People in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Levantine coast begin deliberately cultivating crops such as wheat and barley.
On the Japanese archipelago, hunter-gatherers develop one of the earliest known pottery traditions in the world.
In Anatolia, hunter-gatherers begin constructing monumental stone structures on a hilltop, possibly as a religious centre.
Groups of hunters with distinctive stone spear points, known as the Clovis culture, travel across large parts of North America, hunting megafauna such as mammoths.
In the mountainous regions of present-day Iran, communities begin taming and breeding wild goats, a crucial step towards animal husbandry.
On the shore of an oasis in the Jordan Valley, one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world grows into a walled settlement.
In the then still green Sahara region and along the Nile, communities begin taming and keeping wild cattle.
In the valleys of present-day Mexico, communities begin deliberately growing squash and other crops.
In present-day Turkey, Çatalhöyük emerges, one of the largest and most densely populated early settlements in the world, with thousands of inhabitants in tightly clustered clay dwellings.
Communities in the Yellow River basin begin cultivating millet and establish permanent villages, an early step towards Chinese civilization.
In present-day Baluchistan (Pakistan), the settlement of Mehrgarh arises, one of the earliest known agricultural communities in South Asia.
In the then-humid Sahara region, groups of hunter-gatherers begin keeping livestock, leading to early pastoral societies in North Africa.
In the mountain valleys of present-day Mexico, early farmers begin selecting and cultivating teosinte, the wild ancestor of maize.
In southern Mesopotamia the Uruk culture emerges, with the world's first large urban centers.
The influence of Uruk spreads via trading posts and colonies as far as Anatolia and the Levant.
In Upper Egypt powerful regional rulers emerge, laying the foundation for the later unification.
Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom, regarded as the beginning of the Egyptian state.
In Mesopotamia, powerful city-states such as Uruk, Ur and Kish arise, with temples, kings and the first forms of writing.
Under the first pharaohs, Egypt grows into a unified realm along the Nile, with a strong central authority and the first monumental building projects.
The Sumerian city-state of Uruk reaches a peak of power under its legendary king Gilgamesh, with imposing city walls and temple construction.
Along the Yellow River, fortified settlements and early urban centres emerge, laying the foundation for later Chinese civilisations.
Along the river Indus, large, systematically planned cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa arise, with advanced sewage systems and trade.
In the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Pharaoh Khufu has the Great Pyramid built, the largest structure of the ancient world.
Pharaoh Khafre has a second great pyramid erected at Giza, slightly smaller than that of his father Khufu but built on higher ground.
In the Indus Valley, the city of Mohenjo-daro emerges as one of the earliest large-scale urban centers, with a sophisticated sewage system and standardized brick construction.
In the Sumerian city-state of Ur, rich royal tombs are constructed, filled with golden jewellery, musical instruments and the remains of courtiers who followed their rulers into death.
The Sumerian city-state of Lagash grows under King Eannatum into a regional power that subdues rival city-states in Mesopotamia.
In the Supe Valley in present-day Peru, the city of Caral arises, one of the oldest urban centers of the Americas, with monumental pyramids and plazas.
Sargon of Akkad unites the city-states of Mesopotamia into the world's first known territorial empire.
After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, Ur-Nammu reunites Mesopotamia under the Third Dynasty of Ur, with a strongly centralized administration and extensive legislation.
According to Chinese tradition, the Xia dynasty arises along the Yellow River, regarded as the first dynasty and the beginning of Chinese imperial rule.
After the chaos of the First Intermediate Period, pharaoh Mentuhotep II reunites Upper and Lower Egypt, thereby ushering in the Middle Kingdom.
Hammurabi unites Mesopotamia and issues his famous code of law.
In the valley of the Upper Nile, Kerma grows into a powerful urban civilization that will rival Egypt for centuries.
In central Anatolia, King Hattusili I unites various city-states into the beginning of the mighty Hittite Empire.
Along the Yellow River, the Shang dynasty establishes the first historically well-documented Chinese state, with bronze foundries and an early writing system.
