1.
2nd millennium BC
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The 2nd millennium BC spans the years 2000 through 1000 BC. It marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age and its first half is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. Indo-Iranian migration onto the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent propagates the use of the chariot, chariot warfare and population movements lead to violent changes at the center of the millennium, a new order emerges with Greek dominance of the Aegean and the rise of the Hittite Empire. The end of the sees the transition to the Iron Age. World population begins to rise steadily, reaching some 50 million towards 1000 BC, the Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and their contemporary Kings of Babylon, of Amorite origin, brought good governance without much tyranny, and favoured elegant art and architecture. Farther east, the Indus Valley civilization was in a period of decline, possibly as a result of intense, Egypt and Babylonias military tactics were still based on foot soldiers transporting their equipment on donkeys. Combined with an economy and difficulty in maintaining order, this was a fragile situation that crumbled under the pressure of external forces they could not oppose. About a century before the middle of the millennium, bands of Indo-European invaders came from the Central Asian plains and swept through Western Asia and they were riding fast two-wheeled chariots powered by horses, a system of weaponry developed earlier in the context of plains warfare. This tool of war was unknown among the classical civilizations, Egypt and Babylonias foot soldiers were unable to defend against the invaders, in 1630 BC, the Hyksos swept into the Nile Delta, and in 1595 BC, the Hittites swept into Mesopotamia. The peoples in place were quick to adapt to the new tactics, among the great states of the time, only Babylon refrained from taking part in battles, mainly due to its new position as the worlds religious and intellectual capital. Also contributing to the changes were the Sea Peoples, ship-faring raiders of the Mediterranean, the civilizations, kingdoms and dynasties in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme The events in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme. It is difficult to pinpoint the year or even the correct century for many events of the 2nd Millennium BC. c.1700 BC–1300 BC—Palace complex in Knossos. C.1600 BC–1360 BC Egyptian domination over Canaan and Syria, in the history of the Egyptian language, the early 2nd millennium saw a transition from Old Egyptian to Middle Egyptian. As the most used form of the Ancient Egyptian language. The earliest attested Indo-European language, the Hittite language, first appears in cuneiform in the 16th century BC, Hittite is the best known and the most studied language of the extinct Anatolian branch of Indo-European languages. The first Northwest Semitic language, Ugaritic, is attested in the 14th century BC, the first fully phonemic script Proto-Canaanite developed from Egyptian hieroglyphs, becoming the Phoenician alphabet by 1200 BC. Mycenaean Greek, the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, was used on the Greek mainland, Crete, the people in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme The Canadian–American speculative fiction author S. M. Stirling has written a set in Bronze Age era, circa the 1250s BC
2.
14th century BC
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1390 BC, In Mesopotamia, emergence of Assyrians as independent power. 1385 BC, Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt marries Tiy, his Chief Queen,1380 BC, Amenhotep III connects the Nile and the Red Sea with a canal. 1372 BC, The Hittites conquer all of the Kingdom of Mitanni west of the Euphrates,1357 BC, Danish Egtvedpigen is buried. 1347 BC, King Erechtheus II is reportedly killed by lightning after a reign of 50 years and is succeeded by his younger brother Cecrops II,1346 BC, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV of Egypt begins his Cult of Aten and begins construction of Amarna intended to be his new capital. 1345 BC, Amenhotep IV renames himself Akhenaten,1336 BC, Akhenaten names Smenkhkare as a co-ruler. C.1334 BC, Tutankhaten becomes Pharaoh of Egypt and marries Ankhesenpaaten, daughter,1331 BC, Tutankhaten renames himself to Tutankhamun and abandons Amarna, returning the capital to Thebes. 1324 BC, Pharaoh Ay is crowned king of Egypt 1320 BC, Egypt, End of Eighteenth Dynasty, C.1310 BC, The Bhagavad Gita is written, according to some Hindu traditions. C.1300 BC, Cecrops II, King of Athens, Pandion II was later driven into exile from Athens by the sons of Cecrops IIs brother Metion, so that Metion could take power. Pandion II fled to Megara, where he married the Kings daughter, after his death, Pandion IIs sons returned to Athens and drove out the sons of Metion. 1307 BC, Adad-nirari I becomes king of Assyria,1300 BC, The legendary King Pan Geng moved the capital of Shang Dynasty to Yin. c.1300 BC, Rise of the Urnfield culture. 1398 BC—Birth of Tiy to Egyptian nobleman Yuya and his wife Tjuyu and she later becomes the Chief Queen of Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt and the matriarch of the Amarna family. 1391 BC—Pharaoh Amenhotep III started to rule,1368 BC—Death of Erichthonius, mythical King of Dardania. 1366 BC—Birth of Princess Tadukhipa to Tusratta, King of Mitanni and she will be later married to Amenhotep III and after his death to his son and heir Amenhotep IV Akhenaton. She is variously identified with Akhenatons Queens Nefertiti and Kiya,1365 BC—Ashur-uballit I rises to the throne of Assyria. 1362 BC—Birth of the later Pharaoh Amenhotep IV Akhenaton to Amenhotep III,1341 BC/1340 BC—Birth of Tutankhaten, later Pharaoh of Egypt as Tutankhamun. 1338 BC—Queen Tiy of Egypt, Chief Queen of Amenhotep III and matriarch of the Amarna family,1337 BC—Queen Nefertiti of Egypt vanishes from the historical record. 1334 BC/1333 BC—Death of Smenkhkare, Pharaoh of Egypt and co-ruler with Akhenaton,1334 BC/1333 BC—Death of Akhenaton, Pharaoh of Egypt. 1323 BC—Death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun of Egypt,1320 BC—Birth of later Pharaoh Ramses II of Egypt
3.
