| The Australopithecines | E AFRICA | 4.5 MILLION YEARS AGO |
| Homo habilis | E AFRICA | 2.4 TO 1.4 MILLION YEARS AGO |
| Homo erectus | E ASIA, AFRICA, EUROPE | 2 MILLION TO 143,000 YEARS AGO |
| Tool making and speech | | |
| The Neanderthals | AFRICA, EUROPE, W EURASIA | 350,000 TO 40,000 YEARS AGO |
| The Ice Ages | WORLDWIDE, EXCEPT TROPICAL REGIONS | 2 MILLION TO 11,000 YEARS AGO |
| Homo sapiens in Africa | AFRICA | 195,000 TO 50,000 YEARS AGO |
| Settling the world | WORLDWIDE | 50,000 TO 15,000 YEARS AGO |
| Hunters-gatherers | | |
| Art and ritual | WORLDWIDE | 40,000 TO 4,000 YEARS AGO |
| The cradle of agriculture | TURKEY, SYRIA, IRAQ, PAKISTAN, CHINA, MESOAMERICA | 8500–6000 bce |
| The spread of farming | WORLDWIDE | 7000–2000 |
| The first villages | JORDAN, SYRIA, TURKEY | 9600–7000 bce |
| Discovery of metals | EURASIA, MESOAMERICA | 8000–2000 bce |
| Megaliths | | |
| The first towns | NEAR EAST | 5000–3000 bce |
| Early Mesopotamia | IRAQ, W IRAN, SE SYRIA | 6000–3000 bce |
| Predynastic Egypt | EGYPT | 4000–3100 bce |
| The Sumerians | MODERN IRAQ | c.3000–c.2340 bce |
| Ur | SOUTH OF MODERN IRAQ | c.3000–c.2000 bce |
| The Akkadian Empire | MODERN IRAQ, SW IRAN, SYRIA, LEBANON, SE TURKEY | c.2300–c.2083 bce |
| The rise of Babylon | MODERN IRAQ, SE SYRIA | c.1900–1595 bce |
| The Hittites | CENTRAL AND SE TURKEY | c.1700–c.1200 bce |
| The late Bronze Age collapse | THE NEAR EAST | c.1200–c.1050 bce |
| The Phoenicians | LEBANON, THE MEDITERRANEAN COASTLINE | c.1200–146 bce |
| The Assyrian Empire | MODERN IRAQ, W IRAN, SYRIA, LEBANON, SW TURKEY | c.2000–c.610 bce |
| The invention of writing | | |
| The Old Kingdom | EGYPT | 2649–2134 bce |
| The pyramids | EGYPT | c.2600–c.1525 bce |
| The Middle Kingdom | EGYPT | 2040–1640 bce |
| Egyptian religion | | |
| The New Kingdom and after | EGYPT | 1550–1069 bce |
| Minoan Crete | CRETE | c.2000–c.1450 bce |
| The Palace of Knossos | KNOSSOS, CRETE | c.2000–c.1200 bce |
| The Mycenaeans | MAINLAND GREECE, CRETE | c.1600–c.1070 bce |
| The Indus Valley civilization | PAKISTAN, NW INDIA, SE AFGHANISTAN | c.3300–c.1600 bce |
| Mohenjo-Daro | PAKISTAN | c.2500–c.1600 bce |
| Early Chinese cultures | CHINA | c.4500–c.1800 bce |
| Shang China | EASTERN CHINA | c.1750–1027 bce |
| The Chavín of Peru | PERU | c.1250–c.200 bce |
| The Olmecs | GULF COAST OF MEXICO | c.1800–c.400 bce |
| The Achaemenid Empire | W ASIA, EGYPT | 550–330 bce |
| Persepolis | | |
| Persian religion | IRAN | c.1000 bce–7TH CENTURY ce |
| Parthian Persia | IRAN, IRAQ | 247 bce–224 ce |
| Sassanid Persia | IRAN, IRAQ | 224–651 ce |
| Archaic Greece | GREECE | 700–500 bce |
| The Greek–Persian wars | GREECE, THE AEGEAN, W ASIA MINOR | 499–449 bce |
| Athens and democracy | ATHENS | 594–338 bce |
| Greek colonization | | |
| The Peloponnesian War | GREECE, W TURKEY, SICILY | 431–404 bce |
| Classical Greek culture | | |
| The conquests of Alexander the Great | GREECE, THE NEAR EAST | 336–323 bce |
| The successors of Alexander | EGYPT, SYRIA, MACEDONIA | 323–31 bce |
| Hellenistic Culture | | |
| Early Rome | CENTRAL ITALY | 753–509 bce |
| The Roman Republic | ITALIAN PENINSULA | 509 bce–c.250 bce |