Egypt reaches its greatest territorial extent under pharaohs such as Thutmose III.
The House of Zhou conquers the Shang Empire and establishes a new dynasty that claims the 'Mandate of Heaven' as justification for the seizure of power.
In the aftermath of the decline of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the independent Kingdom of Kush arises in Nubia, with Napata as its power centre.
On the Gulf coast of present-day Mexico, the Olmec civilization develops, often regarded as the 'mother civilization' of Mesoamerica.
Under the Zhou kings, the 'Mandate of Heaven' is further developed as the ideological foundation of kingship, and the realm extends its influence over large parts of northern China.
After the withdrawal of Egyptian influence in Nubia, an independent Kushite kingdom emerges around the city of Napata, which partly adopts and further develops Egyptian culture and religion.
In the highlands of Peru, the influential Chavín culture emerges, centered around the ceremonial complex of Chavín de Huántar, which served as a religious and cultural center for a large part of the Andean region.
Assyria becomes the most powerful empire of the Near East through ruthless military expansion.
After the fall of Nineveh, the Babylonians seize power in Mesopotamia under Nabopolassar and later his son Nebuchadnezzar II.
The Medes, allies of Babylon in the fall of Assyria, build a vast empire on the Iranian plateau and in Asia Minor under King Cyaxares.
In Asia Minor, the kingdom of Lydia grows under King Croesus into an empire renowned for its unprecedented wealth.
Cyrus the Great and his successors build the largest empire the ancient world had seen up to that point.
The Achaemenid Empire attempts to subjugate the Greek city-states, but is repelled at Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea.
The Chinese Zhou empire falls apart into rival states that wage war for decades over hegemony.
In northern India, the kingdom of Magadha grows into a powerful empire under the Nanda dynasty.
Alexander the Great conquers a vast empire stretching from Greece to India.
In northern India, Chandragupta Maurya unites numerous kingdoms into the first great pan-Indian empire, following the withdrawal of Alexander's troops.
The Iranian Parni tribe, led by Arsaces I, conquers Parthia from the Seleucids and lays the foundation for an empire that will remain the great power of the Middle East for centuries.
King Zheng of Qin defeats the last rival states of the Warring States period and proclaims himself the first emperor of a unified China.
Rome grows into a world empire that dominates the entire Mediterranean region.
The East African empire of Aksum controls trade across the Red Sea and reaches its peak in power and prosperity.
The mighty Gupta Empire in North India falls apart due to invasions by the Huns and internal division.
Emperor Justinian I attempts to restore the Western Roman Empire and has the Hagia Sophia built in Constantinople.
Emperor Justinian I attempts to restore the old Roman Empire in the west from Constantinople and has the Corpus Juris Civilis drawn up.
In Mesoamerica, powerful city-states such as Teotihuacan and the Maya cities of Tikal and Calakmul flourish.
After the fall of the Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty founds a new Chinese empire that grows into a cultural and economic superpower.
After centuries of division, the Sui dynasty reunifies China, followed by the rise of the powerful Tang dynasty.
After centuries of war with Byzantium, the Persian Sassanid Empire is conquered by the rising Muslim armies.
From the Arabian Peninsula, Muslim armies expand rapidly across the Middle East, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula under the Umayyad Caliphate.
In Mesoamerica, powerful Maya city-states such as Tikal and Calakmul flourish with monumental temples and an advanced script.
The Abbasids establish an Islamic empire with Baghdad as a flourishing centre of science and culture.
General Zhao Kuangyin seizes power and founds the Song dynasty, which reunifies China after decades of fragmentation.
The West African Ghana Empire reaches its height as a powerful trading empire, driven by the gold and salt trade across the Sahara.
King Suryavarman II has the enormous temple complex of Angkor Wat built as a Hindu sanctuary and symbol of royal power in Cambodia.
Genghis Khan unites the Mongol tribes and founds the largest contiguous land empire in history.
