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Bible & Church History Timeline

Biblical history, church history and the surrounding world side by side — from creation through the modern missions movement, with how firmly each date is established.

• Creation of the Heavens and Earthc. 4004 BC — In six days, God spoke the universe, the earth, and humanity into being…
• The Fall of Manc. 4004 BC — Tempted by the serpent, Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, bringing sin…
• Cain Murders Abelc. 3875 BC — The first children born to Adam and Eve became the first murder victim and…
• Enoch Walks with Godc. 3017 BC (taken by God; traditional) — After walking faithfully with God for…
• The Corruption of the Earth Before the Floodc. 2468-2348 BC — As humanity multiplied, wickedness spread across the earth until "the…
• Noah's Floodc. 2348-2347 BC — God judged a corrupt world with a great flood, preserving Noah, his…
• God's Covenant with Noahc. 2347 BC — God established His covenant with Noah and every living creature, setting…
• Noah's Drunkenness and the Curse of Hamc. 2300 BC (approximate) — After the Flood, Noah's drunkenness exposed a family shame…
• The Table of Nationsc. 2347-2247 BC — Genesis 10 catalogs the nations descended from Noah's three sons —…
• The Tower of Babelc. 2247 BC — United by one language, humanity built a great tower at Babel to make a…
• The Call of Abramc. 2091 BC — God calls a childless man in Mesopotamia to leave everything behind and…
• Abram Rescues Lot and Is Blessed by Melchizedekc. 2085 BC (approximate) — After a coalition of eastern kings sacks Sodom and carries…
• The Covenant with Abramc. 2082 BC — God formalizes his promise to Abram in a solemn covenant ceremony…
• Hagar and the Birth of Ishmaelc. 2080 BC — Sarai, weary of waiting on God's promise, gives her servant Hagar to Abram…
• The Covenant of Circumcision; Abram and Sarai Renamedc. 2067 BC — At 99, Abram receives circumcision as the covenant's physical sign and new…
• The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrahc. 2067 BC — Abraham intercedes for the cities of the plain, but Sodom and Gomorrah are…
• The Birth of Isaacc. 2066 BC — Twenty-five years after the promise was first given, Sarah bears the son of…
• The Binding of Isaacc. 2050 BC (approximate) — God tests Abraham with the unthinkable — sacrifice the son of…
• The Death of Sarah and the Purchase of Machpelahc. 2029 BC — Abraham buys a burial cave near Hebron for full price rather than accept it…
• Isaac Marries Rebekahc. 2026 BC — Abraham's servant travels to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac from…
• The Death of Abrahamc. 1991 BC — Abraham dies at 175, "an old man and full of years," and is buried beside…
• The Birth of Jacob and Esauc. 2006 BC — After twenty years of Isaac and Rebekah's barrenness, God answers prayer…
• Esau Sells His Birthrightc. 1990 BC (approximate) — Exhausted and hungry after a hunt, Esau trades his rights as…
• Jacob's Stolen Blessing and Flight to Haranc. 1929 BC — With his mother's help, Jacob deceives his blind, aging father into giving…
• Jacob's Marriages and the Birth of His Twelve Sonsc. 1922-1915 BC — Deceived himself for once, Jacob serves Laban fourteen years for Leah…
• Jacob Wrestles with God at Peniel and Is Reconciled with Esauc. 1909 BC — On his way back to Canaan after twenty years away, Jacob wrestles all night…
• Joseph Sold into Slavery and Imprisoned in Egyptc. 1898-1885 BC — Jacob's favorite son is sold by his own brothers into Egyptian…
• Joseph Rises to Power in Egyptc. 1885 BC — Called suddenly from prison to interpret Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph is…
• Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothersc. 1876 BC — When famine drives his brothers to Egypt for grain, Joseph tests them…
• Jacob's Family Settles in Goshenc. 1876 BC — Jacob and his entire household — seventy strong — travel to Egypt and…
• The Death of Jacobc. 1859 BC — After seventeen years in Egypt, Jacob blesses each of his twelve sons and…
• The Death of Josephc. 1805 BC — Joseph dies in Egypt at 110, still trusting God's promise of a future…
• Birth of Mosesc. 1526 BC — Moses is born to a Levite family in Egypt during a time of Israelite…
• Moses Flees to Midianc. 1486 BC — After killing an Egyptian taskmaster in defense of a fellow Hebrew, Moses…
• The Burning Bush and the Call of Mosesc. 1446 BC — At Horeb, the mountain of God, Moses encounters God in a bush that burns…
• The Ten Plagues on Egyptc. 1446 BC — God sends ten devastating plagues on Egypt, each one a direct confrontation…
• The First Passover1446 BC (14th of Abib/Nisan) — On the night before Israel's departure from Egypt, God…
• The Exodus from Egyptc. 1446 BC — After four hundred years in Egypt, Israel departs as a nation under Moses'…
• Crossing of the Red Seac. 1446 BC — God parts the sea before fleeing Israel, allowing them to cross on dry…
• Manna, Water, and the Battle with Amalekc. 1446 BC — In the weeks after the Red Sea, Israel grumbles for food and water in the…
• The Giving of the Law at Mount Sinaic. 1446 BC (third month after the Exodus) — Three months after leaving Egypt, Israel…
• The Golden Calfc. 1446 BC — While Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, Aaron fashions a golden…
• Completion of the Tabernacle1445 BC (first day of the second year) — Following detailed instructions given at Sinai…
• The Twelve Spies and the Refusal at Kadesh Barneac. 1445-1444 BC — At Kadesh Barnea, on the edge of Canaan, twelve spies scout the land…
