Updated Feb, 2008
Date	Events in Religion and Philosophy	General History	Comments: How has Western thought been shaped?	Links and Other	Map Link	Citations or URLS	Extended Comments	Citations for Extended Comments
Before the Big Bang	This category, "before the Big Bang" is an error. Why?  Because this is a timeline. "Before" the Big Bang there was no time (therefore, saying "before" is even an error). The universe existed as a singularity. There was no space in the singularity, and, therefore, there was no time. The universe has always existed, however, time has not. There was never a point in time that the universe did not exist. This is true whether you believe a God created the universe or the Big Bang did it.	There was no "before" the Big Bang because there was no time. "Before" requires there to be time. This whole category in a big fat error.	The mass of the universe was not created. It always existed. It was in existence when time began, therefore, it has no beginning.
c.14 Billion Years Ago	Note: Much of the evolution timeline chronology comes from:  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution	c.14 Billion Years BCE, Big Bang and birth of our universe	This Wikipedia timeline is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License ( URL: www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html). It uses material from  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution.
c. 4500 Million Years Ago	According to Genesis story, the earth was created on the 1st day, but before the sun and moon.	The earth forms as an planet and revolves around the young Sun.
c. 4450 Million Years Ago	According to Genesis story, the moon was created on the 4th day (Gen.1:14-19)	The moon forms from a Mars-sized planet colliding with Earth	The biblical writers state that God created two great lights. Apparently, they did not seem to understand that the moon was not a light source but only a reflector (reflecting the sun's light).  Bill Nye (the Science guy) pointed this out in a lecture in Waco, TX in 2006 CE. A woman stood up and shouted "We believe in God!". She then gathered up her children and stomped out of the lecture.	Link
c. 4100 Million Years Ago		The surface of the earth cools enough for the crust to solidify
c. 4000 Million Years Ago		Life begins to appear on Earth.		Wiki
		Beginning of the Proterozoic Eon.
2500 Million Years Ago		Beginning of the Proterozoic Eon. It ends about 542 million Mya. Oxygen begins to collect in the atmosphere.	The proterozoic eon represents the period of time before complex life forms appear in abundance. It consists of three eras: Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic.
2100 Mya		Complex cells appear.
1200 Mya		Sexual reproduction evolves.
c. 1000 Million Years Ago		Multicellular organizations appear
c. 900 Million Years Ago		There are 481 18-hour days in a year. The Earth has been slowing down ever since.
c. 600 Mya		Sponges, Flat worm and Jelly Fish appear
c. 566 Million Years Ago
		Beginning of the Paleozoic Era
c. 542 Mya		Beginning of the Paleozoic Era. The Paleozoic Era is one of three eras of the Phanerozoic eon. The three eras are composed of six periods with a combined span from about 542 Mya to 251 Mya.	The three eras of the Phanerozoic eon are the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and the Cenozoic ers. The six geologic periods of the Paleozoic era are the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian.
542 Mya		Cambrian period (first of six geologic periods of the Paleozoic Era). The Cambrian period spans from 542 Mya to about 570 Mya. It is a matter of debate as to how many phylum existem prior to the Cambrain explosion. Some suggest that many existed but could not fossilize due to lack of skeletal structure or hard outer shell.	The Cambrian period has as its starting point the appearance of early arthropods known as trilobites. Also marking the beginning of the Cambrian period are primitive reef-forming animals called archeolcyathids.The end of the Cambrian is set at a massive faunal change that appears to be an extinction event.	The Cambrian explosion, a rapid set of evolutionary changes, creates all the major body plans (phyla) of modern animals.
c. 505 Million Years Ago		First fish (jawless)
488 Mya		Ordovivian period of the Paleozoic era. This period was created to distinguish fauna that were distinct from the Cambrian and Silurian.	The Ordovician period started at a major extinction event called the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction events some time about 488.3 ± 1.7 million years ago (Ma) and lasted for about 44.6 million years. It ended with another major extinction event about 443.7 ± 1.5 Ma (ICS, 2004) that wiped out 60% of marine genera.	Wiki
c. 475 Million Years Ago		First plants appear on dry land. Note: These plants were not grasses, which did not appear until 35 Million Years BCE
c. 450 Million Years Ago		Arthropods, with an exoskeleton that provides support and prevents water loss, are the first animals to invade the land. Among the first are Myriapoda (millipedes and centipedes), later followed by spiders and scorpions.  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution
444 Mya		Silurian period of the Paleozoic era.	The Silurian period is marked by new species of index fossils (Graptolites - fauna) in rocks.	Wiki
416 Mya		Devonian period of the Paleozoic era. First insects appear.
359 Mya		Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era.	In the Devonian period, sea levels dropped. Sea levels began to rise in the beginning of the Carboniferous period and then dropped in the mid-Carboniferous period.  The drop in sea level triggered a major marine extinction. Conifer trees (Swamp forest trees) appear, which turn into coal.				Some have hypothesized that large amounts of wood and fauna were buried because the animals, insects and bacteria that normally would eat the decaying matter had not yet evolved. This deposit of biologically-produced carbon led to a buildup of surplus oxygen in the atmosphere. This allowed animals and insects to grow to enormous sizes because they were not constrained by their respiratory system to deiffuse oxygen. Today, oxygen is 21% of our breathable atmosphere. Then, it probably was around 35%.
300 Mya		Permian period, the last period of the Paleozoic era.	Fossilized shells of two types of invertebrates are used to identify Permian strata.	Wiki
c. 300 Million Years Ago		According to current plate tectonic theory, all continents existed as one super continent called Pangea.		Wiki
c. 256 Million Years Ago		Large herbivores exist
		Beginning of the Mesozoic Era
251 Mya		Beginning of the Mesozoic Era (second of three geoloic eras that make up the Phanerozoic eon). This era spans from about 251 Mya to about 65 Mya (the start of the Cenozoic era.	The Mesozoic Era consists of three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretacious.
251 Mya		Triassic Period (small reptiles, crocodiles and frogs)
c. 251 Million Years Ago		The Permian-Triassic extinction event wipes out about 95% of all animal species, the most severe mass extinction known.
c. 199 Million Years Ago		Jurassic Period - Popular dinosaurs appear
180 Million Years Ago		According to current plate tectonic theory, Pangea begins to break up.
150 Million Years Ago	According to Genesis story, birds were created on the 5th day (Gen. 1:20-23)	Birds Appear	The earliest bird was Archaeopteryx (155 to 150 Mya). It had feathers and wings, but it also had teeth similar to a small carnivorous dinosaur. It had both bird features and theropod features, making it truly a transitional creature.	Wiki
c. 145 Million Years Ago		Cretaceous Period - First snakes and modern mammals appear
		Beginning of the Cenozoic Era
65.5 Mya		Beginning of the Cenozoic Era, which consisted of two periods Paleogene and Neogene
65.5 Mya		Beginning of the Paleogen period, which is one of the two periods of the Cenezoic era.
65 Million Years Ago		The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event (sixth extinction event) wipes out about half of all animal species including all non-avian dinosaurs, probably because of a cooling of the climate precipitated by the giant impact of a meteor: iridium powder from asteroid forms a layer that covers the whole Earth.
45 Mya	According to Genesis story, whales were created on the 5th day (Gen. 1:20-23)	Whales appear
35 Mya	According to Genesis story, grass were created on the 3rd day (Gen.1:11-13).	Grass appears
23 Mya		Beginning of the Neogene period, which is the second of two periods in the Cenozoic era.
22 Million Years Ago		India collides with Asia, causing the rise of Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau.
3.3 Million Years Ago		The Australopithecus afarensis infant female, known today as Salem (aka Lucy's baby) died in Dikika, Ethiopia. See 2000 CE for her discovery.		Wiki	Ethiopia
3.18 Million Years Ago		The Australopithecus afarensis female, known today as Lucy, died in Hadar, Ethiopia. See 1974 CE for her discovery.	Lucy shocked the paleoanthropological community by having a small brain and body size yet human teeth and bipedal hips and knew structure. At the time, it was believed that brain size evolved before these traits.	Wiki
3.7 Mya		Foot prints were preserved in volcanic ash in Laetoli in Tanzania (the Laetoli footprints). They are believed to be either of the genus australopithecus or a very eary homo genus.			Tanzania
2.5 Mya		Believed to be the earliest range for Homo Habilis (aka "Handy Man" for the use of stone tools). Many fossils exist of Homo habilis. Habilis lived in Africa. Habilis was short with long arms but a more human like face.	Homo habilis was of the genus "Homo" versus, say, the genus Australopithecus.
1.9 Mya		Homo rudolfensis lived in Kenya. As of 2007 CE, only one skull has been found of rudolfensis. Rudolfensis lived in Kenya.	Because there is such a dearth of information on rudolfensis, its place in the ancestral line is under debate. Rudolfensis is believed to have been bipedal and did have a large brain.		Kenya
1.9 MYA		Homo ergaster (aka "Working Man") lived in East and South Africa. There are many fossils of ergaster. Ergaster is sometime classified as a subspecies of erectus.	There is a debate as to whether or not ergaster or later erectus is the direct ancestor of homo sapiens. Most seem to believe it was erectus.
1.8 Mya		Homo georgicus lived in the area now the Republic of Georgia. Homo georgicus is very similar to Home ergaster but with a small brain volume. Only a couple of fossils have been found.			Republic of Georgia
1.8 Million Years Ago		Homo erectus evolves in Africa and migrates to other continents, primarily south Asia (lived in Africa, Java, China and Caucasus). Many fossils exist for erectus.	The new discoveries that Homo habilius and Homo erectus were contemporaries does not exclude the possibility that erectus evolved from habilius in some other isolation location, while the species we refer to as habilius continued to exist as contemporaries for some time.		Caucasus
1.44 Million Years Ago		Homo habilis - Fossils found in 2007 CE date a habilius to 1.4 Mya. However, they may have existed as far back as 2.5 Mya. These recent finds show that Homo habilius and Homo erectus were contemporaries. It was previously thought that Homo erectus descended from Homo habilius.		Link
800,000 years ago		Homo cepranensis lived near Rome, Italy. Only a single skull cap has been found, so there is not enough material to make a complete analysis.			Rome
475,000 Years Ago		Homo heidelbergensis lived in Europe. They may be the ancestor of the Neanderthals. Many fossils exist for heidelbergensis. He used stone tools, dyed things with red ochre and used hand axes.
350,000 years ago		Characteristics of Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) begin to appear in Europe, but the complete Neandertal will not be present for another 220,000 years.	Neanderthals were about 5'5" for men and 5'2" for women. They had a very robust body (barrel-shaped chest) and a big wide nose.
