The Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament give a rough estimate of the passage of time and thus allows us to create a general chronological calibration to biblical history by means of various genealogies, reign-periods, and other means.  The biblical chronology largely uses numbers which were significant to the authors: the basic numbers are 12, 40 (a “generation”), and 480 (12 generations of 40 years); other significant numbers include 10, 20, 60, and 100.  Other non-biblical historic dates are generally accepted dates but may be approximates or traditional.  This is particularly true of the events before Greece and Rome, but even with Greece and Rome, the early years may be in doubt.

 

Event

Years after creation

Year BCE

* not biblical
Creation of Adam 0 3924 BCE
Seth, son of Adam and Eve, born 130 3794 BCE
Death of Adam 930 2994 BCE
Noah born (son of Lamech) 1056 2868 BCE
Building of the great pyramid 1364 2560 BCE *
Great flood begins 1656 2268 BCE
Noah and his family exit the ark 1657 2267 BCE
Birth of Abram 1948 1976 BCE
Promise to Abraham 2018 1906 BCE
Birth of Isaac 2048 1876 BCE
Jacob born (son of Isaac) 2108 1816 BCE
Joseph born (son of Jacob) 2199 1725 BCE
Descent into Egypt 2238 1686 BCE
Moses born 2368 1557 BCE
Exodus from Egypt 2448 1476 BCE
Moses dies 2487 1437 BCE
Israelites enter Canaan 2488 1436 BCE
David born 2853 1071 BCE
David begins reign as King 2883 1041 BCE
Solomon (son of David) begins reign as king of Israel 2923 1001 BCE
Foundation of Solomon’s Temple 2928 997 BCE
Start of the ancient Olympics 3148 776 BCE *
Destruction of Solomon’s Temple 3338 587 BCE
Gautama Buddha born 3361 563 BCE *
Babylonian empire falls to Persians (King Cyrus) 3386 539 BCE
Return from exile 3390 535 BCE
Battle of Leuctra – Sparta defeated 3553 371 BCE *
Construction of Great Wall of China begins 3703 221 BCE *
Julius Caesar invades Britain 3869 55 BCE *
Birth of John the Baptist 3918 6 BCE
Birth of Jesus 3919 5 BCE
Boy Jesus at the Temple 3932 8 AD
German tribes destroy 3 Roman legions 3933 9 AD *
Baptism of Jesus 3950 26 AD
Temptation of Jesus 3951 27 AD
Jesus calls his first disciples 3951 27 AD
Sermon on the Mount 3951 27 AD
Jesus ministers in Galilee 3952 28 AD
John the Baptist beheaded 3953 29 AD
Jesus feeds 5,000 people 3953 29 AD
Peter’s confession of Christ 3953 29 AD
Final journey to Jerusalem 3954 30 AD
Jesus trial and crucifixion 3954 30 AD
Peter led from prison by angel 3966 42 AD
Paul returns to Jerusalem 3983 59 AD
Rome burns (while Nero fiddles) 3988 64 AD *
Mount Vesuvius erupts 4003 79 AD *
John’s revelation on Patmos 4019 95 AD
Decree of Milan legalizes Christianity in Roman Empire 4237 313 AD *
“Middle Ages” era begins 4324 400 AD *
Western Roman Empire ends 4400 476 AD *
Death of Muhammad 4556 632 AD *
Muslims invade Sicily 4751 827 AD *
Vikings invade Paris 4809 885 AD *
Eric the Red exiled from Iceland, Greenland colonized 4909 985 AD *
Construction of Tower of London begins 5001 1077 AD *
Jerusalem is retaken from the Muslims 5023 1099 AD *
University of Oxford founded in UK 5041 1117 AD *
First record of Windmills 5109 1185 AD *
Third Crusade begins – Muslims recapture Jerusalem 5113 1189 AD *
Genghis Khan dies 5151 1227 AD *
Ottoman Empire founded 5223 1299 AD *
Knights Templar murdered by Philip the Fair of France 5231 1307 AD *
Bible translated to English by John Wycliffe 5305 1381 AD *
Gutenberg invents printing press 5363 1439 AD *
Christopher Columbus reaches the New World 5416 1492 AD *
“Early Modern History” age begins 5424 1500 AD *
“Modern History” era begins 5824 1900 AD *
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