World Religions Project

Timeframe	China	Other Asian	Middle East / Western
Before the Common Era (BCE, BC)
5000-3000BCE	Yangshao culture
3500-2500	Longshan culture	Indus Valley civilization	Mesopotamian culture Lunar calendar
2200-1750	Xia Dynasty		Old Babylonian Empire Epic of Gilgamesh (1900)
1750-1000	Shang Dynasty 360-day calendar Ideographic script	Vedic society (1500-500) Vedas in India (1200-800)	Syrian, Phoenician alphabets (1600,1400) Moses leads Hebrews (1250-1200) Hebrew occupation of Canaan (1200-1025) Trojan War (1250)
1000-550	Chou Dynasty (1027-221)	Upanishads in India (800-600)	Unified Hebrew monarchy of Saul, David, Solomon (1025-933) Kingdom of Israel (933-722) Kingdom of Judah (933-586) Assyrian Empire (750-612) New Babylonian Empire (612-539) Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem (586)
550-500	Life of Confucius (551-479) Life of Lao-Tse, Taoism	Life of Gautama, the Buddha (563-483) Life of Mahavira, Jainism (540-468) Persian conquest of Indus Valley	Persian conquest of Babylon, Egypt
500-250	Warring States period Iron plow Coinage System of weights and balances	Emporer Ashoka, India (273-232)	Conquests of Alexander the Great
250-0	Chin Dynasty (221-206) Destruction of Confucian literature (221) Great Wall built Han Dynasty (221BCE-220CE) Confucianism is state philosophy Invention of rudder (100)	Greek invasion of India (183-145) Beginning of Japanese state (100)
Common Era (CE, AD)
0-250	Extensive 'silk route' trade with Roman Empire Invasions/rule of Northern India (0-300) Buddhism strong in China Porcelain	Classic age of Hindu culture, India	Life of Jesus Christ (0-33) Peter, Bishop of Rome, dies (64)
250-500	Glass, magnetic compass Barbarian invasions	Gupta Dynasty, India Adoption of Chinese characters, Japan
500-750	Sui Dynasty (581-618) China reunified Tang Dynasty (618-907) Emphasis on the arts Taoism is state religion	Spread of Buddhism in Japan	Life of Muhammad (570-632) Muslims conquer Syria, Persia, Egypt Publication of Koran (651) Islam split Shiites, Sunnites
750-1000	Woodblock printing Song Dynasty Feudal period Taoism/Confucianism compete with Mahayana Buddhism		Abbasids Dynasty, Islam (750-1258)
1000-1250	Neo-Confucianism Gun powder (1150) Inoculation for smallpox Genghis Khan, Kubla Khan	Muslim invasions of India Shogunate, Japan feudalism Destruction of Buddhism, India (1192) Zen Buddhism, Japan (1200)	Christianity split, Orthodox and Roman Catholic (1054) Crusades (1095-1291)
1250-1500	Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (1279-1368) Marco Polo travels (1275-1300) Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) "Forbidden City" in Beijing	Mongols unsuccessful invasion of Japan (1274, 1281)	Mongols destroy Baghdad (1258) Turks capture Constantinople (1453)
1500-1750	Ching (Manchurian) Dynasty (1644-1911)	Foundingof Sikh religion Introduction of Christianity to Japan (1549)	Protestant movement, Martin Luther (1517)
1750-present	Opium Wars (1839-1842) Republic of China (1912-1949) People's Republic of China (1949+)	Gandhi and Indian independence (1947)	Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species (1859)