This timeline tries to show dates of important historical events that happened in or that led to the rise of the Middle East/ South West Asia .The Middle East is the territory that comprises today's Egypt, the Persian Gulf states, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The Middle East, with its particular characteristics, was not to emerge until the late second millennium AD. To refer to a concept similar to that of today's Middle East but earlier in time, the term ancient Near East is used.

This list is intended as a timeline of the history of the Middle East. For more detailed information, see articles on the histories of individual countries. See ancient Near East for ancient history of the Middle East.

Paleolithic period 16000 BC – Kebaran period 13050 to 7050 BC – Natufian culture 14400 BC – the world's oldest evidence of bread-making has been found at Shubayqa 1, in Jordan. 11000 BC – The oldest known evidence of beer found in Mount Carmel

Neolithic period 10000 BC – Pre-Pottery Neolithic A 10000 BC – earliest neolithic sanctuaries at Göbekli Tepe in southern Anatolia 9300 BC – first cultivating of wild emmer wheat in Netiv HaGdud and other sites in Jordan by hunter gatherers 10000 to 8800 BC — Shepherd Neolithic

9th millennium B.C. 8500 BC – first domestication of the cow (taurine line from the aurochs near Çayönü Tepesi in southeastern Anatolia and Dja'de el-Mughara in northern Iraq). 8400 to 8100 BC – first settlements at Nevali Cori in Anatolia 8200 to 7650 BC – first domestication of emmer wheat near Damascus, Syria

8th millennium BC 8000 BC – human settlements at Sagalassos in southwest Anatolia 8000 BC – first domestication of goats from the bezoar ibex in Iran 8000 BC – first domestication of einkorn wheat near Karaca Dağ in southeast Anatolia. 8000 BC – first domestication of Durum wheat near Karaca Dağ in the Levant and the Ethiopian Highlands 7500 BC – Çatalhöyük, very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia 7000 BC – Jarmo, one of the oldest agricultural communities, in northern Iraq

7th millennium BC 7000 to 6500 BC – early undecorated, unglazed and low-fired pottery in Hassuna 7000 BC — settlements in Byblos 7000 BC — Neolithic farmers start to move in to Europe, stimulating the European neolithic for over 3 thousand years 6000 to 4000 BC – invention of the potter's wheel in Mesopotamia

6th millennium BC 6000 BC – first irrigation and flood control in Mesopotamia and Egypt 6000 to 4300 BC – first sail boats in Mesopotamia 6000 to 3000 BC — Pre-dynastic Egypt 5600 BC – Black Sea floods according to the Black Sea deluge theory 5509 BC – date of creation according to the Byzantine calendar 5500 BC – first large scale agriculture by the Sumerians and in the valley of the Nile 5500 BC – the oldest discovered Sumerian settlement at Tell el-'Oueili 5403 BC – expulsion from the Garden of Eden according to the Genealogies of Genesis 5400 BC – Eridu 5100 BC – first Temples in South Mesopotamia 5000 BC — Byblos is named a city 5000 BC — Aleppo is settled 5000 BC — Uruk

5th millennium BC 4500 BC – civilization of Susa and Kish in Mesopotamia 4570 to 4250 BC – Merimde culture on the Nile 4400 to 4000 BC – Badari culture on the Nile 4000 BC – first use of light wooden ploughs in Mesopotamia 4000 BC – Egyptians discover how to make bread using yeast

