Timeline (Guardians)

560 - 500 B.C.

 * 560 - Amel Marduk survives a coup instigated by his brother-in-law.
 * 556 - End of the Jewish Exodus and return of the Jews to Israel and Judah.
 * 553 - Cyrus of Persia begins a revolt against the Median Empire, starting the Persian-Median Wars.
 * 551 - Confucius is born in China.
 * 550 - Cyrus the Persian defeats Astyages at the Battle of Pasargadae.
 * 549 - A joint Median-Babylonian force is defeated by the Persian Army at Bisitun.
 * 546 - Taking advantage of the war between Persia and Media, Lydia advances into Eastern Anatolia.
 * 545 - Babylon defeats Persia at the Battle of Opis.
 * 543 - A joint Babylonian-Median force defeats the Persians at Susa.
 * 542 - A peace treaty ends the Persian-Median Wars.
 * 541 - After the Persian-Median War and general bad management from the ruling kings of Babylon, the Babylonian Empire collapses into civil war. Several successor states arise from the ashes.
 * 540 - Judea re-establishes its independence. Phoenicia does the same shortly after.
 * 539 - Persia conquers a weak and war weary Media.
 * 537 - Persia conquers the Mesopotamian states one by one.
 * 535 - Persia and Lydia fight each other to a standstill, prompting Persia to expand south and east and Lydia to expand west.
 * 533 - Jewish forces defeat an Egyptian invasion at the battle of Gaza.
 * 530 - Persia conquers Phoenicia and subjugates the Arabs at the Battle of the Sinai.
 * 528 - Siddhartha Gautama achieves Enlightenment as the Buddha, and starts his ministry.
 * 527 - Judea falls to the Persians after considerable resistance.
 * 526 - Lydia pushes into Europe, exerting influence over Thrace and Macedonia.
 * 525 - Egypt falls to the Persians after being weakened by court intrigue and general public malaise.
 * 512 - Persia subjugates the eastern Berber tribes and Libya, reaching its greatest extent and farthest extent west.
 * 510 - End of the Kingdom of Rome and beginning of the Republic of Rome.
 * 508 - Foundation of Democracy in Athens.
 * 506 - The State of Wu defeats the State of Chu at the Battle of Boju, thus initiating the Warring States period.
 * 503 - Civil war breaks out between King Helü of Wu and his general Sun Wu.
 * 501 - Sun Wu defeats Helü at the Battle of Qufu, deposing the Zhou dynasty and declaring himself Sun Shi Huangdi of the Kǎi dynasty.

500 - 400 B.C.

 * 499 - The Greek cities of Asia Minor revolt against the Lydian Empire, starting the Greco-Lydian Wars.
 * 496 - Chinese Emperor Sun Shi Huangdi dies and is succeeded by his son Sun Yang Huangdi.
 * 490 - The Athenians defeat the Lydians at the Battle of Marathon.
 * 486 - The First Buddhist Council takes place, setting the stage for Buddhist theology.
 * 483 - The Buddha dies.
 * 480 - The Lydians are decisively crushed at the Battle of Thermopolyae driving them out of Greece. Lydia withdraws from Macedonia.
 * 480 - The Carthaginians are beaten by the Greeks in the Battle of Himera.
 * 479 - Chinese philosopher Confucius dies.
 * 479 - Athenian forces defeat the Lydians at the Battle of Mycale, liberating Ionia and forcing the Lydians from the Hellesponte. This is considered the beginning of the Athenian Hegemony.
 * 465 - The Persians under King Xerxes I invade Lydia, sparking a decade long war.
 * 464 - An earthquake devastates Sparta, causing a slave revolt that Athens supports. The incident is a major flash point between the growing rivals.
 * 461 - Xerxes I is killed in the Battle of Thymbra against the Lydians, forcing the Persians to withdraw from their Anatolian expedition.
 * 461 - Cyrene secedes from the Persian Empire.
 * 460 - Athenian forces subjugate Cyprus.
 * 460 - Open rebellion in Egypt against Persia erupts. The Egyptian leader, Inaros, asks for Athenian aid, which is provided.
 * 460 - War is declared between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies.
 * 460 - Artaxerxes defeats a significant challenge to his rule, restoring the Achaemenids to full power.
 * 459 - Inaros, aided by Athens, is successful in defeating Persian attempts at reconquering Egypt.
 * 459 - Psammuthes defeats Inaros and Amenirdisu in the Battle of the Three Pharaohs, securing Egypt for himself and establishing the 28th Dynasty, centered in Memphis.
 * 458 - Cincinnatus becomes dictator of the Roman Republic in order to defend it from its foes. After his victory he resigns his position and returns to his farm.
 * 457 - Inaros invades Egypt with his Libyan army. After several battles his army mutinies and Inaros is executed.
 * 445 - End of the first stage of the Peloponnesian War, followed by a thirty year truce between the participants.
 * c. Late 450s to early 440s - Significant revolts break out in the western areas of the Persian Empire. These revolts are eventually put down but take considerable time to do so.
 * 419 - Nubia initiates war with Egypt by invading. The war is unsuccessful and Egypt repels the invasion.
 * 415 - The second stage of the Peloponnesian War begins with the resumption of war between Athens and Sparta.
 * 404 - The Peloponnesian War ends with the defeat of the Athenian Hegemony and a temporary end to democracy in Athens.
 * c. 403 - The Zapotecs defeat the Olmecs at the Battle of Manatl, forcing the once mighty Olmecs into vassalage.
 * 401 - Cyrus the Younger leads a revolt against his father Artaxerxes II but fails, resulting in his death.
 * 400 - The death of Cyrus ensures his Greek mercenaries have to fight all the way back to Greece, which they manage to accomplish. The feat astounds the Persians and the Greeks both.