200,000 Years Ago		Homo rhodesiensis lived in Rhodesia (Now Zambia). One one fossil exists, so little is known. Its face was broad like Neanderthal's. However, its exact classification is still under debate.
195,000 Years Ago		Omo1, Omo2 (Ethiopia, Omo river) are the earliest known Homo sapiens. These fossils were found by Richard Leakey's team at the Omo Kibish site near the Omo Right in SW Ethiopia.
160,000 Years  Ago		Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens idaltu) in Ethiopia, Awash River, Herto village, practice mortuary rituals and butcher hippos. Their dead bodies are later covered by volcanic rocks.
130,000 Years Ago		Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) evolves from Homo heidelbergensis and lives in Europe and the Middle East, makes magic, buries the dead and cares for the sick.	Mitochondrial DNA studies have shown that Neanderthals were not subspecies of Homo Sapiens. Many fossils exist for Home neanderthalensis. Neanderthals used hand axes and spears with separately attached spearheads. They buried their dead.	Wiki
100,000 Years Ago		The first anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) appear in Africa some time before this, they are also evolved from Homo heidelbergensis.
50,000 Years Ago		Modern humans expand from Asia to Australia (to become today's aborigines) and Europe. Expansion along the coasts happens faster than expansion inland. Neanderthals also appear in Asia.
43,000 BCE		Creswell Crags caves (Britain) begin to be inhabited by modern humans.			Creswell Crags Caves
40,000 BCE		Modern humans begin entering the Americas.		Wiki
35,000 BCE		Lebombo bone deposited in a cave in the Lebombo mountains of Swaziland. It's a baboon's fibular with 29 distinct notches cut into the bone (perhaps for counting?)			Swaziland
33,000 Years Ago		Neanderthals enter Europe 33K to 25K years ago.
30,000 Years Ago		Modern humans enter North America from Siberia in numerous waves, some later waves across the Bering land bridge, but early waves probably by island-hopping across the Aleutians. At least two of the first waves had left few or no genetic descendants among Americans by the time Europeans arrived across the Atlantic Ocean. Humans reach Solomon's. Humans move into Japan.  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution			Siberia
25,000 Years Ago		Neanderthals die out leaving Homo sapiens and Homo floresiensis as the only living species of the genus Homo.
20,000 BCE		Ishango bone deposited in the African area of Ishango, which was centered near the headwaters of the Nile River at Lake Edward (now on the border between modern-day Uganda and Congo). It had a sharp piece of quartz attached to one end (perhaps for engraving or writing). It was marked with what are thought to be tally marks for counting.		Wiki
18 Thousand Ago		Upper Paleolithic Cave Paintings in France	URL: www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5579/uparticle.html  for photos see:  URL: www.jimhopper.com/paleo.html
16 Thousand Ago		Homo floresiensis existed in the Liang Bua limestone cave on Flores, remote Indonesian island.
15,000		Cave paintings begin in Creswell Crags caves of Britian.	From Wikipedia, "Thin layers of calcium carbonate flowstone overlaying some of the engravings were dated using the uranium-series disequilibrium method, which showed the oldest of these flowstones to have formed 12,800 years ago. This provides a minimum age for the underlying engraving. The scientists and archaeologists concluded it was most likely the engravings were contemporary with evidence for occupation at the site during the late glacial interstadial at around 13,000-15,000 years ago."
10,000		Everything before this time is considered Paleolithic.	Everything before 10,000 BCE was considered the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
		Start of the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) from 10,000 - 8000 BCE.
10000 BCE		Start of the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) from 10,000 - 8000 BCE.
10000 BCE		Paleo-Indians enter America.	URL: www.sacred-texts.com/time/timeline.htm
9000 BCE		Start of the Neolithic (New Stone Age) from 9000 - 4500 BCE.
9000 BCE		Extinction of woolly mammoth.	Population Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Population_curve.svg	Human population about 5 million.
9000 BCE		Settling on Mediterranean isles started. Estonia settlement begins.
9500 BCE		Ice age ends, catastrophic worldwide sea level rise (100 meters?). Black Sea floods, thought to be origin of Ancient Near East Flood story.	URL: www.sacred-texts.com/time/timeline.htm
8700 BCE		Britain begins to be inhabited by Maglemosian peoples.
8400 BCE		Evidence of dog domestication in area now Idaho.
8300 BCE		Nomadic hunters arrive in England.
8000 BCE		Beginning of 8th Millennium BCE
8000 BCE		Norway is inhabited.
7700 BCE		Flint tools, together with dismembered mammoth, were found in Mesoamerica at the mammoth killsites of Iztapan in the valley of Mexico near Texcoco. They date between 7700 - 7300 BCE.
6000 BCE		Beginning of 6th Millennium BCE
6000 BCE		Organized agriculture and large building construction appear in the Nile Valley of Egypt.
5600 BCE		Proposed date for the flooding of the Black Sea area, which is believed to be the source of the Gilgamesh tale.	According to the theory, the Mediterranean Sea was swollen due to melting glaciers. It broke through (created it) the Bosporus (aka Istanbul Strait) and shot into the Black Sea with a force 200 times the force of Niagara Falls. Each day, the Black Sea rose 6 inches (15 cm). It flooded 60,000 mile (155,000 km) of land area.	Wiki			See also: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/blacksea/ax/frame.html
5000 BCE		Beginning of 5th Millennium BCE
5000 BCE		The Badari begin to inhabit Upper Egypt.
5500 BCE	Several Bible stories seem to be borrowed from Sumerian culture. It was the Summerians whom built the ziggurats and from who the Epic of Gilgamesh comes. The Sumerians developed the first known writing system. Clay tablets from as early as 3100 BCE exist.	Farmers and fishermen begin to settle the Mesopotamian plain (now Iraq). Small villages grew into large settlements. These people would become known as the Sumerians. The people and language was not Semitic.		Link			From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerians - The Sumerians were a non-Semitic people and were at one time believed to have been invaders, as a number of linguists believed they could detect a substrate language beneath Sumerian. However, the archaeological record shows clear uninterrupted cultural continuity from the time of the Early Ubaid period (5200-4500 BC C-14, 6090-5429 calBC) settlements in southern Mesopotamia. The Sumerian people who settled here farmed the lands in this region that were made fertile by silt deposited by the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.
5200 BCE		A Neolithic (prehistoric) society begins on the Island of Malta.
5198 BCE	In 325 CE, Eusebius of Caesarea calculated the beginning of time as 5198 years before the Incarnation.		In his Chronicle, Eusebius of Caesarea innovates the "canon table," a device to coordinate chronological events depicted in the Bible. Abraham's life structures the chronicle; events are matched to the age of Abraham and then to the year of various monarchies.   URL: www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/13/timelines.php
4500 BCE		Start of the Chalcolithic (Bronze/Stone Age) 4500 - 3150 BCE
4400 BCE		The Badarian culture produced evidence of agriculture in Upper Egypt. About forty settlements and six hundred graves have been located.		Wiki
BCE	Ussher Date for Creation
4004 BCE	Creation: According to Christian timelines (Ussher), the earth and Adam and Eve were created.		This date follows the traditional timeline of Biblical history as suggested by Bishop James Ussher (1581-1656), Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland, and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College in Dublin.	For most Christian dates, I will follow traditional Ussher dates.
c. 4000 BCE		Civilizations lived at Hamoukar, the world's oldest known city in Syria. Monuments and relics have been dated to this time. Evidence suggests an organized city existed. It was a huge city over 750 acres with over 25,000 people living there.	Located between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. See:  URL: meme.essortment.com/hamoukar_rjcf.htm	World Population about 7 Million
c.4000 BCE		An ancient Chinese people known as Yangshao existed along the central Yellow River in China. "discovered in 1921 in Henan Province. The culture flourished mainly in the provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi." - URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshao_culture	They co-existed with the Dawenkou (4100 to 2600 BCE) and the Longshan (3000 to 2000 BCE). There is no Flood-like interruption in their existence. They also had their own language before the Tower of Babel.
3874 BCE	Usshers date for birth of Seth (3874 - 2962) - Gen.4:25 - Who allegedly lived 912 years.
3874 BCE	Usshers date for Zillah in Gen. 4:22 "Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron.	This date is a couple of hundred years before the Bronze age, let alone the iron age.	The problem is - The iron age is nearly 2700 years away (in 1200 BCE). How did he know about iron? This anachronism shows that the author was writing much later, during a time when iron had been common place for a long time. This is just one of many times iron is described as existing in the early bronze period.
3769 BCE	Ussher date for birth of Seth's son, Enosh.
3761 BCE	Jewish date for the creation of the world.		2ND CENTURY AD - Jewish scholar José ben Halafta calculates the exact length of time between Creation and the destruction of the Second Temple. By the Julian calendar, existence begins on Monday, 7 October 3761 BC at 10:10 pm.  URL: www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/13/timelines.php
3679 BCE	Ussher date for birth of Enosh's son, Kenan (Gen.5:9), who allegedly lived 910 years.
3609 BCE	Ussher date for birth of Kenan's son, Mahalalel (Gen.5:12), who allegedly lived 895 years.
3544 BCE	Ussher date for birth of Mahalalel's son, Jared (Gen.5:15), who allegedly lived 962 years.
BCE
3500 BCE		Early Bronze Age (c.3500 - 2000 BCE) in Near East
3400 BCE		Ancient Egyptians develop proto-hieroglyphics. This was long before the Tower of Babel (where the Bible says the earth had only one language - Gen.11 - and then God created all the various languages).	In 1998 a German archeological team excavating at Abydos (modern Umm el-Qa'ab) uncovered tomb U-j which belonged to a Pre-dynastic ruler, and recovered three hundred clay labels inscribed with proto-hieroglyphics, dating to circa 3400 BC. -  The Sumerians were also developing cuneiform script.	Wiki
3382 BCE	Usshar date for the birth of Enoch, the father of Methuselah and claimed authour of the Book of Enoch.
3317 BCE	Ussher's date for the birth of Methuselah, who lived for 969 years (according to the Bible). This year was probably arrived at by substrating his age from the projected date of the flood, as he is said to have died in the year of the flood.
c. 3300 BCE		Ice Man (Ötzi) was frozen in the Similaun Glacier in the Tirolean Ötztal Alps. He had tattoos, a small copper axe and flint dagger, fur robe, shoes of leather filled with grass.		In southern Austria (Tirol) near Italy.
c. 3300 BCE		Temples of Karnak constructed in eastern bank of the Nile in Egypt during the Gerzean period (c. 4300 - c. 3100 BCE).	Ruins still exist today.
