A Timeline of Bible and World Events

A Timeline of Bible and World Events

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Bible Events				World Events
Creation
Genesis 1:1—(Undated)
Noah builds the ark
Genesis 6:1—(Undated)		2500 b.c.		Egyptians discover papyrus & ink
				for writing and build first libraries;
				iron objects manufactured in
				the ancient Near East—(2500 b.c.)
				Egyptians import gold
		2400 b.c.		from Africa—(2400)
				Semitic chieftain, Sargon,
				conquers Sumer to become
				first “world conqueror”—(2331)
		2300 b.c.		Horses domesticated in Egypt;
				chickens domesticated in Babylon
				bows & arrows used in wars—(2300)
		2200 b.c.
Abraham born
Genesis 11:26—(2166)
				Mesopotamians make glass, build
Abraham enters Canaan		2100 b.c.		ziggurats (like the tower of Babel);
Genesis 12:1—(2091)				earliest known drug, ethyl alcohol,
				used to alleviate pain—(2100)
Isaac born
Genesis 21:1—(2066)				Native Americans immigrate from
				north Asia; China develops stock
Jacob & Esau born		2000 b.c.		breeding & irrigation; English erect
Genesis 25:19—(2006)				Stonehenge, India’s bellows allow
				higher furnace temps.—(2000)
Jacob flees to Haran
Genesis 27:41—(1929)
				Egyptians use irrigation system to
Joseph born—Gen. 30:22		1900 b.c.		control Nile floods; spoked wheel
sold into slavery—Gen. 37:18				invented in ancient Near East;
set to rule Egypt—Gen. 41:33				horses used to pull vehicles—(1900)
(1915-1885)
Joseph dies		1800 b.c.
Genesis 50:22—(1805)				Babylonian mathematicians use
				cube and square root; Hammurabi
				provides first legal codes—(1750)
				Egyptian papyrus document
		1700 b.c.		describes medical and surgical
				procedures—(1700)
		1600 b.c.
Moses born
Exodus 2:1—(1526)
		1500 b.c.		Sundials used in Egypt;
The Exodus from Egypt				Mexican Sun Pyramid built—(1500)
Exodus 12:31—(1446)
Ten Commandments given
Exodus 20:1—(1445)				First period of Chinese literature;
Hebrews enter Caanan		1400 b.c.		intricate clock used in Egypt—(1400)
Joshua 1:1—(1406)
				Earthquake destroys Palace of
Judges begin to rule Israel				Knossos on island of Crete—(1380)
Judges 3:7—(1375)
				Egyptian King Tutankhamen dies;
		1300 b.c.		entombed with treasures—(1358)
				Silk fabric manufactured in China
				(1250)
Deborah becomes Israel’s				Labor strike in Thebes;
judge—Judges 4:1—(1209)		1200 b.c.		first Chinese dictionary—(1200)
Gideon becomes Israel’s				Destruction of Troy during
judge—Judges 6:1—(1162)				the Trojan War—(1183)
Samuel born
1 Samuel 1:19—(1105)		1100 b.c.		Greek mythology fully developed;
Samson becomes Israel’s				City of Peking built; Californian
judge—Judges 15:1—(1075)				Indians build wood-reed houses;
Saul becomes Israel’s first				Chinese math utilizes geometry,
king—1 Samuel 10:1—(1050)				root multiplication, proportions,
David becomes Israel’s king				theory of motion; glazing of bricks
2 Samuel 2:1—(1010)		1000 b.c.		and tiles begins in Near East—(1000)
Solomon becomes Israel’s
king—1 Kings 1:28—(970)
Temple erected in Jerusalem
1 Kings 6:1—(959)		950 b.c.		Gold vessels and jewelry
				popular in Northern Europe—(950)
Kingdom of Israel divides
1 Kings 12:1—(930)
				Celts invade Britain; Assyrians
Elijah prophesies in Israel		900 b.c.		invent inflatable skins for soldiers
1 Kings 17:1—(875)				to cross rivers—(900)
Ahab becomes Israel’s king
1 Kings 16:29—(874)
				Evidence of highly developed metal
Elisha prophesies in Israel		850 b.c.		and stone sculptures in Africa—(850)
2 Kings 2:1—(848)
Joash becomes Judah’s king				Carthage trading post set up—(814)
2 Kings 11:4—(835)
				Babylonian & Chinese astronomers
		800 b.c.		understand planetary movements;
				India develops caste system; spoked
Jonah becomes a prophet		790 b.c.		wheels, ice skates used in Europe;
Jonah 1:1—(793)				Homer writes Iliad & Odyssey—(800)
		780 b.c.
