D O N ‘ T K N O W MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY MYTHIC MILESTONES
Egypt
All dates are BCE, Before the Common Era. Egyptian history covers thousands of years, and while the order of kings is reasonably well established, many precise dates are more problematic and are often appfoximated. Many of the dates in this chronology are drawn from
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt.
5000 to 4001 The Egyptian calendar is devised, regulated by sun and moon; 360 days; divided into twelve30- day months.
| 4000 | Sails are used. |
| 3300 | First walled towns are built. |
| 3200 | Earliest hieroglyphic script appears. |
Early Dynastic Period c. 3100-2686
3100 King Narmer/Menes(?) unites Upper and Lower Egypt.
Memphis is founded as the capital of unified Egypt. Beginning of systematic astronomical observations in Egypt.
3050 Introduction of the 365-day calendar.
Old Kingdom 2686-2160
2667-2648 Third Dynasty ruler Djoser rules with counselor (v iz ier ) lmhotep, who makes the first known efforts to find medical aswe 11 as religious methods for treating is eased.
2650 Beginning of period of pyramid building; the firstmonum enta l building in stone is the Step Pyramid of Dojs er at Saqqara, initiated by lmhotep.
Gift of the Nile
2575 Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), largest of the Egyptian pyra mids, is built at Giza.
2550 The Great Sphinx at Giza is carved under the reign of Khafra (Chephren).
2500 to 2001 Division of the day into twenty -four units.
Cult of Isis and Osiris develops. First use of mummi fication.
2375-2300 In the pyramid of King Unas, the first known use of “P yramid Texts”; these are funerary texts inscribed on walls ofp yra mid s; they are the oldest known religious writings in the world.
First Intermediate Period 2160-2055
2150 Series of floods brings famine and discontent; collapse of the Old Kingdom..
Middle Kingdom 2055-1650
- 2055 Egypt is reunited under Middle Kingdom pharaohs.
1991 Book of the Dead is collected; it is known to Egyptians as “The Chapters of Coming Forth by Day.”
- 1965 Nubia (modern Sudan) is conquered by Egypt.
- 1800 Horse is introduced to Egypt.
1700-1500 Biblical patriarch Joseph in Egypt (?).
Second Intermediate Period 1650-1550
- 1660 Invasion of Semitic Hyksos from Palestine, Syria, and farther north. They are excellent archers, wear sandals, and use horse-drawn
c ha r io t s to conquer the Nile Delta; eventually they rule much of
New Kingdom 1550-1069
1567 Expulsion of the Hyksos by Ahmose.
1550 Rise of the New Kingdom; the capital founded at Thebes, which becomes center of the Egyptian Empire. The New Kingdomdyn as ties usher ina period of stability and rule for nearly five hundred years, expanding Egypt’s power into Asia.
1473 Queen Hatshepsut ,ules as «gent fo, he< infant stepson, who will
become Thutmose I.ll
1479 Thutmose Ill takes the throne and the title of p haraoh. Thut mose Ul attempts to obscure all references to his aunt Hatshepsut by constructing walls around her obelisks at Karnak.
1470 Massive volcanic eruption on the isle of Thera is viewed as responsible for destruction of an advanced Minoan civili,ation based on Crete.
1352-1336 Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaten, introduces sun worship asa form of monotheism; his religious reforms, called the “Amarna Revolution;’ plunge the country into turmoil.
1336-1327 B,ief «ign of famed boy-king Tutankhamun, whose tomb survived virtually intact until discovered in1 9 2.2
1295-1200 Speculative date of Jewish Exodus from Egypt.
1286 Hittites almost defeat the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh in modern Syr ia. Following this battle, Ramses 11 marriesa H i titt e princess, cementing a peace treaty between the two pow rs.
|
1279-1213 Ramses 11 rules; widely believed to be the pharaohdur ing the biblical Exodus.
Third Intermediate Period 1069-664
1005-967 Reign of King David in Israel; Jerusalem established as cap- ital.
967-931 Reign of King Solomon in Jerusalem.
945 Egyptian civil wars; a Libyan dynasty is installed, and the first non Egyptian line rules Egypt for the next two hundred years.
814 Foundation of Carthage, Phoenician colony in North Africa.
753 Traditional date of the founding of Rome. -.
747 Rule of Egypt by Nubians .
671 Assyrian king Esarhaddon attacks Egypt, captures Memphis, sacks Thebes, and leaves vassal rulers in charge.
- 670 Introduction of iron working .
Late Period 664-332
664 Egypt regains independence from Assyria.
525 Persian army led by Cambyses occupies Egypt, which becomes part of the Persian Empire.
490 The Battle of Marathon marks the beginning of the Persian Wars between Greece and Persia.
457 The Golden Age of Athens under Pericles.
450 Greek historian Herodotus visits Egypt and describes customs and history, sometimes quite fancifully, in The Histories.
Ptolemaic Period 332-30
332 Alexander the Great conquers Egypt; founds the city of Alexandria .
323 Death of Alexander the Great.
305 Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander’s Greek generals, becomes king of Egypt; adapts pharaonic titles and Egyptian worship.
