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World  Timeline
3500 B.C.E.  to  1490 C.E.

Ancient Egypt    •    Ancient Greece    •    Ancient Rome    •    The Middle Ages

The Old World - Columbus & After    •    books about Ancient Times

jump to  1491-1800    •    1801-1900    •    1901-1930    •    1931-1950    •    1951-1968    •    1969-2000

•    2001-2010    •    2011-2016    •    2017-2018    •    2019-2020    •    2021 to present


the Great Sphinx at Giza - constructed circa 2550 BCE - and the Great Pyramid at Giza - constructed circa 2550 BCE

Ancient  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  and  Meso-America
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt

  • Meso-American Archaic Period [circa 3500 BCE to 1200 BCE]

  • Sumerian/Euphrates Culture [circa 3500 BCE to 1700 BCE]

  • Early Dynastic Period of Egypt [circa 3100 BCE to 2686? BCE]
  • First Dynasty
  • Second Dynasty

  • Old Kingdom Period of Egypt [circa 2686? BCE to 2181 BCE]
  • IIIrd Dynasty lasted from 2686? to 2613 BCE
    Pharaoh Djoser/Tosorthros [reign circa 2670 BCE]
    vizier Imhotep who built the Step Pyramid at Memphis
  • IVth Dynasty lasted from 2613 to 2494 BCE
    Pharaoh Cheops/Khufu [reign 2589–2566 BCE] who built the Great Pyramid at Giza
    Pharaoh Khafra [reign 2558–2532 BCE] who some say built the Great Sphinx at Giza
  • Vth Dynasty lasted from 2494 to 2345 BCE
  • VIth Dynasty lasted from 2345 to 2181 BCE

  • Middle Kingdom Period of Egypt [circa 2000 BCE to 1700 BCE]
  • XIth Dynasty
  • XIIth Dynasty
  • XIIIth Dynasty

  • Around 1800 B.C.E.: The Babylonians began the practice of celestial divination, known today as astrology.
  • Around 1800 B.C.E.: Consensus dating of the oldest clay cuneiform tablets of the "Epic of Gilgamesh", considered the oldest existing work of literature; it was based on three separate & distinct partial sets of tablets that date to 2100 B.C.E. The character Gilgamesh is a demigod king of superhuman strength; the tales may be based on a real person circa 2500 B.C.E.

  • Meso-American Preclassic Period [circa 1800 BCE to 200 CE]
    Beginnings of the Olmec and Zapotec and Maya civilizations in Mexico and Central America.

  • Babylonian Kingdom [circa 1790 BCE to 1750 BCE]
    King Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylonia [reign 1792 BCE to 1750 BCE}.

  • New Kingdom Period of Egypt [circa 1550 BCE to 1077 BCE]
  • XVIIIth Dynasty
  • XIXth Dynasty
    1450 BCE: Excavations at Tel Lachish in south central Israel in 2018 found a pottery fragment dating to 1450 BCE with six letters on one side, which archeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem now say is evidence that an alphabet was developed centuries before the occupation of the area by Egypt from 1550-1200 BCE.
    Around 1250–1200 BCE: Prophet Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, to wander in the Sinai desert for forty years. (Historians have decided that existing evidence will never pinpoint the year that the Exodus took place, but this range of dates seems to satify many scholars.)
  • XXth Dynasty [circa 1187 BCE to 1064 BCE]
    Pharaoh Ramesses III was the great king of the XXth Dynasty [reign 1186-1155 BCE].

