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2000 BCE
Minoan civilization prospers on Crete
Minoan civilization emerged around 2000 BCE, and lasted until 1400 BCE. It was located on the island of Crete, which is now a part of Greece. The Minoans were famous for the magnificent palaces they built, above all at Knossos. There was, if fact, never a people who called themselves the “Minoans”. -
1500 BCE
Mycenaean culture thrives on the Greek mainland
Mycenae is celebrated by Homer as the seat of King Agamemnon, who led the Greeks in the Trojan War. -
1200 BCE
Trojan War takes place
Troy is an ancient city and archaeological site in modern-day Turkey, but is also famously the setting for the legendary Trojan War in Homer's epic poems the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." In legend, the city of Troy was besieged for 10 years and eventually conquered by a Greek army led by King Agamemnon. -
1050 BCE
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty is the earliest ruling dynasty of China to be established in recorded history, though other dynasties predated it. The Shang ruled from 1600 to 1050 B.C. and heralded the Bronze Age in China. They were known for their advances in math, astronomy, artwork and military technology. -
Period: 753 BCE to 509 BCE
The Age of Kings
The most accepted date for the foundation of Rome is 753 BC. The first form of government in Rome was monarchical according to the archaeological findings and the legends. In the excavations carried out in the Roman Forum, in the Regia, which was the former royal residence, a glass of bucchero was founding dating from the seventh century with the inscription Rex (king). The word regei was also found on the Lapis Niger, an ancient shrine in the Roman Forum. -
750 BCE
Greek city-states flourish
Another key factor influencing the formation of city-states rather than kingdoms was the Mediterranean. Such a calm and easily navigable sea provided the Greeks with an opportunity to found new colonies in times of crisis and overpopulation. It also appealed to their sense of heroism and adventure. -
Period: 509 BCE to 287 BCE
Birth of Republic
Rome's next government served as a representative democracy in the form of a republic. Initially, Rome's wealthiest families, the patricians, held power and only they could hold political or religious offices. -
479 BCE
Greece triumphed in Persian Wars
Xerxes personally led the second Persian invasion of Greece with one of the largest ancient armies ever assembled. Victory over the allied Greek states at the famous Battle of Thermopylae allowed the Persians to torch an evacuated Athens and overrun most of Greece. -
390 BCE
The Expansion of Rome
Rome was able to gain its empire in large part by extending some form of citizenship to many of the people it conquered. Military expansion drove economic development, bringing enslaved people and loot back to Rome, which in turn transformed the city of Rome and Roman culture. -
334 BCE
Alexander start to build his empire
Alexander invaded Persia, which lay across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). After three grueling years of warfare and three decisive battles, Alexander smashed the Persian armies at the Tigris River and conquered the mighty Persian Empire, including the legendary city of Babylon. -
305 BCE
The Crisis of Empire
The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. It ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascension of Diocletian and his implementation of reforms in 284, including the Tetrarchy. -
180 BCE
The Height of the Empire
The Roman Empire stretched from Britain in the Northwest to Egypt in the Southeast. -
96 BCE
The First Emperors
Augustus (also known as Octavian) was the first emperor of ancient Rome. Augustus came to power after the assassination of Julius Caesar -
30 BCE
Civil Wars and the Fall of the Republic
Economic problems, government corruption, crime and private armies, and the rise of Julius Caesar as emperor all led to its eventual fall. Rome's continued expansion resulted in money and revenue for the Republic. -
27 BCE
Empire. The Age of Augustus
Augustus was a highly successful ruler. Abroad, he expanded the empire, adding Egypt, northern Spain and much of central Europe. By his death, the empire was an enormous marketplace in which millions could trade and travel under Rome's protection. -
Period: 286 to 293
England
Admiral Carausius breaks away from the rest of the Roman Empire and makes himself emperor of an independent Britain -
Period: 305 to 476
Mongol event
The Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, Alania, and the Kievan Rus' federation. -
476
The End of Empire
The Roman Empire became less stable over the course of the Third to Fifth centuries CE. Historians point to internal divisions as well as repeated invasions from tribes such as the Huns and the Visigoths as reasons why the Empire fell. The fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred in 476 CE. -
862
The first major East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, is founded
According to the traditional account presented in The Russian Primary Chronicle, it was founded by the Viking Oleg, ruler of Novgorod from about 879. In 882 he seized Smolensk and Kiev, and the latter city, owing to its strategic location on the Dnieper River, became the capital of Kievan Rus. -
The Romanov Dynasty begins
The Romanov family was the last imperial dynasty to rule Russia. They first came to power in 1613, and over the next three centuries, 18 Romanovs took the Russian throne, including Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander I and Nicholas II. -
America
The United States is Founded -
America
the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America -
France
France is founded -
Mexico
Mexico is founded -
America
the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States -
The republic of China
The Republic of China, commonly recognised as the official designation of China from 1912 to 1949, was a country in East Asia based in Mainland China, prior to the relocation of its central government to Taiwan as a result of the Chinese Civil War. -
The Communist Party of China
The Chinese Communist Party, officially the Communist Party of China, is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China. The CCP was founded in 1921 by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. Mao Zedong was a founding member of the party and rose through its ranks to become its leader and chairman in 1943. -
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia -
Germany
Germany is founded -
Spain
Spain is founded -
The Soviet Union Falls
On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. Earlier in the day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post as president of the Soviet Union, leaving Boris Yeltsin as president of the newly independent Russian state. -
America
the 27 Amendment to the constitution was ratified -
United Kingdom
Great Britain was founded -
Vladimir Putin is elected president
He briefly served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council, before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became acting president and, less than four months later, was elected outright to his first term as president.