AP World History: Modern time line

AP World History: Modern timeline, 1200-present

Article purpose:

• timeline via sortable chart columns
• associate time, place, theme and make connections

Units 1-2, 1200 to 1450

Dates	Place/Empire	Region	Place	Theme 1	Theme 2	Main Ideas/ Notes	Other
750-1258	Abbasid Caliphate 3rd caliphate capital Baghdad	West Asia & North Africa	MidEast	religion	Islam	Dar al-Islam, Pax Islamica "caliph" = official Islamic religious and political ruler by end of 9th century, was a fragmented empire with centrally-ruled and allied, autonomous rulers Baghdad remained the "ritualized court" for Sunni Islam in opposition to Shia Islam subjected to Persian, Seljuk & other Turkic invasions final collapse from Mongol invasion	Click expand to view map Dar al-Islam in the 10th century (click on image to enlarge): The lands and cities of the Dar al-Islam in the 10th century, according to the geographer al-Muqaddasi
960-1279	Song Dynasty	China
1095-1492	Crusades	Europe		religion
1173-1206	Ghurid dynasty Persian Tajiks who converted to Islam and introduced it to northern India established Islamic capital at the ancient city, Dehli, India	South Asia	Persia, India	cultural diffusion	Islam	Hindu hegemony over South Asia directly challenged by the Ghurid dynasty, which brought Islam to India transferred Persian culture to northern India, including literature and architecture	Ghurs were Tajik (Persian ethnic) tribes, likely from central Afghanistan, who, with other Turkic tribes frequently raided western and northern India the Ghurs fell under the Islamic Turkic rule over Persia, Afghanistan and northern India the Ghurs then established their own rule over Persia and expanded eastward across northern India
1206-1526	Delhi Sultanate series of Muslim dynasties that ruled south Asia started as Turkic rule but transformed into Indo-Muslim rule established Islamic culture in India	South Asia		cultural diffusion	Islam	"sultan" = Arabic for "he who rules"; originally was not a hereditary title established by a Ghurid general, a Turkish slave who became a military leader (a "Mamluk" = non-Arab slave given military and administrative duties) at peak controlled most of the subcontinent weakened by Tamerlane (Mongol) invasion of 1398; he plundered Dehli and then left the subcontinent Sultanate rule was further challenged by 14th century Hindu reconquests of southern India 1526 = Mughal conquest ended the Sultanate, which by then was reduced to its original territorial rule in northern India	Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290) Muslim rulers tolerated but looked down upon local religions concerned with administration, prestige and wealth more than with religious suppression, although the Sultanate conquest included destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples and libraries, as well as sacking, massacre and sometimes total destruction the Delhi Sultanate oversaw migration wave of West Asian Muslims fleeing Mongol invasions and spread of Islam, especially at the expense Buddhist culture in Bengal (eastern portion of subcontinent) was one of the few Eurasian powers to repel Mongol invasions
1206-1277	Genghis Khan	Asia	Mongols
1215	Magna Carta	Europe	England
1258	Abbasid Caliphate ends	West Asia		empire		Mongol army conquered Bagdhad and killed the rule, officially ending the Abbasid Caliphate
1271-1285	Mongol invasion of Japan fails