290 In Alexandria, Euclid sets out principles of geometry in Elements.
250-100 In Alexandria, Hebrew religious texts are translated into Greek, the version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.
- 200 Alexandria is the scientific capital of the world, famed for its museum, library, and university.
146 Rome conquers and destroys Carthage.
49 Roman civil war. Julius Caesar in Egypt with Cleopatra.
46 Caesar returns to Rome with Cleopatra as his mistress and is made dictator of Rome.
44 Cleopatra murders Ptolemy XIV, cornier of Egypt. Julius Caesar assassinated in the Roman Senate.
41 Marc Antony meets Cleopatra and follows her to Egypt.
31 Battle of Actium; Octavian defeats Marc Antony .
30 Deaths of Marc Antony and Cleopatra; annexation of Egypt by Rome.
4 Death of King Herod; widely accepted date of birth of Jesus.
For the next five centuries, Egypt remained a province of the Roman Empire. But the rise of Christianity, and later the ascendancy of Islam in the Arab world, marked the final end of the old religions of Egypt. According to Christian lore, St. Mark, a Christian missionary, founded the Egyptian (Coptic) church in Alexandria around 40 CE. The city, which already had a large community of Jews, soon also developed a thriving Christian community. During the early years of the Christian Church, the bishops of Alexandria exercised enormous influence in defining Christian beliefs and practices.
MYTHIC MILESTONES
Mesopotamia
(All dates are Before the Common Era – BC E)
Who’s Who of Mesopotamian Myths
How did an angry goddess make the seasons? Was lnanna’s city the first “Sin City”?
Who was mythology’s first superhero?
Was the Gilgamesh a work of “faction”? Who came first, Gilgamesh or Noah?
Was the Tower of Babel in Babylon?
- 9000 Early cultivation of wheat and barley; domestication f dogs and sheep in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains.
- 7000 One of the world’s oldest known permanent settlements at Jarmo in northern Iraq; crude mud houses; goats, sheep, and pigs herded; wheat grown from seed .
6000 Farmers from northern areas migrate south to settle in the region between Babylon and Persian Gulf.
- 5500 World’s first irrigation systems used. Fine pottery is invented.
Trading begins from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean.
- 5000 First religious shrines in Eridu-called the “first city.”
Was the Bible’s Abraham a ma-n Mesopotamian myth?
Who were El and Baal?
or another
- 4500 First use of sail.
4000-3500 Sumerians settle on the banks of the Euphrates.
First use of the plow.
3500 Emergence of the first city-states.
3400 Clay counting tokens and first written symbols in use.
3200 Evidence of wheeled vehicles in Sumer, along with sailboats, potter’s wheels, and kilns.
3100 Development of cuneiform script to record land sales and con tracts.
3000-2500 Sumerians grow barley, bake bread, make beer. Metal coins are used to replace barley as means of exchange.
- 2700 Reign of Gilgamesh, legendary king of Uruk.
By the Rivers of Babylon
- 850 Homer composes The Iliad and The Odyssey.
- 2500 Array of grave goods placed in royal graves at Ur.
2334 Powerful Semitic-speaking Akkadian dynasty founded by Sargon I, uniting city-states of southern Mesopotamia; the world’s first”emp ir e. ”
- 2100 Construction of the ziggurat at Ur.
Hebrew patriarch Abraham leaves Ur (date issp ecu la t ive. )
1800 Amm or ites from Syrian desert conquer Sumer-Akkadia.
1792-1750 Old Babylonian Period. Hammurabi ascends the throne of Babylon and brings most of Mesopotamia under his control.
Babylon made the Mesopotamian capital.
Hammurabi institutes one of the first law codes in history.
1595 Babylon sacked and occupied by invaders from Iranian plateau known as Kassites.
1363 Assyrian Empire founded by Ashur-uballit.
1300 Alphabetic script developed in Mesopotamia isa refinement of the simplified cuneiform alphabet.
1295-1200 The Jewish Exodus from Egypt (date is speculative).
1240-1190 Israelite conquest of Canaan (date is speculative).
1200 The Gilgamesh epic is composed, the first known written legend.
1193 The destruction of Troy (date issp ecu la t vi e. )
1146 Nebuchadrezzar I begins a twenty-three-year reign as king of
Babylon.
. 1116 Tiglath-pileser I begins a thirty-eight-year reign that will bring the
Middle Assyrian Empire to its highest point.
1005-967 Reign of King David in Israel; Jerusalem established as cap-
ital.
967-931 Reign of King Solomon in Jerusalem.
722 Conquest ofN orthe rn Kingdom of Israel by Assyria – thes o- ca lel d Ten Tribes, some thirty thousand Israelites, are deported to Central
Asia by Sargon II; they will disappear from history and be known as the “Lost Tribes of Israel.”
693-689 Assyrian king Sennacherib destroys Babylon.
663 Assyrians attack Egypt, sack Thebes, and leave vassal rulersm charge.
612 Fall of Assyrian capital of Nineveh to the Chaldeans (ne 0cBaby lonians) .
605 Persian religious leader Zoroaster (Zarathustra) foundsa faith that will dominate Persian thought for centuries.
604 Kin g Nebuchadrezzar II revives Babylon and builds the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the
ziggurat that inspired the Tower of Babel as a temple to the Babylon ian god Marduk.