  • Late Bronze Age Collapse [between circa 1200 and 1150 BCE]
    the cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms, of the Kassite dynasty of Babylonia, of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia & the Levant, and of the Egyptian Empire • entry at Wikipedia

    1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed book by Eric H. Cline  1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed [2014]
    by Eric H. Cline, New Afterword by author

    Kindle Edition from Princeton Univ Press [9/2015] for $11.37
    Princeton Univ Press 8½x5½ pb [9/2015] out of print/many used
    Princeton Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [3/2014] out of print/many used
    book entry at Wikipedia

  • United Kingdom of Israel [circa 1050 BCE to 931 BCE]
    King Saul was the first king of the United Kingdom of Israel [reign 1048–1010 BCE].
    King David [lived circa 1040 BCE to 970 BCE] was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel [reign 1010–970 BCE].
    King Solomon was the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel [reign 970-931 BCE].
  • 966 BCE: Construction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem; accounts differ, but the First Temple was destroyed some 400 years later.
  • 931 BCE: Upon the death of King Solomon, the United Kingdom split; Solomon's son Rehoboam became King of Judah (containing Jerusalem); the larger Kingdom of Israel (also Northern Kingdom or Kingdom of Samaria) lasted until the 720s BCE.

  • Neo-Babylonian Empire [626 BCE to 539 BCE]
  • 605 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, defeated Pharaoh Necho at the Battle of Carchemish, and subsequently invaded Judah.
  • 597 BCE: Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar II, who pillaged the city and deported 10,000 Israelites to Assyria as slaves.
  • 589-587 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon won the Second Siege of Jerusalem; he had the First Temple destroyed and appointed Gedaliah ruler of Judah.
  • 586 BCE: The Judeans assassinated Gedaliah, and many fled to Egypt for safety; the Babylonian army took some 4,600 Israelites to Assyria as slaves.
  • 559 BCE: Cyrus II {the Great} became King of Persia; he conquered Media in 549 BCE, Lydia in 547 BCE, and Babylon in 539 BCE; he ruled most of the then-known world {as far as modern Pakistan) until his death in 530 BCE.
  • 522 BCE September: Darius I [lived circa 550–486 BCE] became the third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.

  • Ptolemaic Kingdom [305 BCE to 30 BCE]
    Ptolemy I Soter [reign 305-283 BCE]
  • circa 280 BCE: Construction of the Royal Library in Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt; the Library was famously destroyed by a fire or fires {date/s uncertain, but clearly before 391 CE}.
    Ptolemy II Philadelphus [reign 283-246 BCE]
    Ptolemy III Euergetes [reign 246-221 BCE]
    weak ruler Ptolemy IV Philopator [reign 221-181 BCE]
    Cleopatra VII Philopator [reign 51-30 BCE]


the Parthenon Temple, atop the Acropolis of the City of Athens, Greece - constructed 447-432 BCE

Ancient  Greece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece

  • Ancient Greek epic poet Homer [VIIIth Century BCE]
  • Aesop of Ancient Greece [620-564 B.C.E.]
    Aesop entry at Wikipedia • "Aesop's Fables" entry at Wikipedia
    'Aesopica' fansite [est. 2002] - the fables in English, Latin & Greek
    25 free online etexts at Project Gutenberg

    Aesop's Fables in Kindle format  

    "Aesop's Fables" [1867 edition]
    'the standard English edition' of 1867 translated by Rev. George Fyler Townsend [1814-1900] includes 313 fables and 'A Life of Aesop'
    Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [8/2014] for FREE {sic}
    Doubleday & Co. hardcover [1968] out of print/used
    free online 1867 etext at Internet Archive