| The Punic Wars | ITALY, SPAIN, N AFRICA | 264–148 bce |
| The end of the Republic | ITALY, GAUL | 137–44 bce |
| The first emperor: Augustus | ITALY, THE MEDITERRANEAN | 44 bce–14 ce |
| The government and army | ROMAN EMPIRE | 27 bce–c.200 ce |
| The early empire | ROMAN EMPIRE | 14–69 ce |
| The empire at its height | ROMAN EMPIRE | 69–180 ce |
| Crisis and reform | ROMAN EMPIRE | 180–305 ce |
| Constantine and the new Christian Empire | ROMAN EMPIRE | 306–337 ce |
| The fall of the Roman empire | ROMAN EMPIRE | 337–476 ce |
| The Celts | CENTRAL AND W EUROPE | 500 bce–83 ce |
| Successor states to Rome | W AND S EUROPE | 418–774 ce |
| The Scythians | CENTRAL ASIA | 6TH CENTURY bce–2ND CENTURY ce |
| The Huns | S RUSSIA, CENTRAL EUROPE, THE BALKANS | 4TH AND 5TH CENTURIES ce |
| The Kushans | CENTRAL ASIA, N INDIA | 1ST CENTURY bce–c.350 ce |
| Chandragupta and the rise of the Mauryans | N AND CENTRAL INDIA | c.321–185 bce |
| Ashoka and Buddhism | INDIA | 268–232 bce |
| Gupta India | INDIA | c.320–c.570 ce |
| World religions | | |
| The warring states | CHINA | 475–221 bce |
| The First Emperor | CHINA | 246–206 bce |
| Han China | CHINA | 206 bce–220 ce |
| Teotihuacán | CENTRAL MEXICO | 2ND TO 7TH CENTURY ce |
| The Zapotecs | VALLEY OF OAXACA, MEXICO | c.500 bce–c.900 ce |
| Classic Maya culture | CENTRAL AMERICA | c.300–c.900 ce |
| Early South America | PERU | c.500 bce–c.600 ce |
| China disunited | CHINA | 221–618 ce |
| Tang China | CHINA | 618–907 |
| Song China | CHINA | 960–1279 |
| Mongol and Ming China | CHINA | 1279–1644 |
| The Mongols | CENTRAL ASIA, E EUROPE, CHINA, SE ASIA | 1206–1405 |
| Early Japan | JAPAN | 5TH CENTURY bce TO 551 ce |
| The Asuka and Nara periods | JAPAN | 552–794 |
| The Heian period | JAPAN | 794–1185 |
| The Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates | JAPAN | 1185–1573 |
| Gunpowder weaponry | | |
| Medieval Korea | KOREA | 108 bce–1910 ce |
| The Khmer Empire | CAMBODIA | 889–1431 |
| Pagan Burma | BURMA | 849–1287 |
| Champa | S VIETNAM | 192–1471 |
| Dai Viet | N VIETNAM | 938–1528 |
| Srivijaya | JAVA | 7TH–14TH CENTURIES |
| The rise of Islam | ARABIA, THE NEAR EAST | 610–661 |
| The Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates | MIDDLE EAST | 661–1258 |
| The Seljuk Turks | TURKEY, SYRIA | 1038–1306 |
| Rise of the Ottomans | TURKEY | MID-13TH CENTURY–1481 |
| Chola India | SOUTH INDIA | c.850–1279 |
| The Delhi Sultanate | NORTH INDIA | 1206–1526 |
| The Mali Empire | WEST AFRICA | c.800–1545 |
| Ife and Benin | NIGERIA | c.700–1500 |
| Great Zimbabwe | SOUTHERN AFRICA | 11TH–15TH CENTURIES |
| Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy | ITALY | 493–774 |
| Visigoths in Spain | SPAIN | 469–711 |
| Anglo-Saxon England | ENGLAND | 411–1066 |
| Merovingian and Carolingian France | FRANCE | 511–987 |
| Feudalism | | |
| The Vikings | SCANDINAVIA, NW EUROPE, NEWFOUNDLAND | 793–1069 |
| Kievan Rus | UKRAINE, RUSSIA | C.800–1043 |
| The Normans | NORMANDY, ENGLAND, S ITALY | 911–1087 |
| Monasticism | EGYPT, EUROPE | c.350–1229 |
| Popes and emperors | FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY | 1049–1122 |