597 Nebuchadrezzar II conquers Jerusalem. Judah ‘s king deported to Babylon.
587/6 Fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Great Temple.
Jewish exile in Babylon begins. During this time, many of the books of Hebrew scripture are first written down.
539 Persian Empire: King Cyrus captures Babylon and incorporates the city into the Persian Empire.
538 Cyrus allows the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem.
522-486 Darius I of Persia is defeated by the Greeks at Marathon in
490.
336-323 The reign of Alexander the Great. In 330, the Persian Empire falls to Alexander, beginning the Hellenistic Era, in which Creek civilization and language spread throughout the Near Eastern world. Alexander dies in Babylon in 323.
Greece and Rome
Before the Common Era (BCE)
- 3000 The early Minoan civilization is established on the island of Crete.
- 2000 Greek-speaking Indo-European peoples begin to migrate into the Aegean Sea area.
Palace of Knossos is built on Crete.
Egyptian -influenced hieroglyphic script used on C rete.
1900 Potter’s wheel introduced to C rete .
1750 Linear A, an early form of script, used on Crete.
1600-1400 Height of Minoan civilization on Crete.
1628 Volcanic eruption on the island ofThera (modern Santorini).
c.1600 Rise of Mycenaean civilization on Greek main land.
1450-1400 Fall of Minoan civilization on Crete after invasions and volcanic disasters; Mycenaeans take control of Crete.
1400 Mycenaean civilizations dominate the Greek mainland .
Mycenaeans adapt Linear B script.
c.1280-1184Trojan War with Mycenaean Greeks.
1150- 1100 Collapse of Mycenaean dominance. P ossible Dorian invasions from the North.
11 00- 800 Beginning of the so-called Dark Ages in Greece.
- 1000 Worship of Zeus grows at Olympia.
- 900-800 Archaic Age begins; growth of the Greek city-states, or p o le is- in depen de nt cities ruled by a variety of governments.
900-700 Early books of Hebrew Bible composed.
776 First documented Olympic games are held at Olympia. 753 Traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus. 750-700 Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are first written down.
750 Greek colonization of Mediterranean spreads.
480-336 The Classical Age – the culminating years of Greek lachievement.
476 Massive new Temple of Zeus built at Olympia to celebrate Greek
-1freedom, combined with Olympic Games. The temple, including a massive statue of Zeus, is completed c. 420. The temple and statue are among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. –
460-430 The Golden Age of Pericles in Athens.
The three great tragedians flourish: Aeschylus (525-456), Sophocles (496-406), and Euripides (485-406).
First evidence of use of Greek alphabet.
700 Hesiod’s Theogony, Works and Days composed.
621 Draco and the first written law code in Athens.
600 Thales of Miletus; birth of philosophy (IonianSc hoo l.)
First Greek coins used in Lydia.
594 In Athens, Solon is given extraordinary powers; he reformsg ov- ernment, establishes rules for public recital of Homeric poems.
580 Sappho and the flowering of Greek lyricp oe t .ry
570 Anximander develops systematic cosmology.
525 Pythagoras beginsp h ilosophical-religious brotherhood; develops mathematical, scientific, and mystical ideas.
520 Xenophanes, philosopher-poet, develops ideas of human progress, philosophical monotheism, skepticism toward deities.
509 Foundation of Roman Republic.
508 Democratic reforms instituted in Athens.
490 First Persian invasion of Greece; Greeks defeat the Persians att he
Battle of Marathon .
480 Second Persian invasion, led by Xerxes. The Persians win atT her mopylae; Athens is sacked; the Persians are defeated in thenava l Bat tle of Salamis; Persian troops withdraw after loss at Plataea in479.
447 In Athens, work begins on the Parthenon. Completed in 432, the temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena, stands on a hill called the Acropolis, overlooking the city. It is the crowning achievement of the Golden Age under Pericles.
431 The Peloponnesian Wars commence, with Athens and Sparta as main rivals.
430 Great plague strikes Athens; Pericles dies in 429.
404 Athens surrenders; a period of Spartan domination; oligarchy returns to Athens.
399 Suicide of Socrates, accused of corrupting the youth of Athens.
385 Plato returns to Athens to open his academy; writes The Symposium.
364 Fighting between rival cities during Olympic Games, a traditional time of truce.
359 Plato’s Republic completed.
338 Macedonia, led by Philip, takes control of Greece, ending inde pendence of city-states.
336 Philip of Macedonia is assassinated.
Alexander the Great, Philip’s son, begins his conquests, extending Creek rule from the Mediterranean to the Himalayas.
335 Aristotle (384-322) founds the Lyceum.
332 Zeno founds the Stoic school of philosophy-based on the idea that virtue is the only good.
323 Death of Alexander in Babylon after a drunken feast. His empire is broken up into kingdoms controlled by Greek generals, such as the Ptolemies, who rule Egypt as Greek-speaking pharaohs.