3200 BCE		The earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appear during the predynastic period on Naqada III pottery vessels
3200 BCE		Beginning of Proto-Elamite period to 2700 BCE (Iran of today). They used to Proto-Elamite script writing system before the introduction of Elamite Cuneiform.		Wiki
3200 BCE		Megalithic Passage Tombs of Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Fourknocks, Loughcrew and Tara built in present day County of Meath on the east coast of Ireland.	Ruins still exist today.	Link
3130 BCE	Usshar date for the birth of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, who allegedly lived 777 years.
3100 BCE		Narmer founded the 1st dynasty of Egypt, and he reigned until 3050 BCE.. He was one of 9 rulers of the 1st dynasty.	We know this because of the Palermo stone.	Wiki
3082 BCE	Usshar date for the death (or disappearance) of Enoch, who allegedly lived 300 years.
3074 BCE	Ussher's date for the death of Adam, who lived 930 years according to the Bible. Gen.5:5
3050 BCE		Hor-Aha (aka Menes) became the 2nd ruler of the first Egyptian dynasty.	He was thought to be the first in the dynasty until the Palermo Stone revealed earlier rulers.
3050 BCE		Canaanite Byblos in Phoenicia (Lebanon/Cannaa) using pottery, copper, bronze, glass and tin alloy.	URL: www.drakesvision.com/timeline.html	Link
c. 3018 BCE		Djer became the 3rd ruler of the first Egyptian dynasty.	I listed this as his year of rule because Hor-Aha was said to have reigned 32 years.
3000 BCE		Beginning of 3rd Millennium BCE		World Population about 14 Million
2977 BCE		Merneith became the 4th ruler of the first Egyptian dynasty.	I listed this as his year because the Palermo Stone says Djer reigned "41 complete and partial years".
2948 BCE	Ussher's date for birth of Noah.
2950 BCE		Stonehenge began to be built in Salisbury Plain in present Southern England.	This is the date for the beginning of the building of Stonehenge. Phase one of building went from 2950-2900 BCE. Phase 2 from 2900-2400 and Phase 3 from 2550-1600. Amazingly, the people who built it, did not take a break for a world-wide flood.	Link
2900 BCE		Beginning of the 29th Century B.C.E.
2864 BCE	Usshar date for the death of Enosh, who lived 905 years.
2800 BCE		Beginning of the 28th Century B.C.E.
2769 BCE	Usshar date for the death of Kenan, who lived 910 years.
2714 BCE	Usshar date for the death of Mahalalel, who lived 895 years.
2700 BCE		Beginning of the 27th Century B.C.E.
2600 BCE		Beginning of Indus Script 2600 - 1900 BCE (now Pakistan and North West India). This language has not yet been deciphered.		Wiki
2600 BCE		Beginning of the 26th Century B.C.E.
2582 BCE	Usshar date for the death of Jared, who lived 962 years.
2686 BCE	In most major cultures, you can point to tangible items that prove that their culture existed. There is no proof that the Torah existed until around 300 BCE. There is no proof that Isreal existed (as a nation) before around 900 BCE.	Pyramids began to be built in Egypt during 3rd Dynasty.
2589 BCE		Khufu (one of the giant pyramids) built by King Khufu.	<sarcasm>Amazingly, none of these were destroyed in the Flood.</sarcasm>
2560 BCE		Great Sphinx at Giza, a 189-foot long monument to King Khafra (Khafre)
2558 BCE		Khafre (one of the giant pyramids) built by Kind Khafre, son of Khufu.	Khafre was the 3rd King of the 4th Dynasty	Link
2500 BCE		Sumerian cunneform script existed. It showed that both Sumerian and Akkadian people lived in southern Mesopotamia, and both had unique languages.	It was not true that- "the whole world had one language and a common speech." (Gen.11:1)	See Archaeology: The Definitive Guide, p.159.c.2002, ISBN: 0-7607-4085-2
2500 BCE		Beginning of the 25th Century B.C.E.
2498 BCE		In Egypt, the Fifth Dynasty was started by Userkaf. There were nine rulers in the fifth dynasty, which lasted until 2345 BCE.	We know so much about the 5th dynasty because of the Palermo Stone - an Egyptian stela of black basalt. It discussed most rulers of the 5th dynasty through ?. It also tells of the first dynasty.	Wiki
2487 BCE		Sahure became the 2nd ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2477 BCE		Neferirkare Kakai became the 3rd ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
c. 2450 BCE		The Palermo Stone was created. It contains names of Egyptian kings from the 1st dynasty to the 3rd ruler (Neferirkare) of the 5th dynasty. It also discusses some military trips, flooding of the Nile,	According to:  http://www.antiquityofman.com/palermostone.html - "There are errors on the fragments. Cairo fragment 1 names "Jer" as a 1st Dynasty king, with a cartouche. Cartouches did not exist in the 1st Dynasty (they came into being from the 3rd Dynasty onwards). The scribe is attributing to earlier kings what was common practice in the 5th Dynasty."
2467 BCE		Shepseskare Isi became the 4th ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2460 BCE		Neferefre became the 5th ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2453 BCE		Nyuserre Ini became the 6th ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2448 BCE	Usshar date for the birth of Shem, Ham and Japheth
2422 BCE		Menkauhor Kaiu became the 7th ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2414 BCE		Djedkare Isesi became the 8th ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2400 BCE		Beginning of the 24th Century B.C.E.
2375 BCE		Unas became the 9th ruler of the 5th Egyptian Dynasty.
2353 BCE	Usshar date for the death of Lamech, who lived 777 years. Gen.5:28-31
2346 BCE	Usshar date for the birth of Arphaxad
2345 BCE		Teti founded the 6th Egyptian Dynasty. The 6th Dynasty had 7 rulers and ended in 2183 BCE.
2349 BCE	Usshar date for the death of Methuselah, who lived 969 years. Gen.5:25-27. Same year as the flood allegedly ooccurred.
2349 BCE	According the Bible timelines (see Ussher's), the Flood occurred (Gen.7,8 and 9). Jesus also believed in the Flood Mat 24:38-39	If you look at the dates for the rulers of Egypt through all the possible dynasties that existed during a wide date range before and after the Flood date, there is no break in the history of Egypt that would suggest a complete destruction of civilization. This would have been near the start of the 6th Dynasty.    - Unless you believe the Kings 6:1 should read "1480 years" not "480 years, which pushes it back 1000 years - just in time for the first dynasty to start. The Chinese's (and other nations) also had civilizations that carried on without noticing a flood. Also, salt water and pressure would have killed all vegetation. What did Noah's animals eat?	Even if there was a Moses and he wrote Genesis (doubtful), this was 900 years before Moses supposedly existed. The writer would have been writing from oral history, which tends to exaggeration. This had to have been a local flood that was mythologized. There is no way animals were gathered from the 4 corners of the earth (marsupials in Australia, spiders of the rain forest, pandas in China, etc). Also, if you believe in a young earth, you had all those dinosaurs to deal with. There's no way 100 million plus animals, insects, arachnids  and birds were loaded onto a 450 ark "in the selfsame day" (Gen.7:13-14). How did he keep them from eating each other? How did he re-create some of the required habitates (like cave-dwelling arthopods)? How did he feed them (special diet and manpower)? What did they eat when they got off? Also, the moral ramifications of God drowning His children are horrific and insane. Also, where is the scientific data that all species migrated out from Turkey (where the ark landed)?  More: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html -	According to the Bible, at this time, "the whole world had one language and a common speech." (Gen.11:1). However, this is obviously not the case.
2349 BCE	This marks the end of the antediluvian period (before the flood) for Biblical literalist	If the Flood really happened, the Egyptian and Chinese dynasties would have stopped here. The pyramids and Stonehenge would have been destroyed. Paleontology would show that all animals migrated out of the near east. This is not the case.	See: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html	Link
2350 BCE		The southern states of Mesopotamia are united into one empire by Sargon, king of Akkas (a.k.a. Agade). He and his sons ruled for 150 years. http://www.crystalinks.com/meso.html
2333 BCE		Userkare became the 2nd ruler of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty.
2332 BCE		Pepi I Meryre became the 3rd ruler of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty.
2311 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Salah.
2300 BCE		Beginning of the 23rd Century B.C.E.
2283 BCE		Merenre Nemtyemsaf I became the 4th ruler of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty.
2281 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Eber.
2278 BCE		Pepi II Neferkare became the 5th ruler of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty.
2247 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Peleg.
2242 BCE	According to biblical timelines, The Tower of Babel existed very shortly after the Flood. Gen 10:25, 11:10-19. According to the Bible, God noticed that they had too much unity with one language - no telling what they might accomplish. They might actually finish that Tower and reach God. They had to be stopped for God's sake. So, He said "Let us go do an confound their language of all the earth."	"Ur-Nammu (king of Ur) was a prodigious builder. The most impressive monument of his reign was the ziggurat at Ur.  One of the most famous ziggurats was built in the city of Babylon and gave rise to the story of the Tower of Babel." http://www.crystalinks.com/meso.html - However, he did not reign until around 2065 BCE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur-Nammu	The Tower of Babel sounds like something right out of Greek mythology. And how it is that only a few years after the Flood that 8 people have created enough people to nation build - including the construction of cities and a giant tower?  According to fundamentalists, this is the genesis of the various races. So, God changes their language and their appearance. It just does not ring true. Ancient Egyptian, Sumerian and Chinese languages and even writing (cuneiform and hieroglyphic) were in existence long before the Bible says that the Earth only spoke one language.
2218 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Nimrod.
2217 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Reu.
2200 BCE		Beginning of the 22nd Century B.C.E.
2185 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Serug.
2184 BCE		Merenre Nemtyemsaf II became the 6th ruler of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty.
2184 BCE		Nitiqret became the 7th ruler of the 6th Egyptian Dynasty.
2155 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Nahor.
2126 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Terah.
2100 BCE		Beginning of the 21st Century B.C.E.
c.2000 BCE	See: http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/ent/A0820825.html	Gilgamesh epic, recorded in cuneiform script, is the first known such written legend.	Gilgamesh had a Flood, a warning from God to build an ark and take animals, he's given dimensions for the boat, a dove release, and a rainbow and the ark was stranded on a mountain.	Read the eleventh tablet here: http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm			Click here for on online English translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
2000 BCE	Death of Noah	In the 19th century, 7 tablets were unearthed containing the Babylonian myth of creation called Enuma Elish that dated from 1700 to 2000 BCE.	Some have suggested that the similarities show evidence that the creation story was borrowed from Babylonia lore.     http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/babylonian.html	World Population about 27 Million		Link
c. 2000 BCE		Middle Bronze Age (c.2000 - 1600 BCE) in Near East
2000 BCE		Beginning of the 20th Century B.C.E.
1996 BCE	According Ussher timeline, Abraham was born - Gen. 11:26-32.		Gen. 11 claims that Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldeans, which is an anachronism. The Chaldean empire did not exist until the reign of Nabopolassar in 625 BCE. This would be a common mistake if the person writing about Abraham was actually writing around the 5th century BCE.
