Classical Antiquity is a narrative of notable events from 909 BCE to CE 244. (5649 records)

We begin in the easternmost subregions and move westwardly around the globe, crossing the equator as many as six times to explore ever shorter time periods as we continue to circle the planet. The maps of the regions and subregions change to reflect the appropriate time period.

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The first settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west about five thousand years ago.

Pottery art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500–1000 BCE, although the question of Pacific migration still lingers.

Lapita pottery shards have been found at numerous excavations around the country.

It is believed that the Lapita people or the ancestors of the Polynesians settled the islands first but not much is known of what became of them after the Melanesians arrived; they may have had some influence on the new culture, and archaeological evidence shows that they would have then moved on to Tonga, Samoa and even Hawai'i.

Aspects of Fijian culture are similar to Melanesian culture to the western Pacific but have stronger connection to the older Polynesian cultures such as those of Samoa and Tonga.

Trade between these three nations long before European contact is quite obvious with canoes made from native Fijian trees found in Tonga and Tongan words being part of the language of the Lau group of islands.

Pots made in Fiji have been found in Samoa and even the Marquesas Islands.

Maritime East Asia (909–766 BCE): Fragmentation and Eastern Zhou Transition

Between 909 BCE and 766 BCE, Maritime East Asia—comprising lower Primorsky Krai, the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Archipelago below northern Hokkaido, Taiwan, and southern, central, and northeastern China—experiences critical transitions marked by the decline of centralized authority under the Zhou Dynasty and the emergence of increased regional autonomy.

Proto-Feudalism and Its Erosion

The early decentralized governance structure of the Zhou dynasty, often termed proto-feudal, begins to unravel significantly during this age. Initially reliant on familial and tribal affiliations, the Zhou's control weakens as local hereditary nobles, ruling extensive autonomous fiefdoms, gain increased independence from central oversight. Although the Zhou kings still maintain nominal authority from their capital (Luoyang), their practical influence diminishes substantially.

Regular assemblies, attended by prominent feudal princes—later identified as the twelve princes—convene to deliberate on collective military campaigns and resolve governance issues. Periodically, one prince is elevated as hegemon, temporarily leading the allied forces of these increasingly autonomous states. Despite these attempts at unified leadership, the feudal bonds continually erode, setting the stage for heightened fragmentation.

Collapse of Western Zhou and Establishment of Eastern Zhou

This period reaches a critical juncture in 770 BCE when internal court strife leads to catastrophic external invasion. The last Western Zhou king provokes conflict by replacing his queen with a concubine, prompting the queen's powerful father to align with the Quanrong barbarians. The subsequent sacking of the Zhou capital (Haojing) results in the death of the king and the dispersal of Zhou nobility eastward.

Surviving nobles relocate to the old eastern capital of Chengzhou, near modern-day Luoyang, marking the formal commencement of the Eastern Zhou period. This relocation symbolizes the definitive shift from centralized royal power to decentralized regional authority, profoundly reshaping China's political landscape.

Development of Institutional Structures

As central authority diminishes, regional governance structures evolve toward greater institutionalization. This era sees the establishment of increasingly bureaucratic mechanisms, particularly evident in taxation and agricultural management. These developments represent a marked transition from personalized tribal allegiances toward more formal and impersonal institutions, characteristic of the later Spring and Autumn Period.

Cultural Continuity and Ritual Stability

Despite political fragmentation, the cultural and social frameworks established by the early Zhou remain resilient. Ritual practices, ancestor worship, and divination persist, providing societal stability and continuity amid political upheaval. The complex social code (li) endures, regulating etiquette, hierarchical relations, and the chivalric conduct of elites. Artistic achievements, particularly sophisticated bronze metallurgy, continue to thrive, underscoring the enduring cultural vitality of the Zhou tradition.

Legacy of the Age: Setting the Stage for Widespread Fragmentation

Thus, the age from 909 to 766 BCE significantly shapes the historical trajectory of Maritime East Asia, marking a critical era of fragmentation and the establishment of new political realities. The decentralization of Zhou authority and the inception of the Eastern Zhou period lay critical foundations for the dynamic and competitive landscape of the subsequent Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

The term feudal has often been applied to the Zhou period because the Zhou's early decentralized rule invites comparison with medieval rule in Europe.

