Timeline of events in

different Asian regions

HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF DIFFERENT REGIONS IN ASIA

*Time frames about the history of different regions were divided into ten
years except for the first part which is from 100,000-10,000 B.C.E. However,
the dates of some important events will be specified on each period.
PERIO
D/
TIME
10000
010000
B.C.E.

90001000
B.C.E.

SOUTHWEST
ASIA

SOUTHEAST
ASIA

10000 B.C.E.The beginning

of the Neolithic
Age

60,000
B.C.E.Movement of
the
Austronesians
in Southeast
Asia and their
crossing on to
Australia
2000 B.C.E.Domestication
of water
buffalo and red
jungle fowl in
Southeast Asia

8000 B.C.E.People in the

Near East
started
farming and
herding.
7000 B.C.E.The
establishment
of the earliest
known town of
the walled city
of Jericho
6500 B.C.E.establishment
of Catal Huyuk
in Asia Minor
(Turkey) and
settled as
farmers and
herders

1275 B.C.E.Believed to be
the earliest
times when
early Filipinos
use pottery

CENTRAL
ASIA

3000 B.C.E.
Breeding and
taming of
horses were
believed to
begun in this
area

SOUTH ASIA

2500 B.C.E.Mohenjo-Daro
and Harrappa
flourished in
the Indus
Valley
2300 B.C.E.Trading was
going on
between Indus
Valley
civilizations
and Sumer
1500 B.C.E.Aryans
invaded the
Indus Valley
800-600
B.C.E.Upanishads
which served

EAST ASIA

2000 B.C.E.Hsia, Chinas

first dynasty
(according to
the written
records
retrieved from
the Zhou
dynasty) was
founded
1600 B.C.E.The
establishment
of Shang
dynasty
1100 B.C.E.Zhou dynasty
started to rule

5000 B.C.E.The
establishment
of
Mesopotamian
civilization
3200 B.C.E.Development
of Sumerian
civilization as
well as the
writing system
of cuneiform
2350 B.C.E.Sargon I of
Akkadia Rules
1830 B.C.E.Establishment
of the first
Babylonian
dynasty
1780 B.C.E.Hammurabi
started ruling.
1450 B.C.E.Hitites started
an empire in
Asia Minor
1200 B.C.E.the creation of
the Ten
Commandmen
ts by God
through Moses
and placing of
it in the ark of

as the basic
ideas for
Hinduism was
believed to be
written.

Covenant
-Philistines
occupied
Canaan
1100 B.C.E.Phoenicians
started
navigating

900100
B.C.E.

1020 B.C.E.establishment
of Hebrew
Kingdom under
King Saul
800 B.C.E.Assyrians
started to
reign in
Mesopotamia
660 B.C.E.Height of
Assyrian
Empire and the
establishment
of the first
library by
Ashurbanipal

207 B.C.E.The
establishment
of the kingdom
of Nam-Viet
ruled by Zhao
Tu who came
from China
100 B.C.E.Theravada
Buddhism
reached
Southeast Asia

600 B.C.E.establishment
of Turkishspeaking
peoples first
kingdoms in
Central Asia
700 B.C.E.Arab invasion
brought the
Islamic Faith in
Central Asia

612 B.C.E.Overthrowing
of Assyrian
empire and the
rise of Chaldea

334 B.C.E.Alexander the

Great crossed
Central Asia

560 B.C.E.the use of

coinage
system by the
Lydians

200 B.C.E.establishment
of Silk Road

530 B.C.E.Buddha
started his
teachings
518 B.C.E.Darius the
Great
conquered the
Indus Valley
and Punjab
327 B.C.E.Alexander the
Greats army
moved to India
and crossed
the Indus river
but retreated
afterwards
321 B.C.E.Mauryan
Empire was
established

551 B.C.E.Confucius was

born
372 B.C.E.Mencius was
born
300 B.C.E.Principles of
Taoism was
collected in a
book called Tao
Te Ching
300-200
B.C.E. People
from the
Japanese Yayoi
culture started
to grow rice
and work with
bronze and
iron
221 B.C.E.-

547 B.C.E.The time when

Persian Empire
starts to rise
through the
leadership of
Cyrus the
Great
493 B.C.E.First attempt
of Persians
through Darius
the Great to
conquer
Greece.
333 B.C.E.Fall of Persian
Empire to
Alexander the
Great
299 B.C.E.
Foundation of
Antioch as a
trade route
between
Greece and
Mesopotamia
120 B.C.E.Antipater listed
the Seven
Wonders of the
World
64 B.C.E.
Pompey
controlled
Syria and

