Timeline of ancient history

 ( Ancient History ) 

This timeline of ancient history lists chronology of the documented ancient history from the beginning of recorded history until the Early Middle Ages. Prior to this time period, prehistory civilizations were pre-literate and did not have written language.

• Late 4th millennium BC: cuneiform writing system"Beginning in the pottery-phase of the Neolithic, clay tokens are widely attested as a system of counting and identifying specific amounts of specified livestock or commodities. The tokens, enclosed in clay envelopes after being impressed on their rounded surface, were gradually replaced by impressions on flat or plano-convex tablets, and these in turn by more or less conventionalized pictures of the tokens incised on the clay with a reed stylus. The transition to writing was complete and Egyptian hieroglyphs are first used.
• 3200 BC: Cycladic culture in Greece.
• 3200 BC: Caral–Supe civilization begins in Peru.
• 3200 BC: Rise of Proto-Elamite Civilization in Iran.
• 3180 BC: Skara Brae is built in Scotland.
  (1983). 9780114917555, H.M.S.O. ISBN 9780114917555
• 3100 BC: First Dynasty of Egypt.
• c. 3000 BC: Stonehenge construction begins. In its first version, it consisted of a circular ditch and bank, with 56 wooden posts.Caroline Alexander, "Stonehenge," National Geographic, June 2008.
• c. 3000 BC: Cucuteni–Trypillia culture is established in Romania and Ukraine.
• 3000 BC: Jiroft culture begins in Iran.
• 3000 BC: First known use of papyrus by Ancient Egypt.
• 3000 – 2500 BC: Earliest evidence of autochthonous iron production in West Africa.Augustin F. C. Holl. The Origins of African Metallurgies. Anthropology. Oxford research encyclopaedias. Published online 30 June 2020.
• 3000 – 2300 BC: The Pastoral Neolithic culture builds East Africa's earliest and largest monumental cemetery at Lothagam North Pillar Site.Hildebrand, Elisabeth; et al. (2018). "A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa's first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya". PNAS. 115 (36): 8942–8947. . PMC 6130363. .
• 3000 BC: Domestication of the horse in the Yamnaya culture.
• 2800 BC: Kot Diji phase of the Indus Valley Civilisation begins.
• 2800 BC: Longshan culture begins in China.
• 2700 BC: Minoan civilization ancient palace city Knossos reaches 80,000 inhabitants.
• 2700 BC: Rise of Elam in Iran.
• 2700 BC: The Old Kingdom begins in Egypt.
• 2600 BC: Oldest known surviving literature: texts from Abu Salabikh, including the Instructions of Shuruppak and the Kesh temple hymn.
  Robert D. Biggs (1974). 9780226622026, University of Chicago Press. . ISBN 9780226622026
  Two fragmentary Akkadian versions survive, from the 15th century BCE and from the end of the second millennium BCE: "Its great antiquity and popularity is evidenced by the large number of manuscripts of it that have survived" (Beaulieu in Clifford 2007:4).
  (2025). 9788778763167, Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. . ISBN 9788778763167
  (2006). 9780199296330, Oxford University Press. . ISBN 9780199296330
• 2600 BC: Mature Harappan phase of the Indus Valley civilization (in present-day Pakistan and India) begins.
• 2600 BC: Emergence of Mayan culture in the Yucatán Peninsula.
• 2560 BC: King Khufu completes the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Land of Punt in the Horn of Africa first appears in Egyptian records around this time.
• 2500 – 1500 BC: Kerma culture begins in Nubia.
• 2500 BC: The last mammoth population, on Wrangel Island in Siberia, goes extinct.
• Late 24th century BC: Akkadian Empire is founded, dating depends upon whether the Middle chronology or the Short chronology is used.Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerians, Chicago University Press, 1971,
• 2291 BC: Pharaoh Teti is thought to be the earliest known victim of assassination.
  John Withington (2025). 9781789143522, Reaktion Books. . ISBN 9781789143522
• 2250 BC: Oldest known depiction of the Staff God, the oldest image of a god to be found in the Americas.
• 2200 – 2100 BC: 4.2-kiloyear event: a severe aridification phase, likely connected to a Bond event, which was registered throughout most of North Africa, Middle East and continental North America. Related droughts very likely caused the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt and the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia.
• 2200 BC: Completion of Stonehenge.
