Visual Timeline: Warfare

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2500 BCE 2000 BCE 1500 BCE 1000 BCE 500 BCE 0 CE 500 CE  
 
2400 BCE: First use of war chariots in Mesopotamia.
 
2240 BCE: Naram-Sin of Akkad campaigns against the Amorites in northern Syria.
 
 
2200 BCE - 1500 BCE: The Minoan Civilization flourishes on Crete, Greece. King Minos establishes the first navy in the region.
 
 
2193 BCE: Gutian invasion destroys Akkadian empire.
 
 
1750 BCE: Elam conquers Ur.
 
 
1595 BCE: Hittites under Mursilli I sack Babylon, ending Amorite rule.
 
 
1458 BCE: Kadesh and Megiddo lead a Canaanite alliance against the Egyptian invasion by Thutmose III.
 
1457 BCE: Battle of Megiddo: Thutmose III of Egypt defeats a coalition of Canaan, Kadesh, Mitanni, and Megiddo led by Durusha, king of Kadesh.
 
1307 BCE - 1275 BCE: Reign of Assyrian King Adad Nirari I, Mitanni becomes vassal state.
 
 
1258 BCE: The Treaty of Kadesh between Egyptians and Hittites. The world's first peace treaty.
 
1250 BCE: Trojan War, according to Herodotus.
 
 
1200 BCE: Sea Peoples invade the Levant.
 
1187 BCE: Kadesh is destroyed by the Sea Peoples and subsequently vanishes from history.
 
1178 BCE: Ramesses III defends Egypt from the Sea Peoples on the shores at Xois, defeating them completely.
 
 
1115 BCE - 1076 BCE: Reign of Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria who conquers Phoenicia and revitalizes the empire.
 
 
722 BCE: Israel is conquered by Assyria.
 
 
700 BCE: Iron Age begins in Scotland.
 
 
671 BCE: Second Egyptian Campaign, Assyrian army successfully captures Memphis and conquers Egypt.
 
 
671 BCE: Egypt is conquered by Assyria.
 
 
667 BCE - 665 BCE: Ashurbanipal wages war in Egypt to put down rebellions.
 
 
653 BCE: Egypt expels Assyrians.
 
650 BCE - 350 BCE: Hoplites are the major protagonists in Greek land warfare.
 
648 BCE: War between Assyria and the Elamites.
 
586 BCE - 572 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon besieges Tyre, unsuccessfully.
 
 
585 BCE: A battle between Media and Lydia broke off immediately as a result of a total eclipse of the sun and the two armies made peace. The eclipse was successfully predicted by Thales of Miletus.
 
 
580 BCE - 376 BCE: Carthage and Greece fight for dominance in Sicily.
 
 
535 BCE: Battle of Alalia. Carthaginian navy, in alliance with Etruscans, defeated Greek ships off the island of Corsica.
 
 
525 BCE - 404 BCE: Persia conquers Egypt.
 
 
525 BCE: Cambyses II of Persia takes the city of Pelusium, conquers Egypt.
 
 
512 BCE - 506 BCE: The Wu Chu wars in China between the States of Wu and Chu.
 
 
506 BCE: The Battle of Boju at which the Wu forces under Sun-Tzu defeated the Chu.
 
 
498 BCE - 493 BCE: Rome defeats the Latins.
 
490 BCE: A combined force of Greek hoplites defeat the Persians at Marathon.
 
 
485 BCE: Babylon is destroyed by Xerxes, King of Persia.
 
 
481 BCE - 221 BCE: The Warring States Period in China, suggested time-period for composition of The Art of War.
 
480 BCE: The indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I. The Greeks withdraw to Salamis.
 
480 BCE: Battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas and other Greek allies hold back the Persians led by Xerxes I for three days but are defeated.
 
480 BCE: Battle of Salamis where the Greek naval fleet led by Themistocles defeats the invading armada of Xerxes I of Persia.
 