229 First Roman incursion into Gre
ece.
146 Romans defeat Greek rebellion. In the city of Corinth, all men are killed and women and children sold as slaves.
80 The Roman general Sulla pillages Olympia during the civil wars
fought in Greece.
31 Battle of Actium off the west coast of Greece: Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus, defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra, ending
Rome’s civil wars.
27 Octavian proclaims himself “first citizen,” and takes the name Augustus. Beginsa new era of Pax Romana, and Greek culture spreads throughout Roman Empire.
Common Era (CE)
312 Emperor Constantine’s Christian vision before Battle of Milvian Bridge.
313 Constantine’s Edict of Milan permits Christianity.
337 Constantine is baptized on his deathbed.
330 Byzantium becomes capital of the Roman world and isr ename d Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey).
393 Last official Olympic Games.
394 Theodosius 11, the Christian Roman emperor, bans all paganfes tivals, including the Olympics. The statue of Zeus at Olympia is carted to Constantinople, where it is later destroyed ina fi.re
426 The Temple of Zeus is burned on the orders ofTheo dos ui s Il; Christian fanatics destroy the rest of the sanctuary atOlymp ia.
Celtic and Northern Europe Before the Common Era
3500-3200 Stone circles and alignments and rows of standing stones are built throughout northern and western Europe.
Stonehenge begun in southern England (completed about 1500); its alignment with the sunrise on the summer solstice seems connected to its purpose. Sacrifice of some kind may have taken place there as well. The quarrying, mining, and transportation of these large stones over long distances suggests a sophisticated social organization, but no written records have been found .
An Age of Axes, an Age of Swords
Greece’s Golden Age flowers in Athens.
390 Celtic tribes burn Rome.
- 350 Celtic tribes cross to Ireland.
272 Celtic invaders sack Delphi in Greece.
228 Celts settle Galatia in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).
- 100 Fortified Celtic settlements are built in western Europe :
70 Rome’s Golden Age: Cicero, Ovid, Virgil.
58-50 Julius Caesar completes conquest of Gaul.
31 Octavian becomes Emperor Caesar Augustus.
Common Era
- 3000 Elaborate passage graves are constructed in Ireland.
- 2300 European Bronze Age; bronze objects begin to appear in tombs.
- 1200 Urnfield culture emerges in Danube area, so named because cremated ashes are placed in large urns in communal burial fields.
- 1000 Earliest fortified hilltop sites in western Europe.
- 800 Celtic Iron Age begins in Hallstatt (Austri a).
753 Rome founded.
- 500 Graves in France show Greek and Etruscan imports-indica tions of trade between Celts and Mediterranean civilizations; burials include chariots and weapons.
450 Celtic La Tene culture emerges in west and central Europe and a distinctive art style arises. The La Tene style emphasized elaborate patterns of interwoven curves and spirals and featured highly stylized plants and animals that had little resemblance to nature.
- 400 Celts expand into British Isles.
9 Three Roman legions are destroyed by German tribes on the Rhine.
47 Britain invaded by Romans.
100 Legendary Queen Medb (Maeve) of Connacht reigns in Ireland.
122 Emperor Hadrian builds defensive wal1s and towers to fortify the northern boundary of Roman Britain.
166 German tribes invade northern Italy.
253 Germanic invasion into Gaul cripples the prosperous northwest ern provinces.
378 M is tr ea tm en t of the Visigoths by Roman officials causes uprising; the emperor Valens is killed and his army wiped out.
401 Patricius,a Briton, is taken into slavery in Ier la n d. He will later become known as St. Patrick.
406 German tribesmen invade the Roman Empire.
410 Final withdrawal of Roman Legions from Britain. Alaric the Goth sacks the city of Rome.
431 Council of Ephesus declares that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God.
432 Bishop Patrick arrives in Ireland; converts Irish Celts to Christianity.
441 Ang lo -Saxons start to colonizeEng lan d.
451 Attila the Hun defeated at Troyes.
455 In sea attack launched from Africa, Vandals sack Rome.
476 The last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, is deposed; he is replaced by Odoacer, “king of Italy,” which marks the encl of the
Roman Empire in the West.
- 500 Brigid (later St. Brigid) founds an abbey at Kildare, Ireland.
597 St. Augustine converts Anglo -Saxons to Christianity.
636 Linclisfarne Monastery founded.
789 First recorded Viking raid on England at Weymouth.
793 Vikings plunder Linclisfarne Monastery off British coast.
866 Vikings occupy British city of York.
870 Vikings settle Iceland.
902 Vikings establish a permanent base at Dublin. Vikings found Duchy of Normandy.
911 Descended from an ancient people of Indo-European origins, these savage warriors are called Celtae or Galli by the Romans, and Keltoi and
- 982 Vikings settle G reenl an.d
986 Vikings reach North America and establish settlements.
999-1000 Christianity accepted in Iceland.
1016 Danish king Canute crowned king of England.
1066 Battle of Hastings: Normans – descendan ts of the Vikings invade and conquer Engl and.
- 1220 Prose Edda, Norse myths compiled by Snorri Sturluson.
