The world in the 1st century BCE

In the 1st century BCE (100 to 1 BCE), the timeline shows 84 states, empires and colonies and 124 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Teotihuacan, Roman Republic, Parthian Empire, Roman Empire and Xiongnu Empire.

Previous: 2nd century BCE Next: 1st century

Events

• 53 BCE Battle of Carrhae, Middle East. Parthian horse archers destroy the army of Marcus Licinius Crassus in Upper Mesopotamia, fixing the Euphrates as the frontier between Rome and Iran.
• 44 BCE Assassination of Julius Caesar, Europe. Senators led by Brutus and Cassius stab Caesar, dictator for life, on the Ides of March, setting off the civil wars that end the Republic.
• 32 BCE Early Long Count date at Tres Zapotes, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. Stela C at Tres Zapotes records a date in 32 BCE in the Long Count calendar, later used by the Classic Maya.
• 30 BCE Death of Cleopatra, North and West Africa. After defeat at Actium, Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony take their own lives. Octavian annexes Egypt, ending three centuries of Ptolemaic rule.

Central and Southern Africa

• Western Bantu-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to 1400 CE
• Eastern Bantu-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to 1300 CE
• Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Khoisan hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 1100 CE
• Pastoral Neolithic herders c. 3000 BCE to 700 CE
• Khoekhoe herders c. 100 BCE to 1904 CE
• Bantu farmers of the Congo basin c. 500 BCE to 1500 CE
• Urewe culture c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Lower Congo hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Great Lakes hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Pre-settlement Madagascar c. 3200 BCE to 400 CE

North and West Africa

• Ptolemaic Kingdom 305 to 30 BCE
• Nok culture c. 1500 BCE to 1 CE
• Kingdom of Kush (Meroitic period) c. 300 BCE to 350 CE
• Roman Africa 146 BCE to 439 CE
• Roman Egypt 30 BCE to 395 CE
• Numidia 202 to 46 BCE
• Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Cushitic-speaking pastoralists c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
• Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
• West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
• Chadic-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Sao culture c. 500 BCE to 1600 CE
• Jenne-Jeno (Middle Niger towns) c. 250 BCE to 1400 CE
• Garamantes c. 500 BCE to 700 CE
• Cyrene and the Greek Pentapolis 631 to 96 BCE
• Mauretania c. 300 BCE to 44 CE

Europe

• Roman Republic 509 to 27 BCE
• Roman Empire 27 BCE to 395 CE
• Gaelic Ireland c. 500 BCE to 1607 CE
• Iron Age Britons c. 800 BCE to 43 CE
• Gauls c. 800 to 50 BCE
• Roman Hispania 218 BCE to 472 CE
• Sarmatians c. 300 BCE to 375 CE
• Etruscan civilization c. 720 to 90 BCE
• Germanic tribes of Germania c. 100 BCE to 500 CE
• Roman Gaul 50 BCE to 486 CE
• La Tene culture c. 450 to 50 BCE
• Dacian Kingdom c. 82 BCE to 106 CE
• Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Volga Finnic peoples c. 1800 BCE to 1100 CE
• Baltic Finnic tribes c. 1500 BCE to 1250 CE
• Basques (Vascones) c. 500 BCE to the present
• Baltic tribes c. 1000 BCE to 1290 CE
• Thracians c. 1200 BCE to 46 CE
• Illyrians c. 1000 BCE to 9 CE
• Italic peoples c. 1000 to 88 BCE
• Bosporan Kingdom c. 480 BCE to 370 CE
• Przeworsk culture c. 300 BCE to 450 CE
• Getae and Dacians c. 500 BCE to 106 CE
• Jastorf culture c. 600 to 1 BCE
• Iberians c. 600 to 19 BCE
• Massalia c. 600 to 49 BCE
• Aquitani c. 600 to 56 BCE
• Roman Macedonia and Achaea 146 BCE to 395 CE
• Celtiberians c. 600 to 72 BCE
• Odrysian Kingdom c. 480 BCE to 46 CE
• Pre-Roman Iron Age (Scandinavia) c. 500 BCE to 1 CE
• Kingdom of Noricum c. 200 to 15 BCE

