World History

posted: 26-Sep-2026 & updated: 26-Sep-2026

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Korean Version

One table per civilization or region, in this order: East Asia → Near East → Mediterranean → Germanic peoples & Western Europe → Iran & Islam → steppe nomads, Mongols & India → the Americas.

• Korea
• China
• Japan
• Mesopotamia · Egypt
• Judea · Israel
• Greece · Macedon
• Rome (→ Eastern Rome, 1453)
• The Germanic Migrations
• Western Europe (Middle Ages → Modern)
• Iran (Persia · Parthia · Sasanians → modern Iran)
• The Islamic World (→ Ottomans)
• Steppe Nomads (before the Mongols)
• The Mongol Empire
• India
• The Americas (Maya · Aztec · Inca)

The Korean, Chinese and Japanese tables include Chinese characters (Hanja / Kanji). Years are CE unless marked BC.

Korea

Overview

Period / State	Hanja	Years	Founder	Notes
Gojoseon	古朝鮮	BC 2333 (trad.)~108	Dangun Wanggeom (檀君王儉)	Bronze Age. Gija Joseon (箕子) tradition → Wiman Joseon (衛滿, BC 194) → destroyed by Emperor Wu of Han; Four Commanderies of Han (漢四郡) established
Buyeo · Okjeo · Dongye · Samhan	夫餘 · 沃沮 · 東濊 · 三韓	2nd c. BC~4th c. CE	—	Age of many states. Baekje, Silla and Gaya emerged from the Samhan (Mahan, Jinhan, Byeonhan)
Goguryeo	高句麗	BC 37~668	King Dongmyeong (Jumong)	28 kings — Goguryeo table
Baekje	百濟	BC 18~660	Onjo	31 kings — Baekje table
Silla	新羅	BC 57~935	Bak Hyeokgeose	56 rulers — Three Kingdoms period · Unified period
Gaya	加耶(伽倻)	42~562	Kim Suro (金首露)	Geumgwan Gaya → Dae Gaya. Iron production. Absorbed by Silla (532, 562)
Balhae	渤海	698~926	Dae Joyeong (大祚榮)	Goguryeo refugees + Mohe. “Flourishing land of the East” (海東盛國). Destroyed by the Khitan (Liao, Steppe table) → North–South States period
Later Three Kingdoms	後三國	892~936	Later Baekje: Gyeon Hwon (甄萱, 900) / Later Goguryeo (Taebong): Gung Ye (弓裔, 901)	Regional strongmen rise as Silla collapses
Goryeo	高麗	918~1392	Taejo Wang Geon	34 kings — Goryeo table
Joseon	朝鮮	1392~1897	Taejo Yi Seong-gye	27 kings — Joseon table
Korean Empire	大韓帝國	1897~1910	Emperor Gojong (高宗)	Gwangmu reforms. Eulsa Treaty (1905), Hague envoys (1907), annexation by Japan (1910)
Japanese occupation	日帝强占期	1910~1945	—	March 1st Movement (1919), Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (大韓民國臨時政府, Shanghai 1919; Syngman Rhee, Kim Gu), Cheongsanri (1920), Liberation (15 Aug 1945)
Republic of Korea	大韓民國	1948~	Syngman Rhee (李承晩, first president)	Government established 15 Aug 1948. Korean War (1950~53), April Revolution (1960), May 16 coup (1961), Yushin (1972), Gwangju (1980), June Democratic Struggle (1987)
DPRK (North Korea)	朝鮮民主主義 人民共和國	1948~	Kim Il-sung (金日成)	Founded 9 Sep 1948

Sequence: Gojoseon → many states → Three Kingdoms (Goguryeo · Baekje · Silla · Gaya) → North–South States (Unified Silla · Balhae) → Later Three Kingdoms → Goryeo → Joseon → Korean Empire → Japanese occupation → Republic of Korea

Goguryeo (高句麗, BC 37~668) — 28 kings

#	King	Hanja	Reign	Notes
1	Dongmyeong	東明聖王	BC 37~19	Jumong (朱蒙); founded the state at Jolbon
2	Yuri	瑠璃明王	BC 19~AD 18	Moved capital to Gungnae (3). “Song of Yellow Birds”
3	Daemusin	大武神王	18~44	Campaigns against Buyeo and Lelang. Prince Hodong and the Princess of Lelang
4	Minjung	閔中王	44~48
5	Mobon	慕本王	48~53	Tyrant, assassinated
6	Taejo	太祖大王	53~146	Conquered Okjeo; hereditary kingship fixed in the Gyeru clan — foundations of the ancient state
7	Chadae	次大王	146~165
8	Sindae	新大王	165~179
9	Gogukcheon	故國川王	179~197	Appointed Eul Paso; Jindaebeop (194) — grain relief for the poor
10	Sansang	山上王	197~227	Levirate marriage
11	Dongcheon	東川王	227~248	Invasion by Guanqiu Jian of Wei (244); Hwando fortress falls
12	Jungcheon	中川王	248~270
13	Seocheon	西川王	270~292
14	Bongsang	烽上王	292~300	Tyrant, deposed
15	Micheon	美川王	300~331	Expelled Lelang (313) and Daifang (314) — end of the Han commanderies
16	Gogugwon	故國原王	331~371	Invasion by Murong Huang of Former Yan (342). Killed at Pyongyang by King Geunchogo of Baekje (371)
17	Sosurim	小獸林王	371~384	Adopted Buddhism (372, monk Sundo), founded the Taehak academy (372), promulgated law codes (373)
18	Gogugyang	故國壤王	384~391
19	Gwanggaeto the Great	廣開土大王	391~413	Era name Yeongnak (永樂). Subdued Baekje (396), rescued Silla and repelled the Wa (400), defeated Later Yan. Greatest territorial expansion
20	Jangsu	長壽王	413~491	Gwanggaeto Stele (414). Moved capital to Pyongyang (427), southward expansion, took Baekje’s Hanseong (475) — King Gaero killed
21	Munjamyeong	文咨明王	491~519	Annexed Buyeo (494) — maximum extent
22	Anjang	安臧王	519~531
23	Anwon	安原王	531~545
24	Yangwon	陽原王	545~559	Lost the Han River basin (551, Silla–Baekje alliance)
25	Pyeongwon	平原王	559~590	Ondal and Princess Pyeonggang
26	Yeongyang	嬰陽王	590~618	Sui invasions → Battle of Salsu (612, Eulji Mundeok). Compiled the Sinjip
27	Yeongnyu	榮留王	618~642	Began the Thousand-li Wall. Killed in Yeon Gaesomun’s coup (642)
28	Bojang	寶臧王	642~668	Yeon Gaesomun in power. Siege of Ansi (645) repels Tang Taizong. Fell to the Silla–Tang alliance (668)

Baekje (百濟, BC 18~660) — 31 kings

#	King	Hanja	Reign	Notes
1	Onjo	溫祚王	BC 18~AD 28	Son of Jumong; founded the state at Wiryeseong
2	Daru	多婁王	28~77
3	Giru	己婁王	77~128
4	Gaeru	蓋婁王	128~166
5	Chogo	肖古王	166~214
6	Gusu	仇首王	214~234
7	Saban	沙伴王	234	Deposed right after accession
8	Goi	古爾王	234~286	Six ministries, 16 ranks, official dress code (260) — foundations of the ancient state
9	Chaekgye	責稽王	286~298
10	Bunseo	汾西王	298~304	Attacked Lelang, assassinated
11	Biryu	比流王	304~344
12	Gye	契王	344~346
13	Geunchogo	近肖古王	346~375	Golden age. Unified Mahan; attacked Pyongyang — King Gogugwon killed (371). Seven-Branched Sword to Wa; the Seogi history (Go Heung). Father-to-son succession established
14	Geungusu	近仇首王	375~384
15	Chimnyu	枕流王	384~385	Adopted Buddhism (384, monk Marananta)
16	Jinsa	辰斯王	385~392
17	Asin	阿莘王	392~405	Submitted to Gwanggaeto (396)
18	Jeonji	腆支王	405~420
19	Guisin	久爾辛王	420~427
20	Biyu	毗有王	427~455	Silla–Baekje alliance (433)
21	Gaero	蓋鹵王	455~475	Hanseong falls to King Jangsu; killed (475)
22	Munju	文周王	475~477	Capital moved to Ungjin (Gongju) (475)
23	Samgeun	三斤王	477~479
24	Dongseong	東城王	479~501	Marriage alliance with Silla (493)
25	Muryeong	武寧王	501~523	22 damno districts; revival. Tomb of King Muryeong (excavated 1971)
26	Seong	聖王	523~554	Capital moved to Sabi (Buyeo) (538), state renamed Nambuyeo. Briefly regained the Han River, lost it to Silla → killed at Gwansan fortress (554)
27	Wideok	威德王	554~598
28	Hye	惠王	598~599
29	Beop	法王	599~600
30	Mu	武王	600~641	Mireuksa temple at Iksan; “Song of Seodong”
31	Uija	義慈王	641~660	Took Daeya fortress (642). Fell to the Silla–Tang alliance (660) — Gyebaek at Hwangsanbeol; legend of the three thousand court ladies

Silla — Three Kingdoms period (新羅, BC 57~660) — rulers 1~29

Royal titles: geoseogan (1) → chachaung (2) → isageum (3~16) → maripgan (17~21) → wang “king” (from 22, Jijeung). The “Early period” (上代, rulers 1~28) is the line of the seonggol “sacred bone” rank.

#	Ruler	Hanja	Reign	Notes
1	Hyeokgeose Geoseogan	赫居世居西干	BC 57~AD 4	Bak clan. Saro state
2	Namhae Chachaung	南解次次雄	4~24
3	Yuri Isageum	儒理尼師今	24~57	Six districts reorganized; 17 ranks
4	Talhae Isageum	脫解尼師今	57~80	First of the Seok clan
5	Pasa Isageum	婆娑尼師今	80~112
6	Jima Isageum	祗摩尼師今	112~134
7	Ilseong Isageum	逸聖尼師今	134~154
8	Adalla Isageum	阿達羅尼師今	154~184
9	Beolhyu Isageum	伐休尼師今	184~196
10	Naehae Isageum	奈解尼師今	196~230
11	Jobun Isageum	助賁尼師今	230~247
12	Cheomhae Isageum	沾解尼師今	247~261
13	Michu Isageum	味鄒尼師今	262~284	First of the Kim clan
14	Yurye Isageum	儒禮尼師今	284~298
15	Girim Isageum	基臨尼師今	298~310
16	Heulhae Isageum	訖解尼師今	310~356	Last of the Seok clan
17	Naemul Maripgan	奈勿麻立干	356~402	Hereditary Kim kingship established; title maripgan. Gwanggaeto’s army rescues Silla (400)
18	Silseong Maripgan	實聖麻立干	402~417
19	Nulji Maripgan	訥祗麻立干	417~458	Silla–Baekje alliance (433); Bak Jesang
20	Jabi Maripgan	慈悲麻立干	458~479
21	Soji Maripgan	炤知麻立干	479~500	Post stations, markets
22	Jijeung	智證王	500~514	State name “Silla”, title “king” (503). Conquered Usan (Ulleungdo) (512, Isabu). Banned burial of the living; ox-ploughing
23	Beopheung	法興王	514~540	Law codes (520); Buddhism recognized (527, martyrdom of Ichadon); annexed Geumgwan Gaya (532); era name Geonwon
24	Jinheung	眞興王	540~576	Took the Han River basin (553), conquered Dae Gaya (562), organized the hwarang, boundary steles, Hwangnyongsa temple
25	Jinji	眞智王	576~579	Deposed
26	Jinpyeong	眞平王	579~632	Longest reign (53 yrs). Wongwang’s Five Secular Precepts; diplomacy with Sui and Tang
27	Queen Seondeok	善德女王	632~647	First reigning queen. Cheomseongdae observatory, nine-story pagoda of Hwangnyongsa (645), Bidam’s revolt
28	Queen Jindeok	眞德女王	647~654	Kim Chunchu secures the Silla–Tang alliance (648). Last of the sacred-bone line
29	Taejong Muyeol	太宗武烈王	654~661	Kim Chunchu. First “true bone” (jingol) king. Baekje destroyed (660)

Unified Silla (統一新羅, 661~935) — rulers 30~56

Middle period (中代, 30~36: Muyeol’s line, strong monarchy) / Late period (下代, 37~56: Naemul’s line, succession wars).

