12th century BC

Ask a question about '12th century BC' Start a new discussion about '12th century BC' Answer questions from other users Full Discussion Forum

Overview

Events

• 1197 BC — The beginning of first period (1197 BC – 982 BC) by Sau Yung's concept of the I Ching
  I Ching
  
  The I Ching , or ?Y? Jing? ; also called Classic of Changes or Book of Changes is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts....
   and history.
• 1197 BC - Ramses III of Egypt
  Egypt
  
  Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
   repels attacks by northern invaders (the "Sea-Peoples").
• 1194 BC — The beginning of the legendary Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
  .
• 1192 BC — Wu Ding
  Wu Ding
  
  Wu Ding was a Shang Dynasty King of China.His is the first historically verifiable name in the history of China dynasties. The records of later historians that recorded his reign were long thought to be little more than legends until contemporary records of his reign were discovered in oracle script inscriptions on oracle bone unearthed at...
   king
  King
  
  King is a title for a head of state.King may also refer to:...
   of Shang Dynasty
  Shang Dynasty
  
  The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was according to traditional sources the first Dynasties in Chinese history. They ruled in the northeastern region of the area known as "China proper", in the Yellow River valley....
   died.
• 1191 BC — Menestheus
  Menestheus
  
  Menestheus , the son of Peteus, son of Orneus, son of Erechtheus, was a legendary King of Athens during the Trojan War. He was set up as king by the Dioscuri when Theseus travelled to the underworld, and at his return Menestheus exiled him from the city....
  , legendary King of Athens
  King of Athens
  
  Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by monarch. Most of these are probably mythologyical or only semi-historical....
  , dies during the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
   after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by his nephew Demophon
  Demophon
  
  In Greek mythology, Demophon referred to two different persons:*Demophon , a king of Athens, Greece, according to Pindar, son of Theseus and half brother of Acamas, fought in the Trojan War and was one of those to be in the Trojan Horse...
  , a son of Theseus
  Theseus
  
  For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
  . Other accounts place his death a decade later and shortly after the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
   (see 1180s BC).
• 1186 BC — End of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
  Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
  
  The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom....
  , start of the Twentieth Dynasty
  Twentieth dynasty of Egypt
  
  The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period....
  .
• 1184 BC, April 24 — Traditional date for the fall of Troy
  Troy
  
  Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
  , Asia Minor to the Mycenaeans and their allies. This marks the end of the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
   of Greek mythology
  Greek mythology
  
  Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
  .
• 1181 BC — Menestheus
  Menestheus
  
  Menestheus , the son of Peteus, son of Orneus, son of Erechtheus, was a legendary King of Athens during the Trojan War. He was set up as king by the Dioscuri when Theseus travelled to the underworld, and at his return Menestheus exiled him from the city....
  , legendary King of Athens
  King of Athens
  
  Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by monarch. Most of these are probably mythologyical or only semi-historical....
   and veteran of the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
  , dies after a reign of 23 years and is succeeded by his nephew Demophon
  Demophon
  
  In Greek mythology, Demophon referred to two different persons:*Demophon , a king of Athens, Greece, according to Pindar, son of Theseus and half brother of Acamas, fought in the Trojan War and was one of those to be in the Trojan Horse...
  , a son of Theseus
  Theseus
  
  For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra , and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, with whom Aethra lay in one night....
  . Other accounts place his death a decade earlier and during the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
   (see 1190s BC).
• 1180 BC — The last Kassite
  Kassites
  
  The Kassites were an ancient Near Eastern tribe who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca. 1531 BC to ca....
   king, Anllil-nadin-akhe, is defeated by the Elamites
  Elam
  
  Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran.Elam was centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province , as far as Jiroft in Kerman province and Burned City in Zabol, as well as a small part of southern Iraq....
  
• April 16, 1178 BC — A solar eclipse
  Solar eclipse
  
  A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured. This can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth....
   may mark the return of Odysseus
  Odysseus
  
  Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
  , legendary King of Ithaca
  Ithaca
  
  Ithaca or Ithaka is an island in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of 118 km? and three thousand inhabitants. It is an independent Communities and Municipalities of Greece of the prefecture of Kefalonia and Ithaka Prefecture, and lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia....
  , to his kingdom after the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
  . He discovers a number of suitors competing to marry his wife Penelope
  Penelope
  
  In Homer's Odyssey, Penel?pe is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps Suitors of Penelope at bay in his long absence and so is eventually rejoined with him....
  , whom they believe to be a widow, in order to succeed him on the throne. He organizes their slaying and re-establishes himself on the throne.
• 1180 BC — Collapse of Hittite
  Hittites
  
  The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a Hittite language of the Anatolian languages of the Indo-European languages family, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia ca....
   power in Anatolia
  Anatolia
  
  Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
   with the destruction of their capital Hattusa
  Hattusa
  
  Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. The region is set in a loop of the Kizil River in central Anatolia.Hattusa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986....
  .
• 1160 BC — Death of Pharaoh
  Pharaoh
  
  Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
   Ramesses V
  Ramesses V
  
  Usermare Sekhepenre Ramesses V was the fourth pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt and was the son of Ramesses IV and Queen Tentopet.His reign was characterized by the continued growth of the power of the priesthood of Amun, which controlled much of the temple land in the country and state finances at the expense of Pharaoh....
  , from smallpox
  Smallpox
  
  Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"....
  .
• 1159 BC — The Hekla 3 eruption
  Hekla 3 eruption
  
  The Hekla 3 eruption circa 1000 BC is considered the most severe eruption of Hekla during the Holocene. It threw about 7.3 km3 of volcanic rock into the atmosphere, placing its Volcanic Explosivity Index at 5....
   triggers an 18-year period of climatic worsening.
• 1154 BC — Death of King Menelaus
  Menelaus
  
  Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria....
   of Sparta
  Sparta
  
  Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
   (estimated date).
• 1154 BC — Suicide of exiled Queen
  Queen Dowager
  
  A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. Its full meaning is clear from the two words from which it is composed: queen indicates someone who served as queen consort , while dowager indicates a widow who holds the title from her deceased husband....
   Helen
  Helen
  
  In Greek mythology, Helen , better known as Helen of Sparta later Helen of Troy, was the daughter of Zeus and Leda , wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and sister of Castor and Pollux, Castor and Pollux and Clytemnestra....
   of Sparta
  Sparta
  
  Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
   at Rhodes
  Rhodes
  
  Rhodes is a Greece List of islands of Greece approximately southwest of Turkey in eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007 of which 53,709 resided in the Rhodes capital city of the island....
  . (estimated date).
• c. 1150 BC — End of Egyptian rule in Palestine. Rameses VI last Pharaoh acknowledged.
• 1147 BC — Demophon
  Demophon
  
  In Greek mythology, Demophon referred to two different persons:*Demophon , a king of Athens, Greece, according to Pindar, son of Theseus and half brother of Acamas, fought in the Trojan War and was one of those to be in the Trojan Horse...
  , legendary King of Athens
  King of Athens
  
  Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by monarch. Most of these are probably mythologyical or only semi-historical....
   and veteran of the Trojan War
  Trojan War
  
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
  , dies after a reign of 33 years and is succeeded by his son Oxyntes
  Oxyntes
  
  Oxyntes was a mythical King of Athens of Athens, son of Demophon and Phyllis. He had two sons, Apheidas and Thymoetes, who succeeded him, one another, in the throne....
  .
• 1137 BC — Ramses VII begins his reign as the sixth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt
  Twentieth dynasty of Egypt
  
  The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period....
  .
• 1135 BC — Oxyntes
  Oxyntes
  
  Oxyntes was a mythical King of Athens of Athens, son of Demophon and Phyllis. He had two sons, Apheidas and Thymoetes, who succeeded him, one another, in the throne....
  , legendary King of Athens, dies after a reign of 12 years and is succeeded by his elder son Apheidas
  Apheidas
  
  Apheidas was a mythical King of Athens of Athens, son of Oxyntes. After a short reign of one year, his brother Thymoetes succeeded him on the throne....
  .
• 1134 BC — Apheidas
  Apheidas
  
  Apheidas was a mythical King of Athens of Athens, son of Oxyntes. After a short reign of one year, his brother Thymoetes succeeded him on the throne....
  , legendary King of Athens, is assassinated and succeeded by his younger brother Thymoetes
  Thymoetes
  
  In Greek mythology, there were at least three different people named Thymoetes .*The first was one of the elders of Troy . A soothsayer had predicted, that on a certain day a boy should be born, by whom Troy should be destroyed....
   after a reign of 1 year.
• 1126 BC — Thymoetes
  Thymoetes
  
  In Greek mythology, there were at least three different people named Thymoetes .*The first was one of the elders of Troy . A soothsayer had predicted, that on a certain day a boy should be born, by whom Troy should be destroyed....
  , legendary King of Athens, dies childless after a reign of 8 years. He is succeeded by his designated heir Melanthus
  Melanthus
  
  In Greek mythology, Melanthus was a king of Messenia. He was expelled by Heracleidae, and became later on a Kings of Athens, the successor of Thymoetes, succeeded by Codrus....
   of Pylos
  Pylos
  
  This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town. For the mythological figure see Pylus . For board game see Pylos .Pylos, or P?los , is a large bay and a town on the west coast of the Peloponnese, in the district of Messenia in southern Greece....
  , a fifth-generation descendant of Neleus
  Neleus
  
  Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro, brother of Pelias. Tyro was married to Cretheus but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances....
   who had reportedly assisted him in battle against the Boeotia
  Boeotia
  
  Boeotia, Beotia, or B?otia , formerly Cadmeis, was a region of ancient Greece, north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It was bounded on the south by Megaris and the Kithairon mountain range that forms a natural barrier with Attica, on the north by Opuntian Locris and the Euripus Strait at the Gulf of Euboea, and on the...
  ns.
• 1122 BC — Legendary founding date of the city of Pyongyang
  Pyongyang
  
  Pyongyang is the Capital and largest city of North Korea, located on the Taedong River, at . According to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,388....
  .
• c. 1120 BC — destruction of Troy
  Troy
  
  Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
   VIIb₁
• 1115 BC — Zhou cheng wang becomes king of the Zhou Dynasty of China
  China
  
  China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
  .
• 1115 BC — Tiglath-Pileser I
  Tiglath-Pileser I
  
  Tiglath-Pileser I was a Kings of Assyria of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period . According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was, "one of the two or three great Assyrian monarchs since the days of Shamshi-Adad I"....
   becomes king of Assyria
  Assyria
  
  Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history....
  .
• 1110 BC — Cadiz (Gadir) founded by Phoenicia
  Phoenicia
  
  Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
  ns in southwestern Spain
• 1100 BC — Tiglath-Pileser I
  Tiglath-Pileser I
  
  Tiglath-Pileser I was a Kings of Assyria of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period . According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was, "one of the two or three great Assyrian monarchs since the days of Shamshi-Adad I"....
   of Assyria
  Assyria
  
  Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history....
   conquers the Hittites
  Hittites
  
  The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a Hittite language of the Anatolian languages of the Indo-European languages family, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia ca....
  .
• c. 1100 BC — The Dorians supposedly invade Greece
  Greece
  
  Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
  .
• c. 1100 BC — Beginning of the proto-Villanovan culture
  Villanovan culture
  
  The Villanovan culture was the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, abruptly following the Bronze Age Terramare culture and giving way in the seventh century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture influenced by Greeks traders, which was followed without a severe break by the Etruscan civilization....
   in northern Italy
  Northern Italy
  
  Northern Italy comprises two areas belonging to Italian NUTS level 1 regions:*North-West : Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria;*North-East : Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige/S?dtirol, Emilia-Romagna....
  .
• c. 1100 BC — Mycenaean civilization ends. Start of Greek Archaic Period
  Archaic period
  
  In the sequence of North American pre-Columbian cultural stages first proposed by Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips in 1958, the Archaic period was the second period of human occupation in the Americas, from around 8000 BC to 1000 BC although as its ending is defined by the adoption of sedentary farming, this date can vary significantly acro...
  .
• c. 1100 BC — The New Kingdom
  New Kingdom
  
  The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian History of Ancient Egypt between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt....
   in Egypt
  Egypt
  
  Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
   comes to an end.

• Elamite invaders loot art treasures from Mesopotamia
  Mesopotamia
  
  Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
   and carry them in Susa
  Susa
  
  Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian Empire and Parthian empires of Iran, located about 250 km east of the Tigris River.The modern town of Shush, Iran is located at the site of ancient Susa....
  .

Significant persons

• Amenemses, Pharaoh
  Pharaoh
  
  Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
   of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
  Egypt
  
  Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
   (1202 BC–1199 BC)
• 1180 BC — Birth of Ramesses III
  Ramesses III
  
  Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt....
   of Egypt
  Ancient Egypt
  
  Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
  
• 1153 BC — Death of pharaoh
  Pharaoh
  
  Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
   Ramesses III
  Ramesses III
  
  Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt....
   of Egypt
  Egypt
  
  Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
  
• 1146 BC — Nebuchadnezzar I becomes king of Babylon
  Babylon
  
  Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
  
• 1116 BC — Death of King Wu of Zhou
  King Wu of Zhou
  
  King Wu of Zhou or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43....
  , King of the Zhou Dynasty
  Zhou Dynasty
  
  The Zhou Dynasty was preceded by the Shang Dynasty and followed by the Qin Dynasty in China. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in China history?though the actual political and military control of China by the dynasty only lasted during the Western Zhou....
   (1122 BC–256 BC) of China
  China
  
  China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
  

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• 1100s BC — Alphabet
  Alphabet
  
  An alphabet is a standardized set of letter basic written symbols each of which roughly represents a phoneme, a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past....
   developed by Phoenicians
  Phoenician alphabet
  
  The Phoenician alphabet is a continuation of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, by convention taken to originate around 1050 BC. It was used for the writing of Phoenician language, a Northern Semitic languages language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia....
  .

Decades and years