Ancient Near East

4th millennium BC

4000 to 3000 BC – domestication of the African wild ass in Egypt or Mesopotamia, producing the donkey 4000 BC – city of Ur in Mesopotamia 4000 to 3100 BC – Uruk period 4000 to 3000 BC – Naqada culture on the Nile 3760 BC – date of creation according to some interpretations of Jewish chronology 3650 BC – The foundation of the city of Gaziantep 3600 BC – first civilization in the world: Sumer (city-states) in modern-day southern IraqKing, Leonid W. (2015) "A History of Sumer and Akkad" () 3500 BC – City of Ebla in Syria is founded 3500 to 3000 BC – one of the first appearances of wheeled vehicles in Mesopotamia 3500 BC – beginning of desertification of the Sahara: the shift from a habitable region to a barren desert 3500 BC – first examples of Sumerian writing in Mesopotamia, in the cities of Uruk and Susa (cuneiform writings) 3500 BC – first cities in Egypt 3300 BC – Earliest Cuneiform writings 3200 BC – Iry-Hor reigns as pharaoh of Upper Egypt, the earliest historical person known by name 3100 BC – King Narmer unifies the Upper and Lower Egyptian Kingdoms, and gives birth to the world's first nation 3100 to 2686 BC – early Dynastic Period (Egypt) 3100 BC – Earliest hieroglyphs 3000 BC – The temple of Haddad in Aleppo 3000 to 2800 BC – Earliest evidence of Taxation found in Egypt

3rd millennium BC 3000 to 2000 BC – First domestication of the dromedaries in Somalia and southern Arabia 3000 to 2300 BC – First Kingdom of Ebla 2900 to 2350 BC – First ziggurats in Sumer 2900 to 2500 BC – First Kingdom of Mari 2800 BC – Beginning of Uruk's decline 2700 to 539 BC – Elam 2600 to 2350 BC – early Dynastic III period in Mesopotamia 2600 to 2300 BC – Kingdom of Nagar 2600 to 2025 BC – Early Assyrian Period 2575 to 2150 BC – Old Kingdom of Egypt 2560 BC – completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza 2500 BC – First use of war wagons as recorded by the Standard of Ur 2500 BC – First domestication of the camel in central Asia and Arabia—Note that Bulliet has many more references to early use of camels 2500 BC – Ur-Nina first king of Lagash 2500 to 2290 BC – Second Kingdom of Mari 2340 to 2280 BC – Reign of Sargon of Akkad, founder of the dynasty of the Akkad 2334 to 2154 BC – Akkadian Empire 2300 to 2000 BC – Second Kingdom of Ebla 2266 to 1761 BC – Third Kingdom of Mari 2254 to 2218 BC – Naram-Sin of Akkad, under whom the empire reached its maximum strength and the first taking the title "god of Akkad" 2200 BC – Akkad taken by the Guti 2112 to 2094 BC – Ur-Nammu, founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur 2111 to 2004 BC – Third Dynasty of Ur 2052 to 1570 BC – Middle Kingdom in Egypt 2025 to 1378 BC – Old Assyrian Empire 2004 BC – Elamites destroy Ur 2004 to 1763 BC – Rise of the Amorites who established several city-states in Mesopotamia 2000 to 1600 BC – Third Kingdom of Ebla 2000 to 1334 BC – Kingdom of Qatna 2000 BC – First use of the spoke-wheel by the Andronovo culture and soon after used by horse cultures of the Caucasus region in war chariots

2nd millennium BC 1900 BC – Hittites Old Kingdom in Anatolia 1894 to 1595 BC — Old Babylonian Empire 1800 BC – civilization in Canaan 1800 to 1200 BC – the emergence of the city of Ugarit when it ruled a coastal kingdom, trading with Egypt, Cyprus, the Aegean, Syria, the Hittites, and others 1792 to 1750 BC – the reign of Hammurabi of the First Babylonian Dynasty, extended control throughout Mesopotamia, known for the Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest codes of law 1775 to 1761 BC – the reign of Zimri-Lim of Mari, extended control throughout Syria and Upper Mesopotamia, he was allied to Hammurabi 1725 to 1550 BC – Hyksos (Canaanite) domination of Egypt 1600 to 1360 BC – Egyptian domination over Canaan and Syria 1594 BCE – Kassites take Babylon 1595 to 1155 BC – Kassite dynasty 1550 to 1077 BC – New Kingdom of Egypt 1500 to 1300 BC – Kingdom Mitanni, a Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and southeast Anatolia 1500 to 539 BC – Phoenicia and the spread of their alphabet from which almost all modern phonetic alphabets derived 1457 BC – Battle of Megiddo 1380 to 1336 BC – Shuppiluliuma, king of the Hittites who challenged Egypt for control of the lands between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates 1370 to 1200 BC – Hittite Empire 1350 to 1050 BC – Middle Assyrian Empire