• 2115 BC: Traditional date for the legendary foundation of Armenia by Hayk.De Mieroop, Marc Van. (2004). A History of the Ancient Near East: c. 3000–323 BC. (p. 67) Malden, MA: Blackwell PublishingMovses Khorenatsi, History of Armenia. Ed. by G. Sargsyan. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1997, (pp. 83, 286)
• 2055 BC: The Middle Kingdom begins in Egypt.
  Ian Shaw (2025). 9780192804587, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192804587
• 1900 BC: Erlitou culture begins in China.
• c. 1850 BC: Alphabetic writing emerges.http://www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk/issue_09/simons_alphabet.pdf p. 24
• 1800 BC: The Old Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh constitutes the earliest complete version of that narrative.
  Stephanie Dalley (2025). 9780199538362, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199538362
• 1780 BC: Oldest Record of Code of Hammurabi.
• c. 1750 BC: Mycenaean civilization begins in mainland Greece.
  Alex R. Knodell (2021). 9780520380530, University of California Press. . ISBN 9780520380530
• 1700 – 1400 BC: The Proto-Sinaitic script is the oldest alphabet created in Egypt.
• 1700 BC: Indus Valley Civilization comes to an end but is continued by the Cemetery H culture; The beginning of Poverty Point culture in North America.
• 1600 BC: Minoan eruption destroys Akrotiri and causes damage to some Minoan sites in eastern Crete.
• 1600 BC: The beginning of Shang dynasty in China; evidence of a fully developed writing system, see Oracle bone script.
• c. 1550 BC: The New Kingdom begins in Egypt.
• 1500 – 400 BC: Olmec civilization flourishes in Pre-Columbian Mexico, during Mesoamerica's Formative period.
  Richard A. Diehl (2025). 9780500285039, Thames and Hudson. . ISBN 9780500285039
• 1500 BC: Composition of the Rigveda is completed.
  (2025). 9789388292382, Aleph. ISBN 9789388292382
• c. 1500 BC: Nok culture begins in West Africa.
• c. 1400 BC: Hurrian songs with notation.
• c. 1209 BC: The Merneptah Stele is the first non-Hebrew Bible reference to the Israelites.
• 1200 – 1150 BC: Late Bronze Age collapse occurs in Southwestern Asia and in the Eastern Mediterranean region. This period is also the setting of the Iliad and the Odyssey epic poems (which were composed about four centuries later).
• 1200 BC: The Hallstatt culture begins.
• c. 1180 BC: Disintegration of Hittite Empire.
  O.R. Gurney (1966). 9780140202595, Penguin. ISBN 9780140202595
• 1100 BC: Use of Iron spreads.
• c. 1050 BC: The Phoenician alphabet is created.
  Glenn E. Markoe (2025). 9780520226135, University of California Press. ISBN 9780520226135
• c. 1046 BC: The Zhou dynasty force, led by King Wu of Zhou, overthrows the last king of Shang dynasty; Zhou dynasty established in China.
• 1000 BC: The second stream of Bantu expansion reaches the great lakes region of Africa, creating a major population centre.Tishkoff, S. A.; Reed, F. A.; Friedlaender, F. R.; et al. (2009). "The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans". Science. 324 (5930): 1035–1044. Bibcode:2009Sci...324.1035T. . PMC 2947357.
• 890 BC: Approximate date for the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
• 814 BC: Foundation of Carthage by the in Tunisia.Picard, Life and Death of Carthage (1968, 1969) at 28–35 – Picard specifically favors 750–25 BC, closer to Apion than Timaeus.
• 808 BC: Formation of the Kingdom of Macedonia by King Karanos
• 800 BC: Rise of Ancient Greece city-states.
• 788 BC: Iron Age begins in Sungai Batu (Old Kedah).
• c. 785 BC: Rise of the Kingdom of Kush.
  László Török (1997). 9789004104488, Brill Academic Pub. ISBN 9789004104488

• 776 BC: First recorded Ancient Olympic Games.
• 771 BC: Spring and Autumn period begins in China; Zhou dynasty's power is diminishing; the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
• 753 BC: Founding of Ancient Rome (traditional date).
• 745 BC: Tiglath-Pileser III becomes the new king of Assyria. With time he conquers neighboring countries and turns Assyria into an empire.
• c. 732 BC: Assyrian captivity begins, creating the Ten Lost Tribes.
• 728 BC: Rise of the Median Empire.
• 700 BC: The construction of Marib Dam in Arabia Felix, in modern Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
• 653 BC: Rise of Achaemenid dynasty.
