Historical Time Periods

The following article attempts to cover some of the important historical time periods of the world that has helped shaped the world today. Continue reading for more information related to history by period.
The historical time period begins from the time when earth was going through evolution. Each historical time period is categorized as a periodization. These major categories of history by period is divided into geological, historical and cosmological. The ancient history by period is based on the ancient written records, archeological findings and stories of bygone eras being told over the ages. The historical time periods begins from the early Stonehenge. But, we shall not go so deep into the past and have a quick sneak preview of the list of historical time periods.

List of Historical Time Periods
The following list begins from the early Bronze Age. This was an era that gave way to the development of great civilizations and empires.

Historical Time Period Period History by Period Information
Ancient Period
Iron Age   
Mesopotamia 3500 BC - 559 BC  
Indus Valley Civilization 3300 BC - 1300 BC  
Old Kingdom (Egypt) 3000 BC - 2000 BC
  • Middle Kingdom of Egypt
  • Middle Kingdoms of India
  • Middle Kingdoms of China
2000 BC - 1300 BC  
Shang Dynasty 1800 BC - 1200 BC China
Vedic period 1500 BC - 500 BC India
New Kingdom, Egypt 1300 BC - 700 BC  
Zhou Dynasty 1200 BC - 500 BC China
Ancient Greece c. 3300 BC - 31 BC  
Jomon period 800 BC - 400 BC Japan
Ancient Rome 509 BC - AD 476  
Yayoi period 400 BC - AD 300 Japan
Kofun period 300 - 600 Japan
Migration period 200 - 700 Europe
Coptic period 300 - 900 Egypt
Middle Ages
  • Dark Age (Europe, 4th century - 900)
  • Viking Age (Scandinavia, Europe, 793 - 1066)
AD 500 - 1000
  • Asuka period
  • Nara period
  • Heian period
  • Kamakura period
  • Muromachi period
  • Azuchi-Momoyama period
538 - 1603 Japan
  • Southern and Northern Dynasties
  • Sui Dynasty
  • Tang Dynasty
  • Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
420 - 960 China
  • Liao Dynasty
  • Song Dynasty
  • Jin Dynasty
1115 - 1234 China
  • Western Xia Dynasty
  • Yuan Dynasty
  • Ming Dynasty
220 - 1644 China.
Classic and Postclassic eras 200 - 1519 Central America
  • Gupta Empire
  • Pala Empire
  • Rashtrakuta
  • Hoysala Empire
  • Kakatiya Empire
280 - 1323 India
Islamic Golden Age 700 - 1300 Middle East
High Middle Ages (Feudalism) European military expansion 1000 - 1450  
Srivijaya 3rd century to 14th century Indonesia
Tarumanagara 358 - 723
Sailendra 8th & 9th centuries
Kingdom of Sunda 669 - 1579
Kingdom of Mataram 752 - 1045
Kediri 1045 - 1221
Singhasari 1222 - 1292
Majapahit 293 -1500
Chenla 630 - 802 Cambodia
Khmer Empire 802 - 1432
  • Anterior Lư Dynasty and Triệu Việt Vương
  • Third Chinese domination
  • Khúc Family
  • Dương Đ́nh Nghệ
  • Kiều Công Tiễn
  • Ngô Dynasty
  • The 12 Lords Rebellion
  • Đinh Dynasty
  • Prior Lê Dynasty
  • Lư Dynasty
  • Trần Dynasty
  • Hồ Dynasty
  • Fourth Chinese domination
544 - 1427 Vietnam
  • Early Intermediate
  • Middle Horizon
  • Late Intermediate
  • Late Horizon
200 - 1534 Peru
The Renaissance Period 1300 - 1500 Italy
Early Modern Period
Age of Discovery (or Exploration) 15th century - 17th century Europe
Elizabethan period 1558 - 1603 United Kingdom
The Protestant Reformation 16th century Europe
Jacobean Era 1603 - 1625 United Kingdom
The Age of Enlightenment (or Reason) 18th century Europe
Tokugawa shogunate 1603 - 1868 Japan
Mughal Empire 1526 - 1857 India
Ottoman Empire 1299 - 1923  
Qing dynasty 1644 - 1912 China
Spanish hegemony Americas: 16th century - 1820s
Europe: 16th and 17th century
Philippines: 1525 - 1898
 
Modern era
Petrine Era, Russia 1689 - 1725  
Industrial Revolution 18th and 19th centuries  
Napoleonic Era 1799 - 1815  
Georgian Era 1714 - 1830 United Kingdom
Victorian era 1837 - 1901 United Kingdom
Romantic Era 1850 - 1920  
Gilded Age late 19th century United States
Edwardian period 1901 - 1910 United Kingdom
Meiji period 1868 - 1912 Japan
Progressive era 1880s to the 1920s United States
Machine Age 1900 - 1945  
Age of Oil after 1901  
World War I 1914 - 1918  
Interwar period 1918 - 1939 or 1937  
World War II 1939 - 1945  
Atomic Age after 1945  
Post-war era 1946 - 1962  
The Sixties 1960 - 1969  
Cold War 1945 - 1989 or 1991 Soviet Union and United States, and their allies.
Space Age after 1957  
Post-Modern Age
Information Age 1970 - circa 2025  
The Seventies 1970 - 1979  
The Eighties 1980 - 1989  
The Nineties 1990 - 1999  
The Noughties 2000 - 2009  
The Tens 2010 - 2019  

This was a bit about the historical time periods. The world history is very vast and it will takes ages to explain each event in detail. There were many wars and battles fought that helped shaped the world today. Hope the above information on historical time period has helped you get a fair idea of the important events that took place throughout history.
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Published: 10/28/2010
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