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1st millennium BC facts for kids

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Millennia: 2nd millennium BC · 1st millennium BC · 1st millennium AD
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World in 500 BCE
Overview map of the world in the mid 1st millennium BC, color-coded by cultural stage:      Palaeolithic or Mesolithic hunter-gatherers      nomadic pastoralists      simple farming societies      complex farming societies/chiefdoms      state societies      empires      uninhabited

The 1st millennium BC was the period of time between from the year 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.

Overview

Further information: Ancient history and World 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 Celts 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 blends into the Maurya Empire. The Scythians dominate Central Asia. In China, the Spring and Autumn period sees the rise of Confucianism. 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 Maya civilization rises in Mesoamerica.

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

Timeline

Significant people

Some of the central figures of the Axial Age are legendary or semi-legendary, with no contemporary written records available (e.g. Solomon, Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha etc.)

Rulers
Religion, philosophy, scholarship

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Further information: Ancient technology
Placca pantera, da regione di krasnodar, kurgan chertomlyk, oro a sbalzo e cesellato, fine VII sec ac.
Scythian gold plaque with panther (late 7th century BC)
The Parthenon in Athens
The Parthenon, Athens (5th century BC)
The Wrestler (Olmec) by DeLange
"The Wrestler", an Olmec era statuette, dated roughly 1400–400 BC
Human headed winged bull facing
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

Greco-Roman literature

Archaic period

Classical period

Hellenistic to Roman period

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

Archaeology

Further information: Iron Age
Culture Region Period Notes
Urnfield culture Europe, Central 1300–750 BC Bronze Age Europe
Atlantic Bronze Age Europe, Western 1300–700 BC Bronze Age Europe
Painted Grey Ware culture South Asia 1200–600 BC Bronze Age India, Indo-Aryan migration
Late Nordic Bronze Age Europe, North 1100–550 BC Bronze Age Europe
Villanovan culture Europe, Italy 1100–700 BC Iron Age Europe
Greek Dark Ages Greece 1100–800 BC Dorian invasion
Iron Age II Near East 1000–586 BC Ancient Near East, List of archaeological periods (Levant)
Sa Huỳnh culture Southeast Asia, Vietnam 1000 BC–AD 200
Woodland period North America 1000 BC – AD 1000 List of archaeological periods (North America)
Bantu expansion Sub-Saharan Africa 1000 BC–AD 500
Middle Nok Period Sub-Saharan Africa, West 900–300 BC Iron metallurgy in Africa
Novocherkassk culture Europe, Eastern 900–650 BC
Chavín de Huántar South America, Peru 1200–500 BC
Poverty Point earthworks North America, Louisiana 1650–700 BC
Olmecs Mesoamerica 1500–400 BC
Adena culture North America, Ohio 1000–200 BC
Liaoning bronze dagger culture East Asia 800–600 BC
Middle Mumun East Asia, Korea 800–300 BC
Etruscan civilization Europe, Italy 800–264 BC
Paracas culture South America, Peru 800–100 BC
Hallstatt culture Europe, Central 800 BC–500 BC Iron Age Europe, Thraco-Cimmerian, Celts
British Iron Age Europe, Britain 700–50 BC Insular Celts
Zapotec civilization Mesoamerica 700 BC – AD 700
Pazyryk culture Central Asia 600–300 BC Scythians, Saka, Pazyryk burials
Aldy-Bel culture Central Asia 600–300 BC Scythians, Saka
La Tène culture Europe, Central/Western 500–50 BC Gauls
Pre-Roman Iron Age Europe, North 500–50 BC Proto-Germanic
Northern Black Polished Ware South Asia 500–300 BC Vedic period
Late Mumun East Asia, Korea 550–300 BC
Urewe Sub-Saharan Africa 400 BC–AD 500 Iron metallurgy in Africa
Late Nok Period Sub-Saharan Africa, West 300–1 BC Iron metallurgy in Africa
Nasca culture South America, Peru 100 BC–800 AD
Calima culture South America, Colombia 200 BC–400 AD
Hopewell tradition North America 100 BC–AD 400
Teotihuacan Mesoamerica 100 BC –AD 550
Ipiutak Site North America, Alaska 100 BC –AD 800


Images for kids

  • East-Hem 1000bc

    Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 1000 BC.

  • World in 1 CE

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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: I milenio a. C. para niños

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