Timeline of Middle Eastern history
1422050
215948277
2008-05-30T12:01:56Z
Dbachmann
86857
/* 2nd millennium BC */
{{Cleanup|date=September 2007}}
This timeline tries to compile dates of important historical events that happened in or that lead to the rise of the Middle East. The [[Middle East]] is the territory that comprises today's [[Egypt]], the [[Gulf States]], [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Oman]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], [[Turkey]], the [[West Bank]], the [[Gaza Strip]], and [[Yemen]]. The Middle East with its particular characteristics was not to emerge until late [[2nd millennium|second millennium]] AD. To refer to a concept similar that of today's Middle East but earlier in time, the term [[Ancient Near East]] is used.
This list is intended as a [[timeline]] of the [[history of the Middle East]]. For more detailed information, see [[#related articles|articles on the histories of individual countries]]. See [[Ancient Near East]] for ancient history of the Middle East.
{{listdev}}
==Neolithic period==
=== 8th millennium B.C. ===
* Circa 8000 BC–Settlements at [[Nevali Cori]] in present-day [[Turkey]] are established.
* Circa 7500 BC – [[Çatalhöyük]], a very large [[Neolithic]] and [[Chalcolithic]] settlement in southern [[Anatolia]], is founded.
* Settlements at Sagalassos in present-day southwest Turkey are established.
* Domestication of [[sheep]] in [[Southwest Asia]]
* Circa 7000 BC – [[Jarmo]]
=== 7th millennium BC ===
* First [[pottery]] in [[Mesopotamia]]
* Domestication of the [[cow]] in the Middle East
=== 6th millennium BC===
* [[September 1]], [[5509 BC]] – "day of creation of the world" (according to the [[Byzantine Empire]]) and beginning of their calendar <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Dating Creation|1]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
* Around 5400 BC – [[Irrigation]] in [[Mesopotamia]].
* circa 5600 BC – According to the [[Black Sea deluge theory]], the [[Black Sea]] floods with salt water. Some 3000 cubic miles (12,500 km³) of [[sea water|salt water]] is added, significantly expanding it and transforming it from a fresh-water landlocked lake into a salt water sea.
* [[Agriculture]] appears in the valley of the [[Nile]]
* [[Wheel]] and [[plough]] both invented in ancient Mesopotamia
* Around 5100 BC – [[Temple#Religion|Temple]]s founded in South [[Mesopotamia]]
=== 5th millennium BC===
* c. 4500 BC – Civilization of [[Susa]] and [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]] in [[Mesopotamia]]
* c. 4570 BC–4250 BC – [[Merimde]] culture on the [[Nile]]
* c. 4400 BC–4000 BC – [[Badari]] culture on the Nile
* c. 4000 BC - first examples of [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] [[writing]] in Mesopotamia
==Ancient Near East==
{{main|Ancient Near East|Timeline of ancient Mesopotamia}}
{{split|Timeline of the Ancient Near East}}
=== 4th millennium BC===
[[Image:Ancient Orient.png|thumb|320px|right|Overview map of the [[Ancient Near East]] ]]
* City of [[Ur]] in [[Mesopotamia]] (40th century BC).
* [[Naqada]] culture on the [[Nile]], 4000 BC–3000 BC.
* [[epoch (reference date)|Epoch]] of the modern [[Hebrew Calendar]] occurred on [[7 October]] [[3761 BC]].
* Some interpretations of Jewish chronology date [[creation (theology)|creation]] to [[25 September]] or [[March 29]] [[3760 BC]].
* Civilization of [[Sumer]], city-states (36th century BC).
* First to Fourth dynasty of Kish in [[Mesopotamia]].
* c. 3100 BC - King Narmer unifies the Upper and Lower Egyptian Kingdoms, and gives birth to the world's first [[nation]].The [[Narmer Palette]] is believed to be the historical record of this event: [[ancient Egypt|Egypt]].
* 35th century BC - beginning of desertification of [[Sahara]]. The shift by the Sahara Desert from a habitable region to a barren desert.
* [[Ur-Nina]] first king of [[Lagash]] (ca. 34th century), the earliest historical person known by name.
* Beginnings of [[urbanisation]] in [[Mesopotamia]] with the [[Sumerians]].
* First cities in [[Egypt]] (35th century BC).
* First [[writing]]s in the cities of [[Uruk]] and [[Susa]] ([[cuneiform (script)|cuneiform]] writings). Hieroglyphs in [[Egypt]].
* [[Potter's wheel]] used in [[Middle East]].
* [[Sail]]s used in the [[Nile]].