#	Ruler	Hanja	Reign	Notes
30	Munmu	文武王	661~681	Goguryeo destroyed (668); Silla–Tang War won (676) — unification of the Three Kingdoms. Underwater tomb at Daewangam
31	Sinmun	神文王	681~692	Crushed Kim Heumdol’s revolt → absolute monarchy. Nine provinces and five secondary capitals, national academy, salary land replaces stipend villages, the Manpasikjeok flute
32	Hyoso	孝昭王	692~702
33	Seongdeok	聖德王	702~737	Golden age. Land grants to peasants (722); relations with Tang restored
34	Hyoseong	孝成王	737~742
35	Gyeongdeok	景德王	742~765	Bulguksa and Seokguram (Kim Daeseong); Sinicization policy; stipend villages restored
36	Hyegong	惠恭王	765~780	Revolt of the 96 gakgan. Assassinated → end of the middle period
37	Seondeok	宣德王	780~785	Naemul’s line; late period begins
38	Wonseong	元聖王	785~798	Civil-service reading examination (788)
39	Soseong	昭聖王	799~800
40	Aejang	哀莊王	800~809
41	Heondeok	憲德王	809~826	Kim Heonchang’s revolt (822)
42	Heungdeok	興德王	826~836	Cheonghaejin garrison (828, Jang Bogo); sumptuary laws
43	Huigang	僖康王	836~838
44	Minae	閔哀王	838~839
45	Sinmu	神武王	839	Enthroned with Jang Bogo’s support
46	Munseong	文聖王	839~857	Jang Bogo assassinated (846)
47	Heonan	憲安王	857~861
48	Gyeongmun	景文王	861~875	Tale of “the king has donkey’s ears”
49	Heongang	憲康王	875~886	“Song of Cheoyong”
50	Jeonggang	定康王	886~887
51	Queen Jinseong	眞聖女王	887~897	The Samdaemok anthology. Peasant uprisings of Wonjong and Aeno (889); Choe Chiwon’s ten-point reform — collapse begins
52	Hyogong	孝恭王	897~912	Later Baekje (900) and Later Goguryeo (901) founded → Later Three Kingdoms
53	Sindeok	神德王	912~917	Bak clan restored
54	Gyeongmyeong	景明王	917~924
55	Gyeongae	景哀王	924~927	Killed by Gyeon Hwon at Poseokjeong
56	Gyeongsun	敬順王	927~935	Surrendered to Goryeo (935) — the “hemp-clad crown prince”

Goryeo (高麗, 918~1392) — 34 kings

#	King	Hanja	Reign	Notes
1	Taejo	太祖	918~943	Wang Geon (王建). Unified the Later Three Kingdoms (936). Ten Injunctions; simgwan and giin hostage systems; northern expansion; marriage alliances
2	Hyejong	惠宗	943~945	Wang Gyu’s revolt
3	Jeongjong	定宗	945~949	Raised the Gwanggun army; tried to move the capital to Seogyeong (Pyongyang)
4	Gwangjong	光宗	949~975	Slave Review Act (956); civil-service examination (958, Ssang Gi); official dress code; imperial titles and era names — royal power strengthened
5	Gyeongjong	景宗	975~981	First stipend land system (976)
6	Seongjong	成宗	981~997	Choe Seungno’s 28-point memorial; 12 provincial governors; two chancelleries and six ministries; national university — Confucian state apparatus
7	Mokjong	穆宗	997~1009	Deposed in Gang Jo’s coup
8	Hyeonjong	顯宗	1009~1031	Second (1010) and third Khitan (Steppe table) invasions → Battle of Gwiju (1019, Gang Gam-chan). First Tripitaka
9	Deokjong	德宗	1031~1034	Began the Thousand-li Wall
10	Jeongjong	靖宗	1034~1046	Completed the Thousand-li Wall
11	Munjong	文宗	1046~1083	Golden age. Revised stipend land; Choe Chung’s private academies (the “Twelve Assemblies”)
12	Sunjong	順宗	1083
13	Seonjong	宣宗	1083~1094	Uicheon founds the Cheontae school
14	Heonjong	獻宗	1094~1095
15	Sukjong	肅宗	1095~1105	Haedong Tongbo coins; Byeolmuban army (Yun Gwan)
16	Yejong	睿宗	1105~1122	Nine northeastern fortresses (1107, Yun Gwan); seven colleges of the national academy
17	Injong	仁宗	1122~1146	Yi Jagyeom’s revolt (1126), Myocheong’s revolt (1135). Samguk Sagi (1145, Kim Busik)
18	Uijong	毅宗	1146~1170	Military coup (1170, Jeong Jungbu) → deposed
19	Myeongjong	明宗	1170~1197	Military regime (Jeong Jungbu → Gyeong Daeseung → Yi Uimin). Uprising of Mangi and Mangsoi
20	Sinjong	神宗	1197~1204	Choe Chungheon seizes power (1196) → 60 years of Choe rule. Manjeok’s slave revolt (1198)
21	Huijong	熙宗	1204~1211
22	Gangjong	康宗	1211~1213
23	Gojong	高宗	1213~1259	Mongol invasions (1231~); court moves to Ganghwa Island (1232); Tripitaka Koreana (1236~51). Choe regime falls (1258)
24	Wonjong	元宗	1259~1274	Return to Gaegyeong (1270); Sambyeolcho rebellion (1270~73)
25	Chungnyeol	忠烈王	1274~1308	Goryeo becomes a Yuan son-in-law state (kings’ names take 忠 “loyal”). Troops levied for the Japan expeditions. Samguk Yusa (1281, Iryeon)
26	Chungseon	忠宣王	1298 / 1308~1313	Mangwondang library in Dadu (Beijing)
27	Chungsuk	忠肅王	1313~1330 / 1332~1339
28	Chunghye	忠惠王	1330~1332 / 1339~1344
29	Chungmok	忠穆王	1344~1348
30	Chungjeong	忠定王	1348~1351
31	Gongmin	恭愍王	1351~1374	Anti-Yuan reforms; recovered Ssangseong (1356); Sin Don’s land and slave reform office. Red Turbans and Japanese pirates
32	U	禑王	1374~1388	Choe Museon’s gunpowder; Battle of Jinpo (1380). Turn-back at Wihwa Island (1388, Yi Seong-gye)
33	Chang	昌王	1388~1389
34	Gongyang	恭讓王	1389~1392	Rank Land Law (1391). End of Goryeo (1392)

Joseon (朝鮮, 1392~1897) — 27 kings

#	King	Hanja	Reign	Notes
1	Taejo	太祖	1392~1398	Yi Seong-gye (李成桂). Capital moved to Hanyang (Seoul) (1394), Gyeongbok Palace. First Strife of the Princes (1398)
2	Jeongjong	定宗	1398~1400	Second Strife of the Princes
3	Taejong	太宗	1400~1418	Yi Bang-won. Six ministries report directly to the king; private armies abolished; ID-tag law; petition drum — royal power strengthened
4	Sejong the Great	世宗	1418~1450	Hangul created (1443), promulgated (1446); Hall of Worthies; four counties and six garrisons in the north; rain gauge and sundial; Nongsa jikseol on farming; Tsushima expedition (1419)
5	Munjong	文宗	1450~1452
6	Danjong	端宗	1452~1455	Coup of 1453. Deposed; later put to death at Yeongwol
7	Sejo	世祖	1455~1468	Grand Prince Suyang. Six martyred ministers (1456). Direct rule through six ministries restored; Gyeongguk daejeon code begun
8	Yejong	睿宗	1468~1469
9	Seongjong	成宗	1469~1494	Gyeongguk daejeon completed (1485); Office of Special Advisers; Dongguk tonggam history; Neo-Confucian literati (sarim) recruited
10	Yeonsangun	燕山君	1494~1506	Literati purges of 1498 and 1504. Deposed in the coup that enthroned Jungjong
11	Jungjong	中宗	1506~1544	Jo Gwangjo’s reforms → purge of 1519. Three Ports Incident (1510)
12	Injong	仁宗	1544~1545	Reigned eight months
13	Myeongjong	明宗	1545~1567	Purge of 1545; regency of Queen Munjeong; the bandit Im Kkeokjeong
14	Seonjo	宣祖	1567~1608	Factional politics begin (1575, Easterners vs Westerners). Imjin War (1592~98) — Yi Sun-sin at Hansando, Myeongnyang, Noryang. Second invasion (1597)
15	Gwanghaegun	光海君	1608~1623	Neutral diplomacy between Ming and Manchus; Uniform Land Tax begun (1608, Gyeonggi); Donguibogam medical text (1610). Deposed in the coup of 1623
16	Injo	仁祖	1623~1649	Yi Gwal’s revolt (1624). Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636~37 — humiliation at Samjeondo
17	Hyojong	孝宗	1649~1659	Plans for a northern expedition; musketeers sent against the Russians (1654, 1658)
18	Hyeonjong	顯宗	1659~1674	Mourning-rites controversies
19	Sukjong	肅宗	1674~1720	Repeated purges of ruling factions; Jang Huibin; Mt. Baekdu boundary stele (1712); Sangpyeong Tongbo coins in circulation
20	Gyeongjong	景宗	1720~1724	Noron vs Soron conflict
21	Yeongjo	英祖	1724~1776	Policy of Impartiality; Equalized Tax Law (1750); dredging of the Cheonggye stream. Death of Crown Prince Sado (1762)
22	Jeongjo	正祖	1776~1800	Royal library Gyujanggak; Jangyongyeong royal guard; Hwaseong fortress at Suwon (1796); abolition of merchant monopolies; training of young officials. Jeong Yak-yong
23	Sunjo	純祖	1800~1834	In-law rule begins (Andong Kim clan); Catholic persecution (1801); Hong Gyeongnae’s rebellion (1811)
24	Heonjong	憲宗	1834~1849	Catholic persecution (1839)
25	Cheoljong	哲宗	1849~1863	The “Ganghwa lad”. Donghak founded (1860, Choe Jeu); peasant uprisings of 1862
26	Gojong	高宗	1863~1907	Regency of the Daewongun (rebuilding of Gyeongbok Palace; French and American expeditions). Treaty of Ganghwa (1876), soldiers’ mutiny (1882), Gapsin coup (1884), Donghak Peasant Revolution and Gabo Reforms (1894), assassination of Queen Min (1895), king’s refuge in the Russian legation (1896), Korean Empire proclaimed (1897), Hague envoys → forced abdication (1907)
27	Sunjong	純宗	1907~1910	Army disbanded (1907); annexation by Japan (1910) — end of the Joseon dynasty (Korean Empire)

• Silla rulers 1~29 belong to the Three Kingdoms period; Unified Silla begins with Munmu (30). The academic division (early / middle / late) is noted at the head of each table.
• Goryeo’s Chungseon, Chungsuk and Chunghye were deposed and restored under Yuan pressure, hence two reign spans each.
• Reign dates are counted from the year of accession, so each overlaps the previous king’s last year.
• Yeonsangun and Gwanghaegun were deposed by coups and never received temple names (祖/宗), remaining “princes” (君).