| The Crusades | LEBANON, SYRIA, PALESTINE, ISRAEL | 1095–1291 |
| The Black Death | EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST | 1346–1351 |
| The Hundred Years’ War | FRANCE | 1337–1453 |
| The early Byzantine Empire | NEAR EAST, ANATOLIA, BALKANS, N AFRICA | 395–717 |
| Byzantine survival and fall | NEAR EAST, ANATOLIA, BALKANS | 717–1453 |
| The Toltecs | CENTRAL MEXICO | c.900–c.1180 |
| The Maya | MEXICO, GUATEMALA | c.800–1697 |
| The Aztecs | MEXICO | c.1168–1520 |
| Early North American cultures | SW AND MIDWESTERN USA | c.700–c.1450 |
| Early cultures of South America | PERU AND BOLIVIA | c.650–c.1470 |
| The Inca Empire | PERU AND BOLIVIA | c.1300–1532 |
| Polynesian expansion and navigation | POLYNESIA | c.200 BCE–c.1000 CE |
| The Maori | NEW ZEALAND | c.1000–1840 |
| Easter Island | EASTER ISLAND | c.400–1868 |
| The Early Modern World | | |
| Decline of the Ming | CHINA | 1449–1644 |
| The rise of the Qing | CHINA | 1616–50 |
| China under the Qing | CHINA | 1644–1795 ce |
| Japan united and the Tokugawa shogunate | JAPAN | 1560–1800 |
| India under the Mughals | INDIA | 1526–1739 |
| The Ottoman Empire | TURKEY, NEAR EAST, BALKANS, N AFRICA | 1453–1739 |
| Safavid Persia | PERSIA | 1501–1736 |
| Voyages of discovery | | |
| Columbus lands in America | THE CARIBBEAN | OCTOBER 11, 1492 |
| Spain conquers Mexico | MEXICO | 1519–1521 |
| Spain conquers Peru | PERU | 1527–1572 |
| The Spanish Empire in the New World | CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA | 1523–1700 |
| European colonies in North America | NORTH AMERICA | 1584–1724 |
| Trading empires | | |
| Humanism | EUROPE | c.1450–c.1550 |
| The Renaissance | EUROPE | 1450–1550 |
| The Reformation and Counter-Reformation | GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, SCANDINAVIA, BRITAIN | 1517–63 |
| Printing | | |
| The Italian Wars | ITALY | 1494–1559 |
| The French Wars of Religion | FRANCE | 1559–1598 |
| The rise of Spain | SPAIN | 1492–1598 |
| The Spanish Armada | ENGLISH CHANNEL | 1588 |
| The Dutch revolt | BELGIUM, THE NETHERLANDS | 1568–1648 |
| The Thirty Years’ War | GERMANY | 1618–48 |
| The English Civil War | ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND | 1642–51 |
| The emergence of Muscovy | RUSSIA | 1462–1725 |
| Poland–Lithuania | POLAND, LITHUANIA | 1386–1672 |
| The rise of Sweden and the Great Northern War | SWEDEN | 1523–1719 |
| 17th-century France and absolutism | FRANCE | 1603–1715 |
| The rise of capitalism and the slave trade | EUROPE, AFRICA, THE AMERICAS | c.1600–1865 |
| The scientific revolution and the Enlightenment | EUROPE | 16TH–18TH CENTURIES |
| Europeans in the Americas | NORTH AMERICA, CARIBBEAN | 1750 |
| The French and Indian War | E NORTH AMERICA | 1754–1760 |
| The Revolutionary War | E NORTH AMERICA | 1775–1783 |
| The expansion of the United States | USA | 1783–1867 |
| The slide to civil war | US | 1820–1861 |
| The American Civil War | USA | 1860–1865 |
| Latin American independence | CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA | 1808–1920 |
| The Seven Years’ War | EUROPE | 1756–1763 |
| The first global war | | |
