History Timeline
85 storiesTimeline
Stories through time
Move through the collection in chronological order.
7000 BCE – 1900 BCE
The Indus ValleyPlanned cities reveal a brilliant civilisation we still cannot fully read.5000 BCE – 771 BCE
Early ChinaBronze, writing and kingship shaped early China.6500 BCE – 539 BCE
MesopotamiaBetween two rivers, people built cities and invented writing.550 BCE – 330 BCE
The Persian EmpirePersian kings ruled a vast empire through roads and royal power.534 BCE – 232 BCE
The Rise and Spread of BuddhismThe Buddha's teaching grew into a faith across Asia.403 BCE – 202 BCE
Qin China and UnificationQin unification created the model for imperial China.322 BCE – 185 BCE
The Maurya EmpireOne dynasty united much of India for the first time.800 BCE – 146 BCE
Ancient GreeceGreek city-states shaped ideas about politics, art and war.264 BCE – 133 BCE
The Punic WarsRome and Carthage fought to rule the Mediterranean.359 BCE – 30 BCE
Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic WorldAlexander's conquests spread Greek power across the ancient world.3100 BCE – 30 BCE
Ancient EgyptThe Nile helped Egypt's pharaohs rule for thousands of years.509 BCE – 27 BCE
The Roman RepublicRome's republic conquered widely before power fell to emperors.202 BCE – 220 CE
The Han DynastyThe Han dynasty gave China institutions and a lasting name.800 BCE – 400 CE
The Celtic World Before RomeCeltic communities shaped Europe before Roman conquest.27 BCE – 476 CE
The Roman EmpireRome grew from one city into an empire that shaped the world.610 CE – 762 CE
The Rise of IslamIslam began in Arabia and spread across continents.376 CE – 800 CE
The Fall of Rome to Early Medieval EuropeRome's fall opened the way to medieval Europe.751 CE – 843 CE
Charlemagne and the Carolingian EmpireCharlemagne built a western empire after Rome's fall.410 CE – 886 CE
The Anglo-SaxonsAnglo-Saxon kingdoms helped create early medieval England.793 CE – 1066 CE
The Viking AgeViking voyages brought raids, trade and settlement across Europe.911 CE – 1154 CE
The Norman Conquest of EnglandOne invasion in 1066 changed England for centuries.862 CE – 1240 CE
Kievan RusRiver trade helped build the medieval world of Rus.750 CE – 1258 CE
The Abbasid Golden AgeBaghdad became a centre of books, science and big ideas.1095 CE – 1291 CE
The CrusadesWars over Jerusalem reshaped Europe and the Middle East.1162 CE – 1294 CE
The Mongol EmpireSteppe riders built the largest land empire in history.800 CE – 1300 CE
Feudalism and Medieval SocietyLand, loyalty and the Church shaped medieval daily life.476 CE – 1309 CE
The Rise of the Medieval ChurchThe medieval Church grew powerful through monasteries and popes.1200 CE – 1400 CE
The Mali EmpireMali grew rich through gold and trade, then amazed the medieval world.330 CE – 1453 CE
The Byzantine EmpireThe eastern Roman Empire survived for centuries from Constantinople.1328 CE – 1453 CE
The Hundred Years WarEngland and France fought for a crown for more than a century.1154 CE – 1485 CE
The PlantagenetsThree centuries of kings, conquest and a crown divided against itself.1453 CE – 1487 CE
The Wars of the RosesRival kings, changing loyalties and a crown no victory could fully secure.30 CE – 1500 CE
The Rise of ChristianityChristianity grew from a small movement into an empire-wide faith.1200 CE – 1521 CE
The Aztec EmpireThe Aztecs built a great city empire before Spanish conquest.1415 CE – 1600 CE
The Age of ExplorationOcean voyages connected continents in a new global age.1304 CE – 1600 CE
The RenaissanceOld learning, new art and fresh ideas helped remake Europe.1558 CE – 1603 CE
The Elizabethan AgeElizabethan England mixed theatre, sea power and royal danger.1527 CE – 1603 CE
The English ReformationA royal divorce turned into a religious revolution.1485 CE – 1603 CE
The Tudor DynastyTudor rulers reshaped England through power, faith and family.1642 CE – 1660 CE
The English Civil WarKing and Parliament fought over who should rule England.1500 CE – 1720 CE
The Scientific RevolutionNew experiments changed how people understood nature.1526 CE – 1739 CE
The Mughal EmpireMughal rulers built one of India's richest and most powerful empires.1763 CE – 1791 CE
