1 to 500AD

Science and Technology

Metal Working and Pottery

· c. 300-600 Porcelain used in China (developed in Europe in 1700s)

Architecture

· 20 Residential plumbing is developed in Rome using lead pipes and water taps

· 128 Apartment buildings are built in Rome

Transportation

· 10 The magnetic compass using lodestone is developed in China

· 400 The astrolabe is used in Egypt for measurement of time and star positions

Communication

· c. 100 Chinese T’sai Lun develops the first paper by drying pulp from old rags, bark, and hemp. Previously writing had been done on papyrus or parchment, which were expensive and labor-intensive. Paper makes communication and administration easier for the centralized Chinese government. Paper-use reaches Samarkand c. 750, Baghdad c. 800, and Europe (through Moorish Spain) in the 1200s.

· 150 Block printing is invented in China using paper and inked stone

Military

· 365 Saddle developed by Samaritans in southern Russia. Also first stirrups used in China/Mongolia, mentioned by Byzantines in 580.

Mathematics

· 120 Ptolemy of Alexandria, a mathematician and astronomer, builds the foundations of cartography. His world system places the Earth at the center of the universe with celestial bodies circling around it. c. 150 He sums up Greek science in his 13-volume Amalgest. The book also contained a summary of geographical knowledge with estimates of latitudes and longitudes for places in Europe. These would not be improved for 800 years. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the book was translated into Arabic in the Islamic world, and, later, into Latin and played a part in Europe's Renaissance

· 150 Modern numbers, the decimal system, and zero are developed in India by Aryabhata (incorrectly called Arabic Numerals)

· 190 The abacus (the first calculator) is invented in China

Medicine

· 180 In his Methodus Medendo, Greek physician Galen devises a system of medicine that will influence medical thinking for over a thousand years

Mechanics

· Grain mills powered by waterwheels have existed since at least the first century BC. The Romans built a mill with 16 wheels and an output of over 40 horsepower near Arles in France. In the Middle Ages they were were used throughout Europe for a wide variety of mechanical tasks in addition to milling, from pressing oil to making wire.

· 100 Ball bearings are used in Rome used on turntables on decks of ships. They are re-invented by Philip Vaughan (Wales, 1794)

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Europe

Christianity

· c. 4 BC Birth of Jesus Christ (variously given from 4 B.C. to A.D. 7). Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Egypt when Herod orders all males born in Bethlehem to be killed. At 12 years old, Jesus visits the Temple in Jerusalem.

· c. 27-30. Jesus preaches around Sea of Gallilee, selects 12 apostles.

· 28 John the Baptist is executed on Herod Antipas’ orders.

· c. 30 At Passover Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, with the citizens of Jerusalem welcoming him by throwing palm leaves in his path (Palm Sunday). He overthrows the moneychanger’s tables in the Temple. He predicts his own death by treason at the Last Supper with his disciples (where his statement “This bread is my body” will be the origin of the Eucharist.) He goes to the Garden of Gethesemane to pray, where he predicts Peter will deny knowing him three times, and he encounters Satan. Betrayed by the Apostle Judas Iscariot, who leads the Jewish soldiers to him in return for money, he is captured by the Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin, and convicted of blasphemy. He is sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, for sentencing. Not wanting to get involved in local politics, Pilate refers the matter to King Herod, the Jewish ruler of Galilee, of which Jesus is a citizen. Herod refuses to take up the matter, and returns him to Pilate, who has him flogged. Pilate then offers the Jewish citizens of Jerusalem to choose one prisoner to release, and they choose the murderer Barnabas. On what will become Good Friday, Pilate then orders the crucifixion of Jesus on Mount Cavalry. According to the Gospels, he is resurrected on the third day, which will become Easter.

· 31 Martyrdom of St. Stephen.

· 32 Saul of Tarsus, was a Pharisee tentmaker whos father was a Roman citizen. He was sent by the rabbi of Jerusalem to Damascus to persecute Christians, but on the road there has a revelation (he sees a vision asking “Saul, why doesth thou persecute me?” and is temporarily blinded) and becomes a Christian. He is baptized and renamed Paul. He spends 13 years meditating in the desert and then in 47–67 establishes Christian communities in Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia, and Greece. 67 He is arrested in Jerusalem and deported to Rome, where tradition says he was executed.

