The world in the 5th century

In the 5th century (401 to 500 CE), the timeline shows 99 states, empires and colonies and 128 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Empire, Ghana Empire (Wagadu), Kingdom of Aksum and Moche (Mochica).

Previous: 4th century Next: 6th century

Events

• 410 Visigoths sack Rome, Europe. Alaric's Visigoths plunder Rome for three days, the first time in 800 years that the city falls to a foreign enemy.
• 476 End of the Western Roman Empire, Europe. Odoacer deposes the boy emperor Romulus Augustulus and sends the imperial regalia to Constantinople.
• 499 Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya, South Asia. The astronomer Aryabhata uses place-value numbers, gives pi as 3.1416 and argues that the earth spins on its axis.

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
• Iron Age farmers of South Africa c. 300 to 1300 CE
• Iron Age farmers of the Zambezi c. 200 to 1000 CE
• Austronesian settlers of Madagascar c. 400 to 1100 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
• Coastal Bantu farmers (Kwale ware) c. 100 to 800 CE

North and West Africa

• Ghana Empire (Wagadu) c. 300 to 1200 CE
• Kingdom of Aksum c. 100 to 940 CE
• Makuria c. 450 to 1312 CE
• Roman Africa 146 BCE to 439 CE
• Vandal Kingdom 435 to 534 CE
• 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
• Coptic Christians c. 300 CE to the present
• Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg) c. 300 CE to the present
• Jenne-Jeno (Middle Niger towns) c. 250 BCE to 1400 CE
• Garamantes c. 500 BCE to 700 CE
• Alodia c. 500 to 1504 CE
• Nobatia c. 400 to 700 CE
• Byzantine Egypt 395 to 641 CE
• Noba and the Ballana culture c. 350 to 550 CE
• Mauro-Roman Kingdom c. 429 to 578 CE

Europe

• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE
• Hunnic Empire c. 370 to 469 CE
• Gaelic Ireland c. 500 BCE to 1607 CE
• Roman Hispania 218 BCE to 472 CE
• Germanic tribes of Germania c. 100 BCE to 500 CE
• Roman Gaul 50 BCE to 486 CE
• Roman Britain 43 to 410 CE
• Merovingian Kingdom 481 to 751 CE
• Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse 418 to 507 CE
• Western Roman Empire 395 to 476 CE
• Ostrogothic Kingdom 493 to 553 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
• San Marino c. 301 CE to the present
• Kingdom of Gwynedd c. 450 to 1216 CE
• Przeworsk culture c. 300 BCE to 450 CE
• Kingdom of Powys c. 450 to 1160 CE
• Old Saxons c. 100 to 804 CE
• West Slavic tribes c. 500 to 1160 CE
• Kingdom of Strathclyde c. 450 to 1030 CE
• Picts c. 297 to 843 CE
• Alemanni c. 213 to 746 CE
• Migration and Vendel periods c. 400 to 793 CE
• East Slavic tribes c. 500 to 882 CE
• Kingdom of Kent c. 455 to 825 CE
• Dal Riata c. 500 to 850 CE
• Frankish tribes c. 250 to 481 CE
• Sub-Roman Britain c. 410 to 600 CE
• Kingdom of the Suebi 409 to 585 CE
• Kutrigurs and Utigurs c. 460 to 632 CE
• Kingdom of the Burgundians 411 to 534 CE
• Kingdom of the Gepids 454 to 567 CE
• Visigoths in the Balkans 376 to 418 CE
• Domain of Soissons 457 to 486 CE
• Vandals and Alans in Hispania 409 to 429 CE
• Kingdom of Odoacer 476 to 493 CE

Middle East

• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE
• Sasanian Empire 224 to 651 CE
• Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli) c. 302 BCE to 580 CE
• Himyarite Kingdom c. 110 BCE to 525 CE
• Arsacid Armenia 52 to 428 CE
• Byzantine Syria and Palestine 395 to 640 CE
• Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
• Aramaic-speaking Mesopotamians c. 1100 BCE to 700 CE
• Caucasian Albania c. 150 BCE to 705 CE
• Lazica (Egrisi) c. 100 to 697 CE
• Ghassanids c. 220 to 638 CE
• Lakhmids c. 300 to 602 CE
• Persian Armenia (Marzpanate) 428 to 646 CE
• Kingdom of Kinda c. 450 to 550 CE