* Archaic Period of [[Ancient Egypt]]
''(see also [[Sumer]]: [[Ur]], [[Uruk]], [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Susa]])''
=== 3rd millennium BC===
* First [[ziggurat]]s built in Sumer
* [[Near East]] civilizations enter [[Bronze Age]] around 3000 BC
* Completion of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]
=== 2nd millennium BC===
{{main|Short chronology timeline}}
* [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt]]
* [[New Kingdom of Egypt]]
* [[Babylonia]], second dynasty of [[Babylon]]
* [[Assyria]]
* [[Aleppo]]
* [[Hittites]]
* [[Mitanni]]
* [[Hurrian]]s
* [[Luwian]]s
* [[Canaan]]: [[Ugarit]], [[Kadesh]], [[Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC)|Megiddo]], [[Kingdom of Israel]]
* [[Arzawa]], [[Troy]] VI-VII
* The [[Cushites]] drive the original inhabitants from [[Ethiopia]], and establish trade relations with [[Egypt]].
* Conquest of [[Canaan]] by the [[Israelites]]
* [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] in Egypt (2052–1570 BC)
* [[Hittites]] Old Kingdom in [[Anatolia]] (1900 BC)
* [[Civilization]] in Canaan (1800 BC)
* Egyptian domination over Canaan and [[Syria]] (1600–1360 BC)
*[[Bronze Age collapse]] (1200-1050 BC)
** Fall of [[Troy]] (traditional date 1184 BC, see [[Troy VII]])
**[[Sea peoples]]
* late 2nd millennium BC - begin of the [[Iron Age]] discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques in [[Anatolia]] or the [[Caucasus]].
=== Early Iron Age===
[[Image:Median Empire.jpg||thumb|320px|right|The Oriental Empires about 600 BC]]
* [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt]]
* 993 BCE: King [[David]] captures [[Jerusalem]] and designates it the capital of the united [[Kingdom of Israel]].
* c. 960 BCE: King [[Solomon]] builds the [[First Temple]].
* 922 BCE: Jerusalem becomes the capital of the (southern) [[Kingdom of Judah]] after the split of the [[United Monarchy]].
* [[Neo-Hittite kingdoms]] (10th-7th centuries BC)
* [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (10th-7th centuries BC)
* [[Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt]] (672-525 BC)
====Inventions, Discoveries, Introductions====
* [[Iron]] use becomes widespread
* The [[Phoenicians]] propagate the [[Phoenician alphabet]] in the [[Mediterranean]]
* Many major religious and philosophical viewpoints are created, further explored or codified
''(see also: [[Roman Republic]], [[David]],[[Cyrus the Great]], [[Darius the Great]],[[Parthian Empire]], [[Homer]], [[Alexander the Great]], [[Julius Caesar]], [[Lydia]], [[Medes|Median Empire]], [[Chaldea|Chaldean Empire]])''
===See also===
*[[List of Pharaohs]]
*[[Chronology of the Ancient Near East]]
{{Ancient Near East}}
==Classical Antiquity==
{{main|Classical Antiquity}}
* 606 BCE-586 BCE: The [[Babylonians]] destroy Jerusalem. King [[Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar]] burns the Solomon's Temple.
* [[Cyrus the Great]] conquered [[Babylon]] and created the [[Persian Empire]] (6th century BC)
* 537 BCE: Cyrus allows the [[Israelites]] to return from the [[Babylonian captivity]] and rebuild the Temple.
* 515 BCE: The [[Second Temple]] is built.
* [[Sparta]] and [[Athens]] fought the [[Peloponnesian War]]
* [[Alexander the Great]] conquered [[Iran|Persia]] (330s BC)
* [[Hellenic Greece|Hellenic Greek]] culture spread through the [[Mediterranean]]
* The [[Roman Republic]] rose and fell
* Beginning of [[Christianity]] (1st Century AD) and [[Islam]] (7th Century AD)
* [[Jewish-Roman Wars]] and [[Jewish diaspora]]. In 135, Roman Emperor [[Hadrian]] renamed [[Iudaea Province]] into [[Syria Palaestina]].
* The [[Olympic Games]] observed until 393
* The [[Library of Alexandria]], largest library in the world, burned
* Rise and fall of the [[Roman Empire]]
===Middle Ages===
=====Rise of Islam=====
{{main|Islamic Golden Age|Islamic science|Islamic inventions}}
[[Image:Arabic ascendency 1884.jpg|thumb|320px|right|"The Eighth Progressive Map - Arabic Acendency; showing (a,)The [[Caliph|Arabic Empire]] in its greatest extent. (b,) The world at the beginning of the eighth century ([[Christianity]] on the point of being crushed by the [[Muslim|Moslem]]s.). (c,)The four Christian empires ([[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], [[Lombards|Longobardian]], [[Merovingian]], and [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]].)." <br> The map shows the extension of the Caliphate under [[Al-Walid I]], who reigned from 705 - 715]]
* [[Arab Empire]] founded during the [[Muslim conquests]] of the [[Islamic conquest of Persia|Persian Empire]], [[Muslim conquest of Syria|Roman Syria]], [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Roman Egypt]], [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa|Roman North Africa]], [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|Visigothic Hispania]], [[History of Islam in southern Italy|southern Italy]], [[Khazar-Arab Wars|Khazar Khaganate]], [[Islamic conquest of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], and parts of the [[Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent|northwestern Indian subcontinent]] and [[Battle of Talas|northwestern China]]
* c. 970 - [[Al-Azhar University]], the oldest [[Islamic]] institution for higher studies, with its corresponding [[mosque of Al-Azhar]] are founded.
