Ancient World
Taxila: Ancient City of Learning and Trade in Gandhara
A major city of Gandhara for about a thousand years, later abandoned; its ruins were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
Region
Asia
Ancient World
Mahavira and the Rise of Jainism in Ancient India
Mahavira reshaped and spread the Jain tradition, founding a fourfold community of monks, nuns and lay followers that survives today.
Ancient World
Eclipse of Thales (585 BC): The Birth of Greek Philosophy
Thales' reputation for predicting the eclipse made him the first celebrated Greek thinker, and his search for natural explanations began the Milesian school of philosophy.
Ancient World
Siddhartha Gautama: The Life of the Buddha in Ancient India
The Buddha's teaching and the monastic community he founded grew into Buddhism, one of the major world religions.
Ancient World
Confucius (551-479 BC): The Life and Teachings of Kong Qiu
Confucius died with little political success, but his disciples preserved his teachings, which became the official orthodoxy of the Chinese state and shaped East Asian society for two millennia.
Ancient World
Oxus Treasure: Gold and Silver of the Achaemenid Persians
The treasure was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1897 and is the most important collection of Achaemenid gold and silver to survive.
Ancient World
Bimbisara and the Rise of Magadha in the Buddha's Lifetime
Bimbisara made Magadha the leading power of the eastern Ganges plain, preparing the way for its later empires.
Ancient World
Death of Cyrus the Great (530 BC) and Queen Tomyris
Cyrus died on campaign; his son Cambyses II succeeded him and the empire remained intact.
Ancient World
Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath: The Deer Park Discourse
The Buddha's first teaching set out the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and created the first community of Buddhist monks.
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.
Ancient World
Sun Tzu and The Art of War: China's Classic of Military Strategy
The Art of War became the most influential military treatise of East Asia and, after its translation from 1772 onward, one of the best-known strategy books in the world.
Ancient World
Ionian Revolt (499-493 BC): The Spark of the Persian Wars
Persian victory; the revolt was crushed after the naval Battle of Lade and the sack of Miletus in 494 BC, and Darius turned against Athens and Eretria.