Ancient Period Timeline

Ancient Period Timeline

• 525 BCE: Egypt falls to the Persians
• 509 BCE: Traditional date for the founding of the Roman Republic
• 499 BCE: Greek city-states revolt against Persian rule
• 483 BCE: Indian Philosopher Siddhartha Gautama Buddha dies, marking the beginning of Buddhism
• 479 BCE: Chinese Philosopher Confucius dies, marking the beginning of Confucianism
• 461-429 BCE: Golden Age of Greece
• 336 BCE: Alexander the Great rules Macedonia
• 334 BCE: Alexander fights and wins against Persians
• 332 BCE: Alexander conquers Egypt and founds Alexandria
• 326 BCE: Alexander reaches northern Punjab region (Pakistan)
• 324 BCE: Mauryan empire in Indian subcontinent
• 323 BCE: Alexander dies, and his empire falls
• 305 BCE: The first Greek Pharoah of Egypt, Ptolemy I, establishes the Ptolemaic Dynasty
• 240 BCE: Greek mathematician Eratosthenes measures the Earth's circumference
• 221-206 BCE: Beginning of the Qin Dynasty; construction of the Great Wall begins
• 206 BCE: The Han Dynasty uses the Silk Road for trading connection as far as the Mediterranean
• 60 BCE: Roman leaders Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar form the 1st Triumvirate
• 55 BCE: Julius Caesar invades Britain
• 44 BCE: Assassination of Julius Caesar
• 33 CE: Judean philosopher Jesus is executed by Rome, marking the beginning of Christianity
• 324 CE: Constantine the Great establishes his capital at Byzantium (Constantinople)
• 476 CE: Roman Empire Ends

Wheels

• The invention of the wheel is credited to the Sumerians
• The potter's wheel was invented around 3500 BCE
• The wheel was initially used for pottery, but later adapted for transportation purposes

Paper

• Around 3000 BCE, ancient Egyptians began writing on Papyrus, a material similar to thick paper
• Papyrus is made from the pith of the Cyperus papyrus plant
• It is lightweight, strong, durable, and portable
• Before papyrus, writing was done on stone

Shadoof

• The shadoof was invented and used for irrigation by the ancient Egyptians
• It is an operated device used for lifting water
• This invention made irrigation and farming more efficient

Antikythera Mechanism

• The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analog computer orrery
• It was discovered in 1902 from the waters of Antikythera, Greece
• It is believed to have been used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes

Aeolipile

• Also known as Hero's Engine (Heron's Engine)
• It is believed to be the ancient precursor of the steam engine
• Hero of Alexandria is credited with the demonstration of the use of the aeolipile during the 1st century AD

Middle Ages Timeline

• High Middle Ages: 1000 to 1300 CE
  • Scholasticism developed further as a philosophy of learning
  • Vikings sail to North America (Canada)
  • Murasaki Shikibu begins writing the Tale of Genji, the world's first novel
  • Death of Arab mathematician and physicist Al-Hazen
  • Eastern and western churches split; Catholicism rules in the west, while Eastern Orthodoxy rules in the east
• Late Middle Ages: 1300-1500 CE
  • Dante Alighieri begins writing the Divine Comedy
  • The Hundred Years War
  • The Black Death (The Plague) kills 35 million people, one-third of the European population
  • Ming Dynasty of China
  • Geoffrey Chaucer begins writing the Canterbury Tales
  • Christine de Pisan publishes The Book of the City of Ladies
  • The "school" of navigation founded by Prince Henry the Navigator
  • Joan of Arc, a turning point in the Hundred Year's War
  • Thais conquer the Angkor Empire
  • Aztecs become the dominant partner in a triple alliance with two nearby city-states and gain control of the Valley of Mexico
  • Inca Empire

Heavy Plough

• One of the most important technological innovations during the Middle Ages
• The heavy plough turned European agriculture and economy around
• It stirred an agricultural revolution in Northern Europe, marked by higher and healthier agricultural yields and more efficient agricultural practices

Gunpowder

• Accidentally invented by Chinese alchemists around 850 AD
• Initially called "fire potion"
• Spread to most parts of Asia and Europe by the end of the 13th century
• Allowed for advanced warfare, from fiery arrows to cannons and grenades
• Ushered in an unprecedented advancement in warfare and combat throughout the Middle Ages

Paper Money

• The first known versions of paper money could be traced back to the Chinese in the 17th century AD
• An offshoot of the invention of block printing, similar to stamping
• Prior to the invention of the Jacquard Loom, a drawloom was used, which required two individuals to operate

Engine-Powered Airplane

• Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with designing and successfully operating the first engine-powered aircraft
• Flying Machine patent (US patent #821393), showing that slightly-tilted wings were the key features of a powered aircraft

Television

• John Logie Baird is credited with the invention of the modern television
• Successfully televised objects in outline in 1924, recognizable human faces in 1925, moving objects in 1926, and projected colored images in 1928
• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) used this for its earliest television programming in 1929