• 650 – 550 BC: The Urewe dominates the African Great Lakes region. It was one of Africa's oldest iron smelting centres.Clist, Bernard. (1987). A critical reappraisal of the chronological framework of the early Urewe Iron Age industry. Muntu. 6. 35–62.Paul Lane, Ceri Ashley & Gilbert Oteyo (2006) "New Dates for Kansyore and Urewe Wares from Northern Nyanza, Kenya", AZANIA: Journal of the British Institute in Eastern Africa, 41:1, 123–138,
• 621 BC: Draco replaces oral law with written law in Classical Athens, considered one of the earliest developments of the Athenian democracy.
• 612 BC: An alliance between the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians succeeds in destroying Nineveh and causing subsequent fall of the Assyrian empire.
• 600 BC: Sixteen Mahajanapadas (" Great Realms" or " Great Kingdoms") emerge in India.
• 600 BC: Evidence of writing system appears in Oaxaca used by the Zapotec civilization.
• c. 600 BC: Rise of the Sao civilisation near Lake Chad.
• c. 600 BC: Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam literature.Kamil Veith Zvelebil, Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, p. 12
• 594 BC: Solon appointed Archon of Classical Athens and begins issuing citizenship and judicial reforms, giving Athenian citizens the right to participate in government.
• 563 BC: Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), founder of Buddhism is born as a prince of the Shakya clan, which ruled parts of Magadha, one of the Mahajanapadas.
• 551 BC: Confucius, founder of Confucianism, is born.
• 550 BC: Foundation of the Achaemenid Empire by Cyrus the Great.
• 549 BC: Mahavira, founder of Jainism, is born.
• 546 BC: Cyrus the Great overthrows Croesus, King of Lydia.
• 544 BC: Rise of Magadha as the dominant power under Bimbisara.
• 539 BC: The fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and liberation of the Jews by Cyrus the Great.
• 530 BC: Death of Cyrus the Great.
• 525 BC: Cambyses II of Persia conquers Ancient Egypt.
• c. 512 BC: Darius I (Darius the Great) of Persia, subjugates eastern Thrace, Macedonia submits voluntarily, and annexes the Libya, Persian Empire at largest extent.
• 509 BC: Expulsion of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, founding of Roman Republic (traditional date).
• 508 BC: Athenian democracy instituted at the Republic of Athens.
• 500 BC: Pāṇini standardizes the grammar and morphology of Sanskrit in the text Aṣṭādhyāyī. Panini's standardized Sanskrit is known as Classical Sanskrit.
• 499 BC: King Aristagoras of Miletus incites all of Hellenic Asia Minor to rebel against the Persian Empire, beginning the Greco-Persian Wars.
• 490 BC: Greek city-states defeat Persian invasion at Battle of Marathon.
• 483 BC: Death of Gautama Buddha.
• 480 BC: Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I; Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.
• 479 BC: Death of Confucius.
• 475 BC: Warring States period begins in China as the Zhou dynasty king became a mere figurehead; China is annexed by regional warlords.
• 470~469 BC: Birth of Socrates.
• 465 BC: Murder of Xerxes I.
• 460 BC: Birth of Democritus.
• 458 BC: Oresteia by Aeschylus, the only surviving trilogy of ancient Greek plays, is performed.
• 449 BC: The Greco-Persian Wars end.
• 447 BC: Building of the Parthenon at Athens started.
• 432 BC: Construction of the Parthenon is completed.
• 431 BC: Beginning of the Peloponnesian War between the Greek city-states.
• 429 BC: Sophocles's play Oedipus Rex is first performed.
• 427 BC: Birth of Plato.
• 424 BC: Nanda dynasty comes to power in Magadha.
• 404 BC: End of the Peloponnesian War.
• 400 BC: Zapotec culture flourishes around city of Monte Albán.
• 400 BC: Pandya dynasty is founded in South India.
• c. 400 BC: Rise of the Garamantes as an irrigation-based desert state in the Fezzan region of Libya.
• 399 BC: Trial of Socrates.
• 384 BC: Birth of Aristotle.
• 370 BC: Death of Democritus.
• 331 BC: Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela, completing his conquest of Persia.
• 326 BC: Alexander the Great defeats Indian king King Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes River.
• 323 BC: Death of Alexander the Great at Babylon.
• 322 BC: Death of Aristotle.
• 321 BC: Chandragupta Maurya overthrows the Nanda dynasty of Magadha.
• 321 BC: Establishment of the Seleucid Empire by Seleucus I Nicator. The empire existed until 63 BC.