1991 BCE		Amenemhat I became the 1st ruler (of 8 rulers total) of the 12th dynasty in Egypt according to Manetho.		Wiki
1921 BCE	According Ussher timeline, Abraham was called by God in Gen. 11:26-32.		In Galatians 3:17, Paul tells us that from the establishment of God's covenant with Abraham until the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, 430 years elapsed. That would put Moses on Mt. Sinai in 1491 from here.	Link
1971 BCE		Senusret I became 2nd Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty. 1971 BCE to 1926 BCE
1929 BCE		Amenemhet II became 3rd Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty. 1929 BC to 1895 BC
1897 BCE		Senusret II became 4th Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty.1897 BC to 1878 BC
1900 BCE		Beginning of the 19th Century B.C.E.
1896 BCE	According Ussher timeline, Isaac was born to Abraham - See Gen. 17:17.
1890 BCE	According the Bible timelines, Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
1878 BCE		Senusret III became 5th Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty.1878 – 1839 BC
1860 BCE		Amenemhat III became 6th Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty. 1860 BC to 1814 BC
1837 BCE	Ussher date for the birth of Jacob and Esau.
1821 BCE	According Ussher timeline, Abraham died - Gen. 25:7-10
1815 BCE		Amenemhet IV became 7th Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty.1815 – 1806 BC
1806 BCE		Sobekneferu became 8th Pharaoh of Egypt in the 12th dynasty.1806 – 1802 BC
1802 BCE		Sobekhotep (aka Sekhemre Khutawy) became 1st Pharaoh of Egypt in the 13th dynasty.1802 -  BC
1804 BCE	According Ussher timeline, Isaac meets with Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar and then decides to live in Gerar - Gen. 26		"The Philistines, a group of migrants from the Aegean or eastern Mediterranean, had not established their settlements along the coastal plain of Canaan until sometime after 1200 BCE." In 1804 BCE, Gerar would have been a quite insignificant villiage - Not a nation with a king and an amy with commanders (Gen.21:32). However, by the late 8th and 7th centuries BCE, it had become a strong, heavily fortified Assyrian stronghold - an obvious landmark.  This give some clue as to when the stories of Genesis were actually written.	From The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman, p. 37-38, copyright 2001.
1800 BCE		Beginning of the 18th Century B.C.E.
1792 BCE		Hammurabi (also transliterated Hammu-rapi or Khammurabi) was the sixth king of Babylon. Achieving the conquest of Sumer and Akkad, and ending the last Sumerian dynasty of Isin, (the first king of the Babylonian Empire). Hammurabi reigned over the Babylonian Empire from 1792 BC until his death in 1750 BC (dates highly uncertain).	The Code of Hammurabi, dating from the same time, was an eight foot high stone monolith that was excavated in 1901 CE. It is considered a predecessor of Jewish and Islamic legal systems.	See: date of 1155 BCE, regarding the sun god Shamash giving the code to Hammurabi.			Click here to see an online English translation of the Code of Hammurabi.
1717 BCE	According to Ussher dates, Joseph, who had been sold into slavery, was summoned by Pharaoh to interpret his dreams and gains favor.		In Gen. 37:25, a caravan of camels come by and Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery. Some scholars believe that camels were not domesticated as beasts of burden until nearly a 1000 years later. This would indicate anachronism and a later date to the writing. However, I have not made up my mind on the strength of this argument. See: http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnocamel.html and http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/abraham.html.	From The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman, p. 37, copyright 2001. See another rebuttal: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/1781			I need to research this further. It seems that there is evidence of wild camels around this time, but there is not evidence that they were domesticated for caravan travel. An example can be found here: http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/exploration.htm. If they had camels, why would they use donkeys? See: http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/means_of_transportation.htm
BCE	(Ussher's date) Story of Jacob peeling off bark from branches to make some of them striped. He put the striped branches in front of his cows when they drank. This resulted in them having similarly stripped and spotted offspring. Genesis 30:37-39. This was done because he had an agreement with Laban, who said he could have the striped and spotted cattle.		Obviously, observing stripes does not alter cow genetics. This story illustrates that these stories are probably a collection of folktales passed down for generations.
1706 BCE	Ussher's date for Jacob and family coming to Egypt, meeting Pharaoh and getting a place in Goshen. Ex.1:1 says that there were 70 people who entered Egypt.		By the time of the Exodus, there would be millions (perhaps as many as 3 million - see Numbers chapter 1, where we're told there was over 600,000 adult males - not including women, children and the tribe of Levi). That's a very short time for 70 people to make a lot of babies.
1700 BCE		Beginning of the 17th Century B.C.E.
1689 BCE	Ussher date for the death of Jacob.
1635 BCE	Ussher date for the death of Joseph.
1620 BCE		Khyan became Pharaoh in the Hyksos Egyptian dynasty 1620 - 1580 BCE.
1600 BCE	According to Ussher dates, the Israelites are enslaved by Egypt	There is no Egyptian history that mentions a mass enslavement of the Israelites. If there were 3 million Israelites in the Exodus, it would be in their history.	Note: The Bible never names an Egyptian king (Pharaoh) for the Exodus by name. One would think that if the writer knew the name for such a great event, it would be mentioned.  Later in the recorded history, Egyptian kings are named like Shishak (see 940 BCE), who most believe to be Sheshonq I (1 Kings 11:40; 2 King 2:1-24). Also, Necho (Necho II see 610 - 595 BCE) and 2 Kings 23:31; 2 Chronicles 36:1-4.	Wiki
c. 1600 BCE		Late Bronze Age (c. 1600 - 1200 BCE) in Near East
1600 BCE		Beginning of the 16th Century B.C.E.
1595 BCE				The Hittites conquer Babylon.
1580 BCE		Apepi I becomes the 4th ruler in the Hyksos Egyptian dynasty. He ruled for 40 years.
1571 BCE	According Ussher timeline, Moses is born. According to tradition, he wrote the first 5 books of the Bible.	Moses was supposedly raised in "Pharaoh's Court", however, he never gives us the name of the Pharaoh or the daughter who raised him (Ex.2)	The story of Moses being placed in a basket on the bank of the Nile to be found by Pharaoh's daughter is similar to the mythical story of Romulus and Remus (founders of Rome), who were also to be killed after birth but saved by being placed in a river.	Link
1570 c. BCE	One theory is that the Hyksos were the Edomites, and the stories of the Exodus merged into Jewish culture as a shared memory.	The conquest to expell the Hyksos Pharaohs (meaning "foreign rulers") from Egypt began. They were an ethnically mixed group of Southwest Asiatic or Semitic people who appeared in the eastern Nile Delta during the Second Intermediate Period. They ruled Lower and Middle Egypt for over 100 years. They were expelled from Egypt through a series of wars by Theban rulers.	Some have wondered if this expulsion was the Exodus. However, if we can place the date of Solomon's rule via Egyptian and Assyrian sources to pin point it at 970 BCE, and the temple was built in the fourth year of his reign and 480 years after the Exodus, then the Exodus happened in 1440 BCE. It's over 100 years off. Also, the Hyksos were rulers - not slaves.	Some believe that the Hyksos were the Edomites - see: http://nabataea.net/edomch1.html
1562 BCE	The latest consensus for the dating of the destruction of Jericho's walls (+/- 38 years). "Scholars who link these walls to the biblical account must explain how the Israelites arrived around 1550 BCE but settled four centuries later and devise a new biblical chronology that corresponds."			Wiki			Link
1550 BCE		Apepi II becomes Pharaoh in the Hyksos Egyptian dynasty. 1550 BC to 1540 BC
1550 BCE		Ahmose I becomes the 1st Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1550 BC to 1525 BC	During Ahmose reign, the Hyksos were completely expelled from Egypt.
1540 BCE		Khamudi becomes Pharaoh in the Hyksos Egyptian dynasty. 1540 BC to 1534 BC
1526 BCE		Amenhotep I becomes the 2nd Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1526 BC to 1506 BC
1505 BCE		Thutmose I becomes the 3rd Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1505 BC to 1492 BC
1500 BCE		Beginning of the 15th Century B.C.E.
1493 BCE		Thutmose II became the 4th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1493 BC to 1479 BC
1491 BCE	The Exodus: According Ussher timeline (see also 1440). Note that Num. 1:46 states that there were over 600,000 military aged men in the Exodus. If we add in the women and children, that number easily doubles or triples. With the world population at only about 37 million at this time, a million people is a lot of people. A 37th of the world population wondering around in the desert should get noticed in history.	Ex.14:30 claims that the people of Philistia heard about the crossing, and they were anguished. However, modern archaeology has determined that Philistia was established by the "Sea People" during the reign of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty c. 1180 - 1150 BCE. Therefore, this is an anachronism.	Christians say that the reason there is nothing in Egyptian history regarding the exodus is that Egypt never recorded any of their defeats. However, I cannot imagine the first born of every family dying and it not having a major impact on their literature. Though the Israelites may have been a nomadic people in Canaan, there is no evidence that they occupied Egypt during this time.				Martin Noth, an Old Testament scholar, noted that for that total number to be reached, each Israelite mother and father would have had to have had 40 male children plus female children to marry off to other people's sons. - http://religion.ucumberlands.edu/hebrewbible/hbnotes/plaguesnotes.htm
1491 BCE	Usshers date for Lev. 26:19 "I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze."		Oops, the iron age doesn't start for nearly 300 more years. See 3874 BCE too. There are many references to iron during this story time.	Link
1490 BCE	Ussher date for the completion of the Tabernacle.
1479 BCE		Hatshepsut became the 5th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1479 BC to 1458 BC
1470 BCE		A massive volcanic eruption at Thera destroys the Minoan civilization at Crete. This caused 160 ft waves and flooding in Egypt.
1458 BCE		Thutmose III became the 6th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1479 BC to 1425 BC
1453 BCE	Wondering in Kadesh-barnia. Many scholars estimate that if Num.1:45 is true (also Ex.12:37), there were probably over 3 million Israelites in the Exodus (600,000 military aged men (25 years and older), 600,000 similar aged women, 2,000,000 people under the age of 25, plus the tribe of Levi). Gen. 47:27 says that they "multiplied excedingly". This means large families with lots of kids. The Hebrews were camped around Kadesh-barnea for most of the 40 years prior to entering Canaan. How did millions of people live, die, herd animals, etc in this area for nearly 40 years and not leave any sign of their stay?	Reminder: This is Late Bronze Age. The Bronze Age extended from 3150 - 1200 BCE.	Rome reached 1 million people in 133 BCE. This means that Moses had 3 times the population of Rome settled in an area for 40 years. Yet, there has never been any archeological proof for this.	Wiki	Click here to see a traditional map of the Exodus wondering path.		The reason that I believe the author of this part of the Bible tells us about such a large number of people is to fullfill the prophecy that was established earlier to Abraham and Jacob. "GENESIS 46:2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob!" And he said, "Here I am." 3 So He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there." - Gen.47:27, "Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly."