		770 b.c.		First known Olympic games—(776)
		760 b.c.
Hosea becomes a prophet				City of Rome founded—(753)
Hosea 1:1—(753)		750 b.c.		Music notation written in Greece;
Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria				Celts introduce plow to Britain (750)
invades Israel—2 Kings 15:19		740 b.c.
Isaiah becomes a prophet)
Isaiah 1:1—(740)		730 b.c.
Israel (north kingdom) falls
2 Kings 17:1—(722)		720 b.c.
Hezekiah is Judah’s king
2 Kings 18:1—(715)		710 b.c.
Jerusalem besieged by		700 b.c.		False teeth invented in Italy—(700)
Sennacherib of Assyria
2 Kings 18:13—(701)		690 b.c.
		680 b.c.
		670 b.c.
		660 b.c.
		650 b.c.		Soldering of iron invented—(650)
Josiah is Judah’s king				Horse racing first held
2 Kings 22:1—(640)		640 b.c.		at 33rd Olympic Games—(648)
Jeremiah becomes prophet		630 b.c.
Jeremiah 1:1—(627)
		620 b.c.
Assyrian capital of Ninevah
destroyed—(612)		610 b.c.
Daniel taken captive to				Temple of Artemis , one of the
Babylon—Daniel 1:1—(605)		600 b.c.		seven wonders of the world,
				built in Ephesus—(600)
		590 b.c.
Judah (southern kingdom)
falls to Babylon		580 b.c.
2 Kings 25:1—(586)
		570 b.c.		Gautama Buddha, the founder of
				Buddhism, born in India—(563)
King Nebuchadnezzar of		560 b.c.		Aesop writes his fables—(560)
Babylon dies—(562)				Cyrus defeats Medes, starts Persian
		550 b.c.		empire; lock & key, water level, and
Cyrus of Persia overthrows				carpenter’s square invented—(550)
Babylon—Daniel 5:30—(539)		540 b.c.		Horseback postal service
First Jewish exiles return to				used in Persian empire—(540)
Jerusalem—Ezra 1:1—(538)		530 b.c.		Tragedy emerges as a
				form of Greek drama—(534)
		520 b.c.		Persians add polo as sport—(525)
New temple completed in				Athens opens public libraries—(520)
Jerusalem—Ezra 6:13—(516)		510 b.c.		Rome become a Republic—(509)
				China imports glass from Near East;
		500 b.c.		Cataract surgery by Susrata of India;
				Celts start Halloween festival—(500)
		490 b.c.		First time Greek men
				choose short haircuts—(490)
Esther becomes queen of		480 b.c.
Persia—Esther 2:15—(479)
		470 b.c.		Philosopher Socrates born—(469)
				Birth of Democritus, who introduced
Ezra returns to Jerusalem		460 b.c.		an atomic theory—(460)
Ezra 7:1—(458)				Golden Age of Athens begins—(457)
		450 b.c.		The Parthenon built on top of
Nehemiah builds Jerusalem				Athens’ Acropolis—(448)
wall—Nehemiah 2:11—(445)		440 b.c.		Pheidias sculpts 60-foot statue of
				Zeus, one of seven wonders—(438)
Malachi becomes a prophet		430 b.c.		Romans agree to concept of dictator
Malachi 1:1—(430)				in military emergency—(430)
		420 b.c.
		410 b.c.
		400 b.c.		Socrates condemned to death
Aramaic begins to replace				by Athenian jury—(399)
Hebrew as Jewish language		390 b.c.