• 305 BC: Chandragupta Maurya seizes the satrapies of Paropamisadae (Kabul), Aria (Herat), Arachosia (Qanadahar) and Gedrosia (Baluchistan) from Seleucus I Nicator, the Macedonian satrap of Babylonia, in return for 500 elephants.
• c. 300 BC: Completion of Euclid's Elements.
• c. 300 BC: Pingala uses zero and binary numeral system.
• 300 BC: Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், Canka ilakkiyam) period in the history of ancient southern India (known as the Tamilakam)
• 300 BC: Construction of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the world's largest pyramid by volume (the Great Pyramid of Giza built 2560 BC Egypt stands 146.5 meters, making it 91.5 meters taller), begins in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.
• 273 BC: Ashoka becomes the emperor of the Maurya Empire.
• 261 BC: Kalinga War.
• 257 BC: An Dương Vương takes over Việt Nam (then Kingdom of Âu Lạc).
• 255 BC: Ashoka sends a Buddhist missionary led by his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka (then Lanka).
• 250 BC: Rise of Parthia (Ashkâniân), the second native dynasty of ancient Persia.
• 232 BC: Death of Emperor Ashoka; Decline of the Mauryan Empire.
• 230 BC: Emergence of Satavahana in South India.
• 221 BC: Qin Shi Huang unifies China, end of Warring States period; marking the beginning of Imperial rule in China which lasts until 1912. Construction of the Great Wall of China by the Qin dynasty begins.
• 216 BC: Battle of Cannae – Rome defeated in major battle in the second Punic War.
• 207 BC: Nanyue Kingdom extends from Guangzhou to North Việt Nam .
• 206 BC: Han dynasty established in China, after the death of Qin Shi Huang; China in this period officially becomes a Confucian state and opens trading connections with the West, i.e. the Silk Road.
• 202 BC: Scipio Africanus defeats Hannibal at Battle of Zama.
• 200 BC: El Mirador, largest early Maya city, flourishes.
• 200 BC: Paper is invented in the Han dynasty.
• c. 200 BC: Chera dynasty in South India.
• 185 BC: Shunga Empire founded.
• 167 – 160 BC: Maccabean Revolt.
• 149 – 146 BC: Third Punic War between Rome and Carthage. War ends with the complete destruction of Carthage, allowing Rome to conquer modern day Tunisia and Libya.
• 146 BC: Roman conquest of Greece, see Greece in the Roman era.
• c. 145 BC: Eucratides I dies; Greco-Bactrian Kingdom collapses. Remnants move southwards to form the Indo-Greek Kingdom.
• 121 BC: Roman armies enter Gaul for the first time.
• 111 BC: First Chinese domination of Vietnam in the form of the Nanyue Kingdom.
• c. 100 BC: Chola dynasty rises in prominence.
• 100 BC – 100 AD: Bantu-speaking communities in the African Great Lakes regions develop iron forging techniques that enable them to produce carbon steel.Schmidt, P.; Avery, D.H. (1978). "Complex iron smelting and prehistoric culture in Tanzania". Science. 201 (4361): 1085–1089. Bibcode:1978Sci...201.1085S. . . S2CID 37926350
• 100 BC – 300 AD: The earliest Bantu peoples settlements in the Swahili coast appear on the archaeological record in Kwale County in Kenya, Misasa in Tanzania and Ras Hafun in /ref>
• c. 82 BC: Burebista becomes the king of Dacia.
• 71 BC: Death of Spartacus. End of the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
• c. 63 BC: The Siege of Jerusalem leads to the conquest of Judea by the Romans.
• c. 60 – 44 BC: Burebista conquers territories from south Germany to Thrace, reaching the coast of the Aegean Sea.
• 49 BC: Roman Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey.
• 44 BC: Julius Caesar murdered by Marcus Junius Brutus and others.
• 44 BC: Burebista is assassinated in the same year like Julius Caesar and his empire breaks into 4 and later 5 kingdoms in modern-day Romania.
• 31 - 30 BC: Battle of Actium. The Roman conquest of Egypt.
• 30 BC: Cleopatra ends her reign as the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.
• 27 BC: End of the Roman Republic and formation of the Roman Empire: Augustus is given titles of Princeps and Augustus by Roman Senate – beginning of Pax Romana. Formation of influential Praetorian Guard to provide security to Emperor.
• 27 – 22 BC: Amanirenas, the kandake (Queen) of the Kingdom of Kush, leads Kushite armies against the Romans.