  • 559 BCE: Cyrus II {the Great} became King of Persia; he conquered Media in 549 BCE, Lydia in 547 BCE, and Babylon in 539 BCE; he ruled most of the then-known world {as far as modern Pakistan) until his death in 530 BCE.
  • 538 BCE: Cyrus the Great sent a number of Jews from Persia to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding it.
  • 522 BCE September: Darius I [lived circa 550–486 BCE] became the third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
  • 520 BCE: A foundation was laid for the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
  • Hua Mulan, legendary VIth Century BCE female warrior
  • Chinese philosopher Confucius [551-479 BCE]
  • Ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu [544?-496? BCE]
  • Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus [535?-475? BCE]
  • Aristides the Just [530-468 BCE]
  • Aeschylus [525?-456? BCE]
  • Ancient Greek poet Pindar [522?–443 BCE]
  • Gautama Buddha [Vth Century BCE]
  • Hundred Schools of Thought [circa Vth Century BCE to 221 BCE] in China
    After the government-supported philosophers and advisors were dispersed across China during the Late Zhou Dynasty in Vth Century BCE, there was a golden age of philosophical thought and teaching; there were few actual schools, the term was created by later historians to describe that flourishing. At the beginning of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE, philosophy was deemed intellectual dissent and many teachers were executed and their works burned.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Schools_of_Thought
  • Chinese philosopher Chuang-Tzu aka Zhuang Zhou [Vth Century BCE]
  • Pericles [495–429 BCE]
  • 490 BCE: The famous Battle of Marathon; the Athenians defeated the larger army of Persian King Darius I, thereby ending the First Persian Invasion.
  • 486 BCE: Xerxes I [lived 519–465 BCE] became the fourth king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire and Pharoah of Egypt.
  • 480 BCE Summer: The famous Battle of Thermopylae; 300 Spartan warriors defeated the larger army of Persian King Xerxes I.
  • 480 BCE Fall: The famous Battle of Salamis; the Greek fleet attacked and defeated the Persian armada; Xerxes I withdrew his battered army to Asia.
  • Euripedes [circa 480-406 BCE]
  • 479 BCE August: The Battle of Plataea; the Greek army defeated Mardonius and slaughtered the Persian forces, thereby ending the Second Persian Invasion.
  • Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates [470?-399 BCE]
  • 465 BCE: Xerxes was murdered by Artabanus; after heir Artaxerxes discovered the murder, he killed Artabanus and his sons.
  • 465 BCE: Artaxerxes I [reign 465-424 BCE] became the fifth king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
  • Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates of Cos [460?-370? BCE]
  • Greek historian Thucydides [460?–395? BCE]
  • Ancient Greek philosopher Plato [427-347 BCE]
  • 404 BCE: Artaxerxes II Mnemon became king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire; he died in 358 BCE, at the age of either 77 or 87.
  • 404 BCE April 25: The Pelopennesian War ended when Athens surrendered to Sparta.
  • Chuang-Tzu [circa IVth Century BCE]
  • Ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu [IVth Century BCE]
  • Ancient Greek orator Demosthenes [384–322 BCE]
  • Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle [384-322 BCE]
  • Zhuangzi, also known as Zhuang Zhou or Chuang-tzu [350 BCE]
  • Epicurus [341?–270? BCE]
  • Zeno of Citium [334?-262? BCE]

    "Alexander: The Boy Soldier Who Conquered the World"
    [National Geographic World History 7/2005] by Simon Adams
    http://www.amazon.com/World-History-Biographies-Alexander-Geographic/dp/0792236602/


