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Timeline
Three
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HISTORY, POLITICS,
RELIGION
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776 First Olympic Games, established as
a religious festival in Olympia, Greece
753 (traditional) Founding of Rome by Romulus
By 700 (traditional) Theseus unifies Athenian state.
Nebuchadnezzar, Neo-Babylonian king (c. 605-562). Under his rule
the empire, based in Babylon, reaches its greatest extent,
conquering Egypt (605) and Jerusalem (586)
с. 563 Siddhartha (Gautama Buddha),
born in Nepal, founder of Buddhism
539 Persians conquer Babylonian Empire and Egypt (525).
Greatest expansion of Persian Empire
510 Roman Republic established
с. 510-508 Laws of Solon in Greece establish the first
government based on democratic principles
c. 499 Persians invade Greece; 490, defeated by Athenians
at the Battle of Marathon
с. 460-429 Pericles leads the Athenian state, a period of
high cultural accomplishment and political power
431-404 Peloponnesian War in the Greek peninsula pits the
Greek city-states against one another; Athens is defeated by
Sparta and its fleet is destroyed at Syracuse in Sicily, ending
Athenian hegemony
356-323 Alexander the Great, a young
Macedonian general, leads a largely Greek army in conquest of
the empires of Egypt (333). Palestine, Phoenicia, and Persia
(331), reaching the Indian subcontinent. The empire breaks up
after his death. His follower Ptolemy founds the Ptolemaic
dynasty in Egypt, which rules until 30
264-201 Punic Wars waged between Rome, now a major power,
and the North African city of Carthage. The Carthaginian general
Hannibal marches from Spain across the Alps to invade Italy
(218) and threaten Rome (211). He is defeated, however, and
Roman expansion continues; Rome annexes Spain (201), by 147
dominates Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Greece (146). Carthage
completely destroyed (146)
с. 250 Mithraism, worship of an ancient Persian warrior
hero, grows in Roman Empire
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82-79 Sulla becomes first dictator of
Roman state. Institutes substantial legal and legislative
reforms
73-71 Slave rebellion led by the ex-gladiator Spartacus
in Rome
51-30 Cleopatra, descendant of the Ptolemys, rules in
Egypt
49-44 Julius Caesar (c. 101-44), Roman general, becomes
dictator of Rome, after a military career in the provinces.
Assassinated by a group of senators who fear his usurpation of
power
31 Sea battle of Actium, on the western coast of Greece,
in which Julius Caesar's cousin Octavian defeats Marc Antony, a
rival, and consolidates the Roman Empire under his control.
Octavian takes the name Augustus Caesar and rules with Imperial
powers, 27 B.C.-14 A.D. Golden Age of Rome, the Pax
Romana. Henceforth Roman emperors are hereditary, although
the senate retains some powers
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4 Birth of Jesus Christ, crucified с. 30 A.D.
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r. 41-54 Claudius, reluctant emperor of Rome,
reconquers Britain
r. 54-68 In the reign of the emperor Nero, a fire
destroys most of Rome, which is soon rebuilt; first persecutions
of Christians
r. 98-117 Emperor Trajan brings the Roman Empire to its
greatest expansion, venturing into Persian territory and
northern Germany. The city of Rome has an estimated population
of one million
79 Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy;
destruction of cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum by lava and ash
c. 45-50 St. Paul spreads Christianity in Asia
Minor and Greece St. Peter (died с. 64), first Bishop of Rome
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132-135 Jewish Diaspora begins; Jews
expelled from Jerusalem
Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome (r. 161— 180), repulses the
growing flood of Goth and Hun invaders from Northern Europe
с. 130-68 Dead Sea Scrolls written; early manuscripts of
Judaism and Christianity
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285 Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305) divides Roman
Empire among four emperors in separate zones. Beginning of Roman
decline, loss of territories, economic troubles, and political
dissent
c. 250-302 Widespread persecution of Christians in Roman
Empire
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r. 306-337
Constantine the Great reunites Roman Empire, moving the capital
east from Rome to Constantinople, formerly Byzantium. In 313 he
proclaims the Edict of Milan, which allows religious toleration,
especially of Christianity: с. 312, he converts to Christianity.
The religion, already flourishing, spreads rapidly through the
Roman world
Christian church Fathers: St. Ambrose (340-397), St. Jerome (c.
347-420), St. Augustine (354-430), St. Gregory (c. 540-604)
write basic texts of the Christian faith
395 Christianity becomes official religion of the Roman
Empire
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Timeline
Three
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ART, MUSIC,
LITERATURE,
PHILOSOPHY,
SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY
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с. 750-700 (traditional)
HOMER composes the
epics
"Iliad" and
"Odyssey"

