Ancient History

Sumer is founded

3300 BCE

Sumer is the oldest discovered urban civilization. From artifacts that archaeologists have found, we know that the Sumerian people created the first form of written language, called cuneiform, that was originally used to track agricultural surplus. Cuneiform was also used to write the first story, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Pyramid of Djoser was built

2650 BCE

The Pyramid of Djoser is a step pyramid that was built in the 27th century BCE. It is also the first and oldest pyramid so far discovered. Also, inside is buried Djoser, one of the first kings of Egypt.

Mohenjo Daro is abandoned

1850 BCE

Mohenjo Daro is one of the major cities that have been found from the Indus River Valley civilization. It is still unsure why people left the city though there are many theories. One of which is that there was a nuclear explosion that wiped out much of the population, leaving the rest to die from radiation poisoning.

The Valley of the Kings was made

1500 BCE

The Valley of the kings is a large necropolis in the middle of the Egyptian desert. It is where all pharaohs of the New kingdom were buried. It is where archaeologists would find King Tutankhamen

The Vedas Texts were written

1200 BCE

The Vedas is a collection of hymns that are used today by modern Hindus as the holy text. It was written by the Aryans from the Caucasus Mountains in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is also one of the oldest forms of writing.

Nebuchadnezzar rebuilds Babylon

600 BCE

King Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest kings of Mesopotamian empires. He also had the longest reign and with that came many ancient wonders. Nebuchadnezzar is credited with rebuilding the city of Babylon after the Hittites destroyed it and with building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.

Confucius dies

479 BCE

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who created what became known as Confucianism. Confucianism is a practice of how to live a good life in terms of societal roles that supported a weak government. Confucius also gave many quotes that people in modern times still quote, starting with, "Confucius says '....' ".

Height of the Persian Empire

400 BCE

The Persian Empire is the largest that the world had ever seen stretching from Greece to Pakistan. It was so large that Cyrus the great could not rule over all of it himself. Because of this, he enforced a system of satrapies so that he could still remain in Control.

Shi Huangdi dies

210 BCE

Shi Huangdi was the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty. Surrounding his large mound of a tomb are 3 pits containing more than 8,000 terra cotta warriors that were fully armed. The special thing about these warriors is that they are all different and individually hand made.

The Silk Road is used by the Chinese

200 BCE

The Silk Road is a trading route that was used by the Chinese during the Han dynasty. The Chinese are thought to have made contact with early Greeks around the year 200 BCE. With this new road, the Chinese begin to lose hold of their isolation.

Rosetta Stone was made

196 BCE

The Rosetta Stone is a tablet that contains a single story written in 3 different languages. These were Greek, Demotic, and Egyptian hieroglyphics. This would later be used in more modern day to translate many hieroglyphs.

Cahokia Mounds were made

600

The Cahokia Mounds are the remains of a Mississippian city that was once the center of commerce for hundreds of miles. It is now the largest archaeological site in North America. Here is where a well preserved stone tablet with the carving of "the Birdman" was found.