Friday, January 8, 2010

.

.

Huari (South America: Peru)

500 - 900 CE (AD)

.

.

Fall of Rome

476 CE (AD)
The Visigoths were the barbarians to finally end the Roman Empire, after many battles, several successful sieges and burnings of Rome.
Also, the dawn of the Dark Ages.

.

.

Constantinople

330 - 1453 BCE
(Later known as Byzantium and still later as, Istanbul, as it is named today)

Probably the most attacked city in the Mediterranean. Even the vikings laid siege to it 3 times, although unsuccessful.
Vital for its role as a trade center from east to west.
Founded by the Emperor Constantine, the first Christian leader of the Roman Empire.

Teotihaucan People (Central America)

also the name of a Mayan City center from which thy influenced

.

.

The Byzantine Empire

100 - 1453 CE (AD)

.

.

Fall of Jerusalem

70 CE (AD)

.

.

Fall of Carthage

146 BCE

The final siege of Carthage. Rome wanted an end to the Carthagian uprising and attacks against Rome. This time the Roman elite centurions massacred the people, as there were no soldiers left to defend the city. They also sowed the fields with salt so Carthage would never rise again.

Modern day Tunisia.

.

.

Punic War III

149 - 146 BCE


Rome vs Carthage,
Rome wins.

.

.

Punic War II

219 - 202 BCE

Rome vs Carthage.
Rome wins.

.

.

Punic War I

264 - 241 BCE

Rome vs Carthage.
Rome wins.

.

.

Nazca (South America: Peru)

300 BCE - 800 CE

.

.

Moche (South America: Peru)

400 BCE - 650 CE
(100 - 800 CE)
pre-Incan

.

.

Peloponnesian War (Athens vs Sparta)

431 - 421 BCE

Athens vs Sparta
Greece

.

.

Fall of Babylon

539 BCE

.

.

Rome

508 BCE - 476 CE

.

.

Fall of Judah

567 BCE

Fall of Nineveh

612 BCE

.

.

Fall of Jerusalem

597 BCE

.

.

Persia

.

.

.

Greece

lots of stuff goes here

.

.

The Etruscans (pre-Romans)

1200 - 550 BCE

pre-romans
invented concrete

.

.

Carthage

814 BCE - 146 CE

Modern day Tunisia
Punnic Wars
Hannibal

.

.

Division of Israel

922 BCE

.

.

Phoenicia (Middle East)

1200 - 539 BCE

.

.

Chavin (South America: Peru)

1150 - 500 BCE
(or 900 - 200 BCE)

A pre-Incan society

.

.

Cuadros (the Americas)

1150 - 800 BCE

.

.

Trojan War 1196 BCE

1196 BCE
as told by Homer in the Illiad

.

.

Phrygia (Middle East)

1200 - 700 BCE



also neighboring Lydia

.

.

Israel

1200 BCE - present (more or less)

.

.

Olmec (Central America)

1400 - 400 BCE

.

.

Aryan invasion of India, 1500 BCE

Aryan invasion of India, 1500 BCE

.

.

Thera Volcano 1500 BCE

eruption of Thera Volcano, 1500 BCE.

.

.

.

.

Ocos (Central America)

Modern day Guatemala
1500 - 1200 BCE

Mycenae

early Greece
1600 - 1100 BCE

.

.

Mitanni (Middle East)

1500 - 1300 BCE

.

.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

.

.

.

.

The Hittites (Mesopotamia)

.

The Barra (South America)

.

The Assyrians (Mesopotamia)

.

The Amorites (Mesopotamia)

.

.

.

The Mayans

.

China

.

The Akkadians (Mesopotamia)

2350 - 2150 BCE (The Akkadians were overthrown by the Guti)

The Indus Valley Civilization or Harappa

Harappan Civilization
5500 - 1500 BCE
(2600–1900 BCE)

The Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan People settled in the Indus Valley, modern day Pakistan, in 5500 BCE. They were similar to Sumerians in many ways, like developing independent city states. Although they made many discoveries independently. The written language that was created has never been translated. Archeologists are waiting to discover a Rosetta Stone, something that can be interpreted through another known language. Without knowing the language, many things still remain a mystery.

The Harappan were highly scientific and had very accurate measurements of length, mass and time. They had the smallest unit of measurement in antiquity and one of the first system of weights and measures. They developed a device for measuring the horizon and advanced metallurgy in the Bronze Age. They developed early dentistry and the world's first sewage and monsoon drainage system.

Architecture
The Harappans were not just architects, but engineers, as evidenced by the complicated dock building techniques, granaries and flood prevention perimeter walls.

One of the many remaining mysteries is that there is no direct evidence of kings, priests or a military of any sort. There is evidence that suggests that most urban occupants were of the same financial status and were predominately artists and merchants.

The Minoan Civilization of Crete

2700 to 1450 BCE

Stone Henge

.
Stone Henge


2900 BCE

EGYPT

5500 - 332 BCE







Pre-Dynastic Period 5500 - 3000 BCE
Early Dynastic period 2925 - 2575 BCE


Old Kingdom 2650 - 2134 BCE
The First Intermediate Period 2134 - 2040 BCE

Middle Kingdom 2030 - 1640 BCE
The Second Intermediate Period 1640 - 1550 BCE

New Kingdom 1550 - 1070 BCE
Third Intermediate Period 1070 – 712 BCE
Late Period 712 – 332 BCE


Ptolemaic Dynasty 305 - 30 BCE
(after Alexander the Great Conquered Egypt)
Roman domination 30 BCE - 392 CE (AD)



In 30 BC,
at the Battle of Actium, a battle fought out of jealousy and for leadership over the Roman Empire, Octavian, who would later be known as Emperor Augustus Caesar, defeated Marc Antony and Queen Cleopatra VII at Alexandria. During this battle, a fire started in the harbor and later burned the entire Library of Alexandria, the one source for all knowledge in the ancient world. There were no duplicates and so much knowledge was lost in this tragedy of which has never been recovered. Egypt then became a province of the Roman Empire.





