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.
The philosopher whose teachings will shape East Asian civilization for over two millennia is born in the state of Lu.
Siddhartha Gautama attains bodhi, articulates the Four Noble Truths, and founds one of the world's great religions.
Romans expel their last king and create a system of shared governance that will endure for nearly five centuries.
Cleisthenes' reforms create the world's first democratic system of government.
Greece repels two massive Persian invasions, preserving independence and launching Athens' Golden Age.
Socrates teaches, Sophocles writes, the Parthenon rises — an extraordinary concentration of achievement in a single city.
Alexander the Great destroys the Persian Empire and creates a Hellenistic world stretching from Egypt to India.
Chandragupta Maurya founds India's first great empire, eventually encompassing most of the subcontinent.
After the devastating conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka renounces war and promotes Buddhist principles across his empire.
China's first emperor standardizes writing, currency, and measures — forging a unified state that will endure for millennia.
Zhang Qian's missions to Central Asia establish the trade network connecting China to the Mediterranean.
Caesar's murder on the Ides of March triggers civil wars that end the Roman Republic.
Augustus establishes the Principate, inaugurating the Pax Romana — two centuries of relative peace and prosperity.
The crucifixion of Jesus and his followers' proclamation of resurrection launch a faith that will transform the world.
Cai Lun standardizes papermaking — a technology that will eventually revolutionize communication worldwide.
Constantine's Edict of Milan ends persecution and begins Christianity's transformation into an imperial religion.
The Gupta Empire presides over India's Golden Age — the decimal system, zero, and extraordinary achievements in art and literature.
With up to 200,000 inhabitants, Teotihuacan is one of the largest cities in the world — a Mesoamerican metropolis of pyramids and planned streets.
Rome falls to a foreign enemy for the first time in 800 years, signaling the Western Empire's accelerating decline.
The last Western emperor is deposed, ending over five centuries of Roman imperial rule in the West.