South Asia

• Gupta Empire c. 320 to 550 CE
• Anuradhapura Kingdom 377 BCE to 1017 CE
• Pallava dynasty c. 275 to 897 CE
• Western Satraps c. 35 to 415 CE
• Vakataka dynasty c. 250 to 500 CE
• Hephthalite Empire c. 450 to 560 CE
• 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
• Kamarupa c. 350 to 1140 CE
• Western Ganga dynasty c. 350 to 1000 CE
• Licchavi dynasty of Nepal c. 400 to 750 CE
• Kalabhra dynasty c. 250 to 575 CE
• Maitraka dynasty c. 475 to 776 CE
• Kadamba dynasty c. 345 to 540 CE
• Alchon Huns c. 370 to 560 CE
• Nezak Huns c. 484 to 665 CE
• Kidarites c. 350 to 470 CE

Central and North Asia

• Sogdiana c. 545 BCE to 722 CE
• Kingdom of Khotan c. 200 BCE to 1006 CE
• Rouran Khaganate 330 to 555 CE
• Hephthalite Empire c. 450 to 560 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
• Evenki and Even reindeer herders c. 500 CE to the present
• Kingdom of Kucha c. 100 BCE to 840 CE
• Old Bering Sea culture c. 200 BCE to 600 CE
• Okhotsk culture c. 500 to 1200 CE
• Afrighid dynasty c. 305 to 995 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
• Oghur and Hunnic tribes c. 350 to 600 CE
• Gaochang kingdom 498 to 640 CE

East Asia

• Silla 57 BCE to 668 CE
• Goguryeo 37 BCE to 668 CE
• Baekje 18 BCE to 660 CE
• Kofun period c. 250 to 538 CE
• Northern Wei 386 to 535 CE
• Eastern Jin 317 to 420 CE
• Formosan Austronesian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
• Qiang peoples c. 1300 BCE to the present
• Zhangzhung c. 500 BCE to 644 CE
• Epi-Jomon culture c. 300 BCE to 700 CE
• Buyeo c. 200 BCE to 494 CE
• Mohe c. 400 to 926 CE
• Gaya confederacy c. 42 to 562 CE
• Tuyuhun c. 285 to 670 CE
• Liu Song dynasty 420 to 479 CE
• Southern Qi 479 to 502 CE

Southeast Asia

• Austronesian peoples c. 2200 BCE to 900 CE
• Austroasiatic rice farmers c. 2000 BCE to 500 CE
• Austronesian peoples of Sumatra and Malaya c. 1500 BCE to 500 CE
• Champa c. 192 to 1832 CE
• Pyu city-states c. 200 BCE to 1050 CE
• Second Chinese domination 43 to 544 CE
• Funan c. 68 to 550 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
• Langkasuka c. 100 to 1400 CE
• Kutai Martadipura c. 350 to 1605 CE
• Plain of Jars culture c. 500 BCE to 500 CE
• Buni culture c. 400 BCE to 500 CE
• Tarumanagara c. 358 to 669 CE

North America

• Dorset culture c. 500 BCE to 1300 CE
• Pacific Northwest peoples c. 500 CE to the present
• Mogollon culture c. 200 to 1450 CE
• Hohokam c. 300 to 1450 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
• Woodland period cultures c. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE
• Norton tradition c. 1000 BCE to 800 CE
• Chumash c. 500 CE to the present
• California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva) c. 500 CE to the present
• Laurel complex c. 500 BCE to 1000 CE
• Plains Woodland cultures c. 500 BCE to 900 CE
• Fremont culture c. 1 to 1300 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

• Teotihuacan c. 100 BCE to 550 CE
• Classic Maya civilization c. 250 to 900 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
• Tikal (Mutal) c. 90 to 900 CE
• Kaan kingdom (Calakmul) c. 400 to 900 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
• Gran Coclé chiefdoms c. 1 to 1520 CE
• Teuchitlán tradition c. 300 BCE to 900 CE
• Diquís culture c. 500 to 1530 CE
• Chalchihuites culture c. 200 to 1100 CE
• Caracol 331 to 859 CE
• La Quemada c. 500 to 900 CE
• Copan 426 to 822 CE
• Palenque (Baakal) 431 to 799 CE

South America

• Moche (Mochica) c. 100 to 800 CE
• Tiwanaku c. 400 to 1000 CE
• Tupi-Guarani peoples c. 500 CE to the present
• Marajoara culture c. 400 to 1400 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
• Jê peoples c. 1 CE to the present
• Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam) c. 1 CE to the present
• Barrancoid culture c. 1000 BCE to 1000 CE
• Quimbaya culture c. 1 to 1550 CE
• Tairona c. 200 to 1600 CE
• 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
• Cañari c. 500 to 1532 CE
• San Agustín culture c. 1 to 900 CE
• Recuay culture c. 1 to 700 CE
• El Molle culture c. 1 to 700 CE
• Lima culture c. 100 to 650 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
• 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