Chronology

ca. 250,000 B.C.E.Homo sapiens evolve in Africa
250,000–9000 B.C.E.Paleolithic era
9000 B.C.E.Beginning of the Neolithic; crop raising; domestication of sheep and goats
ca. 7000 B.C.E.Domestication of cattle; plow agriculture
ca. 5500 B.C.E.Smelting of copper
ca. 3800 B.C.E.Establishment of first Mesopotamian cities
ca. 3200 B.C.E.Development of cuneiform and hieroglyphic writing
ca. 3100 B.C.E.Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt
ca. 3000 B.C.E.Development of wheeled transport; beginning of bronze technology
ca. 2500 B.C.E.Bronze technology becomes common in many areas
ca. 2300 B.C.E.Establishment of the Akkadian empire
ca. 1800 B.C.E.Hyksos people begin to settle in the Nile Delta
1792–1750 B.C.E.Hammurabi rules Babylon
1258 B.C.E.Peace treaty between Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II and Hittite king Hattusili III
ca. 1200 B.C.E.“Bronze Age Collapse”; destruction and drought

A note on dates:This book generally uses the terms B.C.E.(Before the Common Era) and C.E.(Common Era) when giving dates, a system of chronology based on the Christian calendar and now used widely around the world.