400 - 300 B.C.

 * 396 - Rome conquers the city of Veii.
 * 395 - War breaks out between Sparta and Corinth, Athens, Argos, and Thebes, beginning the Corinthian War.
 * 390 - The Gallic tribe known as the Senones begins its migration south into Italy, allegedly to serve as mercenaries. The Romans are barely able to defeat them at the Battle of the Allia.
 * 387 - The Corinthian War ends with a victory for Sparta.
 * 383 - Sparta establishes a pro-Spartan government within the city-state of Thebes.
 * 379 - The Thebans drive out the pro-Spartan government and restore the democratic Boeothian League.
 * 371 - Thebes defeats Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra, replacing Sparta as the dominant Greek city-state.
 * 369 - Athens and Sparta form an alliance against Thebes.
 * 366 - Thebes makes peace with Sparta and begins preparing for war with Athens.
 * 363 - Epaminondas launches his campaign against the maritime states allied with Athens.
 * 362 - Sparta declares war on Thebes. Epaminondas defeats Athens and Sparta at the Battle of Mantinea but dies in the process. Peace is established in Greece but no city-state has a hegemonic level of power any longer.
 * 360 - Rome defeats another Gallic invasion.
 * 359 - Philip II comes to power as King of Macedonia.
 * 358 - Rome re-establishes its control over the Latin League.
 * 350 - Rome defeats another Gallic invasion with the assistance of the Samnites.
 * 345 - Fall of the Kingdom of Magadha and the rise of the Nanda Empire in its place.
 * 343 - The city of Capua requests Roman aid in beating back the Samnites, spreading Roman control south.
 * 340 - The outbreak of the Latin War, between Rome and the Samnites against the various Latin city-states.
 * 338 - The conclusion of the Latin War. The Latin League is dissolved and many of the city-states are annexed by Rome.
 * 338 - Philip II defeats the Athenians and Thebans at the Battle of Chaeronea, becoming the most powerful man in all of Greece.
 * 337 - Philip II forms the League of Corinth to solidify his dominion over Greece and to prepare a force to invade Lydia.
 * 336 - Philip II is assassinated and his son Alexander III succeeds him to the throne. Alexander puts the plans to invade Lydia on hold and focuses on the other Greek states.
 * 336 - Alexander the Great defeats a revolt by Thracians and Illyrians.
 * 335 - Athens and Thebes revolt against Alexander and are promptly defeated. Sparta declares war on Alexander.
 * 335 - Alexander defeats Sparta at the Battle of Tegea.
 * 335 - Alexander conquers Crete.
 * 334 - Alexander conquers Syracuse, becoming Hegemon of the Greeks.
 * 334 - Alexander conquers Lydia after defeating the Lydians at the Second Battle of Thymbra.
 * 334 - Alexander and his army defeats the Persians at the Battle of Issus, entering Syria.
 * 332 - Alexander defeats the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela, entering Persia.
 * 330 - The Persian heartland has been conquered by Alexander by this point.
 * 329 - Alexander reaches his farthest point east, in Bactria and Sogdia.
 * 327 - Alexander and his army return to Babylon.
 * 327 - The Samnites capture the city of Neapolis, only to be evicted by the Romans shortly afterward.
 * 326 - The Second Samnite War begins between Rome and the Samnites.
 * 326 - Alexander's horse Buchephalus dies while Alexander is ill. Alexander founds the city of Buchephala on the Orontes River in his honor.
 * 324 - Alexander conquers Egypt, founding the 29th Dynasty, and establishes the city of Alexandria in the Nile Delta.
 * 323 - Alexander conquers the Sinai and the Nabataean Kingdom.
 * 322 - Alexander the Great dies in Buchephala. Most ancient sources point to illness as the cause of death, while a few mention the possibility of poison. Seleucus carries out his campaign in India, achieving limited success past the Indus River.
 * 320 - Maurya defeats the Nanda Empire and establishes his Maurya Empire in its place.
 * 320 - Perdiccas, the regent of the Alexandrian Empire for Alexander's son Alexander IV, is assassinated. The empire fragments amongst Alexander's generals follows soon afterward. Roxana and her two children flee to Macedonia.
 * 316 - Emperor Sun Bin is assassinated by his general Pang Juan, ending the Kǎi Dynasty and giving rise to the Xin Dynasty.
 * 316 - Carthaginian King Bomilcar defeats the Greeks in the Battle of the Himera River, conquering the island of Sicily.
 * 314 - A revolt in Sicily is crushed by the Carthaginians, who tear down the walls of Syracuse.
 * 313 - Aeascides of Epirus dies and is succeeded by his brother Alexander, who acts as regent for Aeascides' son Pyrrhus.
 * 309 - Malchus II is murdered by the Carthaginian state council, who install Hasdrubal Barca in his place.
 * 305 - Seleucus launches his second invasion of India.
 * 304 - End of the Second Samnite War, effectively in a draw.
 * 303 - Maurya and Seleucus enter into an alliance, providing the Seleucids with war elephants and the Maurya with the Indus Valley and portions of Bactria.
 * 302 - Pyrrhus of Epirus takes the throne and prepares to invade Macedonia to reunite Alexander's Empire.
 * 301 - Establishment of the Xin Dynasty of China by the Ying family.