Middle East

• Parthian Empire 247 BCE to 224 CE
• Kingdom of Saba c. 1000 BCE to 275 CE
• Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli) c. 302 BCE to 580 CE
• Himyarite Kingdom c. 110 BCE to 525 CE
• Roman Anatolia 133 BCE to 395 CE
• Roman Syria and Judaea 64 BCE to 395 CE
• Palmyra c. 50 BCE to 273 CE
• Nabataean Kingdom c. 168 BCE to 106 CE
• Seleucid Empire 312 to 63 BCE
• Kingdom of Pontus 281 to 63 BCE
• Artaxiad Armenia 189 BCE to 12 CE
• Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
• Aramaic-speaking Mesopotamians c. 1100 BCE to 700 CE
• Kingdom of Hadramawt c. 800 BCE to 300 CE
• Kingdom of Qataban c. 800 BCE to 200 CE
• Gerrha c. 650 BCE to 300 CE
• Caucasian Albania c. 150 BCE to 705 CE
• Kingdom of Ma'in c. 800 to 100 BCE
• Atropatene c. 323 BCE to 226 CE
• Kingdom of Persis c. 280 BCE to 224 CE
• Dedan and Lihyan c. 600 to 100 BCE
• Osroene c. 132 BCE to 244 CE
• Elymais c. 147 BCE to 221 CE
• Characene c. 141 BCE to 222 CE
• Kingdom of Cappadocia c. 331 BCE to 17 CE
• Galatia 278 to 25 BCE
• Commagene 163 BCE to 72 CE
• Kingdom of Bithynia 297 to 74 BCE
• Lycian League c. 168 BCE to 43 CE
• Hasmonean kingdom 140 to 37 BCE
• Herodian Judea 37 BCE to 44 CE

South Asia

• Anuradhapura Kingdom 377 BCE to 1017 CE
• Satavahana dynasty c. 100 BCE to 220 CE
• Indo-Greek Kingdom c. 200 BCE to 10 CE
• Shunga Empire 185 to 73 BCE
• Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
• Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
• Eastern Iranian peoples c. 1500 BCE to 1000 CE
• Megalithic culture of the Deccan c. 1200 to 100 BCE
• Early Cholas c. 300 BCE to 300 CE
• Early Cheras c. 300 BCE to 300 CE
• Yaudheya confederacy c. 200 BCE to 350 CE
• Early Pandyas c. 300 BCE to 250 CE
• Kuninda Kingdom c. 200 BCE to 300 CE
• Malava Republic c. 150 BCE to 350 CE
• Yuezhi in Bactria c. 130 BCE to 30 CE
• Indo-Scythians c. 90 BCE to 30 CE
• Kanva dynasty 73 to 28 BCE

Central and North Asia

• Xiongnu Empire c. 209 BCE to 93 CE
• Sogdiana c. 545 BCE to 722 CE
• Kingdom of Khotan c. 200 BCE to 1006 CE
• Saka c. 800 BCE to 100 CE
• Uralic hunter-fishers of western Siberia c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Kingdom of Kucha c. 100 BCE to 840 CE
• Ancient Chorasmia c. 600 BCE to 305 CE
• Subeixi culture c. 1000 to 100 BCE
• Old Bering Sea culture c. 200 BCE to 600 CE
• Kangju c. 200 BCE to 450 CE
• Jushi kingdom c. 200 BCE to 450 CE
• Loulan (Shanshan) c. 176 BCE to 445 CE
• Wusun c. 160 BCE to 450 CE
• Tashtyk culture c. 100 BCE to 450 CE
• Massagetae c. 600 to 100 BCE
• Han Protectorate of the Western Regions c. 60 BCE to 107 CE

