-
Around 3000 BC, the use of bronze became widespread. It was stronger than copper and was used to make more sophisticated tools than wood and stone. -
Sargon of Akkad rules the largest empire of the time. It was only surpassed by the Assyrians centuries later. -
Known as the oldest set of laws, this ancient Babylonian text has ideas that we still value today. It placed value on the lives and well beings of people. It also established fines for economic crimes like thievery. -
This early alphabet was much simpler than many others because it was syllabic rather than symbolic. It became the base for Latin, and from Latin, languages like English French, Spanish, German, and even languages like Russian and Polish. Notably, there are no vowels. Vowels were infered in Pheonecian like in Arabic today. -
Empires at this time were interconnected through trade. In extremely rapid succession, they all fell apart and sent humanity into a dark age. Egypt was the least affected by this. -
This was when Iron started to be used. It was hard to work with, and easily corroded, so it didn't replace bronze very quickly. However, eventually, it became the preferred metal and was able to be turned into steel. -
This was the final stage of Assyrian history. While Assyria had existed before, this was when it was at its greatest and most wide-spanning geographically. -
Carthage is founded as a colony of the Phoenicians. They would become the most powerful empire in the Mediterranean for a time. They were a great rival to Rome. -
Rome, the most influential empire of western civilization, began as a little town in Italy. Through conquest, brutality, spectacular military leadership, and an emphasis on personal glory, Rome expanded all around the Mediterranean and spread its culture through Europe, Africa, and the middle east. -
Delenda est Carthago. The words of the Roman Orator. He would live to see war waged on Carthage, but not the fall. This day marked the end of what was once a great civilization during the second Punic war.
(It's so close to 200 and I wanted to include the Cato quote)