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A Brief
Chronology
of Judeo-Christian Scripture and Tradition
with
Historical References for Perspective
and Notes on Calendars
| NOTE: Nothing in this chronology should be construed as confirmation of the occurrence of any event, the existence of any person, creature, or being, or the truth of any utterance mentioned in any religious scripture. Although some scriptural assertions are confirmed by non-scriptural sources, most serious scholars agree that the highly political nature of much religious writing justifies concern about both its accuracy and its authenticity. Therefore, a degree of skepticism is warranted regarding any unconfirmed event, person, or statement referred to only in scripture. | ||
| Dates
of Biblical Interest and Reference (Some dates are approximate or controversial, and some persons and events may be fictional.) |
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| Color Codes: | Scriptures | Prophecies | Abrahamic Religions | Non-Abrahamic Religions | ||
| Years
Ago (>10,000 » BCE) |
PREHISTORIC ERA | |
| 13,000,000,000 | Origin of Universe, extrapolated from measurements of stellar distances and velocities. | |
| 4,600,000,000 | Formation of solar system and planet Earth. | |
| 4,530,000,000 | Formation of moon from debris ejected by collision of Earth with another planet-size body. | |
| ARCHAEN
EON 4,500,000,000 - 2,500,000,000 |
Oceans form as Earth's surface cools; proto-life develops. | |
| PROTEROZOIC
EON 2,500,000,000 - 543,000,000 |
Single-celled organisms, algae, primitive invertebrates; release of free oxygen into atmosphere from photosynthesis; formation and breakup of early supercontinent Rodinia. | |
| PHANEROZOIC
EON 543,000,000 - present |
PALEOZOIC ERA: Insects, fish, amphibians, early reptiles evolve; consolidation of land masses into supercontinent Pangaea; formation of Appalachian and Ural ranges. | |
| 251,000,000 - 65,000,000 | MESOZOIC ERA: Dinosaurs, turtles, early birds and mammals; opening of Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America; formation of Alps and Rockies. | |
| 65,000,000 - present | CENOZOIC ERA: Modern reptiles, birds, and mammals, including primates. | |
| 50,000,000 | Separation of Australia and Antarctica. | |
| 35,000,000 | Collision of India and Asia. | |
| 15,000,000 | Formation of Himalayas. | |
| 10,000,000 | Polar ice caps; opening of Red Sea. | |
| 4,000,000 | Australopithecus — genus homo (man) — emerges in Africa. | |
| 2,000,000 | Paleolithic Age is underway. | |
| 1,500,000 | Linking of North and South America. | |
| 1,300,000 | Homo erectus. | |
| 1,200,000 | Worldwide glaciations (at least 4) commence. | |
| 500,000 | Humans have learned to control and use fire. | |
| 250,000 | Species homo sapiens sapiens (modern man) emerges. | |
| 30,000 | Humans have migrated at least to Europe and Asia, and possibly as far as the Americas. | |
| 11,000 | Mesolithic Age begins; end of most recent glacial epoch; primitive agriculture and civilization emerge. | |
| B. C. E. | Years Ago | ANCIENT ERA |
| 8500 | 10,500 | Neolithic Age begins. First cities are established in Middle East [4,500 years before Judeo-Christian "creation"]. (Recent archaeological find in Syria indicates cities may have existed as much as 2,000 years earlier.) |
| 6273 | 8,000 | Earliest confirmed tree growth-ring sequence for bristle-cone pines [2,000-2,500 years before Judeo-Christian "creation"] (est. in 1979 by dendrochronologist Charles Ferguson). |
| 5000 | 7,000 | Jericho exists [~1,000 years before Judeo-Christian "creation"]. |
| BC / BCE | Jewish | OLD TESTAMENT ERA |
| 4004 | . | PRIMIEVAL PERIOD BEGINS Christian date of creation (23 Oct. 4004 BC) is calculated in 1654 CE by Archbishop Ussher. |
| 3761 | 1 | Jewish traditional date of
creation (7 Oct. 1). [Jericho settlement is over 1,000 years old.] (Both Jewish and Christian creation dates correspond roughly to end of Neolithic Age in eastern Mediterranean.) |
