A Dialectical Chronography of
Humankind and Our Universe

13,700,000,000 BCE THE FIRST STARS ARE FORMED - Gravity forces hydrogen and helium gases to coalesce, forming the giant clouds that will later become galaxies. Smaller clumps of gas collapse to form the first stars.

13,500,000,000 BCE PLANETS ARE FORMED - As galaxies cluster together under gravity, the first stars die and spew heavy elements into space. These eventually form into new stars and planets, and these forces continue right up to the present day.

13,000,000,000 BCE The first galaxies with supermassive black holes at their centers are formed. These objects appear today as the most distant quasars. This is the farthest point back that can be seen by telescopes today. (NY Times)

12,000,000,000 BCE The Milky Way and many of the other galaxies are formed from 12 billion to 8 billion BC.

7,000,000,000 BCE Dark energy begins to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Rather than slowing down, the expansion of the universe continues to accelerate due to the mysterious push of what is called "dark energy."

5,000,000,000 BCE The Sun and Earth are formed at about the same time as millions of other astronomical bodies throughout the universe.

4,600,000,000 BCE PRECAMBRIAN PERIOD - 4600-570 Million Years Ago. The first signs of primeval life appear on Earth. During this period, which includes the Proterozoic eon and the Archean eon, single celled organisms, like blue-green algae and bacteria, first appear in the seas and oceans of Earth.

4,500,000,000 BCE EVOLUTION BEGINS - One celled organisms in the process of replicating and reproducing, start becoming more complex as they struggle to compete and survive. Toward the end of the Archean eon the first multicellular, soft bodied animals begin to emerge such as jellyfish, seapens, and worms.

3,000,000,000 BCE Dark energy now outweights matter in the universe. The expansion of the universe continues to accelerate due to the push of "dark energy."

600,000,000 BCE The earliest date to which fossils have been traced on Earth.

570,000,000 BCE CAMBRIAN PERIOD - 570-505 Million Years Ago. This starting period of the Paleozoic era was characterized by a diverse eruption of life in the seas. Life had not yet evolved on land. The highest forms of life existing at this time were the trilobites, which reached lengths up to two feet. Green and red algae started to appear as well as sponges, gastropods, and segmented worms.

505,000,000 BCE ORDOVICIAN PERIOD - 505-438 Million Years Ago. The first vertebrate fish have been found to have existed during the early Ordovician period. Graptolites and corals also flourished.

500,000,000 BCE A dazzling variety of marine creatures spreads throughout the seas and oceans of Earth as they continue to adapt and mutate in order to survive.

438,000,000 BCE SILURIAN PERIOD - 438-408 Million Years Ago. This period sees the appearance of the first plants on land. Algae is in abundance in the seas, as well as marine invertebrates.

408,000,000 BCE DEVONIAN PERIOD - 408-362 Million Years Ago. As the Paleozoic era continues, we see the first appearance of land creatures, such as mites, ammonites, crabs, ground insects, and spiders. Towards the end of the Devonian period, amphibians began to colonize the land. The first ferns also grew and true seed plants eventually emerged. The Devonian period also saw many new groups of fish evolve.

400,000,000 BCE An ancestor of the modern lungfish is the first marine animal to develop the ability to breath air, and will later learn to leave the water, and crawl on dry land.

362,000,000 BCE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD - 362-290 Million Years Ago. During this period snakes emerged as well as salamander type amphibians. Large amphibians roamed the lands now and fresh water fish and sharks were now in abundance. Near the end of this period the first reptiles appeared on land.

300,000,000 BCE A large land-based predator believed to be related to both dogs and bears goes back into the sea for its prey and over millions of years evolves into both whales and dolphins.

290,000,000 BCE PERMIAN PERIOD - 290-248 Million Years Ago. This period marks the end of the Paleozoic era. Trilobites and other marine groups became extinct, and a group of small reptiles (diapsids) abound. These were the ancestors to most modern reptiles and the ruling dinosaurs as well as pterosaurs and crocodiles. Thriving also, were the early ancestors to mammals (synapdia), which included some large reptiles such as dimetrodon.

248,000,000 BCE TRIASSIC PERIOD - 248-208 Million Years Ago. As the Mesozoic era begins, we see the rise of the what is known as the dinosaurs. Pterosaurs (flying reptiles) also made their first appearance here as well as frogs, turtles, and crocodiles. During the Late Triassic period, many small mammals also arose.

208,000,000 BCE JURASSIC PERIOD - 208-144 Million Years Ago. Here began the Age of the Ruling Reptiles. During this period, vegetation was greener and more lush. By Late Jurassic, huge dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Allosaurus walked the lands. Flying reptiles ruled the skies. The earliest known birds also appeared.