China

Period / Dynasty	Hanzi	Years	Founder	Notes
Xia	夏	c. BC 2070~1600	Yu the Great (禹)	Legendary / semi-legendary; not yet confirmed archaeologically
Shang (Yin)	商(殷)	c. BC 1600~1046	Tang (湯)	Earliest dynasty attested by oracle-bone inscriptions
Zhou	周	BC 1046~256	King Wu, Ji Fa (武王 姬發)	Western Zhou (~771) / Eastern Zhou (770~)
├ Spring and Autumn	春秋	BC 770~403	—	Royal power fades; hegemons compete (the Five Hegemons)
└ Warring States	戰國	BC 403~221	—	The Seven Warring States; the Hundred Schools of Thought
Qin	秦	BC 221~206	Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng (始皇帝 嬴政)	First unification; collapsed in 15 years
Chu–Han Contention	楚漢	BC 206~202	Xiang Yu (項羽) vs Liu Bang (劉邦)	Xiang Yu, Hegemon-King of Western Chu; Liu Bang wins at Gaixia (垓下)
Han	漢	BC 202~AD 220	Gaozu, Liu Bang (高祖 劉邦)	Western Han (~8) / Xin (新, 8~23, Wang Mang) / Eastern Han (25~220, Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu)
Three Kingdoms	三國	220~280	Wei: Cao Pi (曹丕); Shu: Liu Bei (劉備); Wu: Sun Quan (孫權)	Wei 220, Shu Han 221, Wu 229
Jin	晉	265~420	Emperor Wu, Sima Yan (武帝 司馬炎)	Western Jin (unified 280) / Eastern Jin (317~, Sima Rui)
Sixteen Kingdoms	五胡十六國	304~439	—	Northern non-Han regimes (Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di, Qiang — Steppe table); Eastern Jin in the south
Northern and Southern Dynasties	南北朝	420~589	South: Liu Song, Liu Yu (劉裕) / North: Northern Wei, Tuoba Gui (拓跋珪, Xianbei)	South: Song · Qi · Liang · Chen / North: Northern Wei → Eastern & Western Wei → Northern Qi & Zhou
Sui	隋	581~618	Emperor Wen, Yang Jian (文帝 楊堅)	Reunification (589); Grand Canal; civil-service examinations
Tang	唐	618~907	Gaozu, Li Yuan (高祖 李淵)	Taizong’s Zhenguan era; Wu Zetian (Zhou 周, 690~705). Battle of Talas (751, lost to the Abbasids)
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms	五代十國	907~979	—	Later Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, Zhou + ten regional states
Song	宋	960~1279	Taizu, Zhao Kuangyin (太祖 趙匡胤)	Northern Song (~1127) / Southern Song (1127~). Liao (遼, Khitan), Jin (金, Jurchen), Western Xia (西夏) in the north — Steppe table
Yuan	元	1271~1368	Kublai Khan (世祖 忽必烈)	Successor to the Mongol Empire (1206, Genghis); Southern Song destroyed 1279
Ming	明	1368~1644	Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang (洪武帝 朱元璋)	Yongle moves the capital to Beijing; Zheng He’s voyages
Qing	淸	1636~1912	Hong Taiji (皇太極)	Later Jin (後金, 1616, Nurhaci) → renamed Qing 1636 → entered Beijing 1644 (Shunzhi). Kangxi · Yongzheng · Qianlong golden age. The Manchus descend from the Jurchens — Steppe table
Republic of China	中華民國	1912~	Sun Yat-sen (孫文, provisional president)	Xinhai Revolution (1911). Relocated to Taiwan after 1949
People’s Republic of China	中華人民共和國	1949~	Mao Zedong (毛澤東)	Founded in Beijing after winning the civil war

Sequence: Xia · Shang · Zhou → Spring and Autumn / Warring States → Qin (秦) → Han → Three Kingdoms → Jin (晉) → Northern & Southern Dynasties → Sui · Tang → Five Dynasties → Song (+ Liao · Jin) → Yuan → Ming → Qing → Republic of China → People’s Republic

Japan

Points of contact with Korea: immigrants from the peninsula (Yayoi), Baekje’s transmission of Buddhism and Chinese writing (Kofun · Asuka), Baekgang (663), the Mongol–Goryeo invasions (Kamakura), the Imjin War (right after national unification), annexation (Meiji), liberation (Shōwa).

Period	Kanji	Years	Key figures	Notes
Yayoi	弥生	c. BC 300~AD 300	Himiko (卑弥呼)	Immigrants from Korea bring rice farming, bronze and iron (before this: the Jōmon (縄文) Neolithic culture, pre-state). Himiko of Yamatai (邪馬台国) sends envoys to Wei (239)
Kofun	古墳	c. 300~600	—	Yamato (大和) polity forms; keyhole tombs. Chinese writing, Confucianism and Buddhism (538 or 552) arrive from Baekje
Asuka	飛鳥	592~710	Prince Shōtoku (聖徳太子), Naka no Ōe (中大兄, Emperor Tenji)	Seventeen-Article Constitution (604); embassies to Sui. Taika Reform (大化改新, 645). Battle of Baekgang (663) — failed attempt to restore Baekje. Taihō Code (701). Name “Nihon” (日本) adopted (late 7th c.)
Nara	奈良	710~794	Emperor Shōmu (聖武天皇)	Heijō-kyō (平城京). Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji (752). Kojiki (712), Nihon Shoki (720). Embassies to Tang
Heian	平安	794~1185	Emperor Kanmu (桓武天皇), Fujiwara no Michinaga (藤原道長)	Heian-kyō (平安京, Kyoto). Fujiwara regency (摂関). Kana script; The Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu, c. 1008). Cloistered rule (院政). Taira (平) vs Minamoto (源) — Genpei War → Dan-no-ura (1185)
Kamakura	鎌倉	1185~1333	Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝)	Shōgun (1192) — first shogunate (幕府), warrior rule begins. Hōjō (北条) regents. Mongol invasions (1274, 1281) — the “kamikaze” typhoons. Kamakura Buddhism (Jōdo Shinshū, Zen, Nichiren)
Kenmu Restoration · Northern and Southern Courts	建武·南北朝	1333~1392	Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇)	Failed attempt at direct imperial rule → two rival courts
Muromachi	室町	1336~1573	Ashikaga Takauji (足利尊氏), Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満)	Yoshimitsu’s Golden Pavilion; tally trade with Ming. Ōnin War (応仁の乱, 1467~77) → Warring States
Sengoku (Warring States)	戦国	1467~1590	Oda Nobunaga (織田信長), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉)	Nobunaga at Nagashino (1575, muskets); Honnō-ji incident (1582). Hideyoshi unifies Japan (1590); Imjin War (1592~98)
Edo	江戸	1603~1868	Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康)	Sekigahara (1600) → Edo shogunate. Seclusion (1639; only the Dutch at Dejima, Nagasaki). Korean embassies (12 missions). Genroku culture, ukiyo-e. Perry’s arrival (1853), opening (1854). Return of power to the emperor (大政奉還, 1867)
Meiji	明治	1868~1912	Emperor Meiji, Itō Hirobumi (伊藤博文), Saigō Takamori	Meiji Restoration. Abolition of domains (1871); “conquer Korea” debate; Meiji Constitution (1889). First Sino-Japanese War (1894~95), Russo-Japanese War (1904~05), Eulsa Treaty (1905), annexation of Korea (1910)
Taishō	大正	1912~1926	—	Taishō democracy; Great Kantō earthquake (1923, massacre of Koreans)
Shōwa	昭和	1926~1989	Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), Tōjō Hideki	Manchurian Incident (1931), Second Sino-Japanese War (1937), Pacific War (1941~45). Hiroshima and Nagasaki; surrender (15 Aug 1945). US occupation, peace constitution (1947), San Francisco Treaty (1951). High-growth era
Heisei	平成	1989~2019	—	Bubble bursts (1991~) → “lost decades”; Korea–Japan World Cup (2002); Tōhoku earthquake (2011)
Reiwa	令和	2019~	—

Sequence: Yayoi → Kofun → Asuka → Nara → Heian → Kamakura → Muromachi → Sengoku → Edo → Meiji → Taishō → Shōwa → Heisei → Reiwa

The emperor nominally continues in one unbroken line; real power passes from aristocrats (Fujiwara) → retired emperors (cloistered rule) → warriors (shogunates). Three shogunates: Kamakura, Muromachi, Edo.

Mesopotamia · Egypt

Where civilization begins. The states in this table are absorbed in turn by Persia → Greece → Rome → Islam. The Phoenician script is the source of the Greek alphabet.