Colosseum arena in Rome, Italy at dawn - constructed 70-80 AD

Ancient  Rome
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome

  • 753 BCE: The mythical founding of Rome by Romulus & Remus.
  • 216 BCE Aug 2: Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal defeated the Roman Army in the Battle of Cannae during the Second Punic War.
  • Cato the Elder [234 - 149 BCE]
  • Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero [106 - 43 BCE]
  • Julius Caesar [100 - 44 BCE] - reigned 49-44 BCE
  • Roman poet Titus Lucretius Carus [99 - 55 BCE]
  • writer Publilius Syrus [85-43 BCE] - born in Antioch, Syria
  • Roman poet Virgil [70 - 19 BCE]
  • Quintus Horatius Flaccus [65 - 8 BCE] known as Horace
  • Caesar Augustus [63 BCE - 14 C.E.] - reigned 27 BCE-14 AD
  • 46 BCE: The longest year in human history, at 445 days long; two extra 'leap months' were added by Julius Caesar in order to make the revisions of his new Julian calendar match the celestial year.
  • Roman poet Ovid [43 BCE - 17 or 18 C.E.]
  • Tiberius Caesar [42 BCE - 37 C.E.] - reigned 14-37 C.E.
  • Jesus of Nazareth [4 BCE - 29 C.E.]
    "Ben-Hur" 1880 Novel & Movies Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
  • Seneca the Younger [4? BCE - 65 C.E.]
  • Emperor Caligula [12-41 C.E.] - reigned 37-41 C.E.
  • 14 C.E. Sept 18: The Roman Senate confirmed Tiberius as the second emperor of the Roman Empire
  • 37 C.E. March 18: Tiberius Caesar died at age 79; he was succeeded by Caligula [12-41 C.E.].
  • Chinese philosopher Wang Chong aka Wang Ch'ung [27 C.E. - circa 100 C.E.]
  • historian Plutarch [46? – 127 C.E.]
  • Epictetus [55? – 135? C.E.], Stoic philosopher & crippled former slave
  • Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus [56? - 117? C.E.]
  • Dacia was a province of the Roman empire that existed from 106 C.E. to 275 C.E. (in present-day Romania); Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius [121-180] and his successor son Commodus [161-192] waged war in the area starting around 170 C.E.; local emperors were Septimius Severus (193-211), Caracalla (211-217), and Alexander Severus (222-235), after which the province was attacked by Goths and fell into disorder.
  • A Roman general in Dacia named Sponsian/Sponsianus declared himself emperor around 240 C.E. in order to bring the remote province under control; he was unknown until the discovery of some gold coins in Tran-sylvania in 1713; the Sponsianus coin was considered fake and Sponsian considered a fictional character and ignored. But recent scholarship has determined that around 260 C.E. there was a pandemic and a civil war while the larger empire was fragmenting. Surrounded by enemies and cut off from Rome, Sponsian likely assumed supreme command during a period of chaos and civil war, to protect the military and civilian popu-lation of Dacia until order could be restored; Roman control could not be maintained, Rome abandoned various provinces, and troops in Dacia were evacuated between 271 and 275 C.E.
  • Marcus Aurelius [121 - 180 C.E.]
  • 140 C.E.: Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemy [90? - 168? C.E.] published "Tetrabiblos", a four-volume authority on all things astrology.
  • 180 C.E. March 17: Emperor Marcus Aurelius died at his military headquarters at present-day Vienna; he was succeeded by his adopted son Commodus [161-192 C.E.].
  • 212 C.E.: The Edict of Caracalla gave all free men & women of the Empire full rights as Roman citizens.
  • Roman Emperor Constantine the Great [c. 272 - 337 C.E.]
  • 325 C.E.: First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea {present-day Itzik, Republic of Tόrkiye} convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine I; results included the Nicene Creed and a standard date for celebrating Easter; that this meeting decided the books of the canonical Christian Bible is myth and not historical.
  • circa 330-360 C.E.: Manual creation of the oldest and but incomplete version of the Christian Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus, written in Greek; portions exist among four museums, with the largest at the British Museum.
  • 331 C.E.: Roman Emperor Constantine I authorized creation of fifty copies of the Christian Bible for the church in Constantinople.
  • Augustine of Hippo [354 - 430 C.E.]
  • 382 C.E.: Pope Damasus's Council of Rome; the next year, Pope Damasus I [c.305-384 C.E.] commissioned the Latin Vulgate edition of the Christian Bible; the translation was largely the work of Saint Jerome of Stridon [c.340s-420 C.E.].
  • 393 C.E.: The Synod of Hippo Regius in North Africa (the modern city of Annaba, Algeria) was the first time that a council of bishops listed and approved a Christian Biblical canon.

  • circa 400-440 C.E.: Manual creation of the oldest and most-complete version of the Christian Bible, the Codex Alexandrinus, written in Greek; one copy exists at the British Museum.
  • 419 C.E.: The Council of Carthage confirmed the earlier Christian Biblical canon and also added the Book of Revelation.
  • 787 C.E.: Second Ecumenical Council at Nicaea {present-day Itzik, Republic of Tόrkiye} convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine VI.