Galatatae by the Greeks. Today they are known by a catchall word as the
Celts.*
India
Before the Common Era
- C. 4500 Introduction of irrigation techniques in Indus Valley region- in northwestern ·,
Rice is cultivated south of Ganges River. Pottery is made with corded decoration.
- 2500 The emergence of civilization in the Indus Valley lowlands at the early cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, centered in the Indus
River plain between what is now Pakistan and northwestern India; walled towns develop.
Earliest known woven cotton cloth found in Mohen jo- Da ro.
2000 Collapse of Indus Valley civilization.
1500 Indo-Aryan nomadic invaders arrive and settle northwestern India.
Composition of the Sanskrit hymns of the Rig-Veda begins (com pleted c. 900).
1030 Aryans in India expand down the Ganges Valley.
1000 Aryans establish small states in India.
900 Composition of late Vedas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads begins.
800 Rise of urban culture in Ganges Valley.
600 Sixteen Aryan kingdoms are spread across northern India. Emergence of Hindu ism.
563 Birth of the Buddha.
540 Birth of Mahavira, founder of Jain religion.
500 Religious law codes composed. Caste system introduced in India.
483 Death of Buddha.
400 Composition and compilation of epic poems Ma ha b har a ta
and Ramayana.
326 Alexander the Great crosses the Indus River into India; farthest advance of his empire.
321 Chandragupta founds Mauryan Empire.
297 Chandragupta, the first man to unite the Indian subcontinent, abdicates in favor of his son, Bindusara.
273 Reign of Ashoka after he seizes throne.
262 Ashoka converts to Buddhism; renounces violence; Buddhism becomes state religion.
232 Ashoka dies.
100 Composition of seven-hundred-verse Bhagavad-Gita.
China
Just as Egyptian history (see chapter 2) is traditionally divided by the dynastic ages, ancient Chinese history is also characterized by long periods of ruling dynasties following the prehistoric and so-called legendary periods .
Zhou Dynasty (1027-221)
- 1000 Chinese bronze casting is at advanced level unrivalede ls e where in the world at this time.
Origin of the Yi Jing (I Ching, Book of Changes).
841 Beginning of accurately dated history in China.
Sta te- sp ons or e d exploration and early mapping of China’s geography.
- 650 Silk painting, lacquer work, and ceramics become highly sktlled.
c 563-483 Life of Buddha. , –
c.8500 c. 7000
Before the Common Era (BCE) Prehistoric and Legendary Eras
Earliest Chinese pottery is created.
First farming villages formed in the Yellow River basin.
551-479 Life of Confucius, most influential philosopher in Chi nese history.
c. 520 Speculative birth of Lao-tzu (Laozi), philosopher and t radi tional founder of
513 First mention of iron; casting techniques allow for production of
3500 Wet rice farming begins near east coast.
First planned villages appear in northern China, with distinct resi dential and burial areas.
2700 Silk weaving practiced.
2500 First walled cities are built.
2205-2197 Reign of Yu, legendary emperor of first Xia Dynasty.
1900 Boldly painted burial urns are first used in western China.
Shang (Yin) Dynasty (1523-1027)
1300 Oracle bones made from deer bones and tortoise shell, withwr it ten inscriptions, are used in divination.
Chinese script is created.
Royal burials with human sacrifice are practiced.
huge quantities of tools and weapons.
371-289 Life of philosopher Mencius, who continues Confucian teachings.
360 Widespread use of crossbow in warfare.
325 Prince of Qin takes the title of wang (king), and claims to rule all of China.
300 Cavalry introduced.
Qin Dynasty (221-207)
214 Work on Great Wall begins.
206 Great Wall is completed .
The first emperor of all China, Shi Huangdi, unites China. At his death, he will be buried in a vast, man-made mountain. This tomb, discovered in 1974, was guarded by a now-famous army of seven thousand painted terra-cotta warriors.
Han (Western) Dynasty (206 BCE-9 CE)
Everywhere Under Heaven
359
206 Liu Bang proclaims himself emperor of new Han Dynasty; capital established at Chang’an.
| 165 | First official examinations for selection of Chinese civil servants. |
| 141 | Han power expands into western China under Emperor Wudi. |
| 136 | Confucianism becomes state religion . |
| 111 | China conquers and incorporates northern Vietnam. |
110 Opening of Silk Road across Central Asia. It links China with southwest Asia and eventually Europe.
108 China takes control of Korea.
98 State establishes a monopoly on alcohol.
Common Era
Han (Eastern) Dynasty (25-220)
2 First census of Chinese population of more than 57 million , mainly conce.ntrated in the North.
57 Ambassador from king of Nu (Japan) is recognized by the Han emperor.
65 First evidence of Buddhism in China.
106 Invention of paper by Cai Lun, a eunuch serving in the imperial court. Wit h this invention, the Chinese could discard expensive bamboo blocks and silk and adopt a cheap, easily transported writing medium .
168 Following death of Emperor Huandi, Han Empire begins a period of rapid decline, similar in some respects to declin e of Roman Empire. It collapses in 220.
220-265 Three kingdoms (We i, Shu, and Wu): period of disunity.
