Paper is invented in modern-day China
The oldest known archaeological fragments of the immediate precursor to modern paper date to the 2nd century B.C.E. in China.
3rd Century B.C.E.
Humans of Han Dynasty in modern-day China transform calligraphy into art
Calligraphy is considered as one of the four best friends of ancient Chinese literati, along with playing stringed musical instrument, the board game “go,” and painting.
The astrolabe is invented, perhaps by the Appolonius of Perga in Greece
An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers and navigators to measure the inclined position in the sky of a celestial body, day or night.
Thule culture emerges in the Arctic
The Thule Tradition lasted from about 200 B.C.E. to 1600 C.E. around the Bering Strait. The Thule people being the prehistoric ancestors of the Inuit who now live in Northern Labrador.
Liu Beng founds the Han Dynasty in China
Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since.
Masinissa founds the kingdom of Numidia
Numidia (202 B.C.E. – 40 B.C.E., Berber: Inumiden) was an ancient Berber kingdom of the Numidians, located in what is now Algeria and a smaller part of Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco in the Berber world.
The Silk Road is formally established – connecting China, the Middle East, and other ancient civilizations
The network was used regularly from 130 B.C.E., when the Han Dynasty of China officially opened trade with the west, to 1453 C.E., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with the west and closed the routes.
Modu Chanyu founds the Xiongnu Empire in modern-day Mongolia
The Xiongnu were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the late 1st century C.E.
Compass invented in China
Used in Ancient China as early as the Qin dynasty or before, compasses were originally developed for aligning buildings with directions and as a tool used in fortune telling.
Hannibal, one of history’s greatest military tacticians, marches elephants over the Alps
Hannibal Barca is considered one of the greatest generals of antiquity and his tactics are still studied and used in the present day.