| 3600 | . | Sumerian city-states (Eridu, Lagash, Umma, Ur, Uruk) are in existence; cuneiform writing is in use. |
| 3100 | . | Upper and Lower Egypt are united under Menes (1st dynasty) in Memphis; heiroglyphic writing is developed. |
| 3000 | . | Bronze Age begins
in Egypt. Canaanites enter Canaan |
| 2900 | . | Widespread flooding in Mesopotamia [sedimentary evidence], possible source of Sumerian and Hebrew deluge / flood legends. |
| 2700 | . | Egyptian Old Kingdom begins (3rd dynasty); Assyrian cities are in existence. |
| 2675 | . | Gilgamesh of Uruk revolts against Kish. |
| 2570 | . | Great Pyramid is built in Egypt. |
| 2500 | . | Sphinx is constructed in Egypt; bronze age reaches Canaan. |
| 2264 | . | Sargon of Agade founds Akkadian Empire. |
| 2200 | . | Egyptian Old Kingdom ends (6th dynasty). |
| 2050 | . | Egyptian Middle Kingdom begins
(11th dynasty). Ur, 3rd dynasty: Gilgamesh Epic is written. |
| 1971 | . | Sesostris I rules Egypt. |
| ~1900 | ~1900 | PATRIARCHAL PERIOD BEGINS Abraham migrates from Ur, becomes patriarch of Canaan. Sumerian city-states are in decline; Babylon begins domination of Tigris-Euphrates valley. |
| 1750 | . | Hammurabi rules Babylon. |
| 1652 | . | Egyptian Middle Kingdom ends (12th dynasty); incursion of Nile delta by the Hyksos. |
| ~1650 | ~2100 | EGYPTIAN PERIOD BEGINS Israelites in Egypt (Jacob, Joseph). |
| ~1587 | . | Iron Age begins in Asia Minor, then gradually spreads to East Asia and Scandinavia (1200-500 BCE). |
| 1567 | . | New Egyptian Kingdom begins (18th dynasty); Hyksos are expelled from Egypt. |
| 1500 | . | Indo-Aryan tribes invade Indus valley. Initial association of the various traditions later identified as Hinduism. |
| 1479 | 2283 | Thutmose III of Egypt defeats Canaanites at Megiddo. |
| 1397 | . | Amenhotep III rules Egypt at peak of its prosperity. |
| 1364 | . | Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) attempts monotheistic reform and moves Egypt's capital from Thebes to Akhetaton. Kingdoms of Moab, Ammon, and Edom are established. |
| 1347 | . | Tutanhkamon reverses Akhenaton's reforms and restores power of the traditional priesthood at Thebes. |
| 1290 | . | Ramses II rules Egypt, oppresses Israelites. |
| 1223 | . | Merneptah rules Egypt; multiple migrations in Middle East. |
| 1211 | 2551 | TRIBAL PERIOD BEGINS Death of Merneptah. Possible time of Israelite exodus from Egypt under Moses. |
| ~1194-1184 | . | Trojan War. |
| 1170 | ~2590 | Joshua leads Israelites into Canaan. Philistines settle coastal area. |
| 1150 | ~2710 | Period of judges begins. |
| 1085 | . | Egyptian New Kingdom ends (20th dynasty). |
| 1040 | ~2720 | Samuel judges the 12 tribes of Israel. |
| 1028 | 2734 | Saul becomes ruler of Israel. |
| 1013 | 2749 | Philistines defeat Israel at Mt. Gilboa; Saul and Jonathan are killed; David becomes ruler of Judah. |
| 1006 | 2756 | DAVIDIC KINGDOM BEGINS David becomes king of united Israel-Judah. |
| 1000 | 2762 | David establishes capital at Jerusalem. |
| 973 | 2789 | Death of David; Solomon becomes king of Israel-Judah. |
| 962 | 2800 | Solomon completes Temple Jerusalem. |
| 933 | 2829 | Death of Solomon; Jeroboam I rules Israel, comprising the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, Manasseh, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali; Rehoboam rules Judah, comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. |
| 883 | 2879 | ASSYRIAN PERIOD BEGINS Asshumasirpal becomes king of Assyria; Assyria's power revives. |
| 875 | 2887 | Ahab rules Israel; Jehoshaphat rules Judah; career of Elijah (Elias). |
| 859 | . | Shalmaneser III becomes king of Assyria. |
| 852 | 2910 | Jehoram rules Israel; career of Elisha. |
| 850 | . | J document (monotheistic tradition, Judah) is possibly in written form. |
| 824 | . | Death of Shalmaneser III initiates period of Assyrian decline. |
| 814 | . | City of Carthage is founded by Phoenicians. |
| 785 | 2977 | Israel is at peak of power under rule of Jeroboam II. |
