AP World History Units 1 & 2: Prehistory to c. 600 CE

By majicdad
  • 10,000 BCE

    Neolithic Revolution

    People settle for the first time thanks to farming!
  • 3500 BCE

    City-states of Sumer going strong

  • 3150 BCE

    Unification of Egypt

    Old Kingdom begins with the first Pharaoh--pyramids to follow
  • Period: 1750 BCE to 1127 BCE

    Shang Dynasty in China

    Bronze Age--Chinese writing invented!
  • 1500 BCE

    Aryan invasions/migrations into India

    Indo-Europeans from the steppes take over the Indus Valley civilization (Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro), establishing the caste system and Vedic Hinduism
  • 1500 BCE

    Bantu migrations begin

    Bantu languages and ironwork spread through sub-Saharan Africa
  • 1446 BCE

    Moses leads Israel out of Egypt

    Stops at Mt. Sinai for 10 Commandments
  • Period: 1200 BCE to 400 BCE

    Olmec civilization

    First of the Mesoamerican cultures
  • 624 BCE

    Siddartha Gautama born

    grows up to be Buddha
  • 550 BCE

    Cyrus the Great founds Persian Empire

  • Period: 475 BCE to 221 BCE

    Period of Warring States in China

    Violence and chaos after the end of the Zhou dynasty
  • 400 BCE

    Life of Confucius

  • 399 BCE

    Death of Socrates

    Gimme the hemlock!
  • 323 BCE

    Death of Alexander the Great

    After establishing a vast empire from Egypt to India, Alexander dies in Babylon, but the Hellenistic era continues
  • Period: 268 BCE to 232 BCE

    Ashoka rules India

    promotes Buddhism
  • 221 BCE

    Qin Dynasty begins

    The First Emperor unites all of China
  • Period: 27 BCE to 184

    Pax Romana

    The "peace of Rome" unified the Mediterranean with roads and sea lanes, aiding trade and the spread of culture
  • 30

    Jesus crucified

  • 221

    Collapse of Han Dynasty

    Thanks to the Xiongnu and internal issues, China is disunited for centuries
  • 313

    Emperor Constantine issues Edict of Milan

    This decree ends the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, and the faith spreads even faster
  • 476

    Fall of Rome

    Hello, barbarians!