| The French Revolution | FRANCE | 1789–1796 |
| France under Napoleon | FRANCE | 1799–1815 |
| The Napoleonic Wars | EUROPE | 1802–1815 |
| Nationalism and revolution | EUROPE | 1804–1878 |
| The unification of Germany | GERMANY | 1864–1871 |
| The unification of Italy | ITALY | 1831–1871 |
| France under Napoleon III | FRANCE | 1848–1870 |
| The Franco-Prussian War | FRANCE | 1870–1871 |
| Victorian England | ENGLAND | 1837–1901 |
| Russia in the 19th century | RUSSIA | 1801–1905 |
| The Industrial Revolution | | |
| Industrialization and the labor movement | EUROPE, THE USA | c.1800–1868 |
| Socialism and Marxism | EUROPE | c.1800–1917 |
| Scientific advances | | |
| The Battle of Plassey | BENGAL, INDIA | JUNE 23–24, 1757 |
| The British in India | INDIA | 1757–1885 |
| The Indian mutiny | INDIA | 1857–1858 |
| The Burmese Wars | BURMA | 1824–1885 |
| Turkish reform movements | TURKEY | 1789–1923 |
| Qing China | CHINA | 1796–1912 |
| The Meiji restoration | JAPAN | 1833–1911 |
| Exploration in the Pacific | SOUTH PACIFIC | 1642–1770 |
| The First Fleet | NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA | 1787–88 |
| The exploration of Australia | AUSTRALIA | 1798–1861 |
| The federation of Australia | AUSTRALIA | 1872–1901 |
| European settlement in New Zealand | NEW ZEALAND | 1769–1850 |
| The New Zealand Wars | NEW ZEALAND | 1840–1873 |
| Antarctic exploration | ANTARCTICA | 1820–1911 |
| The early explorers | AFRICA | 1805–1871 |
| The Scramble for Africa | AFRICA | 1869–1914 |
| Egypt under Muhammad Ali | EGYPT | 1807–1882 |
| The Mahdist movement | SUDAN | 1881–1898 |
| The Boer Wars | SOUTH AFRICA | 1877–1902 |
| Assassination at Sarajevo | SARAJEVO, BOSNIA | JUNE 28, 1914 |
| Escalation into war | EUROPE | JUNE–SEPTEMBER 1914 |
| The Western Front | W EUROPE | 1914–1915 |
| The war at sea | NORTH SEA, MEDITERRANEAN, S ATLANTIC | 1914–1918 |
| The war in eastern Europe | E EUROPE | 1914–1917 |
| Gallipoli | GALLIPOLI PENINSULA, TURKEY | APRIL 1915–JANUARY 1916 |
| Palestine and the Arab Revolt | N SAUDI ARABIA, PALESTINE, JORDAN, ISRAEL, IRAQ | 1915–1918 |
| Stalemate in the west | W EUROPE | 1917 |
| The US enters the war | W EUROPE | 1917–1918 |
| The end of the war | W EUROPE | 1918 |
| The Treaty of Versailles | | |
| Russia heads for revolution | RUSSIA | 1905–1917 |
| The 1917 Revolution | RUSSIA | OCTOBER 1917 |
| The Russian Civil War | RUSSIA | 1918–1920 |
| Russia under Lenin and Stalin | RUSSIA | 1921–1953 |
| The Great Depression | WORLDWIDE | 1929–1932 |
| The rise of Fascism | | |
| The Spanish Civil War | SPAIN | 1936–1939 |
| Women and the vote | UK, USA, EUROPE | 1869–1928 |
| Germany’s path to war | POLAND | SEPTEMBER 1939 |
| Blitzkrieg and the fall of France | SCANDINAVIA, BELGIUM, THE NETHERLANDS, FRANCE | SEPTEMBER 1939–JUNE 1940 |
| The Battle of Britain | BRITAIN | AUGUST–OCTOBER 1940 |
| Air power in World War II | | |
| The German invasion of the USSR | USSR | JUNE–DECEMBER 1941 |
| The battle of Stalingrad | STALINGRAD, USSR | JUNE 1942–FEBRUARY 1943 |
| The war in North Africa | NORTH AFRICA | JUNE 1940–MAY 1943 |
| The war in Italy | ITALY | JULY 1943–MAY 1945 |