| 780 | 2982 | Judah is at peak of power under rule of Azariah (Uzziah). |
| 753 | . | City of Rome is founded (by the legendary Romulus and Remus). |
| 750 | . | E document (polytheistic tradition, Israel) is in written form. |
| 745 | . | Tiglath-Pileser III becomes king of Assyria; the final period of Assyrian aggression begins. |
| 740 | 3021 | Death of Uzziah; First Isaiah prophesies in Jerusalem. |
| 722 | 3039 | Sargon II usurps the Assyrian throne. Assyria conquers the northern kingdom of Israel, its 10 tribes being exiled and assimilated into other cultures ("lost"). The southern kingdom of Judah persists as a tributary to Assyria. |
| 705 | . | Sennacherib becomes ruler of Assyria and establishes the capital at Nineveh. |
| 703 | . | Babylon rebels against Assyria. |
| 701 | 3061 | Sennacherib lays siege to Jerusalem. |
| 692 | 3069 | Death of 1.Isaiah. |
| 681 | . | Sennacherib is assassinated; Assyria rises to peak of power under rule of Esarhaddon. |
| 626 | 3136 | Jeremiah prophesies. |
| 621 | 3140 | Book of Deuteronomy is "discovered" in the temple, leading to monotheistic reform in Judah under rule of Josiah. |
| 608 | 3153 | Necho of Egypt defeats Judah at Megiddo; Josiah is killed; Jehoiakim rules Judah; Jeremiah delivers Temple Sermon. |
| 605 | 3156 | Babylonia defeats Egypt at Carchemish; Nebuchadnezzar becomes ruler of Babylonia. |
| 600 | . | Zoroaster prophesies in Persia. |
| 597 | 3164 | BABYLONIAN PERIOD BEGINS Nebuchadnezzar crushes Judean rebellion; 1st Babylonian exile begins. |
| 593 | 3168 | Ezekiel prophesies. |
| 587 | 3174 | Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar. |
| 586 | 3175 | Nebuchadnezzar destroys Temple Jerusalem; 2nd Babylonian exile begins; book of Lammentations is written. |
| 540 | 3221 | Second "Isaiah" prophesies in Babylon (about 1½ centuries after Isaiah's death). |
| 538 | 3224 | PERSIAN PERIOD BEGINS Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon; first group of Jews returns to Judea under Sheshbazzar. |
| 528 | . | Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) achieves supreme enlightenment. |
| 517 | . | Legendary meeting of K'ung Fu-Tzu (Confucius) and Lao-Zi. |
| 516 | 3245 | Second Temple Jerusalem is dedicated. |
| 509 | . | Republic of Rome is founded after eviction of last king. |
| 508 | . | Lawgiver Cleisthenes initiates direct democratic governance by male citizens of property in Athens. |
| ~500 | . | Greek Classical Period (under Pericles) begins: flowering of art, architecture, philosophy, Olympian religion. |
| 486 | . | Xerxes I becomes king of Persia. |
| 480 | . | Persian forces invade Greece. |
| 479 | . | Greeks defeat Persian invasion near Attica. Athenians organize the Delian League as a confederation to liberate remaining Greek outposts from Persian control. |
| 459 | . | Ezra in Jerusalem; historical books are in final form. |
| 450 | 3311 | Third "Isaiah" prophesies (about 2½ centuries after Isaiah's death). Book of Ruth is written. |
| 437 | 3324 | Walls of Jerusalem are completed. |
| 400 | . | Books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah are written. |
| 338 | . | Philip II of Macedon defeats Greeks at Athens and Thebes. Philip allows the Greeks autonomy in domestic affairs, but commands loyalty to Macedonian authority in foreign affairs, particularly in opposition to the Persians. |
| 333 | . | GREEK PERIOD BEGINS Alexander the Great defeats main Persian army of Darius III. |
| 332 | . | City of Alexandria is founded. |
| 327 | . | Alexander enters India, but finds further advance impossible. |
| 323 | . | Alexander dies in Babylon, having withdrawn his exhausted troops from India.. |
| 306 | . | Ptolemy I rules Egypt; Seleucus I rules Syria. |
| 300 | . | Book of Jonah and Song of Solomon are written. |
| 275 | . | Apocalyptic portion of book of Zechariah is written. |
| 250 | . | Book of Ecclesiastes is written; book of Proverbs is in final form; Septuagint is in preparation in Alexandria. |
| 180 | . | Book of Ecclesiasticus is written. |