    S.P.Q.R. History of Ancient Rome book by Mary Beard  "S.P.Q.R.: A History of Ancient Rome" [2015]
    by Prof. Mary Beard, OBE

    covers Rome from its mythical foundation in 753 BCE to the Edict of Caracalla in 212 CE
    Kindle Edition from Liveright [11/2015] for $16.99
    Liveright 9½x6½ hardcover [11/2015] for $21.03


Pictish infantry of Scotland repelling Strathclyde cavalry, circa 800 AD - illustration by Wayne Reynolds

The  Middle  Ages

  • Meso-American Classic Period [circa 200 CE to 1000 CE]
    City-states flourished and competed in central Mexico and the Yucatαn.

  • Britain's legendary King Arthur [circa 600 C.E.?]
  • A.D. 632 June 8: The prophet Muhammad died in Medina.
  • A.D. 742 April 2: Birthday of Charlemagne; he became the Frankish king in 768, King of Italy in 774, and was crowned Emperor of Rome in 800, creating the Holy Roman Empire (which existed in various forms until 1806); Charlemagne died at age 71 in 814.
  • Viking chieftain Leif Erikson [A.D. 970?-1020?]: born in Iceland, lived in Greenland; reached the shores of North America around 1000 C.E. and established settlements in Newfoundland known collectively as Vinland.

  • Meso-American Post-Classic Period [circa 1000 CE to 1697 CE]
    City-states of the Toltec and Maya and Mixtec civilizations slowly declined. The Aztec civilization arose in the XVth Century but was defeated by the Spaniards; the last holdout was Tayasal, which was conquered in 1697.

  • A.D. 1016: Canute/Cnut of Denmark conquered England and became king in December 1016; he ruled for 19 years.
  • 1042 June 8: Anglo-Saxon leader Edward the Confessor [1003-1066] became King of England, reigning for 23½ years.
  • 1066 Oct 14: The Normans won the the Battle of Hastings when Saxon King Harold II was killed; Duke William II of Normandy thus earned the name 'the Conquerer'.
  • 1066 Dec 25: William of Normandy was crowned King of England in London.
  • The First Crusade (1096–1099) recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem; the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted almost 200 years, until it was overrun by Saladin in 1187.
  • Maimonides [1135-1204]
  • The Second Crusade (1145–1149) which failed.
  • 1152 May 18: Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine married Henry, Duke of Normandy; he later became England's King Henry II.
  • 1157 Sept 8: Birthday of Richard the Lionheart; he was crowned King of England in 1189 and died in 1199 at Limoges, France at age 41.
  • Genghis Khan [1162-1227]
  • 1166 Dec 24: Birthday of King John Plantagenet of England; he was crowned King of England in 1199 and died in 1216 at age 49.
  • The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was led by England's King Richard and ended in a truce with Saladin.
  • 1189 July 6: Richard Plantagenet became King of England, succeeding his father Henry II.
  • circa 1190: The Legend of Outlaw Robin Hood and the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest
  • 1199 April 6: England's King Richard was killed during a siege at Limoges, France and was succeeded by his younger brother John Plantagenet.

    After succeeding Richard as King of England in 1199, King John attempted to consolidate his holdings in France, but by August 1204 had lost everything except the Duchy of Aquitaine. Back in England John levied taxes for several invasions of France to retake Normandy, angering the nobels; Philip of France defeated John's allies and the treaty ceded Anjou to France. Barons in northern England and Wales were successful in organizing a revolt, and captured London and Exeter and Lincoln. A peace meeting at Runnymede resulted in the famous signing of the Magna Carta treaty on 15 June 1215. The peace did not hold, and the barons were winning across England in September, when John contracted dysentary; John died on 18 October 1216 and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry III.