| Pearl Harbor | HAWAII | DECEMBER 1941 |
| The Japanese advance | SE ASIA, PACIFIC ISLANDS | DECEMBER 1941–MARCH 1942 |
| D-Day and the war in the west | FRANCE | JUNE–AUGUST 1944 |
| The defeat of Germany | FRANCE, GERMANY, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, BELARUS | JANUARY 1943–MAY 1945 |
| The Holocaust | | |
| The defeat of Japan | SE ASIA, PACIFIC ISLANDS | MARCH 1942–AUGUST 1945 |
| The atom bomb | | |
| The Marshall Plan | W EUROPE | 1948–1952 |
| The European Community | W AND S EUROPE | 1957–1986 |
| The Eastern bloc in Europe | E EUROPE | 1947–1968 |
| The Cold War | | |
| Ireland and the troubles | NORTHERN IRELAND | 1968–1997 |
| ETA | SPAIN | 1959–PRESENT |
| Perestroika | USSR, E EUROPE | 1985–1991 |
| The collapse of Communism | E EUROPE, THE USSR | 1989–1991 |
| The war in Yugoslavia | FORMER YUGOSLAVIA | 1991–1995 |
| New challenges for Europe | EUROPE | 1992–PRESENT |
| US economic growth | USA | 1945–1960 |
| McCarthyism | USA | 1950–1954 |
| The assassination of JFK | DALLAS, TEXAS, USA | NOVEMBER 22, 1963 |
| Civil rights | | |
| The Space Race | EARTH’S ORBIT, THE MOON | 1957–1969 |
| The Cuban Revolution | CUBA | 1953–1959 |
| Allende and Pinochet | CHILE | 1970–1988 |
| Perón and Argentina | ARGENTINA | 1946–1974 |
| The US in Latin America | LATIN AMERICA | 1952–PRESENT |
| Democracy returns to Latin America | LATIN AMERICA | 1982–PRESENT |
| The Falklands War | FALKLAND ISLANDS | APRIL–JUNE 1982 |
| NAFTA | NORTH AMERICA | 1992–PRESENT |
| The Indian National Congress | INDIA | 1885–1945 |
| The partition of India | INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH | AUGUST 14–15, 1947 |
| Decolonialization | | |
| The birth of Israel | ISRAEL | 1917–1949 |
| The Arab–Israeli conflict | MIDDLE EAST | 1948 TO PRESENT |
| Oil and politics | | |
| The Iranian Revolution | IRAN | 1979 |
| The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan | AFGHANISTAN | 1973–1988 |
| Indo–Pakistan wars | INDIA–PAKISTAN BORDER | 1947–1999 |
| The Iran–Iraq war | IRAN–IRAQ BORDER | 1980–1988 |
| The first Gulf War | KUWAIT, IRAQ | AUGUST 1990–FEBRUARY 1991 |
| Communist China | CHINA | 1949–PRESENT |
| The Korean War | KOREA | 1950–1953 |
| The first Indochina War | INDOCHINA | 1947–1954 |
| The Vietnam War | VIETNAM | 1963–1973 |
| Japan, China, and the tiger economies | EAST ASIA | 1945–PRESENT |
| Rhodesia and UDI | RHODESIA (NOW ZIMBABWE) | 1962–PRESENT |
| Post-colonial Africa | AFRICA | 1960–PRESENT |
| The end of apartheid | SOUTH AFRICA | 1958–1999 |
| Biotechnology | GLOBAL | 1945–PRESENT |
| Medical advances and new diseases | GLOBAL | 1967–PRESENT |
| Globalization | | |
| Climate change and the green movement | GLOBAL | 1988–PRESENT |
| The communications revolution | GLOBAL | 1958–PRESENT |
| 9/11 | USA | 2001 |
| The Afghan War | AFGHANISTAN | OCTOBER 2001–PRESENT |
| The war in Iraq | IRAQ | MARCH 2003–PRESENT |
| Beyond the nation state | | |
| The Arab Spring | MIDDLE EAST, N AFRICA | 2010–PRESENT |
| ISIS and global terror | MIDDLE EAST | 2011–PRESENT |
| The European Union and the crisis of populism | EUROPE | PRESENT |
| Russia and Ukraine | RUSSIA, E EUROPE | PRESENT |