Mesopotamia · Near East

Period / State	Years (BC)	Key figures	Notes
Sumerian city-states	c. 3500~2334	Gilgamesh (king of Uruk, legendary)	Uruk, Ur, Lagash. Cuneiform invented (c. 3200) — the first writing. The wheel, base-60 numbers (hours, degrees), ziggurats, the Epic of Gilgamesh (prototype of the flood story)
Akkadian Empire	2334~2154	Sargon	The first empire in history. Semitic speakers unite Sumer
Third Dynasty of Ur	2112~2004	Ur-Nammu	Sumerian revival. Code of Ur-Nammu (300 years before Hammurabi). Ur, Abraham’s home city
Old Babylonia	1894~1595	Hammurabi (1792~1750)	Code of Hammurabi (“an eye for an eye”). The god Marduk. Destroyed by a Hittite raid
Hittites (Anatolia)	1650~1180	Muwatalli II	First use of iron. Battle of Kadesh (1274) vs Ramesses II → first international peace treaty. Destroyed in the Bronze Age collapse (Sea Peoples, c. 1200) — same era as the Trojan War and the fall of Mycenae
Phoenicia	c. 1200~539	—	Tyre, Sidon, Byblos. Mediterranean sea trade. Phonetic alphabet → ancestor of the Greek, Latin and Arabic scripts. Founded Carthage (814)
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian)	911~609	Sargon II, Sennacherib, Ashurbanipal	First to unite the Near East, with iron weapons and cavalry. Brutal mass deportations; destroyed the Kingdom of Israel (722). Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh. Destroyed by Media and Babylon (612, fall of Nineveh)
Neo-Babylonia	626~539	Nebuchadnezzar II (605~562)	Destroyed Jerusalem (586), Babylonian Captivity. Hanging Gardens, Ishtar Gate. Fell to Cyrus (539) → then Persia, Seleucids, Parthia, Sasanians, Islam (Iran · Islam tables)

Egypt

Period	Years (BC)	Key figures	Notes
Early Dynastic	3100~2686	Narmer (Menes)	Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt; Memphis. Hieroglyphs
Old Kingdom	2686~2181	Djoser, Khufu, Khafre	Age of the pyramids — Djoser’s step pyramid (designed by Imhotep), Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Sphinx at Giza. Pharaoh as god
First Intermediate	2181~2055	—	Fragmentation, famine
Middle Kingdom	2055~1650	Mentuhotep II, Senusret III	Reunification from Thebes. Classical age of literature
Second Intermediate	1650~1550	—	Rule of the Hyksos (Semitic newcomers) — horse and chariot introduced
New Kingdom	1550~1069	Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Ramesses II	Egypt’s imperial age. Thutmose III’s greatest extent (to the Euphrates). Akhenaten’s monotheism of Aten (Amarna). Ramesses II (1279~1213): Kadesh, Abu Simbel. Traditional setting of Moses’ Exodus. Sea Peoples
Third Intermediate · Late	1069~332	—	Libyan, Nubian (Kushite 25th dynasty), Assyrian and Persian (Cambyses, 525) rule
Ptolemaic dynasty	305~30	Ptolemy I ~ Cleopatra VII	Greek dynasty after Alexander’s conquest (332) (Greece table). Alexandria
Afterwards	30~	—	Roman province → Eastern Rome → Islam (641) → Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mamluks → Ottomans (1517) → Muhammad Ali dynasty (1805) → British protectorate → Republic of Egypt (1953, Nasser)

• Thanks to the Nile, Egypt kept unified dynasties for 3,000 years; Mesopotamia’s open terrain meant constant turnover of dynasties and peoples.
• The Rosetta Stone (found 1799, deciphered by Champollion 1822) unlocked hieroglyphs; the Behistun inscription unlocked cuneiform.

Judea · Israel

A short thread that runs through the Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome and Islam tables. The root of Christianity and Islam.

Period	Years	Key figures	Notes
Patriarchs (tradition)	c. BC 2000~1500	Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (= Israel)	Abraham from Ur to Canaan. Jacob’s 12 sons = 12 tribes. Migration to Egypt under Joseph
Exodus (tradition)	13th c. BC	Moses	Escape from Egypt; Ten Commandments at Sinai. 40 years in the wilderness
Judges	BC 1200~1020	Joshua, Samson, Samuel	Settlement of Canaan. Conflict with the Philistines (of Sea Peoples stock)
United Monarchy	BC 1020~930	Saul, David, Solomon	David makes Jerusalem the capital (c. 1000). Solomon builds the First Temple
Division	BC 930	—	Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria, 10 tribes) / Southern Kingdom of Judah (Jerusalem, 2 tribes)
Fall of Israel	BC 722	—	Destroyed by Assyria; the ten tribes deported and lost (“the lost ten tribes”)
Fall of Judah · Babylonian Captivity	BC 586~538	Nebuchadnezzar II	Neo-Babylonia destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple. Jewish identity (Law, synagogue) forged in Babylon
Return · Second Temple	BC 538~332	Cyrus, Ezra, Nehemiah	Edict of Cyrus (538) allows return; Second Temple (516). Persian province
Hellenistic rule	BC 332~140	Antiochus IV, Judas Maccabeus	Ptolemies → Seleucids. Antiochus IV’s persecution → Maccabean Revolt (167) — origin of Hanukkah
Hasmonean dynasty	BC 140~37	—	Independent kingdom of the Maccabee family. Pompey takes Jerusalem (63)
Roman rule · Herod	BC 37~AD 66	Herod the Great (37~4), Jesus (c. BC 4~AD 30), Pontius Pilate	Herod’s grand rebuilding of the Second Temple. Crucifixion of Jesus (reign of Tiberius). Paul’s missions
Jewish War	66~73	Vespasian, Titus, Josephus	Second Temple destroyed (70, Titus) — today’s Western Wall is its retaining wall. Fall of Masada (73)
Bar Kokhba revolt	132~135	Hadrian	After suppression, Jews barred from Jerusalem; city renamed Aelia Capitolina, province renamed Palaestina → Diaspora in earnest
Rabbinic Judaism	200~600	—	Mishnah (c. 200), Talmud (Babylonian, c. 500). After the Islamic conquest (638) Jerusalem becomes an Islamic holy city (Dome of the Rock, 691)
Middle Ages	638~1917	—	Crusader kingdom (1099~1291), Mamluks, Ottomans (1517~1917). Expulsions from Europe (England 1290, Spain 1492)
Zionism · Mandate	1897~1948	Herzl, Balfour	Herzl’s The Jewish State; First Zionist Congress (1897). Balfour Declaration (1917). British Mandate (1920~48). Holocaust (1941~45, c. 6 million)
Israel	1948~	Ben-Gurion	Founded 14 May 1948 → first Arab–Israeli war. Suez (1956), Six-Day War (1967: Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza, Golan, Sinai), Yom Kippur (1973). Camp David (1978), Oslo (1993)

Jewish history hinges on the two destructions of the Temple — 586 (Babylon) and 70 (Rome). After the second, the people survived about 1,900 years without a state, through the Law and the community, until 1948.

Greece · Macedon

Period	Years (BC)	Key figures	Content
Minoan civilization	c. 2000~1450	Minos (legendary)	Crete, Knossos. Linear A (undeciphered)
Mycenaean civilization	c. 1600~1100	Agamemnon	Bronze Age mainland Greece. Linear B (Greek; deciphered 1952). Trojan War (c. 1200)
Dark Age	c. 1100~800	—	Mycenaean collapse; writing lost. Iliad and Odyssey passed on orally
Archaic period	c. 800~500	Homer, Hesiod	Phoenician script → Greek alphabet (vowels added). Homeric epics take shape (8th c.). The polis; Olympic Games (776)
Athenian democracy	594 / 508	Solon, Peisistratos, Cleisthenes	Solon’s reforms → tyranny → Cleisthenes’ reforms lay the foundation of democracy. Sparta (Lacedaemon): Lycurgan oligarchy and militarism
Persian Wars	492~479	Darius, Xerxes, Leonidas, Themistocles	First (490): Marathon. Second (480~479): Thermopylae → Salamis → Plataea
Delian League	478	—	Athenian-led naval league. Treasury moved to Athens (454) → de facto Athenian empire
Athens at its height	461~429	Pericles	Parthenon. Socrates (469~399), Sophocles, Herodotus, Thucydides
Peloponnesian War	431~404	Alcibiades, Lysander	Athens vs Sparta; Sparta wins. Right after the defeat, Socrates executed (399, hemlock). His pupil Plato (428~348) founds the Academy (387) — the Republic, theory of Forms. Aristotle (384~322) enters at 17 and studies 20 years until Plato’s death (367~347). Then Theban hegemony (Epaminondas, 371)
Rise of Macedon	359~336	Philip II	Chaeronea (338) subdues Greece; League of Corinth. Philip invites Aristotle, a court physician’s son, to tutor the 13-year-old Alexander (343~340) — at Mieza: Homer, ethics, natural science; young nobles such as Ptolemy study alongside. Philip assassinated (336)
Alexander the Great	336~323	Alexander III (pupil of Aristotle)	On Alexander’s accession Aristotle returns to Athens and founds the Lyceum (335). Issus (333), Gaugamela (331) — conquest of Achaemenid Persia. Reaches western India. Executes Aristotle’s nephew Callisthenes (327) — relations with his teacher cool. Dies at Babylon aged 32 (323)
Wars of the Diadochi	323~281	Ptolemy, Seleucus, Antigonus, Cassander, Lysimachus	The “Successors” fight. On Alexander’s death Athens rises against Macedon → Aristotle, charged with impiety like Socrates, leaves “so that Athens may not sin twice against philosophy” for Chalcis on Euboea, where he dies the next year (322). After Ipsus (301), three kingdoms
Hellenistic kingdoms	c. 300~30		① Ptolemaic (Egypt, 305~30) — Library and Museum of Alexandria ② Seleucid (Syria · Iran, 312~63) — Antioch ③ Antigonid (Macedon, 276~168) — Pella
Hellenistic civilization	323~30	Euclid, Archimedes, Eratosthenes	Fusion of Greek and Eastern culture. Koine Greek (language of the New Testament). Stoics and Epicureans. Aristotle’s works pass from Alexandria → the Arabs → medieval Europe (Aquinas)
Absorption by Rome	168~30	Octavian, Cleopatra VII	Pydna (168) ends the Antigonids → Corinth destroyed (146), Greece a province → Seleucids end (63) → Actium (31), Cleopatra’s suicide (30) = end of the Hellenistic age

• Loss and return of writing: Linear B was an administrative script, so literature lived on in the bards’ oral tradition. After the alphabet arrived, the Homeric text was standardized under Peisistratos (6th c.).
• Three generations of philosophers: Socrates (469~399) → Plato (428~348) → Aristotle (384~322) → Alexander (356~323). Teacher and pupil were both charged with impiety in Athens (399, 323) — a striking symmetry.
• Ptolemy was Alexander’s boyhood friend and bodyguard general; he brought Alexander’s body to Alexandria as a symbol of legitimacy. Cleopatra VII was the first Ptolemy in roughly 275 years to learn Egyptian.
• “Greece” comes from Latin Graecia; the Greeks call themselves Hellenes and their land Hellas — hence “Hellenism”.