  László Török (1997). 9789004104488, Brill. . ISBN 9789004104488
  (2025). 9780670022700, Viking. ISBN 9780670022700
  (2025). 9780230308473, Palgrave. ISBN 9780230308473
• 18 BC: Three Kingdoms period begins in Korea. Herod's Temple is reconstructed.
• 6 BC: Earliest theorized date for birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Roman succession: Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar groomed for the throne.
• 4 BC: Widely accepted date (Ussher) for birth of Jesus.
• c. 1 – 50 AD: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a /ref>
• 9 AD: Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the Imperial Roman army's bloodiest defeat.
• 14 AD: Death of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar (Octavian), ascension of his adopted son Tiberius to the throne.
• 30 – 33 AD: Crucifixion of Jesus, exact date unknown.Paul L. Maier "The Date of the Nativity and Chronology of Jesus" in Chronos, kairos, Christos: nativity and chronological studies by Jerry Vardaman, Edwin M. Yamauchi 1989 pp. 113–129 The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 p. 114 Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times by Paul Barnett 2002 pp. 19–21
  (2025). 9780521243773, Cambridge Univiversity Press. ISBN 9780521243773
• 37 AD: Death of Emperor Tiberius, ascension of his nephew Caligula to the throne.
• 40 AD: Rome conquers Mauretania.
• 41 AD: Emperor Caligula is assassinated by the Roman senate. His uncle Claudius succeeds him.
• 43 AD: The Roman Empire enters Great Britain for the first time.
• 54 AD: Emperor Claudius dies and is succeeded by his grand nephew Nero.
• 68 AD: Emperor Nero commits suicide, prompting the Year of the Four Emperors in Rome.
• 70 AD: Destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Titus.
• 79 AD: Destruction of Pompeii by the volcano Vesuvius.
• 98 AD: After a two-year rule, Emperor Nerva dies of natural causes, his adopted son Trajan succeeds him.
• 100 – 940: Kingdom of Aksum forms in the Horn of Africa.
• 106 – 117: Roman Empire at largest extent under Trajan after having conquered modern-day Romania, Iraq and Armenia.
• 117: Trajan dies of natural causes. His adopted son Hadrian succeeds him. Hadrian pulls out of Iraq and Armenia.
• 122: Construction of Hadrian's Wall begins.
• 126: Hadrian completes the Roman Pantheon.
• 138: Hadrian dies of natural causes. His adopted son Antoninus Pius succeeds him.
• 161: Death of Antoninus Pius. His rule was the only one in which Rome did not fight in a war.
• 161: Marcus Aurelius becomes emperor of the Roman Empire.
• 180: Reign of Marcus Aurelius officially ends. End of the Pax Romana.
• 180 – 181: Commodus becomes Roman Emperor.
• 192: Kingdom of Champa in Tay Nguyen.
• 200s: The Buddhist Srivijaya Empire established in Maritime Southeast Asia.
• 220: Three Kingdoms period begins in China after the fall of Han dynasty.
• 226: Fall of the Parthian Empire and Rise of the Sasanian Empire.
• 244 - 260: Defeat of Gordian III (238–244), Philip the Arab (244–249), and Emperor Valerian (253–260), by Shapur I of Persia (Valerian was captured by the Persians).
• 266: Emperor Wu of Jin established the First Jin dynasty providing a temporary unity of China after the devastating Three Kingdoms period.
• 284: Diocletian becomes emperor of Rome and splits the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western Roman Empires.
• 285: Diocletian begins a large-scale persecution of Christians.
• 292: The capital of the Roman empire is officially moved from Rome to Mediolanum (modern day Milan).
• 300 – 1000: Growth of and Zanj settlements in the Swahili coast. Local industry and international trade flourish.
• 301: Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices.
• 301: Armenia first to adopt Christianity as state religion.
• 313: Edict of Milan declared that the Roman Empire would tolerate all forms of religious worship.
• 316: Emperor Min of Jin executed, with northern China then controlled by Sixteen Kingdoms. The Jin dynasty continues to rule the south.
• 325: Constantine the Great organizes the First Council of Nicaea.
• 330: Constantinople is officially named and becomes the capital of the eastern Roman Empire.
• 335: Samudragupta becomes the emperor of the Gupta Empire.
• 337: Emperor Constantine the Great dies, leaving his sons Constantius II, Constans, and Emperor Constantine II as the emperors of the Roman empire.
• 350: Constantius II is left sole emperor with the death of his two brothers.