At most, however, the early Zhou system is proto-feudal, being a more sophisticated version of earlier tribal organization, in which effective control depends more on familial ties than on feudal legal bonds.

Whatever feudal elements there may have been decreased as time has passed.

The Zhou amalgam of city-states becomes progressively centralized and establish increasingly impersonal political and economic institutions.

These developments, which probably occur in the latter Zhou period, are manifested in greater central control over local governments and a more routinized agricultural taxation.

The Zhou dynasty kings hold nominal power over a small Royal Domain, centered on their capital (modern Luoyang), and grant fiefdoms over the rest of China to several hundreds of hereditary nobles, descendants of members of the Zhou clan, close associates of the founders of the dynasty, or local potentates.

The most important feudal princes (known later as the twelve princes) meet during regular conferences, where important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or offending nobles are decided.

During these conferences, one prince will sometimes be declared hegemon and assume the leadership over the armies of all feudal states.

At this time, the control Zhou kings exert over feudal princes is greatly reduced, and the feudal system crumbles, leading to the so-called Spring and Autumn Period in Chinese history.

The Zhou Dynasty, the political and military control of China by the Ji family, began in the eleventh century BCE when its founders overthrew the centuries long rule of the Shang dynasty.

Few records survive from this early period and accounts from the Western Zhou period cover little beyond a list of kings with uncertain dates.

When the twelfth and last king of the Western Zhou period replaces his wife with a concubine, the former queen's powerful father joins forces with Quanrong barbarians to sack the western capital of Haojing and kill the king in 770 BCE.

Most of the Zhōu nobles withdraw from the Wei River valley and the capital is reestablished downriver at the old eastern capital of Chengzhou near modern-day Luoyang.

This is the start of the Eastern Zhou period.

Central Asia (909–766 BCE): The Rise of Nomadic Cultures and Early Iranian Expansion

Between 909 and 766 BCE, Central Asia—including modern Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan—experienced significant shifts, marking the beginning of a long epoch characterized by nomadic migrations, cultural consolidation, and the spread of early Iranian-speaking societies across the region.

Nomadic Emergence and Steppe Societies

This era witnessed the gradual emergence and expansion of powerful nomadic pastoralist cultures on the vast Eurasian steppes, profoundly influencing the settled agrarian communities of Bactria, Sogdiana, and Margiana. Nomadic groups, increasingly adept at horseback riding and metalworking, laid foundations for the distinctive steppe societies that would dominate Central Asia for centuries.

• The vast grasslands of modern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan served as ideal habitats for horse-based nomadic cultures, initiating a pastoral economy centered around horses, cattle, sheep, and goats.

• Increased mobility facilitated extensive interregional contacts, trade, and occasional conflicts between nomadic tribes and sedentary populations in the fertile oasis cities of Margiana (modern Turkmenistan) and Bactria (modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan).

Consolidation of Early Iranian Peoples

During this period, Iranian-speaking groups—descended from earlier Proto-Iranian communities of the late BMAC and Andronovo cultural interaction—continued to consolidate their presence throughout Central Asia, gradually spreading westward and southward from their homeland around the Amu Darya (Oxus River).

• Early Iranian groups further differentiated into distinct tribes and subgroups. While some settled around oasis towns, others maintained nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyles.

• Early migrations and cultural exchanges with neighboring societies, such as the Scythians in the west and the ancestors of Sogdians and Bactrians closer to the Oxus region, set the stage for the flourishing Iranian civilizations in subsequent periods.

Emergence of Scythian-Related Cultures

By the later part of this era (circa 800 BCE onward), the earliest Scythian and related Iranian nomadic cultures began to emerge distinctly on the northern and western fringes of Central Asia, particularly across modern Kazakhstan’s steppe and along the Aral Sea shores.

• Early Scythians displayed sophisticated metalworking and artistic skills, crafting decorative bronze items and distinct weaponry. Their increasing use of iron marked a technological shift and further facilitated dominance over less mobile agricultural societies.

• Initial interactions between Scythians and neighboring settled cultures led to cultural exchanges, influencing material culture, burial practices, and regional trade networks.

Technological and Economic Developments

The period saw significant advances in metallurgy, pottery, and agriculture across Central Asia, indicating growing economic sophistication:

• Ironworking, gradually introduced and adopted during this period, profoundly impacted both nomadic and settled societies, improving tools, weapons, and farming implements.