· 65-95 Gospels written: Mark (65), Matthew (70), Luke (75), and John (95). Mark was written by John Mark, reportedly from Simon Peter, Matthew by the apostle, Luke by a physician who accompanied Paul, and John by the apostle. The first three are known as the Synoptic Gospels because of their similarity.

· 64-67 Roman persecutions of Christians begin under Nero after the burning of Rome. Sts. Peter & Paul are crucified; Peter is crucified upside down. Peter succeeded by Linus (66-78) as Bishop of Rome according to Erinaeus, but it is not clear if there was a single bishop of Rome during this time. After Nero’s death a civil war ensues, and the system begins where emperors “adopt” their successors.

· 70 Destruction of temple at Jerusalem completes split between Christians and Jews

· 189 Victor elected Pope, promotes unity of Church, single date for Easter

· 247 Roman persecution of Christians. First Schism – Novatian declares himself anti-Pope.

· 270 St. Anthony of Egypt goes into the desert, beginning monastacism

· 300s Arius of Alexandria preaches that Christ is divine but not as divine as the Father. His philosophy, known as Arianism, spreads widely among the East and Germany

· 301 The Kingdom of Armenia is the first nation to make Christianity its official religion

· 303-311 Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire under Diocletian

· 312 Constantine wins battle of Milvain Bridge after seeing a vision of the Cross of Christ in the sky. 313 Constantine signs the Edict of Milan, permitting Christianity. 320–327 Constantine builds Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome and establishes it as the seat of the bishop of Rome. 337 Constantine becomes a Christian on his deathbed

· 325 Council of Nicaea, the First Ecumenical Council called by Constantine, defines orthodox Christian doctrine, Jesus’ divinity, Arianism (Jesus is subordinate to the Father) is denounced as heresy. The Nicene Creed is written at the Council of Constantinople in 381.

· 326 Helena, mother of Constantine, embarks on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where she founds the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Ascension in Jerusalem. Tradition records that Helena located the True Cross on which Christ was crucified as well as his empty tomb and the rock of Golgotha. 335 The traditional site of Jesus' burial is marked by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Mount Calvary in Jerusalem, sponsored by Constantine.

· 341 Ethiopians are introduced to Coptic Christianity, a variant of it will become Ethiopia's state religion.

· 366-384 St Damascus I, Pope, builds up Church’s wealth thru courting wealthy women

· 391 Theodosius declares Christianity the sole official religion of the empire, banning all others

· 401 Pope Innocent I claims universal jurisdiction over the Roman Church

· 411 St. Augustine writes the City of God in response to the Visigoth’s sack of Rome. He divides the City of Man, on Earth, from the City of God in heaven. By following the Church’s teachings and with Christian leaders, the “City of God” could be approached on Earth. 430 Augustine dies as Bishop of Hippo (in Algeria) as the Vandals besiege his city

· 420 St Jerome, secretary to the Pope, translates the Bible from the original Hebrew texts into Latin. His version, known as the Vulgate, becomes the accepted version of the Bible, made official in 1545 at the Council of Trent.

· 431 The Council of Ephesus declares Mary is the Mother of God. 451 Pope Leo I calls Council of Chalcedon, stating Jesus is both human and divine, promotes papal authority. These lead to the Monophysite and Nestorian heresies, the latter of which will form the Coptic (Egyptian) and Syrian churches in the 500s. The Byzantine emperor declares the council invalid in 476, and although Justinian upholds it in 510, the Eastern church had taken a more favorable view of Monophysitism than the East.

· 432-461 Mission of St. Patrick in Ireland

· 440-452 Pope Leo I (the Great) asserts papal authority, convinces Attila the Hun not to attack Rome.

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Roman Empire

· 27BC–14AD Augustus. After Augustus: Tiberius (dies 37), Caligula (assassinated 41), Claudius (poisoned 54), Nero (commits suicide, 68).

· 9 Three Roman legions (60,000 men) trying to reach the Elbe River are routed by the Germans (including some in the Roman army) under Arminius (Hermann), a German who was lieutenant in the Roman army, at the Battle of Teuteborg Forest. The Romans lose the newly conquered (12BC) province of Germania, and the Rhine will remain the Roman empire’s northern border.

· 79 Mount Vesuvius erupts and destroys the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae (near Naples).

