Timeline

Global Timeline

5,000 years of religious history, in one place.

Events

37

Religions

7

Years Spanned

4,248

Distribution

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Antiquity

Before Common Era

2300 BCE
HinduismFounding

Indus Valley proto-Hindu practices

2000 BCE
JudaismFounding

Abraham's Covenant with God

1500 BCE
HinduismScripture

Rigveda composed — oldest religious text still in use

1450 BCE
JudaismScripture

Moses receives the Torah at Mount Sinai

1000 BCE
HinduismScripture

Upanishads written

960 BCE
JudaismFounding

Solomon builds the First Temple

600 BCE
TaoismFounding

Laozi lives; Tao Te Ching written

563 BCE
BuddhismFounding

Siddhartha Gautama born in Nepal

528 BCE
BuddhismFounding

Buddha attains enlightenment

500 BCE
HinduismScripture

Bhagavad Gita composed

483 BCE
BuddhismFounding

Buddha passes into Parinirvana

369 BCE
TaoismFigure

Zhuangzi — Taoism's second great text

250 BCE
BuddhismSpread

Emperor Ashoka spreads Buddhism across Asia

200 BCE
JudaismScripture

Septuagint — Hebrew Bible in Greek

Classical Era

1 – 500 CE

4 CE
ChristianityFounding

Birth of Jesus of Nazareth

30 CE
ChristianityFounding

Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus

70 CE
JudaismSchism

Second Temple destroyed by Rome

70 CE
ChristianityScripture

Gospel of Mark written

142 CE
TaoismFounding

Zhang Daoling founds Religious Taoism

313 CE
ChristianitySpread

Edict of Milan — Christianity legalized

500 CE
JudaismScripture

Babylonian Talmud completed

500 CE
BuddhismSpread

Buddhism reaches China — Chan/Zen born

Medieval Era

500 – 1400 CE

570 CE
IslamFounding

Prophet Muhammad born in Mecca

610 CE
IslamFounding

First Quranic revelation

622 CE
IslamFounding

The Hijra — Islamic calendar begins

650 CE
IslamScripture

Quran codified by Caliph Uthman

661 CE
IslamSchism

Sunni-Shia split

800 CE
TaoismSpread

Taoism peaks during Tang Dynasty

1054 CE
ChristianitySchism

Great Schism — Catholic and Orthodox split

1135 CE
JudaismFigure

Maimonides born — greatest Jewish philosopher

Early Modern

1400 – 1800 CE

1469 CE
SikhismFounding

Guru Nanak born — Sikhism founded

1517 CE
ChristianitySchism

Protestant Reformation — Luther's 95 Theses

1604 CE
SikhismScripture

Adi Granth compiled in the Golden Temple

1699 CE
SikhismFounding

Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh

1708 CE
SikhismScripture

Guru Granth Sahib declared eternal Guru

Modern Era

1800 CE – Present

1863 CE
HinduismFigure

Swami Vivekananda born

1948 CE
JudaismModern

State of Israel founded

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