| Year |
International
Relations &
Warfare |
Politics |
Science,
Technology & Discovery |
Society &
Culture |
Economics &
Daily Life |
| c. 10000 BCE |
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(1) Dog first domesticated (Middle East)
(2) Development of intensive flock management in Zagros Mountains
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| c. 8350 BCE |
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Earliest known walled city at Jericho
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| c. 8000 BCE |
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(1) Potatoes and beans first cultivated in South
America
(2) Earliest permanent farming villages in Fertile Crescent
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| c. 7500 BCE |
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First manufacture of textiles in the Middle East using flax
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| c. 7000 BCE |
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Goats, sheep, and pigs domesticated (Middle East)
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| c. 6200 BCE |
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Copper smelting in Asia Minor
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| c. 6000 BCE |
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Irrigation in Zagros Mountains
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(1) Cat domesticated (Northeast Africa)
(2) Cattle domesticated (Turkey)
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| c. 5500 BCE |
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Cotton cultivated in India
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| c. 5200 BCE |
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Chickens domesticated (China)
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| c. 5000 BCE |
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Irrigation spreads to Mesopotamia
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| c. 4500 BCE |
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Sail, plow, and potter's wheel invented in Mesopotamia
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| c. 4300 BCE |
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Megalithic tombs in Western Europe
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c. 4300-3100; Spread of cities in Mesopotamia
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| c. 4000 BCE |
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Horse domesticated (Eurasian steppe)
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| c. 3800 BCE |
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Bronze in Mesopotamia
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| c. 3650 BCE |
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Wheeled vehicles in Mesopotamia
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| c. 3500 BCE |
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Pottery in South America
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Permanent fishing villages in South America
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| c. 3400 BCE |
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Earliest hieroglyphics in Egypt
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| c. 3150 BCE |
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Unification of Egypt under King Menes
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| 3000 BCE |
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Sumerians develop Cuneiform writing
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Potatoes, alpacas, and llamas domesticated (Andes Mountains)
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| 2900 BCE |
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Defensive walls around cities become more prevalent
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| 2700 BCE |
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Yin and Yang theory developed in China
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Olive trees cultivated (Crete)
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| 2630 BCE |
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c. 2630; First pyramid constructed in Egypt; Imhotep is first known architect
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| 2600 BCE |
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(1) Urbanization in Indus River Valley
(2) Preservation of fish and poultry (Egypt)
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| 2575 BCE |
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c. 2575-2134; Old Kingdom of Egypt
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| 2528 BCE |
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c. 2528; Cheops buried in First Great Pyramid at Giza
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| 2400 BCE |
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First wheeled war wagons in Mesopotamia
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| 2350 BCE |
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Earliest known law code in Sumer
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| 2334 BCE |
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c. 2334-2193; Sargon unifies Sumer and Akkad, creating Akkadian Empire
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c. 2334-2193; First deification of kings in Sumer
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| 2300 BCE |
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Earliest permanent farming villages in Mesoamerica
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| 2296 BCE |
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Chinese record a comet
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| 2200 BCE |
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Legendary Xia Dynasty in China
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Dogs, goats, pigs, oxen, and sheep domesticated in China
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| 2134 BCE |
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Collapse of central authority in Egypt; End of Old Kingdom
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| 2100 BCE |
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First Ziggurats in Sumer
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| 2040 BCE |
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c. 2040-1650; Mentuhotep restores centralized government in Egypt marking the beginning of the Middle Kingdom
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| 2000 BCE |
Hittites establish empire in Anatolia (modern Turkey)
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c. 2000 - 1450; Minoan palace civilization on Crete
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Decimal notation in Babylon
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(1) Stonehenge in Southern England
(2) Epic of Gilgamesh is first written myth
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Tea and bananas cultivated (India)
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| 1813 BCE |
Emergence of Assyrian power under Shamshi-Adad I
(-1813 to -1781)
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| 1800 BCE |
c. 1800-1750; Hammurabi establishes Babylonian Empire
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c. 1800-1750; Hammurabi's Code is first written legal code
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Irrigation in South America
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Earliest prohibitions against pork among shepherd tribes in Middle East
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| 1750 BCE |
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Collapse of Indus River Valley civilization at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa
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| 1700 BCE |
c. 1700-1650; Chariot-equipped Hyksos begin invasions and conquer Middle Kingdom Egypt
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Rise of the palace civilization centered on Knossos on Crete
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Spread of two-wheeled war chariot in Middle East
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First evidence of leavened bread (Egypt)
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| 1600 BCE |
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(1) Rise of Mycenaean Civilization in mainland Greece
(2) c. 1600; First historical dynasty in China (The Shang)
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(1) Canaanites invent first alphabet
(2) Pictographic writing in China
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| 1550 BCE |
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Ahmose reunites Egypt; c. 1550-1070; New Kingdom in Egypt
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| 1500 BCE |
c. 1504-1492; Thutmose I expands Egypt into Palestine, Syria, and Nubia
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Geometry developed in Egypt
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(1) Silkworm domesticated (China)
(2) c. 1500 Rabbit domesticated (Europe)
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| 1458 BCE |
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Thutmose III ascends to Egyptian throne; First usage of the term Pharaoh
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| 1450 BCE |
Mycenaean Greeks conquer Minoan Civilization on Crete
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Brahma worship in India
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| 1440 BCE |
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First metalworking in South America
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| 1400 BCE |
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Iron Age begins in Asia Minor
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Maize cultivation in Mesoamerica
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| 1353 BCE |
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Amenhotep IV introduces monotheism to Egypt
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| 1350 BCE |
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War chariot introduced to China
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| 1333 BCE |
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Tutankhaman (King Tut) reestablishes polytheism as official religion in Egypt
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| 1200 BCE |
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(1) c. 1200-400; Olmec Civilization in Mesoamerica
(2) c. 1200-1100; Bronze Age palaces destroyed throughout Mediterranean world
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c. 1200-1100; Judaism established in Palestine
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c. 1200-800; Rise of Phoenician maritime dominance in the Mediterranean
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| 1150 BCE |
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Aristocrats in Egypt use chairs
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| 1122 BCE |
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c. 1122-256; Zhou Dynasty in China
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| 1100 BCE |
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Phoenician traders begin spreading alphabet throughout Mediterranean
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| 1070 BCE |
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End of New Kingdom in Egypt
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| 1047 BCE |
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c. 1047-1007 BCE; Saul reigns as first Hebrew king in Judaea
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| 1006 BCE |
c. 1006-965; David becomes king of Israel and conquers Jerusalem
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| 957 BCE |
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Solomon builds first Jewish temple in Jerusalem
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| 900 BCE |
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Etruscans establish cities in Tuscany
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| 883 BCE |
Revival of Assyrian power under Ashurnasirpal II
(-883 to -859)
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| 850 BCE |
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c. 850-750; Approximate date of written transcriptions of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey from existing oral tradition
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| 814 BCE |
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Traditional date for the founding of Carthage
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| 800 BCE |
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(1) Hieroglyphic script in Mesoamerica
(2) c. 800-750; Development of Greek alphabet
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Olmecs build pyramids in Central America (modern Mexico)
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| 780 BCE |
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c. 780-755; Alara establishes Napata Kingdom of Kush
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| 776 BCE |
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First Olympic Games held in Greece
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| 772 BCE |
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Construction begins on Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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| 771 BCE |
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Destruction of the Zhou capital at Hào marks end of Western Zhou Dynasty in China; Beginning of Eastern Zhou Dynasty
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| 753 BCE |
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Traditional date of the founding of Rome
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| 744 BCE |
Tiglath-Pileser III succeeds in Assyria; Conquers Syria, Palestine, Israel, and Babylon
(-744 to -727)
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| 722 BCE |
Sargon II seizes power in Assyria; destroys the Kingdom of Israel
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c. 722-481; Spring and Autumn Period in China; Decentralization and rise of powerful nobles
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| 720 BCE |
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Chinese record solar eclipse
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| 700 BCE |
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Aqueducts in the Middle East
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| 671 BCE |
Assyrians conquer Egypt
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| 660 BCE |
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Legendary date for foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu; Celebrated in Japan as National Foundation Day
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| 657 BCE |
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Cypselus becomes first tyrant in Corinth
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| 650 BCE |
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First coins used by Lydians
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| 621 BCE |
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First written legal code in Athens attributed to Draco
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| 612 BCE |
Babylonians sack Nineveh; Assyrian power collapses
