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2500 BCE
Mesopotamian Kings Assume Leadership Position
In ancient Mesopotamia, Kings were not just rulers of their kingdoms and empires. They were also expected to be religious leaders, warriors, hunters, scholars, lawmakers, and builders. When kings took over for the priests as leaders, it solidified what would become the normal way of civilization from then on out. -
1780 BCE
The Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi was set in order for fines and punishments for justice. The Code is important because it influenced other rulers like the Roman ruler Justinian. The statutes defined legal obligations and reparations in civil, family, and criminal law. -
750 BCE
Foundation of Roman Republic/ Birth of Democracy
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 B.C.E.. It was established after the last Etruscan king that ruled Rome was overthrown. This government served as a representative democracy in the form of a republic. -
27 BCE
Fall of the Roman Republic / Start of the Roman Empire
The Roman Republic stood for several centuries, however, tensions within the government began to tear it apart. Civil wars started between groups with different loyalties. This then brought about the transformation of the republic into an empire. -
476
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
There was a period of much instability within the Republic. Political leaders were starting to lose their power, so when Julius Caesar became dictator in 70 BCE, he started to replace the Republic with an empire. -
768
Rule of Charlemagne
Charlemagne was a medieval emperor who ruled from 768 to 814. Charlemagne helped bring Europe out of a state of devolution and helped spread Christianity throughout his empire. He would eventually be crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor a few decades later. -
1095
The First Four Crusades
The First Four Crusades all surrounded the task of taking back the Holy Land or at least having to do with Christianity. They all caused a lot of changes. They also started to make religion a bigger aspect of government. -
1348
The Black Death
In this time of Europe, illness and death of workers became exceedingly scarce, so even peasants felt the effects of the new rise in wages. The demand for people to work the land was so high that it threatened the manorial holdings. The result was that the plague became highly contagious and spread easily throughout Europe. It took ⅓ of the population out with it. It is a very important event, and one that Europe took a long time to recover from. -
1492
Discovery of the “New World”
One of the most important developments in the Age of Discovery was Christopher Columbus’s voyage that marked Europe’s discovery of North America. It contributed to the development of the modern concept of progress. To many Europeans, the New World seemed to be a place of innocence, freedom, and eternal youth. Columbus himself believed that he had landed near the Biblical Garden of Eden. The discovery of new land led to many Europeans wanting to convert any natural inhabitants to Christianity. -
1517
The Protestant Reformation
The religious reformation movements that went through Europe caused a lot of changes within the church. There were also a lot of changes within political and government structure as well.