• The Forty Years of Wilderness Wanderingc. 1446-1406 BC (traditional) — For nearly four decades, the generation that refused to…
• Korah's Rebellionc. 1440s-1430s BC — The Levite Korah, along with Dathan and Abiram, leads a rebellion…
• The Death of Aaron on Mount Hor1407 BC — Near the end of the wilderness years, Aaron, Israel's first high priest, dies…
• The Death of Moses on Mount Nebo1406 BC — At the very edge of the Promised Land, Moses is permitted by God to view…
• Israel Crosses the Jordan Riverc. 1406 BC — The Jordan's waters part as the ark of the covenant leads Israel into the…
• The Fall of Jerichoc. 1406 BC — Jericho's walls collapse after Israel marches around the city for seven…
• Achan's Sin and the Conquest of Aic. 1406 BC — Hidden sin brings a stinging defeat at Ai before Joshua's forces regroup…
• The Gibeonite Deceptionc. 1406 BC — The Gibeonites trick Israel into a peace treaty by disguising themselves as…
• The Battle of Gibeon and the Long Dayc. 1406 BC — Five Amorite kings besiege Gibeon for allying with Israel, and Joshua's…
• The Southern Campaignc. 1406-1405 BC — Fresh off the victory at Gibeon, Joshua sweeps through the southern…
• The Northern Campaign and the Fall of Hazorc. 1400 BC — A northern coalition led by the king of Hazor is defeated at the Waters of…
• Division of the Land at Shilohc. 1399 BC — With the tabernacle established at Shiloh, the tribes' territories are…
• Caleb Receives Hebronc. 1399 BC — At eighty-five, Caleb claims the hill country of Hebron, still occupied by…
• Cities of Refuge Establishedc. 1399 BC — Six cities are set apart across the land where someone who kills…
• Joshua's Farewell and Covenant Renewal at Shechemc. 1380s BC — An aging Joshua gathers the tribes at Shechem, recounts God's faithfulness…
• The Death of Joshuac. 1375 BC — Joshua dies at 110 and is buried in his own inheritance, closing the…
• Othniel Delivers Israel from Cushan-Rishathaimc. 1374-1334 BC — Othniel, Caleb's nephew, becomes Israel's first judge, delivering the…
• Ehud Defeats Eglon of Moabc. 1316 BC — A left-handed judge from Benjamin smuggles a hidden sword into a private…
• Deborah, Barak, and the Defeat of Siserac. 1216 BC — The prophetess Deborah summons Barak to battle against Canaan's iron…
• Gideon Defeats Midianc. 1169-1129 BC — A fearful farmer trims God's own army down to 300 men and routs the…
• Abimelech's Kingship at Shechemc. 1120s BC — Gideon's son murders seventy of his own brothers to seize kingship at…
• Jephthah and the Ammonitesc. 1106-1100 BC — An outcast fighter is recalled by Gilead's elders to lead against…
• Samson and the Philistinesc. 1075-1055 BC — A Nazirite from birth, Samson combines astonishing Spirit-given…
• Ruth and Naomic. 1100s BC (during the era of the judges) — A Moabite widow's loyalty to her…
• Israel's Civil War against Benjaminc. 1370s BC (chronologically early, though placed at the book's end) — An atrocity at…
• Samuel's Birth and Dedicationc. 1105 BC — Hannah's prayer for a son is answered, and she dedicates young Samuel to…
• Israel Demands a Kingc. 1050 BC — Israel's elders ask Samuel for a king 'like all the nations,' a request…
• Saul Anointed as Israel's First Kingc. 1050 BC — Samuel anoints Saul, a young Benjamite out searching for lost donkeys, as…
• Saul's Disobedience and Rejection as Kingc. 1025 BC — Two acts of impatient disobedience — an unauthorized sacrifice and a…
• David Anointed by Samuel at Bethlehemc. 1025 BC — Samuel anoints the shepherd boy David, the youngest of Jesse's sons…
• David and Goliathc. 1025 BC — The young David defeats the Philistine champion Goliath with a sling and a…
• David's Years as a Fugitive from Saulc. 1020-1010 BC — For roughly a decade, David flees King Saul's jealous pursuit through…
• Death of Saul and Jonathan at Mount Gilboa1010 BC — Saul and his son Jonathan die in battle against the Philistines at Mount…
• David Becomes King Over Judah at Hebron1010 BC — Following Saul's death, the tribe of Judah anoints David king at Hebron…
• David Becomes King Over All Israel and Captures Jerusalem1003 BC — All Israel's tribes unite behind David as king, and he captures the Jebusite…
• The Ark of the Covenant Brought to Jerusalemc. 1000 BC — David brings the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem in a joyful procession…
• The Davidic Covenantc. 1000 BC — When David proposes building God a temple, the LORD instead promises David…
• David's Sin with Bathsheba and Uriahc. 995 BC — David commits adultery with Bathsheba and arranges the death of her husband…
• Absalom's Rebellionc. 979 BC — David's son Absalom leads an open rebellion that drives David from…
• David's Death and Solomon's Succession970 BC — As Adonijah moves to seize the throne, David acts quickly to have his son…
• Solomon's Wisdom at Gibeonc. 970 BC — Given the chance to ask God for anything, Solomon requests wisdom to govern…
• Construction of Solomon's Temple Begins966 BC — In Solomon's fourth year, construction begins on the Jerusalem temple — the…
• Dedication of Solomon's Temple959 BC — Seven years after construction began, Solomon dedicates the finished temple…
• The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomonc. 940s BC — The queen of Sheba travels to Jerusalem to test Solomon's famed wisdom…
• Solomon's Apostasylater in Solomon's reign, c. 940-931 BC — Solomon's many foreign wives turn his heart…
• Division of the Kingdom931 BC — Rehoboam's harsh response to the northern tribes' request for relief splits the…
• Daniel Taken to Babylon605 BC — Nebuchadnezzar's first deportation from Judah carries the teenage Daniel and…