• Oasis settlements in Margiana and Bactria maintained agricultural prosperity, irrigating fields and cultivating cereals, legumes, and fruit trees. Trade routes linking these oasis cities to surrounding nomadic groups expanded, facilitating regional commerce.

Early Cultural and Religious Practices

Religious and cultural expressions grew more complex, combining elements inherited from earlier Bronze Age civilizations (BMAC) with new beliefs emerging among nomadic societies:

• Iranian-speaking communities began to exhibit early religious and ritualistic traditions that would later evolve into Zoroastrian practices, characterized by fire altars and rituals reflecting the dualistic cosmology of early Iranian spirituality.

• Burial customs, especially kurgan-style mound burials among nomadic tribes, became prominent, containing elaborate grave goods—metal ornaments, pottery, weaponry—demonstrating increasing social stratification and emerging tribal hierarchies.

Long-Term Significance and Historical Legacy

Between 909 and 766 BCE, Central Asia laid critical foundations for future developments:

• The growing dominance of nomadic pastoralists fundamentally reshaped regional demographics, economies, and interactions, profoundly influencing historical trajectories in subsequent centuries.

• Iranian peoples expanded geographically and culturally, establishing roots for later renowned civilizations, including the Scythians, Sogdians, and Bactrians.

• Technological innovations, particularly iron metallurgy and horsemanship, significantly enhanced economic productivity, military capability, and regional connectivity.

By 766 BCE, Central Asia had firmly entered an era of increasing nomadic influence, cultural synthesis, and technological advancement, poised for the dynamic historical transformations of the centuries ahead.

The Tajiks of Central and South Asia, an Iranian people, speaking a variety of Persian, trace their ancestry to the Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, and Parthians.

The Tajiks are concentrated in the Oxus Basin, the Farḡāna valley (Tajikistan and parts of Uzbekistan) and on both banks of the upper Oxus, i.e., the Pamir Mountains (Mountain Badaḵšān, in Tajikistan) and northeastern Afghanistan (Badaḵšān).

The Persian migration to Central Asia may be considered the beginning of the modern Tajik nation according to Richard Nelson Frye, a leading historian of Iranian and Central Asian history, and ethnic Persians, along with some elements of East-Iranian Bactrians and Sogdians, as the main ancestors of modern Tajiks.

East Europe (909–766 BCE): Chernoles Culture, Scythian Emergence, and Proto-Slavic Foundations

Between 909 and 766 BCE, East Europe—encompassing the territories of modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, and the European part of Russia—witnessed significant cultural and demographic transformations, marked especially by the prominence of the Chernoles culture and the early phases of Scythian dominance.

Political and Cultural Developments

Chernoles Culture and Proto-Slavic Identity

• The Chernoles culture (circa 1050–500 BCE), flourishing primarily between the Dniester and Dnieper Rivers, characterized this era. It represented settled agriculturalists whose way of life contrasted with neighboring nomadic peoples.

• Some scholars, including Maria Gimbutas, propose this culture as the early homeland of the proto-Slavs, seeing them as the ancestors of later Slavic-speaking peoples. Others prefer a more cautious interpretation, viewing the culture as a key developmental stage without assigning direct ethnic labels.

Emergence and Influence of Scythians

• This period also witnessed the initial emergence of nomadic peoples, commonly identified as early Scythians. Originating from Central Asia, they entered the Pontic steppe regions north of the Black Sea, beginning to exert pressure on established agricultural communities such as those associated with the Chernoles culture.

• Herodotus’s reference to "Scythian plowmen" corresponds geographically and culturally to populations within the Chernoles region, suggesting an early, nuanced relationship between nomadic Scythian warriors and settled agricultural peoples, possibly involving tributary or client relationships.

Uralic and Proto-Hungarian Migrations

• Around 1000 BCE, Uralic-speaking peoples, including the ancestors of the Hungarians, had begun migrating southwest from territories west of the Ural Mountains into regions that border modern East Europe. The proto-Hungarians gradually shifted from hunting and fishing toward nomadic cattle-herding.

Economic and Social Transformations

• The Chernoles communities relied predominantly on settled agriculture, cultivating grains and maintaining livestock. They constructed fortified settlements, indicating a social structure with emerging hierarchies and defensive concerns.

• By contrast, early Scythian groups were pastoralists, whose economy relied heavily on cattle, sheep, and horses, setting the stage for the region’s characteristic duality between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturalists.

