Period 2.1 Religion Development Time

Abraham is born. (Judaism)

1813 BCE

Abraham was born around 1813 B.C.E, and according to the Old Testament, he was chosen by God to be the father of Isaac, the founder of the Jewish people.

The Aryan invasion begins. (Hinduism)

1600 BCE

The Aryans invade the Indus River Valley Civilization around 1600 BCE. This brings the Sanskrit language to the region and majorly influences Hinduism, which is in a growth stage and developing quickly.

The Vedic Age Begins. (Hinduism)

1500 BCE

The Vedic Age, is the period where the most ancient and first Hindu sacred texts were written, the Vedas. This period signals the rise of large, urbanized areas and other religious movements, which include Jainism and Buddhism.

Moses leads the Jews on an exodus from Egypt. (Judaism)

1280 BCE

The Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt until a Egyptian Jewish Prince by the name of Moses is called upon by God to be a prophet. Around 1280 B.C.E, he leads his people out of Egypt to the Exodus, Canaan, or the Promised Land.

Moses Presents Jewish People the Ten Commandments. (Judaism)

1100 BCE

During this time, Moses presents the Jewish people with the Ten Commandments and forms a new covenant with God, which lays the foundation for the Jewish religion.

King Solomon constructs the First Temple. (Judaism)

970 BCE

King Solomon of Israel builds the First Temple around 970 B.C.E. This temple contains the Ark of the Covenant, a holy artifact that contains the Ten Commandments. A few hundred years later, the temple is annihilated by the Babylonians.

The Upanishads. (Hinduism)

800 BCE

The major 11 Upanishads were wrote around 800 BCE. These introduce the concept of reincarnation and karma, that people who are influential and powerful in the current life will be reborn in a better life until they eventually reach Nirvana, or the holy bliss.

Caste System. (Hinduism)

600 BCE

The Caste System originated around 600 BCE in India. It started the social stratification in the Indian society and also was a major aspect of the Hindu religion, which determine one's afterlife and rebirth.

Confucius Is Born. (Confucianism)

551 BCE

Confucius is the founder of Confucianism. He was born on September 28th, 551 B.C.E. He also was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher.

Daoism Is Founded. (Daosim)

550 BCE

Lao Tze is the founder of Daoism, and he founded it around 550 B.C.E. He also wrote Tao-Te Ching, the "handbook" for all Daoists.

Analects. (Confucianism)

500 BCE

The Analects were written around 500 B.C.E. They are the texts and teachings of Confucius. However, the Analects were spread by Mencius. They influenced the Han Dynasty and still continue to influence China to this day.

Siddhartha Gautama is born. (Buddhism)

490 BCE

Siddhartha Gautama was probably born around 490 BCE in northern India. His parents belong to the Shakya caste, and his father is a respected head of the community. Although he is fairly wealthy,however Gautama is exposed to human suffering from an early age.

Gautama leaves home to search for a solution to suffering. (Buddhism)

461 BCE

Around age 29, Gautama has a personal crisis as he realizes he is not immune from the suffering of old age, disease, and death. He leaves home around 461 BCE to search for a solution to human suffering. For six long years, he searches for the answer through yoga and extreme asceticism.

The Buddha gains his first followers. (Buddhism)

455 BCE

After becoming the Buddha, Gautama gives his first sermon near the city of Varanasi. Known as the time when the Buddha "set in motion the wheel of the law," this sermon is the first time he explains the four noble truths, the eightfold path towards ending suffering, and the middle way. Soon after, Gautama gains his first disciples, Sariputra and Mahamaudgalyayana.

Gautama dies. (Buddhism)

410 BCE

While eating a meal around northern India (where he was preaching at the time) Gautama becomes sick after eating it. He was near death, but asked his disciples to continue spreading his teachings.

Zhuangzi. (Daoism)

350 BCE

Zhuangzi was a philosopher and wrote the first 7 chapters of Tao Te Ching. He wrote about death, truth, and perspective. In addition, he laid the foundation for the formal study of all Daoism. His views differed from Confucian views.

Spread of Confucianism Through China. (Confucianism)

330 BCE

Mencius, the most famous Confucius follower, spreads Confucius' teachings across modern day China (Han Dynasty).

The Maurya Empire is founded. (Hinduism)

320 BCE

Chandragupta founded the Maurya Empire on the Indian subcontinent around 320 BCE. Hindu priests initially introduce Hinduism as the major religion of the empire, but Emperor Ashoka converts and makes the empire embrace Buddhism.

Emperor Ashoka is converted to Buddhism. (Buddhism)

263 BCE

Emperor Ashoka is converted to Buddhism around 263 BCE. In a few years, it will become India's state religion. All of these event lead to the spread of Buddhism.