· 98-116 Trajan, Roman empire extends to Mesopotamia, Arabia, Balkans. Trajan conquers the Dacians during the Dacian Wars, memorialized on Trajan's Column in Rome.

· 117-138 Hadrian, codifies Roman law, rebuilds Pantheon, establishes postal system, builds wall between England and Scotland

· 160–180 Marcus Aurelius Conflict between Roman armies and Germanic tribes increases, notably in Dacia. Marcus Aurelius leads the Roman army into the great Marcomannic Wars against the Marcomanni and the Quadi. He writes his Meditations, an expression of his Stoic philosophy.

· 212 Edict of Caracalla extends citizenship to all freemen in the Empire

· 200-299 Recession and soaring inflation ruin the economy. Twenty-two emperors come and go. After 250: Increasing invasions of the Roman empire by Franks and Goths. Dacia is abandoned in 270 and the Danube becomes the empire’s northern border. Also increased conflict with the Parthians, and a Roman Emperor is captured.

· 285-305 Diocletian divides Empire, establishes the tetrarchy as a response to difficulties in government. He rules the east from Nicomedia, another from Milan. Civil and military functions are separated. He makes a determined effort to stabilize the currency and introduce a new fiscal system. Persecutes Christians. The Senate loses its remaining powers.

· 306-337 Constantine. 306 Proclaimed Emperor at York – rules Britain and Gaul until he defeats a rival emperor in 312 at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, at which he sees a cross in the sky as a sign. 313 Signs the Edict of Milan, permitting Christianity. 324 Constantine reunites the empire after defeating the Eastern Emperor. 325 He presides over the Council of Nicea – the first Christian ecumenical council. 330 Constatine establishes new capital (Constantinople) on site of Byzantium. 337 Constantine becomes a Christian on his deathbed

· 337-361 Joint rule of Constantine's three sons. 364-394 Empire is divided between east and west again.

· 376 The Visigoths, suffering from famine due to overpopulation and pressure from the Huns, are allowed to cross the Danube by the Eastern Emperor Valens. The terms of the agreement stipulated that the Visigoths were to surrender their weapons and also their male children as hostages, but the Visigoths only gave up their children. The local Roman ruler panics, invites the Visigoths rulers to a banquet and has them murdered. The Visigoths rebel and attack Marcianople. They were soon joined by their former neighbours the Ostrogoths 378 The Goths under Fritigern (allied with the Alans and Huns) defeat Valens’ army near Adrianople. Valens decided to march from Constantinople to attack the Goths, unwilling to wait for aid from Gratian, the Roman emperor of the West. (perhaps the situation had grown so dire, he felt he could wait no longer, or perrhaps though he didn't want to share the glory of defeating the barbarians with Gratian). The 20,000 man Roman cavalry and 40,000 man infantry outnumbered the 50,000 Gothic foot soldiers. Valens attacked the Goths at an opportune time: while their cavalry was away on raids. At the outset, the skilled Roman legions and cavalry seemed to have the battle well in hand, but suddenly the Gothic cavalry, numbering 50,000, returned. The Roman army was overpowered and their cavalry was quickly routed, which left the Roman infantry defenseless and they were crushed. Roman casualties numbered 40,000, including Valens. Afterwards the Goths attempted to take the city of Adrianople, but could not penetrate its walls. The new Eastern emperor, Theodosius I (the Great), was able to negotiate an unstable peace with the Goths, but it was not to last. The battle is seen as a watershed in the decline of the Roman army and its ability to stem the barbarian invasions.

· 391 Theodosius declares Christianity the sole official religion of the empire, banning all others. He briefly reunites the empire. 395 Theodosius dies. Empire permanently divided between his sons as emperors in Constantinople and Rome. The office of Roman Emperor changed from a position of absolute power to merely a head of state.

· 400–476 Western Roman empire disintegrates under weak emperors.

· 402 The Emperor and Senate flee to Ravenna.

· 410 Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sacks Rome. Legions withdraw from Britain.

· 433 Attila, Hun chieftain, attacks Roman provinces. 451 The Visigothic and Roman armies under General Flavius Aegius (Aetius) defeats Atilla at Chalons-sur-Marne. Aegius later tries to marry the Emperor Valentinian’s daughter, and is stabbed by Valentinan in a jealous rage. 455 Vandals destroy Rome from their capital in Carthage.