Rome (→ Eastern Rome, 1453)

Period	Years	Key figures	Content
Founding · Kingdom	BC 753~509	Romulus & Remus	Founded on the Palatine (21 April). Seven kings: Numa … Tarquinius Superbus. Etruscan influence
Republic founded	BC 509	Brutus (L. Iunius Brutus)	Two consuls, Senate, SPQR. Tribunes of the plebs (494), Twelve Tables (450), Licinian laws (367)
Unification of Italy	BC 343~272	Pyrrhus	Gallic sack (390, “Vae victis”), Samnite Wars, Pyrrhic War (280~275) → fall of Tarentum (272)
Punic Wars	BC 264~146	Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, Cato the Elder	First: Sicily. Second: Hannibal crosses the Alps, Cannae (216) → Zama (202). Third: Carthage destroyed (146) — “Carthago delenda est”
Eastern conquests	BC 168~63	Aemilius Paullus, Mummius, Pompey	Pydna (168), Corinth (146), Syria (63) — the Hellenistic world absorbed
Crisis of the Republic	BC 133~60	The Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, Spartacus	Failed land reform (133~121), Marius’ professional army, Sulla’s dictatorship (82~79), slave revolt (73~71)
First Triumvirate	BC 60	Caesar, Pompey, Crassus	Caesar conquers Gaul (58~50), Gallic Wars. Crassus killed by the Parthians at Carrhae (53) → the triumvirate collapses; Pompey sides with the Senate
Caesar’s dictatorship	BC 49~44	Caesar, Cleopatra VII, Brutus and Cassius	Crossing of the Rubicon (Jan 49) — defying the Senate’s order to disband his army, Caesar crosses the provincial boundary = civil war. At the river: “If I cross, misery for mankind; if I do not, ruin for me” (a common rendering of Plutarch) → “The die is cast” (Alea iacta est). Defeats Pompey at Pharsalus (48); Pompey flees to Egypt and is murdered. Pursuing him to Alexandria, Caesar allies with and becomes the lover of Cleopatra (48), installing her as pharaoh in the dynastic struggle. Their son Caesarion born (47). Cleopatra brings him to Rome (46~44), living in Caesar’s villa. Dictator for life (Feb 44) → assassinated on the Ides of March (15 Mar 44) at the Senate’s meeting in the Theatre of Pompey, 23 stab wounds. Ringleaders: Marcus Brutus (Caesar’s favourite; rumoured son of his mistress), Cassius Longinus (the plot’s real architect, Brutus’ brother-in-law), Decimus Brutus (Caesar’s trusted general, who lured him to the meeting that day) — some 60 conspirators. Dying words “Et tu, Brute?” (Shakespeare; Suetonius reports Greek “You too, child?”). Cleopatra soon returns to Egypt
Second Triumvirate · Actium	BC 43~30	Octavian, Antony, Lepidus, Cleopatra VII	Caesar’s adopted son Octavian (19), Antony and Lepidus form the triumvirate (43). Philippi (42): Brutus and Cassius defeated (both commit suicide). Antony takes the East, meets Cleopatra at Tarsus (41) and becomes her lover — three children (twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, Ptolemy Philadelphus). He marries and then abandons Octavian’s sister Octavia; Donations of Alexandria (34) — Rome’s eastern lands parcelled out to Cleopatra and her children, Caesarion proclaimed Caesar’s legitimate son → Roman outrage; Octavian declares war on Cleopatra (a foreign queen, not on Antony) (32). Battle of Actium (2 Sep 31), off western Greece: Octavian’s fleet (commanded by Agrippa) vs the combined fleet of Antony and Cleopatra. Mid-battle Cleopatra’s squadron withdraws and Antony follows her → the remaining fleet and army surrender. Next year Octavian enters Alexandria (Aug 30) → Antony’s suicide (on a false report of Cleopatra’s death); Cleopatra, failing to win Octavian over, kills herself rather than be paraded in his triumph (aged 39; the asp tradition). Caesarion (17) is executed — “two Caesars is one too many”. Antony’s three children are taken to Rome and raised by Octavia; only Selene survives, as queen of Mauretania. End of the Ptolemies; Egypt becomes a Roman province (30)
The Principate begins	BC 27~AD 14	Augustus (Octavian)	First Roman emperor, 41 years of rule. ① Form of power: in 27 BC he stages a “return” of authority to the Senate → the Senate grants him the title “Augustus” (the revered one). Avoiding “king” or “dictator”, he styles himself princeps (first citizen) — one-man rule behind a republican façade (the Principate). Holds tribunician power (23), the chief priesthood (12), “Father of the Country” (2). ② Military: 28 standing legions; veterans’ pension fund binds the army to the state; Praetorian Guard created. Frontier fixed on the Rhine–Danube; after Teutoburg (AD 9; Varus loses three legions — “Varus, give me back my legions”) Germania is abandoned. ③ Administration: provinces split into imperial and senatorial; census; permanent bureaucracy; fire brigade and night watch for Rome; postal relay; roads and aqueducts. ④ The city: “I found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble” — Forum of Augustus, Pantheon (Agrippa), Ara Pacis. ⑤ Culture: patronage through Maecenas — Virgil’s Aeneid, Horace, Livy’s History. Ovid exiled. ⑥ Society: Julian laws on marriage and adultery; encouragement of childbearing. ⑦ Opens the Pax Romana (200 years of peace). The month of August bears his name. Jesus born (c. 4 BC) in his reign. Dies at Nola, AD 14, aged 75; succeeded by his adopted son Tiberius — every later emperor bears “Caesar Augustus” as a title
Julio-Claudian dynasty	14~68	Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero	Crucifixion of Jesus (c. 30). Nero’s Great Fire (64), suicide (68)
Year of the Four Emperors · Flavians	69~96	Vespasian, Titus, Domitian	Colosseum (80), fall of Jerusalem (70), Pompeii buried (79)
The Five Good Emperors — zenith	96~180	① Nerva (96~98) ② Trajan (98~117) ③ Hadrian (117~138) ④ Antoninus Pius (138~161) ⑤ Marcus Aurelius (161~180)	Adoptive succession. Trajan’s greatest extent (Dacia, Mesopotamia). Hadrian’s Wall, the Pantheon. Gibbon: the period “most happy and prosperous” for mankind
Marcus Aurelius	161~180	Co-emperor Lucius Verus	The philosopher-emperor, a Stoic. Meditations (“To himself”) — written in Greek. Parthian War, Antonine Plague (165~), Marcomannic Wars (166~180) keep him on the Danube for most of his reign. Dies at Vindobona (Vienna)
Commodus · Severan dynasty	180~235	Commodus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla	Hereditary succession to a tyrannical son begins the decline. Edict of Caracalla (212): citizenship for all free men
Barracks emperors (Crisis of the Third Century)	235~284	Valerian, Aurelian	26 emperors in 50 years. Valerian captured by the Sasanians (260). Aurelian reunites the empire (274)
Dominate · Tetrarchy	284~305	Diocletian	Two Augusti + two Caesars (293) — prototype of the East–West split. Last great persecution of Christians (303)
Constantine the Great	306~337	Constantine I	Milvian Bridge (312) → Edict of Milan (313) legalizes Christianity. Council of Nicaea (325). Constantinople founded (330) on old Byzantium
Theodosius I · division	379~395	Theodosius I; Arcadius (East), Honorius (West)	Christianity the state religion (380/392); Olympic Games abolished (393). Permanent division (395)
Fall of the West	395~476	Alaric, Aetius, Attila, Odoacer, Romulus Augustulus	Rome sacked (410 Visigoths, 455 Vandals). Catalaunian Fields (451, against Attila’s Huns — Steppe table). 476: fall — the Germanic general Odoacer deposes the last emperor, who bears the founder’s name Romulus. Each people’s route is in the Germanic table; the West continues in the Western Europe table
East: Justinian the Great	527~565	Empress Theodora, Belisarius	Corpus Iuris Civilis, Hagia Sophia (537). Vandals and Ostrogoths conquered; Mediterranean reunited. Nika riots (532), plague (541)
Heraclius · Hellenization	610~641	Heraclius	Crushes the Sasanians (628), then Islam erupts → Yarmouk (636): Syria and Egypt lost. Greek becomes the official language; the emperor is basileus. Later called the “Byzantine Empire”, but to the end it called itself Roman
Arab sieges repelled · Iconoclasm	674~843	Leo III, Irene	Sieges of Constantinople repelled (674~678, 717~718) with “Greek fire”. Iconoclast controversy (726~843). Charlemagne’s coronation as western emperor (800) is a challenge to the East
Macedonian dynasty — Byzantine zenith	867~1056	Basil II “the Bulgar-slayer” (976~1025)	Conquest of Bulgaria (1018); greatest recovery of territory. Conversion of Kievan Rus’ (988). Great Schism (1054)
Manzikert · Komnenos dynasty	1071~1185	Romanos IV, Alexios I, Anna Komnene	Manzikert (1071): defeat by the Seljuk Turks, loss of Anatolia → appeal that launches the First Crusade (1096). The Alexiad
Fourth Crusade · Latin Empire	1204~1261	Enrico Dandolo	1204: sack of Constantinople by fellow Christians. Latin Empire; the Byzantine court in exile at Nicaea
Palaiologos dynasty — the last	1261~1453	Michael VIII	City recovered (1261) but the empire reduced to a city-state. The Ottoman Turks (1299~), risen in Anatolia, take the Balkans and besiege Constantinople — Bayezid I (1394~1402, lifted by Timur’s victory at Ankara), Murad II (1422)
Fall of the East	29 May 1453	Constantine XI Palaiologos (killed), Ottoman sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror”	The 21-year-old sultan of the Ottoman Empire (a Turkic Islamic state, Islam table) besieges the city for 53 days with some 80,000 men. The Hungarian engineer Urban’s great cannon breaches the triple walls; some 70 ships are hauled overland into the chained-off Golden Horn. Defenders about 7,000. The last emperor strips off his imperial insignia and dies fighting. End of the Roman Empire after 2,206 years (BC 753~1453). Greek scholars flee west → Renaissance. Hagia Sophia becomes a mosque. The city becomes the Ottoman capital, later Istanbul

• “Byzantine Empire” is a label coined in 1557 by Hieronymus Wolf; its people called it the Roman Empire. After the conquest the Ottoman sultans also used the title Kayser-i Rûm (Caesar of Rome), and Russia claimed to be the “Third Rome”.
• West: Latin → Romance languages; East: Greek — a split that persists today.
• Cleopatra was a Macedonian Greek; her ties to Caesar and to Antony were both political choices to keep Egypt from becoming a Roman province. Both times she ended up on the losing side of a Roman civil war.

The Germanic Migrations

The bridge between 476 in the Rome table and the “Germanic kingdoms” row of the Western Europe table. The Germanic peoples were Indo-European farmers and warriors from Scandinavia and northern Germany — a different category from the mounted steppe nomads (Steppe table). Around 370 the Huns crossed the Volga and drove the Goths westward, setting off a chain of migrations; Adrianople (378, where the eastern emperor Valens fell) was the opening shot and the fall of the West (476) the conclusion.

