World History Timeline (Updated)

  • Period: 250 to 900

    Mayan Empire

    The Mayan Empire was located in southern Mexico, on the Yucatán Peninsula. They developed the Mayan calendar, which was more accurate than most calendars at the time, and even resembled the calendar which we use today.
  • Period: 300 to 1100

    Ghana Empire

    One of the greatest trading empires in Africa, the Ghana empire thrived off of the trans-Saharan trade route by trading gold. The empire was located in North Africa, located between the Sahara desert and the rivers Niger and Senegal.
  • Period: 300 to 590

    Gupta Empire

    The Gupta Empire was located in the northern half of India. One of their biggest accomplishments is the development of
    stepwells. Stepwells were large wells which would collect rain water, this helped the Gupta Empire to get water during droughts.
  • Period: 330 to 1453

    Byzantine Empire

    The Byzantine empire, at its peak had land in three separate continents: Africa, Europe, and Asia. Their empire stretched from the northern edge of Africa to southern Spain. The empire also covered Italy, Bulgaria, Egypt, parts of the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Asia. The Byzantine empire was the successor to the Roman empire, and combined both Greek and Roman beliefs. They also improved upon Roman engineering along wit Roman law.
  • Period: 618 to

    Imperial China (Tang-Ming Dynasties)

    Imperial China was located in west Asia. Imperial China had many accomplishments, but by far the most important was the invention of gunpowder. Gunpowder paved the way for the development of guns, which redefined war and combat.
  • Period: 632 to 1258

    Muslim Empire (Rashidun to Abbasid Caliphates)

    The Muslim empire was located from the Arabian Peninsula, stretching along the northern coast of Africa, all the way to the Southern half of Spain. The Muslim empire was very successful. With a religion that promoted discovery, the Muslim empire flourished in both science and culture. Islam, the predominant religion in the Muslim empire, was founded by one Mohammad after experiencing a prophetic vision in a cave.
  • Period: 794 to

    Japan (Heian and Edo Periods)

    The Japanese civilization was located east of China on the islands of Japan. They improved farming techniques and technology which made agriculture much simpler and easier.
  • Period: 962 to

    Holy Roman Empire

    Western and central Europe
    The states that composed the Holy Roman Empire did not often agree with each other, and would constantly argue. However, when unified the Holy Roman Empire was extremely powerful. The first leader and founder of the Holy Roman Empire was Charlemagne.
  • Period: 1235 to 1460

    Mali Empire

    Located in North Africa, Mali was a fabulously wealthy empire. The most famous Mali leader was Mansa Musa, a follower of Islam, and one of the richest people to ever live. A man so rich, he crashed the economy of Egypt by spending too much gold.
  • Period: 1325 to 1521

    Aztec Empire

    The Aztec Empire was located in Mexico. They built large artificial islands to grow more food, thus allowing for a larger population.
  • Period: 1438 to 1533

    Inca Empire

    The Inca Empire was located along the western coast of Brazil, in the Andes Mountains. They used a system of strings and beads to use as messages to communicate, as they did not have a written language.
  • Period: 1464 to

    Songhai Empire

    The Songhai Empire was the third of the major North African empires. One of the most famous Songhai emperors was Sunni Ali Ber, who helped to expand the territory of the empire through conquest. When the Songhai rebelled from the Mali, Sunni Ali Ber seized several cities from the Mali, and continued to empower the Songhai empire by also taking control the trans-Saharan trade route.