· 476 The Western Roman empire ends as Odoacer, German chieftain, overthrows last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and becomes king of Italy. The Eastern emperor gives him the title “Patrician”

· 493 Theodoric the Great overthrows Odoacer and establishes the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy.

Arts

· 43BC – 18AD Ovid, Roman poet

· 71-80 Roman Colosseum built

· 124 Pantheon completed

Architecture

· Romans develop aqueducts, central heating, sewage systems, concrete, the vaulted dome.

· Romans cities contained a forum, temples, amphitheater, and public baths. Streets were based on a regular grid. Roads were well constructed by a corps of engineers. Remaining Roman structures include the Pont-du-Gard in southern France, the arena at Nimes, the Black Gate at Trier, the aqueduct at Segovia, Spain, the baths in Bath, England, and the cities of Pompeii, Ostia, and Leptis Magna in Libya.

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Germanic Tribes and the Huns

· 1 Germanic alliance in Europe

· 9 Three Roman legions (60,000 men) trying to reach the Elbe River are routed by the Germans under Arminius (Hermann) at the Battle of Teuteborg Forest. The Rhine will remain the Roman empire’s northern border.

· 39 Romans try to conquer Germany

· 180-300 The Goths, who perhaps originate in Scandinavia, migrate to the region north of the Black Sea. They dominate and rule the population there, while establishing ties with the Roman empire, and divide into Ostrogoths (East Goths, between the Don and Dneister Rivers) and Visigoths (West Goths, in the Ukraine)

· 251 Visigoths cross the Danube and settle in Roman Dacia. In 256 the Franks cross the Rhine, followed by the Allemanni, who penetrate as far as Milan. In 270 Rome abandons Dacia.

· 345 The missionary Ulfilas (Wufila) converts the Goths to Arian Christianity, a heretical teaching that views Christ as less divine than the Father. From the Goths this belief spreads to other Germanic tribes.

· 373-400 The Huns, The Huns were nomads from the Central Asian Steppes, but their exact origin remains unknown. It is said that they were remnants of the Xiong Nu, which were driven west by the Chinese, but there are no solid evidence to prove this is true, other than the fact that the Huns appeared right after the Xiong Nu dissapeared. The Hunnic "Empire" was very diverse as they subjugated a variety of cultures under the control of one nobility. The Huns crossed Carpathians into the Great Hungarian Plain, overrunning the Germans (Gepids, Goths & Vandals), who retreat into the Roman Empire.

· 370 The Huns moved west and destroyed the Alans and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Eramanarich, inducing widespread panic into Europe. At around the same time, another Hun force crossed the Caucasus and ravaged Armenia, penetrating as far as Syria.

· 378 When the Huns press on them, the Visigoths are allowed to settle south of the Danube in 376 by the Roman emperor, who intended to make them foederati. In 378 the Visigoths turn on the Romans and defeat them at the Battle of Adrianople, killing the Roman emperor. The battle is seen as a watershed in the decline of the Roman army’s ability to stem the German invasions. This critical battle also established the dominance of cavalry over infantry for the next thousand years.

· 406 Vandals invade Gaul. 407-409 invade Spain

· 410 Alaric, king of the Visigoths with his capital in Toulouse, sacks Rome. 418 Kingdom of Visigoths founded

· 413 Kingdom of Burgunds

· 429-535 Vandal kingdoms in North Africa. 439 Vandals under Gaiseric capture Carthage. 440-460 attack Balearics, Sardinia, Sicily, and Southern Italy from Carthage.

· 434-453 Attila, chief of the Huns. In his own day he was known as the "Scourge of God" by the Romans and Germans. As a youth Attila had been sent as a hostage to Rome, where he meets Flavius Aegius who later hires Attila’s men as mercenaries against the Visigoths.