1300 BC – discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques in Anatolia or the Caucasus: start of the Iron Age 1300 to 125 BC – Kingdom of Edom 1274 BC – Battle of Kadesh between the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II,near the modern village of Al-Houz in Syria's Al-Qusayr District. see Kitchen, K. A., "Ramesside Inscriptions", volume 2, Blackwell Publishing Limited, 1996, pp. 16–17. largest chariot battle ever fought 1259 BC – Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty, the first peace treaty ever recorded in history 1245 to 1208 BC – Tukulti-Ninurta I, king of Assyria, first native Mesopotamian ruler in Babylon, took on the ancient title "King of Sumer and Akkad" 1237 BC – Battle of Nihriya, resulting in Assyrian victory over the Hittites for control over remnants of the former empire of Mitanni in Asia Minor and the Levant 1225 BC – Babylon taken by the Assyrians. 1200 to 1050 BC – Bronze Age collapse 1200 BC – oldest Phoenician alphabet inscription engraved on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram 1200 to 884 BC – Sea Peoples, conjectured groups of seafaring raiders, invaded Anatolia, Syria, Canaan, Cyprus, and Egypt 1200 to 546 BC – Lydian Empire 1200 to 732 BC – Aramaean Kingdom of Aram-Damascus 1190 BC – Hattusha, capital of the Hittites, taken by the Sea Peoples 1184 BC – Fall of Troy according to Eratosthenes’ calculations. 1180 to 700 BC – Neo-Hittite kingdoms also known as Syro-Hittite states 1155 BC – Babylon taken by Elamites 1100 to 539 BC – Neo-Elamite period 1087 BC – Babylon destroyed by Assyrians 1070 BC to 350 AD – Cushites, an ancient African Nubian kingdom in Sudan 1102 to 850 BC – estimated period in which Homer lived 1069 to 664 BC – Third Intermediate Period of Egypt 1050 to 930 BC – Kingdom of Israel 1041 BC – King David captures Jerusalem, designates it the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel 1004 BC – King Solomon lays the foundation for the First Temple

1st millennium BC 927 BC – Jerusalem becomes the capital of the (southern) Kingdom of Judah after the split of the United Monarchy 884 to 858 BC – Ashurnasirpal II, king of Assyria, embarked on a vast program of expansion, known for his harshness, moved his capital to the city of Kalhu (Nimrod) 884 to 612 BC – Neo-Assyrian Empire 800 to 480 BC – Archaic period in Greece with the rise of the city-states, Greek colonies, and Epic Greek poetry: onset of Classical Antiquity 776 BC – first Olympic Games 745 to 727 BC – Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria who introduced advanced civil, military, and political systems into the empire 711 BC – Sargon II conquers the kingdom of Israel and exiles the inhabitants of Samaria 710 BC – Sargon II captures Babylonia 689 BCE – Babylon destroyed by Sennacherib, king of the Assyria 677 BC – Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, defeats the rebellion of Abdi-Milkutti, the king of the Phoenician state of Sidon 678 to 549 BC – Median Empire 672 to 525 BC – Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt 667 BC – Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, defeated the 25th Dynasty king Taharqa near Memphis 626 to 539 BC – Chaldean Empire (Neo-Babylonian Empire) 624 to 545 BC – Thales of Miletus, first philosopher in Ancient Greek philosophy, founder of the Milesian school 612 BC – Fall of Nineveh by a coalition Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Chaldeans, Scythians, and Cimmerians, leading to the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire 605 BC – Battle of Carchemish between the Babylonians and the Egyptians allied with the remnants of the Assyrian army 609 BC – Battle of Megiddo (609 BC) between Necho II and Josiah of Judea 597 BC – King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon capturing Jerusalem 587 BC – King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon destroys Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple 570 to 495 BC – Pythagoras, founder of Pythagoreanism 600 or 576 – 530 BC – Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and created the Persian Achaemenid Empire 550 to 330 BC – Achaemenid Empire 547 BC – Battle of Pteria between the Lydian Empire and the Achaemenid empire 539 BC – Fall of Babylon