 
479 BCE: Xerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece.
 
475 BCE: Celts defeat the Etruscans at the Ticino River.
 
460 BCE - 445 BCE: First Peloponnesian War.
 
448 BCE: Pericles leads the Athenian forces in the Battle of Delphi.
 
 
431 BCE - 404 BCE: The 2nd Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League) which involved all of Greece.
 
 
430 BCE - 415 BCE: The Histories of Herodotus is published. The work is divided into nine chapters, each dedicated to one of the Muses.
 
425 BCE: Pylos campaign, under Cleon and Demosthenes' command Athens defeats Sparta at Pylos.
 
 
413 BCE: The Athenian expedition in Sicily ends in disastrous defeat and the Athenian generals Nicias and Demosthenes are executed.
 
 
410 BCE: Alcibiades leads the Athenian fleet to victory over Sparta at Cyzicus.
 
 
407 BCE: The Athenian fleet is defeated by Lysander of Sparta at Notium.
 
 
404 BCE: End of the Peloponnesian war, Athens defeated By Sparta at Aigospotamoi, Rule of the Thirty Tyrants in Athens.
 
 
396 BCE: Celts defeat an Etruscan army at the battle of Melpum. Afterwards the Celts heavily settle all over the Po Valley.
 
 
396 BCE: Roman expansion begins with the capture of Veii from the Etruscans.
 
 
395 BCE - 386 BCE: The Corinthian Wars between Sparta and an alliance of Athens, Corinth, Argos, Boeotia and Thebes.
 
390 BCE: "Gallic Catastrophe:" Brennus of the Senones defeats the Romans at Allia, and subsequently sacks Rome.
 
343 BCE - 341 BCE: First Samnite War (Rome vs. Samnites).
 
342 BCE: Philip II leads a military expedition against the Scythians.
 
338 BCE: The first battle of Chaeronea. Philip II of Macedon defeats the Greek alliance directed against him, led by Athens and Thebes.
 
 
334 BCE - 323 BCE: Period of the conquests of Alexander the Great.
 
333 BCE: Battle of Issus. Alexander the Great is victorious against Darius III of Persia.
 
330 BCE: Persepolis is burned and looted by Alexander the Great.
 
326 BCE - 304 BCE: Second Samnite War.
 
 
323 BCE: Death of Alexander the Great.
 
 
300 BCE: Sarmatians conquer the Scythians.
 
 
298 BCE - 290 BCE: Third Samnite War. Victory for Rome, peace with the Etruscans.
 
297 BCE: Celts and Samnites join forces and defeat the Romans at Camertium.
 
295 BCE: In a battle lasting all day, Romans narrowly defeat a force of Celts and Samnites at Sentinum.
 
 
285 BCE - 282 BCE: Rome defeats the Celts in Italy. Rome's dominance in central Italy is secured.
 
284 BCE: Gauls of the Insubres and Boii tribes defeat the Romans at Arretium.
 
283 BCE: Rome decisively defeats the Senones at Picenum.
 
 
280 BCE - 272 BCE: Roman war against Tarentum. Rome conquers Tarentum. Rome's dominance in lower Italy is secured.
 
 
264 BCE - 241 BCE: First Punic War. Carthage cedes Sicily to Rome.
 
250 BCE - 200 CE: Originally a Celtiberian weapon, the Gladius Hispaniensis was commonly used by Roman soldiers for more than four centuries.
 