• Ezekiel Exiled and His Prophetic Ministry597-571 BC (approx.) — Carried to Babylon in the second deportation along with King…
• Fall of Jerusalem and the Temple's Destruction586 BC (traditional; some scholars prefer 587 BC) — After an eighteen-month siege…
• Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar's Dreamsc. 603-570 BC — Called from among the wise men of Babylon, Daniel repeatedly succeeds…
• The Fiery Furnacec. 590s BC — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's golden…
• Belshazzar's Feast and the Fall of Babylon539 BC — On the very night Belshazzar profanes the Temple vessels at a drunken feast, a…
• Daniel in the Lions' Denc. 538 BC — Jealous officials trick King Darius into a law that lands the aging Daniel…
• Cyrus's Decree538 BC — In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus the Great issues a decree freeing the…
• Zerubbabel's Return and the Temple's Foundation537-536 BC — Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, leads roughly 50,000 exiles back to…
• The Second Temple Completed516 BC — Spurred on by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the returned exiles finish…
• Esther Becomes Queenc. 479 BC — After Queen Vashti's banishment, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin…
• Esther and Purimc. 473 BC — When the proud official Haman schemes to annihilate the Jews throughout…
• Ezra's Return to Jerusalem458 BC — Nearly eighty years after the first return under Zerubbabel, the priest-scribe…
• Nehemiah Rebuilds Jerusalem's Walls445 BC — Cupbearer to the Persian king, Nehemiah hears of Jerusalem's broken walls…
• Malachi's Ministryc. 430s BC — The last of the Old Testament prophets confronts a discouraged, spiritually…
• Alexander the Great Conquers Judea (332 BC)332 BC — Alexander the Great's lightning campaign down the Mediterranean coast brought…
• Alexander's Empire Divided Among His Generals (323 BC)323 BC — Alexander the Great's sudden death without an heir fractured his empire among…
• Ptolemaic Rule over Judea Begins (301 BC)301-198 BC — For about a century Judea was governed as part of the Ptolemaic kingdom…
• The Septuagint: Scripture Translated into Greek (c. 250 BC)c. 250-150 BC — Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Hebrew Scriptures into…
• Seleucid Rule Begins at the Battle of Panium (198 BC)c. 200–198 BC — Antiochus III of the Seleucid dynasty decisively defeated Ptolemaic…
• Antiochus IV Epiphanes Desecrates the Temple (167 BC)167 BC — Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Jewish worship, erected a pagan…
• The Maccabean Revolt Begins at Modein (167 BC)167 BC — An elderly priest named Mattathias struck down a Seleucid officer and a…
• Judas Maccabeus Leads the Revolt (166-164 BC)166-164 BC — Judas Maccabeus took command of the rebellion after his father Mattathias's…
• The Temple Is Cleansed and Rededicated: First Hanukkah (164 BC)164 BC (25 Kislev) — Exactly three years after its desecration, Judas Maccabeus and his…
• Jonathan Maccabeus Becomes High Priest (152 BC)152 BC — After Judas Maccabeus fell in battle, his brother Jonathan skillfully played…
• Simon Maccabeus Wins Independence; the Hasmonean Dynasty Begins (142 BC)142-140 BC — Simon Maccabeus, last surviving son of Mattathias, secured Judea's release…
• The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes Emerge (c. 140-100 BC)c. 150–100 BC — During the Hasmonean era, the religious parties familiar from the…
• John Hyrcanus Expands the Hasmonean Kingdom (134-104 BC)134-104 BC — Simon's son John Hyrcanus ruled Judea for three decades, exploiting…
• Pompey Conquers Jerusalem for Rome (63 BC)63 BC — A Hasmonean civil war led rival Jewish brothers to appeal to Rome for…
• Herod the Great Rises to Power (40-37 BC)40-37 BC — Herod, son of an Idumean advisor to the Hasmoneans, won the Roman Senate's…
• Birth of Jesus in Bethlehemc. 6-4 BC — The eternal Son of God took on human flesh, born of the virgin Mary in the…
• Visit of the Magi and the Flight into Egyptc. 5-4 BC — Wise men from the East arrive bearing gifts fit for a king, and Herod's…
• Return from Egypt and Childhood in Nazarethc. 4 BC - AD 6 — After Herod's death the holy family returns from Egypt and settles in…
• Jesus in the Temple at Twelvec. AD 7-9 (traditional) — On a Passover trip to Jerusalem, the twelve-year-old Jesus…
• Ministry of John the Baptist Beginsc. AD 26 — John, the prophesied forerunner, appears in the Judean wilderness preaching…
• Baptism of Jesusc. AD 27 — Jesus comes to John at the Jordan to be baptized, and the Father's voice and…
• Public Ministry of Jesusc. AD 27-30 — From His baptism in the Jordan to His ascension from the Mount of Olives…
• Temptation in the Wildernessc. AD 27 — Fresh from his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to…
• Calling of the First Disciplesc. AD 27 — By the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls fishermen Peter, Andrew, James, and John…
• Wedding at Canac. AD 27 — At a wedding in Cana of Galilee, Jesus turns water into wine — his first…
• Early Cleansing of the Templec. AD 27 — At an early Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus drives out the money-changers and…
• Sermon on the Mountc. AD 28 — On a hillside above the Sea of Galilee, Jesus delivers his most extensive…
• Parable of the Sowerc. AD 28 — Teaching from a boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus tells the parable of a…
• Calming of the Stormc. AD 28 — Crossing the Sea of Galilee by boat, Jesus rebukes a sudden violent storm and…
• Feeding of the Five Thousandc. AD 29 — With five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds a crowd of thousands near…