  • Persian poet & mystic Rumi [1207-73]

    1215 The Year of Magna Carta book by Danny Danziger & John Gillingham  "1215: The Year of Magna Carta" [2003]
    by Danny Danziger & John Gillingham

    Touchstone 7x5 pb [6/2005] for $14.81
    Hodder Paperback 7¾x5¼ pb [5/2004] out of print/60+ used
    Hodder & Stoughton, U.K. 7x5¼ hardcover [12/2003] out of print/50+ used
    Hodder & Stoughton, U.K. 8¾x5¾ hardcover [6/2003] out of print/used

  • 1215 June 15: Signing of the Magna Carta treaty at Runnymede (near Windsor Castle) in England.
  • Thomas Aquinas [circa 1225-1274]
  • 1258 June 11: The Oxford Parliament first convened and created the privy council to the king, as agreed to by King Henry III; the arrangement lasted only until 1264 and the subsequent rebellion by the barons.
  • Meister Eckhart [1260?-1328?]
  • 1296-1328: The First War of Scottish Independence.
    • 1297 Sept 11: Scottish rebels led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeated English troops in the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
    • 1314 June 23-24: The two-day Battle of Bannockburn, near Stirling, Scotland, resulted in a victory for Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, over the army of England's King Edward II.
  • 1332-1357: The Second War of Scottish Independence.
  • Between 1347 and 1350, the Black Death plague killed about a third of Europeans.
  • Thomas ΰ Kempis [1380-1471]
  • 1397 June 17: The Treaty of Kalmar created a union between the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway & Sweden.
  • 1412 Jan 6: Birthday of Joan of Arc; she obeyed visions of angels and led troops for uncrowned King Charles VII of France against the British; she was captured and put on trial and then burned at the stake on 30 May 1431 at Rouen, Normandy — at the age of 19.
  • 1415 Oct 25: The Battle of Agincourt in Northern France during the Hundred Years War; outnumbered English troops using longbows and led by Henry V defeated the French army.

  • Meso-American Inca Empire [1438-1572]
    Inca leaders expanded from the small city-state Kingdom of Qusco thru 1533 to rule most of modern Peru and Ecuador and Bolivia, and parts of modern Colombia and Chile; Francisco Pizarro and Hernando de Soto arrived from Spain with a force of just 168 men, one cannon, and 27 horses; the Inca Empire was weakened by smallpox, by recent civil war, and by restive subjects. Pizarro captured the Inca Atahualpa and executed him in August 1533. Manco Inca Yupanqui retreated and ruled a smaller Neo-Inca Empire for 36 years; Manco's son, the last Inca ruler Tϊpac Amaru, was captured and executed by the Spanish in 1572.

  • 1439-1443: Before the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Florence decreed a complete list of the books received by the Catholic Church as inspired scripture, but omitted the terms 'canon' or 'canonical'.
  • Michelangelo Buonarotti [1475-1564] was from Florence.
  • 1478 Nov 1: Beginning of the Spanish Inquisition.


common oil portrait of Chistopher Columbus, cropped

Christopher  Columbus

  • 1451 Oct 31: Cristoforo Colombo was born in Genoa, Italy.
  • 1492 Aug 3: Christopher Columbus set sail on his First Voyage to the New World.
  • 1492 Oct 12: Columbus arrived in the present-day Bahama Islands, narrowly avoiding mutiny by his crew.
  • 1493 March 15: Columbus returned to Spain, ending his First Voyage to the New World.
  • 1493 Sept 25: Columbus sailed from Cadiz, Spain on his Second Voyage to the New World; he led a flotilla of 17 ships and founded the town of La Isabella on Hispaniola.
  • 1496 March 10: Columbus returned to Spain, ending his Second Voyage to the New World.
  • 1498 May 30: Columbus's Third Voyage set off from Sanlϊcar, Spain in six ships; Columbus was arrested for terrible administration during the prior voyage.
  • 1500 Nov 25: Columbus arrived in Spain in chains (ending his Third Voyage), but was quickly released by royal decree.
  • 1502 May 9: Columbus sailed from Cadiz, Spain on his Fourth [and final] Voyage to the New World, with his son Ferdinand.
  • 1503 June 25: Columbus beached his ships on Jamaica and was stranded for a year.
  • 1504 Nov 7: Columbus returned to Spain, ending his Fourth [and final] Voyage to the New World.
  • 1506 May 20: Christopher Columbus died a pauper at age 55 in Valladolid, Spain.