| 170 | 3591 | Essene sect adapts elements of Zoroastrian dualism and mysticism to Jewish theology and tradition. |
| 167 | 3594 | Seleucids profane Temple Jerusalem. |
| 165 | 3596 | Maccabees defeat Antiochus Epiphanes. Book of Daniel is written. |
| 164 | 3597 | Judas Maccabeus rededicates Temple Jerusalem (henceforth celebrated as Hanukkah). |
| 160 | 3603 | Maccabean rebels are overwhelmed by Seleucid army; Judas Maccabeus is killed. |
| 150 | . | Book of Esther is written; book of Psalms is in final form. |
| 145 | 3618 | Demetrius II rules Seleucid Empire; Pharisees and Sadducees emerge as separate parties. |
| 141 | 3622 | Seleucid forces abandon Jerusalem. |
| 103 | 3660 | Alexander Jannaeus rules Judea; Maccabean kingdom is at peak. |
| 63 | 3698 | ROMAN PERIOD BEGINS Pompey of Rome takes Jerusalem; end of Maccabean kingdom. |
| 44 | . | Julius Caesar is assassinated. |
| 27 | . | Republic of Rome reverts to Roman Empire under Octavian (Caesar Augustus). |
| 4 | . |
Birth
of Jesus of Nazareth (latest possible date, if gospel account of Herod's
infanticide order is
to be believed). Death of Herod. |
| AD / CE | Jewish | NEW TESTAMENT ERA |
| 1 | 3761 | TIME OF JESUS Legendary birth of Jesus, according to Dionysius Exiguus (500-560 CE). |
| 10 | . | Assumption of Moses is written. |
| 29 | . | John the Baptist is executed. Jesus is crucified. |
| 34 | . | TIME OF PAUL Stephen is stoned to death; Saul of Tarsus persecutes Christians. |
| 37 | . |
Caligula becomes Roman emperor. Saul converts to Christianity and assumes the name Paul. |
| 39 | . | Paul makes first visit to Jerusalem as a Christian. |
| 42 | . | Caligula is assassinated. |
| 43 | . | James son of Zebedee is executed; Peter is imprisoned. Antioch Church flourishes. |
| 45 | . | Paul's 1st missionary voyage. |
| 49 | . | Paul's 2nd missionary voyage. |
| 50 | . | Paul in Europe, writes Epistles to the Thessalonians. |
| 54 | . |
Paul's 3rd missionary voyage. Nero becomes Roman emperor. |
| 55 | . | Paul writes Epistle to the Galatians. |
| 56 | . | Paul writes Epistles to the Corinthians. |
| 58 | . | Paul writes Epistle to the Romans. |
| 62 | . | Paul is imprisoned in Rome, writes Epistles to Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. |
| 64 | . |
Great fire at Rome. Nero persecutes Christians; Peter is executed. |
| 65 | . | Paul writes 1st Epistle to Timothy and Epistle to Titus. |
| 66 | 3826 | Jews rebel in Judea and Alexandria. |
| 67 | . |
Paul writes
2nd Epistle to Timothy and is executed. Historian Josephus is taken prisoner. |
| 70 | 3830 | WRITING OF THE GOSPELS Titus destroys Temple Jerusalem; Gospel of Mark is written. |
| 75 | . | Gospel of Matthew is written. |
| 80 | . | Gospel of Luke, book of Acts, and Epistle to Hebrews are written. |
| 90 | . | Epistles of James, Peter, John, Jude are written. |
| 95 | . | Books of Revelation, 2 Esdras are written. |
| 100 | . | Gospel of John, Letter of Baruch, Epistle of Jeremy, and Martyrdom of Isaiah are written. |
| 132 | 3892 | Jews revolt in Judea. |
| 135 | 3895 | Rome crushes Jewish rebellion, obliterates nations of Israel and Judea. |
| AD / CE | Jewish | POST-BIBLICAL ERA |
| 235 | . | ROMAN DECLINE BEGINS Roman empire sinks into anarchy following assassination of emperor Alexander Severus. Latin falls out of colloquial use, but continues as lingua franca among academics, aristocracy, and clergy. |
| 285 | . | Roman Empire is divided between Western (based in Milan) and Eastern (based in Nicomedia) Empires. |
| 303 | . | Constantine I becomes Roman emperor and begins Christianizing the empire. |
| 325 | . | Nicaean Council I: convened by Constantine, crafts Nicaean Creed to resolve Arian dispute over the nature and divinity of Jesus, and establishes Sunday after Jewish Passover as date for celebration of Easter. |
| 330 | . | Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire is established with its capital at Constantinople (renamed from Byzantium). |