1260	Mongol Empire divided into 4 khanates: Yuan Dynasty (east Asia) Golden Horde (northwest ) Ilkhanate (southwest) Chagatai (central)	Asia	Mongols	empire		succession disputes arose among grandchildren of Genghis Khan over direction of Mongol rule as integrated into conquered areas or maintaining traditional steppe / nomadic identity although Kublai Khan became emperor in 1260, he was nominal and not actual ("emperor in name only"). and each khanate was largely autonomous	click expand for political map of Asia in 1335 showing Mongol Khanates before further disintegration of Mongol Empire Asia in 1335. Mongol states are Golden Horde, Ilkhanate, Chagatai Khanate & Yuan Dynasty
1271-1295	Marco Polo's travels
1260-1350	Pax Mongolia
1279	peak of Mongol Empire
1279-1368	Yuan Dynasty in China (Mongol rule)
1282	introduction of water-powered paper-mill "	China		technology
1299-1923	Ottoman Empire
1400-1600	Italian Renaissance
1324	Mansa Musa pilgrimage to Mecca
1325	Tenochitlan founded
1325-1354	Ibn Battuta's travels
1336-1572	Vijayanagara Empire Hindu empire in southern India stopped Islamic spread to southern India by defeating the Deccan sultanates	South Asia	India	cultural diffusion	religion	was slow to adopt cannon and other modern military technologies fell to the sultanates when they combined and defeated the Vijayanagara army in 1565 the capital was moved and the empire divided in 1572	Vijayanagara, the capital city, was famed for wealth and learning in 1500 was the 2nd largest city in the word (after Beijing) w/ c. 500,000 became a source of fascination to Europeans in 15th-16th centuries the capital was sacked in 1565 by the Muslim Deccan sultanates and abandoned
1346	Black Death in China
1347-1388	Black Death in Europe
1351-1368	Red Turban Rebellion
1353	gunpower perfected in Germany	Europe	China	technology	cultural diffusion	with improved metalworking, increased firing range and durability over early Chinese and Middle Eastern guns Europeans acquired gunpowder via Silk Road exchange with the Mongol Empire printing and paper technologies were also transmitted over the Silk Road	gunpowder was invented in 9th century in China, called "fire medicine" had limited use under Song Dynasty as "incendiary projectiles" but not adapted for common military use and not for cannon or guns Medieval Islam acquired recipes which included saltpeter, which they called "Chinese snow"; having already employed naptha (petroleum-based) as an incendiary Mongol warfare included use of gunpowder, especially in conquest of China, and possibly in attacks on Europe, which may have been part of its introduction to Europe see Gunpowder empires for Islamic empires that made extensive use of muskets and cannon Europeans applied it to small arms and cannon, and it was instrumental in bringing an end to calvary supremacy of European knights (see the Thirty Years War) European gunpowder was brought to China by the Portuguese in the 15th century
1368-1644	Ming Dynasty
1399-early 1400s	Timurid relations with Europe	Europe, West Asia	Mongols	globalism	cultural diffusion	1399-1400, Turco-Mongol emperor Tamerlane defeated the Ottomans in Syria he sought alliances with European monarchs to oppose the Ottomans each side exchanged diplomats, gifts and information	was concurrent (same time as) to Ming dynasty overseas expeditions similar to Franco-Mongol alliance of the early 13th century, which was designed to oppose Ottoman expansion
1405-1433	Zheng He's treasure voyages
1428-1521	Aztec Empire
1438-1533	Inca Empire
1440	Swahili city-states
1440	Guteneberg invents printing press
1400s	Portuguese caravel developed
1441	Atlantic slave trade in Atlantic islands