1452 BCE	Usshers date for Balaam and the talking donkey (Num 22). As the story goes, an invisible Angel blocks Balaam's path. The donkey can see the Angel but Balaam cannot.  Three times the donkey refuses to walk the path of the angel, crushing Balaam's foot against a wall once. Balaam beats the donkey each time. Then, the angel casts a magic spell on the donkey and lets it talk. It prompty scolds Balaam for the bad treatment. Balaam holds a conversation like it was the most normal thing on earth.		This story leaves me with the impression of mythology similar to other mythical stories that survive oral tradition, handed down like fairy tales. Of course, it also gives rise to every school boy getting to say, "Balaam beat his ass."
1452 BCE	Ussher's date for the slaughter of the Midianites under the leadership of Moses (Num.31), who tells the Israelite army to commit genocide, except for the virgins (read - very, very young girls).		The virgins will be given out as gifts to the soldiers and priests. There were 32,000 young girls who were ripped from their homes, had their parents and siblings killed, all of their possessions taken and then forced into sexual relations with the soldiers and priests. All of this at the supposed command of God. It strikes me as ironic that Christians today so quickly find Islam as evil, and cannot believe that anyone would practice a religion that would kill others in the name of God; yet, their religon is founded on just this. The only reason we're told that Joshua was to wipe out the inhapitants was because they were pagans. In other words, they had a different religion. They were to be wiped out lest their pagan ideas influence the Hebrews. Not to mention the fact that here- God ordains forcing very young girls into sexual relationships.	Link
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for the death of Moses in the plains of Moab on Mt. Nebo. This was a busy year to say the least. Deut.34:1 The Conquest of Canaan, according to Ussher, starts 40 years from the Exodus.			Click here to see a map showing Mt. Nebo
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua leading the Hebrews west through the Jordan river. We're told that God stopped the Jordan from flowing so they could cross (Josh.4:7).		During this story, Joshua has 12 stones removed from the river bottom and stacked near where the people crossed. The writer then tells us "And they are there to this day." This hints that the story was written much later than the event.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for the Walls of Jericho falling down and Joshua capturing the city. (Joshua 6). Except for a woman who spied for Joshua, the story claims complete genocide for the city - including their animals. No one was left alive.		In the early and late Bronze Age, Jericho was an insignificant, poor, unfortified city (the walls were not used for fortification). In fact, none of Canaan was really fortified. They were all vassals of Egypt and relied on the Pharaoahs for protection. There is no archaeological signs of destruction of Jericho during this time. It is true that Jericho had walls (but not walls built for fortification). In fact, archaeologist have dated the earliest walls build at around 8000 BCE. These were re-built about 17 times. There may have been an earthquake that destroyed the walls at some time in history which survived oral tradition, and this story was later woven into the Joshua account.	Link	Click to see Map of location of Jericho.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua capturing and burning the city of Ai with 30 thousand Hebrew soldiers (Joshua 8). We are again told of complete genocide, leaving "neither suvivors nor fugitives."		Most scholars have identified Ai as et Tell (14 Km from Jericho), which causes a problem. Ai was in ruins during the late Bronze age and was not inhabited. Thus, biblical scholars must either re-date the Exodus much later or decide that Ai was at another location. See: http://www.bga.nl/en/articles/ai.html	Link			"Between 1933 and 1935, the French-trained Jewish Palestinian archaeologist Judith Marquet-Krause carried out a large-scale excavation at et-Tell and found extensive remains of a huge Early Bronze Age city, dated over a millennium before the collapse of the Late Bronze Canaan. Not a single pottery sherd or any other indication of settlement there in the Late Bronze Age was recovered." - Finklestien and Silberman, The Bible Unearthed, p. 82.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for the Hebrews forcing the Gibeonites to be their woodcutters and water carriers. The writer of Joshua 9:26 goes on to say "And that is what they are to this day."		I need to research this further, but the phrase "And that is what they are to this day" is a hint as to when this was written. In 1957 CE, James Pritchard excavated Gibeon and found a complex water system and the famed "Pool of Gibeon". It seems that the water system was created in the 12th century. It would have been well well embedded in the memories of a writer during the 7th - 9th centuries.  The fact that the Gibeonites were left alive hint that this may have been written when the Hebrews and the Gibeonites were allies.	http://www.bibleplaces.com/gibeon.htm	Click here to see a map showing Gibeah		The city of El-Jib has been identified as ancient Gibeon, which is only 8 miles north of Jerusalem. See 1956 CE, excavation by Pritchard.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date: Joshua fights the Amorites and God makes the sun and the moon stand still (Joshua 10). See: http://www.theskepticalreview.com/Miller/speculation1.html		1. It's obvious that the writer has a geocentric view of earth. If this has been written after Copernicus (see 1514 CE), perhaps it would have been heliocentric, but they didn't understand such things yet. To try and say that the author understood that the earth rotated around the sun is silly.  2. If daylight was extended here, it was extended worldwide. No such report exists from other cultures of a long day or night at this time.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua battling the city of Makkedah and the killing of 5 kings (kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon) he had trapped in a cave at Makkedah (Josh.10:16-28). The Bible says that no survives were left in the city (again, complete genocide) and the king was killed too.  Then the 5 kings were hung.		The location of Makkedah is in doubt.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua battling the city of Libnah  (Josh.10:29). The Bible says that no survives (again, complete genocide) were left in the city and the king was killed too.		Linbah's location has not been identified with certainty. It may be Tell es-Safi or Tell Bornat. Libnah is mentioned as having revolted from Judah under Jehoram (r.849 - 842 BCE) see 2 Kings 8:22; 2Chron.21:10.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua battling the city of Lachish and Gezer  (Josh.10:31). The Bible says that no survives were left. Once again, complete genocide for both cities.		Lachish is mentioned in the Amarna Letters. It was also the 2nd most important city under Rehoboam, king of Judah, in 701 BCE (which, my guess, may be why it gets mentioned here.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua battling the city of Eglon  (Josh.10:34). The Bible says that no survives were left. Once again, complete genocide for the entire city.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua battling the city of Hebron  (Josh.10:34). The Bible says that no survives were left. Once again, complete genocide for the entire city. Also, they killed the king again. I'm not sure why, as the king of Hebron was killed in Josh. 10:22-26. I guess it was the new king.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua battling the city of Debir  (Josh.10:38). The Bible says that no survives were left. Once again, complete genocide for the entire city.
1451 BCE	Ussher's date for the compaign to conquer the area of Canaan completes. We are told that Joshua "totally destroyed all who breathed" (Josh.10:40). We are specifically told that it was complete genocide for everyone from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. Not one person was left alive (except the Gibeonites and the woman who betrayed her city).		Where is this Goshen?  Surely, the author does not mean the Goshen in the Fertile Crescent?
1450 BCE	Ussher's date for Joshua 11 - in which, Joshua defeats the northern kings, including: Kings of Hazor (Jabin, King of Hazor - Josh.11:1), Madon, Shimron, Acshaph, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Hivites, the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor. According to the Bible, Joshua killed every living person in all of those lands. See Josh 11:12-15. He took their animals and killed every person in every city.		If this were true, it would stick out in historical records like a sore thumb. There would be evidence of mass graves and Egyptian records of pleas of help from these vassal cities noting how entire cities had suffered complete genocide.
1440 BCE	This is the date of the Exodus if 1 Kings 6:1 is to be taken literally. It says that the Exodus occurred 480 years before the construction of the Temple that started in the 4th year of Solomon's reign. We know the date of Solomon due to a military victory over Solomon's son, Rehoboam, by Sheshonq I. This happened about 5 years after Solomon died. Sheshonq I recorded his victory details on the wall at the Temple of Amun at Thebes, mentioning Solomon by name. See also Ussher's date of 1491.	There are several ways to arrive at the date of the Exodus. Since there are no external witnesses to 3 million Hebrew slaves leaving Egypt, we must look at city names and people that are mention and then look at archaeology. This method gives us a different date than the Bible. The Bible also gives conflicting accounts. See: http://theskepticalreview.com/jftill/egypt/howlong.html	Exodus 1:11 says that the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt and were forced to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. However, Rameses hadn't even started his reign yet. See 1292 and 1279.
1427 BCE		Amenhotep II became the 7th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1427 BC to 1401 BC or 1427–1397 BC
1405 BCE	Ussher's date for Othniel becomes the first Judge after the death of Joshua.		He became Judge after defeating the city of Debir, for which he was rewarded with the daughter of Caleb.
1401 BCE		Thutmose IV became the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1401 BC – 1391 BC or 1397 BC – 1388 BC
1400 BCE	If literalist agree that the Exodus must happen in 1440, Joshua's conquest would have started in this year, which is only 30 years from the richly documented Canaanite history in the Amarna Letters. The Letters details city-state "mayors" being in charge of Canaanite cities, all of whom are vassals of Egypt.
1400 BCE		Beginning of the 14th Century B.C.E.
1388 BCE		Amenhotep III became the 9th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1388 BC – 1351 BC	In 1887, the Amarna Letters were found east of the Nile. There were over 300 cuneiform tablets. Many described Canaan in the Late Bronze Age. It revealed that Egypt controlled Canaan. The kings of Canaan paid tribute to and expected help from Egypt. Amenhotep III received a letter from the mayor of Megiddo.				When the Pharaohs addressed heads of what they called "city-states" in Canaan in the Amarna Letters, they referred to them as "mayors." All of these mayors were considered vassals of Egypt.
