AP World History Timeline

By norax
  • Period: 130 BCE to 1450

    Silk Roads

    Est. by Han dynasty in China
    Protected by Mongols (Pax Mongolica)
    Continuities: camels, trade of luxury goods, spread of religion (Buddhism + Islam)
    Changes: camel saddles, caravanserai, control
    Declined b/c of the rise of maritime trade and political instability
    Active until Ottomans closed off trade with West
  • Period: 27 BCE to 476

    Roman Empire

    Dominated much of Europe
    Fell due to internal corruption + outside invasion
    Led to division of Europe into West Europe and the Byzantine Empire
  • Period: 476 to 1453

    European Middle Ages

    Feudalism and Manorialism
    Serfdom
  • Period: 476 to 1453

    Byzantine Empire

    Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantine Empire
    Lasted until Ottoman conquest
  • Period: 750 to 1258

    Abbasid Caliphate

    Developments in Dar-al-Islam
    Golden Age of Islam
    Islamic
    Baghdad Capital
    Built around Trade
    Decline→Rise of Turkic Muslim Empires (ex. Seljuks)
  • Period: 750 to 1000

    Arabic Translation Movement

    During Golden Age of Islam
    Islamic scholars (many from Baghdad/House of Wisdom) translate books on science, math, + medicine from ancient languages into Arabic
    End of European Middle Ages - Arabic texts translated to Latin - intellectual curiosity - Renaissance
    Influential texts like Canon of Medicine
  • Period: 800 to 1450

    Indian Ocean Trade

    Growth in interregional trade + innovations
    Astrolabe, magnetic compass, larger + better ships
    Monsoon winds - diasporic communities + cultural exchanges
    Ended with Portugal invasion + control
  • Period: 960 to 1279

    Song Dynasty

    Neo-Confucianism
    Filial Piety (hierarchical)
    Foot-Binding
    Expansion of imperial bureaucracy (merit-based jobs - loyalty)
    Champa Rice - population boom
    Grand Canal
    Trade across Eurasia
  • Period: 1000 to

    Hausa Kingdoms

    City-states located in modern Nigeria
    Along major trans-Saharan trade routes
    Islam region
    Economic stability + religious influence through trade (salt + leather)
  • Period: 1095 to 1291

    Crusades

    Military campaigns led by European Christians to convert Muslims and non-Christians
    Failed due to losses to Mamluks and the rise of the Reformation
  • Period: 1100 to 1550

    Great Zimbabwe

    Trading empire in Africa
  • Period: 1200 to 1444

    Trans-Saharan Trade

    Flourished in 1200-1450
    Salt and gold
    Caravans, caravanserai, saddles
  • Period: 1200 to 1450

    Swahili City States

    On the East African coast
    Connected to Indian Ocean trade and African trade networks
    Gold, ivory, enslaved people
    Traded goods from Africa's interior with foreign items from China, India, and Persia
  • Period: 1200 to 1450

    Bhakti Movement

    Religious + social reform movement in India
    Hinduism more accessible
    Spread of Hinduism
  • Period: 1206 to 1526

    Delhi Sultanate

    Spread of Islam through merchants
    Ruler Akbar - tolerance
    Religious tension: jizya tax (on non-Muslims), forced conversions (mostly of Hindus)
    Rajput Kingdom resisted intrusion by Muslims, maintained Hindu influence
  • Period: 1250 to 1567

    Mamluk Sultanate

    From enslaved people who rebelled against previous leaders
    Victories against Mongols and Crusaders
    Economic strife
    Conquered by Ottomans
  • 1271

    Marco Polo's voyages to Asia

    European explorer who documented his travels; diffused knowledge of the Asia
    Merchant + traveler
    Journeyed along Silk Road
  • Period: 1299 to

    Ottoman Empire

    Islamic
    Adoption of gunpowder weapons - expansion
    Devshirme: enslaved Christians converted to Islam and enlisted into military/gov. as Janissaries
    Enemies w/ Safavids
    Sided with Germany in World War I - post-war treaties dissolved empire
  • 1325

    Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca

    Introduced wealth of Mali Kingdom to the rest of the Mediterranean
  • Period: 1346 to 1386