| 349 | . | Pope Julius I proclaims celebration of Jesus's birth on 25 December—not that it's even remotely likely that Augustus had summoned Judeans to Bethlehem in mid-winter to collect taxes, or that shepherds routinely braved the cold to graze their flocks at night. More probably, Julius hoped to piggy-back the new Christian festival on the popularity of traditional pagan winter solstice celebrations, e.g., Saturnalia and Natalis Invicti (Roman celebration of birth of Mithra, Persian sun god). |
| 400 | . | St. Jerome prepares Vulgate (Latin Bible), translating from Hebrew and Greek texts. |
| 402 | . | Center of the Western Roman Empire is moved from Milan to Ravenna. |
| 426 | . | St. Augustine of Hippo writes City of God. |
| 455 | . | Rome is sacked by Vandals. |
| 476 | . | EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL PERIOD
BEGINS Germanic tribes invade Italy and conquer Roman Empire. |
| 527 | . | Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus introduces Christian calendar, reckoning the year of Jesus's birth as 753 AUC (Roman), which he designates as 1 AD. (Aside from that, at this time the Christian calendar remains virtually identical to the Roman calendar.) |
| 622 | . |
ISLAM IS ESTABLISHED Muhammad establishes theocratic state at Medina. |
| 675 | . | Mayan civilization flourishes in Yucután, Mayan religion is polytheistic, with human sacrifice (by decapitation). |
| 800 | . | Charlemagne is proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor (HRE). |
| 822 | . | Mayan and neighboring cultures abruptly collapse for unknown reasons. |
| 1000 | . | Second coming of Jesus is widely anticipated. [There is no verifiable indication that he actually reappeared.] |
| 1054 | . | Schism splits Christian Church into eastern (Orthodox) and western (Roman) factions, as the pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicate each other. |
| 1078 | . | Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, publishes his Proslogium, containing his ontological argument for the existence of God, an early (and fallacious) attempt to use reason to develop religious understanding. |
| 1095-1099 | . | Crusade I to the Holy Land: begins at the request of the Patriarch of Constantinople, with the objective of liberating that city from the Turks. Ends in victory for Europe, with election of Godfrey of Boillon as defender of Holy Sepulcher and establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. |
| 1098 | . | Bernard of Clairvaux founds Cistercian monastic order in France. |
| 1123 | . |
Lateran Council I (Pope
Callistus II): resolves investiture
controversy between ecclesiastical and secular authority. Pierre Abelard publishes Sic et Non, advocating thorough examination of all aspects of an issue in seeking truth. |
| 1139 | . | Lateran Council II (10th ecumenical council, Pope Innocent II): deals with schism caused by antipope Anacletus II. |
| 1147-1149 | . | Crusade II: led by Conrad III (HRE) and Louis VII (France), pillages territory of Byzantine emperor Manuel I, is later defeated at Damascus. |
| 1179 | . | Lateran Council III (11th ecumenical council, Pope Alexander III): establishes procedure for election of popes by conclave of cardinals. |
| 1189-1192 | . | Crusade III: led by Richard I (England), Philip II (France), and Frederick I (HRE). Richard secures agreement with Saladin (Turk) to keep Jerusalem open to all pilgrims regardless of faith. |
| 1198 | . | Activist Pope Innocent III proclaims papal supremacy over secular kings, using excommunication and interdict as tools to assert his authority. |
| 1202-1204 | . | Crusade IV: sacks Constantinople. |
| 1209 | . | St. Francis of Assisi founds Franciscan monastic order devoted to scholasticism (teaching among the lay public). |
| 1215 | . |
Lateran Council IV
(Pope Innocent III): passes 70 decrees
regarding such matters as clerical discipline, marriage, and heresy, and
establishes a confession of faith defining transubstantiation. John (England) signs Magna Carta. |