Early Dynastic period 2925 - 2575 BCE


MENES
3000 - 2938 BCE

The first pharaoh of the first dynasty of Egypt.
Unified all of Egypt.
Trading barges and canal systems
1st tombs called
Mastabas.







Old Kingdom 2650 - 2134 BCE


DJOSER
2667 - 2648 BCE

1st pyramid.

Step Pyramid at Saqqara, made from mud bricks
Architect (and priest):
Imhotep
1st pharaoh to be recognized as a god.
Mined copper and turquoise in Sinai Peninsula.
Pushed southern border to Aswan.





SNEFRU
2613 - 2589 BCE

4th dynasty.
Married half sister to secure and preserve the holy, royal blood line.
Attacked and expanded Egypt into Nubia, Lybia and Sanai.


Red Pyramid near Dashur.


Partially Collapsed Pyramid at Meydum.


Bent Pyramid at Dashur.




KHUFU
2589 - 2566 BCE

Son of SNEFRU.
Had his likeness carved onto the lion head of the Sphinx.


Great Pyramid at Giza.



The Sphinx at Giza.
There is some evidence that suggests the Sphinx was created long before Khufu and that it was originally a lion and Khufu had his face carved onto the head of the Sphinx. The beard of the sphinx, that was dislodged by bandits in the 12th century, was recently discovered at the British Museum. The legend of the Sphinx was actually created by the greeks, much later, giving it history and legend: "What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs at noon and 3 legs in the evening," the Sphinx would ask of travelers. If they guessed incorrectly, they would be eaten. (The answer is "man").



KHAFRE
2650 - 2480 BCE

Son of KHUFU.


North Pyramid (also called, the Khafre Pyramid) at Giza.




MENKAURE
2532 - 2504 BCE

Son of KHAFRE.


Southern Pyramid (also called, the Menkaure Pyramid, quite a bit smaller than the other two) at Giza.





Middle Kingdom 2030 - 1640 BCE


SESOSTRI III
1870 - 1831 BCE

Conquered the Kermins in Nubia.
Established Egypt's southern border.


The first military architecture with Super Forts. The largest of which, at Buhen, at 600' long, with multiple outer walls and a moat.






New Kingdom 1550 - 1070 BCE


TUTHMOSIS
1504 - 1492 BCE

First Pharaoh buried at the Valley of the Kings.




HATSHEPSUT
1479 - 1458 BCE

Queen Pharaoh.


Hatshepsut Mortuary Temple.
Architect (and lover): Selamut.


Obelisks.




THUTMOSE III
1479 - 1425 BCE

Expanded Egyptian Empire to its greatest size.




AMENHOTEP IV
AKHENATEN
1352 - 1336 BCE

Changed his name to AKHENATEN, meaning servant of the god AKTEN, as his mother had brought him up in the AKTEN cult. He changed the national god to be AKTEN and moved the capital city from Thebes (later called Luxor) to a new, vacant location, in which he named Akkatatan (now called Amaria), believing this is where the god AKTEN lived. The city of 20,000 was rebuilt in just 2 years. This amazing feat was achieved with the necessary invention of standardized building blocks. They were small, easy to carry limestone blocks, similar to today's CMU's or cement blocks. He was assasinated for exhausting the national treasury on the rebuilding of the capital city. Upon his death, the capital returned to Thebes.
City of Akkatatan (also spelled: Akhetaten)
AKHENATEN was the father of King TUT.




SETI I
1294 - 1279 BCE

Conquered Phoenicia and Palestine, capturing trade routes and ports, thus increasing the wealth of Egypt.


Hypostyle Hall at Karnak


Largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings.




RAMESSES II
RAMESSES the Great.
1279 - 1212 BCE

His wife, Nefertari, was considered the most beautiful woman throughout Egypt. Not to be confused with Nefertiti, a queen that lived almost a hundred years later and is considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but this is long before Helen of Troy, who also shares the same title.

Son of SETI I.
Had over 110 sons, and probably as many daughters.
RAMESSES fought and won many battles over the Hittites of Syria.


Tombs of RAMESSES and Nefertari at Abu Simbel.
The tombs are carved out of solid rock, nearly 200 feet into the cliff. The tomb honors RAMESSES as a god and represents Nefertari as the goddess HATHOR. The tombs were moved after Lake Naser was created by the Aswan Dam. On February 22 and October 22, the sun shines all the way back to the end of the tomb, onto the faces of the statues of AMUN, the supreme god, RAMESSES, as a god, and RA, the sun god,
possibly signifying the birth and death of RAMESSES.





Prolonged poor leadership and the strengthening of neighboring countries led to the eventual demise of Egyptian dominance in the region, many of whom would later rule portions of Egypt.





.

The Bronze Age

The Early Bronze Age refers to the mixing of arsenic and copper, making it stronger. Later, when tin was discovered and mixed with copper, a true bronze alloy was created, ushering in the true Bronze Age. Unfortunately, there is only one place in the ancient world where tin and copper exist nearby. When trade routes opened up throughout the Mediterranean tin was traded throughout the ancient world and every culture created strong bronze tools and weapons. when these trades declined, the Iron Age was ushered in, as iron, although weaker than bronze, even arsenic bronze, was more readily available. Eventually this lead to mixing other metals with iron and eventually lead to the invention of steel, iron and carbon from wooden fires.


.

The Sumerians




Mesopotamia
The Fertile Crescent
The Cradle of Civilization

The Sumerians

5300 – 2350 (1940) BC

Modern day southern Iraq



Architecture begins at the temple of Eridu, Sumeria, in 5,300 BCE (or 4,300 BCE).

The Sumerians develop the first independent city-state of Eridu, 4,300 BCE (or 5,300 BCE). The city states developed into land areas bounded by canals and centered around a temple and governed by a political priest or by a religious king.

