587 BC |
Jerusalem falls to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II
The Babylonian Captivity of the Jews begins |
550 BC |
Death of Cambyses I of Anshan and succession of Cyrus II |
528 BC |
Buddhism founded by Siddhartha Gautama |
521 BC |
Darius I succeeds Cyrus |
457–429 BC |
Golden Age of Athens under Pericles |
431 BC |
Beginning of the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta |
332 BC |
Alexander the Great founds Alexandria |
331 BC |
Alexander the Great defeats Darius III and conquers Persian Empire |
270 BC |
Conquest of Italy by Rome |
221 BC |
Chin Shih Huang-ti establishes the Chinese Empire |
146 BC |
Rome defeats and destroys Carthage |
AD 27 |
Founding of the Roman Empire |
c. AD 29 |
Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth |
116 |
The Roman Emperor Trajan conquers Mesopotamia |
226 |
Sasanid dynasty in Persia |
313 |
The Roman emperor Constantine accepts Christianity |
320 |
The Gupta dynasty unifies northern India |
330 |
Constantinople, built on the site of Byzantium, becomes the capital of the Roman Empire |
360 |
Hun invasion of Europe |
395 |
Division of the Roman Empire between East and West |
476 |
Barbarian conquest of the western Roman Empire |
610 |
Beginning of the religion of Islam |
642 |
The Arabs defeat the Persian army at the battle of Nehawand |
771 |
Charlemagne (Charles the Great) becomes king of the Franks and establishes the state which will become known as the Holy Roman Empire |
850 |
The Norseman Rurik becomes the ruler of Kiev |
1096 |
The First Crusade and the establishment of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem |
1206 |
Establishment of the sultanate of Delhi. Mongol chieftain Temujin is proclaimed Genghis Khan and begins his conquests. Establishment of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China.
The Mongols rule the country until 1368 |
1290 |
Founding of the Ottoman Empire |
1368 |
Defeat of the Mongols in China and establishment of the Ming dynasty |
1380 |
Tamerlane conquers Persia |
1421 |
Beginning of the Portuguese explorations under Henry the Navigator |
1453 |
Constantinople falls to the Ottomans and becomes their capital |
1526 |
Founding of the Mughal dynasty in India |
1707 |
Death of the emperor Aurangzeb and beginning of the disintegration of the Mughal Empire |
1739 |
The Persian Nadir Shah invades India, sacks Delhi and takes the Peacock Throne back to Persia where it becomes the new symbol of the shahs |
1757 |
Victory in the Battle of Plassey results in Britain becoming the major power in north India |
1858 |
India’s First War of Independence (the Indian Mutiny) results in the British Crown taking over the responsibilities of the East India Company |
1869 |
Opening of the Suez Canal produces renewed British interest in the Middle East |
1876 |
Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India. Britain is now the dominant power in southern Asia |
1900 |
Boxer Rebellion in China and almost complete take over of the country by the great powers – Britain, Russia and Germany |
1908 |
Founding of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company |
1914–18 |
The First World War results in the fall of the German, Austrian, Russian and Ottoman empires which have dominated Europe and the Middle East during the nineteenth century. Britain and France become the dominant powers in the Middle East |
1922 |
Establishment of the Soviet Union |
1925 |
Reza Shah founds the Pahlavi dynasty in Persia |
1931 |
Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which eventually leads to the Japanese conquest of much of China |
1939–45 |
Second World War produces the two ‘superpowers’ – the United States and the Soviet Union. They dominate the world scene throughout most of the rest of the twentieth century |
1943 |
Tehran is the first meeting place of the ‘Big Three’ – Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union |
1950s–60s |
Those Middle Eastern states that had been reduced to quasi-colonial status by Britain and France gain their independence |
1972 |
Great ceremonies in Iran in an attempt to resurrect the ancient empire |
1980 |
Establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran followed by war with Iraq |
1991 |
Fall of the Soviet Union |
2001 |
Destruction of the World Trade Center in New York triggers the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. Invasion of Afghanistan and later Iraq by American-led alliance of Western powers |