144,000,000 BCE CRETACEOUS PERIOD - 144-65 Million Years Ago. The last period of the Mesozoic era may have seen more dinosaurs then ever before. The horned dinosaurs appeared, like the Triceratops and Centrosaurus. The armored Anklyosaurus, duckbilled Parasaurolophus, and large carnivore Tyrannosaurus were a few of the quickly evolving dinosaurs. Birds became increasingly numerous & flowering plants were emerging. By the end of the Cretaceous period, all large and small ruling reptiles, except the crocodile went extinct.

65,000,000 BCE TERTIARY PERIOD - 65-2 Million Years Ago. Part of the Cenozoic era, the Tertiary period is divided into five epochs: Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene. During this time mammals diversified quickly. Some examples are marsupials, insectivores, bears, hyenas, dogs, cats, seals, walruses, whales, dolphins, early mastodons, hoofed mammals, horses, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, oreodonts, rodents, rabbits, monkeys, lemurs, apes, and humans (Australopithecus).

7,000,000 BCE What is believed to be the earliest known member of the human (hominid) family appears in the fossil record of Central Africa. French scientists uncovered a virtually complete skull almost seven million years old in 2002. Sahelanthropus tchadensis, as the new discovery is called, is believed to have originated close to the split of hominids and chimps.

4,400,000 BCE The second oldest known hominid fossils (Ardipithecus ramidus) are dated to this period after being found near Aramis, Ethiopia, in 1994.

4,200,000 BCE Hominid fossils of Australopithecus anamensis are found in Lake Turkana, Kenya, in 1995.

3,200,000 BCE Australopithecus afarenis (nicknamed "Lucy") is found in Ethiopia, in 1974.

2,500,000 BCE More advanced, manlike mammals with semi-erect postures begin to appear in the fossil record. Homo habilis ("Skillful Man") is believed to have used stone tools. First brain expansion;

2,000,000 BCE QUATERNARY PERIOD - 2-0 Million Years Ago. The second and last period of the Cenozoic era, this period is divided into two epochs: Pleistocene and Holocene. Mammoths roamed the lands. Cattle, deer, and of course, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens.

1,800,000 BCE Skulls resembling those of modern man begin to appear. The brains in these ancient skulls were probably too small to have "invented" speech; yet, some of them have been found near stones that might have served as rudimentary tools. Homo erectus ("Upright Man"). Brain size twice that of Australopithecine species.

1,700,000 BCE Homo erectus leaves Africa.

700,000 BCE The first European glaciation (the Gunz) begins. It is called the Nebraskan glaciation in North America.

500,000 BCE Skulls containing brains large enough for speech first appear. These skulls are often found with unquestionable stone tools. From this point in prehistory, fossil remains become more and more "human."

500,000 BCE The Mindel (Kansan) glaciation period begins.

250,000 BCE The Riss (Illinoisan) glaciation period begins.

100,000 BCE The Wurm (Wisconsin) glaciation period, the fourth and most recent, begins.

100,000 BCE The first modern Homo sapiens in South Africa.

70,000 BCE Neanderthal man begins using fire and advanced tools.

35,000 BCE Neanderthal man is replaced by later groups of Homo sapiens -- Cro-Magnon man, etc.

18,000 BCE Cro-Magnons are replaced by later cultures.

15,000 BCE The cultivation of wheat spreads to both the Atlantic and the Pacfic coasts of Eurasia, transmitted by nomadic Neolithic tribes and cultures. Migrations begin across the Bering Straits to the Americas.

10,000 BCE The first semi-permanent agricultural settlements are founded in the Old World. Developments such as use of the wheel, pottery, and improved methods of cultivation flourish in Mesopotamia and elsewhere.

6000 BCE The first permanent settlements are built in Egypt and Mesopotania. Settlements soon develop into cities.

5500 BCE Predynastic Egyptian cultures develop from 5500 -3000 BC; and begin using agriculture about. 5000 BC The earliest known civilization arises in Sumer betweeen 4500 and 4000 BC The first phonetic writing appears (c. 3500 BC). Sumerians develop a city-state civilization (c. 3000 BC). Copper is used by Egyptians and Sumerians. Western Europe is neolithic, without metals or written records.

4241 BCE Earliest recorded date in the Egyptian calendar is 4241 BC

3760 BCE First year of the Jewish calendar is 3760 BC

4000 BCE The Finno-Ugrians, Slavs, Balts, and Germans, all compete for control of the Baltic Basin.

4000 BCE The ancestor of most of our modern cattle (Bos primigensius) is first domesticated. It became extinct sometime during the 10th century AD.