Recorded history begins when the Sumerians develop the first phonetic written language, Cuneiform, 3,500 BCE. Developed originally for documenting government transactions, later for literary purposes, to record epic tales. Later, the tale of Gilgamesh (2700 BCE) would be Sumeria’s most famous epic.

The Sumerians begin using copper (2,900 BCE), along with the Egyptians (3,150 BCE) ushering in the Early Bronze Age.

The Sumerians were the first astronomers and created the Zodiac. Some of their constellation still exist in the Zodiac today.

The Sumerians invented and developed arithmetic and even abstract mathematics.

The Sumerians invented the Calendar and timekeeping, with the 60 minute hour.

The Sumerians invented both pottery and the wheel in 5000 BCE, in fact the Sumerians invented the potter’s wheel first and then discovered it’s more advantageous uses, like the mill wheel and later the ox cart and chariot.

Sumerians invented the concept of law, of statehood. and that of a king, a spiritual king, as opposed to a mere ruler.

The Sumerians invented the basic, ancient world military divisions of infantry, archers and calvary.

The ox-drawn plow appeared in Mesopotamia in 3000 BCE; it may have been invented in Egypt first. This one tool allowed for greater and faster expansion of settlements into great city-states. The first plow was wooden and was perfected by the Egyptian bronze plow.

The Sumerians developed agriculture and invented irrigation. They diverted water from the Euphrates river to irrigate most of Sumeria, all the way to the Tigris river. Unfortunately, silt and salinity from irrigation was their eventual decline.


History


Ubaid period: 5300 – 4100 BCE

Uruk period: 4100 – 2900 BCE

Early Dynastic period 2900 - 2334 BCE

Akkadian Empire period 2334 – 2218 BCE

Gutian period 2218 – 2047 BCE

Ur III period 2047 – 1940 BCE (2350 BCE)
(Sumerian Renaissance)


Culture

The Sumerians believed the gods created human beings from clay for the purpose of serving them. If the temples/gods ruled each city, it was for their mutual survival and benefit.
The Sumerian afterlife involved a descent into a gloomy netherworld to spend eternity as a ghost.
Sumerians believed that the universe consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin dome.

There were three basic types of priests in Sumerian culture:
an āšipu was an exorcist and physician.
a bārû was a diviner and astrologer.
a qadištu was a priestess and prostitute.





Architecture

The Sumerians believed that the land was owned by the gods. All work on the land was simply borrowed from them. Their entire life and culture was dieticentric. The main focus of every city state was the temple or Ziggurat. The Ziggurat is in the shape of a stepped pyramid made of only mud bricks. It was believed that the gods lived in the sky and the temple was a direct vehicle to the gods. From the Ziggurat, the priests would control irrigation, farming, and the distribution of food, thus providing food for the people. The grain was stored here and the king resided here as well.

Ziggurats consisted of a forecourt, with a central pond for purification. The temple itself had a central nave with aisles along either side. Flanking the aisles would be rooms for the priests. At one end would stand the podium and a mud brick table for animal and vegetable sacrifices. Granaries and storehouses were usually located near the temples. After a time the Sumerians began to place the temples on top of multi-layered square constructions built as a series of rising terraces, giving rise to the later Ziggurat style found at Ur.




Great Ziggurat of Ur
near modern day Nasiriyah, Iraq
2047 – 1940 BCE



Sumerian Renaissance

In the 3rd and final dynasty of the city-state of Ur under the kings Ur-Nammu and Shulgi, whose power extended as far as northern Mesopotamia, was the last great "Sumerian renaissance", but already the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian, with the influx of waves of Martu (Amorites) who were later to found the Babylonian Empire. The Sumerian language, however, remained a sacerdotal language taught in schools, in the same way that Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform was utilized.



Decline

Irrigation was an ingenious way to farm in the arid conditions of Mesopotamia. The main problem is that the landscape was not suited for such irrigation over the long term. The local soil was clay-based and did not allow for natural drainage. There was little to no regional drainage. When flooding would occur, the excess water would sit on the soil. These two main points are important as the water from the Euphrates, or any river, has a large amount of silt in it. On the shot term, this clogged canals and periodic dredging was required. On the long term, salt, within the silt, when left to sit on farming land, over long periods will poison the soil. This is exactly what happened in Sumeria. There was no field drainage, no constant re-fertilization of the soil, and the soil itself drained very little due to the clay content. The salinity from the silt built up and eventually, the fields were unable to yield the same amount of crops that they used to and some were completely unable to support any crops.
The Mesopotamian plane is relatively flat, but the Euphrates river, in the south, is higher than the Tigris...


This period is generally taken to coincide with a major shift in population from southern Iraq toward the north. Ecologically, the agricultural productivity of the Sumerian lands was being compromised as a result of rising salinity. Soil salinity in this region had been long recognized as a major problem. Poorly drained irrigated soils, in an arid climate with high levels of evaporation, led to the buildup of dissolved salts in the soil, eventually reducing agricultural yields severely. During the Akkadian and Ur III phases, there was a shift from the cultivation of wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley, but this was insufficient, and during the period from 2100 BCE to 1700 BCE, it is estimated that the population in this area declined by nearly three fifths. This greatly weakened the balance of power within the region, weakening the areas where Sumerian was spoken, and comparatively strengthening those where Akkadian was the major language. Henceforth Sumerian would remain only a literary and liturgical language, similar to the position occupied by Latin in medieval Europe.
Following an Elamite invasion and the fall of Ur during the rule of Ibbi-Sin (1940 BCE), Sumer came under Amorite rule (taken to introduce the Middle Bronze Age). The independent Amorite states of the 20th to 18th centuries are summarized as the "Dynasty of Isin" in the Sumerian king list, ending with the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi ca. 1700 BCE.


.

