From the Bronze Age to A.D. 500 - The Ancient Eras

Cross-Cultural Timeline of Major Epochs, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Classical...

Events in Ancient History | From the Bronze Age to A.D. 500 - The Ancient Eras

This is a very basic 4-millennium timeline to show which civilizations existed at the same time in the Greco-Roman world, the Ancient Near East (includes Egypt and areas now thought of as the Middle East), the Indian subcontinent, and China. This corresponds with the Mediterranean-centered area called the Known World, as opposed to the New World, which includes the modern U.S.

Note that when an item is listed twice, like the Parthians, only the first instance appears in the linking column on the right.

The format is the era or dates in the far left column (column #1), followed by a summary of the period called the Overview which may be further divided by region horizontally (column #2), followed by the main geographic area (the Mediterranean, what we call the Middle East today, but in the context of ancient history is usually called the Ancient Near East (A.N.E.), and more eastern Asia) or the main developments (column #3), followed in the furthest right column by links to relevant articles (column #4).

For major events during these millennia, see Major Events in Ancient History.

Neolithic Period --> Bronze Age --> Iron Age

1. Dates/Era	2. Overview	3. Main Events/Places	4. More Info
BRONZE AGE: 3500 B.C. - A.D. 1500	With the beginning of writing came the first period considered historical. This was still a very ancient period, part of the Bronze Age, and before the time when the Trojan War, if it happened, would have taken place.	Writing Begins	Mesopotamia
			Egypt
			Indus Valley(Harappa)
			Shang Dynasty in China
		Pyramid Building in Egypt
1500-1000 B.C.	This was the period when, if the Trojan War is real, it probably happened.	Greco-Roman	Mycenaeancivilization
	It probably corresponds to the time of the Biblical Book of Exodus.	Ancient Near East
			Assyrians
			Hittites
			New Kingdom Egypt
	Vedic period in the Indus Valley.	Central/Eastern Asia
IRON AGE STARTS: 1000-500 B.C.	Homer is thought to have written his epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey. It is the time when Rome was founded. The Persians were expanding their empire in the eastern Mediterranean. It is thought this was the period of the famous Biblical kings, or at least Samuel, and later, the time of the Babylonian Captivity.	Greco-Roman	Legendary Rome
			Archaic Greece
		Ancient Near East
			Assyria
			Medes
			Egyptian New Kingdom
			Intermediate Period
		Central/Eastern Asia	Buddha
			Chou Dynasty
CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY STARTS: 500 B.C. - A.D. 1	It was during this period that Greece flourished, fought the Persians, was conquered by the Macedonians, and later the Romans; the Romans got rid of their kings, established the Republican form of government and then started the rule by emperors. In the later years of this period, in Biblical History, the Seleucids were the monarchs under whom the Hasmonean and then the Herodian kings arose. The Maccabees were Hasomneans.	Greco-Roman	Roman Republic
			Classical Greece
			Hellenistic Greece
			Seleucids
			Ptolemies
		Ancient Near East	Persian Empire
			Parthians
		Central/Eastern Asia	Mauryan Empire
			Eastern Chou, Warring States, Ch'in, and Han Periods
1 - A.D. 500	This was the first period in which Christianity became important, when the Romans suffered barbarian incursions, and declined. In Jewish history, this was the period of the Bar Kokhba revolt from Roman rule and the time of the writing of the Mishnah and Septuagint. It is the end of the ancient period and the beginning of the Medieval era.	Greco-Roman	Roman Empire
			Byzantine Empire
		Ancient Near East	Parthians
			Sassanids
		Central/Eastern Asia	Gupta
			Han Dynasty
Dates/Era	Overview	Main Events/Places	More Info

References

• Ancient Chronology
• Hyperhistory