Era

Classical

500 BCE – 500 CE

An era of large empires and enduring ideas across Eurasia — Greece and Rome, Persia, Maurya and Han China — linked by routes like the Silk Road. Much of the world's lasting philosophy, religion, and science took shape here.

Snapshot years

500 BCE 400 BCE 323 BCE 300 BCE 200 BCE 100 BCE 1 BCE 100 CE 200 CE 300 CE 400 CE

Featured places & empires

Achaemenid Empire Macedonian Empire Seleucid Empire Ptolemaic Kingdom Roman Republic Roman Empire Western Roman Empire Byzantine Empire Maurya Empire Gupta Empire Han dynasty Kingdom of Aksum Carthage Sasanian Empire Frankish Kingdom Ghana Empire

Other eras

Ancient Medieval Early Modern Modern