Ancient World
Harmodius and Aristogeiton (514 BC): The Tyrannicides of Athens
Hipparchus was killed but the tyranny of Hippias survived until 510 BC; the killers were later honoured as heroes of Athenian freedom.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Darius I's Scythian Campaign (513 BC): Persia Beyond the Danube
The Scythians avoided battle and Darius withdrew without conquering them, but Persia secured Thrace and a foothold in Europe.
Ancient World
Founding of the Roman Republic (509 BC): End of the Kings
The monarchy was abolished and power passed to two annually elected consuls, beginning the Roman Republic that lasted until the late 1st century BC.
Ancient World
Cleisthenes and the Birth of Athenian Democracy (508 BC)
Athens adopted a new political order based on ten tribes, local demes and a Council of 500, generally regarded as the beginning of Athenian democracy.
Ancient World
Canal of Darius: The Ancient Nile-Red Sea Waterway
Darius's canal linked the Nile with the Red Sea, allowing ships to sail from Egypt towards Persia; it was later restored by Ptolemaic, Roman and early Islamic rulers.
Ancient World
Royal Road of Persia: Darius's Highway from Sardis to Susa
The Royal Road and the wider Achaemenid road network let the Persian kings move officials, armies and messages across their empire with unprecedented speed.
Ancient World
Vix Grave: The Celtic Princess and the Giant Greek Krater
The finds revealed close contacts between Celtic elites and the Greek world and are displayed in the museum at Châtillon-sur-Seine.
Ancient World
Adena Culture: Early Mound Builders of the Ohio River Valley
The Adena established the tradition of large burial mounds and earthworks in eastern North America, later developed by the Hopewell.
Ancient World
Garamantes: The Ancient Saharan Kingdom of the Libyan Fezzan
The Garamantes created the first urban state in the Sahara, irrigated by groundwater, before declining as water ran short and trade shifted.
Ancient World
Voyage of Hanno the Navigator: Carthage Explores West Africa
Carthage founded or reinforced trading settlements on the Moroccan coast and gained knowledge of West Africa preserved in a Greek account.
Ancient World
Monte Albán: Founding of the Zapotec Capital of Oaxaca
A new hilltop capital united the Valley of Oaxaca and became the centre of Zapotec civilisation for more than a thousand years.
Ancient World
Ramayana: Valmiki's Ancient Epic and Its History Across Asia
The Ramayana became one of the two great Sanskrit epics and a shared cultural story from India to Indonesia.