Category: Ancient Civilizations

By Tim Lambert The First Japanese Human beings have lived in Japan for at least 30,000 years. During the last ice age, Japan was connected to mainland Asia by a land bridge and stone age hunters were able to walk across. When the ice age ended about 10,000 BC Japan became a group of islands.… Continue reading A Brief History of Ancient Japan

By Tim Lambert By 4000 BC stone age farmers were living in Korea. By 1000 BC they had learned to use bronze. By about 300 BC they had learned to use iron to make tools and weapons. At first, Korea was divided into tribes but eventually organized kingdoms emerged. There were 3 of them, Goguryeo… Continue reading A Brief History of Ancient Korea

By Tim Lambert The Indus Valley Civilisation The first Indian civilization arose in the Indus valley about 2,600 BC. It actually straddled northwest India and Pakistan. By 6,500 BC the people of the area had begun farming. By 5,500 BC they had invented pottery. By about 2,600 BC a prosperous farming society had grown up.… Continue reading A History of Ancient India

By Tim Lambert From about 900 BC seafaring people called the Phoenicians who came from what is now Lebanon traded with what is now Spain. They founded a chain of trading settlements along the coast on islands and peninsulas. The Iberians gave the Phoenicians silver in return for wine and olive oil as well as… Continue reading A History of Ancient Spain

By Tim Lambert In 55 BC Julius Caesar led an expedition to Britain. Caesar returned in 54 BC. Both times he defeated the Celts but he did not stay. Both times the Romans withdrew after the Celts agreed to pay an annual tribute. The Romans invaded Britain again in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius. The… Continue reading A History of Roman Britain

By Tim Lambert  In the 4th century, the Roman Empire split into two parts, east, and west. The western part eventually fell to the barbarians. They were people from central and northern Europe. Unfortunately, ‘barbarian’ is a biased term. In the 5th century, they invaded the declining Roman Empire and they gradually carved it up… Continue reading A History of the Barbarians

By Tim Lambert The first civilization in Italy was the Etruscan, which arose about 800 BC. The Etruscans built cities on a grid pattern. Some of these cities still exist (including Arezzo, Chiusi, Cortona, Perugia, and Cerveteri). The Etruscans were also engineers who drained marshes and built roads. They were also skilled artists. The Etruscans… Continue reading A History of the Etruscans

By Tim Lambert The Incas ruled a great empire in South America – but only for a short time. At its peak, the Inca Empire lasted less than a century before it was destroyed by the Spaniards. In about 1300 the Incas founded their capital city of Cuzco. They were only a small tribe but… Continue reading A History of The Incas

By Tim Lambert The Mayan Realm The Mayans created a great civilization in parts of what is now Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. The ancestors of the Mayans were hunters but about 2,000 BC they adopted farming as a way of life. In the years from 300 BC to 250 AD organized Mayan kingdoms emerged. Then from 250… Continue reading A History of the Mayans

By Tim Lambert  The Minoan civilization existed in Crete. It was the first European civilization. About 2,500 BC a sophisticated society grew up on the island of Crete. By about 1,950 BC the inhabitants had invented a form of writing using hieroglyphs. This writing is called linear A. The Minoans were a bronze-age civilization. (They… Continue reading A History of The Minoans