• Jesus Walks on Waterc. AD 29 — In the dark hours before dawn, Jesus comes to his storm-tossed disciples…
• Parable of the Good Samaritanc. AD 29 — Asked "who is my neighbor," Jesus tells of a Samaritan who stops to help a…
• Parable of the Prodigal Sonc. AD 29 — Jesus tells of a wayward son who squanders his inheritance and returns home…
• Peter's Confession at Caesarea Philippic. AD 29 — Far north at Caesarea Philippi, Peter declares Jesus to be "the Christ, the…
• The Transfigurationc. AD 29 — On a mountain, Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John — his face…
• Raising of Lazarusc. AD 29-30 — In Bethany, Jesus calls his friend Lazarus out of the tomb four days after…
• Triumphal Entry into JerusalemAD 30 — Riding a young donkey into Jerusalem as crowds wave palm branches and shout…
• Cleansing of the Temple (Passion Week)AD 30 — Days before his death, Jesus again drives merchants and money-changers from the…
• The Olivet DiscourseAD 30 — Seated on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus privately teaches his…
• The Last SupperAD 30 — In an upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus shares a final Passover meal with his…
• Gethsemane and the Arrest of JesusAD 30 — In an olive grove called Gethsemane, Jesus agonizes in prayer over the cup he…
• Trials of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and PilateAD 30 — Jesus is passed through a series of hurried, irregular hearings — before Annas…
• The CrucifixionAD 30 (traditional); some evangelicals hold AD 33 — Outside Jerusalem's walls at a place…
• The Burial of JesusAD 30 — Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple and member of the Sanhedrin, obtains…
• The ResurrectionAD 30 — On the first day of the week, Jesus rises bodily from the dead, the tomb found…
• Post-Resurrection Appearancesc. AD 30 — Over forty days, the risen Jesus appears to his disciples in Jerusalem, on…
• The Great Commissionc. AD 30 — On a mountain in Galilee, the risen Jesus commissions his disciples to make…
• The Ascensionc. AD 30 — Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus leads his disciples out to the Mount…
• Pentecost and the Birth of the Churchc. AD 30 — The Holy Spirit falls on the gathered disciples in Jerusalem, Peter preaches…
• The Early Jerusalem Churchc. AD 30-33 — The earliest believers in Jerusalem devote themselves to teaching…
• Stephen's Martyrdomc. AD 34 — One of the seven, full of the Spirit, is stoned to death after a bold defense…
• The Life and Ministry of Paulc. AD 34-68 — From the Damascus road to a Roman execution block, Paul spent roughly…
• Saul's Conversion on the Damascus Roadc. AD 34-35 — The church's chief persecutor is confronted by the risen Christ on the…
• Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuchc. AD 35 — Philip explains Isaiah's suffering servant to an Ethiopian court official and…
• Peter, Cornelius, and the Gentile Missionc. AD 40-41 — A vision to Peter and an angelic visit to a Roman centurion open the…
• The Church at Antiochc. AD 42-44 — A thriving, multi-ethnic church emerges at Antioch, where believers are…
• The Death of Herod Agrippa IAD 44 — King Herod Agrippa I, persecutor of the Jerusalem church, dies suddenly after…
• Paul's First Missionary Journeyc. AD 46-48 — Paul and Barnabas carry the gospel through Cyprus and the cities of…
• The Jerusalem Councilc. AD 49-50 — The apostles and elders formally rule that Gentile believers are saved by…
• Gallio and Paul at Corinthc. AD 51-52 — Paul is hauled before the Roman proconsul Gallio in Corinth, an episode…
• Paul's Second Missionary Journeyc. AD 49-52 — Paul, Silas, and Timothy carry the gospel into Europe for the first time…
• Paul's Third Missionary Journeyc. AD 53-57 — An extended, transformative ministry in Ephesus anchors Paul's longest…
• Paul's Arrest in Jerusalemc. AD 57 — A Temple riot sparked by false rumors leads to Paul's arrest and the…
• Paul's Imprisonment at Caesareac. AD 57-59 — Paul spends two years in Roman custody at Caesarea, defends himself before…
• Paul's Voyage and Shipwreck to Romec. AD 59-60 — A violent storm and shipwreck off Malta cannot stop Paul from reaching…
• Paul's First Roman Imprisonmentc. AD 60-62 — Under house arrest in Rome, Paul preaches freely and writes several of his…
• The Great Fire of Rome and Nero's PersecutionAD 64 — Nero blames Christians for Rome's great fire and unleashes the first…
• Paul's Martyrdomc. AD 64-68 — The apostle to the Gentiles is executed in Rome, likely under Nero, having…
• Peter's Martyrdomc. AD 64-68 — Peter is crucified in Rome, tradition says upside down by his own request…
• The Fall of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the TempleAD 70 — Roman armies destroy Jerusalem and the Second Temple, fulfilling Jesus's…
• John's Exile on Patmos and the Book of Revelationc. AD 95 — Exiled to the island of Patmos, the apostle John receives the visions that…
• Persecution Under Domitianc. AD 95-96 — Growing pressure to honor the emperor as a god brings a fresh wave of…
• The Muratorian Fragmentc. AD 170-200 — The oldest surviving list of New Testament books shows the canon already…
• The Council of NicaeaAD 325 — Bishops from across the Christian world gather to affirm the full deity of…
• Rise of the Sumerian City-Statesc. 3500-2900 BC — In the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates, independent…
• The Invention of Cuneiform Writingc. 3300-3000 BC — Sumerian scribes pressed reed styluses into wet clay to create…