269 B.C.E.Asoka started

his reign

The
establishment
of Chin
dynasty
-Building of the
Great Wall of
China
213 B.C.E.Widespread
burning of
books in China
which contains
the early
histories and
knowledge of
the Classical
Age
200 B.C.E.Beginning of
Silk Road
202 B. C.- The
establishment
of Han dynasty
141-87
B.C.E.- Under
the rule of Wu
Ti, Han people
conquered the
Southern coast
including some
parts of
Southeast
Asia. He also
made a
campaign on
Huns of
Central Asia

brought the
Silk Road in
Medittaranean

101000
C.E.

1 B.C.E
Christians
decide that
this is the year
of Christ's
birth, making it
AD 1 in the
Christian
chronology
(Oxford
History)
29 C.E.- Jesus
begins his
ministry in
Galilee
31 C.E.Believed to be
the death of
Jesus
-The time
when Peter
started
building a
Christian
Community in
Jerusalem
48 C.E.- Paul
started
preaching in
Rome
70 C.E.- Start
of Jewish
Diaspora

700 C.E.
(approximate
ly)establishment
of the SriVijayan empire
900s C.E.Orang
Dampuans
established
trading post in
Sulu

960-1127
C.E.- It was
believed that
Chinese goods
from the Sung
dynasty flowed
in the
Philippines

100 C.E.- The

Kushanas
made Northern
India a part of
their empire
988 C.E.Kievan in
Russia were
converted to
Christianity

320 C.E.Golden Age of

Gupta Empire
in India

100 C.E.Buddhism
spreads in
China

712 C.E.- First

Muslim
invaders
reached the
Indus Valley
but were
defeated by
the Rajputs

220 C.E.- Han

empire split
into three
kingdoms and
Age of disunity
begins

1000 C.E.Mahmud of
Ghazni
terrorizes India

400 C.E.Yamato kings

started to rule
in Japan
589 C.E.- The
establishment
of Sui dynasty
-building of the
Grand Canal
600 C.E.
(approximate
ly)- Japan

100 C.E.Mecca was

pilgrimage site
for idols in the
Kaaba

started to
deliberately
borrow culture
from China and
Korea

330 C.E.Constantinople
was founded

618 C.E.establishment
of Tang
dynasty

527 C.E.
Justinian ruled
in the
Byzantine
Empire
613 C.E.Mohammed
started to
preach the
teachings of
Islam
622 C.E.Hegira or
Mohammeds
journey to
Mecca which
serves as the
year one of the
Muslim
calendar
632 C.E.Death of
Mohammed.
The time when
also the
Arabian tribes
accepted Islam
as their
religion

626-649 C.E.conquest of
China in Tibet
and in Central
Asia
650 C.E.
(approximate
ly)- Japanese
started to
accept
Buddhism in
Japan
655 C.E.Korea was
brought under
Chinese
control
784 C.E.- The
imperial court
of Japan
moved to
Heian where
arts and
literature
flourished
960 C.E.Establishment

10011200

12011400

661 C.E.Establishment
of the
Umayyad
dynasty and
the division of
Islam into
Shia and
Sunni
1099Jerusalem was
captured by
the Europeans
during the First
Crusade
1187- Saladin
captured
Palestine and
other cities
including
Jerusalem
1204Crusaders
looted
Constantinople

of the Sung
dynasty

1150- Khmer
dynasty
created the
Angkor Wat

1070s- Seljuk
Turks originally
from Central
Asia were
converted to
Islam

1206- Muslim
invaders
established the
Delhi Sultanate

1185Minamoto
Yoritomo
became the
first shogun in
Japan

1293establishment
of the kingdom
of Majapahit

1218- Genghis
Khan began
the 200 year
Mongol rule in
Central Asia

1258- After
the
devastation of
Baghdad, Delhi
became the
center of
Muslim
learning and
culture

1215- Mongols
led by Genghis
Khan
plundered
China

1398Tamerlane
destroyed the
City of Delhi

1260- Kublai
Khan included
China on the
Mongol empire

1258- Mongols
devastated
14th centuryBaghdad
Flourishing of
the Philippine
1291- Last
trade with
Christian
Cambodia,
outpost in
Champa and
Palestine were Indo-China.
captured by
Later on,
the Muslims
Annam, Siam
and Tonkin
also take part
on the trade
1400s-