3500 BCE Sailors in Egypt invent the sail and begin attaching it to small boats.

3100 BCE Pharaoh Menes unites Egypt and builds his capital at Memphis.

3000 BCE Pharaonic rule begins in Egypt. King Khufu (Cheops), 4th dynasty (2700 - 2675 BC), completes construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza (c. 2680 BC). The Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2540 BC) is built by King Khafre. Earliest Egyptian mummies. Papyrus. Phoenician settlements on coast of what is now Syria and Lebanon. Semitic tribes settle in Assyria. Sargon, first Akkadian king, builds Mesopotamian empire. The Gilgamesh epic (c. 3000 BC). Abraham leaves Ur (c. 2000 BC). Systematic astronomy in Egypt, Babylon, India, China.

3000 BCE The most ancient civilization on the Indian subcontinent, the sophisticated and extensive Indus Valley civilization, flourishes in what is today Pakistan. In Britain, Stonehenge is erected according to some unknown astronomical rationale. Its three main phases of construction are thought to span c. 3000 - 1500 BC

2750 BCE Sargon unites the Semites, conquers Sumeria and extends his rule to the Mediterranean. Sargon's Sumerian Akkadian Empire endures for nearly 200 years.

2560 BCE The Great Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops at Giza near modern Cairo, Egypt, is believed to have been built. Some believe it is much older.

2500 BCE Parts of Western Europe see the first use of metals, wheeled vehicles, managed woodlands, simple irrigation systems, and a wider use of the plough. These technological advancements lead to increased regional trade and the rise of chiefs.

2200 BCE A widespread drought in western Asia begins, which leads to the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, early bronze age cities in Palestine, the early Minoan civilization of Crete, and city-based civilizations in the Indus Valley. The Akkadian Empire also collapses, leading to the rise of the UR III dynasty.

2200 BCE The Amorites begin settling in Babylon.

2112 BCE Sumerian ruler Ur-Nammu builds ziggurat of Ur.

2100 BCE Amorites become masters of all Mesopotania under King Hammurabi who founds the first Babylonian Empire.

2006 BCE The Elamites capture Ur.

2000 BCE Hyksos invaders (2000 - 1500 BC) drive Egyptians from Lower Egypt (17th century BC). Amosis I frees Egypt from Hyksos (c. 1600 BC). Assyrians rise to power—cities of Ashur and Nineveh. Twenty-four-character alphabet is developed in Egypt. The Israelites are enslaved in Egypt. Cuneiform inscriptions are used by the Hittites. Peak of Minoan culture on Isle of Crete - earliest form of written Greek.

2000 BCE Arabs of the kingdom of Magan (now known as the Sultanate of Oman) control the sea-trading routes between the Middle East, the East Indies, China, the coast of Africa to Zanzibar, and the Straits of Hormuz. From these strategic areas, the people of Magan regulate trading routes to Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, and ultimately to the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. The seafaring traders of Magan dominate shipbuilding with the "dhow."

1950 BCE Egypt conquers lower Nubia. The Sumerian empire falls to Western Amorites and Guti.

1792 BCE Hammurabi acsends the Babylonian throne. (Babylon)

1755 BCE The Law Code of Hammurabi, the oldest existing code of laws, is carved into a stele in Babylon.

1738 BCE Perez IBN JUDAH (Phares), son of Judah ibn Jacob ISRAËL and progenitor of the Perezite Clan of the tribe of Israel, is said to have been born near Hebron, Palestine. (Num 26.20)

1700 BCE Horses are introduced into warfare.

1628 BCE A volcano explodes on the Minoan island of Thera, near Akrotiri, Greece. The blast, which is twice as violent as that of Krakatau and 40 times more violent than that of Mount St. Helens, destroys the island's civilization, and through tidal waves, destroys Minoan cities on surrounding shores, especially on Crete. The cataclysmic eruption brings about the abrupt transition from the Minoan to the Mycenean culture.

1600 BCE Hittite King Mursili conquers Babylon.

1560 BCE Egyptians conquer Nubia.

1550 BCE Hittites sack Babylon.

1500 BCE Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III documents a rebellion of Canaanite Kings who attempt to overthrow Egyptian rule. The confederation of rebels is led by the city state of Megiddo (Armageddon). Pharaoh Thutmose besieges Megiddo for 7 months, then wins the decisive battle of Qinnah Brook (wasdi Lajjun). According to the report of Thutmose III, the Canaanites are forced to yield 924 chariots and 207,300 kur of wheat to the Egyptians. This is the earliest reported battle in history.

1490 BCE Trier becomes the first permanent settlement in Germany, and according to some historians. the first such settlement in western Europe.

1479 BCE Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut sends a trade expedition by boat through the Red Sea and around the Horn of Africa to Punt, in modern day Somalia.