• Egypt's Old Kingdom and the Age of Pyramidsc. 2686-2181 BC — Under the Third through Sixth Dynasties, Egypt became a unified…
• The Great Pyramid of Gizac. 2560 BC — Built as the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu, the Great Pyramid of Giza rose as the…
• Sargon of Akkad and the World's First Empirec. 2334-2279 BC — Rising from obscurity to conquer every Sumerian city-state, Sargon of…
• The Collapse of the Akkadian Empirec. 2218-2154 BC — Barely a century after Sargon founded it, the Akkadian Empire…
• The Third Dynasty of Ur and Abraham's Homelandc. 2112-2004 BC — A century of strong, well-organized kings — Ur-Nammu and his…
• Egypt's Middle Kingdom and the World of Josephc. 2055-1650 BC — After a century of division, Egypt reunified under the Eleventh and…
• The Hyksos Take Power in Egyptc. 1650-1550 BC — A wave of Semitic settlers from Canaan, called the Hyksos by later…
• Hammurabi and the Rise of Babylonc. 1792-1750 BC — Hammurabi transformed Babylon from a minor city-state into the…
• The Code of Hammurabic. 1754 BC — Carved onto a towering black stone pillar, Hammurabi's 282 laws form the…
• The Hittite Empire Emerges in Asia Minorc. 1650-1595 BC — From their mountain capital at Hattusa in central Anatolia, the…
• Ahmose I and the Dawn of Egypt's New Kingdomc. 1550-1525 BC — Ahmose I drove the Hyksos out of Egypt and reunified the land under…
• Thutmose III and Egypt's Imperial Zenithc. 1479-1425 BC — Egypt's greatest warrior-pharaoh, Thutmose III, expanded Egyptian…
• Amenhotep II, a Candidate Pharaoh of the Exodusc. 1427-1400 BC — On the traditional early-date chronology, Amenhotep II is the pharaoh…
• The Battle of Kadeshc. 1274 BC — Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II of the Hittites clashed at Kadesh in…
• Ramesses II and Egypt's Golden Agec. 1279-1213 BC — Ramesses II reigned an astonishing 66 years, built more monuments than…
• The Merneptah Stele and the Earliest Mention of Israelc. 1208 BC — A victory inscription carved for Pharaoh Merneptah names "Israel" among the…
• The Bronze Age Collapse and the Fall of the Hittite Empirec. 1200-1180 BC — Within a single generation around 1200 BC, the great powers of the…
• The Rise of the Assyrian Empirec. 1114-900 BC — From its heartland along the upper Tigris, Assyria grew from a regional…
• Cyrus the Great and the Rise of Persiac. 550 BC — A vassal prince of Anshan, Cyrus overthrows the Median Empire and founds the…
• The Fall of Babylon to Cyrus539 BC — Cyrus's forces take Babylon in a single night, ending Nebuchadnezzar's empire…
• Cyrus's Decree Ends the Exile538 BC — In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus issues a decree freeing the Jewish exiles…
• Cambyses II Conquers Egypt525 BC — Cyrus's son Cambyses II defeats Pharaoh at the Battle of Pelusium, folding…
• Darius I Consolidates the Persian Empire522–486 BC — Darius I reorganizes the Persian Empire into satrapies and, discovering…
• The Ionian Revolt499–494 BC — Greek cities in Asia Minor rebel against Persian rule with Athenian help…
• The Battle of Marathon490 BC — A heavily outnumbered Athenian army routs Darius's punitive expedition on the…
• Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) Becomes King of Persia486 BC — Darius's son Xerxes I — Scripture's Ahasuerus of the book of Esther — inherits…
• Xerxes' Invasion of Greece: Thermopylae and Salamis480–479 BC — Xerxes' massive invasion of Greece is checked at Thermopylae, broken at the…
• Esther Becomes Queen of Persiac. 479 BC — A Jewish orphan named Esther, raised in Susa by her cousin Mordecai, is…
• Esther Saves Her Peoplec. 473 BC — Queen Esther risks her life to expose Haman's plot to annihilate the Jews of…
• The Athenian Golden Age Under Periclesc. 461–429 BC — Under Pericles, Athens reaches its cultural height — the Parthenon…
• The Peloponnesian War Divides Greece431–404 BC — A generation-long war between Athens and Sparta exhausts the Greek…
• Philip II Unites Greece Under Macedon359–336 BC — Philip II reforms the Macedonian army, defeats the exhausted Greek…
• Alexander the Great Becomes King of Macedon336 BC — The twenty-year-old Alexander inherits Macedon's throne and his father's…
• Alexander Defeats Darius III at Issus333 BC — Alexander routs the Persian king Darius III in person at Issus, opening the…
• The Siege of Tyre332 BC — Alexander besieges the island fortress of Tyre for seven months, building a…
• Alexander in Egypt: The Founding of Alexandria332–331 BC — Egypt welcomes Alexander as a liberator from Persian rule, and his newly…
• The Battle of Gaugamela Ends the Persian Empire331 BC — Alexander's decisive victory over Darius III's main army effectively ends the…
• The Death of Alexander the Great323 BC — Alexander dies suddenly in Babylon without a clear heir, and Daniel's prophecy…
• The Hellenistic Kingdoms: Ptolemies and Seleucids Divide the Near East323–301 BC — After decades of war among Alexander's generals, the empire settles into…
• The Founding of Rome753 BC (traditional) — Roman tradition dates the city's founding to 753 BC, when Romulus…
• Rome Overthrows Its Kings — The Republic Begins509 BC (traditional) — Tradition holds that Rome expelled its last king, the tyrant…
• The Punic Wars — Rome and Carthage264-146 BC — Across three wars spanning more than a century, Rome broke the power of…
• Pompey Conquers Jerusalem63 BC — When the Roman general Pompey marched into Jerusalem in 63 BC to settle a civil…
• Julius Caesar Crosses the Rubicon49 BC — In January 49 BC, Julius Caesar led his loyal legions across the Rubicon River…