1370Tamerlane also
known as
Timur the
Lame built an
empire in
Central Asia

1234- China
had fallen to
the Mongols

1275- Marco
Polo arrived in
China
1279- the

Arabian
scholar Mudum
arrived in the
Malay
Peninsula and
started
teaching Islam

start of Yuan
dynasty
1281- Mongol
invasion in
Japan fails
1338Ashikaga
Shogunate
begins

1445- First
Muslim rule
was
established in
Malacca

14011600

1453Constantinople
falls to
Ottoman Turks
1520Suleiman the
Magnificent,
ruler of the
Ottomans
invaded
Europe

1450- Abu
Bakr
established
Islam in Sulu
1511Portuguese
started to
control
Malacca in the
Malay
Peninsula
1512- creation
of a treaty in
order for the
Portuguese to
establish a
trade of spices
in the
Moluccas
1521Ferdinand
Magellans
arrival of the
Philippines
1557-

1368- end of
the Mongol
rule and start
of the Ming
dynasty
1475Europeans
avoided the
Silk Road due
to Muslim
threats which
made the
trade in
Central Asia
fall and made
the region
isolated

1573Conversion of
Mongolia to
Buddhism

1526- Babur
1405-1433established the Ming dynasty
Mogul empire
rulers started
to send
1556- Akbar
expeditions in
started his 49
India, Arabia
year reign
and Northern
coast of Africa
under Cheng
Ho.
-Trading on
neigboring
Southeast
Asian countries
also started to
flourish
1467-1567Feudal Lords in
Japan grow
powerful as
the Central
government
collapse.

establishment
of a trading
post in Macao

1549- Jesuit
missionary
Francis Xavier
begun his
missionary in
Japan

1571- Legzapi
expedition
started a
colony in the
Philippines and
made Manila
as its capital
city

1590s- Ming
rulers were
seriously
weakened by
Japanese
invasion of
Korea

1595- Dutch
expedition
started to
trade in Java

1600- Japan is
unified under
Tokugawa
Shogunate
1614- Ieyasu
ordered
Christian
missionaries to
leave and
those who
refused were
persecuted

16011800

1744Establishment
of Saudi Arabia
18th centuryOttoman
empire were
already losing
its control on
its territories.
It was then
called The

1650- Bali
became the
last outpost of
Hinduism in
Southeast Asia

1600s1601- Famine
Europeans
in Russia kills 2 started trade
million
with the
Indians

17th-18th
centurySpanish
occupation in
the Philippines

1652-1689Russia Manchu
border conflict

1644- End of
the Ming
dynasty

1645- start of
the Manchu
1613- Jahangir dynasty
permitted the
East India
1793- Lord
Company to
Macartney
start a trading went to Peking
post in Surat
to establish

sick man of
Europe

1689- Russia
and China
signed border
treaty

1628- Shah
Jahan secured
the throne

normal trading
relations
between
Britain and
China

1658Aurangzeb
started to
reign and
attempted to
conquer the
Deccan and
the South
1707- Mogul
empire started
had lost its
cultural
brilliance
1757- India
with the help
of Britain won
against French
forces in India

18012000

1830Mohammad
Ali, governor of
Egypt started
to raise a
territory in the
Persian Gulf
1853- Start of
the Crimean
war

1858Napoleon III
begun to
colonize
Vietnam
1863- French
established
protectorate in
Cambodia

1850- Russia
colonized
Central Asia
under the czar
1910Resistance to
Russian rule
started.
However, it
was crushed

1784- Prime
Minister
William Pitt
drafted the
Indian Act
1829- British
abolished
suttee in India

1839- Start of
the Opium war

1842Creation of the
Treaty of
Nanking which
gives Hong
1858Kong to Britain
Crushing of the and special
Sepoy
trading post in
1857- Start of
the Sepoy
rebellion