=====Turks, Crusaders and Mongols=====
(The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid 11th century with the arrival of the [[Seljuk Turks]])
* c. 1347, a fleet of Genoese trading ships fleeing Caffa ([[Theodosia]]) reached the port of [[Messina]] and spreads the [[Black Death]]
''(see also: [[Seljuk Turks]], [[Crusades]], [[Mongols]])''
=====The Ottoman era =====
{{main|Timeline of the Ottoman Empire}}
[[Image:Ottoman empire 1481-1683.jpg|thum|320px|right|[[Ottoman Empire]], 1481-1683]]
''(main article: [[Ottoman Empire#History|History of the Ottoman Empire]])''
* 1869 - Construction of the [[Suez Canal]] is completed.
==Modern period==
=====European domination of the Arabic and Turkish regions (especially since World War I)=====
* 1882 - September 13 - British troops occupy Cairo - Egypt becomes British protectorate
* 1922 - February 28 - Egypt is granted independence from British occupation.
=====Contemporary Middle East=====
(circa since WWII)
* 1947 - UN General Assembly [[1947 UN Partition Plan|proposes]] to divide Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state.
* 1948 - [[History of Israel|Israel]] declares independence
* 1948 - The first [[1948 Arab-Israeli War|Arab-Israeli war]]
* [[Israeli]] and [[Palestinian]] [[nationalism]]
* [[petroleum]] becomes important political factor
* 1952 - After a revolution in [[Egypt]] the monarchy is overthrown
* 1954 - [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] becomes president of Egypt
* 1954 - [[Central Treaty Organization]]
* 1956 - [[Suez Crisis]]
* 1963 - [[Ba'th Party]] comes to power in [[Syria]] and stages military coup in [[Iraq]] under the leadership of General [[Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr]] and Colonel [[`Abd as-Salām `Arif]]
* 1964 - [[Abdul Rahman Arif]] stages military coup in Iraq against the Ba'th Party and brings his brother, [[Abdul Salam Arif]], to power
* 1967 - [[Six-Day War]], Israel occupies large Arab territorries
* 1968 - Ba'athists stage second military coup under General [[Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr]], [[Saddam Hussein]] is made vice president of Iraq
* 1970 - Gamal Abdel Nasser dies, [[Anwar Sadat]] becomes president of Egypt
* 1971 - The [[Aswan High Dam]] is completed with [[Soviet]] help in finance and construction; independence of [[Kuwait]], [[Qatar]], [[Bahrain]] and the [[UAE]]
* 1973 - [[Yom Kippur War]]
* 1974 - The [[PLO]] is allowed to represent the people of [[Palestine]] in the [[UN]]
* 1975-1990 - [[Lebanese Civil War]]
* 1978 - [[Camp David Accords]]
* 1979 - Saddam Hussein becomes president of Iraq; [[Iranian Revolution]]; [[Israel-Egypt peace treaty]]
* 1980-1989 - [[Iran-Iraq War]]
* 1981 - Murder of Anwar Sadat
* 1987-1990 - [[First Intifada]]
* 1991 - The [[Gulf War]]
* 1993 - [[Oslo Accords]]
* 2003 - The [[2003 Invasion of Iraq|2003 Iraq War]]
* 2006 - The [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]]; Saddam Hussein executed for "crimes against humanity"
== See also ==
*[[History of the Middle East]]
*[[History of pottery in the Southern Levant]]
*Empires
**[[Ancient Egypt]]
**[[Sumer]]
**[[Babylonia]]
**[[Assyria]]
**[[Hittite Empire]]
**[[Persian Empire]]
**[[Hellenistic Greece]]
**[[Roman Empire]]
**[[Ottoman Empire]]
*[[Mesopotamia]]
**[[history of Iraq]]
**[[history of Syria]]
*Anatolia
**[[history of Anatolia]]
**[[history of Turkey]]
*Canaan
**[[history of Palestine]]
**[[history of Israel]]
**[[history of Jordan]]
**[[history of Lebanon]]
*[[history of Egypt|Egypt]]
**[[Ancient Egypt]]: 3000 BC to 332 BC
**[[Ptolemaic Egypt]]: 332 BC to 30 BC
**[[Aegyptus (Roman province)|Roman Egypt]]: 30 BC to 639 AD
**[[History of Arab Egypt]]: 639 to 1517
**[[History of Ottoman Egypt]]: 1517 to 1805
**[[Egypt under Mehemet Ali and his successors]]: 1805 to 1882
**[[History of Modern Egypt]]: since 1882
*Iran
**[[history of Iran]]
*Arabia
**[[history of Saudi Arabia]]
**[[history of Yemen]]
**[[history of Oman]]
*[[Timeline of Islamic history]]
*[[Timeline of Jewish history]]
[[Category:Timelines]]