1380 BCE Assyrians overthrow the Mitannian empire.

1375 BCE Ikhnaton develops a new monotheistic religion in Egypt. His successor, Tutankhamen, returns to Egypt's earlier gods. Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan - giving them the Ten Commandments along the way. The Greek civilization in Mycenae ends with the invasion of the Dorians. A great Chinese civilization begins to develop under the Shang Dynasty. The Olmec civilization of Mexico carves large stone sculptures and develops a unique type of picture writing.

1299 BCE The Egyptians under Ramesses II fight the Hittites under King Muwatallis at Qadesh.

1200 BCE The Hittite empire somes to an end. Barbarian invade the Middle East, and Mycenae ceases to be a powerful city-state.

1193 BCE The Greeks destroy Troy and the Trojan War comes to an end.

1168 BCE Elamites, under Shutruk-Nahtunte attack Babylon, acquire the stele contining the Law Code of Hammurabi and return it to their capital, Susa.

1100 BCE The Babylonians defeat the Elamites.

1000 BCE Israelite King David captures Jerusalem and makes it the Jewish capitol. (Israel)

950 BCE King Hiram builds the fortified City of Tyre.

950 BCE Solomon succeeds King David, builds Jerusalem temple. After Solomon's death, the kingdom is divided into Israel and Judah. Hebrew elders begin to write the Old Testament books of the Bible. Phoenicians colonize Spain with a major settlement at Cadiz.

930 BCE King Solomon dies and the Israelites split into Israel and Judah.

925 BCE Pharaoh Shishak conquers the city of Megiddo.

853 BCE The Battle of Qarqar.

814 BCE Carthage is founded by Phoenician traders in what is now Tunisia.

800 BCE The Jewish prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah bring their messages to the Hebrew people. Chariots are introduced into Italy by the Etruscans. The Earliest written music.

790 BCE The Ethiopians conquer Egypt.

776 BCE The first Olympiad (Olympic games) are held in Greece.

771 BCE The Chou dynasty in China is forced to abandon its western capital in Hao, of the Wei River Valley and move its seat eastward to Loyang due to the threat of a barbarian invasion.

753 BCE Rome is founded by the legendary Romulus.

750 BCE The Greek port Homer writes The Iliad and The Odyssey.

738 BCE Menahem, king of Israel, buys off Tiglath Pileser III.

735 BCE The first Greeks begin to settle in Sicily.

729 BCE Tiglath-Pileser III captures Babylon and becomes the Babylonian king, thereby founding the New Assyrian Empire.

722 BCE Sargon II (son of Tiglath-Pileser III) arms the Assyrians with iron weapons.

723 BCE Assyrian King Sargon II captures city of Carchemish.

722 BCE Sargon II captures Babylon.

721 BCE Sargon II deports the Israelites.

704 BCE Sennacherib become king of Assyria.

701 BCE Hezekiah, King of Judah, withstands attack on Jerusalem by Assyrians under Sennacherib.

701 BCE Sennacherib's army is destroyed by a pestilence on its way to Egypt.

689 BCE Assyrians under Sennacherib sack Babylon.

680 BCE Esarhaddon takes Thebes and overthrows the Ethipian XXVth Dynasty.

667 BCE Assyrians under Assurbanipal defeat the Elamites, sack Memphis and Thebes, bringing an end to the Nubian Dynasty of Egypt.

667 BCE Sardanapalus.

664 BCE Psammetichus I restores the freedom of Egypt and soon founds the XXXVIth Dynasty (to 610). He assists Assyria by sending Lydian troops to Gyges.

660 BCE Byzantium is founded by the Greeks.

649 BCE Assyrians under Assurbanipal capture and destroy Babylon.

649 BCE The end of the Assyrian Empire.

615 BCE Medes, under Cyaxares (Uvakhshatra), capture the Assyrian border city of Arraphkha.

614 BCE Cyaxares besieges Nineveh, but fails to capture it. The Medes capture the Assyrian city of Assur.

612 BCE After Medes and Babylonians enter alliance through marriage of Cyaxares' granddaughter to Nebuchadnezzar II, son of Babylonian ruler Nabopolassar, Ninevah falls to Medes and Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians). Some segments of the Assyrian army move capital to Harran.

610 BCE Harran falls to the Babylonians (Chaldeans). Assyrians set up headquarters at Carchemish.

608 BCE Necho of Egypt defeats Josiah, king of Judah, at the Battle of Megiddo.

606 BCE The Chaldean Empire is founded.

605 BCE Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II defeat the Assyrians and their leader Ashur-uballitt II, at Carchemish. Pharoh Necho of Egypt arrives too late to help, having been delayed by Jewish forces under King Josiah who was slain at Megiddo and being further delayed at Riblah. Upon arrival at Carchemish, Necho's army is defeated, chased to Hamath, and the Egyptian soldiers killed.