    Bubonic Plague

    Spread via Mongol conquest and trade routes (Silk Roads and Indian Ocean)
    Killed nearly 1/3 of Middle East population
    Europe weak as it was just coming out of Middle Ages and beginning to trade
    Killed nearly 1/2 European population
    Led to labor shortages, decline of feudalism, + revolts
  • Period: 1368 to

    Ming Dynasty

    Followed decline of Yuan Dynasty
    Restored peace and order
    Expanded borders with gunpowder
  • Period: 1407 to 1573

    Gujarat Sultanate

    Turkic State that rose after Delhi Sultanate
  • Period: 1428 to 1524

    Aztec Empire

    Tenochtitlan: capital city
    Labour tribute system
    Fell to disease + Spanish
    (in progress)
  • Period: 1438 to 1533

    Inca Empire

    Mit'a System: labour system
    Complex road system agriculture
    Sun god
    Downfall: disease and Spanish invaders
  • Period: 1450 to

    Ethiopia

    African trading Kingdom
    **Christian faith
    Successfully resisted European colonization
    (still exists, but significant in this time period)
  • Period: 1500 to

    Trans Atlantic Trade

    Portugal: Prince Henry the Navigator invested in maritime tech and expeditions along African coast - est. of trading-post empire
    Spain: sponsored voyages (Christopher Columbus) tried to find routes to Asia - colonization of Americas
    England, France, + Netherlands: funded expeditions to explore + claim territories in Americas + Asia - est. colonies + trade networks
    African Diaspora due to slave trade
    African women take on more work + polygamy practices arise due to lowered male populations
  • Period: 1501 to

    Safavid Empire

    Emerges as largest Shi'a Muslim empire
    Gunpowder to expand + control
    Conflict with the Sunni Muslim Ottomans
    Safavid-Mughal conflict
    Silk Roads rerouted through capital - trading monopoly
    Persian Silk (traded w Russia)
  • Oct 15, 1517

    95 Theses

    95 arguments published by Martin Luther that challenged the Catholic Church's practices; especially selling of indulgences (forgiveness of sins for money)
  • Period: Oct 16, 1517 to

    Protestant Reformation

    Religious conflicts + political changes
    Spread of Protestantism + denominations emerge including Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anglicanism
    Leads to church holding less power - Europe more centralized
  • Period: 1523 to

    Mughal Empire

    Land empire that controlled majority of Indian subcontinent
    Persecution of Hindus and Sikhs
    Jizya tax (non-Muslims pay)
    Akbar: ruler who practiced religious tolerance
    Increased Bhakti Movements and Sufism
    Zamindars: local officials responsible for collecting taxes (eventually led to corruption)
  • Period: to

    Qing Dynasty

  • Palace of Versailles

    Built by King Louis XIII
    Consolidated power: recentered political power (control over French court/nobility)
    Legitimized rule: display of royal authority/divine right to rule (to subjects and others)
  • Period: to

    Enlightenment

    Philosophers (ex. John Locke) spread ideas of separation of powers, natural rights, and equal living spread
    Ideas to colonized regions - American + French Revolutions - Indian + African Revolutions
  • Period: to

    American Revolution

    Fueled by Enlightenment ideals + growing resentment over British policies including taxation without representation
    United States established
  • Period: to

    French Revolution

    Caused by Enlightenment ideals, widespread poverty famine, + discontent with Louis XVI's rule
  • Period: to

    Haitian Revolution

    Inspired by French Revolution
    Slave revolt - abolition of slavery + first black republic
  • Period: to

    Opium Wars

    Europe could only trade with China through the Port of Canton
    British traders bring opium to China (1773), causing widespread addiction - ban on opium - Britain wages war - China eventually forced to open to all trade
  • Period: to

    Social Darwinism Ideas Spread

    Natural selection applied to sociology
    Justified discrimination, racism, + ethnocentrism as Europeans were the "dominant race" and others were "barbaric/uncivilized"
  • Period: to

    Meiji Restoration

    Japan faces pressure by West to open borders for trade
    Further compelled by China's failure loss during Opium Wars
    Undergoes modernization, westernization, + restoration of power under imperial rule
  • Period: to

    Scramble for Africa

    Rise of imperialism - countries fighting for African territories
    Ideas of Social Darwinism - civilization mission to justify colonization - educated Africans - influence of Enlightenment - revolution
  • Berlin Conference

    Formalized the scramble for Africa
    European powers divided + claimed African land
  • Period: to

    World War I

  • Period: to

    World War II