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The Minoan Civilization was based on the island of Crete south of the mainland. They were a sea-based power ruled by kings and known for unique architecture and frescoes.
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This time frame is marked by the increasing influence of Egypt over Nubia.
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Most likely time when the Greeks arrived on the mainland to begin building their eventually expansive empire.
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Located on the mainland, this civilization was composed of city-states ruled by kings and bureaucrats.
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The city of Troy was sacked after the infamous Trojan Horse delivered her Greek passengers into the city center.
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This period began just after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization. Iron working seemed to be a characteristic of this era, and it is referred to as the Early Iron Age.
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The Kushite kingdom gains its independence from Egypt.
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Kushite Kings Piankhi and Taharqa rule all of Egypt right up to the shores of the Mediterranean.
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Homer was a famed Greek poet and the presumed creator of both epic poems the Illiad and the Odyssey.
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Hesiod was a Greek poet known as the father of didactic poetry. His two surviving works are Theogony and Works and Days about the Gods and peasant life, respectively.
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This stage of civilization was marked by expansive colonization from Greece to Asia Minor to southern Italy to the Black Sea.
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The Scythians displaced the Cimmerians in the Ukraine area. They were similar to nomadic Iranian tribes until they settled between the Don and Volga rivers.
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The Spartans defeat Tegea after a long war. This marks the beginning of the Peloponnesian League, or the Spartan Alliance. When war, peace, or alliance was at issue, they gathered to discuss and decide.
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Croesus of Lydia conquers Greek cities on Asia Minor, including Ionia. Later, the Lydians are conquered by Cyrus of Persia. Persia then controlled the Greek cities.
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A couple years after the deposing of Hippias, Chief Argon Cleistenes institutes changes in the government at Athens--he is considered the founder of Athenian democracy.
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Considered the Golden Age of Ancient Greek civilization. The time period between 500 BCE and roughly 350 BCE was characterized by a more democratic government, polis rule controlled by aristocrats and tyrants.
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This period is the height of the Meriotic Kingdom of Kush
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Nok culture flourishes on the Jos plateau in western Sudan
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The Ionian Rebellion was an uprising that resulted in the overthrow of many of the Persian rulers. This revolt was also used as a pretext for Persian invasion of Greece in 490 inciting the Greco-Persian Wars.
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The Battles of Thermopylae, Artemisium, and Salamis were waged.
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God-King Xerxes, King of Kings, King of Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt leads a massive invasion of Greece.
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The Battles at Plataea and Mycale are waged. These were the two decisive defeats of the Persian juggernaut that resulted in the end of the Greco-Persian War.
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The death of Alexander the Great marks the beginning of the Hellenistic period in Greece.
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Alexander the Great spread Greek culture throughout the areas between Egypt and the Indus Valley. This period is marked by the decline of the polis and large monarchical states dominate the Greek world. The Hellenistic period begun with the death of Alexander the Great and ended when the Romans took the final Indo-Greek kingdom was conquered by Indo-Sakas
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The Seleucid Dynasty ruled in Mesopotamia and Northern Syria under Antiochus I.
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The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled in Egypt, southern Syria, and was reaching for the Aegean under Ptolemy II Philadelphus
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The Antigonid Dynasty rules in Macedonia under the person Antigonus Gonatus
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The Parthian empire was founded by Arsaces I and eventually covered the area from the Caspian Sea to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Parthians were defeated then ruled by Ardashir I, ending the Parthian empire.
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Nilotic-speaking people spread over the Upper Nile valley and into the Rift valley region.
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This period marks the heyday of Aksumite Ethiopia
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The Kushite empire finally falls to Elzana of Aksum
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The kingdom of Ghana is beginning to become established between the Senegal and Niger rivers
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This period marks when the major Nubian states of Maqurra and Alwa convert to Christianity as the dominant religion.
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The Gao empire is situated northeast of Lake Chad. It was one of the oldest trading centers in West Africa, and it served as a major trans-Saharan route for African goods and slaves.
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The Battle of Marathon was a decisive victory for the Greeks over the dominant Persian conquerors.
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The Yemenites from southern Arabia settle onto the Ethiopian plateau.