604 BCE Necho pushes to the Euphrates but is overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar II.

600 BCE According to Herodotus, a crew of Phoenicians hired by Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II sails around Africa, from the Red Sea, through the Atlantic, into the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. The journey takes 3 years. Along the way, sailors set up camp, sowed, grew and reaped grain which they took on the continuation of their journey.

600 BCE Greeks found the colony of Massalia, now Marseilles, France.

600 BCE The Celts move into and occupy the land we now call Britain during the 6th to 5th centuries BC

597 BCE Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II capture Jerusalem, and imprison King Jehoiachin and others Jewish leaders. Zedekiah is appointed as Jerusalem's ruler.

587 BCE Nebuchadnezzar II beseiges Jerusalem for 18 months, occupies the city and relocates the Jews to Babylon. Many flee to Egypt.

586 BCE Nebuchadnezzar II captures Tyre.

585 BCE Peace is established between Media and Lydia (in Greece) with the Halys (Kizil) River as the boundary between the two kingdoms. This establishes a balance of power between the Medes, Lydians and Babylonians, with the Egyptians farther to the south.

551 BCE Zoroaster (Zarathustra) dies.

550 BCE Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II, Koresh in Hebrew) a Persian succeeds Cyaxares the Mede and sets about establishing the Persian Empire.

549 BCE Cyrus II defeats Astyages, the last king of the Medes.

549 BCE Cyrus II, turning against the Lydians, captures Cilicia, cutting off supply routes to the Lydians in Greece, under Croesus.

547 BCE Croesus attacks Cyrus II, at the Halys River, but the battle is inconclusive.

546 BCE Cyrus II beseiges Croesus at his capitol Sardis, and captures him. One-by-one the Greek city-states along the coast of Asia Minor succumb to Persian armies. Lydia becomes a province of Persia.

540 BCE Cyrus II attacks the Babylonian empire.

539 BCE Cyrus II (Koresh) captures Babylon "without a battle" and founds the Persian Empire.

537 BCE Cyrus II permits the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

529 BCE Cyrus II dies fighting near the Oxus and Jaxartes rivers. Cyrus' son Cambyses kills his brother, Smerdis, and rules for seven years.

527 BCE Peisistratus dies.

525 BCE Cambyses conquers Egypt. Aeschylus is born.

522 BCE Cambyses is killed (or commits suicide) and his spearbearer Darius becomes Persian ruler from 521 to 484 BCE.

521 BCE Darius I, son of Hystaspes, rules from the Hellespont to the Indus. Darius makes an expedition to Scythia.

518 BCE Darius I founds the city of Persepolis.

500 BCE Buddha, Confuscius and Lao Tse all live at about this same time.

500 BCE Mycenaeans build the first triremes.

494 BCE Sophocles is born.

490 BCE Battle of Marathon. 10,000 Athenians under Miltiades defeat Darius' Persian forces at Marathon, Greece. The Greek front being wider than the Persian phalanx results in the ends of the Greek lines enveloping the sides of the Persian phalanx. Disagreement exists as to whether the envelopment was an intentional tactic, a happenstance of the Greek center giving way when the forces collided, or perhaps even the semi-circular shape of the hills from which the Greeks descended as they joined the battle.

486 BCE Darius II dies and is succeeded by his son, Xerxes I.

484 BCE Herodotus is born. Aeschylus wins his first prize for tragedy.

483 BCE Death of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).

480 BCE Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse, defeats Carthaginian general Hamilcar, at Himera.

480 BCE Xerxes I and the Persians defeat Leonidas I and his Spartan army at Thermopylae.

480 BCE Euripides is born.

479 BCE Athens under Themistocles destroys the Persian navy at Salamis and Platea. The Persian army is forced to leave Greece.

479 BCE Chinese philosopher K'ung Fu-tzu (Confucius) dies.

474 BCE The Etruscan fleet is destroyed by the Sicilian Greeks.

471 BCE After political reversals, Themistocles is banished from Athens and goes to live with Persian King Artaxerxes.

470 BCE The Voyage of Hanno

466 BCE Pericles is born.

465 BCE Xerxes I is murdered and succeeded by Artaxerxes.

438 BCE Herodotus recites his History in Athens.

431 BCE The Pelponnesian Wars begin and will continue until 404.

429 BCE Pericles dies.

429 BCE Herodotus dies.

427 BCE Aristophanes begins his career. Plato is born.

415 BCE Start of Siege of Syracuse.

410 BCE Naval battle of Cyzicus.

404 BCE The Spartan alliance defeats Athens, ending the Peloponnesian Wars.

401 BCE Persian King Artaxerxes II defeats and kills his brother Cyrus at Cunaxa, near the Median wall northwest of Babylon. 10,000 Greek mercenaries in the employ of Cyrus head home, under the direction of Xenophon.