Units 3-4, 1450-1750

Dates	Place/Empire	Region	Place	Theme 1	Theme 2	Main Ideas/ Notes	Other
1450	Fra Mauro map	Europe	World	exploration	globalism	1st European modern world map, created by Venetian monk, Niccolò de Conti in 1450 (took several years to make; he had traveled to ) the map indicated a sea route between Europe and India around Africa considered the first European map to be non-religious in nature or focus it did not place Jerusalem at the longitudinal center, and it removed the Garden of Eden from the world map (which was traditionally located on the world map to the east)	Click expand to view map of the Fra Mauro Map (click on image to enlarge): The Fra Mauro Map of the world. The map depicts Asia, Africa and Europe, with south to the top (standard for Muslim world maps). The map is considered highly accurate and the first modern map of the world, even though not correctly depicting all of Africa (or the PaciiAmericas)
1453	Ottoman conquest of Constantinople & collapse of Byzantine empire	Europe		empire
1453-1736	Gunpowder empires Islamic empires built / expanded on use of gunpowder, especially muskets and cannon Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal empires the Ottomans were the first to adopt the technology & used it most effectively	South Asia	West Asia	technology	economy	used gunpowder in guns and cannon to great effect over existing technologies and strategies (broke walls, reduced effectiveness of war elephants, etc.) Gunpowder empires created stable economies and administrative states engaged in cultural patronage (cosmopolitan)	Click expand to view map of the Gunpowder Empires (click on image to enlarge): Islamic Gunpowder Empires
1450s-1480s	Russia overthrows Mongol rule in Moscow
1464-1591	Songhai Empire
1469	Sikhism begins
1492	Reconquista of Spain completed
1492	Columbus's 1st voyage to Americas
1498	Vasco da Gama reaches India
1501-1722	Safavid Empire
1534	African slaves trade to Americas starts
1509-1543	Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso I) rules Kongo Empire
1517	Martin Luther's 95 Theses
1519-1521	Magellan voyage around the world
1526-1748	Mughal Empire Babur, warrior chief from Uzbekistan used firearms to conquer upper India expanded under constant warfare as form of government Akbar established imperial structure that lasted until 1720; imposed agriculture tax via which monetized peasant economy fell to Maratha Empire (confederacy of Hindu states)	South Asia		India	religion	use of firearms (guns and cannon) coinage
1534	France claims St. Lawrence riverway (Quebec colony)
1543	Copernicus / heliocentric universe
1545	Potosi mine opened in Bolivia
1550-1700	Scientific Revolution
1552	Russian Empire begins
1556-1605	Akbar the Great of the Mughal Empire
1571	Manila founded by Spanish
1595	Dutch "Fluyt" cargo ship introduced
1600	English East India Company founded (later renamed "British East India Co.)	England	trade	colonialization	India	formed for Indian Ocean trade joint-stock company seized control of the Indian subcontinent had a private army 260,000 soldiers (double size of British army) produced half of the word's trade revenue during the mid-1700s to early 1800s Britain took over in 1858 and assumed direct control of India as a colony
1600-1826	Tokugawa shogunate
1602	Dutch East India Company founded
1607	Britain begins colonizing the Americas with Jamestown
1623-1641	Tokugawa Iemitsu rules Japan
1632	Taj Mahal built
1643-1715	Louis XIV rules France
1652	Boers colonize South Africa
1674-1818	Maratha Empire or Confederacy Hindu reconquest of the subcontinent	South Asia	religion	India		Hindu empire from the Western Deccan plateau sought to establish "self-rule of Hindus" ("hindavi swaajya") ended the Mughal Empire and ruled most of India until falling to the British East India Company	click Expand for maps of European colonization of Africa Maratha Empire, as of 1760
1687	Newton publishes Principia
1682-1725	Peter the Great westernized Russia on Enlightenment ideals and customs (imposed a "beard tax" to force Russians to shave; instituted the Julian calendar) imposed compulsory education for nobles and built universities	Eurasia	Russia	cultural diffusion		reorganized medieval political structures to modern state, including to abolish the Duma (assembly of local lords) and replacing it with a senate built new capital, St. Petersburg built the Imperial Navy warred with Swedes for control of the Baltic Sea, the Ottomans for control of the Black Sea, and the Safavids (Persian) for control of the Caspian Sea
1688-1911/12	Qing (Manchu) Empire
1689	Glorious Revolution in England
1698	Early steam engine invented
The Enlightenment