(390)				Aristotle born—(384)
		380 b.c.
		370 b.c.		Plato writes his most famous book:
				The Republic—(370)
		360 b.c.
		350 b.c.
		340 b.c.
		330 b.c.		Alexander the Great defeats the
				Persian Empire—(331)
		320 b.c.
				Romans build first paved road,
		310 b.c.		the “Appian Way,”
				from Rome to Capua—(312)
		300 b.c.
		290 b.c.
		280 b.c.
		270 b.c.
		260 b.c.		Hebrew Old Testament translated
				into Greek and called the
		250 b.c.		“Septuagint”—(255)
		240 b.c.		Romans conquer Sicily and add first
				non-Italian territory to Empire—(241)
		230 b.c.
		220 b.c.
				Great Wall of China built—(215)
		210 b.c.
		200 b.c.
		190 b.c.
		180 b.c.
Antiochus IV plunders
Temple of Jerusalem—(169)		170 b.c.
Judas Maccabeus revolts
against Antiochus IV—(165)		160 b.c.
		150 b.c.
		140 b.c.		Jews and astrologers banished
				from Rome—(139)
		130 b.c.
		120 b.c.
		110 b.c.
				Chinese ships reach east coast of
		100 b.c.		India; Danes use ball bearings (102)
				Birth of Julius Caesar,
		90 b.c.		first Roman emperor—(100)
		80 b.c.
		70 b.c.
		60 b.c.		Romans conquer England, part of
				Roman empire until a.d. 442—(55)
		50 b.c.		Cleopatra last independent
				Egyptian ruler of ancient world—(51)
Herod the Great made king		40 b.c.		Julius Caesar became dictator for
of Judea by Romans—(37)				life; assassinated 2 years later—(46)
		30 b.c.		Cleopatra and lover Marc Antony
Jesus’ mother born—(25?)				die by suicide—(30)
Herod the Great remodels		20 b.c.		Sumo wrestling in Japan—(23)
temple in Jerusalem—(20)
		10 b.c.
Jesus Christ born—Luke 2:1
Herod dies—Matt 2:19—(4)		—0—		Europeans first use saddles—(1 a.d.)
Paul born—(5? a.d.)
Judea becomes a Roman
province; Jesus visits temple				Judean zealots oppose Rome—(7)
as boy—Luke 2:41—(6)		10 a.d.
				Tiberius succeeds Caesar Augustus
				as Roman emperor—(14)
John the Baptist begins		20 a.d.
his ministry—Luke 3:1—(26)
Jesus begins his ministry
Luke 4:14—(26/27)				Pilate appointed governor—(26)
Jesus crucified—Luke 23:26		30 a.d.
Jesus ascends—Luke 24:50
Pentecost—Acts 2:1—(30)
Paul’s conversion on road to
Damascus—Acts 9:1—(35)
Herod Agrippa appointed		40 a.d.
king of Judea—(40)				London founded; first definite
				reference to diamonds—(43)
Paul begins first missionary
journey—Acts 13:1—(46)
		50 a.d.		Romans begin using soap—(50)
Paul writes Romans, Paul
imprisoned in Caesarea				Emperor Claudius poisoned,
Acts 23:23—(57)				Nero becomes emperor—(54)
Paul’s trip to Rome Acts 27:1
Paul writes “prison letters”		60 a.d.
Acts 28:30—(60)
Paul freed from prison—(62)				Fire burns much of Rome; Nero
				blames Christians for setting it—(64)
Paul martyred—(67)				Romans destroy Jews’ commune at
Romans ruin Jerusalem (70)		70 a.d.		Qumran, but Jews hide Bible scrolls,
				(Dead Sea scrolls, found 1948)—(68)
960 Jews commit suicide at
Masada while under Roman				Rome constructs Colosseum—(75)
attack—(73)
		80 a.d.		Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius erupts, killing
				30,000 people and burying cities
				of Pompeii and Herculaneum—(79)
		90 a.d.
Apostle John writes
Revelation—Rev. 1:1—(95)
		100 a.d.