401 BCE The Retreat of the Ten Thousand.

400-300 BCE The Celts settle in the Danube-Sava basin.

400 BCE The end of the Bronze Age and beginning of the Iron Age in Britain. In the fourth century BCE, Celts (called Gauls by the Romans) invaded northern Italy, pushing out the Etruscans. When the Romans intervened, the Celts, after suffering a diplomatic insult from the Romans, marched on and besieged Rome for 7 months. They left only after Rome paid a tribute of 1,000 pounds of gold.

390 BCE Brennus and his army of Celts (Gauls) defeat the Roman army at Allia and soon afterwards capture and sack Rome.

371 BCE The Greek city of Sparta is defeated at Levetra.

366 BCE Camillus builds the Temple of Concord.

359 BCE Philip II becomes king of Macedonia.

356 BCE Alexander III (Alexander the Great) is born in Macedonia.

347 BCE Plato dies.

338 BCE Phillip II of Macedonia wins the Battle of Chaeronia.

336 BCE Macedonian troops cross into Asia but Philip II is assassinated and his son, Alexander III, ascends the throne. Darius III Codomanus ascends the Persian throne.

334 BCE Alexander the Great defeats a Persian army at the battle of the Granicus River near the Hellespont (or Dardanelles).

333 BCE Alexander invades northern Syria and defeats Darius III at the battle of Issus, but does not give chase. Alexander declares himself King of Persia. Memnon, commander of the Persian fleet, dies.

332 BCE Alexander captures the Phoenecian city of Tyre after a seige and then takes Gaza. His army soon enters Egypt unopposed.

331 BCE Alexander defeats the Persian army at Gaugamela (or Arbela), in northern Iraq. Alexander then takes Susa and Persepolis, which he loots.

330 BCE Alexander chases Darius III to Ecbatana (former capital of the Medes) then Bactria, then Sogdia, where Alexander meets and marries princess Roxanne. Darius is killed by a cousin Bessus, who assumes the Persian throne. Alexander captures and executes Bessus, ending the Achaemenid dynasty. Alexander succeeded to the Persian throne.

326 BCE Alexander defeats Indian army under Porus at Hydaspes (Jhelum River).

324 BCE Alexander invades the Punjab, but at the Beas River his soldiers refuse to go further and he is forced to turn back.

323 BCE Alexander the Great (32) dies at Babylon of a fever. His empire is carved into four empires: Cassander rules over Greece and Macedonia. Lysimachus rules over Asia Minor. Ptolemy captures and rules over Egypt, Judea and part of Syria.

321 BCE Rise of Chandragupta in the Punjab. The Romans are Completely beaten by the Samnites at the Battle of Caudine Forks.

312 BCE Seleucus Nicator, one of Ptolemy's generals in Syria, establishes a kingdom ranging from Syria in the west to India in the east (approximately the scope of the ancient Assyrian or Babylonian Empires) and founds the Seleucid empire.

303 BCE Chandragupta repulses Seleucus.

301 BCE Antigonus and his son Demetrius meet the combined forces of Lysimachus, Casander, Seleucus, and Antiochus, at the Battle of Ipsus, in Phrygia. Antigonus, aged 81, dies, and Demetrius is put to flight.

300 BCE The Romans begin expansionism into the Balkans.

297 BCE Casander dies.

285 BCE Ptolemy Soter dies.

282 BCE Messina, Sicily, falls to Mamertine mercenaries.

281 BCE Seleucus defeats and kills Lysimachus (80) on the plain of Coron, near Ipsus.

281 BCE Pyrrhus invades Italy.

280 BCE The Battle of Heraclea

279 BCE The Battle of Ausculum

278 BCE Celts (or Gauls) invade Macedonia and Thrace.

278 BCE Celts (Gauls) raid into Asia Minor and settlements in Galatia.

277 BCE Antigonus Gonatus (grandson of Antipater) defeats the Celts (Gauls) at Lysimacheia

275 BCE Pyrrhus leaves Italy.

264 BCE The First Punic War (Carthage vs. Rome) begins. The first gladitorial games are held in Rome.

260 BCE Antiochus Theos II initiates war with Ptolemy Philadelphus. Roman ships defeat Carthaginian ships at the battle of Mylae.

256 BCE The Battle of Ecnomus. Roman ships defeat Carthaginian ships at Cape Ecnomus.

256 BCE The Chou dynasty of China , which began in the 12th Century BCE, falls.

252 BCE The war between Antiochus Theos II and Ptolemy Philadelphus ends, upon the banishment of Antiochu's wife, Laodice, and the marriage of Antiochus to Ptolemy's daughter, Bernice.