BC vs BCE ?

I grew up using BC and AD, meaning "Before Christ" and "After Death," or "Anno Domini," latin for "the year of our Lord." Apparently this has been a problem for non-Christians, and in an effort to be PC, "BC" has become "BCE," and "AD" had become "CE." "BCE" stands for "Before Common Era," or "Before Christian Era," or sometimes it is even "Before Current Era." What happens in 4000 years? Will "Before Current Era" still makes sense? Doubtful. It is more common to use "Before Common Era" or "Before Christian Era." "CE" of course means "Common Era" or "Christian Era."


BC => BCE

AD => CE


.

.

.








Dates May Vary

I've done quite a bit of research so far, references will be added soon, and I am surprised about how many variations of dates on the same event I have found. Some dates vary by only a few hundred years, but some by 2,000 years! I have posted dates from reliable sources, not random internet searches, and have chosen dates from the most current sources available to me.

SUMMARY

13.9 billion BC
The universe is created with the Big Bang.

4.5 billion BC
Planet Earth is formed.

3 billion BC
First signs of primeval life (bacteria and blue-green algae) appear in oceans.

600 million BC
Earliest date to which fossils can be traced.

4.4 million BC
Earliest known hominid fossils (Ardipithecus Ramidus) found in Aramis, Ethiopia, 1994.

4.2 million BC
Australopithecus Anamensis found in Lake Turkana, Kenya, 1995.

3.2 million BC
Australopithecus Afarenis (nicknamed “Lucy”) found in Ethiopia, 1974.

2.5 million BC
Homo Habilis (“Skillful Man”). First brain expansion; is believed to have used stone tools.

1.8 million BC
Homo Erectus (“Upright Man”). Brain size twice that of Australopithecine species.

1.7 million BC
Homo Erectus leaves Africa.

380,000 BC early humans lived in temporary shelters, such as the Brushwood Hut.

100,000 BC
First modern Homo Sapiens in South Africa.

70,000 BC
Neanderthal man (use of fire and advanced tools).

35,000 BC
Neanderthal man replaced by later groups of Homo Sapiens (i.e., Cro-Magnon man, etc.). The beginning of prehistory.

18,000 BC
Cro-Magnon man replaced by later cultures.

15,000 BC
Migrations across the Land Bridge into the Americas.

12,000 BC, the earliest wooden frame huts were built in Monte Verde, Chile.

10,500 BC
The end of the last Ice Age.

10,000 BC
The Middle East.
Semi-permanent agricultural settlements begin where naturally occurring multiple strains of drought-resistant wheat exist.
In 10,000 BC, people began to settle into regions and become less nomadic, as evidenced by the Round House dwellings of the coastal regions of modern day Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
Dwellings move from rocks and sticks to mud brick, stone foundations, with complex wooden roof structures.

In 9,500 BC, in Draa, Jordan, housed one of the earliest primitive villages in the world, with oval huts, set in the ground and the first granary.


9,000–3,000 BC The Dawn of Civilization
Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, in modern day Iraq.

Improved methods of agricultural cultivation are developed by domesticating wheat and barley and are stored in granaries, 9,000 BC.

Animals are domesticated, 8,000 BC.

The settlement of Jericho, Israel is established, 8,000 BC.

Civilization begins in the Fertile Crescent, with individuals with specialized skills called, "specialists," in 7000 BC.

Drought stricken settlements move throughout the Middle East and into Egypt and the Indus Valley.

The first trading mud brick town with specialists, Catal Huyuk, in modern day Konya, Turkey, 6,500 BC.

Predynastic Egyptian cultures develop 5500–3100 BC.

Architecture begins at the temple of Eridu, Sumeria, in 5,300 BC.

Settlements progress into cities with the invention of the wooden plow, at the Sumerian city-state of Eridu, 5,300 BC (*).

Pottery originates in Sumeria when the wheel is discovered, in 5,000 BC.
(The oldest piece of hand molded pottery, yet discovered, dates from 29,000 to 25,000 BC and was discovered in the modern day Czech Republic.)

Earliest recorded date in the Egyptian calendar 4241 BC.

Horses are domesticated in 4,000 BC.

First year of the Jewish calendar 3760 BC.

The Sumerians develop the first phonetic written language, Cuneiform, at Uruk, in 3,500 BC; recorded history begins.

Copper is used by the Egyptians (3,150 BC) and by the Sumerians (2,900 BC), creating the Bronze Age. Western Europe remains neolithic, without metals or a written language.
The bronze plow is invented in Egypt, 3,000 BC.

(*or 4,300 BC)





OUTLINE: (the dates below may vary, as they are taken from only a few sources and have not been decidedly verified)

5500 - 1500 BCE INDUS VALLEY. Harrappa Civilization.

3228 BCE INDIA. Birth of Khrishna.

•2700 BCE EGYPT writing on papyrus scrolls, now stored in libraries
•2650 BCE EGYPT Imhotep, high priest of Ptah at Memphis and architect, designs the first stone pyramid at Sakkara
•1755 BCE BABYLON First known legal system codified by the Babylonian king Hammurabi

1500 BCE Thera Volcano.

1500 BCE The Harrappa Civilization of the Indus Valley dies out for unknown reasons. Their language is never interpreted.

1492 BCE EGYPT Tutmosis, the first pharaoh buried in tomb carved from rock at the Valley of the Kings.
•1450 BCE EGYPT Egyptians begin telling time with sundials.
1200 BCE the first chapters in the Bible, written in Hebrew, birth of monotheism.

(1111 BCE EGYPT. The great tomb robbery of the Valley of the Kings.)

1020 BCE ISRAEL. King David conquers the Philistines and unifies Israel.

776 BCE GREECE. First Olympic games, Olympia, Greece.
753 BCE ROME. Rome is founded. Romulus and Remus, on the seven hills.