250 First known use oflodestone (magne tic ) compass.
265-589 Period of division between Wei (n orthe rn) and Qi (southern) Empires.
350 Invention of rigid, metal stirrup in China; vitally important innovation in mounted warfare.
399 Chinese monk and pilgrim Fa Xian journeys to India to study Buddhism .
444 Taoism is made the official religion of Wei Empire after the con version of the emperor.
446 Rebellion in Buddhist monastery against Taoist reforms. Wei emperor orders the execution of every monk in the empire; but many escape. -,
477 Bu ddh ism becomes Chinese state religion. In 489 huge cave tem ple complex is built in in northern province ofYu ng a ng.
Sui Dynasty (590-618)
589 Reunification of China begins.
- 600 Beginning of book printing.
Tang Dynasty (618-906)
618 Under Tang Dynasty contro l, China becomesa vast empire of some 60 million people.
626 Tang court adopts Buddhism. Rise of scholar officials.
Expansion into Korea, Manchuria, Cenrta lAs ia.
630 First Japanese ambassador welcomed at Tang court.
907-960 Five Dynasties Period.
Song Dynasty (960-1279)
1215 Mongols seize most of North China; G enghsi (Chinggis) Khan
rules an empire from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea in the west before his death in 1227.
1260-94 Rule of Kublai Kha.n
1275-1295 Marco Polo in Mongol-rule d China.
Japan
Before the Common Era (BCE)
- 10,000 Ear liest known pottery vessels made inHons hu.
- 660 Jimmu-tenno (“divine warrior emperor”) is the legendary first human emperor of Japan.
- 500 Rice cultivation spreads to Japan fromC h in a.
Common Era
57 Ambassador from king of Nu is recognized byCh in a ‘s Han emperor.
247 Civil war between rival kingdoms.
260 Temple of Amaterasu founded in Ise, the most sacred and revered shrine of Shinto religion.
300 Emergence of Yamato state in Japan.
478 First Shinto shrine appears.
538 Buddhism reaches Japan via China and Korea.
592 Con fli ct between clans over Buddhism and local deitieslea ds to execut ion of the emperor.
630 First Japanese ambassador at China’s Tang court.
685 Buddhism becomes state religion ofJapan; in 741, Buddhisttem ples are established throughout th e land by government decree.
January 1, 1946, the Japanese emperor Hirohito ( d. 1989) denied his own divinity. In 1947, the Japanese Consti tution ended official state Shinto. Modern Japan is a parliamentary democracy, in which the emperor is the head of state, but the elected prime minister is the head of government.
The existing Great Wall of China elates from the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644 C E). But records of wall-bui lding by th e Chinese go back as far as 600 BCE, and the idea to construct a large Great Wall began during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE).
Out of Africa
- 7500 “Wavy-linep o ttery”, made by dragging fish bones through wet
Africa
2.5 million years before present The first known stone tools are used by early ancestors of modern man, Homo habilis.
1.7 million years before present Hominids begin to move out of Africa, adapting to a range of environments in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
150,000 years before present Migration of early modern humans begins from East Africa .
100,000 years before present Ana tomically modern humans with superior “tool kit” emerge in so uthern Africa.
70,000 years before present Evidence of human burials in southern Africa .
42,000 years before present Ocher, a kind of ea rth which is ground to a fine powder and used as a pigment, is mined and possi bly used for body deco ration .
26,000 years before present Evidence of earliest African rock art.
20,000 years before present Evidence of terra-cotta figurines in Algeria (n orthern Africa).
12,000-10,000 years before present End of the last Ice Age.
Before the Common Era (BCE)
c. 8500 Saharan rock art depicts wide array of elephants, giraffes, rh i noce roses, and other animals long since extinct in this
clay, produced in Sahara and its southern fringes.
c. 6500 Domestication of cattle in the Saharar eg ion.
6000 Agriculture begins along the Nile River.
5000 Desertification of Sahara region begins; populations expand sou th and east.
4100 Sorghum and rice are cultivated in the Sudan and West Africa.
3100 Beginnings of united Egypt (see Mythical Milestones, chapter 2).
1965 Nubia conquered by Egypt.
900 Nubian kingdom of Kush (also spelled Cush) rises along the Nile River in what is now northeastern Sudan. Its founding date is not known, but it existed as early as 2000 BCE. Egypt conquers Kush in the 1500s BCE, and the Kushites adopt elements of Egyptian art, l anguage , and religion.
814 Carthage founded by Phoenicians in northern Africa.
747 Kushites invade and rule Egypt.
600 Capital of Kush moved to Meroe. Kush probably fell about 350
CE after armies from the African kingdom of Axum destroyed Mercie.
500 Daamat, first kingdom in Ethiopian highlands, is founded.
Nok culture begins in northern Nigeria; first known iron working in the sub-Saharan region.
332 Alexander conquers Egypt.
30 Egypt becomes a Roman provin ce.
Common Era
- 150 Nigerian Nok culture reaches its height.
