2 WHAP Timeline (6th Final Exam)

~4.5 billion years ago

Earth was formed

~6 million years ago

Appearance of the first hominids

~2.5 million years ago

Paleolithic period begins with the development of stone tools.

~800,000 years ago

Homo Erectus develops the use of fire.

~200,000 years ago

Homo sapiens first appeared.

~70,000 years ago

Homo sapiens develop a complex language system.

~40,000 years ago

Oldest known prehistory artwork.

~10,000 years ago

Development of agriculture emerges in various parts of the world.

8,000 bce

Beginnings of agriculture

3400 bce

Sumerian city-states form

3100 bce

First pharaoh unites Egypt

2660 bce

Old Kingdom in Egypt begins

2500 bce

Indus Valley civilization reaches its peak

2334 bce

Sargon unites Mesopotamia under Akkadian empire

1800 bce

Shang kingdom founded in China

1792 bce

Hammurabi begins rule over the Babylonian empire

1550 bce

New Kingdom in Egypt begins

1500 bce

Vedic period emerges in India

1050 bce

The Zhou Dynasty begins

722 bce

Assyria conquers northern kingdom of Israel

c. 550 BCE—330 bce

Reign of the Persian Achaemenid Empire; founded by Cyrus

539 bce

Persians defeat Babylonians

509-44 bce

Roman Republic

480-404 bce

Golden Age of Athens

431-404 bce

Peloponnesian War. Sparta wins, but all poleis are weakened

403-221 bce

Era of Warring States (China)

334 bce

Alexander invades Persia

323 bce

Alexander the Great dies

322-184 bce

Mauryan Dynasty

265 bce

Ashoka converts to Buddhism

264-146 bce

Punic Wars (Rome vs. Carthage)

221-206 bce

Qin Dynasty

206 bce - 220 ce

Han Dynasty

141-87 bce

Reign of Han Wudi

44 bce

Julius Caesar assassinated

27 bce - 180 ce

Pax Romana

9-25

Han dynasty in China overthrown, then restored

184

Yellow Turban Rebellion

319-540

Gupta Dynasty

476

Fall of Western Roman Empire

1526-1857

Mughal Empire

1644-1911

Qing Dynasty

1760-1830

First Industrial Revolution

1733

Flying Shuttle invented by John Kay

1757

Battle of Plassey

1765

James Watt patents an improved steam engine

1794

Cotton Gin patented by Eli Whitney

1825

George Stephenson builds the first passenger railway

1839-1842

First Opium War

1850

Taiping Rebellion

1857

Sepoy Rebellion

1860-1914

Second Industrial Revolution

1884-1885

Berlin Conference

1899-1902

South African War (Boer War)

1903

Wright brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft

1908

Henry Ford begins mass production of the Model T automobile.

1914-1918

World War I