People	Route	State founded	Fate
Goths (common origin)	Scandinavia → Vistula → north shore of the Black Sea (3rd c.)	—	Split into Visigoths and Ostrogoths under Hunnic pressure (c. 370)
Visigoths	Cross the Danube (376) → Adrianople (378) → Balkans → Italy: Alaric sacks Rome (410) → southern Gaul	Kingdom of Toulouse (418) → defeated by the Franks at Vouillé (507), withdraw to Iberia → Kingdom of Toledo	Destroyed by Islam (Tariq) at Guadalete (711). Survivors in Asturias begin the Reconquista
Ostrogoths	Under Hunnic rule, then independent after Attila’s death → Pannonia → Italy	Theodoric the Great kills Odoacer and rules from Ravenna (493~553), keeping Roman institutions; employs Boethius	Destroyed in Justinian’s Gothic War (535~554; Belisarius, Narses)
Vandals	Cross the Rhine (406) → Gaul → Iberia (one theory derives “Andalusia” from them) → Gaiseric crosses to North Africa (429)	Vandal Kingdom (435~534, Carthage). Mediterranean piracy; sack of Rome (455) — origin of the word “vandalism”	Destroyed by Belisarius (534)
Burgundians	Middle Rhine (411) → crushed by Hunnic mercenaries (436; the setting of the Nibelungenlied) → Rhône valley and Savoy	Kingdom of Burgundy (~534, Lyon)	Absorbed by the Franks (534). Survives as the place-name Burgundy
Franks	Gradual expansion from the lower Rhine into Gaul (3rd~5th c.) — expansion rather than migration	Clovis (481~511): defeats the last Roman forces at Soissons (486), converts to Catholicism (496), defeats Alemanni and Visigoths → Merovingians → Carolingians	The only kingdom to survive and grow — parent of France, Germany and the Low Countries. Origin of the name “France”
Anglo-Saxons (Angles · Saxons · Jutes)	Northern Germany and Denmark → Britain (c. 449, after the Roman withdrawal)	Seven kingdoms (Heptarchy: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria …) → Alfred the Great repels the Vikings → Kingdom of England (927)	The Norman Conquest (1066) changes the dynasty; people and language survive. “England” = land of the Angles
Lombards	Pannonia → northern Italy (568, Alboin) — the last wave of the migrations	Lombard Kingdom (568~774, Pavia). Threatens the Papal States → the pope appeals to the Franks	Destroyed by Charlemagne (774). Survives as the place-name Lombardy
Suebi · Alemanni	Suebi: north-western Iberia (409) / Alemanni: upper Rhine and Alsace	Suebic Kingdom (Galicia) / Alemannia	Absorbed by the Visigoths (585) and Franks (496) respectively. Origin of the French name for Germany, Allemagne

• The Goths, Vandals and Lombards were Arian Christians; only the Franks converted to Catholicism — and the support of the Roman population and Church is the decisive reason the Franks survived.
• The conquerors were few, the conquered Romans many: within two or three centuries the Germanic languages vanished into Latin (the Romance languages). Germanic speech survived only where Romanization had been weak — Britain (English) and east of the Rhine.
• The migrating peoples survive not as states but as place-names: Burgundy, Lombardy, England, France, Andalusia (one theory), Allemagne.
• The Huns themselves never settled and scattered after Attila’s death (453) — Steppe table.

Western Europe (Middle Ages → Modern)

The western half, cut off at 476 in the Rome table. Roman inheritance (Latin, law, the Church) fuses with the Germanic kingdoms into medieval Europe, then passes through Renaissance, Reformation and revolution into the modern age.

Period	Years	Key figures	Notes
Germanic kingdoms	476~750	Theodoric (Ostrogoths), Clovis (Franks)	Routes and fates of each people: Germanic table. Visigoths (Iberia), Ostrogoths and Lombards (Italy), Vandals (North Africa), Anglo-Saxons (Britain). Clovis converts to Catholicism (496) — the Franks bind themselves to the Church. Benedictine order (529)
Carolingians	751~987	Charles Martel, Pepin III, Charlemagne	Charles Martel halts Islam at Tours-Poitiers (732). Donation of Pepin (756) → Papal States. Charlemagne crowned emperor of the West (800); Carolingian Renaissance. Treaty of Verdun (843) — three-way split, prototype of France, Germany and Italy
Vikings · Normans	793~1066	Rollo, William the Conqueror	Raid on Lindisfarne (793). Normandy (911), Kievan Rus’ (862, Rurik), Sicily. Hastings (1066) — Norman conquest of England
Holy Roman Empire	962~1806	Otto I, Henry IV, Frederick I and II	Otto crowned (962). Walk to Canossa (1077) — Investiture Controversy (emperor vs Pope Gregory VII). In practice a federation of German princes
Feudal society · Crusades	1000~1300	Urban II, Richard I, Thomas Aquinas	Feudalism (lord–knight–serf), the manor. Crusades (1096~1291). Universities (Bologna, Paris, Oxford), scholasticism, Gothic cathedrals (Chartres, Notre-Dame). Magna Carta (1215, King John). Hanseatic League, Italian city-states
Late medieval crisis	1300~1453	Joan of Arc	Black Death (1347~51) kills a third of the population. Avignon Papacy (1309~77), Western Schism. Hundred Years’ War (1337~1453) England vs France — Joan of Arc (1429). Wars of the Roses (1455~85)
Renaissance	14th~16th c.	Medici, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Gutenberg	Begins in Florence; revival of antiquity, humanism. Byzantine scholars arrive (1453). Movable-type printing (c. 1450). Erasmus
Age of Exploration	1415~1600	Henry the Navigator, Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan	Portuguese route round Africa. 1492: Columbus reaches the New World; the same year Granada falls (Reconquista complete). Da Gama reaches India (1498); Magellan’s circumnavigation (1519~22). Treaty of Tordesillas (1494). Cortés and Pizarro (Americas table)
Reformation	1517~1648	Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII, Loyola	Luther’s 95 Theses (1517); Calvin’s Geneva; Henry VIII’s Church of England (1534). Catholic Counter-Reformation (Trent, Jesuits). Thirty Years’ War (1618~48) → Peace of Westphalia — the modern system of sovereign states
Absolutism	16th~18th c.	Philip II, Elizabeth I, Louis XIV, Peter the Great	Spanish Armada defeated (1588). Louis XIV (1643~1715), “L’état, c’est moi”, Versailles. England goes the other way: Civil War (1642~49; Charles I executed; Cromwell) → Glorious Revolution (1688), Bill of Rights (1689) → constitutional monarchy
Scientific Revolution · Enlightenment	1543~1789	Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau	Heliocentrism (1543); Newton’s Principia (1687). Locke’s social contract, Montesquieu’s separation of powers, Rousseau’s Social Contract, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776)
Age of Revolution	1776~1815	Washington, Robespierre, Napoleon	American independence (1776). French Revolution (1789): Bastille, Declaration of Rights, Louis XVI executed (1793), the Terror. Napoleon takes power (1799), emperor (1804), Napoleonic Code, Holy Roman Empire dissolved (1806), disaster in Russia (1812), Waterloo (1815) → Congress of Vienna
Industrial Revolution · nation-states	1760~1914	Watt, Bismarck, Garibaldi, Queen Victoria	British industrialization (steam engine 1776, railway 1825). Revolutions of 1848. Italian unification (1861), German unification (1871). Marx’s Capital (1867). Imperialism; Berlin Conference partitions Africa (1884)
World wars · Cold War	1914~1991	Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, de Gaulle	World War I (1914~18) → Versailles (1919); Russian Revolution (1917); the Austrian, Ottoman, German and Russian empires dissolve. Great Depression (1929). World War II (1939~45), Holocaust. Cold War; Berlin Wall (1961~1989); EU (1993); Soviet Union dissolved (1991)

• The rhythm of European history: fall of Rome → medieval Church + Germanic kingdoms → Renaissance and Reformation dissolve Church authority → absolutism → revolutions make nation-states → industrialization and imperialism → world wars.
• The Holy Roman Empire, as Voltaire said, was “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire”, yet it lasted 844 years (962~1806) until Napoleon dissolved it.

Iran (Persia · Parthia · Sasanians → modern Iran)

Persia ≠ Parthia. Both Iranian, but different peoples and dynasties. The line of rule over Iran: Media → Achaemenid Persia → Seleucids (Greek) → Parthia → Sasanian Persia → Islam → … → Safavids → Qajars → Pahlavis → Islamic Republic. The Greeks fought the Achaemenids; Rome fought Parthia and the Sasanians.

Period / Dynasty	Years	Founder	Notes
Elam	c. BC 2700~539	—	Susa. Oldest civilization of the Iranian plateau
Media	c. BC 678~550	Deioces (tradition)	Iranian. Destroyed Assyria (612, Nineveh). Absorbed by Cyrus
Achaemenid Persia	BC 550~330	Cyrus II	Conquest of Babylon (539), liberation of the Jews. Cambyses conquers Egypt (525). Darius I (522~486): greatest extent, satrapies, the Royal Road, Persepolis. Xerxes (486~465): failed invasion of Greece. Zoroastrianism. Darius III → destroyed by Alexander (330)
Seleucids	BC 312~63	Seleucus I	Greek Hellenistic kingdom ruling Iran. Parthia and (Greek) Bactria break away in the east
Parthia (Arsacid dynasty)	BC 247~AD 224	Arsaces I	The Parni (Iranian nomads) break from the Seleucids. Mithridates II (BC 124~91) at its height; Silk Road middlemen (the “Anxi” 安息 of Chinese records). Rome’s eastern rival — Crassus killed at Carrhae (BC 53), the “Parthian shot”. Fought Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. Capital Ctesiphon
Sasanian Persia	AD 224~651	Ardashir I	Persians overthrow Parthia and claim the Achaemenid legacy. Origin of the name “Iran”. Shapur I captures Valerian (260). Khosrow I Anushirvan (531~579) at its height. Khosrow II takes Jerusalem (614) → crushed by Heraclius (628). Zoroastrian state religion. Qadisiyyah (636), Nahavand (642) → death of Yazdegerd III; destroyed by Islam (651)
Islamic rule · Iranian dynasties	651~1037	—	Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids (819~999; Persian revival, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh), Buyids (Shia; take Baghdad 945)
Seljuks · Mongols · Timur	1037~1501	Toghrul Beg / Hulagu / Timur	Turkic Seljuks (1037~1194). Mongol Ilkhanate (1256~1335; sack of Baghdad 1258). Timurid Empire (1370~1507, Samarkand) — Mongol table
Safavids	1501~1736	Ismail I	Twelver Shia made the state religion — origin of modern Iranian identity. Abbas I (1588~1629) moves the capital to Isfahan; golden age. Long rivalry with the Ottomans (Chaldiran 1514)
Afsharids · Zands	1736~1789	Nader Shah / Karim Khan Zand	Nader Shah sacks Delhi (1739), carries off the Peacock Throne
Qajars	1789~1925	Agha Mohammad Khan	Capital Tehran. Russian and British spheres of influence (the Great Game). Constitutional Revolution (1906)
Pahlavis	1925~1979	Reza Shah	Country name Persia → Iran (1935, for international use). Mohammad Reza Shah — Mosaddegh overthrown (1953, US–UK involvement); White Revolution
Islamic Republic of Iran	1979~	Khomeini	Islamic Revolution (1979); Iran–Iraq War (1980~88)

• Old Persian (Achaemenid) was written in cuneiform, Middle Persian (Parthian, Sasanian) in Aramaic-derived scripts, and New Persian (Farsi) after Islam in the Arabic script.
• “Persia” is what the Greeks called the whole country after the region of Pārsa (today’s Fars). The native name since the Sasanians is “Iran” (Ērān, “land of the Aryans”).