• 430s Attila attacks Eastern Empire, is bought off, and signs a peace treaty in 435.
• 440-448 Attila crosses Danube, conquers Balkans, attacks Eastern Empire.
• 445 Attila kills his brother Bleda and becomes the sole ruler of the Huns.
• 450 Honoria, sister of Valentian III, Western Roman Emperor, placed under house arrest for indiscretion with a steward, asks for help from Attila in return for marriage; Attila claims half of the Western Empire.
• 450-451 Attila invades Gaul. Gaiseric, King of the Vandals, had urged Attila to attack the Visigoths because of the hostility between Vandals and Visigoths (Gaiseric's son had married the daughter of Theodoric, King of the Visigoths, but in 442 the Roman Emperor Valentinian III agreed to the betrothal of his daughter to Gaiseric's son, and the Visigothic princess was returned to her people with her nose and ears mutilated). Cologne, Trier, Metz, Reims, and other cities in northeast France fell to Attila's army. Troyes was saved by the intervention of its Bishop, later to become St. Loup, who through wit and diplomacy convinced Attila to bypass the city. Orleans resists Attila’s siege, and Atilla retreats to Catalonian Plains (the actual location is still in dispute) between Orleans and Troyes, where Attila, allied with the Ostrogoths and Gepids, are defeated by Visigoths (under Theodoric, who is killed), and Romans (under Aegius) at the Battle of Chalons. Attila retreats to his homeland in the Pannonian plains of Hungary
• 452 Attila invades Italy, destroys Aquileia and other towns, Pope Leo I heads delegation to sue for peace with Attila at the gates of Rome, whose army was suffering from the plague.
• 453 Attila dies after his marriage feast from a nasal hemorrhage.

· 449 Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain

· 455 Vandals under Gaiseric destroy Rome

· 476 Western Roman empire ends as Odoacer, Goth chieftain, overthrows last Roman emperor and becomes king of Italy

· 486 Kingdom of Franks founded by Clovis

· 493 Kingdom of Ostrogoths founded in Italy

· 560 Kingdom of Langobards

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Britain

· 1-15 The Belgae people of northeast Gaul settle in Britain, introducing coin-minting and the potter’s wheel

· 43-51 Romans invade Britain; the Britans are defeated in 51.

· 61 Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, led uprising against the Roman occupiers, captures and buns London and St. Albans, but is defeated and commits suicide.

· 63 Joseph of Arimathea came to Glastonbury on the first Christian mission to Britain.

· c.75-77 The Roman conquest of Britain is complete, as Wales is finally subdued

· 122 Construction of Hadrian's Wall, separtating Roman Britain from the Caledonians. It is 6 feet high, made of stone with guardposts every mile and forts every 5 miles.

· c. 209 St. Alban, first British martyr.

· 369 Roman general Theodosius drives the Picts and Scots out of Roman Britain

· 383-388 Magnus Maximus proclaimed Emperor in Britain by the island's Roman garrison. With an army of British volunteers, he conquers Gaul, Spain and Italy, but is beheaded in 388. The net result to Britain is the loss of many valuable troops needed for the island's defense (the "first migration").

· 396 Reorganization of the decimated British defenses transfers of military authority from Roman commanders to local British chieftains. 402 One of the two British legions recalled to assist with the defense of Italy against the Visigoths. 406 Germans conquer Gaul, severing contact between Rome and Britain. The remaining Roman army in Britain mutinies. 407 Constantine III, hailed as the new emperor by Roman garrison in Britian, withdraws the remaining Roman legion to itnvade Gaul. With both Roman legions withdrawn, Britain endures devastating attacks by the Picts, Scots and Saxons. Britons take matters into their own hands, expelling weak Roman officials and fighting for themselves. 410 Britain gains "independence" from Rome.

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Scotland

· The Picts continue to resist the Romans. They wear blue face paint during war.

· 83 The last battle between the Romans and Caledonians (under Calgacus) takes place at Mons Grapius. The Caledonians lose 10,000 men and the Romans 400. However the victories are not followed up because the Roman troops are transferred to the Danube, and the complete conquest of Britain is never achieved, and the Romans retreat to the future Hadrian’s wall.

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Ireland

· 100BC-400AD Gaels dominate Ireland. Thru raids on the Welsh coast they come into contact with Roman-Britain and Christiantity

· 200 Beginnings of Ui’Neill High Kingship at Tara, Co Meath

· c 300 Ireland inhabited by tribes known as Scoti

· 300-600 Ogham Inscriptions are written. About 500 Ogham inscriptions have been found in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. There are inscriptions in archaic forms of Gaelic and Pictish, which have not been deciphered. While all surviving traces of Ogham are inscriptions on stone, it was probably more commonly inscribed on sticks, stakes and trees. Inscriptions generally take the form of somebody's name and the name of a place and were probably used to mark boundaries. The Ogham alphabet is thought to be named after the Irish god Ogma. One theory of its origins is that it evolved out of a system of tallies used for accounting. Each letter is named after a tree or other plant and has a number of other associations. Letters are linked together by a solid line, which represents the trunk of a tree, while the letters themselves represent branches or twigs. Ogham was usually written vertically (bottom to top) in inscriptions and horizontally (left to right) in manuscripts. Example:

· 377-405 Naill of the Nine Hostages, High King

· 428-463 King McNeill reigned

· 432-461 St. Patrick undergoes mission work in Ireland. Patrick was a Roman citizen born in Britain. As a teenager he was captured by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped 10 years later, was consecrated bishop in Gaul, then returned to Ireland as a missionary. He converts the Ui’Neill kings of Tara first. In Ulster a local prince donates a church at Armagh, which becomes his seat. Patrick then appoints other bishops for northern Leinster, southern Leinster, and Meath.

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Balkans

· 112 Dacia conquered by Rome

· 270 Romans leave Dacia

· 488 Romans leave the Danube region

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Near East

Hebrews

· 66–73 Hostility to the Roman occupation of Judaea leads to a revolt. 70 The emperor Vespasian dispatches his son Titus to crush the rebellion. Jerusalem is besieged and captured, and the Temple is destroyed. 73 Fall of the Masada, last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots, who commit mass suicide.

· 132–135 A second revolt against Rome in Judaea is led by Shimeon Bar Kokhba who establishes an independent state of Israel. After the revolt is crushed, 40,000 Jews are massacred, Hadrian prohibits Jews (except the Christians) from entering Jerusalem which is renamed Aelia Capitolina. The new Temple is destroyed 4 years after its completion (except for the western wall, the “wailing wall”). Final diaspora of the Jews. Jews eventually spread to Spain, where they are known as Sephardim, and Germany where they are called Ashkenasim, and speak Yiddish, or Judeo-German.

Arabia

· 350 Auxumite Kingdom

Anatolia

· 25 BC–235 AD Roman empire controls Anatolia in five provinces: Asia, Bithynia, Pontus, Galatia, and Cappadocia. Roman and then Byzantine empires fight with the Parthian and Sasanian empires. Independent states exist intermittently in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

· 314 Armenia is a Christian state

· 330s Georgia converts to Christianity

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Persia

Parthians, 247BC-224AD

· 50BC-224AD The Parthians intermittently fight with the Romans over border territories.

Sassanid Empire, 224–642

· 224 Ardashir I, Parthian governor in the province of Persis, overthrows the Parthian king, establishing the Sassanid dynasty. He makes Zoroastrianism the state religion.

· 241–272 Shapur I expands the Sassanian empire to its greatest size, captures the Roman Emperor Valerian.

· 250 Founding of Manicheism, an offshoot of Mithraism and Zoroastrianism, by Mani, a priest of Ecbatana. Mani also draws on Christianity, calling himself the “Holy Spirit” mentioned by Jesus. He considers the world to be a continuous struggle between good and evil, between the spriritual and material. He is exiled to India c. 240, but is recalled to Persia by Shapur in 242. After Shapur’s death in 276 his followers are persecuted and he is flayed alive. Manicheism spreads throughout Asia and the Roman Empire, influencing the Cathars and Albigensians in the Middle Ages.

· 500s The Sassanids are in contant conflict with the Byzantine Empire. Their greatest emperor is Chosroes I, who conquers Bactria and Arabia.

· 615 Sassanid armies invade Armenia, Cappadocia, Egypt and Syria, sack Jerusalem and steal the True Cross, and come within a mile of Constantinople. 626 Byzantine Emperor Heraclius reverses the Sasanid gains into Mesopotamia, the Persian army mutinies, their king is murdered, and they sue for peace. After this they are no longer a threat.

· 642 Arab armies defeat Sasanian forces, ending of the Sasanian empire

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India

· Andhra Empire, 185BC-250AD

· 78 Kanishka founds the second Kushan empire acts as a great patron of Buddhism. The Kushan empire is originally founded in the northwest by the Yuezhi of Central Asia in the second century B.C.

· 200s With the expulsion of the Kushans results in a Hindu resurgence: the spread of Saskrit and its epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the Laws of Manu legal code.

