Classical History
Early settlers in Nile Valley
9,000 Years Ago
Cities growing across Mesopotamia 5,500 Years Ago
Minoan Civilization
5,200-3,200
 On Crete
Pictographic Record Keeping
5,200 Years Ago
Egyptian Hieroglyphics developed 5,100
Narmer unified Egypt
5,100
Sumerian Language
5,000
First stone pyramid built
4,700
Historical Gilgamesh
4,700
Gilgamesh epic, early versions
4,600
Pyramids of Giza built
4,600
Cunieform Alphabet
4,400
Sumerian Cities United by King Sargon
4,300
Akkadian Language (using Cunieform)
4,300
Ur becomes the capital of a new empire
4,100
Historical Abram/Abraham (O.T)
3,800-3,700 (Bloom)
Hammurabi king of Babylon
3,792
Hittites sack Babylon
3,650
Mycenaean Civilization
3,600-3,100
Hittite Language (using Cunieform)
3,600
Canaanite Language (using Cunieform)
3,500
Linear B developed
3,450
 By Mycenaeans based on Minoan script
Historical Joshua (O.T.)
3,400 Years Ago
 (J. Bronowski, The Ascent of Man)
Assyrian Empire
3,360
Historical Exodus
3,280 (Bloom)
Ramesses II
3,279-213
Historical Trojan War
3,250/210 (3,180)
Israelites Settled in Canaan
3,200
Aramaean & Chaldaean tribes become important 3,100
Saul Anointed first king of Israel
3,020
Uratian Language (using Cunieform)
3,000
David anointed king of Israel
3,000-2,961
st
King Solomon begins 1 temple
2,965
Book of J written
2,950-900 (Bloom)
Israel splits into northern & southern kingdoms 2,922
Aramaic & Hebrew Alphabets
2,900
Book of E (revision of J)
2,850-800 (Bloom)
Phoenician Alphabet spreads to Greece 2,800
Etruria
2,800-396
Rome founded
2,753
Greek Alphabet
2,740
 created from Phoenician script
Sargon II of Assyria conquers Israel (northern kingdom)
2,722
Sennacherib king of Assyria
2,705-681
Iliad & Odyssey written
2,700
Assyrians attach Egypt
2,671
Deuteronomical (D) text
2,550-600 (Bloom)
Nebuchadnezzar II king of Babylon
2,605-562
 O.T. Babylonian exile (2,586)
Priestly (P) text
2,550-500 (Bloom)
First Greek Tragedy Performed
2,543
 At City Dionysia in Athens
King Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylonia 2,538
 Israelites allowed to return to Judah
Pythagoras emigrates to South Italy 2,530
Birth of Aeschylus
2,525
Persians conquer Egypt
2,525
Persian Empire
2,530-331
nd
Israel, 2 temple built
2,516
Birth of Sophokles
2,496
First Comedy performed
2,487
 At City Dionysia in Athens
Socrates born
2,470
Euripides active
2,455
Trial & execution of Socrates
2,400
Redactor (JEPD)
2,400 (Bloom)
Plato founds the Academy
2,387
Alexander the Great
2,356-323
Aristotle founds the Lyceum
2,335
Alexander the Great conquers Persian Empire
2,332
 Including Egypt & Israel
Ptolemy I becomes Pharaoh
2,305
Septuagint
2,250-100 (Bloom)
Parthian Empire
2,238
Rome conquers Greece
2,214-146
Prophets reaches final form
2,200 (Brueggmann)
Maccabean revolt against Syrian Greeks 2,167
Roman Empire controls Israel
2,063
Battle of Actium
2,031
 Rome conquers Egypt
Aeneid written
2,029
Ovid active
1,990
Romans destroy Jerusalem and the 2nd temple 1,930
(Source for the block above: The British Museum
http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.html ; The Jewish Museum
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/archaeologytimeline)