1353 BCE - 476 CE: Piracy flourishes in the Mediterranean.

1276 BCE - 1178 BCE: The piratical Sea Peoples ravage the Mediterranean.

475 BCE: Athenian general Cimon drives the Dolopian pirates out of the Aegean island of Scyros.

231 BCE - 227 BCE: The Illyrian Pirates threaten legitimate trade during the reign of Queen Teuta.

71 BCE: Rome wages war on the Cretan pirates.

69 BCE - 67 BCE: Rome wages a second war against the Cretan pirates.

67 BCE: Pompey the Great defeats the Cilician Pirates at the Battle of Coracesium.

67 BCE: The Gabinian Law is passed, giving Pompey great power to deal with pirates.

67 CE: The Roman port of Ostia provides a base for operations against the Cilician pirates.

476 CE - 1500 CE: Piracy continues to flourish in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.

1695 CE: The English pirate Henry Every captures a treasure ship of the Mughal emperor, one of the richest prizes ever taken by a pirate in any era.

1717 CE - 1718 CE: The English pirate Blackbeard (aka Edward Teach) is active in the Caribbean and western Atlantic.

1765 CE - 1807 CE: Life of the Chinese pirate Zheng Yi (aka Cheng I).

1780 CE - 1821 CE: Life of the pirate leader Jean Lafitte who operated in the Gulf of Mexico.

1805 CE: Zheng Yi (aka Cheng I) becomes the head of a large confederation of Chinese pirates.

1807 CE - 1810 CE: Zheng Yi Sao leads a large confederation of Chinese pirates and terrorizes the South China Sea.

1808 CE: The pirate fleet of Zheng Yi Sao defeats a Chinese imperial naval fleet near Canton.

1809 CE: The pirate fleet of Zheng Yi Sao defeats a second Chinese imperial naval fleet near Canton.