13th century BC
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The 13th century BC was the period from 1300 to 1201 BC.1300 BC, Cemetery H culture comes to an end in the Indus Valley. 1292 BC, End of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, start of the Nineteenth Dynasty,1282 BC, Pandion II, legendary King of Athens, dies after a nominal reign of 25 years. He reportedly only reigned in Megara while Athens and the rest of Attica were under the control of an alliance of Nobles led by his uncle Metion and his four sons lead a successful military campaign to regain the throne. Aegeus becomes King of Athens, Nisos reigns in Megara, Lykos in Euboea,1279 BC, Ramesses II becomes leader of Ancient Egypt. 1278 BC, Seti I dies,1 year after his son,1274 BC, The Battle of Kadesh in Syria. Egyptians and Hittites sign the earliest known peace treaty at the end of the Battle of Kadesh,1269 BC, Ramses II, king of ancient Egypt, and Hattusilis III, king of the Hittites, sign the earliest known peace treaty. 1251 BC, A solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes,1250 BC, Wu Ding King of Shang Dynasty to 1192 BC.1250 BC, The Lion Gate at Mycene is constructed. C.1230 BC, Aegeus, legendary King of Athens, receives a message that his designated heir Theseus. Theseus had been sent to his overlord Minos of Crete as an offering to the Minotaur, medus, Aegeus only other son, had been exiled in Asia and would become legendary ancestor to the Medes. Believing himself without heirs the King commits suicide after a reign of 48 years and he is succeeded by Theseus, who actually still lives. The Aegean Sea is reportedly named in his honor,1210 BC, Pharaoh Merneptah defeats a Libyan invasion. 1213 BC, Theseus, legendary King of Athens, is deposed and succeeded by Menestheus, great-grandson of Erechtheus, Menestheus is reportedly assisted by Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who want to reclaim their sister Helen from her first husband Theseus. The latter seeks refuge in Skyros, whose King Lycomedes is an old friend, Lycomedes, however, considers his visitor a threat to the throne and proceeds to assassinate him. 1212 BC, Death of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses the Great,1207 BC, Pharaoh Merneptah claims a victory over the people of Israel. 1206 BC, Approximate starting date of Bronze age collapse, a period of migration, unrest and destruction in the eastern Mediterranean and Near East. 1204 BC, Theseus, legendary King of Athens, is deposed after a reign of 30 years and succeeded by Menestheus, great-grandson of Erichthonius II of Athens and second cousin of Theseus father Aegeus. Menestheus is reportedly assisted by Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who want to reclaim their sister Helen from her first husband Theseus, Theseus seeks refuge in Skyros, whose King Lycomedes is an old friend and ally. Lycomedes, however, considers his visitor a threat to the throne, C.1200 BC, Earliest writing that survived exists in Ancient China
4.
12th century BC
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The 12th century BC is the period from 1200 to 1101 BC. The Late Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean is often considered to begin in this century,1200 BC, The first civilization in Central and North America develops in about 1200 BC in the coastal regions of the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the Olmec civilization, its site is at San Lorenzo. Read more 1200 BC, The Phoenicians found the port of Lisbon, Portugal 1197 BC, The beginning of first period by Shao Yongs concept of the I Ching,1197 BC, Ramses III of Egypt repels attacks by northern invaders. 1194 BC, The beginning of the legendary Trojan War,1192 BC, Wu Ding, King of Shang Dynasty, died. 1191 BC, Menestheus, legendary King of Athens, dies during the Trojan War after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by his nephew Demophon, other accounts place his death a decade later and shortly after the Trojan War. 1186 BC, End of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, start of the Twentieth Dynasty, april 24,1184 BC, Traditional date for the fall of Troy, Asia Minor to the Mycenaeans and their allies. This marks the end of the Trojan War of Greek mythology,1181 BC, Menestheus, legendary King of Athens and veteran of the Trojan War, dies after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by his nephew Demophon, a son of Theseus. Other accounts place his death a decade earlier and during the Trojan War,1180 BC, The last Kassite King, Anllil-nadin-akhe, is defeated by the Elamites 1180 BC, Collapse of Hittite power in Anatolia with the destruction of their capital Hattusa. April 16,1178 BC, A solar eclipse may mark the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca and he discovers a number of suitors competing to marry his wife Penelope, whom they believe to be a widow, in order to succeed him on the throne. He organizes their slaying and re-establishes himself on the throne,1160 BC, Death of Pharaoh Ramesses V, from smallpox. 1159 BC, The Hekla 3 eruption triggers an 18-year period of climatic worsening,1154 BC, Death of King Menelaus of Sparta. 1154 BC, Death of exiled Queen Helen of Sparta at Rhodes, C.1150 BC, End of Egyptian rule in Palestine. 1147 BC, Demophon, legendary King of Athens and veteran of the Trojan War,1137 BC, Ramses VII begins his reign as the sixth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. 1135 BC, Oxyntes, legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 12 years and is succeeded by his elder son Apheidas,1134 BC, Apheidas, legendary King of Athens, is assassinated and succeeded by his younger brother Thymoetes after a reign of 1 year. 1126 BC, Thymoetes, legendary King of Athens, dies childless after a reign of 8 years and he is succeeded by his designated heir Melanthus of Pylos, a fifth-generation descendant of Neleus who had reportedly assisted him in battle against the Boeotians. 1122 BC, Legendary founding date of the city of Pyongyang, C.1120 BC, destruction of Troy VIIb11115 BC, Tiglath-Pileser I becomes King of Assyria. 1110 BC, Cádiz founded by Phoenicians in southwestern Spain,1100 BC, Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria conquers the Hittites