1372 BCE	Joshua died at 110 years old (Ussher date)
c. 1370 BCE		Biridiya (mayor of Megiddo) sent a letter to Amenhotep III. He tells the Pharaoh that "Labaya  has waged war against me." He claims that the Pharaoh needs to resque him or Labaya will capture Megiddo. He then asks the king for 100 men to defend the city. This was the earliest Amarna letter.	We know this because of the Amarna Letters found in 1887. The fact that 100 men sent to Megiddo could save it from being captured shows that the cities of Canaan were not large nations. Megiddo was probable the largest of all the Canaanite cites, and it could be defended by 100 men. This also gives clue as to when the Pentateuch was written. The writer of the Pentateuch viewed Megiddo as a large nation. It was not. Also, Joshua could not have attacked Megiddo withou having to deal with the Egyptians. This was never mentioned in the story.	See the Amarna stone here that speaks of Megiddo:
1352 BCE		Akhenaten (aka Amenhotep IV) became the 10th Pharaoh of Egypt in the 18th dynasty. His wife was the famed Nefertiti (made famous by her exquisitely painted bust in the Altes Museum of Berlin). The majority of the Amarna Letters date from this time frame.	The Amarna Letter (cuneiform tablet) from Lachish to Egypt was addressed to Pharaoh Akhenaten (Lachish was mentioned as being destroyed by Joshua - see 1451 BCE). The letter was a request for sending a few weapons (6 bows, 3 daggers and 3 swords). There is no indication in the letter that Lachish is under Hebrew controll. In fact, none of the many letters from Canaanite rulers indicate this.	Link
1343 BCE	Ussher's date for the Death of Othniel, the first Judge of Israel.
1334 BCE		Smenkhkare became the 11th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1334–1333 BC
1333 BCE		Tutankhamun became the 12th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1333 BC – 1324 BC	He is famous because his tomb was found nearly completely intact - not because of his political success.
1325 BCE	Ussher's date for Ehud to become 2nd judge of Israel after he defeats Eglon, king of Moab, who had placed the Israelites under his thumb for 18 years. During the battle, the Israelite army is said to have killed 10,000 men and "not a man escaped." Jud.3:29
1324 BCE		Ay became the 13th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1324–1320 BC or 1327–1323 BC
1320 BCE		Horemheb became the 14th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. 1320 BC to 1292 BC
1305 BCE	Ussher's date for the death of Ehud, the 2nd judge of Israel. Jud. 4:1 - At his death, the Isrealites became oppressed by Jabin, king of Hazor, for 20 years.		This is odd because Joshua killed King Jabin - wiping out every person in Hazor 146 year earlier. This is ether a popular name for Hazor kings or echoing oral history. Also note that Jabin was able to conquer the Israelites because his had iron chariots.
1300 BCE		Beginning of the 13th Century B.C.E.
1292 BCE		Ramesses I founded the 19th dynasty.  1292 BC to 1290 BC or 1295 BC to 1294 BC
1290 BCE		Seti I, son of Ramesses I, became Pharaoh of Egypt (19th dynasty).	In his first year, he led his armies through the "Ways of Horus" which is a system of military forts (each having its own well) that protect the passage between Egypt, through the Sinai peninsula, and Canaan. If 3 million Israelites left Egypt into the Sinai peninsula, they would have encountered this Egyptian military defense. Christians claim that the "Ways of Horus" was in the same direction as the Philistinesl  (which the story specifically tells us they avoided the direction of the Philistines); however, the Philistines did not settle the area until late in the reign of Ramesses III (1183 - 1152).	Seti	Philiestines		A relief of Seti I (1306-1290) at Karnak shows him crossing a fortified bridge over a reed-lined waterway teeming with crocodiles. The inscription calls the waterway ta denat "the dividing waters" (Gardiner 1920:104 ),about which more below. SWP (1975:548) identify "the dividing waters" with the "Ways of Horus," "Shur of Egypt" and their "Eastern Canal." Oren and Shereshevsi (1989:7) suggest that the relief "probably commemorated the establishment of the military complex along the 'Ways of Horus' and perhaps also the excavation of the sweetwater canal on the edge of the Nile Delta."  http://www.angelfire.com/ms/ancecon/
1285 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Deborah's reign as the 3rd Judge of Isreal.
1279 BCE	This is the year that the city that would later be called "Pi-Ramesses" was built. Exodus 1: 11 "So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh." (NIV).  This puts the city being built well after the time of the Exodus.	Ramses II, the Great, becomes Pharaoh of Egypt. He reigned until his death in 1213 BCE (19th dynasty).	During his reign, Ramses II changed the name of the city of Avaris to Pi-Ramesses. This is believed to be the city intended in Exodus 1: 11. However, it was not called Rameses when it was built. This supports that the text was written much later than the city was built. Probably so many years past that the true author did not realize its original name.	Wiki
1252 BCE	Ussher's date for the end of of Deborah's reign as Judge of Israel.
1245 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Gideon's reign as Judge of Israel.
1236 BCE	Ussher's date for  the beginning of Abimelech's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Gideon's.
1233 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Tola's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Abimelech's.
1213 BCE		Merneptah becomes the 4th Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty. 1213 to 1203 BC
1210 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Jair's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Tola's.
1207 BCE	"A Victory stele erected by Pharaoh Merneptah in 1207 BCE mentioned a great victory over a people named Israel."		The inscription describes how the people called Israel were wiped out in battle in Canaan to the point that their seed was no more. There is no mention of Israelites living in Egypt.			From The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman, p. 18, copyright 2001.
1203 BCE		Amenmesse becomes the 5th Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty. 1203 BC to 1200 BC
1200 BCE	Archaeologist (from 1967 CE to today) have found evidence of many (some 250) small communities in the highlands from the Judean hills in the south to the hills of Samaria in the north. These communities had between 50 adults to a few hundred, and are believed to be the first Israelites.	In studying the highland people, archaeologist find no pig bones. There were pig bones discovered with other non-Hebrew cities of the time (like the the Philistines who ate a lot of pig).	There is no sign of violent invasion like is attributed to Joshua. It appears that the Canaanites lived in the lowlands and the Israelites lived in the highlands during this time. It appears that the Isrealites were previously Canaanites, who began to separate themselves culturally.			From The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman, p. 107, copyright 2001.
1200 BCE		Seti II becomes the 6th Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty. 1200 BC - 1194 BC
c.1200 BCE	There are several stories of iron use in the alleged writings of Moses and Joshua that make claim to iron use (iron chariots, for example). There was even an iron worker mentioned during the time of Adam.These are anachronisms, and show that the writings were probably written well after the start of the iron age - during a time when iron had been so common for so long that the author did not think about a time when it did not exist.	Beginning of the Iron Age in the Near East (1200 - 586 BCE)
1200 BCE		BEGINNING OF IRON AGE I IN NEAR EAST Beginning of 12th Century B.C.E.
1188 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Jephthah's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Jair's
1186 BCE		Setnakhte becomes the first king of the 20th dynasty in Egypt.
1183 BCE		Ramesses III becomes 2nd king of  the 20th dynasty in Egypt.
1182 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Ibzan's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Jephthah's.
1178 BCE		A total eclipse of the Sun was visible from the Greek island of Ithaca on April 16th
1175 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Elon's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Ibzan's.
1165 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Abdon's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Elon's.
1157 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Samson's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Abdon's.		Specifically, Robert Price points to sun god, Shamash of Babylon, who was the god of Justice and judge of gods and men (Samson was also a judge). Like the sun, he burns the crops of the Philistines (Jud.15:4-5), his hair is braided into 7 locks like the rays of the sun, and when they are cut off he is both blinded and weakened.	The Babylonian King Hammurabi received his code from Shamash c. 1792.			Robert Price, in this book, The incredible Shrinking Son of Man, points out that Samson was a humanized version of one of many sun god mythologies (Samson means "the sun").
c. 1150 BCE		Trojan War (in Greek Mythology) against the city of Troy in Asia Minor by the Achaeans.	The mythical war (that may or may not have been storied from an actual battle) was preceded by the kidnapping of Helen of Sparta by Paris of Troy. At one time, ancient Greeks believed this war to be a real war and Troy a real city. We now know both are not. This includes the tale of pushing the Trojan Horse into the city of Troy. Some historians believe there may be some historical core to some of the stories, but concrete associations continue elusive.	Wiki
1152 BCE		Ramesses IV becomes 3rd king of the 20th dynasty in Egypt.
1117 BCE	Ussher's date for the beginning of Samuel's reign as Judge of Israel and the end of Samson's.
1100 BCE		Beginning of the 11th Century B.C.E.
1095 BCE	According the Bible timelines, Samson dies and Saul is appointed by Samuel as King of Israel. These is no record of Saul being king of Israel outside of the Bible.		This is Isreal's first king. However, back in Gen.36:31, the writer remarks of the kings of Edom - "Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel." Yet, back in Genesis, there was no thought of a King ruling over the Israelites. This seems to be a hint as to when Genesis was written - much later in history - and certainly not by Moses.
1095 BCE	1 Sam 11:8, "When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand."		If there were 330,000 military-aged men, there would be an equal number of women and at least that many children and older people. This would make them a nation of over a million people - Twice as large as the Roman Empire. This is most likely an exaggeration.
1056 BCE	Ussher's date for the death of King Saul.
1055 BCE	Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son, became king for 2 years until David overthrew him.
1055 BCE	Ussher's date: David becomes king of Israel.
1012 BCE	According to Ussher, The Temple in Jerusalem (Solomon's Temple) was founded.
1000 BCE		Beginning of the 10th Century BCE		World Population about 50 million.
975 BCE	In 2005 CE, Archaeologiest Dr. Ron E. Tappy discovered the oldest full Hebrew alphabet at Tel Zayit. It dated to the late 10th century.	Click here to see a map of Tel Zayit.	The Hebrews developed their writing from the Phoenicians.	Link # 1		Link # 2
970 BCE	Ussher's date: David dies and Solomon becomes king of Israel. These is no record of Solomon's fantastic kingdom or Temple- outside of the Bible. Archeologist have searched and searched for proof. He seems to have existed, but with a kingdom of much lesser scale.		Ussher puts this date earlier at 1015 BCE. With the finding at the temple of Amun at Karnak (see 940 BCE), it seems it was later as shown here. I Kings 6:1 states that the Exodus took place 480 years before the construction of the Temple that started in the 4th year of Solomon's reign.