• 354: Birth of Augustine of Hippo.
• 361: Constantius II dies, his cousin Emperor Julian succeeds him.
• 378: Battle of Adrianople, Roman army is defeated by the Germanic tribes.
• 380: Roman Emperor Theodosius I declares the Arian faith of Christianity heretical.
• 395: Theodosius I outlaws all religions other than Catholic Christianity.
• 406: Romans are expelled from Britain.
• 407 – 409: Visigoths and other Germanic tribes cross into Roman-Gaul for the first time.
• 410: Visigoths sack Rome in 410 for the first time since 390 BC.
• 415: Germanic tribes enter Spain.
• 420: The general Liu Yu usurps the Jin in southern China, beginning the Liu Song dynasty.
• 429: Vandals enter North Africa from Spain for the first time.
• 439: Vandals have conquered the land stretching from Morocco to Tunisia by this time.
• 439: The Northern Wei dynasty unites northern China, beginning the Northern and Southern dynasties period.
• 455: Vandals sack Rome, capture Sicily and Sardinia.
• c. 455: Skandagupta repels a Huna people attack on India.
• 476: Romulus Augustulus, last Western Roman Emperor is forced to abdicate by Odoacer, a chieftain of the Germanic peoples Heruli; Odoacer returns the imperial regalia to Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno in Constantinople in return for the title of dux of Italy; most frequently cited date for the end of ancient history.

   id:time value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) #
   id:period value:rgb(1,0.7,0.5) #
   id:age value:rgb(0.95,0.85,0.5) #
   id:era value:rgb(1,0.85,0.5) #
   id:eon value:rgb(1,0.85,0.7) #
   id:filler value:gray(0.8) # background bar
   id:black value:black
     

 align:center textcolor:black fontsize:10 mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(0,-5)
     

 bar:Time color:period
 from: -3000 till: -1200 text:[[Bronze Age]]
 from: -1200 till: 400 text:[[Iron Age]]
 bar:Mideast color:era
 from: -3000 till: -550 text:[[Mesopotamia]]
 from: -550 till: -322 shift:(0,-10) text:Achaemenid
 from: -322 till: -247 shift:(0,0) text:[[Seleucid|Seleucid Empire]]
 from: -247 till: 224 shift:(0,-10) text:[[Parthian|Parthian Empire]]
 from: 224 till: 400 text:[[Sassanid|Sassanid Empire]]
 bar:Africa color:age
 from: -3000 till: -800 text:[[Ancient Egypt]]
 from: -800 till: 350 text:Kingdom of Kush
 from: 350 till: 400 text:[[Axumite Empire]]
 bar:Med/Europe color:era
 from: -3000 till: -1200 text:Archaic
 from: -1200 till: -650 text:[[Phoenicia]]
 from: -650 till: -146 text:[[Ancient Greece]]
 from: -146 till: 400 text:[[Ancient Rome]]
 bar:Indus color:age
 from: -3000 till: -1200 text:Indus Valley
 from: -1200 till: -180 text:Iron Age India
 from: -180 till: 1 text:[[Indo-Greeks]]
 from: 1 till: 400 text:Middle kingdoms
 bar:China color:era
 from: -3000 till: -2000 text:Sovereigns and Emperors
 from: -2000 till: -200 text:[[Ancient China]]
 from: -200 till: 400 text:[[Imperial China]]
 bar:N.Americas color:age
 from: -3000 till: -1500 text:Archaic
 from: -1500 till: 400 text:Classic
 bar:C.Americas color:era
 from: -3000 till: -1500 text:Archaic
 from: -1500 till: 250 text:Formative
 from:  250 till: 400 text:Classic
 bar:S.Americas color:age
 from: -3000 till: -1900 text:Archaic
 from: -1900 till: 200 text:Preclassic
 from: 200 till: 400 text:Classic
     

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details

• Timeline of Roman history
• Timeline of post-classical history
• Timelines of modern history
• Chronology of the ancient Near East

• Thorndike 1923, Becker 1931, MacMullen 1966, MacMullen 1990, Thomas & Wick 1993, Loftus 1996.
• Konrad H. Kinzl (1998). 9780941690874, Regina Books. . ISBN 9780941690874
  Web edition is constantly updated.
• Elizbeth Loftus (1996). 9780674287778, Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674287778
• Ramsay MacMullen (1993). 9780691036014, Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691036014
• Carol G. Thomas (1994). 9780132002059, Prentice Hall. . ISBN 9780132002059
• Eight volumes.