1887- China
1908- Bulgaria acknowledged
gained
the Portuguese
independence
rights in Macao
and Austria
took over
1898Bosnia and
Philippine
Herzegovina
independence
on Spanish
1913- Balkan
rule. Spain
states gained
sold the
independence
Philippines on
from the
the Americans
Ottoman
empire
1938- Building
of the Burma
1919Road as a
Ottoman
supply route
territories in
the Middle
1941East are
Foundation of
divided into
Vietminh as a
French and
guerrilla force
British
and the rise of
mandates
Ho Chi Minh as
the leader
1923- Mustafa
Kemal
-Japanese
established
attack on the
Turkish
Pearl Harbor
Republic
and Philippines
became part of
1932- Saudi
the World War
Arabia became II
independednt
1942- Burma,
1948- ArabSingapore and
Israeli conflict
Philippines
started due to
falls to the
the
Japanese
establishment
of the state of
1944- Return

when Soviet
government
won the
Russian
revolution.
1917- Start of
Russian
Revolution
1922- Forming
of the Soviet
Union
1991Republics such
as Kazakhstan
declared their
indepence
when Soviet
Union
collapsed

rebellion

China

1876- British
Parliament
declared
Queen Victoria
as the
Empress of
India and
India started to
become British
subjects

1843Commodore
Matthew perry
sailed
unhindered on
Tokyo Bay

1885Formation of
the Indian
National
Congress

1854- Japan
grants limited
trade rights on
the foreigners

1849- Start of
Taiping
rebellion

1860- Britain
1905- Partition and France
of Bengal
gained control
on the China
1906Formation of
1868- Ending
1992-1997the Muslim
of the
Tajikistans
League
Tokugawa
civil war
shoguns rule
1909- India
in Japan and
1996- China,
gained
the Meiji
Russia,
representation emperor
Turkmenistan,
in the British
begun his rule
Uzbekistan,
Parliament
Kazakhstan
1889- Japan
and Kyrgyzstan 1919adopted a
form Shanghai Amritsar
constitution
Cooperation
massacre in
Organization
India
1895- Chinas
defeat on the
1997- U.S.
1930sSino-Japanese
sends troops
Mohandas
war while the
to Central
Gandhi begun
Japanese won
Kazakhstan for his non-

Israel

1958Nationalist
Kurds launched
a guerrilla war
against the
Iraqi
government
1960Foundation of
OPEC
1964Foundation of
Palestinian
Liberation
Organization
1973- Arab
and Israelites
fight in the
October War
-halting of oil
supply in the
US

of Douglas
McArthur in
the Philippines
1945- Sukarno
made a
declaration of
Indonesian
independence
1946- Antifascist people
freedom
earned a
landslide
victory in
Burmese
election
1949Republic of
Indonesia was
founded
1953Cambodia wins
from the
colonial power
France

1975- Civil
war in Lebanon 1959- Lee
Kwan Yew
1979- The rise became the
of the
first Prime
Khomeini
minister of
government in Singapore
Iran
-start of
1980- IranVietnam war
Iraq war
and the
intervention
1982- Israel
US due to the

peace making

violence
movement
1947- It was
agreed that
British would
leave India and
India will be
divided into
two regions
the Hindu India
and the
Muslim
Pakistan
-Foundation of
Pakistan

1899- Start of
the boxer
rebellion
1902- Japan
and British
alliance is
formed
1905- Japan
defeats Russia
in Manchuria
1910- Japan
annexes Korea
1911Beginning of
nationalist
revolution in
China

1962- Chinese
troops moved
into Indian
territory during
border dispute 1916- Falling
of China into
1966-1975further chaos
Reign of Indira after the death
Gandhi
of Yuan ShihKai
1970- Start of
revolt in East
1928- ChiangPakistan
Kai Shek
established
1971nationalist
Bangladesh
government in
became an
China
independent
state
1931Japanese
1977forces occupy
Pakistani civil
Manchuria
law was
replaced with
1934- Mao Tse

invaded
Lebanon
1987Beginning of
Intifada
1990- Iraq
starts to
invade and
control
Kuwaits oil
1991Beginning of
the Persian
Gulf War
1994- Israel
recognizes PLO
-Israel and
Jordan signed
peace
agreement
2000Withdrawal of
Israels troops
in Lebanon

Gulf of Tonkin

Islamic Law

1965American
Fighting force
were sent to
Vietnam

1984- Indira
Gandhi sent
troops to crush
the Sikh
rebellion
-assasination
of Indira
Gandhi