painting of Wm. Shakespeare reading a poem to Queen Elizabeth at court, circa 1600

The  Old  World  After  Columbus

  • 1509 April 21: Henry VIII became King of England at age 17, succeeding his father; he reigned until his death at age 55 in 1547.
  • 1533 Sept 7: Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was born in Greenwich, England; she was crowned Britain's Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 and reigned for over 44 years.
  • 1536 July 18: England's Parliament declared by law that the authority of the Pope was void in England.
  • 1547 Jan 28: England's King Henry VIII died at age 55 at Whitehall Palace in London; he was succeeded by nine-year-old Edward VI; the government of England was run by a Regency Council until Edward's death in 1553 at age 15.
  • 1553 July 19: Queen Mary I [1516-58] succeeded her younger half-brother Edward VI as monarch of England; she reigned five years, until her death at age 42.
  • 1558 Nov 17: Elizabeth I became monarch of England on the death of her half-sister Mary I.
  • 1559 Jan 15: England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned at Westminster Abbey; she reigned 44 years and four months until her death at age 69 in 1603.
  • 1564 April 23: Traditional birthdate of English poet & playwright Wm. Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire; he died there on 23 April 1616 at age 52.
  • 1572 September?: The last Inca ruler Tϊpac Amaru was captured and executed by the Spanish.
  • 1588 July 29: The English Navy attacked the Spanish Armada off the Netherlands coast in the Battle of Gravelines; the British won.

  • 1603 March 24: Queen Elizabeth I died at age 69 and was succeeded by James I as King of England 'by the union of the Scottish & English crowns'; he reigned until his death at age 59 in 1625.
  • 1611 May 2: Official publication of the King James Bible in England.
  • 1616 April 23: Death of English playwright Wm. Shakespeare at age 52.
  • 1620 Sept 16: Pilgrims set sail in the vessel Mayflower for the New World. [The Mayflower was previously a whaler, and later a slave ship.]
  • 1620 Dec 21: Pilgrims on the vessel Mayflower stepped ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts.
  • 1621 June 3: The Dutch West India Company received a charter for a trade monopoly in the New World and for the territory of New Amsterdam, now known as New York.
  • 1625 March 27: Charles I succeeded James I as King of England; he reigned until his execution by Cromwell's Parliamentarians at age 48 in 1649.
  • 1649 Jan 30: After conviction by England's House of Commons for treason, King Charles I was executed at Whitehall Palace in London; England became a republic.
  • 1658 Sept 3: Oliver Cromwell died at age 59; his death left England in political turmoil.
  • 1660 May 29: After being invited back to England as monarch by Parliament, King Charles II entered London to popular acclaim; he reigned until his death at age 54 in 1685.
  • 1685 Feb 6 [NS Feb 16]: England's King Charles II died at age 54, succeeded by his brother James II.
  • 1688 Dec 11: Catholic King James II was overthrown by his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband Hanoverian William of Orange-Nassau; James fled to France. The events are known as The Glorious Revolution.
  • 1689 April 11: William III of Orange [1650-1702] and wife Mary II [1662-1694] were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain, Scotland & Ireland.
  • 1690 July 12: Forces led by William of Orange defeated the army of England's James II at the Battle of The Boyne in Ireland.
  • 1694 Dec 28: England's Queen Mary II died at age 32; joint monarch William III continued to rule England until his death at age 51 in 1702.
  • 1697 March: The Spanish conquered Tayasal in Guatemala, the last-surviving Meso-American city-state.


illustration of workers at the Royal Library of Alexandria [built circa 280 BCE, destroyed by 391 CE] in Egypt