700 BCE INDIA. emergence of the caste system, with the Brahman priests at the top level.

600 BCE ROME. the first Roman forum is built. The Latin language begins.
600 BCE PERSIA Zarathustra forms new religion called Zoroastrianism.

500 BCE The Life of Buddha.

509 BCE ROME. the king is expelled, Rome becomes a republic.
447 BCE GREECE. the Acropolis begins construction, Athens.

400 BCE INDIA. The Sanskrit language begins with Panini’s aphorisms, or sutras. It is a new form of the Vedic language.

347 BCE GREECE. Plato dies, creator of philosophy, author of “The Republic.”
332 BCE EGYPT Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquers Egypt, and Persia.

326 BCE INDIA. Alexander the Great invades the Indus Valley, but soon retreats due to mass cases of malaria. He later dies from malaria.

213 BCE GREECE. war machines, designed by Archimedes repel the Romans at Syracuse.
146 BCE Rome conquers Greece at the Battle of Corinth, destroying the city in the siege.
100 BCE CENTRAL AMERICA MEXICO. Teotihuacan, a monumental city, rises and thrives in the Valley of Mexico.

50 BCE ROME. Julius Caesar, leads the Roman legions to victory over the Gauls, in modern day France (“Divide and Conquer.” “Veni Vidi Vici;” “I came, I saw, I conquered.”).

44 BCE ROME. Julius Caesar ends the Roman republic and becomes the first dictator and emperor of Rome.
44 BCE ROME. Julius Caesar is assassinated by Brutus and other conspirators (“E tu Brute?” “And you Brutus?” Brutus was his trusted friend).

30 BCE EGYPT. Augustus Caesar defeats Marc Anthony and Cleopatra at Alexandria, Egypt now officially becomes a part of Rome.

0 BCE/CE (AD) Birth of Christ.

1 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA El Mirador, Guatemala, the greatest early Mayan city is at its height.

50 CE (AD) Christianity begins to spread throughout the Middle East and into the Indus Valley.

50 CE (AD) SOUTH AMERICA Nazca culture flourishes in Peru. Nazca Lines.

50 CE (AD) CHINA. Buddhism is introduced. The first Buddhist Stupas are built.

79 CE (AD) Mount Vesuvius erupts and buries the town of Pompeii with volcanic ash.

105 CE (AD) CHINA. Ts’ai Lun invents paper. Information is stored, presented and transported in an entirely new way.

150 CE (AD) EGYPT Ptolemy, in Alexandria, proves the world is round.

150 CE (AD) NORTH AMERICA Mogollon culture develops in southwestern US; creative use of pottery.

216 CE (AD) ROME. the luxurious Caracalla Baths are built in Rome.

220 CE (AD) CHINA. Han Dynasty ends. The nation fragments and conflict ensues. Artistically, China blossoms into many different styles.

250 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA the Classic Mayan period begins in Guatemala, Honduras and southern Mexico.

393 CE (AD) GREECE. Theodosius forbids the pagan Olympic games and closes the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

395 CE (AD) ROME. The Roman Empire divides into eastern and western halves, with its eastern half headed in Constantinople.

476 CE (AD) ROME. Rome falls to the Visigoths. The last emperor of Rome, the Western half of the Empire, is Romulus Augustulus.

499 CE (AD) INDIA. Aryabhatiya invents algebra.

500 CE (AD) NORTH AMERICA Hopewell culture in northern US builds burial mounds, pottery and iron weapons.

500 CE (AD) JAPAN. Japan adopts the Chinese alphabet.

538 CE (AD) KOREA. The Paekche kingdom introduces Buddhism to Japan.

570 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Birth of Mohammed, in Mecca, modern day Saudi Arabia.

581 - 618 CE (AD) CHINA. The north and south regions of China reunites under the Sui dynasty.

602 CE (AD) TIBET. Namri Songtsen unifies the nomadic war-prone tribes of Tibet.

607 CE (AD) JAPAN. The earliest Buddhist temple complex is built, the Horyu-ji; known as the oldest surviving wooden structure in the world, located in modern day Ikaruga, Japan.

630 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Mohammed and his armies conquer Mecca.

632 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Mohammed dies.

638 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. The fall of Jerusalem to the Muslims.

655 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. The Koran (or Qu’ran) is finalized.

657 CE (AD) CAMBODIA. Jayavarman I, the first of the Khmer dynasty.

*696 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Arabic becomes the official language of the Islamic world.

700 CE (AD) NORTH AMERICA in eastern Arizona, pueblo people live in houses above ground for the first time.

711 CE (AD) INDIA. Arabs conquer Sindth and Multan, of the Indus Valley, modern day Pakistan.

711 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Tariq ibn Ziyad and the Moors defeat King Roderic and the Visigoths in Gibraltar and southern Spain. They later occupy the region and establish the capital of Cordoba.

725 CE (AD) CHINA. Xi’an, central China, becomes the largest and most populous city in the world several times that of any other.

750 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA MEXICO. collapse of the Mayan Teotihuacan civilization, (due to severe drought and the starving populace),

800 (AD) INDIA. Rajput warlords create kingdoms in central India and Rajasthan.

800 CE (AD) EUROPE. Charlemagne becomes the first Holy Roman Emperor when crowned by Pope Leo III, on December 25th. The Middle Ages begin. Charlemagne later unifies western Europe and converts Europe to Christianity.

812 CE (AD) EUROPE. The eastern Roman emperor recognizes Charlemagne as the emperor of Rome.

825 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Khwarizmi, of Persia, invents algebra (or reinvents it) and refines the Arabic numeral usage.

848 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. The Great (spiral) Mosque at Samarra, in modern day Iraq is built; the largest in the world, to date.

851 CE (AD) ROME. Devastating earthquake.

900 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA Mayan civilization in southern Mexico collapses, many cities abandoned.

*976 CE (AD) EUROPE. Simplified Arabic mathematical symbols introduced, later replacing Roman numerals.