- 200 Ghana gains wealth and power through its trade with Berbers
Out of Africa
1431 Chinese admiral Zheng He travels to East Africa.
1441 First shipment of African slaves sent to Portugal.
350 Meroe, capital of Kush kingdom, is destroyed by Ethiopian forces.
451 E thiopian kingdom of Axum reaches its height.
540-570 Spread of Christianity in Nubia and Ethiopia.
600 Kingdom of Ghana founded.
625 Beginning oflslamic expansion into Africa .
641 Arabs invade Egypt.
700 Kingdom of Ghana grows more powerful and controls trans Saharan trade routes.
800 Emergence of trading towns on East African coast; trade grows with Arabs and Persians.
850 The construction of the citadel of Great Zimbabwe, in south ern Africa, is begun.
1000 Spread of Islam into sub-Saharan Africa, driven by overland trade.
1076 King of Ghana converts to Islam.
1100 Empire in Zimbabwe rises to power in southern Africa, cen tered in the massive stone-built city of Great Zimbabwe.
1140 Igbo culture flourishes on Niger River.
1150 Yoruba culture flourishes in West Afric a, based in capital city of
life.
c.1240 Rise of empires of Mali in West Africa and Benin.
1350 Mali becomes an Islamic state.
1415 Portuguese capture Ceuta (Morocco), which marks the begin ning of Portugal’s overseas emp ire and inv olvemen t in Africa.
1485 Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias reaches the Cape of Good Hope.
Four Portuguese Catholic missionaries arrive inCong o.
1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope en route to India. _
1502 First Arfican slaves are taken to the New World by the Span1s11.
Did the Incas have a foundation myth? Who’s Who oflncan Gods
Is there a “North American” mythology?
Who’s Who of North American Native Gods Which goddess gets her own “planet”?
What famous poem contributed to the “myth” of the Native Americans?
Do Native American myths still matter?
Which mythic character created the Pacific Islands? What is Dreamtime?
MYTHICAL MllfSTONES
The Americas
12,500 years ago Monte Verde sites in Chile include dwellings and stone tools; earliest evidence so far for people in the New Wm:Jd.
11,500 years ago “Clovis culture”: the earliest evidence of human habitation in North America, based on spear points found in Clovis, New Mexico, first discovered in 1932. Earlier dates have been suggested for the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter near Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and other sites in Virginia and the Carolinas, but they remain controversial.
9,200 years ago “Kennewick man”: the evidence of oldest known skeletal remains in North America.
Before the Common Era (BCE)
5000 Corn cultivation begins in Central America.
4750 First evidence of animal domestication in CentralAmer iac.
C. 4500 Corn cultivated in eastern NorthAmer ica.
3500 Cotton cultivation in Central America; used to make fishing nets and textiles.
2600 Large temple complexes built along the Andean coast of South America.
2500 Large permanent villages appear in South America.
C. 2200 Earliest known pottery in SouthAmer ica.
1750 Large ceremonial centers built in Peru.
1500 Earliest evidence of metalworking inPe r.u
1200 Olmec, the first major pre-Columbian civiliz ation, emerges in Yucatan lowlands. Olmec civilization is destroyed around 400 BCE.
1000 Adena culture develops in middle Ohio River valley. The people in this village culture are famous for their large burial mounds, which begin to appear around 700 BC E.
850 Chavin culture, based in Peru, with worship of part-human, part-animal beings, reaches its height. Grave goods include copper jewelry, decorated human skulls, and pipes for early tobacco use.
800 Mayans begin to move from Central America into southern
Sacred Hoops 43 7
800 First use of bows and arrows in the Mississippi Valley.
900 Rise of Toltecs, warrior people from central Mexico, as Mayan empire collapses; they dominate central Mexico for the next 300 years.
f 987 Toltec priests are expelled from city of Tula (modern Hidalgo, Mexico) bya rival cult that favors human sacrifice.
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Exiled Toltecs take over Maya city of Chichen Itza on Yucatan peninsula.
- c. 1000 Viking voyages to Newfoundland in NorthAmer ica ; de spi’te
Mexico.
400 Beginnings of Moche civilization in northern Peru.
briefs e tltem en ,t culture or history.
they leave no lasting impact on Native American
200 Nazca culture emerges in Peru; famed for “Nazca lines”-geo metric and figurative designs etched into the surface of the Peruvian desert and attributed to aliens in pseudoscientific circles. Most likely, the lines were offerings made to the gods of sky and mountains.
c.150 Great Serpent Mound in OhiC>: 1,312 foot (405 meters) snake like earthen effigy.
150 Mayan “Golden Age” begins in Mesoamerica.
Incas found Cuzco (Peru).
1100 Fortified cliff dwellings of the Anasazi people are first built in southwestern North America.
1175 Toltec empire destroyed by famine, fire, and invasion.
1200 Entry of people called Mexica (generally known as Aztec s ) into Valley of Mexico. Originally a farming people from western Mexico who became mercenary warriors, they migrate to Valley of Mexico
50 Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico is largest city in America.
and settle on two marshy islands in Lake Texcoc.o
Begin to construct
city of Tenochtitlan (site of present-day Mexico City) on one of the islands. ‘
Common Era
100 Emergence of Anasazi in southwestern North America.
Pyramids of the Sun and Moon constructed in Teotihuacan, Mexico, by unnamed civilization .