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| 609 BCE |
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Nekan of Egypt launches first known circumnavigation of Africa
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| 605 BCE |
Babylonians defeat last Assyrian army at Megiddo; End of Assyria as an independent kingdom
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| 600 BCE |
c. 600; Greeks colonize southern France
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c. 600; Sappho is priestess of love cult on Lesbos
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| 594 BCE |
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Solon's reforms in Athens
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| 587 BCE |
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon destroys Jerusalem; Babylonian Captivity of the Jews begins
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| 585 BCE |
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Greek astronomer Thales predicts an eclipse
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| 565 BCE |
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Spread of Taoism in China
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| 553 BCE |
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c. 553; Death of Zoroaster; Teachings emphasizing monotheism and eschatology become official religion of Persian Empire
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| 550 BCE |
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Persian Empire unified by Cyrus II; Beginning of Achaemenid Dynasty
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Earliest use of cast iron in China
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| 539 BCE |
Babylonian empire conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia
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| 530 BCE |
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Greek mathematician Pythagoras
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| 522 BCE |
Darius I rises to power in Persia; Expands Persian Empire to its maximum extent
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| 520 BCE |
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Canal completed between the Nile River and Red Sea
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| 517 BCE |
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Hsiao Yen (Wu Ti) backs Buddhist missionary efforts in central China
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| 515 BCE |
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c. 515; Birth of Parmenides, who becomes founder of metaphysics
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| 509 BCE |
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Rome becomes a republic
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| 508 BCE |
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Cleisthenes' democratic reforms in Athens
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| 500 BCE |
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(1) c. 500; Polynesian culture develops in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga
(2) Earliest versions of Sun Tzu's The Art of War
(3) Heraclitus becomes one of the earliest dialectical philosophers
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c. 500 Honeybee domesticated (Europe)
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| 499 BCE |
Ionian Revolt marks beginning of Persian-Greek Wars
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| 498 BCE |
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Pindar begins composing his Odes
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| 495 BCE |
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c. 495-483; Confucius teaches throughout China
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| 490 BCE |
Athenians defeat Persians at Battle of Marathon
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| 480 BCE |
(1) Spartan army under King Leonidas defeated by Persians at Battle of Thermopylae
(2) Greek fleet defeats Persian fleet at Battle of Salamis
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c. 480-221; Warring States Period in China; Seven regional warlords fight for dominance in China
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| 479 BCE |
Battles of Plataea and Mycale mark the end of Spartan leadership of the Greek coalition against Persia
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| 478 BCE |
Athens founds Delian League to lead the Greek war against Persia
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| 472 BCE |
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Aeschylus's tragedy Persae performed
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| 466 BCE |
Delian League decisively defeats Persian fleet at Battle of Eurymedon River
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| 461 BCE |
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Golden Age of Athens begins; Pericles funds massive public works in city
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| 458 BCE |
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Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus becomes dictator of Rome then retires; One of the founding myths of Roman Virtue
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| 457 BCE |
First Peloponnesian War; Sparta dominant in Peloponnesian Peninsula
(-457 to -445)
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| 455 BCE |
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Anaxagoras teaches atomistic theory of the natural world
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| 450 BCE |
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Reindeer domesticated (Central Asia)
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| 441 BCE |
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First stage success of Euripides in Athens
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| 440 BCE |
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Sophocles' tragedy Antigone
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| 438 BCE |
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Phidias completes Parthenon
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| 431 BCE |
Second Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta begins
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Euripides' Medea
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| 430 BCE |
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(1) Death of Empedocles, who developed Four Elements theory of the natural world
(2) c. 430; Herodotus writes his History
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Hippocrates teaches in Athens
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| 429 BCE |
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c. 429, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
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| 428 BCE |
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Euripides' Hippolytus; portrays struggle between sexual desire and asceticism
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| 426 BCE |
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Euripides' Andromache
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| 423 BCE |
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Aristophanes' comedy The Clouds
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| 421 BCE |
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Aristophanes' comedy The Peace
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| 420 BCE |
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c. 420-413; Sophocles' Electra
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