Asian & Mediterranean traderoutes 900-700 Phoenicians expand/trade throughout Medit, to Morocco & Iberia; IndoAryans expand throughout India; Revolt destroys San Lorenzo; New S American states arise 800 Homer; Sparta; Carthage; Etruscans; IndoAryans write the Upanishads 800-700 Ionians learn writing from Phoenicians; remarkable Spartan army expands territory; Dorian/Spartan & Ionian civ development 800-500 China balkanizes; Feuds are typical; Bronze coins minted 776 1st Olympics 750-650 Assyria ! Elam; Assyrian Empire incl N Egypt, Lebanon, S Anatolia & all of Mesopotamia; Spartans grow introverted, aggressive & xenophobic; Exploitation of Ionian lower classes leads to overpopulation, food shortages & debt; Many Ionians migrate to Black Sea, N Africa, Sicily, Italy & Europe 750-300 Greek CityStates; Rome (Pre-Latins); Vedas; Egypt re-unified; Indus Republics; Olmecs 734 Sparta founds Syracus 700 Phrygia; early Celt culture; Celts work Iron; Greek coins; Carthage wins independance from Phoenicia; Etruscans join Phoen's as masters of Medit trade/colonization; Celts spread through Europe 650 Chinese coins; Brahmans maintain Vedas/castes; Saite Egypt rules Nubia & Libya; Assyrian strife/dissolution; Lydia mints electrum coins; Dioklos road (for hauling ships) btw C Greece & Pelopennese 600 Medes & Babylonians conquer Assyria (Empire falls); Truce btw Medes, Lydia & Babylonia brings peace for 35 years; Nebuchadnezzar; New Babylon Empire incl Sinai, Lebanon & Mesopotamia; Greek CityStates incl Thessaly, Boeotia (Thebes), Attica (Athens), Corinth, Euboea, Pelopennese (Arcadia, Sparta) & Ionia; Sparta unifies Pelopennesian League & expands; Despot tyrants reign throughout Aegean; Etruria subjugates Latium; Latins adopt writing; Massala (Greek trade town in S France) allows Celts to trade with Greeks/Etruscans; Ganges Plain = center of Indus civ; Indus aristocracy; Wars btw IndoAryan tribes; Dissemination of the Upanishads 600-430 Athens' glory; Socrates; Aeschylus; Hippocrates; Dionysus festivals 600-200 Olmec culture dissolves 594 Solon named Lawgiver of Athens; Many Greek states undergo broad reforms, others fall to tyranny 586 Babylon conquers Jerusalem; Temple destroyed; Babylonian Captivity 550 Greek Drama; Jainism; Indus Mercantile; Zoroaster; Cyrus of Persia ! Media, Lydia, Iran, Ionia & Turkestan; Persian Empire 550-500 Buddha; Mahavira (Jainism); Confucius; the powerful Magadha kingdom becomes India's trade nexus 540 Persia conquers Babylonia; Jews released; Carthaginians drive Greek traders out of Iberia 525-520 Persia conquers Egypt & NW India; Persian roads unite the Empire; Persians standardize coinage; international commerce thrives; the Capital city of Persepolis is built 514 Persia conquers Macedonia & Thrace 509 Rome wins independance from Etruria; Roman Republic begins 500 The Latin League 500-300 Mauryan India is unified; China undergoing slow unification 490-480 Persian Wars (Greeks repel Persians & destroy military might) 430-400 Pelopennesian Wars 400 Plato; Aristotle; Delian League; the Pentateuch; Persian decline; Athens surrenders to Sparta; Iron Age in Briton; Rome annexes Etruscan lands from the south; Celts attack from the north; Celtic coins; Chavin culture dissolves 400-380 Corinthian Wars (Corinth/Athens/Thebes/Argos rival Sparta) 390 Celts from Gaul seige Rome; Rome begins expanding throughout Italian peninsula 350 Aristotle; Plebian reforms; Philip II unites Greece by force; Seleucid Dynasty in