· 320-495 Gupta dynasty founded by Chandragupta I, a petty chief in Bihar who became king by marriage and conquest. His capital is Patna. Period of artistic flowering, namely stone temples, the Kama Sutra, and Kalidasa dramas.

· 350 The Pallavas Dynasty conquers southern India from its capital at Kanchipuram, and retain control for 500 years. The art and architecture is termed Dravidian, including the temple at Mamallapuram, the “Seven Pagodas”

· 407-553 Mongol Empire founded by the Avars

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China

· 206 B.C.–220 A.D. Han dynasty establishes China's lasting model of imperial order and imposes a new national consciousness that survives today among the Chinese, who still refer to themselves as the "Han people.".

· A ceramic model of a fortified grain tower displays the colorful architecture of the Han period. Such models, often measuring between four and five feet tall, have been found in the tombs of rich Han landowners. The actual towers stood three to six stories high and provided safety when brigands swept through villages from Pan Yu, now Canton, in the south up to the northwestern Silk Road. With a lookout post on top, farmer-soldiers on the lower balconies, and livestock and grains within the walls, these fortified manors could offer months of refuge from bandits.

· 206BC-9AD Western Han dynasty rules from Xian

· 9-25 Wang Mang usurps throne for brief interregnum (Hsin Dynasty).

· 25-220 Eastern Han Dynasty. Capital is moved to Luoyang. Because of the development of the crossbow, China is able to conquer Korea and Indochina. Trade expands via caravans along the Silk Road into Greek territory. Artifacts include Han pottery and bronze horses. Technology developed includes brush and ink writing on paper, the compass, and the sundial.

· 58 Emperor Ming-Ti introduces Buddhism into China

· 220-581 “Era of Warring States”. China falls into a chaos of warring kingdoms with no central authority

· 220–265 Three Kingdoms period.

· 265-317 Western Jin dynasty briefly reunites China under Sima Jian, a general for the kingdom of Wu.

· 317–420 The Eastern Jin dynasty formed when internal tensions and pressures from northern tribes force the Han Chinese south of the Yangzi River, where a minor prince gathers the court together at Nanjing. For the next 270 years, known as the Six Dynasties era or the Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, China is divided into the non-Han northern dynasties and southern Han dynasties.

· 466 Buddhists are persecuted in an attempt to maintain the influence of Confucianism and restrict the power of temples and monasteries.

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Korea

· 313-581 Era of Three Kingdoms With the destruction of the Han Chinese military commandery Lelang, and the division of the peninsula among the three kingdoms of Koguryô (in the north), Paekche (in the southwest), and Silla (in the southeast), along with the small confederation of city-states known as the Kaya Federation (in the region between Paekche and Silla), a critical new era in Korean history dawns

· 372 Buddhism first transmitted to Koguryô from China; will be adopted as the state religion in all three kingdoms by 528.

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Southeast Asia

· 43 Ma Yuan conquers Tonkin and Annam

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Pacific

· 400 Migration from Tongs and Samoa begins

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Africa

· Iron use had arrived in the Nile valley in 500BC, arrives in sub-Saharan Africa by 300AD, and all of Africa by 800AD.

· 100s-600s The kingdom of Axum originates in the highlands of Ethiopia, later conquering southern Yemen for a time. With access to Red Sea trade through Adulis, its port city, Axum becomes an important link in the network extending from the Roman empire to India. In 330 the Axumite ruler Ezana conquers the Kush and converts to Christianity. Aksum declines when Islamic Persians take control of the trade routes upon which it depends, but its Christian legacy remains in Ethiopia to the present day. In its spirit rose a new city 150 miles to the south, Roha, later renamed for the emperor who built its first churches: Lalibela. After his death, more churches were carved into nearby mountains.

· c. 200-500 The Persians introduce the camel to North Africa, which initiates a revolution in trans-Saharan trade, enabling the development of sub-Saharan kingdoms such as Ghana.

· 429-535 Vandal kingdoms in North Africa. They occupy Carthage as their capital. Although chaos reigns in the years just after they arrive, Roman customs continue. The illiterate Vandals adopt the written Latin language, maintain country villas in the Roman style, and restore baths, theaters, and churches.

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Americas

· 200 Oldest Mayan temples.

· 250-290 Classic period of Mayan civilization; develop hieroglyphic writing, advances in art, architecture, science.

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◄ Ancient History Home 500 to 1000 AD ►