250 BCE Pytheas of Massalia sails with a crew of 25 men to the British Isles, visiting the tin mines of Cornwall. Pytheas continues on to Scotland and perhaps Iceland or Norway. He also visited Samland, on the west coast of Denmark, the source of amber.

247 BCE Ptolemy Philadelphus dies, and Antiochus Theos II banishes his wife Bernice (Ptolemy's daughter) and accepts back his prior wife Laodice. Laodice murders Antiochus, assassinates Bernice, and installs her son as Seleucus II.

246 BCE Shi-Hwang-ti becomes king of Ts'in.

246 BCE June Eratosthenes of Kyrene, a Greek scholar, is summoned from his homeland to undertake supervision of the great library at Alexandria, Egypt. Later while at Aswan (then Syrene) during the summer solstice (June 20-26), he looked into a well, and observed that the sun was absolutely, directly overhead. Yet, on the same day in Alexandria, (500 miles to the north) the sun cast shadows that inclined at an angle of about 7.2°. With these few rudimentary observations, Eratosthenes reasoned that the change in the angle of the shadows was because he had moved about over the surface of the planet. Knowing that the earth was round, and further knowing the circumference of a circle to be 360°, this all-but forgotten genius calculated the circumference of the earth at roughly 25,000 miles. He was off by less than one half of 1% -- the actual figure is 24,901.55 miles.

245 BCE Bernice's brother, Ptolemy III, attacks Syria, and avenges his sister by murdering Laodice. He acquires most of Syria, from Cilicia to the Tigris River. Seleucis II remains in control of the northern part of the kingdon.

243 BCE Aratus captures Corinth.

241 BCE Roman ships defeat Carthaginian ships off the Aegadian Isles. The First Punic War comes to an end.

239 BCE Antigonius dies of old age.

235 BCE Attalus I defeats the Galatians.

227 BCE A large earthquake nearly destroys Rhodes

225 BCE The Battle of Telamon. Roman armies invade Illyria (Yugoslavia).

221 BCE Ch'in armies gain control of the Wei River valley in China, source of the Chou state, and Ch'in king takes the title of Shih Hwang-ti (First Emperor).

219 BCE Hannibal captures Saguntum in Spain.

218 BCE Declaration of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome.

217 BCE Hannibal crosses the Alps from Gaul into Italy.

217 BCE Prince Cheng, founder of the Ch'in Dynasty (from which the name "China" is taken), unifies China and takes the title of Shih Hwang-ti (First Emperor). Shih Hwang-ti builds much of the Great Wall of China, and a network of roads and canals that converge on his capitol, near modern Sian Shensi province.

216 BCE Hannibal defeats the Roman army at Cannae.

214 BCE The Great Wall of China is begun.

214 BCE Roman General Marcus Claudius Marcellus besieges Syracuse, which is allied with Carthage. War machines designed by Greek mathematician Archimedes devastate Roman war ships. The siege fails and the blockade begins.

212 BCE Marcellus attacks Syracuse and captures the city. He gives his soldiers one day's leave to loot the city. A Roman soldier runs Archimedes through with a sword.

210 BCE The death of Ch'in "First Emperor" (Shih Hwang-ti) leads to revolts and a civil war that will overthrow the dynasty in less than 20 years.

205 BCE Antiochus III, with the aid of Philip of Macedonia, attacks Egpyt.

202 BCE Liu Pang, a military leader of peasant origins, defeats rival warlords and becomes emperor of China, establishing the Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 AD).

202 BCE Hannibal is defeated at the Battle of Zama.

201 BCE The end of the Second Punic War.

200 BCE War between Rome and Macedonia until 197 BCE.

198 BCE Antiochus III captures Sidon and defeats the Egyptian army at Mount Panium.

192 BCE War with the Seleucids

190 BCE Romans, under Consul Manlius Vulso, led by General Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, defeat Antiochus III at the Battle of Magnesia. Romans then attack the Celts and subjugate them.

187 BCE Antiochus III dies, and is succeeded by his son, Seleucus Philopator.

176 BCE Seleucus Philopater dies without an heir, poisoned by his tax collector Heliodorus, who took control of the throne. The other son of Antiochus the Great, Epiphanes (Antiochus IV) dethrones Heliodorus.

172 BCE Antiochus IV, having persecuted the Jews, executes Onias III, the high priest in Judea.

168 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes captures and pillages Jerusalem.

167 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes builds a statue of Jupiter Olympus in the holiest part of the Temple in Jerusalem. This profanity ignites the beginning of the Maccabean war of liberation against Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

164 BCE The Maccabeans recapture the city of Jerusalem.

149 BCE Third Punic War. The Yueh-Chi come into Western Turkey.

146 BCE Roman general Scipio Africanus Minor captures and razes Carthage, enslaving the inhabitants. The city ceases to exist.