The American Revolution and Early RepublicThirteen colonies rebelled and created a new republic.1787 CE – 1799 CE
The French RevolutionFrance's old order collapsed into revolution, terror and republic.962 CE – 1806 CE
The Holy Roman EmpireAn imperial crown, many centres of power and eight centuries of negotiation.1789 CE – 1815 CE
Napoleon and the Napoleonic WarsNapoleon turned revolution into empire and total war.1757 CE – 1861 CE
The Opium WarsBritish gunboats forced China into unequal treaties and lasting crisis.1861 CE – 1865 CE
The American Civil War and the Abolition of SlaveryCivil war decided the Union's survival and ended slavery.1700 CE – 1870 CE
The Industrial RevolutionMachines and factories changed work, cities and everyday life.1880 CE – 1902 CE
The Anglo Boer ConflictBritain's war with the Boers showed the human cost of empire.1603 CE – 1905 CE
The Meiji RestorationJapan overthrew old rule and raced into the modern world.1644 CE – 1912 CE
The Qing DynastyThe Qing built China's largest empire before revolution ended it.1914 CE – 1918 CE
The First World WarOne assassination helped pull Europe into total war.1905 CE – 1922 CE
The Russian RevolutionRevolution turned Russia's imperial collapse into Soviet power.1299 CE – 1923 CE
The Ottoman EmpireA small frontier dynasty became an empire across three continents.1918 CE – 1933 CE
The Treaty of Versailles and Its ConsequencesA harsh peace after World War I helped fuel future conflict.1919 CE – 1933 CE
Weimar RepublicGermany's first democracy faced crisis before Hitler took power.1919 CE – 1934 CE
The Rise of Adolf HitlerHitler used crisis and propaganda to destroy democracy.1919 CE – 1939 CE
The Causes of the Second World WarA fragile peace helped open the road to another world war.1940 CE
The Battle of BritainBritain's air defence stopped Hitler's invasion plans.1940 CE – 1942 CE
Operation BarbarossaHitler's invasion of the Soviet Union became a catastrophe.1943 CE – 1945 CE
D-Day and the Liberation of EuropeD-Day opened the road from Normandy to Nazi Germany.1868 CE – 1945 CE
Imperial JapanJapan modernised fast and built an empire it lost in total war.1933 CE – 1945 CE
Nazi GermanyGermany's democracy collapsed into dictatorship, war and genocide.1933 CE – 1945 CE
The HolocaustNazi persecution became genocide, and memory became a duty.1931 CE – 1945 CE
The Pacific WarJapan's empire spread across the Pacific before defeat.1939 CE – 1945 CE
The Second World WarWorld War II became a global fight against dictatorship and genocide.1941 CE – 1947 CE
Origins of the Cold WarAllies became rivals and divided the postwar world.1588 CE – 1947 CE
The British EmpireBritain built a vast empire that resistance later helped undo.1927 CE – 1949 CE
The Chinese Civil WarA broken alliance, a revolution’s survival and a country divided.1950 CE – 1953 CE
The Korean WarWar and outside intervention left Korea divided.1962 CE
The Cuban Missile CrisisFor thirteen days, the world stood close to nuclear war.1954 CE – 1968 CE
The Civil Rights MovementOrdinary people challenged segregation and changed American democracy.1855 CE – 1974 CE
The Ethiopian EmpireEthiopia fought to stay independent before revolution ended its empire.1955 CE – 1975 CE
The Vietnam WarVietnam's war changed Southeast Asia and Cold War politics.1949 CE – 1976 CE
Mao's ChinaMao transformed China through revolution, control and upheaval.1945 CE – 1991 CE
The Cold WarTwo superpowers divided the world under nuclear threat.1985 CE – 1991 CE
The Collapse of the Soviet UnionReform and nationalism brought down the Soviet Union.1917 CE – 1991 CE
The SovietsThe Soviet Union rose from revolution and fell in 1991.1910 CE – 1994 CE
Apartheid South AfricaSouth Africans resisted apartheid and won the right to vote.1945 CE – 1999 CE
The Rise and Fall of YugoslaviaYugoslavia's fragile union collapsed into nationalism and war.1976 CE – 2020 CE
The Rise of ChinaChina used reform and party control to become a global power.1991 CE – 2020 CE
The World After The Cold WarAfter the Cold War, globalisation met new conflict and rivalry.2001 CE – 2021 CE
The United States After 9/11After 9/11, America changed how it fought and watched the world.1945 CE – 2026 CE
The Kim DynastyNorth Korea's ruling family built a state around survival.