Books  About  Ancient  Times
browse Ancient History category at Amazon

A Story of the Golden Age 1887 book by James Baldwin  "A Story of The Golden Age of Greek Heroes" [ages 8-12; 1887]
by James Baldwin [1841-1925], Illustrated by Howard Pyle [1853-1911]

Kindle Edition from Kypros Press [3/2017] for 99’
Kindle Edition from Didactic Press [10/2013] for 99’
CreateSpace 9x6 pb [3/2017] for $5.99
CreateSpace 9x6 pb [2/2017] for $8.99
Palala Press 9¼x6 hardcover [9/2015] for $26.95
Sampson Low/Scribner's Books For Boys hardcover [9/2015] long out of print/scarce
Myth and Philosophy book by Lawrence J. Hatab  "Myth and Philosophy: A Contest of Truths" [1990]
by Lawrence J. Hatab

An interpretive study, inspired by Nietzsche and Heidegger, of the historical
relationship between myth and philosophy in ancient Greece

Open Court Publng 8¾x6 pb [1/90] for $45.00
Open Court Publng 9¼x6½ hardcover [1/90] out of print/used

"Fifteen Poets of The Aztec World" [10/2000] by Miguel Leon-Portilla
http://www.amazon.com/Fifteen-Poets-Aztec-Miguel-Leon-Portilla/dp/0806132914/

Decline and Fall of Roman Britain book by Neil Faulkner  The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain" [2001]
by Neil Faulkner

Tempus Publng Ltd. 9½x6¾ pb [7/2001] for $20.00
Tempus Publng Ltd. 10x7 hardcover [2/2001] out of print/used

"Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology" [6/2001] by John L. Foster
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-John-Foster/dp/0292725272/

"In The Language of Kings: An Anthology of Mesoamerican Literature - Pre-Columbian To The Present"
[6/2001] by Miguel Leon-Portilla & Earl Shorris
http://www.amazon.com/Language-Kings-Mesoamerican-Literature-Pre-Columbian/dp/039302010X/

"The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry" [10/2003]
by William Kelley Simpson & Robert K. Ritner
http://www.amazon.com/Literature-Ancient-Egypt-Instructions-Autobiographies/dp/0300099207/

"The Historians of Ancient Rome: An Anthology of The Major Writings" [7/2004] by Ronald Mellor
http://www.amazon.com/Historians-Ancient-Rome-Anthology-Sourcebooks/dp/041597108X/

"Ancient Egyptian Literature: Volume II: The New Kingdom" [4/2006]
by Miriam Lichtheim & Hans-W Fischer-Elfert
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-Middle-Kingdoms/dp/0520248422/
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/

"The Tale of Sinuhe: and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, 1940-1640 BCE" [5/2009] by R.B. Parkinson
http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Sinuhe-Egyptian-1940-1640-Classics/dp/0199555621/

"The Oxford Anthology of Roman Literature" [12/2013] by Peter E. Knox & J.C. McKeown
http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Anthology-Roman-Literature/dp/0195395166/

'Student's Key to Ancient Greek Thought' in Kindle format by G.A. Rauche  "A Student's Key To Ancient Greek Thought: An Introduction To
Philosophy" for Kindle [2013] by G.A. Rauche

114-page Kindle Edition from Watch the Fabulous Publns [12/2013] for 99’
Classical Literature book by Richard Jenkyns  "Classical Literature: An Epic Journey From Homer To Virgil and Beyond" [2015]
by Richard Jenkyns

Kindle Edition from Basic Books/Hachette [3/2016] for $18.99
Penguin UK mass pb [3/2015] out of print/used
Basic Books 9½x6¼ hardcover [3/2016] for $19.01

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Guide-Medieval-England/dp/1439112908/
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Guide-Elizabethan-England/dp/014312563X/
http://www.amazon.com/1066-Year-Conquest-David-Howarth/dp/0140058508/
http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Europe-History-Roman-Empire/dp/0674058097/
http://www.amazon.com/Joan-Arc-History-Cut-Edge/dp/0062384392/

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