Persia; Nazca 340 Latin Wars (Rome conquers most of Italy); Latin League dissolved 336 Alexander the Great takes throne of Macedonia/Greece 334 Alexander begins Asian Campaign, liberating Ionia from Persians, then Anatolia, Levant. Tyre, Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Persepolis, Bactria, Sogdiana & India 323 Alexander dies; His Empire is divided into three: Ptolemaic Egypt, Macedonia & Seleucia 300 Carthage holds S Iberia, Sardinia, Sicily & N Africa; Rise of Mauryan Empire; City of Pataliputra 300-200 India & Afghanistan secede from Seleucia; Greeks resume infighting; Greco-Asian culture= "Hellenism"; Archimides; Euclid; Eratosthenes; Rome expanding; Greek Empire dissolving/changing 275-240 1st-4th Syrian Wars (Ptolemy takes Siria & Anatolia from Seleucia) 264-241 1st Punic War (Rome drives back the Phoenician/Carthaginians) 250 Seleucia incl Anatolia, Lebanon, Mesopotamia & E Iran; Celts move into Baltics, Anatolia & Greece; Rome controls all of Italy; Bactria secedes from Seleucia and conquers Sogdiana 250-230 Parthia, Syria, Anatolia & Armenia secede from Seleucia 250-150 Parthians rise in power; Asoka expands Mauryan Empire; Buddhism becomes India's state religion; India prospers; Qin dynasty; the Great Wall of China; Chinese Uniformity; Shi huangdi searches for the "Isle of the Immortals" 240-220 Carthaginians conquer Iberia; Ionian/Seleucid city of Pergamum is the "Athens of Asia Minor" 220-200 2nd Punic War; Hannibal leads Carthaginian Iberia against Romans 214-150 Macedonian Wars (Rome forces Greece to surrender) 200 Rome possesses Iberia, Medit & N Africa; 5th Syrian War (Seleucia regains Syria & S Anatolia); Han Dynasty; Confucianism; Proto-Japan 200-100 Citizens of Roman Empire flock to cities 190 Rome takes Anatolia & Syria; Asoka becomes Emperor of India 180 End of Mauryan Dynasty 170 Rome takes Macedonia; Judas Maccabeus leads Jewish revolt 170-140 Parthian Empire: Parthians take Babylonia, Media, Elam & Persia from Seleucids, then conquer Bactria & extend to the Persian Gulf 150 3rd Punic War (Rome destroys Carthage & conquers Gaul); Rome takes Greece; Greek art enthralls Romans; China expands; Silk Road opened by Chinese traders 150-62 Roman Republic collapses; Romans attack Parthia & fail; Caesar 135 Parthia beset by nomads from the N (Eurasians) & E (Sacae); Sacaeans seize Bactria & Punjab 130-120 Pergamum becomes Roman province; Gracchius brothers killed for supporting agrarian land reforms 100 Spartacus; 1st Triumvirate (Caesar/Pompey/Crassus); Armenians fight the Parthians, greatly reducing size of Empire; Etruria dissolving; Cimbri attack Gaul & Roman holdings, put down by Rome; Trade btw China & Japan 90 Babylonia and Armenia revolt from Parthian rule 85 Civil War in Rome 60 Caesar leads Roman forces against Helvetian Tribes and conquers most of south-central Europe 53 Crassus killed 50-15 Caesar killed; Rome is officially an Empire; 2nd Triumvirate; Antony & Cleopatra; Augustus; Silk Road controlled by Parthians, who enjoy their role as middlemen btw Rome & China; Rome annexes Egypt & N Europe, but fails to conquer Teutonic Celts 35 Marc Antony attacks Parthia & fails; conquers Armenia ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> THE FIRST (ALEPH) YEAR ZERO << ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 0-30 Reinterest in Greek culture; Tiberius; Christ; the Kushan Kingdom; Parthia balkanizing, Empire dissolving 0 to 300 Rise of Christianity 35-40 Caligula 