c. 940 BCE	Pharaoh Shishak (mentioned in 1 Kings 14:25 as having come up against Jerusalem to demand tribute during the fifth year of the reign of Solomon's son) was identified as Sheshonq I (aka Shoshenq) of the Twenty-second Dynasty, who ruled from 945 to 924 BCE. He left an account of his campaign on a wall in the temple of Amun at Karnak, in Upper Egypt.		From The Bible Unearthed by Finkelstein and Silberman, p. 18, copyright 2001.	Read more about this Pharaoh here:
931 BCE	Solomon dies and Rehoboam becomes king of Judah.
900 BCE		Beginning of the 9th Century BCE - Beginning of Iron Age II 900 - 586
896 BCE	By Christian timelines, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a firey chariot (2 Kings 2:1-24)
853 BCE	From Assyrian data, it can be shown that 853 B.C. witnessed the battle of Qarqar and the death of Ahab, and that 841 B.C. saw Jehu as king of Israel in place of Joram. http://www-personal.buseco.monash.edu.au/~hyndman/bible/times/chap2.htm			Ussher date
850 BCE	In 1868 CE, the Moabite Stone was found in Dhiban, Jordan. It speaks of things that happened around 850 BCE.		1. How Moab was conquered by Omri, King of Israel, as the result of the anger of the god Chemosh. Mesha's victories over Omri's son (not mentioned by name), over the men of Gad at Ataroth, and at Nebo and Jehaz;    2. His public buildings, restoring the fortifications of his strong places and building a palace and reservoirs for water; and    3. His wars against the Horonaim.	The Moabite Stone (a.k.a. the Mesha Stele) describes…
850 BCE		Traditional dates for Homer's epic poems: The Iliad and The Odyssey.  Whether Troy and Greece actually has an epic battle is unsure. If so, it was a battle that occurred about 500 years before Homer.	Whether Homer originated all of the ideas in the Iliad and The Odyssey is debatable. He may have compiled oral records of century old stories. In fact, nothing concrete is really known of Homer. His work is the beginning of Westarn classical liturature.	Click here to see an online English translation of the works of Homer
800 BCE		Beginning of the 8th Century BCE
780 BCE		On June 4, 780 BC a solar eclipse was recorded in China.
753 BCE		Traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus (Rome, named from Romulus, who, as the story goes, killed Remus in a argument.	The story of Romulus and Remus is filled with mythology including Romulus ascending at death and then later appearing to witnesses translated to a higher state.	Wiki
750 BCE				World Population about 60 Million.
763 BCE		A solar eclipse of 16 June 763 BC mentioned in an Assyrian text is important for the Chronology of the Ancient Orient.
745 BCE	See (2 Kings 15:29; 16:5-9; 1 Chronicles 5:6, 26)	Tiglat-pileser III is king of Assyria.	According to Finkelstein & Silberman, The Bible Unearthed, p.68, "Archaeological investigations indicate that Edom reached statehood only under Assyrian auspices in the seventh century BCE." If this is true, it makes Moses references to Edomite kings anachronisms. However, they gave no references to why they believe this is true. I found that 8th century Edomite kings are listed in Assyrian cuneform. However, I don't see why people of Edom could not have existed prior. That said, I doubt they were around in 1500 BCE.	Kaus-malaka becomes king of Edom according to Assyrian cuneiform.		http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edom
739 BCE	Isaiah begins to prophesy (Ussher date).
732 BCE	Ahaz is king of Judah from 732 - 716 BCE (2 Kings 16).  He's described as a wicked kin who introduced many pagan and idolatrous customs. He died at age of 35, after reigning 16 yrs, and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah. When Ahaz fears being attacked by the alliance of Syria and Israel, Isaiah prophecies that a young woman would have a son, and before that child knew the difference between good and evil, these two enemies would be vanquished by Assyria.		See my Article on the Virgin Birth at: http://www.TalkingTimeline.com/pdf/Part_2_Why Christianity is Unbelievable_Vigin Birth.pdf
721 BCE	According the Bible timelines, The 10 tribes of Israel are taken captive to Assyria.  The southern kingdom of Judah still stands.
700 BCE			The Persians would later conquer Babylon.	Achaemenes (Hakaimanish) is first chieftain of the Persians.
700 BCE		Beginning of the 7th Century BCE
653 BCE		The Medes came under the domination of the Scythians lasting twenty-eight years (under Madius the Scythian, 653-625 BC).	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_empire#The_rise_and_fall_of_empires_in_Persia	Teispes, son of Achaemenes, seems to have led the nomadic Persians to settle in southern Iran.
628 BCE	Jeremiah is called to be a prophet. He wrote from Jerusalem and saw the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in  589 (Jer. 37:4,5).		Some believe that Jeremiah redacted Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, the books of Samuel and the Books of Kings.
625 BCE		Nabopolassar (Nabu-apal-usur) was the first king of the Chaldean Empire, better known as Babylon after defeating the Assyrians. He ruled until 605, when his son, Nebuchadnezzar took over.	This is the start of the neo-Babylonian empire - so called to distinguish it from the past Empire under Hammurapi.	Hvakhshathra or Cyaxares (r. 625 - 585 BC) became king of Media (Iran).
c. 622 BCE	Ussher date: Josiah, king of Judah, discovers the "Book of the Law" during temple renovations. Many scholars believe that this may have been the book of Deuteronomy, which was not so much discovered as written during this time - at least the first redaction.		It could have been written to serve the territorial ambitions of Josiah and to preserve the culture and history in an idealized manner.
612 BCE		Nabopolassar and Cyaxares the Mede team up to overthrow the Assyrian Empire and destroyed Nineveh.	After this victory, the Medes conquered Northern Mesopotamia, Armenia and some important parts of Asia Minor especially Lydia.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyaxares
610 BCE	Josiah, king of Judah, attempts to help the Babylonians by blocking Necho II advance at Megiddo. Josiah is killed in the battle.		He is mentioned in 2 Kings 23:29, 2 Chronicles 35:20-24.  Notice how biblical history is beginning to get more detailed. Specific names are mentioned and historical records can verify events. This is one clue as to when the first 5 books of the Bible were written.	Necho II (more accurately, Nekau II) was a king of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt (610 - 595 BC), and the son of Psammetichus I.
609 BCE	Jehoiakim begins reign as King of Judah and reigns until 598 BCE Daniel 1:1-2 mistakenly states that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the 3rd year of his reign (606 BCE). I need to study this further (regarding accession year)			Necho II deposed Jehoahaz and placed Jehoiakim in his stead.		http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necho_II
605 BCE		Nebuchadrezzar becomes king of Babylon and reigns until 562	This is the head of gold in Daniel's prophecy (Dan.2:32-33). The first of four kingdoms that will rise up to control the world.	Nebuchadrezzar marries the daughter of Cyaxares at some point.
604 BCE				Traditional (Chinese) date for the birth of Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism. However, some believe it was as late as the 4th century.		http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao-tzu
600 BCE		Late Iron Age for Near East
600 BCE		Beginning of the 6th Century BCE
598 BCE	Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, begins to reign as King of Judah at the age of 8 (or 18). After reigning for three months and ten days, he was removed from office by the Babylonians, and Zedekiah was placed as king in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36:9).		"Jeconiah, with his household, many of the rulers of Judah, and many craftsmen, were taken captive to Babylon. Cuneiform records dated to 592 BC mention Jeconiah ("Ia-'-ú-kinu") and his five sons as recipients of food rations in Babylon. He was still called king while in captivity. In the thirty-seventh year of his captivity (562 BC), he was removed from prison by Amel-Marduk, King of Babylon." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehoiachin
586 BCE		Beginning of the Persian (or Babylonian/Persion or Late Iron) Age (586 - 332 BCE)
586 BCE	Judah falls to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The temple is destroyed. Jews are exiled to Babylon.
c. 575 BCE			The dates for his birth and death range about 10 years. He was born between 580 and 572 BC and died between 500 and 490 BC.	Birth of Pythagoras of Samos, of the famed Pythagorean theorem.
570 BCE
562 BCE	According to the Book of Kings, Amel-Marduk pardoned and released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who had been a prisoner in Babylon for thirty-seven years. Allegedly because Amel-Marduk tried to modify his father's policies, he was murdered by Nergal-sharezer (Neriglissar), his brother-in-law, who succeeded him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amel-Marduk	Amel-Marduk (d. 560 BC), called Evil-merodach in the Hebrew Bible, was the son and successor of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. He seems to have reigned only two years (562 - 560 BC).
559 BCE			See 653 BCE.  In 559, the Persians were still paying tribute to the Medes (ruled by Astyages).    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_empire#The_rise_and_fall_of_empires_in_Persia	Cyrus II the Great reunited the two branches of the descendants of Teispes (Anshan and the rest of Persia). Ruled until 530.
560 BCE		Neriglissar (a.k.a. Nergal-sharezer) became king of Babylon until 556 BCE)
556 BCE		Labashi-Marduk, Chaldean king of Babylon (556 BCE), and son of Nergal-sharezer (Neriglissar). Labashi-Marduk succeeded his father when still only a boy, after the latter's four-year reign. Most likely due to his very young age, he was unfit to rule, and was murdered in a conspiracy only nine months after his inauguration. Nabonidus was consequently chosen as the new king.
555 BCE		Nabonidus (a.k.a. Nabu-na'id) became king of Babylon according to extra-biblical evidence. He ruled until 539, when Cyrus the Great (Persian) captured Babylon.	Nabonidus is the last Chaldean king of Babylon.  Nabonidus was not a member of the royal family. http://www.harding.edu/USER/jdfortner/WWW/pdf/chronology.pdf
553 BCE		Nabonidus left Babylon to live in Teima in northern Arabia  (probably to establish trade routes). He remained absent from the capital city until his 11th regional year, during which time his son Belshazzar served as co-regent.
550 BCE			Cyrus assumed control over Media, creating a powerful Persian and Median empire. This provided the force needed to defeat Babylon later.	Cyrus rallied the Persians and defeated the  Median forces of Astyages.
c. 550 BCE			Zoroaster believed that he heard the voice the god, Ahura Mazda, which told him to start a new religion.    Mithra was the sun god, and most important god or truth.	Zoroaster was a priest in a temple in the eastern part of Western Asia (Persia).
543 BCE		Nabonidus returned to Babylon and relieved Belshazzar of his post as co-regent. See the extant "Chronicle of Nabonidus", which is a stone that describes this. Nabonidus was in Babylon when Cyrus came calling. On Oct. 11, Nabonidus fled Babylon. On Oct. 12, the army of Cyrus walked into Babylon without having to fight. Nabonidus returned and was arrested.	Nothing is known of Belshazzar' s activities after 543 B.C. (cf. Ronald H. Sack, “Belshazzar,” in ABD, 1: 661). http://www.harding.edu/USER/jdfortner/WWW/pdf/chronology.pdf
539 BCE	Daniel reads, 5:30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, (31) and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.	Cyrus the Great (Persian) captured Babylon on Oct. 12.	Perhaps Daniel is thinking of Darius the Great who ruled over Media and Persia 10 years later. There is no Darius in history at this time who could have been the ruler of Babylon and Media Persia. Also, Belshazzar was not king and was no longer even co-regent, having been dismissed in c. 543 BCE.
536 BCE	Ussher's date for Book of Ezra histroy to begin.
c. 536 BCE	Book of Daniel was written (according to the conservative Christian view). There are many reasons to believe that this was actually written 167-164 BCE, during the revolt and assault by Antiochus IV, and few reason to believe an older date. It seems to be written for the purpose of rallying support for a revolt and fight against Antiochus.		According to tradition, Jews begin to return to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding the Temple. Note:  Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach a.k.a. Ecclesiasticus was written early in the 2nd century. It later made it to the Septuagint and is considered canonical by Catholics (apocryphal by Jews now). However it was also found at Qumran. This adds to the fact that 2nd century docs were popular at Qumran.
