People, Dynasties, and Events

Egyptians (dynasties/empires)

3100 BCE

For almost 30 centuries—from its unification around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.—ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world.The main sources of information about ancient Egypt are the many monuments, objects and artifacts that have been recovered from archaeological sites, covered with hieroglyphs that have only recently been deciphered.

Sumerians (dynasties/empires)

3000 BCE

The ancient Sumerians, the "black-headed ones," lived in the southern part of what is now Iraq. The heartland of Sumer lay between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in what the Greeks later called Mesopotamia.The Sumerians were characteristically inventive, and are likely to have been responsible for the development of the first writing.

Babylonians (dynasties/empire)

1894 BCE

Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former Akkadian Empire. The Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in later Babylonian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural center, even under protracted and lengthy periods of outside rule.

Phoenicians (dynasties/empires)

1500 BCE

According to ancient classical authors, the Phoenicians were a people who occupied the coast of the Levant (eastern Mediterranean). Confined to a narrow coastal strip with limited agricultural resources, maritime trade was a natural development. With the decline of Egyptian influence about 1200 B.C., the cities were freed from foreign domination.

Hatshepsut (people)

1473 BCE

Became the queen of Egypt when she married Thutmose II (her half-brother) around the age of 12. After his death she took over the duties as pharaoh. She extended Egyptian trade and oversaw ambitious building projects.

Tutankhamun {Tutankhamen} (people)

1334 BCE

Ruled Egypt for about 10 years. His rule was notable for reversing the religious reforms of his father. He was barely known to the modern world until 1922, when Howard Carter chiseled through a doorway and entered his tomb.

Siddhartha Gautama (people)

580 BCE

Leader of founder of a sect of wanderer ascetics (became known as Sangha to distinguish it from similar communities). His teaching are considered the core of Buddhism. After his death, the community he founded slowly evolved into a religious-like movement (established as a state religion in India by Emperor Ashoka).

Socrates (people)

470 BCE

Attemptedt establish a ethica ssem bsedon human reason, rather than theological doctrine. Many people didn't like Socrates' teachings and he was executed.

Plato (people)

428 BCE

Plato wrote dialogues in attempt to convey Socrates's philosophy and teaching.Sometime around 385 B.C.E., Plato founded a school of learning, known as the Academy, which he presided over until his death. It is believed the school was located at an enclosed park named for a legendary Athenian hero

Aristotle (people)

384 BCE

Aristotle started his own school in Athens, called the Lyceum. On and off, Aristotle spent most of the remainder of his life working as a teacher, researcher and writer at the Lyceum in Athens until the death of his former student Alexander the Great.

Alexander The Great (people)

356 BCE

In the wake of his father's death, Alexander, then 19, was determined to seize the throne by any means necessary. He quickly garnered the support of the Macedonian army, including the general and troops he had had fought with at Chaeronea.

Augustus Caesar (people)

100 BCE

Historians date the start of Octavian’s monarchy to either 31 B.C. (the victory at Actium) or 27 B.C., when he was granted the name Augustus. In that four-year span, Octavian secured his rule on multiple fronts. Cleopatra’s seized treasure allowed him to pay his soldiers, securing their loyalty. To mollify Rome’s Senate and ruling classes, he passed laws harkening back to the traditions of the Roman Republic. And to win over the people, he worked to improve and beautify the city of Rome.

Julius Caesar (people)

100 BCE

Gaius Julius Caesar, one of the world’s greatest military leaders, was born into a senatorial, patrician family and was the nephew of another famous Roman general, Marius. After the death of Marius and the rise of Sulla, Caesar’s life was for a time in jeopardy, but in the early 60s b.c. he launched his own successful political and military career.

Confucius {Kong Qui} (people)

551

Created a social philosophy based primarily on the principle of loving others while exercising self-discipline, which later evolved into a religious practice