229 BCE - 228 BCE: Rome fights Illyrian pirates. Queen Teuta pays tribute to Rome.
 
 
222 BCE: Rome conquers Cisalpine Gaul (modern-day Provence, France).
 
220 BCE: Gortyn allies with Knossos to defeat Lyttos on Crete.
 
216 BCE: Hannibal wins the battle of Cannae, the worst defeat in Roman history.
 
214 BCE - 205 BCE: First Macedonian War: Rome defeats Philip V of Macedon.
 
 
206 BCE: Chinese Qin empire collapses following the death of emperor Shi Huangti. Civil War begins.
 
204 BCE: Scipio Africanus sails to North Africa in the Second Punic War.
 
 
202 BCE: The Battle of Gaixia in which the Han forces defeat the Chu.
 
200 BCE - 196 BCE: Second Macedonian War: Roman victory.
 
 
200 BCE: Beginning of the Greco-Bactrian conquests in India.
 
193 BCE: The Boii are defeated by the Romans, suffering, according to Livy, 14,000 dead.
 
190 BCE: Battle of Magnesia ad Sipylum, disastrous defeat for Antiochos III against Romans.
 
 
172 BCE - 168 BCE: Third Macedonian War: Perseus of Macedon challenges Rome and is defeated.
 
 
168 BCE: Rome defeats Macedon at Battle of Pydna.
 
149 BCE - 146 BCE: Third Punic War.
 
 
146 BCE: End of the Third Punic War. Carthage is destroyed and its lands become the Roman province Africa.
 
133 BCE: Rome captures Numantia. End of Iberian resistance.
 
 
129 BCE: Parthians conquer Mesopotamia. The Silk Road to China is now controlled by the Parthians.
 
113 BCE: Romans defeated at Noreia by the Cimbri.
 
88 BCE - 63 BCE: Mithridates of Pontus fights three wars to free Greece from Rome.
 
 
86 BCE: The Roman general Sulla sacks Athens and the port of Piraeus.
 
 
63 BCE: The Roman general Pompey defeats the Seleucid Antiochus XIII and incorporates Syria as a province of the Roman empire.
 
 
58 BCE - 51 BCE: Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
 
 
58 BCE: Caesar attacks the Helvetii while on migration and defeats them.
 
57 BCE: A Roman army under Caesar narrowly defeats an army of Nervii, Atrebates, and Viromandui.
 
56 BCE: The navies of Rome and the Veneti Gauls clash resulting in a Roman victory. This is the first recorded naval battle in the Atlantic Ocean.
 
 
55 BCE - 54 BCE: Julius Caesar's expeditions in Britain.
 
52 BCE: Julius Caesar is defeated at Gergovia by Vercingetorix.
 
 
52 BCE: After becoming trapped and besieged at Alesia, Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar.
 
 
27 BCE - 19 BCE: Cantabrian Wars: Roman conquest of the Iberian Penninsula.
 
 
9 CE: The Rhine River is established as the boundary between the Latin and German speaking worlds, following the defeat of the Roman army, under the command of Varus, at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
 
 
43 CE - 47 CE: Romans conquer South Britain and claim the territory as part of Roman Empire.
 
43 CE: Claudius commences the Roman conquest of Britain.
 
 
60 CE - 61 CE: Boudicca's Revolt in Britain.
 
 
75 CE - 77 CE: Romans defeat the last of the Northern tribes; Roman conquest of Britain complete.
 
 
83 CE: The Battle of Mons Graupius in which Agricola defeats Calgacus of the Picts.
 
 
101 CE - 106 CE: Trajan conquers Dacia.
 
167 CE - 180 CE: Marcomannic Wars.
 
 
192 CE: Emperor Commodus is murdered, civil war ensues (until 197 CE).
 
195 CE: First Parthian war.
 
197 CE - 198 CE: Second Parthian war.
 
 
367 CE: Picts, Scots, Saxons, and Franks attack the Roman Empire.
 
408 CE: Alaric I the Visigoth besieges Rome. As ransom, Rome pays 5,000 pounds of gold, 30,000 pounds of silver, 4,000 silken tunics, 3,000 hides dyed scarlet, and 3,000 pounds of pepper.
 
455 CE: Vandals sack Rome.
 
 
486 CE: Clovis I of the Franks defeats the Romans in Gaul. Founding of the Frankish kingdom.
 
 
488 CE - 493 CE: Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths conquers Italy.
 
 
507 CE: Clovis defeats the Visigoths and drives them into the Iberian peninsula.
 
 
534 CE: Justinian of the Byzantine Empire conquers the Vandal kingdom in Africa.
 
 
536 CE - 562 CE: The Byzantine Empire conquers Italy.
 
 
554 CE: Byzantine Empire conquers southern Iberia.
 
607 CE - 627 CE: East Rome defeats Sasanian Persia.
 
 
646 CE: The Arab Muslims conquer Egypt under Caliph Umar.
 
 
712 CE: Muslim general Muhammed bin Quasim conquers northern India.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2500 BCE 2000 BCE 1500 BCE 1000 BCE 500 BCE 0 CE 500 CE