40-55 Claudius; Rome struggles for Briton (no conquest until 85) 55-65 Nero; Rome burns 70 Judean revolt put down; Temple destroyed 65-80 Christians persecuted; Jews/Judeans oppressed; Vespasian puts the Empire on good ground again; Vesuvius erupts; Buddhism spreads 76-180 The "Five Good Emperors" 100 Hadrian; Wall of Briton 130-135 Judean revolt results in the denationalization of the Jews ("The Dispersion"); Masada; Roman works throughout Europe/Briton 150 Marcus Arelius 166-167 Great Pestilence in Rome (Smallpox from Parthia/Silk Road) 200 Sassanian Empire (Persia); Zoroastrianism; Han Dynasty crumbles; Civil Wars in China due to Han court intrigues 200-280 Rome holds back Euro & Eurasian barbarians; Rome attacks E Parthia; Persia >! Syria & Mesopotamia; Alamanni storm S Europe, repelled repeatedly; Roman Govt begins to falter: inflation, taxation, & brigandage rise; Chaotic succession of despotic military leaders 200-800 The Venidi (Slavs) differentiate: Poles/Chzecks/Slovaks; Bulgarians/Serbs/Croats; Lithuanians; Russians/Ukrainians 250 Kushan regime in India toppled by Sassanians 250-260 Visigoths >! Balkans & SW Germany from a weakened Rome, and freq raid N Italy; Franks >! Gaul & E Spain; Sassanians >! Armenia, Mesopotamia & Syria, repelled by city of Palmyra; Emperor-Worship required in Rome; Christians persecuted (by law) 260-270 Goth ships on Black Sea wreak havoc in Anatolia/N Greece 267 Palmyra secedes & claims much of Rome's E holdings; At this point, Rome controls only Italy, N Africa & Illyria 270-280 Goths repelled from Balkans; Aurelian reclaims much of the Empire; New walls of Rome; Palmyra sacked; Alamanni & Franks repelled from Gaul; Goths deteated in Anatolia; Neo-Platonism 280-325 Diocletian divides the Empire into 2 districts (E/W), co-ruled by Maximian; City of Rome shifts into background of Roman affairs; Roman Paganism; Empire socially/financially united again; secret police; more Christians persecuted; Diocletian & Maximian abdicate 300-500 Mystery sects; Barbarian raids/border skirmishes; Scoti (Irish) & Picts raid Roman holds; Vikings (Norwegians, Danes & Swedes) begin expansion/travels; Gupta Era in India; Hinduism; Indian science & literature; India expands 325-350 Constantine accepts Christianity; Council of Nicaea; Constantinople (built upon Byzantium) = "Nova Roma"; Peace treaty with Visigoths; Visigoths accept Christianity; Hagia Sophia built; Frankish battles 370-380 Huns >W to Caspian, >! Alans, >! Ostrogoths, & raid Visigoths, who appeal to Rome for protection, but are so mistreated that they sack Constantinople; Church schisms (E/W Theology); Ambrose; Augustine 400 The "Split Empire" is by now a permanent structure; Vandals > Gaul, Spain & Africa 400-450 Attila; Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms; Arthur 450 Attila defeated; Vandals raid Rome 500 Islamic Empire; Rise of Irish monastic scholarship; Ostrogoths invade Italy; Franks take Gaul; Buddhist cave temples; Huns topple Guptas; Turks & Mongols invade China; Teotihuacan playing feilds 550 Justinian; Byzantine Empire; Mohammed; Koran; Buddhism in Japan; Lombards take Italy 600 Carolingians; Tang Dynasty; Moslem expansion begins (toward Persia and Egypt); missionaries sent to convert Anglo-Saxons; Mayan temple-pyramids 700 Japan (Nara period); Fall of Lombards; Bulgars; Arab attack on Constantinople fails due to newly-invented "Greek Fire." =======================================================================