East Asia

• Western Han 202 BCE to 9 CE
• Silla 57 BCE to 668 CE
• Goguryeo 37 BCE to 668 CE
• Baekje 18 BCE to 660 CE
• Yayoi period c. 300 BCE to 250 CE
• Formosan Austronesian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Qiang peoples c. 1300 BCE to the present
• Sushen and Yilou c. 1100 BCE to 400 CE
• Baiyue peoples c. 1000 BCE to 200 CE
• Zhangzhung c. 500 BCE to 644 CE
• Epi-Jomon culture c. 300 BCE to 700 CE
• Buyeo c. 200 BCE to 494 CE
• Samhan confederacies c. 100 BCE to 350 CE
• Lelang Commandery 108 BCE to 313 CE

Southeast Asia

• Austronesian peoples c. 2200 BCE to 900 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers c. 2000 BCE to 500 CE
• Ban Chiang culture c. 2000 BCE to 200 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers of the Mekong c. 2000 BCE to 100 CE
• Austronesian peoples of Sumatra and Malaya c. 1500 BCE to 500 CE
• Austronesian farmers of Java and Wallacea c. 1500 BCE to 400 CE
• Pyu city-states c. 200 BCE to 1050 CE
• Dong Son culture c. 1000 BCE to 100 CE
• First Chinese domination (Han) 111 BCE to 40 CE
• Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 2000 BCE to the present
• Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
• Sa Huynh culture c. 1000 BCE to 200 CE
• Plain of Jars culture c. 500 BCE to 500 CE
• Buni culture c. 400 BCE to 500 CE

North America

• Dorset culture c. 500 BCE to 1300 CE
• Adena culture c. 500 BCE to 100 CE
• Hopewell tradition c. 100 BCE to 500 CE
• Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
• California Archaic hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to 500 CE
• Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 500 BCE to the present
• Locarno Beach and Marpole cultures c. 1800 BCE to 500 CE
• Basketmaker culture c. 1500 BCE to 750 CE
• Early Agricultural period farmers c. 2100 BCE to 50 CE
• Woodland period cultures c. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE
• Norton tradition c. 1000 BCE to 800 CE
• Laurel complex c. 500 BCE to 1000 CE
• Plains Woodland cultures c. 500 BCE to 900 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

• Teotihuacan c. 100 BCE to 550 CE
• Chibchan chiefdoms (Costa Rica and Panama) c. 500 BCE to 1570 CE
• Zapotec state (Monte Albán) c. 500 BCE to 850 CE
• Saladoid culture c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• El Mirador c. 600 BCE to 150 CE
• Guayabo de Turrialba c. 1000 BCE to 1400 CE
• Early farmers of the northern deserts c. 1500 BCE to 700 CE
• Greater Nicoya cultures c. 500 BCE to 1522 CE
• Cholula c. 300 BCE to 1519 CE
• Kaminaljuyu c. 800 BCE to 800 CE
• Teuchitlán tradition c. 300 BCE to 900 CE
• Cuicuilco c. 800 BCE to 250 CE
• Izapa c. 600 BCE to 100 CE
• Epi-Olmec culture c. 300 BCE to 250 CE

South America

• Paracas culture c. 800 BCE to 100 CE
• Nazca culture c. 100 BCE to 800 CE
• Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Sambaqui shell-mound builders c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Barrancoid culture c. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE
• Chiripa culture c. 1500 to 100 BCE
• Zenú culture c. 200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Upano valley settlements c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• Formative cultures of northwest Argentina c. 500 BCE to 600 CE
• Tumaco-La Tolita culture c. 600 BCE to 400 CE
• Pukara culture c. 400 BCE to 300 CE

Oceania

• Aboriginal Australian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Papuan farmers and foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Ancestral Polynesian society c. 850 BCE to 1000 CE
• Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1280 CE
• Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1000 CE
• Uninhabited c. 3200 to 100 BCE
• Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
• Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
• Pre-Latte Chamorro c. 1500 BCE to 900 CE
• Fijian chiefdoms c. 500 BCE to 1874 CE
• Eastern Micronesian islanders c. 100 BCE to the present