Technological and Artistic Developments

• Iron metallurgy expanded during this period, enhancing agricultural tools and weaponry. The Chernoles people contributed significantly to regional technological developments, refining iron implements that would become central to Eastern European agrarian life.

• Early Scythian artistic expressions emerged, evident in burial practices and artifacts such as decorative horse trappings and weaponry, foreshadowing the rich artistic tradition known as the "Scythian animal style."

Long-Term Consequences and Historical Significance

The age from 909 to 766 BCE established foundational patterns in East Europe. The contrast between settled, proto-Slavic agricultural communities (Chernoles culture) and emerging nomadic, pastoral groups (Scythians) defined regional dynamics, influencing the cultural and demographic landscape for centuries to come. The early migration of Uralic-speaking proto-Hungarians into adjacent territories added further diversity, significantly shaping the ethnic and cultural complexity characteristic of later periods. These interactions and migrations laid crucial groundwork for the subsequent historical trajectory of East Europe.

East Central Europe (909–766 BCE): Late Bronze Age Flourishing and Early Iron Age Transformations

Between 909 and 766 BCE, East Central Europe—encompassing Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, and those portions of Germany and Austria lying east of 10°E and north of a line stretching from roughly 48.2°N at 10°E southeastward to the Austro-Slovenian border near 46.7°N, 15.4°E—experienced critical transitions from Late Bronze Age societies toward early Iron Age developments. This period saw significant cultural diversification, technological innovations, fortified settlements, intensified regional trade, and the first appearance of ironworking, laying essential foundations for subsequent historical developments.

Political and Social Developments

Growth of Social Complexity

Social structures became increasingly stratified, reflected by elaborate burial practices and the expansion of fortified settlements and hillforts. Prominent groups such as the Urnfield Culture (ca. 1300–750 BCE) dominated the region, characterized by cremation burial practices, suggesting complex religious beliefs and organized social hierarchies.

Emergence of Local Chiefdoms

Settlements evolved toward early chiefdoms, evidenced by fortifications and high-status burials containing prestige items (weapons, jewelry, bronze artifacts). Regional elites consolidated power, controlling key resources, trade routes, and economic exchanges.

Economic and Technological Developments

Late Bronze Age Economic Prosperity

Bronze metallurgy reached its peak, facilitating advanced tools, weapons, and decorative objects. Expanded regional trade routes linked the Baltic amber trade to Mediterranean networks, significantly enriching local elites and fueling economic integration.

Emergence of Iron Technology

By the later part of this age (around 800–750 BCE), ironworking gradually emerged, profoundly reshaping technological possibilities. Iron’s availability and strength allowed for improved agricultural tools, weaponry, and production methods, eventually transforming local economies and military capabilities.

Cultural and Artistic Developments

Expansion of the Urnfield Culture

The Urnfield Culture's widespread distribution across East Central Europe led to remarkable cultural uniformity yet also regional variations. Characterized by cremation burials in pottery vessels ("urnfields"), these practices underscored shared religious beliefs and social cohesion across wide areas.

Artistic Innovation and Symbolism

Artistic expression flourished through decorated ceramics, bronze ornaments, and weaponry, highlighting advanced metalworking skills and complex symbolism tied to religious rituals and social hierarchy. Items such as bronze axes, swords, and ceremonial objects exemplified technical sophistication and cultural symbolism.

Settlement and Urban Development

Fortified Hilltop Settlements

Settlements increasingly moved to strategic locations (hilltops and river confluences), becoming fortified centers for trade, defense, and administration. Fortifications indicated intensified competition, increased warfare risks, and complex sociopolitical dynamics.

Early Urbanization Patterns

Settlement complexity increased significantly, with larger communities becoming early forms of urban centers. Population growth, specialization, and trade encouraged greater organizational sophistication, shaping regional urban patterns.

Long-Term Consequences and Historical Significance

The age from 909 to 766 BCE marked a critical turning point for East Central Europe. The culmination of the Late Bronze Age and the early introduction of iron technology significantly reshaped economic, political, and social structures. The flourishing Urnfield Culture promoted regional cohesion yet encouraged local diversification, laying critical foundations for subsequent Iron Age developments. Expanded regional trade and intensified social stratification established enduring patterns influencing later historical trajectories, profoundly impacting future cultural, technological, and political dynamics across the region.