The First Civilizations
A timeline from 5,000 to 3,000 BCE — the rise of the first cities, writing, and complex societies in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Ubaid period in Mesopotamia
The Ubaid culture spreads across southern Mesopotamia, establishing temple-centered communities that would evolve into the first cities.
Sumer's earliest settlements
Eridu and other sites in southern Mesopotamia grow into substantial communities with mud-brick temples — the seeds of Sumerian civilization.
Uruk becomes the world's first city
Uruk in southern Mesopotamia grows to perhaps 40,000 people — the largest settlement the world has ever seen, with monumental temples and complex administration.
The wheel invented
The potter's wheel appears in Mesopotamia, soon adapted for transportation — one of the most transformative inventions in human history.
Cuneiform writing invented
Sumerian scribes develop the world's first writing system — pictographic marks pressed into clay tablets to track temple economies.
Bronze Age begins
The alloying of copper and tin produces bronze — harder and more durable than either metal alone — revolutionizing tools, weapons, and trade.
Egyptian hieroglyphics emerge
The earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions appear in Egypt, roughly contemporary with Sumerian writing but developing independently.
Unification of Egypt
Upper and Lower Egypt are united under a single pharaoh — traditionally attributed to Narmer/Menes — establishing one of history's most enduring political systems.
Multiple city-states in Sumer
Ur, Lagash, Eridu, Nippur, and other Sumerian cities operate as independent city-states, each with patron deities and competing ambitions.