988 CE (AD) EUROPE. Russia begins its Christian conversion with Grand Duke Vladimir of Kiev.

1000 CE (AD) NORTH AMERICA. Leif Ericson, Viking and Norseman of Greenland, discovers Canada and America.

1003 - 1104 CE (AD) NORTH AMERICA. Viking settlement in America, modern day DC-Maryland Area. It is believed that conflicts with the indigenous or “skraeling” or failed crops may have caused their departure. There is little evidence to support their journey to the central plain states of America, of Oklahoma and Minnesota.

•1045 CE (AD) CHINA. Bi Sheng invents the printing press with moveable clay type. (Although the first (surviving) printed book is dated to 868 CE (AD) and could have been printed at some time before this date. Johannes Gutenberg invented (or reinvented) the printing press in 1440 CE (AD). The Sumerians actually had the first version of repeating type; it was a large rolling pin like object that would indent clay tablets.).

1066 CE (AD) William the Conquerer and the Normans of France defeat King Harold and the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings, England. England succumbs to Norman rule.

1071 CE (AD) Robert Guiscard and the Norman Army conquer southern Italy from the eartern Roman empire.

1088 CE (AD) EUROPE. The University of Bologna, in Italy opens, the first European university.

1096 - 1099 (AD) EUROPE. The first crusade. Godfrey of Bouillion and the Christian armies aid Byzantium (Constantinople) and conquer Jerusalem. Pope Urban II commisioned the first crusade to keep feudal Europe from fighting amongst themselves and to aid Byzantium from constant Islamic invasion.

1100 CE (AD) SOUTH AMERICA PERU rise of Incan civilization. farmers with warrior chiefs.

1100 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. The nomads of the Sahara establish Tmbuktu, at the oasis midpoint along the only trade route through the Sahara; modern day Mali.

1103 CE (AD) CHINA. Architect Li Jie creates standardized building methods in the book Yingzao Fashi.

1150 CE (AD) CAMBODIA. King Suryavarman II, of the Khmer empire, builds the Angkor Wat Temple complex.

1163 (AD) EUROPE. Construction begins on the Cathedral at Notre Dame, Paris by Pope Alexander III.

1187 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Jerusalem is reconquered from the Christians by the Islamic armies of the Egyptian Sultan, Saladin.

1192 CE (AD) Mohammed of Ghor and the Afghanistan Islamic chieftains founds a Muslim sultanate in Dehli.

1214 CE (AD) JAPAN. The monk Dogen introduces Japan to Zen Buddhism.

1250 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA Mayan revival, followig the collapse of Chichen Itza. the new capital is built in Mayapan, Mexico.

1258 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Hulagu Khan, grandson to Genghis Khan, and the mongols defeat the Abbasid ruler or caliphate, in Bagdad, killing 800,000 people.

1264 CE (AD) Kublai Khan and the Mongols conquer China. The Yuan dynasty begins in the new capital of Beijing.

1271 CE (AD) EUROPE. Marco Polo leaves Venice for China.

1274 CE (AD) The Mongols attempt to invade Japan. They are defeated by poorly built chinese river ships fronting the “God Storm,” a 300 mph typhoon and by the Kamikaze Samurai on the shores of Japan. This defeat ends the reign of the mongol empire; Kublai Khan is the last of the Khans.

1300 CE (AD) INDIA. The Tamil people establish the kingdom of Ceylon, modern day Sri Lanka.

1321 CE (AD) EUROPE. Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio), dies in Ravenna, Italy.

1325 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA The Aztecs, after fleeing from the Mayans, after the Aztec chief killed the Mayan kings daughter, found Tenochtitlan, today’s Mexico city, on 2 small islands and the floating city on Lake Texcoco.

1337 - 1417 CE (AD) EUROPE. The Hundred Years War, actually 116 years. England vs. France. The invention of the long bow brings England’s imminent apparent victory, but hope is restored to France with Joan of Arc.

1347 -1351 CE (AD) EUROPE. The bubonic plague, or The Black Death, originating in the Gobi desert ravages Europe, killing one third of the Europe’s population.

1363 CE (AD) INDONESIA. Sultan Mohammed Shah establishes a sultanate in Brunei, Borneo.

1368 CE (AD) CHINA. The Ming dynasty begins with former Buddhist monk Chu Yuanchang and will last a full 300 years.

*1378 - 1417 CE (AD) EUROPE. The Great Schism between rival Popes of Avignon and Rome ends with Roman supremacy.

*1386 CE (AD) EUROPE. Geoffrey Chaucer begins writing the Cantebury Tales, the first great literary work in english, (middle english).

1394 CE (AD) KOREA. Yi Song-gye, of the Choson dynasty, founds the capital city of Seoul.

1402 CE (AD) EUROPE. A grand cathedral in Seville, France is commissioned and will become the world’s largest Gothic cathedral.

1431 CE (AD) SOUTHEAST ASIA. Siam invades Angkor, ending the Khmer Empire.

1440 CE (AD) SOUTH AMERICA . PERU. Incans found the fortress city of Cuzco, outside today’s Lima, Peru. Incans begin expanding their empire throughout the Andes Mountains

1440 CE (AD) GERMANY. Johannes Gutenberg invents (or reinvented) the printing press.

1453 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Mehmet II and the Ottoman Turks finally capture Byzantium (Constantinople), thus ending the Byzantine empire. They rename the city Istinpolin, later to be known as Istanbul.

1467 CE (AD) JAPAN. Civil war breaks the Shogun rule into many feudal principalities.

1468 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA death of Montezuma I, Aztec emperor.

1492 CE (AD) EUROPE. Christopher Columbus sets sail to discover the new world and discovers the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which he names “Hispanola.”

1492 CE (AD) EUROPE. Christian Spain, under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela, defeat Islamic rule in Spain and unify Spain.

