From the first civilizations in the great river valleys to the first empires of the Near East, India and China — comparing their writing, law, religion and rule
Tla2006 (English Wikipedia) · Public domain · Source
| Civilization · state | Period | Region | Key points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumerian city-states | c. 3500 BC | Southern Mesopotamia | Cuneiform, ziggurats, base 60 |
| Unified Egypt | c. 3100 BC | Nile valley | Divine pharaoh, hieroglyphs, solar calendar |
| Indus civilization | c. 2500 BC | Indus valley | Planned cities, drains; script undeciphered |
| Akkad | c. 2334 BC | Mesopotamia | Sargon; first unification of Mesopotamia |
| Gojoseon | 2333 BC (Samguk yusa) | Liaoning, NW Korea | Dangun founding myth; Bronze Age |
| Old Babylonia | 18th century BC | Mesopotamia | Code of Hammurabi: retaliation, rank-based |
| Shang (Yin) | c. 1600 BC | Middle & lower Yellow River | Oracle bones, bronzes, theocracy |
| Hittites | 17th–12th century BC | Anatolia | Chariots, iron; ended Old Babylonia |
| New Kingdom Egypt | c. 1550 BC | Nile to Syria | Thutmose III’s campaigns; Aten reform |
| Aryans | c. 1500 BC | Punjab to Ganges | Vedas, Brahmanism, varna |
| Phoenicia | c. 1050 BC | Eastern Mediterranean coast | Sea trade; alphabet (root of ours) |
| Zhou (Western Zhou) | c. 1046 BC | Yellow River (Haojing) | Feudalism, lineage law, Mandate of Heaven |
| Hebrew kingdom | c. 1000 BC | Palestine | One God Yahweh, chosen people, Messiah |
| Assyria | 7th century BC | First to unite the Near East | Iron weapons, provinces, harsh rule |
| Neo-Babylonia | 626–539 BC | Mesopotamia | Nebuchadnezzar II; Babylonian captivity |
| Achaemenid Persia | 550–330 BC | Indus to Aegean and Egypt | Tolerance, satraps, Royal Road |
On the lower Tigris and Euphrates the Sumerians founded city-states such as Ur and Uruk and pressed cuneiform signs into clay tablets — the beginning of Mesopotamian civilization.
Upper and Lower Egypt along the Nile were joined into a single kingdom, traditionally by Menes, who is usually identified with King Narmer.
Built as the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
Planned cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro rose along the Indus, with brick houses, drains and a great public bath, but their script still cannot be read.
Sargon of Akkad conquered the Sumerian city-states and founded the first empire to unite Mesopotamia.
Dangun Wanggeom is said to have founded Gojoseon, the first Korean state, with its capital at Asadal.
Bronze came into use around 2000–1500 BCE. Rice farming began, private property and classes emerged, and chieftains came to rule.
King Hammurabi of Old Babylonia, who reunited Mesopotamia, had 282 laws carved on a stone stele, including the retaliation principle known as “an eye for an eye”.
The Shang, rising on the Yellow River, is the oldest Chinese dynasty confirmed by evidence. Its kings decided affairs by divination with turtle shells and animal bones, and the oracle-bone inscriptions became the root of Chinese characters.
The Hittites of Anatolia, led by horse-drawn chariots, sacked Babylon and ended the Old Babylonian kingdom. They are known as an early iron-working people.
Having expelled the Hyksos, Egypt entered the New Kingdom. Thutmose III campaigned through Syria and Palestine to the Euphrates, carrying Egyptian power to its widest extent.
Aryans from Central Asia entered the Punjab on the upper Indus and spread into the Ganges valley. They composed the Rigveda and created the social order of the varnas.
Amenhotep IV replaced the god Amun with the sole worship of the sun disc Aten, renamed himself Akhenaten and moved the capital to Amarna, but the reform was reversed after his death.
Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II of the Hittites clashed at Kadesh in Syria with thousands of chariots. Neither side won, and the two kingdoms later made peace.
The Phoenicians of the eastern Mediterranean coast prospered through seaborne trade and wrote with an alphabet of 22 consonant letters, which passed through the Greeks to become the root of today’s alphabet.
King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang at the Battle of Muye and founded the Zhou dynasty with its capital at Haojing, ruling through a feudal system in which royal kin and loyal followers governed as lords.
Mandolin-shaped bronze daggers, table-type dolmens and Misong-ri pottery spread across Liaoning and northern Korea, tracing the reach of Gojoseon.
The Hebrews settled in Palestine and built a prosperous kingdom centred on Jerusalem under David and Solomon. Their faith in the one God Yahweh, Judaism, became the root of Christianity and Islam.
After the Quanrong sacked Haojing, King Ping of Zhou moved the capital east to Luoyi (Luoyang). Royal authority waned and the Spring and Autumn period began, in which feudal lords vied for hegemony.
Armed with iron weapons, chariots and cavalry, Assyria conquered as far as Egypt and united the ancient Near East for the first time, but its harsh rule provoked revolts and it soon collapsed.
Nebuchadnezzar II of Neo-Babylonia destroyed Jerusalem and carried the people of Judah off to Babylon (the Babylonian captivity). Babylon became a great city adorned with the Ishtar Gate.
Cyrus II of Persia overthrew Media and conquered Lydia and Neo-Babylonia; when his son Cambyses II took Egypt, the Near East was united once more.
Darius I divided the empire into some twenty provinces (satrapies) under governors (satraps), watched them through “the King’s Eyes and Ears”, and bound the empire together with the Royal Road and its relay stations.
Iron arrived around the 5th century BCE and began to be used for farm tools and weapons; on this base several states arose.
Founder of the Akkadian Empire (r. c. 2334 – c. 2279 BC), the first to unite Mesopotamia
Legendary founder of Gojoseon, whose story is told in the Samguk yusa
Sixth king of the First Dynasty of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BC), who united Mesopotamia and issued the Code of Hammurabi
Eighteenth-Dynasty pharaoh of New Kingdom Egypt (r. 1479–1425 BC) whose campaigns extended Egyptian power through Syria to the Euphrates
Eighteenth-Dynasty pharaoh (r. c. 1353 – c. 1336 BC), born Amenhotep IV, who imposed the sole worship of the Aten
Nineteenth-Dynasty pharaoh (r. 1279–1213 BC) who fought at Kadesh, made peace with the Hittites and built Abu Simbel
King who overthrew the last Shang ruler at Muye and founded the Zhou dynasty; his brother the Duke of Zhou served his heir
Second king of the Hebrew kingdom (c. 1000 BC), who made Jerusalem his capital
Son of David who led the Hebrew kingdom at its height (10th century BC) and, according to the Bible, built the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem
King of Assyria (r. 669 – c. 631 BC) who assembled a great library of clay tablets at Nineveh
King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (r. 605–562 BC) who destroyed Jerusalem and deported the people of Judah to Babylon
Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire (r. 559–530 BC), who conquered Media, Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire in turn