• The Assassination of Julius CaesarMarch 15, 44 BC — On the Ides of March, 44 BC, a conspiracy of senators led by Brutus…
• The Battle of Actium31 BC — At the naval Battle of Actium off the coast of Greece in 31 BC, Octavian's fleet…
• Augustus and the Pax Romana27 BC — In 27 BC the Roman Senate granted Octavian the title 'Augustus,' inaugurating…
• Tiberius — Emperor During Christ's MinistryAD 14 — Augustus's stepson Tiberius became Rome's second emperor in AD 14 and reigned…
• Claudius and the Expulsion of the Jews from RomeAD 41 (accession); expulsion of Jews c. AD 49 — Claudius became emperor in AD 41 after…
• Nero Becomes EmperorAD 54 — Claudius's adopted son Nero became emperor at only sixteen years old in AD 54…
• The Great Fire of Rome and Nero's Persecution of ChristiansAD 64 — When a catastrophic fire tore through Rome in AD 64 and rumors blamed the…
• The Martyrdoms of Peter and Paulc. AD 64-68 (traditional) — Strong and ancient church tradition holds that both Peter…
• The Jewish Revolt Against Rome BeginsAD 66 — Decades of harsh Roman provincial rule and rising Jewish nationalism erupted…
• The Destruction of Jerusalem Under TitusAD 70 — In AD 70, after a brutal months-long siege, Roman forces under Titus breached…
• The Fall of MasadaAD 73 (some date it AD 74) — Three years after Jerusalem fell, the last pocket of Jewish…
• Trajan, Pliny, and the Legal Status of Christiansc. AD 112 — Around AD 112, the Roman governor Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan…
• The Bar Kokhba Revolt Under HadrianAD 132-135 (fighting may have continued into early 136) — When Emperor Hadrian moved to…
• Diocletian's Great PersecutionAD 303-311 — In AD 303 the emperor Diocletian launched the fiercest and most systematic…
• Constantine's Conversion and the Edict of MilanAD 312-313 — On the eve of the decisive Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312…
• Constantine Convenes the Council at NicaeaAD 325 — Barely a decade after the Edict of Milan, Constantine summons bishops from…
• The Indus Valley Civilization Flourishesc. 2600–1900 BC — Along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and northwest India, one…
• The Legendary Xia Dynastyc. 2070–1600 BC (Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project) — Chinese tradition remembers a…
• Decline of the Indus Valley Civilizationc. 1900–1300 BC — The great cities of the Indus fade over several centuries, most likely…
• Rise of the Shang Dynastyc. 1600–1046 BC — China's first dynasty confirmed by contemporary written records rises…
• Indo-Aryan Migration and the Early Vedic Period Beginsc. 1500–1000 BC — Indo-Aryan-speaking peoples settle the Punjab and Ganges plains in the…
• Composition of the Rigvedac. 1500–1200 BC — Hindu tradition's oldest and most revered scripture, over a thousand…
• Shang Oracle Bones and Ancestor Worshipc. 1250–1046 BC — At the Shang capital near Anyang, kings inscribe questions to their…
• The Zhou Dynasty and the Mandate of Heaven1046 BC — King Wu of Zhou overthrows the last Shang king at the Battle of Muye, founding…
• Zhou Power Fragments: The Spring and Autumn Period Begins770–476 BC (traditional) — Nomadic invasion forces the Zhou court to flee east, and real…
• Confucius and the Flowering of Chinese Philosophy551–479 BC — Amid the disorder of the late Spring and Autumn period, the teacher…
• The Warring States Period475–221 BC — The remaining regional states abandon the last pretense of Zhou authority…
• Qin Shi Huang Unifies China221 BC — King Zheng of Qin conquers the last rival state, unifies China for the first…
• Fall of Qin, Founding of the Han Dynasty206–202 BC — Within four years of Qin Shi Huang's death, his short-lived dynasty…
• Han Confucianism Becomes State Orthodoxy141–87 BC (reign of Emperor Wu) — Under the long and consequential reign of Emperor Wu…
• The Silk Road Opens Under the Hanc. 138–100 BC — The Han diplomat Zhang Qian's expeditions into Central Asia open a…
• Egypt's Pantheon Takes Shape (c. 2700–2200 BC)c. 2700–2200 BC (Old Kingdom) — Old Kingdom Egypt consolidated the worship of Ra…
• The Great Pyramids and Egypt's Solar Theology (c. 2580 BC)c. 2580–2500 BC — The Giza pyramids were built as literal ascension machines, expressing…
• Ziggurats Rise in Sumer (c. 2100 BC)c. 2200–2000 BC — Sumerian and Babylonian cities built towering stepped ziggurats as…
• Hammurabi's Babylon and the Rise of Marduk (c. 1750 BC)c. 1792–1750 BC — Hammurabi's Babylon grounded its famous law code explicitly in the…
• The Enuma Elish: Babylon's Creation Myth (Date Disputed)c. 1300–1100 BC (composition date debated) — Babylon's Enuma Elish creation epic…
• Akhenaten's Short-Lived Monotheism in Egypt (c. 1350 BC)c. 1353–1336 BC — Pharaoh Akhenaten briefly elevated the sun-disk Aten above Egypt's…
• Elijah's Contest with the Prophets of Baal (c. 855 BC)c. 855 BC — On Mount Carmel, Elijah publicly exposed Baal, the Canaanite storm-god, as…
• Nebuchadnezzar II and the Imperial Cult of Marduk (605–562 BC)605–562 BC — Nebuchadnezzar II, conqueror of Jerusalem, was also Marduk's great…
• Zoroaster and the Founding of Zoroastrianism (Dates Highly Disputed)c. 1500–600 BC (date highly disputed) — Zoroaster's lifetime is dated anywhere from…
• Zoroastrianism and the Achaemenid Persian Empire (c. 550–330 BC)c. 550–330 BC — The Achaemenid Persian kings who freed the Jewish exiles honored Ahura…
• The Rigveda Is Composedc. 1500–1200 BC (dating disputed) — The Rigveda, the oldest and most foundational of…
• The Earliest Upanishads Are Composedc. 800–500 BC (dating disputed) — A new wave of philosophical and mystical texts, the…