420 Moche culture (Pe ru). Temple of the Sun constructed with 50 million bricks.
600 City of Palenque (C hiapa s, Mexico) is constructed.
700 City of Teot ihuac an burns and is abandoned.
790 Decline of Maya civilization begin as many sites are abandone .d
Toltec-Mayan city of Chichen Itza isa ba n done d.
1 00 Anasazi pueblo villages in American Southwest are deserted, possibly due to climate changes.
1410 Inca empire of Peru epxa n d.s
1428 Aztec Empire expands.
1440 Moctezuma I is ruler of Aztecs. (Moc tez uma ‘s name is also sp e lel d Montezuma or Motecuhzoma)
1487 fnaugurn6on of g<eat pyrnmid temple at Tenochtitlfo; aecmding
to traditional acccounts, 20,000 people are ritually sacrificed there to “ce le bra te ” the temple’s completion.
1492 Christopher Columbus, on his first voyage in search of westward route to Asia, lands in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola (Santo Domingo).
1496 Columbus establishes first Spanish settlement in Western Hemi sphere.
1500 Portuguese reach Brazil and claim it for Portugal.
1502 Beginning of reign of Moctezuma II. African slaves introduced to Caribbean.
1507 Waldseemuller’s world map names newfound lands in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.
1508 Spanish settlers on Hispaniola enslave natives.
1509 Spanish settlement of Central America begins.
San Juan (Puerto Rico) is founded.
1513 Ponce de Leon claims Florida for Spain.
1514 Spanish force the conversion of natives to Christianity under the threat of death.
Spanish priest Bartolome de las Casas begins to record the depraved behavior of Spanish colonists toward the natives.
1519 Hernando Cortes lands at Veracruz with 500 men; marches to the Aztec capital. Moctezuma II surrenders without a fight, is held captive and dies, probably executed by the Spanish, in 1520. The Spanish are later driven out by Aztec leader Cuauhtemoc . In 1521, Cortes returns with Indian allies and retakes Tenochtitlan following a smallpox epidemic that devastates the Aztecs. The Spanish level the city and begin to build Mexico City on the ruins. In 1522, Cortes becomes governor of New Spain. Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec king, is hanged in 1524 on a charge of treason.
1526 Dominican monks arrive in Mexico.
1530 Portuguese begin to colonize Brazil.
1533 Francisco Pizarro captures Inca chief Atahualpa; orders his exe cution.
1541 Jacques Cartier founds a French colony at Quebec in Canada.
Pizarro is assassinated by rival Spaniards. _
1545 Discovery of vast silver mine in Potosi (Peru); by tl1e 1590s, Spain is exporting 10 million ounces of silver per year from the New World.
1550 First Jesuits reach Braz.il
1552 Bartolome de Las Casas’s scathing account of trea tm en t• of natives, History of the Indies, is published.
1570 Iroquois in nortl1ern North America forma league of tribes known as the Iroquois Confederacy.
1607 Foundation of first permanent English colony at Jamestown, Vir ginia. First African slaves arrive in 1619.
1620 Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
MYTHIC MILESTON[S
Australia and the Pacific Islands
Before the Common Era
8000-6000 Land bridge connecting Australia and Tasmania disap- pears; rising sea also covers New Guinea land bridge.
6000 Migrations from southeastern Asia to Pacific islands.
Smallpox ravages the Aborigines of New South Wales in Aus tralia.
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Mutiny on the HMS Bounty; mutineers settle on Pitcairn Island.
1797 First Christian missionaries reach Tahiti.
1810 Hawaiian islands united by King Kamehameha.
1851 Gold discovered in Australia; thousands of settlers flock to Victo
c.4000 Austronesians reach southwestern Pacific islands.
c.2500 The dingo introduced to Australia from southeastern Asia.
ria, Australia.
1864 The practice of transporting prisoners to Australia is abolished.
1500 Earliest evidence of colonization of Fiji.
c.1000 Polynesian culture emerges on Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.
Common Era
300 Easter Island is settled.
850 Polynesian ancestors of Maori settle New Zealand.
1000 First carvings and stone statues on Easter Island.
1606 Portuguese explorer Luis Vaez de Torres sails around New Guinea and discovers Australia.
1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman finds Tasmania and New Zealand; over the next several years he will find and map Tonga, Fiji, New Guinea, and coasts of Australia.
1768 British captain James Cook’s first of three voyages of discovery into the Pacific; in 1772, on his second voyage, Cook reaches Botany Bay, Australia, and claims it for Britain; in 1779, on his third voyage, Cook is killed in the Hawaiian Islands.
1788 First British settlement at Botany Bay, Australia.
First penal settlement established at Port Jackson (future Sydney), and the “first fleet” of convicts lands in New South Wales.
The gueen of Hawaii is deposed; U.S. troops move to annex the islands.
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1894 Sanford Dole proclaims the Republic of Hawaii. Hawaii is 1a9n0n0ex. ed by the United States in 1894 and madea. U.S. territory in
OMAHUNG WORLD 