1st millennium BC

Millennia
Centuries
ParthenonAristotleGautama BuddhaAssassination of Julius CaesarGreek alphabetWars of Alexander the GreatIron AgeAssyrian Empire
From top left clockwise: The Parthenon, a former temple in Athens, Greece; Aristotle, Greek philosopher; Gautama Buddha, a spiritual teacher and the founder of Buddhism; Wars of Alexander the Great last from 336 BC to 323 BC; Letters of the Greek alphabet; People working during the Iron Age; Roman dictator, Julius Caesar is assassinated by the Roman Senate in 44 BC. (Background: A mural from the Assyrian Empire which dissolved in the 7th century BC)

The 1st millennium BC, also known as the last millennium BC, was the period of time lasting from the years 1000 BC to 1 BC (10th to 1st centuries BC; in astronomy: JD 1356182.5 – 1721425.5). It encompasses the Iron Age in the Old World and sees the transition from the Ancient Near East to classical antiquity.

World population roughly doubled over the course of the millennium, from about 100 million to about 200–250 million after the birth of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Julio-Claudian dynasty led by its founder Octavian.

Overview

Further information: Ancient history and Human history

The Neo-Assyrian Empire dominates the Near East in the early centuries of the millennium, supplanted by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century. Ancient Egypt is in decline, and falls to the Achaemenids in 525 BC.

In Greece, Classical Antiquity begins with the colonization of Magna Graecia and peaks with the conquest of the Achaemenids and the subsequent flourishing of Hellenistic civilization (4th to 2nd centuries).

The Roman Republic supplants the Etruscans and then the Carthaginians (5th to 3rd centuries). The close of the millennium sees the rise of the Roman Empire. The early Celtic culture dominate Central Europe while Northern Europe is in the Pre-Roman Iron Age. In East Africa, the Nubian Empire and Aksum arise.

In South Asia, the Vedic civilization gives rise to the Maurya Empire. The Scythians dominate Central Asia. In China, the Zhou dynasty rules the Chinese heartland at the beginning of the millennium. The decline of the Zhou dynasty during Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period sees the rise of such philosophical and spiritual traditions as Confucianism and Taoism. Towards the close of the millennium, the Han dynasty extends Chinese power towards Central Asia, where it borders on Indo-Greek and Iranian states. Japan is in the Yayoi period.

The Olmec civilization declines, and the Maya and Zapotec civilizations emerge in Mesoamerica. The Chavín culture flourishes in Peru.

The first millennium BC is the formative period of the classical world religions, with the development of early Judaism and Zoroastrianism in the Near East, and Vedic religion and Vedanta, Jainism and Buddhism in India. Early literature develops in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Tamil and Chinese. The term Axial Age, coined by Karl Jaspers, is intended to express the crucial importance of the period of c. the 8th to 2nd centuries BC in world history.

World population more than doubled over the course of the millennium, from about an estimated 50–100 million to an estimated 170–300 million. Close to 90% of world population at the end of the first millennium BC lived in the Iron Age civilizations of the Old World (Roman Empire, Parthian Empire, Graeco-Indo-Scythian and Hindu kingdoms, Han China). The population of the Americas was below 20 million, concentrated in Mesoamerica (Epi-Olmec culture); that of Sub-Saharan Africa was likely below 10 million. The population of Oceania was likely less than one million people.

Ancient history

Main article: Ancient history
Further information: Iron Age, Classical Antiquity, and Axial Age
Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 1000 BC.

Timeline

Map of the world in 1 AD, just after the end of the 1st millennium BC.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Further information: Ancient technology
Scythian gold plaque with panther (late 7th century BC)
The Parthenon, Athens (5th century BC)
The Victorious Youth (c. 310 BC), a preserved bronze statue of a Greek athlete in Contrapposto pose
"The Wrestler", an Olmec era statuette, dated roughly 1400–400 BC
Lamassu facing forward. Bas-relief from the king Sargon II's palace at Dur Sharrukin in Assyria (now Khorsabad in Iraq), c. 713–716 BC. From Paul-Émile Botta's excavations in 1843–1844.


Literature

Main article: Ancient literature
Further information: List_of_languages_by_first_written_accounts § First_millennium_BC
Greco-Roman literature
Main articles: Greek literature and Latin literature

Archaic period

Classical period

Hellenistic to Roman period

Chinese literature
Main article: Chinese literature
Sanskrit literature
Main article: Sanskrit literature
Hebrew
Main articles: Ancient Hebrew writings and Hebrew Bible
Avestan
Other (2nd to 1st century BC)

Archaeology

Further information: Iron Age and Pre-Columbian Americas
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Related topics
↓ Ancient history

Astronomy

Further information: List of solar eclipses in antiquity
Historical solar eclipses

Centuries and decades

10th century BC990s BC980s BC970s BC960s BC950s BC940s BC930s BC920s BC910s BC900s BC
9th century BC890s BC880s BC870s BC860s BC850s BC840s BC830s BC820s BC810s BC800s BC
8th century BC790s BC780s BC770s BC760s BC750s BC740s BC730s BC720s BC710s BC700s BC
7th century BC690s BC680s BC670s BC660s BC650s BC640s BC630s BC620s BC610s BC600s BC
6th century BC590s BC580s BC570s BC560s BC550s BC540s BC530s BC520s BC510s BC500s BC
5th century BC490s BC480s BC470s BC460s BC450s BC440s BC430s BC420s BC410s BC400s BC
4th century BC390s BC380s BC370s BC360s BC350s BC340s BC330s BC320s BC310s BC300s BC
3rd century BC290s BC280s BC270s BC260s BC250s BC240s BC230s BC220s BC210s BC200s BC
2nd century BC190s BC180s BC170s BC160s BC150s BC140s BC130s BC120s BC110s BC100s BC
1st century BC90s BC80s BC70s BC60s BC50s BC40s BC30s BC20s BC10s BC0s BC

References

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