Mongol armies led by Hulagu Khan conquer Baghdad and destroy the mighty Abbasid Caliphate.
In Anatolia, the Turkish leader Osman I proclaims a small principality that would later grow into the mighty Ottoman Empire.
The Mexica found their capital Tenochtitlán on an island in Lake Texcoco, later the heart of the Aztec Empire.
The ruler of the Mali Empire, Mansa Musa, undertakes an impressive hajj to Mecca, spreading enormous quantities of gold along the way.
In South India, the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire is founded as a counterweight to the advancing Islamic sultanates of the north.
The bubonic plague rages through Asia and Europe, partly spread via the Silk Road opened up by the Mongols, and decimates the world population.
The Central Asian conqueror Timur defeats Sultan Bayezid I and temporarily halts Ottoman expansion.
Sultan Mehmed II conquers Constantinople, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of a new Islamic great power.
Under the leadership of Sonni Ali and later Askia Mohammed, the Songhai Empire grows into one of the largest empires in African history.
Hernán Cortés, with a small army and local allies, defeats the mighty Aztec Empire and conquers the capital Tenochtitlán.
Emperor Akbar consolidates the Mughal Empire in India and promotes religious tolerance, art, and architecture.
After the fall of the Ming dynasty, the Manchus conquer China and found the Qing dynasty, which expands the empire to unprecedented size.
The Dutch VOC builds an extensive trading network in Asia and dominates the spice trade through forts and colonies such as Batavia.
Under Emperor Kangxi, the Qing Empire conquers Taiwan and expands its grip on Central Asia, making China one of the most powerful empires in the world.
The British East India Company defeats the Nawab of Bengal at Plassey, clearing the way for British political dominance over the Indian subcontinent.
European powers meet to establish rules for the colonization of Africa, leading to a rapid and almost complete partition of the continent.
Japan defeats the Chinese Qing Empire and gains Taiwan and influence over Korea.
The United States defeats Spain and acquires Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
Japan defeats the Russian Empire on land and sea, the first victory of an Asian power over a European great power in the modern era.
The British Empire reaches its greatest territorial extent, controlling nearly a quarter of the earth's surface.
Japan expands its power with the conquest of Manchuria and the founding of the vassal state of Manchukuo.
Mussolini's Italy attacks one of the last independent African states and occupies Ethiopia, to the outrage of the international community.
The world war exhausts the European mother countries economically and militarily and strengthens independence movements in the colonies.
After the Second World War, the great European colonial empires fall apart due to independence movements worldwide.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union marks the end of the bipolar world order that had emerged after the Second World War.
India breaks with decades of protectionism and opens its economy to foreign trade and investment.
The European Community transforms into the European Union, with a common currency on the horizon.
The WTO is established as the successor to the GATT to regulate global trade.
The United Kingdom transfers the crown colony of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.
NATO intervenes militarily against the Serbs without a UN mandate because of the crisis in Kosovo, revealing the limits of the new world order.
Through decades of market-oriented reforms, China grows into the world's second-largest economy and a geopolitical superpower.
Regional cooperative structures such as a deepened African Union, a more cohesive ASEAN and a more federal Europe grow into quasi-state power blocs.
Extreme climate change disrupts agricultural regions worldwide, leading to mass migration flows and armed conflicts over water and food.
Under pressure from ongoing crises, the remaining power blocs establish a supranational body with binding authority over climate, spaceflight and resource management.
A fictional, future global government emerges from climate crises and technological integration, forming the first true planetary empire.
Humanity establishes colonies beyond the solar system and founds the first empire spanning multiple star systems.
Mentuhotep II ruled from Thebes and defeated the rival rulers of Herakleopolis, putting an end to decades of political fragmentation. His victory brought Egypt back under a single central authority and laid the foundation for a period of cultural flourishing, temple building and expeditions to Nubia and Punt. His imposing rock-cut temple at Deir el-Bahari, with its terraces and colonnades, served as a model for later monumental structures such as that of Hatshepsut.