Trace humanity's journey from the first Homo sapiens through the rise and fall of civilizations. Each timeline covers a distinct period with key events and connections to lessons.
A timeline of early human evolution from 300,000 to 50,000 BCE — the emergence of Homo sapiens, mastery of fire, and the first stirrings of symbolic thought.
A timeline of human dispersal from 70,000 to 10,000 BCE — how Homo sapiens spread across Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas.
A timeline of the agricultural revolution from 10,000 to 5,000 BCE — how farming, settlement, and social complexity transformed human life.
A timeline from 5,000 to 3,000 BCE — the rise of the first cities, writing, and complex societies in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
A timeline from 3,000 to 2,000 BCE — the age of pyramids, the first empires, and the flourishing of river valley civilizations.
A timeline from 2,000 to 1,200 BCE — the age of empires, international trade, and the world's first globalized economy.
A timeline from 1,200 to 600 BCE — the aftermath of collapse, the rise of iron, and the emergence of new civilizations and empires.
A master timeline of world history from 300,000 to 600 BCE — human evolution, the Neolithic Revolution, river valley civilizations, and the Bronze Age.
A timeline of ancient Greek civilization from the rise of the city-states to the conquests of Alexander the Great — democracy, philosophy, and the birth of Western thought.
A timeline of the Hellenistic world from Alexander's death to Rome's conquest — successor kingdoms, cosmopolitan culture, and scientific breakthroughs.
A timeline of the Roman Republic from its founding to its fall — the Punic Wars, expansion across the Mediterranean, and the civil wars that ended republican government.
A timeline of the Roman Empire from Augustus to the fall of the West — the Pax Romana, the rise of Christianity, and the empire's division and decline.
A timeline of classical Indian civilization from the Maurya Empire to the Gupta Golden Age — Ashoka's transformation, the birth of Buddhism, and India's intellectual flowering.
A timeline of classical Chinese civilization from Confucius through the Han Dynasty — philosophy, unification, the Silk Road, and the foundations of Chinese governance.
A timeline of the birth and spread of the world's major religions — Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.
The complete Phase 2 timeline covering the classical world from 600 BCE to 500 CE — Greece, Rome, India, China, and the birth of world religions.
A timeline of Islam's emergence and rapid expansion from 570 to 750 CE — from the birth of Muhammad to the Umayyad Caliphate's peak.
A timeline of intellectual and cultural achievement across the Islamic world from 750 to 1258 CE — from Baghdad's House of Wisdom to its destruction.
A timeline of the Eastern Roman Empire from 476 to 1100 CE — the survival of Rome in the East through Justinian's ambitions, Arab sieges, and the Great Schism.
A timeline of Western Europe from 800 to 1450 CE — from Charlemagne's coronation through feudalism, the Crusades, the Black Death, and the dawn of the Renaissance.
A timeline of the Mongol Empire from 1162 to 1368 CE — from Temüjin's birth to the fall of the Yuan Dynasty and the end of Mongol rule in China.
A timeline of China's golden ages from 618 to 1279 CE — Tang cosmopolitanism, Song innovation, and the technologies that changed the world.
A timeline of major developments in Africa and the Americas from 300 to 1450 CE — from Aksum's peak to the rise of Mali, Great Zimbabwe, the Aztecs, and the Inca.
A master timeline of the post-classical and medieval period from 500 to 1450 CE — Islam, Byzantium, feudal Europe, the Mongols, Song China, Africa, and the Americas.
From the flowering of Italian humanism through Martin Luther's challenge to the Catholic Church, the Renaissance and Reformation reshaped European culture, religion, and politics between 1400 and 1600.
European maritime powers establish global trade routes and colonial empires, connecting the hemispheres through the Columbian Exchange and transforming the world forever.
The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires use gunpowder technology to build vast, culturally brilliant states across the Islamic world from Southeast Europe to the Indian subcontinent.
China's last two imperial dynasties — the native Han Ming and the Manchu Qing — preside over periods of extraordinary cultural achievement, economic expansion, and eventual confrontation with European powers.
From Copernicus to Newton to Voltaire, a new way of understanding the natural world through observation and reason transforms science, philosophy, and politics across Europe.
Enlightenment ideas explode into political action as the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions overthrow established authority and establish new principles of governance based on popular sovereignty and natural rights.
A comprehensive timeline of the early modern period (1400–1804), from the Italian Renaissance through the Age of Exploration, Gunpowder Empires, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and Age of Revolutions.
From the first steam engines to the factory system, the Industrial Revolution transformed Britain and then the world, replacing hand production with machine manufacturing.
Electricity, steel, petroleum, and mass production transform daily life and make the United States and Germany the world's leading industrial powers.
Nationalist movements unify Italy and Germany while European powers carve up Africa and Asia in the greatest wave of colonial expansion in history.
The 'Great War' that killed 20 million people, destroyed four empires, and reshaped the world between 1914 and 1918.
The turbulent two decades between the world wars — economic crisis, cultural innovation, and the rise of totalitarianism that would plunge the world into even greater conflict.
The deadliest conflict in human history — 70-85 million killed as the world fights fascism, endures the Holocaust, and enters the nuclear age.
Anti-colonial movements across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East challenge European imperial rule, planting seeds that will flower into independence after World War II.
A comprehensive timeline of the modern period (1760–1945), from the Industrial Revolution through two world wars, covering industrialization, imperialism, revolution, and global conflict.
From the Iron Curtain to the Cuban Missile Crisis — the dangerous first phase of superpower rivalry that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
From Vietnam to the fall of the Berlin Wall — détente, proxy wars, and the unexpected collapse of the Soviet empire.
The dismantling of European colonial empires and the birth of new nations across Africa and Asia.
The decade of American unipolarity — democratic optimism, ethnic conflicts, and the seeds of 21st-century crises.
From 9/11 to COVID-19 to the AI revolution — the crises and transformations defining our era.
The interconnection of the world through trade, technology, and communication — from the World Wide Web to smartphones to social media.
A comprehensive timeline of the contemporary world from 1945 to the present — the Cold War, decolonization, globalization, the digital revolution, and 21st-century challenges.