140 BCE The first Jews arrive In Thessaloniki.

133 BCE Attalus bequeaths Pergamum to Rome. Tiberius Gracchus is killed.

121 BCE Gaius Gracchus is killed.

118 BCE War with Jugurtha.

106 BCE War with Jugurtha ends.

106 BCE The Romans conquer Dacia (Romania).

102 BCE Marius drives back the Germans.

100 BCE Triumph of Marius. Wu-ti conquers the Tarim Valley.

100 BCE July 12 Roman dictator Julius Caesar is born.

091 BCE The Social War begins.

089 BCE All Italians become Roman citizens.

086 BCE The death of Marius.

078 BCE The death of Sulla.

073 BCE The revolt of the slaves under Spartacus.

071 BCE Defeat and end of Spartacus.

066 BCE Pompey leads Roman troops to the Caspian and Euphrates and encounters the Alani.

064 BCE Mithridates of Pontus dies.

063 BCE Romans under Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) capture Jerusalem.

062 BCE Romans build masonry bridge over River Tiber, Pons Fabricius.

055 BCE August 26 Gaius Julius Caesar invades Britain with eighty transports and two legions, landing at Albion, between Deal and Walmer. High tides destroy many of the Roman ships and Caesar is forced to return to Gaul.

054 BCE Caesar again invades Britain; this time with five legions and cavalry loaded aboard 500 ships. A storm destroys many, but Caesar invades inland, is opposed by Britons under Cassivellaunus, who avoid pitched battle but continually harass the Romans. Eventually local tribes make peace with Caesar, surrender hostages and promise tribute. Caesar declares a victory, leaves Britain, and takes his hostages back to Rome. Britain remains free from another invasion for almost 100 years.

053 BCE Parthians defeat the Romans at Carrhae (Harran) in northern Syria and Crassus is killed.

052 BCE Romans under Julius Caesar defeat the Gauls under Vercengetorix, at Alesia, France.

052 BCE The Han Chinese empire succeeds in subjugating Turkish-speaking nomands from the northern steppes. The southern half of the hord submitted to be tributary people of the Han emperor, and the northern half moved westward.

049 BCE January 19 Caesar and his army cross the Rubicon River and march on Rome. The Senate flees.

048 BCE Pompey attacks Caesar's smaller army at Pharsalus (Pharsalos), Greece. Pompey is defeated and flees to Egypt where he is killed.

047 BCE Caesar takes his army to Egypt, then Syria and Pontus, where he defeats Pharnaces II, saying, "Veni, vidi, vici."

046 BCE Julius Caesar is appointed dictator of Rome for 10 years.

044 BCE Caesar introduces the Julian calendar - named after himself.

044 BCE March 15 Caesar is appointed dictator of Rome for life, but is assasinated as he leaves the Senate. Marcus Antonius provokes the Roman crowd to turn on Caesar's assassins, who are forced to flee from Rome.

043 BCE The Roman Senate officially recognizes the founding of Lugdunum (present day Lyon, France).

043 BCE Britain is finally conquered by Rome and remains under Roman occupation until 410 A.D.

042 BCE October The army of Roman Emperor Octavian defeats the army of Marcus Junius Brutus and Baius Cassius Longinus, two of Julius Caesar's assassins.

040 BCE September Antonius and Octavius sign the Treaty of Brundisium dividing up the Roman Empire. Herod is appointed king of Judea by the Romans and rules for 36 years.

037 BCE Antonius settles in Alexandria with Cleopatra and neglects his governmental responsibilities.

032 BCE The Roman Senate strips Antonius of his powers, leading to civil war.

031 BCE Antonius' fleet is defeated at Actium by a Roman fleet under Marus Vipsanius Agrippa. When Octavian (Julius Caesar's adopted son, later Caesar Augustus) arrives at Alexandria, Antonius commits suicide.

030 BCE August 30 Cleopatra, the seventh queen of ancient Egypt, commits suicide.

027 BCE Augustus Caesar becomes Roman princeps until 14 AD.

004 BCE Jesus (Christ) is believed to have been born at Bethlehem (Palestine, Israel). This is the best current estimate for his date of birth.

001 In ancient times, calendars generally were renumbered with each new ruler. It was not until 525 A.D. that Dionysius Exiguus, a Catholic monk, proposed that years be counted from the birth of Christ. During the next 500 years this dating system was adopted throughout the Christian world. Modern chronologists, however, position the actual birth of Jesus closer to 4 BCE. It was not until 1622 that the papacy officially adopted January 1 as the beginning of the new year, instead of March 25.