The Islamic World (→ Ottomans)

The Ottoman Turks belong here. A Turkic people founded an Islamic state and from 1517 claimed the caliphate. But after taking Constantinople in 1453 they also styled themselves “Caesar of Rome” (Kayser-i Rûm), which ties them to the last line of the Eastern Roman table. Political lineage Roman, civilizational lineage Islamic.

Period / Dynasty	Years	Founder	Notes
Muhammad	570~632	—	Born in Mecca (570). Revelation (610). Hijra (622, migration to Medina) = year 1 of the Islamic calendar. Conquest of Mecca (630). The Qur’an
Rashidun (Rightly Guided) caliphs	632~661	Abu Bakr → Umar → Uthman → Ali	The great conquests: Yarmouk (636) takes Syria from Eastern Rome; Qadisiyyah (636) and Nahavand (642) defeat the Sasanians; Egypt (641). Sasanians destroyed (651). Ali assassinated (661)
Umayyad caliphate	661~750	Muawiya	Capital Damascus. Karbala (680): martyrdom of Husayn → Sunni–Shia split. Conquest of Iberia (711, Tariq); stopped at Tours-Poitiers (732); failed siege of Constantinople (717~718). Arab supremacism
Abbasid caliphate	750~1258	Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah	Baghdad (762, al-Mansur). Harun al-Rashid (786~809): golden age, The Thousand and One Nights. House of Wisdom, translation of Greek learning. Battle of Talas (751) defeats the Tang; papermaking arrives. From the 9th c. regional dynasties break away; the caliph becomes a figurehead
Umayyads of Córdoba	756~1031	Abd al-Rahman I	Al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman III proclaims himself caliph (929). Great Mosque of Córdoba. Then the taifa states → Reconquista → fall of Nasrid Granada (1492)
Fatimids	909~1171	Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi	Shia (Ismaili) caliphate. Founds Cairo (969), al-Azhar
Seljuk Turks	1037~1194	Toghrul Beg	Turkic Sunnis. Enter Baghdad (1055), take the title “sultan”. Manzikert (1071): Alp Arslan captures the Byzantine emperor → Turkification of Anatolia begins. Sultanate of Rum (1077~1308, Konya). Nizam al-Mulk, the madrasa
Crusades · Ayyubids	1096~1291 / 1171~1250	Saladin	First Crusade takes Jerusalem (1099). Saladin (a Kurd) abolishes the Fatimids; Battle of Hattin (1187) recovers Jerusalem. Faces Richard I in the Third Crusade
Mamluks	1250~1517	Aybak / Baybars	Sultanate of slave-soldiers (Cairo). Ain Jalut (1260): first defeat of the Mongols. Fall of Acre (1291) ends the Crusades
The Mongol shock	1258	Hulagu	Sack of Baghdad (1258), the Abbasid caliph killed — end of the Islamic golden age. The Ilkhanate (1256~1335) later converts to Islam (Ghazan Khan, 1295) — Mongol table
Timurid Empire	1370~1507	Timur (Tamerlane)	Samarkand. Battle of Ankara (1402) captures the Ottoman Bayezid I. His descendant Babur → the Mughal Empire in India (1526)
Ottoman Empire	1299~1922	Osman I	Bursa → Edirne → Constantinople (1453, Mehmed II). Selim I conquers the Mamluks (1517) → claims the caliphate and guardianship of Mecca and Medina. Suleiman the Magnificent (1520~66): zenith — Mohács (1526) Hungary, first siege of Vienna (1529), defeat at Lepanto (1571). Decline after the failed second siege of Vienna (1683). Tanzimat reforms (1839~); “the sick man of Europe”. Defeat in WWI → sultanate abolished (1922), Republic of Turkey (1923, Atatürk), caliphate abolished (1924)
(ref.) Mughal Empire	1526~1857	Babur	India — India table
(ref.) Safavids	1501~1736	Ismail I	Iran — Iran table. Sunni Ottomans vs Shia Safavids

• The three Islamic empires of the 16th century: Ottomans (Anatolia, Balkans, Arab lands; Sunni) / Safavids (Iran; Shia) / Mughals (India; Sunni).
• The caliphate (“successorship”): Rashidun → Umayyads → Abbasids (fell 1258; nominal line continued in Cairo) → Ottomans (1517~1924).
• In names, “ibn” means “son of” and “abu” means “father of”.

Steppe Nomads (before the Mongols)

The steppe belt running some 8,000 km from Manchuria to Hungary was a single highway. The mounted peoples who rode out of it were recorded as “barbarians” (胡) by China (China table) and by the West alike; pushed out in the east, they flowed west to shake Persia, Rome and Europe. The climax is the Mongol Empire. The Germanic peoples were not nomads and have their own Germanic table.

People	Characters / native name	Period	State · leaders	Civilizations they struck · notes
Scythians	Σκύθαι	8th~3rd c. BC	Steppes north of the Black Sea	The first mounted nomadic culture (horse archery without stirrups, golden animal-style art). Foiled Darius I’s invasion by scorched earth (BC 513). Recorded by Herodotus
Xiongnu	匈奴	3rd c. BC~1st c. CE	United by Modu Chanyu (冒頓單于, BC 209~174)	The reason Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall. Siege of Baideng (BC 200): Han Gaozu humiliated → marriage alliances and tribute. Emperor Wu’s counter-offensive (BC 129~119; Wei Qing, Huo Qubing); Zhang Qian sent to the Western Regions. Split north/south (48) → southern Xiongnu submit to Han, northern Xiongnu migrate west (91) — possibly the ancestors of the Huns. Liu Yuan, a Xiongnu, founds the first of the Sixteen Kingdoms (304)
Xianbei	鮮卑	2nd~6th c.	Murong (慕容), Tuoba (拓跋), Yuwen (宇文) clans. Tuoba Northern Wei (北魏, 386~534)	Took over the Mongolian steppe after the Xiongnu. Northern Wei unifies the north (439) → Northern and Southern Dynasties. Emperor Xiaowen’s Sinicization (capital to Luoyang 494; Xianbei language and surnames banned). Eastern and Western Wei → Northern Qi and Zhou. Both Yang Jian of Sui and Li Yuan of Tang came from the part-Xianbei Guanlong aristocracy — Sui and Tang were half-steppe empires
Huns	Huns	4th~5th c.	Attila (434~453) — “the Scourge of God” (Flagellum Dei)	Cross the Volga c. 370 and crush the Ostrogoths → trigger the Germanic migrations (Germanic table). Extract huge tribute from Eastern Rome. Stopped at the Catalaunian Fields (451) by Aetius and the Visigoths. Invade Italy (452) → withdraw after meeting Pope Leo I. Attila dies suddenly (453) → empire collapses at Nedao (454)
Rouran → Avars	柔然 / Avars	5th~8th c.	Rouran: Mongolian steppe / Avars: Avar Khaganate in Pannonia (567~796)	The Rouran were the first to use the title khagan (可汗) — origin of khan/khagan. Destroyed by the Türks (552). The Avars (possibly Rouran remnants) press Eastern Rome and the Franks; siege of Constantinople (626, with the Sasanians). Destroyed by Charlemagne (796)
Göktürks	突厥	552~744	Bumin Khagan (土門) overthrows the Rouran. Split into Eastern and Western Türks (583)	The first Turkic empire — from Manchuria to the Caspian. The Western Türks ally with Eastern Rome against the Sasanians. Tang Taizong destroys the Eastern Türks (630) and takes the title “Heavenly Khagan” (天可汗). The Second Türk Khaganate (682~744) leaves the Orkhon inscriptions — the earliest Turkic writing. Uyghurs, Seljuks, Ottomans and modern Türkiye all descend from this Turkic line (Islam table)
Uyghurs	回鶻	744~840	Uyghur Khaganate (Orkhon)	Overthrow the Türks. Help the Tang crush the An Lushan rebellion (757, 763) → the silk-for-horses trade drains the Tang treasury. Manichaeism as state religion. Destroyed by the Kyrgyz (840) → migrate to the Tarim Basin (today’s Xinjiang), settle down, later Islamized
Khazars · Bulgars · Magyars	Khazars / Bulgars / Magyars	7th~10th c.	Khazar Khaganate (650~969, north of the Caspian and Black Seas) / Danube Bulgaria (681, Asparuh) / Hungary (896, Árpád)	Khazars: the only steppe empire to convert to Judaism; blocked Islam’s advance north into Europe. Bulgars: Slavicized into today’s Bulgaria; three centuries of war with Eastern Rome. Magyars: raid western Europe → defeated at Lechfeld (955, Otto I), settle; Stephen I converts to Catholicism (1000) → Kingdom of Hungary. The only non-Indo-European nations left in Europe
Khitan → Liao	契丹 → 遼	916~1125	Yelü Abaoji (耶律阿保機)	Destroy Balhae (926) (Korea table). Take the Sixteen Prefectures (936). Invade Goryeo (993: Seo Hui’s negotiation; 1010; 1018~19: Battle of Gwiju). Treaty of Chanyuan (1004) extracts annual tribute from the Song. Destroyed by the Jurchens → Yelü Dashi’s Western Liao (Kara-Khitai, 1124~1218). Origin of the Western name for China, “Cathay”, and of Russian Kitai
Jurchens → Jin	女眞 → 金	1115~1234	Wanyan Aguda (完顏阿骨打)	Destroy the Liao (1125). Jingkang Incident (1127) — Northern Song falls; emperors Huizong and Qinzong taken captive. Demand submission from Goryeo (1126, accepted by Yi Jagyeom). Rule northern China, Sinicize. Destroyed by the Mongols (1234). Their descendants are the Manchus
Tanguts → Western Xia	党項 → 西夏	1038~1227	Li Yuanhao (李元昊)	Tibetan-related. Coexist with Song, Liao and Jin; their own Tangut script. Destroyed in Genghis Khan’s last campaign (1227) — Genghis died during it
→ Mongol Empire	蒙古	1206~	Genghis Khan	The apex of the nomad empires — Mongol table
Oirats · Tatars · Dzungars	瓦剌 · 韃靼 · 準噶爾	15th~18th c.	Esen Taishi / Altan Khan / Galdan	Esen’s Tumu Crisis (1449) — the Ming emperor Yingzong captured. Altan Khan makes peace with the Ming (1571), adopts Tibetan Buddhism and confers the title “Dalai Lama”. The Dzungars (1630s~1758), the last steppe empire, are wiped out by the Qing under Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong (1758). Gunpowder ends the military superiority of the mounted nomad
Manchus → Qing	滿洲 → 淸	1616~1912	Nurhaci (Later Jin, 1616), Hong Taiji (state renamed Qing, people renamed Manchu, 1635~36)	Descendants of the Jurchens. The Eight Banners. Invade Joseon (1627; 1636~37). Enter Beijing (1644) and rule all China — the Qing of the China table. Bind Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang together: the template of modern China’s territory. Sinicized → the Manchu language is now virtually extinct

• East to west: Xiongnu (3rd c. BC) → Huns (4th c.), Rouran (5th c.) → Avars (6th c.) — a people pushed off the Mongolian steppe tends to reappear in Europe two or three centuries later.
• Conquest dynasties Sinicize: Northern Wei, Liao, Jin and Qing were all absorbed by Chinese culture after ruling China. Only the Yuan kept a Mongol identity to the end — and were driven out.
• China’s “Five Barbarians” (五胡) — Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie (羯), Di (氐), Qiang (羌) — were distinct peoples: the Jie related to the Xiongnu, the Di and Qiang Tibetan.
• The titles khan / khagan (汗 / 可汗) began with the Rouran and passed to the Türks, Uyghurs, Mongols and Manchus; Tang Taizong took “Heavenly Khagan” as well, claiming overlordship of the steppe.
• The nomads’ edge was mobility (horse and bow); it ended with the spread of gunpowder and cannon in the 17th~18th centuries and the destruction of the Dzungars.