Units 5-6, 1750 to 1900

Dates	Place/Empire	Region	Place	Theme 1	Theme 2	Main Ideas/ Notes	Other
1756-1763	Seven Years' War
1757	Battle of Plassey in India
1760-1789	First Industrial Revolution
1765-1783	American Revolution
1776	Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith published
1776	Declaration of Independence
1789-1795	French Revolution
1791-1804	Haitian Revolution
1792	Mary Wollstonecraft' "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"
1793	Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin
1799-1815	Napoleonic period
1806-1826	Latin American revolutions/ Bolivar
1815	Congress of Vienna
1839-1860	Opium Wars
1839-1876	Ottoman Tanzimat reforms
1845-1849	Irish potato famine
1848	Communist Manifesto published
1848	Seneca Falls Convention
1850-1864	Taiping Rebellion
1854	Commodore Perry opens Japan
1857	Sepoy Rebellion
1859-1869	Suez Canal built			globalism	colonialism
1861	emancipation of Russian serfs
1863	Emancipation Proclamation in U.S.
1865-1909	King Leopold rule of Congo
1868	Meiji Restoration in Japan
1870-1914	Second Industrial Revolution
1871	Germany unified under Otto von Bismarck
1885	Berlin Conference & the "scramble for Africa	Africa	Europe	colonization	globalism	called "New Imperialism", 1881-1914 the only African countries to avoid colonization during this time were Liberia & Ethiopia by 1870, most European holdings in Africa were coastal (occupying 10% of land) industrialization and transportation advances incentivized European search for raw materials and new markets primary British motive was control of ports for trade with India	click Expand for maps of European colonization of Africa Areas of Africa controlled by European colonial powers in 1913 (Belgian (yellow), British (red), French (blue), German (turquoise), Italian (green), Portuguese (purple), and Spanish (pink) Empires). Only Liberia and Ethiopia remainded independent (white) European colonization of Africa, 1880 and 1913 comparison
1890s	European spheres of influence in China
1896	Battle of Adowa (Ethiopia)
1898	Spanish-American War
1899	Boer War
1899	United Fruit Company formed
1899-1901	Boxer Rebellion

Units 7-9, 1900 to Present

Dates	Place/Empire	Region	Place	Theme 1	Theme 2	Main Ideas/ Notes	Other
1904	U.S. starts Panama Canal	Americas	Panama	globalism	colonialism	a French attempt to build a canal across the Isthmus failed US assisted a Panamanian revolt against Columbia by sending a warship to the harbor the new government granted the US rights to build the canal completed in 1914
1904-1905	Russo-Japanese War
1906	Muslim League founded
1910-1920	Mexican Revolution
1914-1918	World War I
1915-1917	Armenian genocide
1917	Russian revolution
1917	Zimmerman telegram & US entry to WWI
1920	League of Nations established
1922	Stalin assumes Soviet leadership
1922	Ottoman empire ends
1923	Turkey established
1927-1936	Chinese Civil War
1929-1939	worldwide economic depressions					hyper-inflation in Germany Great Depression, New Deal in US (1933-39)
1931	Japanese invasion of Manchuria
1936-1938	Great Purge in USSR
1939-1945	World War II
1941	Pearl Harbor attack
1941-1945	Holocaust
1941-1953	Stalin total rule
1943-1949	Greek civil war
1943-1978	Green Revolution
1945-1950	Chinese Communist Revolution
1945	atomic bombs dropped
1946	Philippine independence
1947	Partition of India
1947	Japanese Empire formally ended
1947	Truman Doctrine
1947-1990	Cold War
1948	Israel founded
1949	NATO established
1950-1953	Korean War
1953-1959	Cuban Revolution
1955	Warsaw Pact founded
1955	Bandung Conference
1955	Polio vaccine introduced
1955-1975	Vietnam War
1956	Khrushchev takes power
1958-1962	Great Leap Forward/ Cultural Revolution
1960	"Year of Africa"
1961	President Eisenhower warns of "military-industrial complex"
1962	Cuban Missile Crisis
1966-1976	Cultural Revolution
1973-1990	Pinochet coup
1977-1989	Deng Xiaoping assumes power
1979	Iranian Revolution
1989	Tiananmen Square protests
1989	fall of the Berlin Wall
1990	collapse of USSR
1990	Apartheid ended
1991	Gulf War
1994	Rwandan genocide
2001	Sept 11 attacks
2003+	War on Terrorism
2011	Arab Spring