Emperor Ashoka adopts Buddhism as India's state religion. (Buddhism)

261 BCE

Emperor Ashoka, who ruled India between 268 and 232 BCE, adopts Buddhism as India's state religion. This was very crucial to the spread of Buddhism and caused for it to be wide spread and more accepted.

Torah Translated Into Greek. (Judaism)

245 BCE

The Torah, the holy book of Judaism, is translated to Greek, a widespread language. This caused the religion to be spread more, however the Jews were persecuted by the Greeks.

Ying-Yang. (Daoism)

200 BCE

Teachings of balance and harmony began to be taught by the Daoists. The most prominent being Ying-Yang, the balance of light and dark.

Principles of Daoism. (Daoism)

200 BCE

The principles of Daoism are determined, these are: dao/tao, wuwei, de, and pu. All of these terms are crucial concepts and aspects of Daoism. For example, Wuwei means natural action, or in other words, action that does not involve struggle or excessive effort.

Emperor Wu. (Confucianism)

100 BCE

Emperor Wu abandons the status quo of Legalism, for Confucianism. He helps spread it across his empire, causing the "religion" to be well known and highly practiced.

Buddhist Scriptures. (Buddhism)

25 BCE

The first Buddhist Scriptures are written down around 25 BCE. Eventually, the scripture contained 2184 sacred writings of Buddhism. In a general term, they were known as Tripitaka.

Birth of Jesus Christ. (Christianity)

6 BCE

Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, in 6 BCE. This is the beginning of the New Testament in the Bible and where Christianity starts.

Jesus begins ministry in Galilee, first Disciples (Christianity)

27

Jesus begins his teaching around the Sea of Galilee, and he finds his first two disciples. Their names are Peter and his brother Andrew. They begin to follow Jesus and learn his teachings and spread it.

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (Christianity)

30

Jesus is crucified by the Romans (Pontius Pilate) due to them suspecting trouble from him. His death does not end his ministry, as his disciples carry his teachings around the world.

Saul to Paul. (Christianity)

33

Saul, a Jew from the city of Tarsus, who used to persecute Christians, converts to Christianity. He will eventually become a writer of many books in the Bible and spread the Christian Teachings across the Mediterranean world.

Beginning of the Martyrdoms of the Disciples. (Christianity)

33

Stephen was the first martyr of the disciples , however almost all of them were martyred at some point after 33 CE.

Paul is Executed. (Christianity)

62

Paul is forced to drink poison in Rome and dies. During his life he spread the Gospel to many places, and converting many people to Christianity. He also wrote many books of the New Testament.

Roman Destruction of Second Temple. (Judaism)

70

Roman destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem ends the Jewish sovereignty. In other words, this is the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora.

Usage of the Analects. (Confucianism)

124

Emperor Han Wudi makes Confucian texts the basis of training for bureaucrats. These texts are known as the Analects, and they will influence China for a long period of time.

Daoism becomes an organized religion. (Daoism)

141

Before this time, Daoism was not technically an official religion. However, in the year of 141 CE, Daoism becomes a legitimate, organized religion.

First Celestial Master. (Daoism)

141

A Celestial Master is the head of the Chinese Daoist movement. The first one was selected in 141 CE, by the name of Zhang Daoling, after Laozi appears to him on a mountain.

Collapse of Han Dynasty. (Confucianism)

220

The Han Dynasty ends, and Confucianism loses influence on the government and people's every day life.

Han Dynasty Collapses, Daosim gains influence. (Daoism)

220

Due to the Han Dynasty mainly supporting Confucianism, Daoism did not have much influence until the empire collapsed. Around this time, the Daoists began to take hold of China, and replace the fading Confucian influence.

Armenia. (Christianity)

301

Armenia becomes the world's first country to officially adopt Christianity as the state religion.

The Gupta Empire. (Hinduism)

320

Maharaja Sri Gupta founded the Gupta Empire, in 320 CE. It covers where the Maurya Empire used to be. It is a peaceful time period, and this allows Hinduism to develop further and spread.

Jews Return From Exile. (Judaism)

370

Jews return from exile by the Babylonians. Cyrus the Great, the conqueror of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BCE, deported them upon conquest.

The Spread of Hinduism. (Hinduism)

400

Hinduism is spread to Southeast Asia by Hindu traders. This allows for further spread to take place in China, the Thai area, and basically all of Asia.

First Confucian Temple Built. (Confucianism)

489

First Confucian temple outside of Qufu (Confucius' hometown) built by King Xiaowen of the Northern Wei.