| 1216 | . | St. Dominic establishes Dominican monastic order in Toulouse, following suit with the Franciscans with respect to scholasticism. |
| 1217-1221 | . | Crusade V is an abortive expedition to Egypt. |
| 1228-1229 | . | Crusade VI: led by Frederick II (HRE), secures a treaty with Damascus restoring Palestine to the Christians, but Egyptians and Turks subsequently seize Jerusalem and rout the Christians. |
| 1233 | . | Pope Gregory IX establishes Papal Inquisition. |
| 1248-1254 | . | Crusade VII: led by Louis IX (France), who is taken prisoner during an attack on Cairo; after his release, Louis spends four years improving Christian fortifications in the Holy Land. |
| 1270 | . | Crusade VIII: led by Louis IX, is intended to retake Jaffa and Antioch, recently taken by Muslims; campaign is aborted when Louis falls ill and dies. |
| 1271-1272 | . | Crusade IX: led by Prince Edward (England), is an expedition to Acre, but is called off upon negotiation of a truce. |
| 1273 | . | Thomas Aquinas publishes Summa Theologica, attempting to understand God through reason. |
| 1291 | . | Two years after fall of Tripoli, Acre, the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land, also falls to the Muslims. |
| 1332 | . | Outbreak of bubonic plague in India begins to spread along trade routes to Asia and Europe. |
| 1347-1351 | . | Bubonic plague spreads throughout Europe. Widely regarded as caused by Satan, rat-borne "Black Death" epidemic is actually accelerated by widespread practice of killing cats as "satanic creatures." Loss of 25-30 percent of the European population eventually leads to economic restructuring and collapse of manorial and feudal systems. Subsequent outbreaks continue until 16th century. |
| 1378 | . | Schism splits Roman Catholic Church between two popes, Urban VI in Rome and Clement VII in Avignon. |
| ~1400 | . |
Aztec kingdom is established at Tenochtitlán
and controls much of what is now Mexico. Aztec religion includes a pantheon of bestial gods, but their supreme deity is their human king himself. |
| 1409 | . | Pisa conference of cardinals elects third pope to depose the other two; the strategy fails, leaving three competing popes in power and factional allegiances split among them. |
| 1414-1418 | . | Council of Constance: resolves multiple-papacy schism, ousting all three popes and installing a new one, Martin V. |
| 1429 | . | Charismatic mystic Joan of Arc leads French to victory over English siege of Orléans in the Hundred Years War. |
| 1431 | . | Captured by the English, Joan of Arc is judged guilty of heresy and is burned at the stake. |
| 1453 | . | EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE BEGINS Ottoman forces storm Constantinople and overthrow Byzantine Empire. Under the Ottomans, Constantinople is renamed Istanbul. |
| 1456 | . | Johannes Gutenberg uses movable type to print Mazarin Bible in Mainz. |
| 1492 | . | Christopher Columbus attempts to sail west from Spain across the Atlantic to the Orient. Discovering unknown land, he assumes it to be India (hence the name "West Indies"). |
| 1494 | . | Line of Demarcation is established along meridian 0, to separate territories of conquest available to Spanish (to the west) and Portuguese (to the east) empires. |
| ~1500 | . | Nanak founds the Sikh religion, a mix of Islam and Hinduism but hostile to both, in India's Punjab region. |
| 1512-1517 | . | Lateran Council V (Popes Julius II, Leo X): permits pawn shops; forbids printing of books without church authority. |
| 1517 | . | Martin Luther presents his Ninety-Five Theses in Wittenberg, criticizing church policy of selling indulgences for remission of sins. |
| 1521 | . | Luther refuses to recant his criticism of church policy at the Diet of Worms, and is condemned by Charles V (HRE). He goes into hiding and begins translating the New Testament into German. |
| 1523 | . | Ulrich Zwingli's preaching of Protestant reform causes unrest in Zürich, but is affirmed by the mayor and city council. |