1519 CE (AD) CENTRAL AMERICA .MEXICO. Hernando Cortez lands in Mexico and defeats the Aztecs 2 years later in 1521 CE (AD). Several years later, the Aztec population is reduced by 80%.

1526 CE (AD) INDIA. Babur conquers Dehli, and its sultan, Ibrahim. Babur goes on to found the Mughal empire.

1529 CE (AD) EUROPE. The ottoman Turks invade Europe and lay siege to Vienna.

1531 Fransisco Pizzaro invades and defeats the Incan Empire. A revolt, lasting 30 years, soon ensues.

circa 1580 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. The mud-brick city of Shibam, known as the “Manhattan of the Desert,” is established in Yemen and still flourishes today.

1565 CE (AD) PHILIPPINES. Spain occupies the Philippines, establishing spanish dominance in the region.


1571 CE (AD) MIDDLE EAST. Christian forces end the Ottoman expansion, with the naval defeat at the Battle of Lepanto.

1600 CE (AD) The dawn of the British Empire with the founding of the East India Company.

1603 CE (AD) JAPAN. The Japanese emperor moves the capital to the fishing village on Edo, now Tokyo. The shogun dynasty of Tokugawa begins.











more to come .. ... .... .....

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The Dawn of Civilization

.

As far back as 380,000 BC, early humans lived in temporary shelters, such as the Brushwood Hut, made of sticks, with a rock base or in nearby, natural shelters, such as caves. In 12,000 BC, the earliest wooden frame huts were built in Monte Verde, Chile. They had animal skin roofs and sunken fire pits. At this time, early humans were hunter-gatherers. Early humans were nomads and would travel when the animals migrated with the change in seasons. They also searched for and gathered food from plants and trees, where and when it was available.

In 10,500 BC, an ice age encompassed the Earth, the most recent ice age in Earth’s history. The entire planet became colder and drought struck in many areas. Including the Middle East. In the Middle East, many animals, trees and plants died off, the main source of food for the early humans. This drought lasted until about 9,500 BC.

In 10,000 BC, people began to settle into regions and become less nomadic, as evidenced by the Round House dwellings of the coastal regions of modern day Israel, Syria and Lebanon. These structures had low exterior circular stone walls, atop circular stone foundation walls, a sunken interior and with a conical timber roof. More time and effort was put into these dwellings, as they were more permanent.

In 9,500 BC, in Draa, Jordan, housed one of the earliest primitive villages in the world. The inhabitants here, lived in oval huts, set in the ground. Here in Draa, archeologists have discovered the first granary, indicating the first agrarian microsociety of early humans, the pre-cursor to civilization. They collected, but did not yet cultivate, local wheat and barley. Farming took place a little later in time when villages began to grow and more villages appeared nearby the localities of naturally occurring grains.

Soon afterwards, the early people of modern day China began to harvest rice. The early people of the Great Lakes region, Central America and that of the northern region of South America and that of modern day Peru began to farm squash, beans and corn. In modern day Ethiopia and in a region in north west to central Africa, (from modern day Nigeria to Mali and from the Sudan to Mauritania), the early people began to farm millet, yams and sorghum.

These crops were all readily available and naturally hardy, but some were more advantageous, in nutrition and productivity, to early humans than others. Wheat is easier to cultivate and can be seeded by merely tossing the seeds into a field, the least labor intensive of these crops. Wheat can be stored for years without rotting, especially in the arid climate of the Middle East. Wheat has a higher source of protein than the other early crops and is a high-yield crop. Protein and a guaranteed source of it is important to brain development and the advancement of society.

9,000 BC, in Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent, (the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, in modern day Iraq), larger villages with more productive farmers, using domesticated strains of wheat and barely begin to develop. In 8,000 BC, they first began the domestication of animals, with goats and later, with sheep. They no longer had an undependable meat food source by hunting wild animals that varied with seasonal, migratory variations. They had a steady protein source of food, year round, of meat and milk. They could control the location, feeding and breeding of the animals. There was now a steady supply of animal hair and skin to make clothes for warmth, and water-proof roof materials for shelter. The domesticated animals would eat the remains of the wheat and barely crops and fertilize the fields in the process. Later, pigs, cows and horses would become domesticated.

Most animals are impractical to domesticate; some cannot live on a farm, others, such as, carnivores would require raising additional animals to feed them. The ideal domesticated animals are large herbivores with flexible diets, weighing over 100 lbs, that can be used as beasts of burden and produce hides, meat and milk. They would need to be able to breed in captivity, to start giving birth at 1 or 2 years of age, have at least 1 or 2 offspring every year, and have a fast growth rate. The behavior of the animals and interactions with humans is important too. The animals would need to be able to be penned and to not easily panic. Social animals are ideal, with families that stay together, and have an internal social hierarchy. If one were to gain control of the animal leader, then they would gain control of the whole flock or herd.

Out of all the animals possible for domestication, only a small portion were suitable for human domestication and only 14 species have ever been successfully domesticated in the 10,000 years of animal domestication. These 14 are goats, sheep, horses, cows, pigs, donkeys, Bractrian camels, Arabian camels, water buffalo, llamas, reindeer, yaks, guars or mithans, and Bali cattle or Banteng.

The top four domesticatable animals, meeting most of the ideal conditions, goats, sheep, cows and pigs were native to the Fertile Crescent. This is also the most ideal location for the best crops in the world. All these ingredients, together in one location, are the reason civilization begins here, and not anywhere else.


In the ancient village of Guare, in southern Jordan, with rows of houses of mud brick, wood and stone, Civilization begins in 7000 BC with interior plaster. At this time, the population had increased and could be supported by highly efficient food production. There were granaries, domesticated animals and technologically advanced houses, with natural "air conditioning," (or ventilated cooling systems) and interior plaster. It is determined that the beginning of human civilization began when people moved away individualized farming, preparing food and performing the same daily tasks for survival, and began to diverse into different skill sets. The first of these occurred when one could afford to pay another, with excess in agricultural and animal goods, for a service. This first service was interior plastering. The plaster was made from limestone and was heated skillfully by fire, at temperatures of roughly 1000 degrees, for several days, until it broke down into a soft stone, that could easily be crushed into a powder. The powder was then mixed with water and was hand applied to interior walls. Thus the first, community supported, skilled specialist was created.