с. 800 Adoption of the Phoenician alphabet, ancestor of that of
modern European languages, by Greeks
с. 700-600 Phoenician sailors circumnavigate African continent; с
700, horseshoes invented in Europe by Celtic tribes
с. 650 Coins for currency imported from Asia Minor to Greece
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SAPPHO of Lesbos (c. 600), Greek poet
"Poems"

CONFUCIUS (551-е. 479), Chinese philosopher

Pythagoras (c. 520),
Greek philosopher
с. 500-400 Greek drama:
AESCHYLUS (525-456),

SOPHOCLES (495-405),

EURIPIDES (480-406),
"Electra",
"Medea"

ARISTOPHANES (c.
448-385)
"Lysistrata"

c. 450-300 Classical Greek philosophy:
SOCRATES
(469-399),
PLATO (c. 423-c. 348),

ARISTOTLE (384-322)
"Poetics"

585 Thales of Miletus calculates solar eclipse;
с. 560 Anaximander of Miletus designs geographic map and celestial
globe
с. 500 Greek advances in metal working; invention of
metal-casting and ore-smelting techniques
с. 300 Pharos, or lighthouse, at Alexandria guides shipping in
southern Mediterranean
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Demosthenes (384-222), Greek philosopher
and orator
Plautus (255-184), Roman writer of comedies
с. 300 Euclid, geometrician in Alexandria, writes
Elements,
fundamental text of mathematics and reasoning;
Pytheas, Greek
explorer, travels the Atlantic coast of Europe, reaching points
beyond Britain
Archimedes (287-212), Greek mathematician
c. 240
Chinese scholars begin systematic recording of astronomical
observations. Eratosthenes, an Egyptian Greek, measures the
globe
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c. 200-190 Nike of
Samothrace
Polybius (c. 200-c. 118), Greek historian
CICERO (106-43),

prominent Roman statesman and orator, whose
political career ended in execution
c. 200 Standing army maintained by the Romans; development of
the professional soldier; use of concrete as a primary building
material occurs on a wide scale in the Roman Empire
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VERGIL (70-19), Roman author of
"The Aeneid",
epic poem narrating the mythic origins of the Roman race

Livy (59 B.C.-17 A.D.), author of From the Founding of the City,
a history of Rome
c. 50 Commentaries, by Julius Caesar, detail the progress of his
wars in France
OVID (43 B.C.-17 A.D.), poet of
"Metamorphoses", amorous and
mythological tales

c. 100 Earliest waterwheels
Vitruvius' On Architecture, late first century B.C., a
comprehensive manual of classical building methods and styles
46 Julius Caesar establishes the Julian calendar, which remains
in use until the 16th century A.D.
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SENECA (1-65), prominent Roman Stoic philosopher and adviser
to Emperor Nero

PLUTARCH (c. 46-after 119), Greek essayist, author of
"Parallel
Lives
of the Noble Grecians and Romans"

c. 47-49 Epistles of St. Paul, written during his missionary
work in Asia Minor
TACITUS (55-118),

Roman historian and political commentator Spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem, from the Arch
of Titus,
Rome, 81 A.D.
с. 77 Pliny the Elder (23-79) writes his
Natural History, an
encyclopedic history, including a history of art
Ptolemy (85-160), influential geographer and astronomer in
Alexandria, popularizes the theory that the earth is at the
center of the universe
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Pantheon, Rome, 118-125
A.D.
с. 100 Early glass-blowing techniques developed
in Syria
Galen (c. 130-200), Greek physician whose writings form the
foundation of the study of human physiology
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PLOTINUS (205-270),

Neo-Platonic Greek philosopher and author
of the Enneads, teaches in Rome
By 200 Over 50,000 miles of paved roads built by Romans
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Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330-395), Roman historian
Arch of Constantine, Rome, 312-315 A.D.
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