• Laozi, Legendary Founder of TaoismTraditionally the 6th century BC; historicity and dates unknown — Chinese tradition…
• The Tao Te Ching Takes ShapeTraditionally 6th century BC; likely compiled over time, possibly into the 4th century…
• Birth of Confucius551 BC — Confucius (Kong Qiu), the towering figure of Chinese ethical and social…
• Death of Confucius479 BC — Confucius died in his home state of Lu in 479 BC, believing his lifelong effort…
• The Analects Compiled by Confucius's Disciplesc. 479–400 BC (traditional) — The Analects, the primary record of Confucius's teaching…
• Birth of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)c. 563 BC (conventional 'corrected long chronology'; disputed) — Buddhist tradition…
• The Buddha's Enlightenment at Bodh Gayac. 528 BC (traditional) — Buddhist tradition holds that at about age thirty-five, after…
• The Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnathc. 528 BC (traditional) — Shortly after his enlightenment, the Buddha delivered his…
• Death of the Buddha (Parinirvana)c. 483 BC (conventional 'corrected long chronology'; disputed) — The Buddha died at…
• The First Buddhist Council Convenesc. 483 BC, shortly after the Buddha's death — Within months of the Buddha's death, some…
• Jeroboam's Golden Calves at Bethel and Danc. 931 BC — To keep his new subjects from returning to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam I…
• Omri Founds Samariac. 880 BC — After emerging from civil war, Omri purchased a hill from a man named Shemer…
• Ahab, Jezebel, and the Rise of Baal Worshipc. 874 BC — Omri's son Ahab married the Phoenician princess Jezebel and built a temple…
• Elijah Announces the Droughtc. 859–855 BC — Elijah suddenly appears before Ahab to announce a drought by his word…
• Elijah and the Widow of Zarephathc. 857 BC — Sent to a widow's home in Baal's own homeland of Sidon, Elijah multiplies…
• Elijah's Contest on Mount Carmelc. 855 BC — On Mount Carmel, Elijah stands alone against 450 prophets of Baal, and fire…
• Elijah at Horeb: The Still Small Voicec. 855 BC — Fleeing Jezebel's death threat after his greatest triumph, an exhausted…
• The Call of Elishac. 854 BC — Fresh from Horeb, Elijah finds Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and…
• Naboth's Vineyardc. 854 BC — When Naboth refuses to sell his ancestral vineyard, Jezebel arranges his…
• Ahab's Death at Ramoth-Gilead853 BC — Disguised in battle and allied with Judah's king Jehoshaphat, Ahab dies from a…
• Elijah's Ascension to Heavenc. 852 BC — Rather than dying, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and chariot…
• Elisha's Ministry of Mercyc. 852–797 BC — Across decades of ministry, Elisha performs a remarkable string of…
• Naaman Healed of Leprosyc. 845 BC — A captured Israelite servant girl points the Aramean general Naaman to…
• The Siege of Samaria and Elisha's Prophecyc. 842 BC — During a desperate Aramean siege of Samaria, Elisha promises impossible…
• Jehu Anointed King841 BC — At Elisha's direction, a young prophet secretly anoints the army commander Jehu…
• Jehu's Purge841 BC — In a single violent campaign, Jehu kills King Joram, Judah's King Ahaziah, and…
• Jonah's Reluctant Mission to Ninevehc. 780–760 BC — Called to preach against Israel's most feared enemy, Jonah fled instead…
• Fall of Samaria to Assyria725–722 BC — After King Hoshea's rebellion, Assyria besieged Samaria for three years and…
• Rehoboam's Reign and Shishak's Invasion931–913 BC — Solomon's son Rehoboam's harsh answer to Israel's elders split the united…
• Asa's Reign and Religious Reforms911–870 BC — Judah's third king tore down the idols his predecessors had tolerated…
• Jehoshaphat's Reign and Alliance with Israel872–848 BC — One of Judah's most faithful kings, Jehoshaphat sent teachers throughout…
• Obadiah's Oracle Against Edomc. 845 BC or c. 586 BC (date disputed) — In the Old Testament's shortest book, Obadiah…
• Joash's Rescue, Reign, and Temple Repair841–796 BC — Hidden as an infant from his murderous grandmother Athaliah, Joash was…
• Uzziah's Long Reign of Prosperity and Pride792–740 BC — Uzziah reigned over Judah for over fifty years, rebuilding its military and…
• Amos's Ministry to the Northern Kingdomc. 760–750 BC — A shepherd and fig-tender from the Judean town of Tekoa, Amos was sent…
• Hosea's Marriage and Ministry to Israelc. 750–715 BC — The Lord commanded Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman as a living…
• Isaiah's Call and Commissionc. 740/739 BC — In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord seated high on His…
• Ahaz, the Syro-Ephraimite Crisis, and the Immanuel Prophecy735–732 BC — When Aram and Israel's kings threatened to depose him, a frightened Ahaz…
• Micah's Ministry and the Prophecy of Bethlehemc. 735–700 BC — A contemporary of Isaiah from the small town of Moresheth, Micah…
• Hezekiah's Religious Reformsc. 715–705 BC — Reversing his father Ahaz's compromises, Hezekiah reopened and cleansed…
• Sennacherib's Siege of Jerusalem701 BC — When Assyria's King Sennacherib swept through Judah and surrounded Jerusalem…
• Isaiah's Suffering Servant Prophecyc. 700–681 BC — In the later chapters of his prophecy, Isaiah unveiled a mysterious…
• Manasseh's Apostasy and Long Reign697–643 BC — Judah's longest-reigning king undid nearly everything his father Hezekiah…
• Nahum's Oracle Against Ninevehc. 663–654 BC — A century after Jonah's preaching led Nineveh to repent, the prophet…
• Zephaniah's Ministry and the Day of the Lordc. 640–630 BC — A descendant of King Hezekiah himself, Zephaniah prophesied during…