Drought and unyielding crops due to over developed farming, required by an overflowing population, caused a migration throughout the Middle East. Eventually, the early villagers moved throughout Eurasia and Africa, beginning with north Africa and Europe to the west and to the Indus Valley, modern day Pakistan, to the east, all at roughly the same latitude. Keeping to the same latitude, allowed them to continue using their acquired community technology of farming, domestication and building structures, all within the same climate range and approximate same daylight schedule.

The invention of the plow plays an integral role in the development of and expansion of cities. Before this time, humans had discovered that by sowing the wheat seeds into the soil yielded more wheat plants. Digging by hand, and later with primitive tools was highly labor intensive, but still produced more wheat than by simply tossing the seeds into the fields, as their predecessors had done. The plow was an efficient invention, reducing labor demands and allowing a great deal more wheat to be planted and harvested every season. Small societies are now able to feed a larger burgeoning city population.

When the village communities migrated to Egypt, they found an ideal location for civilization. This region was much more lush than it is now. The northern Sahara was once rich with rivers and jungles, and the Nile valley extended it’s fertile land further into the interior. The Nile rises and falls every year due to natural spring flooding, so no irrigation was required.

The settlements that endure in the Mesopotamia region develop into the later mud brick civilizations of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylon. The Sumerians, the first dominant civilization, grow an excess of food to feed many varying specialists, including artists, architects, priests, etc, and not just a village head, but a king. Architecture begins at the Temple of Eridu in the first city, 5,300 BC. The Sumerians invent Cuneiform, the first written language, in 3,500 BC. The irrigation techniques developed here played an integral role in the development of civilization and, unfortunately, its ultimate demise.

Geography also played a vital role in the advancement of civilization and society, as we shall see in future discussions.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Pre-History of Man



13.9 billion BC

The universe is created with the Big Bang.

4.5 billion BC
Planet Earth is formed.

3 billion BC
First signs of primeval life (bacteria and blue-green algae) appear in oceans.

600 million BC
Earliest date to which fossils can be traced.

4.4 million BC
Earliest known hominid fossils (Ardipithecus Ramidus) found in Aramis, Ethiopia, 1994.

4.2 million BC
Australopithecus Anamensis found in Lake Turkana, Kenya, 1995.

3.2 million BC
Australopithecus Afarenis (nicknamed “Lucy”) found in Ethiopia, 1974.

2.5 million BC
Homo Habilis (“Skillful Man”). First brain expansion; is believed to have used stone tools.

1.8 million BC
Homo Erectus (“Upright Man”). Brain size twice that of Australopithecine species.

1.7 million BC
Homo Erectus leaves Africa.

100,000 BC
First modern Homo Sapiens in South Africa.

70,000 BC
Neanderthal man (use of fire and advanced tools).

35,000 BC
Neanderthal man replaced by later groups of Homo Sapiens (i.e., Cro-Magnon man, etc.). The beginning of prehistory.

18,000 BC
Cro-Magnon man replaced by later cultures.

15,000 BC
Migrations across the Land Bridge into the Americas.

10,500 BC
The last Ice Age.

10,000 BC
The Middle East.
Semi-permanent agricultural settlements begin where naturally occurring multiple strains of drought-resistant wheat exist.
Dwellings move from rocks and sticks to mud brick, stone foundations, with complex wooden roof structures.




9,000–3,000 BC
Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, in modern day Iraq.

Improved methods of agricultural cultivation are developed by domesticating wheat and barley and are stored in granaries, 9,000 BC.

Animals are domesticated, 8,000 BC.

The settlement of Jericho, Israel is established, 8,000 BC.

Civilization begins in the Fertile Crescent, with individuals with specialized skills called, "specialists," in 7000 BC.

Drought stricken settlements move throughout the Middle East and into Egypt and the Indus Valley.

The first trading mud brick town with specialists, Catal Huyuk, in modern day Konya, Turkey, 6,500 BC.

Predynastic Egyptian cultures develop 5500–3100 BC.

Architecture begins at the temple of Eridu, Sumeria, in 5,300 BC.

Settlements progress into cities with the invention of the wooden plow, at the Sumerian city-state of Eridu, 5,300 BC (*).

Pottery originates in Sumeria when the wheel is discovered, in 5,000 BC.
(The oldest piece of hand molded pottery, yet discovered, dates from 29,000 to 25,000 BC and was discovered in the modern day Czech Republic.)

Earliest recorded date in the Egyptian calendar 4241 BC.

Horses are domesticated in 4,000 BC.

First year of the Jewish calendar 3760 BC.

The Sumerians develop the first phonetic written language, Cuneiform, at Uruk, in 3,500 BC; recorded history begins.

Copper is used by the Egyptians (3,150 BC) and by the Sumerians (2,900 BC), creating the Bronze Age. Western Europe remains neolithic, without metals or a written language.
The bronze plow is invented in Egypt, 3,000 BC.




Civilization begins in 7000 BC with interior plaster. It is determined that the beginning of human civilization began when people began to move away from every person, or family unit, hunting, gathering, growing food, etc. and performing the same daily tasks for survival, and began to diverse into different skill sets. The first of these occurred when one could afford to pay another, with an abundance of agricultural and animal goods, for a service. This first service was interior plastering. The plaster was made from lime and was heated by fire for several days, until it broke down into a soft stone, that could easily be crushed into a powder. The powder was mixed with water and was hand applied to interior walls. The first specialist and tradesman was a plasterer.

(*or 4,300 BC)