Ancient World
Kanishka and the Kushan Empire: Crossroads of the Silk Road
Kanishka brought the Kushan Empire to its height, linking Central Asia, India and the Silk Road trade and patronising Buddhism.
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
Zhang Heng's Seismoscope (132): Detecting Earthquakes in China
Zhang Heng presented the first known instrument for detecting earthquakes, which reportedly registered a distant quake in Longxi.
Ancient World
Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136): The Last Jewish War with Rome
Roman victory; Judaea was devastated, Jews were barred from Jerusalem and the province was renamed Syria Palaestina.
Ancient World
Mausoleum of Hadrian: The Origin of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome
Built as an imperial tomb, the monument survived as a fortress, prison and papal refuge and is now a national museum.
Ancient World
La Mojarra Stela 1: Epi-Olmec Writing and a Warrior King
The stela became the main source for the Isthmian script, prompting a proposed decipherment in 1993 that remains disputed.
Ancient World
Antonine Plague (AD 165-180): The Epidemic That Shook Rome
A pandemic, probably smallpox, killed millions across the Roman Empire and strained its army, finances and frontiers.
Ancient World
Marcomannic Wars (166-180): Marcus Aurelius on the Danube
Rome restored the Danube frontier after years of costly fighting; Commodus made peace in 180 and the planned new provinces were never created.
Ancient World
Roman Embassy to Han China (166): Daqin Envoys Reach the Court
The first recorded arrival in China of people claiming to represent the Roman Empire, probably merchants rather than official envoys.
Ancient World
Yellow Turban Rebellion (184): The Uprising That Doomed the Han
The main revolt was crushed within a year, but the campaigns empowered regional commanders and set China on the path to the warlord era and the Three Kingdoms.
Ancient World
Dong Zhuo Seizes Luoyang (189): The Han Court Falls to a Warlord
Dong Zhuo controlled the Han emperor until his murder in 192; his coup broke central authority and opened the era of warlords that led to the Three Kingdoms.
Ancient World
Catacombs of Rome: Early Christian Burials Beneath the City
Christian and Jewish communities created dozens of underground cemeteries whose tombs, inscriptions and paintings are a major source for early Christianity.
Ancient World
Battle of Guandu (200): Cao Cao Defeats Yuan Shao
Decisive victory for Cao Cao, who went on to take Yuan Shao's lands and control all of northern China by 207.