| 1529 | . | Henry VIII demands, and English Parliament affirms, independence of Anglican Church from papal authority. |
| 1531 | . | Civil war erupts between Catholic and Protestant cantons in Switzerland; Zwingli is killed. |
| 1533 | . | John Calvin establishes Presbyterian Church. |
| 1540 | . |
Pope Paul III approves
militant counter-reformation Jesuit order (Society of Jesus) established
by Ignatius of Loyola in Spain. Menno Simons leads pacifist Anabaptist reform in Netherlands, giving rise to Mennonite and Amish traditions. |
| 1545-1563 | . | Council of Trent (19th ecumenical council; Popes Paul III, Julius III, Pius IV): to reform practice and define dogma, in response to Protestant Reformation. |
| 1556 | . | Mughal emperor Akbar presses for religious tolerance in India. |
| 1572 | . | St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: Catholic faction massacres Huguenots (Calvinists) in Paris. |
| 1582 | . | Pope Gregory XIII introduces a new solar-based calendar that corrects for the Julian-Dionysian calendar's lack of synchronization with the natural seasons. |
| 1600 | . | Giordano Bruno is burned for heresy (using Copernican principles in his study of the universe). |
| 1604 | . | Hampton Court Conference: considers objection of James I to scriptural notations questioning divine right of kings, and authorizes a new English retranslation of the Bible. |
| 1610 | . | Galileo's telescopic observations discredit Aristotle's view of a geocentric universe endorsed by the Church. |
| 1611 | . | King James Version of Bible, authorized by Hampton Court Conference, is published. |
| 1619 | . | Representative governance, in the form of the House of Burgesses, is established in Jamestown, British North American colony of Virginia |
| 1692 | . | 150 are accused and 19 executed during witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. |
| 1703 | . | John Wesley establishes Methodist movement of Anglican Church. |
| 1769 | . | INDUSTRIAL AGE BEGINS Industrialization in Europe and North America is accompanied at various stages by humanist reform, democratization, and reduced reliance upon slave labor. |
| 1787 | . | The newly independent United States of America establish representative democratic governance for white adult males of property. The first amendment to the new nation's constitution prohibits government meddling in religious affairs—and vice versa, by implication.. |
| 1830 | . | Joseph Smith publishes book of Mormon and founds Mormon (Latter-Day Saints) Church in New York. |
| 1834 | . | Spanish Inquisition is abolished. |
| 1844 | Joseph Smith is assassinated. Brigham Young leads exodus from Mormon settlement in Illinois. | |
| 1847 | . | Brigham Young establishes Mormon Church headquarters in Utah. |
| 1869-1870 | Vatican Council I (20th ecumenical council; Pope Pius IX): to address concerns of rationalism, liberalism, materialism; defines papal infallibility. | |
| 1948 | 5708 | Nation of Israel is reestablished following World War II, displacing Palestinians who occupy the territory. |
| 1962-1965 | Vatican Council II (21st ecumenical council; Popes John XXIII, Paul VI): to restore Christian unity and start dialogue with the contemporary world; religious freedom; celebration of mass in vernacular. | |
| 1992 | . | Papal commission under John-Paul II officially admits that the Church erred in accusing Galileo of heresy. |
| 2000 | . | Second coming of Jesus is anticipated by some fundamentalist sects. [There is still no indication that he has reappeared since the first millennium.] |
| 2001 | . | Terrorist attacks by Sunni Muslim Wahabi extremists in New York and Washington polarize the world's Islamic and non-Islamic factions, leading to escalation of armed confrontation and social upheaval in the Middle East. |
| 2011 | Fugitive Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, instigator of the extremist attacks in 2001, is tracked down and killed in Pakistan by U.S. military commandos. | |
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