300 - 200 B.C.

 * 299 - Pyrrhus invades Macedonia, part of the Antigonid realm.
 * 298 - The Antigonids are driven from Macedonia and most of Thrace by Pyrrhus. Much of Greece is also conquered.
 * 298 - Start of the Third Samnite War between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, Etruscans and Umbrians.
 * 290 - Concerned with Alexander IV's rising power, Pyrrhus departs from Athens to invade Ptolemaic Egypt.
 * 290 - Roman victory in the Third Samnite War, Samnium and Umbria annexed.
 * 285 - Pyrrhus drives the Ptolemaic forces from Egypt and installs Alexander IV as his puppet. This ultimately fails, and Alexander IV asserts his independence upon Pyrrhus' death.
 * 281 - A group of migrating Celts led by a chieftain named Brennus is defeated by Pyrrhus.
 * 281 - Battle of Dioclea, the same group of Celts is destroyed by a coalition of the Attalids, Antigonids, and Ptolemy, preventing them from settling in Central Anatolia.
 * 280 - Pyrrhus arrives in southern Italy to defend them against the Romans and Carthaginians, after the Greek cities there threatened to rebel against Aeacid authority if he did not.
 * 280 - Rome and Carthage enter into an alliance to protect their domains from Pyrrhus.
 * 278 - Pyrrhus reclaims Syracuse from the Carthaginians.
 * 276 - The Pharos of Alexandria, put on hold during the Aeacid invasion of Egypt, is completed.
 * 275 - Battle of Kroton, Pyrrhus is forced to withdraw from Italy after suffering huge casualties.
 * 272 - The last independent Greek city in Southern Italy, Taras, falls to the Romans.
 * 271 - Southern Greece erupts into revolt against Epirote control.
 * 270 - Pyrrhus lays siege to Sparta.
 * 270 - Battle of Thyrea, Pyrrhus defeats a coalition of Spartans, Athenians, Corinthians, and Argives, but dies shortly after as a result of his wounds.
 * 268 - Start of the Sicily War between Rome and Carthage.
 * 262 - Battle of Agrigentum, Romans gain the upper hand in the Sicily War.
 * 260 - End of the Sicily War between Rome and Carthage, annexation of Sicily by Rome.
 * c. 250 - The Chavin Culture of Peru has died out by this time.
 * 240 - Outbreak of the Mercenary War between Carthage and its former mercenary army. Corsica and Sardinia are seized by Rome.
 * 238 - Defeat of the mercenaries by Carthage's new semi-professional army.
 * 238 - Conquest of Parthia by the Parni tribal coalition, establishing the Arsacid dynasty.
 * 218 - Start of the Punic War between Rome and Carthage, over disputed influence in Spain.
 * 217 - Hannibal crosses the Alps and arrives in Northern Italy.
 * 216 - Carthage and Epirus form an alliance to oppose Rome. Rome makes alliances with the Antigonids and the Argolid Hegemony in response.
 * 209 - Start of the Dazexiang Rebellion against the Xin Dynasty.