The Mongol Empire

The protagonist of the 13th century, scattered across the other tables until now. It runs through Korea (invasions of Goryeo), China (Yuan), Iran (Ilkhanate), Islam (sack of Baghdad), Western Europe (Legnica), Japan (the Mongol invasions) and India (Mughals). The steppe empires before them (Xiongnu, Türks, Khitan, Jurchens) are in the Steppe table.

Period	Years	Key figures	Notes
Founding	1206	Genghis Khan (Temüjin)	Proclaimed Great Khan at the kurultai. Decimal army, keshig guard, the yasa law. Uyghur script adopted
Genghis’ conquests	1206~1227	Genghis Khan	Campaigns against Western Xia and Jin (1211~); conquest of Khwarazm (1219~21) — Bukhara and Samarkand razed. Dies on campaign against Western Xia (1227)
Ögedei	1229~1241	Ögedei Khan, Batu, Subutai	Jin destroyed (1234). Invasions of Goryeo (1231~59). Batu’s western campaign: Kiev falls (1240); Legnica and Mohi (1241) crush the Poles and Hungarians → withdrawal on news of Ögedei’s death (Europe’s luck). Karakorum built
Möngke	1251~1259	Möngke Khan, Hulagu, Kublai	Hulagu sacks Baghdad (1258), ending the Abbasids. Möngke dies campaigning against the Southern Song → succession struggle
Kublai · Yuan	1260~1294	Kublai Khan	Dynasty named Yuan (元, 1271), capital Dadu (Beijing). Southern Song destroyed (1279). Goryeo made a son-in-law state. Failed invasions of Japan (1274, 1281), of Vietnam and Java. Marco Polo’s visit (1275~92)
The four khanates	13th~14th c.		① Yuan (China and Mongolia, 1271~1368) ② Ilkhanate (Iran and Iraq, 1256~1335, Hulagu) ③ Golden Horde / Kipchak Khanate (Russia, 1242~1502, Batu; Sarai) — the “Tatar yoke” of 240 years ④ Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia, 1225~1680s). Effectively independent after Kublai
Pax Mongolica	13th~14th c.	—	The yam relay system; safe east–west trade routes. Islamic astronomy and medicine ↔ Chinese printing, gunpowder, compass. Ironically the Black Death (1347) also travels this road to Europe
Breakup · successors	1335~	Timur, Babur, Dayan Khan	Ilkhanate dissolves (1335); Yuan driven north by the Ming (1368, Northern Yuan). Chagatai-line Timur (1370) and his descendant Babur’s Mughals (1526). Golden Horde → Crimean Khanate (annexed by Russia 1783). Mongolia proper: Dayan Khan, Altan Khan → subject to the Qing (17th c.)

• The conquests took roughly two generations (1206~1279); one family ruled about a quarter of the Eurasian landmass — the largest contiguous land empire in history.
• Religiously tolerant (Buddhism, Islam, Nestorian Christianity, Daoism coexisted), but each khanate was absorbed by the local faith — the Ilkhanate, Golden Horde and Chagatai by Islam, the Yuan by Tibetan Buddhism.

India

Points of contact: Alexander’s invasion of the Indus (Greece); the Seleucus–Chandragupta treaty; Gandhara under the Kushans (Hellenism + Buddhism); the Gupta zero reaching Europe via the Arabs; Babur, Timur’s descendant, founding the Mughals (Islam · Mongols); Buddhism’s spread to East Asia (Korea · China · Japan).

Period / Dynasty	Years	Key figures	Notes
Indus Valley civilization	c. BC 2600~1900	—	Harappa, Mohenjo-daro. Planned cities, drainage. Indus script undeciphered. Decline of unknown cause
Vedic age	BC 1500~500	—	Aryan migration. The Rigveda. Caste (varna) system, Brahmanism. Late Vedic Upanishads (karma, rebirth)
Sixteen kingdoms · rise of Buddhism	6th~4th c. BC	Shakyamuni (Gautama Siddhartha), Mahavira	Kingdom of Magadha. The Buddha (BC 563~483 or 480~400) and Mahavira’s Jainism — reactions against Brahmin authority. Alexander invades the Indus (326)
Maurya Empire	BC 322~185	Chandragupta, Ashoka	India’s first unified empire. Chandragupta’s treaty with Seleucus (305). Ashoka (268~232) embraces Buddhism after the Kalinga war — pillar edicts, missions (Sri Lanka etc.)
Kushan Empire	1st~3rd c.	Kanishka	Central Asian origin. Gandhara art (Hellenism + Buddhism = the first Buddha images); Mahayana Buddhism takes shape → along the Silk Road to China, Korea and Japan
Gupta Empire	320~550	Chandragupta I, Chandragupta II	Golden age of classical Hindu culture. Sanskrit literature (Kalidasa), zero and the decimal system (Aryabhata), Nalanda university. Decline after Hephthalite (White Hun) invasions
Harsha · fragmentation	606~1206	Harsha Vardhana	Harsha (606~647) briefly unites the north; Xuanzang’s visit. Then Rajput kingdoms; the Cholas in the south (maritime expansion, influence in Southeast Asia)
Delhi Sultanate	1206~1526	Qutb al-Din Aibak	After the Ghaznavid and Ghurid invasions, Islamic rule begins. Slave dynasty → Khalji → Tughlaq → Lodi. Hindu–Muslim coexistence begins
Mughal Empire	1526~1857	Babur, Akbar, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb	Babur (Timur’s descendant) wins at Panipat (1526). Akbar (1556~1605): religious tolerance, administrative reform. Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal (1653). Aurangzeb’s hard-line Islamic policy → revolts and decline. Plassey (1757): the British East India Company takes Bengal
British India	1858~1947	Queen Victoria, Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah	Sepoy Rebellion (1857) → Company abolished, direct Crown rule. Victoria Empress of India (1877). Indian National Congress (1885). Gandhi’s non-violent civil disobedience (Salt March 1930)
Independence · Partition	1947~	Nehru, Jinnah	Independence (15 Aug 1947) — India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim) separated amid bloody mass migration. Bangladesh independent (1971). Republican constitution (1950)

• Indian history is not a single chain of dynasties like China’s: unified northern empires (Maurya, Gupta, Mughal) rise intermittently, with regional kingdoms in between.
• Buddhism virtually vanished from India, its birthplace, by the 12th century (absorbed by Hinduism, then the Islamic invasions) and survived in Southeast and East Asia.

The Americas (Maya · Aztec · Inca)

Developed in complete isolation from Eurasia. In common: no iron, no practical wheel, no large domestic animals, no horses. Only the Maya had a full writing system. After European contact (1492~) they collapsed rapidly under smallpox and conquest.

Mesoamerica (Mexico · Central America)

Civilization	Years	Centres / figures	Notes
Olmec	c. BC 1200~400	San Lorenzo, La Venta	Mother culture of Mesoamerica. Colossal heads, jaguar cult; prototypes of the ballgame, calendar and writing
Maya	c. BC 2000~AD 1697 (Classic 250~900)	Tikal, Palenque, Copán, Chichén Itzá. King Pakal the Great (615~683)	Full logo-syllabic script, the concept of zero, the Long Count calendar (epoch BC 3114). City-states, never a unified empire. Classic collapse (9th c.; drought and warfare) → shift to northern Yucatán. Last city, Tayasal, falls in 1697
Teotihuacan	BC 100~AD 550	Pyramids of the Sun and Moon	City of 100,000+. Builders unknown. Later revered by the Aztecs (“city of the gods”)
Toltec	c. 900~1150	Tula	Revered by the Aztecs as cultural ancestors. The Quetzalcoatl myth
Aztec (Mexica)	1325~1521	Tenochtitlan (1325, on Lake Texcoco). Itzcoatl — Triple Alliance (1428). Moctezuma II (1502~1520)	Empire built on the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. Human sacrifice, chinampa floating fields, pictographic writing. Cortés lands (1519) → allies with subject peoples such as Tlaxcala; smallpox → fall of Tenochtitlan (13 Aug 1521); last emperor Cuauhtémoc. Mexico City built on the ruins

Andes (Peru · Bolivia)

Civilization	Years	Centres / figures	Notes
Caral (Norte Chico)	c. BC 3000~1800	Caral	Oldest urban civilization in the Americas, contemporary with the Egyptian pyramids
Chavín	c. BC 900~200	Chavín de Huántar	First pan-Andean religious culture
Nazca · Moche	BC 100~AD 800	Nazca Lines / Temple of the Sun	Moche: fine ceramics and goldwork
Tiwanaku · Wari	c. 500~1000	Lake Titicaca / Ayacucho	Two pre-Inca empires; prototypes of Inca roads and administration
Chimú	c. 900~1470	Chan Chan	Largest adobe city in the world. Conquered by the Incas
Inca (Tawantinsuyu)	1438~1533 (Kingdom of Cusco from c. 1200)	Cusco. Legendary founder Manco Cápac. Pachacuti (1438~1471) builds the empire; Machu Picchu. Túpac Yupanqui; Huayna Cápac (1493~1527) at greatest extent	“The land of the four quarters”. 4,000 km from Colombia to Chile. No writing — records kept on knotted-cord quipu. 40,000 km of roads, chasqui runners, terraced farming, mit’a labour. Smallpox kills Huayna Cápac → civil war (Huáscar vs Atahualpa). Pizarro seizes Atahualpa at Cajamarca (16 Nov 1532), executes him (1533). Neo-Inca resistance at Vilcabamba (1537~1572) ends with the execution of Túpac Amaru I

• Why so few Spaniards prevailed: Old World diseases such as smallpox (up to 90% population loss), horses, steel and firearms, defection of subject peoples (Aztecs), division right after a civil war (Incas), and the tactic of seizing the ruler.
• (ref.) North America: the Mississippian culture — Cahokia (800~1350, great mounds near St. Louis); the Pueblo (Ancestral Puebloan) culture of the Southwest.