The Late Bronze Age
A timeline from 2,000 to 1,200 BCE — the age of empires, international trade, and the world's first globalized economy.
Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization
The great Indus cities are gradually abandoned over several centuries. Causes likely include climate change, shifting river courses, and disrupted trade networks.
Hammurabi rules Babylon
Hammurabi transforms Babylon into a major empire and produces his famous law code — one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes.
Shang Dynasty founded in China
The Shang Dynasty establishes rule in the Yellow River valley, bringing bronze casting, oracle bone divination, and the earliest Chinese writing.
Phoenician maritime trade expands
Phoenician city-states along the Lebanese coast become the Mediterranean's premier traders, establishing commercial networks from Egypt to Spain.
Amarna Letters — international diplomacy
A diplomatic archive from Egypt reveals a web of correspondence between the great powers — Egypt, Babylon, the Hittites, Assyria, and Mitanni.
Uluburun ship sails
A merchant vessel carrying goods from at least seven cultures sails the eastern Mediterranean — a snapshot of Bronze Age globalization later preserved as a shipwreck.
Oracle bone divination peaks
The Shang royal court produces thousands of inscribed oracle bones — China's earliest written records, providing invaluable historical information.
The Bronze Age Collapse begins
A cascading systems failure destroys the Hittite Empire, Mycenaean Greece, and cities across the Levant. Egypt survives but is permanently weakened.