 * 207 - Epirus is conquered and divided between the Hegemony, the Antigonids, and Rome.
 * 206 - Rome completes its conquest of Carthaginian Spain.
 * 202 - Battle of Zama, Hannibal is defeated by Scipio Africanus, end of the Punic War.
 * 201 - Scipio Africanus is made Consul-for-Life, acting as a powerbroker within the Roman Senate.

200 - 100 B.C.

 * 200 - Defeat of the Sakas by the Yuezhi, forcing the Sakas to migrate further south.
 * 197 - Fall of the Xin dynasty, succeeded by the Qiang dynasty in China.
 * 187 - Collapse of the Maurya dynasty in India and its division into three successor states.
 * 183 - Scipio Africanus dies.
 * 181 - Artumparus defeats the Attalids at the Battle of Malos, saving Cappadocia from Greek dominion.
 * 167 - Jewish riots occur in Jerusalem at the instigation of local priest Mattathias over Ptolomaic demands to worship the Greek pantheon.
 * 166 - Under Judah Maccabee, Jewish forces drive the Ptolomies from Judea, establishing a new kingdom.
 * 159 - Start of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage.
 * 158 - The Cappadocians are victorious at the Battle of Antiokheia, pushing south.
 * 157 - The city of Carthage falls to Rome, ending the Second Punic War.
 * 155 - The start of the Lusitanian War, with Lusitanian rebellions against Roman authority.
 * 155 - The Ius Punici and Ius Graeci are passed by the Roman Senate, giving limited citizenship to parts of Carthaginian and Greek society in the form of property, marriage, and legal rights.
 * 154 - The start of the Numantian War in Hispania.
 * 151 - The Antigonid realm in Macedonia is annexed by Rome after the Battle of Pydna.
 * 147 - Roman forces defeat the Argolids at the Battle of Copae, pushing into southern Greece.
 * 146 - Roman victory at the Battle of Tenea, fall of the Argolid Hegemony and all of mainland Greece to Rome.
 * 140 - The Great Southern Campaigns of the Qiang dynasty, conquering much of what is now southern China and northern Vietnam.
 * 139 - Scipio Aemilianus dies.
 * 133 - Tiberius Gracchus is assassinated.
 * 133 - End of the Numantian War with a Roman victory.
 * 129 - Arsacid conquest of Ecbatana and Media, end of the Seleucid realm.
 * 121 - Gaius Gracchus is assassinated.
 * 113 - The Cimbri and Teutones cross the Danube River, beginning the Cimbrian War against Rome.
 * 108 - The Qiang dynasty conquers what is now northern Korea.
 * 107 - Roman Consul Gaius Marius passes the Marian Reforms, drastically reforming the Roman military.
 * 104 - War of the Heavenly Horses begins as China pushes into nomadic territories and Tocharian city-states.
 * 101 - Victory of the Qiang Chinese in the War of the Heavenly Horses.
 * 101 - Victory of the Romans in the Cimbrian War.