History Timeline

The First Civilizations

The first civilizations arose in fertile river valleys, where farming, cities, writing and governance transformed human societies and laid the foundations of the ancient world.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

The Celtic World Before Rome

Celtic tribes spanned Europe, shaping culture, conflict, and a lasting legacy.

The Roman Republic

From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.

The Roman Empire

From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.

The Fall of Rome to Early Medieval Europe

From the arrival of Gothic peoples at the Danube to the crowning of Charlemagne, this story traces how the Western Roman Empire fragmented into successor kingdoms and how a new medieval world took shape.

The Anglo-Saxons

The Rise of the Medieval Church

From the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Avignon papacy, this story traces how the Christian Church built its authority through bishops, monasteries, missions, reform, and direct confrontation with Europe's rulers.

The Viking Age

From raiders to traders, Vikings built kingdoms and networks that reshaped Europe and beyond.

Feudalism and Medieval Society

From the estates of Charlemagne's empire to the flowering of Gothic cathedrals, this story explores how feudal hierarchies, manorial agriculture, and Church authority shaped the lives of kings, knights, and peasants alike.

Kievan Rus

The founding of the Rus’ state in the north.

The Norman Conquest

From Viking settlers to conquerors, the Normans reshaped England, Italy, and the medieval Mediterranean.

The Aztec Empire

From migrants to empire, the Aztecs built a powerful civilisation before collapsing after Spanish conquest.

The Age of Exploration

An era of exploration and empire linking continents through trade, conquest, and cultural exchange.

The Tudor Dynasty

The Tudors strengthened royal power, drove religious change, and shaped early modern England.

The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution transformed how humans understand the world, replacing tradition with observation, experimentation and mathematical laws that still shape modern science.

The English Reformation

Henry VIII’s break with Rome reshaped religion, politics, and identity through decades of upheaval.

The Elizabethan Age

Elizabeth I’s reign brought stability, cultural flourishing, exploration, and victory over the Spanish Armada.

The English Civil War

Civil war between king and Parliament led to regicide, a republic, and lasting constitutional change.

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain and spread globally, transforming economies, societies and everyday life through machines, factories and new energy sources.

The American Revolution and Early Republic

From colonial tensions to independence, this traces the birth and early struggles of the United States of America.

The American Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery

The American Civil War determined the survival of the Union and led to the abolition of slavery, fundamentally reshaping the United States.

The Causes of World War 1

From the unification of Germany to the assassination at Sarajevo, this story traces the long fuses that ignited the First World War.

The Anglo Boer Conflict

A war between Britain and Boer republics that exposed imperial costs and reshaped South Africa.

The First World War

World War I reshaped empires, borders, and societies, setting the stage for World War II.

The Soviets

From revolution to superpower, the Soviet Union rose, struggled internally, and collapsed in 1991.

The End of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles

From the armistice of November 1918 to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, this story traces how the peace settlement shaped the next two decades of world history.

The Rise of Adolf Hitler

From the ashes of World War I to the Night of the Long Knives, this story traces the political rise of Adolf Hitler and the collapse of the Weimar Republic.

Weimar Republic

A fragile democracy marked by crisis and innovation, whose collapse paved the way for Nazi rule.

Nazi Germany

From Weimar collapse to WWII, Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian rule, expansion, and genocide.

The Second World War

From fragile peace to global war, WWII reshaped the world through conflict, genocide, and new power orders.

Origins of the Cold War

From the Grand Alliance to the Truman Doctrine, this story traces how the United States and Soviet Union shifted from wartime cooperation to global confrontation.

The Cold War

Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.

The Kim Dynasty

North Korea’s Kim dynasty built a nuclear-armed regime, maintaining power through crises and control.

The Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia fractured through crisis, nationalism, and war, collapsing violently in the 1990s.

The Korean War

A Cold War conflict that divided Korea, ending in stalemate and a lasting unresolved border.

The Vietnam War

From decolonisation to Cold War conflict, the Vietnam War reshaped Southeast Asia and global politics.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

From the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba to the secret deal that ended the standoff, this story examines the most dangerous confrontation of the Cold War.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

From Gorbachev’s reforms to the lowering of the Soviet flag over the Kremlin, this story traces the rapid unravelling of the USSR and the end of the Cold War.

The World After The Cold War

From the fall of the Soviet Union to the rise of China and global terrorism, this story traces the turbulent reshaping of the international order after 1991.