• Josiah's Reforms and the Rediscovered Book of the Law622 BC — While repairing the Temple, the priest Hilkiah found a forgotten copy of the…
• Habakkuk's Dialogue with Godc. 609–605 BC — Rather than preaching to the people, Habakkuk brought his hardest…
• Joel's Prophecy of the Day of the Lordc. 835–800 BC (date disputed) — Using a devastating locust plague as a launching point…
• Jeremiah's Call and His Foretelling of Jerusalem's Fall627–586 BC — Called as a young man in Josiah's thirteenth year, Jeremiah spent four…
• Council of ConstantinopleAD 381 — The second ecumenical council reaffirmed and expanded the Nicene Creed…
• Jerome Completes the Vulgatec. AD 405 — Working in Bethlehem, the scholar Jerome completed a translation of the…
• Augustine Writes the Confessionsc. AD 397-400 — Bishop Augustine of Hippo composed the Confessions, an extended…
• Council of EphesusAD 431 — The third ecumenical council condemned the teaching of Nestorius, Patriarch of…
• Patrick's Mission to Irelandc. AD 432 — A formerly enslaved Romano-British Christian returned to Ireland as a…
• Council of ChalcedonAD 451 — The fourth ecumenical council defined the orthodox understanding of Christ as…
• Fall of the Western Roman EmpireAD 476 — The Germanic general Odoacer deposed the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus…
• Benedict Writes His Monastic Rulec. AD 529 — Benedict of Nursia composed a balanced, practical rule for monastic…
• Gregory the Great Sends the Mission to EnglandAD 597 — Pope Gregory the Great dispatched a mission of monks led by Augustine of…
• Islamic Conquest of Jerusalemc. AD 637 — Following the death of the prophet Muhammad and the rapid expansion of…
• Coronation of CharlemagneAD 800 (Christmas Day) — Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor…
• The Great Schism of 1054AD 1054 — Mutual excommunications exchanged between representatives of the pope and the…
• Pope Urban II Calls the First CrusadeAD 1095-1099 — Responding to a Byzantine appeal for military aid and calling for the…
• Founding of the Franciscan OrderAD 1209 — Francis of Assisi received verbal papal approval from Innocent III for a…
• Thomas Aquinas Begins the Summa Theologicac. AD 1265-1274 — The Dominican friar Thomas Aquinas composed the Summa Theologica, a…
• Avignon Papacy and the Western SchismAD 1309-1417 — French political pressure moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon for…
• The Wycliffe Biblec. AD 1382-1395 — Followers of the Oxford theologian John Wycliffe produced the first…
• Execution of Jan HusAD 1415 — The Bohemian reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake at the Council of…
• Fall of ConstantinopleAD 1453 — Ottoman forces under Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople, ending the…
• Printing of the Gutenberg Biblec. AD 1455 — Johannes Gutenberg's Mainz workshop completed the printing of a Latin Bible…
• Martin Luther Posts the Ninety-Five ThesesOctober 31, AD 1517 — An Augustinian monk and professor in Wittenberg circulated…
• Diet of WormsAD 1521 — Summoned before the imperial assembly at Worms, Martin Luther refused to…
• Zurich Adopts the ReformationAD 1523 — Following public disputations led by the priest Huldrych Zwingli, the city…
• Act of Supremacy and the English ReformationAD 1534 — King Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy declared the English monarch the supreme…
• Calvin Publishes the Institutes and Settles in GenevaAD 1536 — French reformer John Calvin published the first edition of his Institutes of…
• Founding of the Society of JesusAD 1540 — Pope Paul III formally approved the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius of…
• Council of TrentAD 1545-1563 — Convened across three periods over nearly two decades, the Council of…
• The Pilgrims and the Mayflower CompactAD 1620 — A group of English Separatist Puritans, seeking freedom to practice their…
• Peace of WestphaliaAD 1648 — The treaties ending the devastating Thirty Years' War established a durable…
• The First Great Awakeningc. AD 1734-1745 — A wave of intense religious revival swept through Britain's American…
• William Carey Sails for IndiaAD 1793 — English cobbler and self-taught scholar William Carey sailed for India under…
• The Second Great Awakeningc. AD 1795-1840 — A sustained, geographically widespread series of religious revivals…
• Abolition of the British Slave TradeAD 1807 — After decades of parliamentary campaigning led substantially by evangelical…
• Azusa Street RevivalAD 1906-1915 — A sustained, racially integrated revival meeting led by African American…
• The German Church Struggle and Bonhoeffer's ResistanceAD 1933-1945 — As the Nazi regime sought to bring German Protestantism under its…
• Founding of the World Council of ChurchesAD 1948 — Representatives of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches from around the…
• Billy Graham's Los Angeles and New York CrusadesAD 1949-1957 — Young evangelist Billy Graham's breakthrough 1949 Los Angeles crusade and…
• Second Vatican CouncilAD 1962-1965 — Convened by Pope John XXIII, the Second Vatican Council produced the most…
• Civil Rights Movement and the Ministry of Martin Luther King Jr.AD 1963-1968 — Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr.'s theologically grounded…
• Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the Role of John Paul IIAD 1989 — The largely nonviolent collapse of Communist governments across Eastern Europe…
• The Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis ReckoningAD 2002 (Boston Globe Spotlight investigation) — Investigative reporting by the Boston…