530 BCE		Cambyses II, ruled Persian from 530-522 BC	Cambyses II (Kambujiya II) was son of Cyrus I and had ruled Anshan from 600 -559 BCE. He was a Persian king of good family whom king Astyages of Media, had married his daughter Mandane. The issue of this union was Cyrus II, the Great (Herod., I, 46, 107).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambyses
521 BCE		Darius the Great becomes Emperor of Media and Persia. He reigned until 485 BCE. His father was Hystaspes, who (it is believed) promoted Zoroastrianism in Persia.	This may be the Darius to which the author of Daniel was referring. He may have just had the dates confused. Dan 9:1, Daniel denotes him as "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede..."  If he did mean this Darius, he was way off again.
516 BCE	Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem		One version of the story - Upon returning to Jerusalem, the northern area was inhabited by Samaritans (the capital of the Northern Kingdom was Samaria). The Samaritans eventually came to establish their religion on the Torah (but nothing past the 5 books). However, they claim that Mt.Gerizim was their Holy Place - perhaps because the Jews would not let them worship with them in the Jewish holy place of the Temple in Jerusalem.	Wiki			After the Temple is built, the Jews have pretty much dropped Hebrew as their language and now speak mostly Aramaic. Future writings in Aramaic would be called "targums".
BCE
500 BCE		Beginning of the 5th Century BCE		World Population about 100 Million.
499 BCE		This is the time of the Persian Wars between Greece and the great Persian empire. There would be a back and forth victory and defeat for both sides. Persian-Greco Wars started in 499 BC and lasted until 448 BC.
495 BCE		Birth of Pericles (495 - 429 BCE) [pear-a-cleez], Athenian statesman.
495 BCE	Birth of Anaxagoras (c.495 - 428 BCE) [an-nax-ag-or-us], Greek philosopher.		Part of the Ionian school of philosophy. He's mentioned in the Gorgias at 465d by Socrates. Only by knowing that Anaxagoras believed that all things existed initially combined as infinitesimally small units can you understand 465d. See also ideas in the Theaetetus.
490 BCE		Battle of Marathon- King Darius I of Persia first attempt to conquer Greece and bring it into the Persian empire.	Though out numbered, the Athenians pushed back the Persians in near miraculous form.
490 BCE	Approximate birth date of the Sophist Protagoras of Abdera (c. 490 - c. 410 BCE), who is the Sophist in Plato's Protagoras.		Protagoras is the originator of the line, "Man is the measure of all things." His values are all relative (but not as nihilistic as Gorgias), which contrasted dramatically with Socrates who constantly tried to pin sophists down to define virtue. Protagoras was friends with Pericles, who's relationship is discussed by Plutarch. There is a dialogue that has his name in Plato. He was agnostic about the gods.
487 BCE				Gorgias (ca. 487-376 BC), Greek sophist, pre-socratic philosopher and rhetorician, was a native of Leontini in Sicily.
486 BCE		Xerxes I, son of Darius I and Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great, ruled Persia from 486-465 BC	Xerxes I may have been Ahashverosh in the Book of Esther. In 465 he was murdered by his vizier Artabanus who raised Artaxerxes I to the throne.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerxes_I
485 BCE	Pindar, a choral song writer, wrote of the "Homeridae" [homer-id-ee] (meaning children of Homer).
485 BCE	Birth of Gorgias (ca. 487-376 BC), Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher and rhetorician, was a native of Leontini in Sicily.		Gorgias was a nihilistic relativist.
485 BCE	Parmenides makes the ontological argument against nothingness.		Socrates would engage in the dialectic with Parmenides when Socrates was 18 years old. Plato allows Socrates to appear to be confounded by Parmenides (I know I sure was).
480 BCE		Greece thwarts a Persian invasion.	At this point, Athens becomes the ruling center of Greece. Sparta began to worry about the extent of Athen's control, which would eventually lead to the Peloponnsian war of 431 between Sparta and Athens.
475 BCE	Aeschylus (b.525 - d.456) [es-ca-luss], who is credited as being the father of tragedy, accepted an invitation from Hieron (the tyrant) to travel to Sicily to perform.
c. 470 BCE	Birth of Aspasia, a notable contributor to the history of rhetoric.
c. 470 BCE	Birth of Socrates (c. 470 BC–399 BC)		Note that there is some controversy about the life of Socrates. Some have argued that he never really existed. This thought develops from the fact that Socrates never produced any writings of his own and Plato's later dialogues on Socrates mix his own ideas.
c. 470 BCE	Birth of Aspasia (b.470 - d. 410 BCE), a notable contributor to the history of rhetoric. She lived 60 years. See War with Samian War of 440 BCE.		She would be a close companion to Pericles and would be notable for her expertise in politics and rhetoric. Socrates says that he learned rhetoric from her. Perhaps this is another reason he supported the education of women. Many scholars have argued that Diotima of Mantinea, portrayed in Plato's Symposium, was actually Aspasia.
465 BCE		Artaxerxes I Longimanus, ruled Persia from 465-425 BC.	He belonged to the Achaemenid dynasty and was the successor of Xerxes I. He is mentioned in two books of the Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah. He allowed the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. He was followed on the throne by his son Xerxes II.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_Longimanus
462 BCE		Pericles (c.495-429 BC) challenged the prime council of Athens (called the Areopagus) and became a political hero of Democracy in Athens.
c. 450 BCE			He lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. 425 BC). He's called the Father of History. He is famous for his writings on the conflict between Greece and Persia, as well as the descriptions he wrote of different places and  people he met on his travels.	Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: ΗΡΟΔΟΤΟΣ, Herodotus) was an ancient historian
448 BCE		End of Greco-Persian wars.
447 BCE		Under the leadership of Pericles, the Parthenon begins being built in Athens. It would be completed in 432 BCE.
445 BCE		Pericles (c.495-429 BC) negociates a truce between Athens and Sparta.
440 BCE	According to religious timelines, First and Second Chronicles and Ezra written (probably from Jerusalem). Malachi begins to preach.
431 BCE		Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BCE) between Athens and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta.	Begins with the invasion of Attica by a Spartan army.
c. 431 BCE	Xeonphon (ca. 431 – 355 BC) was born. He was a soldier who was a fan of Socrates. He wrote of Socrates in a more pedestrian manner than Plato.		He recorded dialogues of Socrates like Plato did, but with less flair and beauty.
430 BCE		A plague, possible the bubonic, begins in Athens and continues through 428. It wipes out a quarter of the population of Athens.	Pericles dies during the plague. His successor was Cleon (d. 422 BC).
428 BCE	Plato (428 - 347 BCE) was born in Athens.		He was a student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, writer, and founder of the Academy in Athens. He wrote of  dualistic metaphysics, often called (in metaphysics) Platonism or (Exaggerated) Realism. Plato's metaphysics divides the world into two distinct aspects: the intelligible world of "forms" and the perceptual world we see around us.
423 BCE		Xerxes II,  ruled Persia for 45 days in 423 BC	After a reign of forty-five days, he was assassinated in 424 BC by his brother Sogdianus, who in turn was murdered by Darius II. He is an obscure historical figure known primarily from the writings of Ctesias. He was reportedly the only legitimate son of Artaxerxes I and his Queen Damaspia. He is known to have served as Crown Prince.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerxes_II_of_Persia
424 BCE		Darius II Nothus, ruled Persia from 424-404 BC	He was originally called Ochus and often surnamed Nothus (from Greek νοθος, meaning 'bastard').  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_II_of_Persia
404 BCE		End of Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens. Athens lost.	Economic impact was great and poverty spread across Greece.
404 BCE		Artaxerxes II Mnemon, ruled Persia from 404-359 BC	He defended his position against his brother Cyrus the Younger, who was defeated and killed at the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC, and against a revolt of the provincial governors, the satraps (366 - 358). He also became involved in a war with Persia's erstwhile allies, the Spartans, who, under Agesilaus, invaded Asia Minor. To keep the Spartans busy, Artaxerxes subsidized their enemies in Greece - the Athenians, Thebans, and Corinthians, especially - to keep them busy back at home, in what would become known as the Corinthian War.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_II_of_Persia
BCE
400 BCE		Beginning of the 4th Century BCE		World Population about 160 Million.
c. 400 BCE	Death of Aspasia
399 BCE	Death of Socrates.
390 BCE		Defeat of Rome by the Gauls. The Gallic invasion was the turning point from Rome the city to Rome the State. Rome scambled to protect its cultural currency.	There was much Greek rhetoric about any defeat non-Greeks (the barbarians).  The defeat of the Romans was trumpeted as an illustration of the trumph of civilization over barbarism.  The old, "We must be so good because you're so bad".			Link
384 BCE	Birth of Aristotle - born in Stageira, Chalcidice.	Aristotle was born In Stagira (sta-jigh-ra) on the Chalcidice (cal-sid-a-see) peninsula in NE Greece	Aristotle's father was the a wealthy physician and personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon.
376 BCE	Death of Gorgias, Greek rhetorician.
367 BCE	Aristotle went to Athens to train in Plato's Academy.	He remained in the Academy for 20 years.	Later, Aristotle would tutor Alexander the Great.
359 BCE		Artaxerxes III Ochus, ruled from 359-338 BC
355 BCE	Death of Xenophon
347 BCE	Death of Plato
338 BCE		Arses, ruled Persia from 338-336 BC
336 BCE		Darius III Codomannus, ruled Persia from 336-330 BC
335 BCE	Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) established his school, the Lyceum, in Athens.
334 BCE		Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) began conquest of Middle East (Persia), spread Hellenism.
333 BCE		Alexander the Great defeats the main army of the Persians led by Darius III and reigns as emperor until his death in 323.	Alexander's army crossed the Cilician Gates and met and defeated the main Persian army under the command of Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC. Darius fled this battle in such a panic for his life that he left behind his wife, his children, his mother, and much of his personal treasure.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great
332 BCE		Beginning of the Hellenistic Age (332 - 37 BCE)
332 BCE		Alexander the Great conquerors Palestine, making it part of the Hellenistic kingdom of Ptolemaic Egypt. The Jews were allowed considerable cultural and religious freedom.
323 BCE		Alexander the Great dies and there is a power struggle for control among his officers for the next 22 years.
312 BCE		Seleucus, one of the four major generals, establishes himself in Babylon.
308 BCE
306 BCE	Epicurus founded his school in Athens. He called it The Garden. He was a student of Lampsacus, who was a student of Democritus.