Ancient History Timeline

Byzantium Empire is founded as colony in Megara

667 BCE

Byzantium was built on the the European side of the Strait of Bosphorus. Because of Byzantium's location it became a place where war was often. Byzantium would be important because of its entrance to the Black Sea granting it military and trade advantages.

Reign of Xerxes 486-465 BCE

486 BCE

Xerxes was the king of the Achaemenid Empire, his name was refereed to as the king of kings. He is known for his great expeditions throughout Greece and created one of the fiercest armies on the planet. Xerxes was bent on creating a large army to capture Greece without failure, even though he received bad omens.

Spartan general Pausanias takes control of Cyprus and Byzantium

479 BCE

Pausanias was a successful general for taking over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea. He then became the governor of the city and made peace with king Xerxes.

Socrates, and his philosophies 470 BCE-399 BCE.

470 BCE

Socrates was known as the father of Western Greek philosophy.Socrates was sentenced to death during turmoil in Greece and instead of fleeing into exile accepted his fate. Throughout his life Socrates. One of Socrates most popular beliefs was that the best form of government is neither democracy or tyranny.

Spread of Buddhism and Hinduism 300 BCE - 100 BCE

300 BCE

Hinduism spread to modern day India, by people named the Aryans. They used their military to invade India and brought their religion with them. On the other hand Buddhism founded by Siddhartha was spread mostly throughout the silk road.

Gupta Dynasty 320 - 550 CE

320

Gupta dynasty was founded by Sri Gupta and was into small and decentralized states. Known as the Golden Age of India the Gupta's were known setting the foundation of future empires and were and relatively peaceful empire.The period of prosperity and peace and the it went through a phase of cultural and political development.

Prophet Muhammad is born 570-632 CE

570

The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca, and became known as a popular merchant who was trustworthy. He was known for the ability to to talk to God, and based his values on rejecting polytheism and helping the needy and the poor, also the kind of treatment and freeing of slaves.

Reign of Charlemagne 768-814 CE

Nov 28, 768

Charlemagne was known for centralizing organized administration and encourage the use of written word. He also encourage education, trade, and building by importing scholars and establishing educational reforms. The capital was Aachen, and is known for its Carolingian learning and art.

Fall of Costantinople 1204 CE

Nov 28, 1204

Constantinople fell to the Greek city by Turks, the Turks then changed name of Constantinople to Istanbul.Constantinople was besieged many times, but never until the Turks, ending its 1000 year reign.

Mali Empire 1230 CE

Nov 28, 1230

Mali was a city-state that gained its independence from Ghana at around 1200 CE. Mali slowly expanded throughout the years and controlled most Ghana by 1300 CE. By the 1500's the people they controlled started to rise up against up them. Also having to deal with outside forces Mali ended up splitting into smaller city-states

Marco Polo's Trip to China 1275-1292

Apr 22, 1275

Marco Polo was a well known Venetian Merchant,Marco's family were one of the first Europeans that traveled to China, Marco and his uncles set out to the mongol empire afterwards. After the collapse of the Mongol Empire, it was nearly impossible to go to the places Marco had gone.

Ibn Battuta 1304-1368 CE

Apr 16, 1304

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, was a Moroccan Muslim scholar and traveler. He i known for traveling on trips called the Rihla. He traveled for around 30 years covering most of the Islam world.He then gave an account of what he encountered to Ibn Juzay

First Bubonic Plague 1320-1340 CE

May 24, 1320

A horrible disease affected Asia, Africa, and Europe. The people called this illness the Black Death. The disease started in Asia in the 1340’s. It quickly spread to Africa, and throughout Europe. They became even more sick, and then they died. In just two years, 25 million people died of the plague. In ten years, the plague had killed over 1/3 of Europe’s population.

Inca Empire 1438-1533

Jul 25, 1438

In the Andes Mountains a civilization developed independently from the civilizations of Mesoamerica. This civilization would become known as the Incas.The empire expanded becoming one of the largest empires in the 15th century.

Martin Luther 1483 - 1546 CE

Feb 24, 1483

Martin wrote 95 points of doctrine on a board, which he nailed to the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg, Germany. These 95 points of doctrine were copied and sent throughout Germany, resulting in the Catholic Church losing out on the collection of money that it collected in exchange for indulgences. The sale of indulgences was one of the 95 practices that Martin Luther disagreed with. This practice allowed people to buy forgiveness for their sins.

Columbus' first voyage 1492 - 1493 CE

Aug 3, 1492

Christopher departed Spain on August 3, 1492.He was in command of three ships: the Pinta, the Niña, and the Santa María.Gaining the King and Queen's trust he eventually found the Americas.

Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 CE

Oct 24, 1494

The Treaty of Tordesillas was a treaty between the Spanish and the Portuguese on the newly claimed land from the New World.The Portuguese wanted to protect their trade monopoly and the Spanish wanted to benefit from all the possibilities the New World could bring.

Safavid Dynasty 1501 - 1722 CE

Jul 18, 1501

In the 1500s A.D., a Shiite leader by the name of Ismail conquered the Persian Empire, and appointed himself as the new ruler, beginning he would be known as the Safavid Dynasty.

Mughal Dynasty 1526 - 1757 CE

Jun 19, 1526

The Mughal Empire, founded in 1526, was the most powerful Islamic state to rule in India. It was at its most successful during the 17th century, when important buildings such as the Taj Mahal were constructed.

Council of Trent 1545 - 1563 CE

Jun 22, 1545

The Council of Trent played an important part in determining the outcome of the Counter-Reformation. Along with the part played by the Jesuits and certain individuals, the Council of Trent was a central feature of the Counter-Reformation. But whether Trent represented a positive move by the Catholic Church remains contentious.