1971- US and
South
Vietnamese
invasion of
Laos
1972- Martial
law in the
Philippines
1973- Last US
troop left
Vietnam
1975- Pol Pot
and the Khmer
Rouge started
their reign of
terror in
Cambodia
-Vietnam is
united under
Communist
North Vietnam
1978Vietnamese
invasion of
Cambodia
1986Philippines
EDSA People

Tung started
the Long
march of the
Communist
Party in China
1937- War
broke out
between China
and Japan
December 7,
1941- Japan
attacked the
Pearl Harbor
started to
seize
territories in
Asia including
the Philippines
1945Bombing of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
-Emperor
Hirohito
announced
defeat to the
people of
Japan
1947- Japan
adopted
democratic
Constitution
1949- The
birth of the
Peoples
Republic of

Power I

China

1989- Aung
San Suu Kyi
was put under
house arrest

1953- Mao Tse

Tung imposed
the Five Year
Plan

1990Stepping dow
of Lee Kwan
Yew as
Singapores
Prime minister

1960s- start
of the Cultural
Revolution in
China
1978- Japan
and China
signed a treaty
of friendship

1998SuhartoIndonesias
dictator was
forced to
resign
1999- East
Timor gained
independence
from Indonesia
through a
plebiscite
2001prese
nt

2001- George
W. Bush
declared War
on Terror
against Middle
East
2003- Foreign
invasion of
Iraq
-Death of
Saddam
Hussein

2002Bombing of a
nightclub in
Bali
2003Spreading of
Severe Acute
Respiratory
Syndrome
(SARS)
2005- Aung
San Suu Kyi

2001- October
- Uzbekistan
allows US to
use its air
bases for
action in
Afghanistan

2002 Tensions
mount
between India
and Pakistan
over Kashmir.

2002September Uzbekistan
and
Kazakhstan
settle a long-

Indian Ocean
earthquake
causes a
tsunami wave
that hits India
killing over
10,000 people.

2004 - A large

2009- North
Korea
announces
that it has
carried out a
second
successful
nuclear test
2011- Tsunami
hit Japan that
caused the
loss of million
lives

2006Hezbollah
started
aggression
against Israel
2011- Civil
War prevails in
Syria
2012- start of
the Arab
Spring

won the Burma standing

free election
border dispute
2006- a
military coup
removed
Thaksin
Shiniwatra
from office
2010- Aung
San Suu Kyi
was released
from house
arrest

2004 March At least 47

people killed in
shootings and
bombings.
Authorities
blame Islamic
extremists.
Several dozen
people are
given lengthy
jail sentences
2005 May Eastern city of
Andijan is
gripped by
unrest.
2008 March Uzbekistan
allows US
limited use of
its southern
Termez air
base for
operations in
Afghanistan,
partially
reversing its
decision to
expel US
forces from the
Khanabad
base in 2005
2009 Decemb
er - Uzbekistan
announces

2012- Third
attempt of
Korea to put
up satellite in
space
-China and
Russia veto on
giving
economic
sanctions for
Syria

plans to
withdraw from
a Soviet-era
power grid
having set up
new power
lines for its
own use.
2013 October
- The
authorities
begin closing
down
businesses and
organisations
linked to
Gulnara
Karimova.
2015 March President
Karimov is reelected with
90% of the
vote in
presidential
elections.

Sources:
Book:
History of the World by Marvin Perry
South Asia

http://www.ducksters.com/geography/country/india_history_timeline.php

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/southasia_timeline.htm
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12641776

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/important-events-in-thedevelopment-of-southeast-asia
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/ssa.html

Central Asia

http://www.historyworld.net/timesearch/default.asp?
conid=static_timeline&timelineid=658&page=1&keywords=Central
%20Asia%20timeline
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/centralasia/tp/Central-AsiaTimeline.htm
http://www.rethinkinstitute.org/timeline-central-asia-1918-2014/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16218972
http://www.oxuscom.com/cahist1.htm

East Asia

http://www.timemaps.com/history/east-asia-1500bc
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~eshaw/asiatime.htm
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_timeline.htm
http://www.historyworld.net/timesearch/default.asp?
conid=2&bottomsort=197942asnz&direction=NEXT&keywords=East
%20Asia%20timeline&timelineid=
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191735905.ti
meline.0001

Southeast Asia
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/sse.html
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191735998.ti
meline.0001
http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/seasia/seasiatimeline.html
History of the Filipino People- Teodoro A. Agoncillo
Pre-Hispanic Source Materials- William Henry Scott