5 events B.C. 

• Construction of Solomon’s temple. (The first temple) 1000 B.C. 

• Emperor Jimmu Tenno became the first emperor of Japan and founded the imperial dynasty. (660B.C. supposedly)  

• Construction of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (550 B.C.) 

• The Battle of Plataea (July 479 BCE). 

• “The Art of War” (孫子兵法) （Between 475 and 221 B.C.E.） 

5 events A.D.  

• Fall of the Western Roman empire (September 4, 476 A.D.) 

• The invention of gunpowder. (Late Tang Dynasty, 850 A.D.) 

• The First Crusade (1095-1102) 

• The Black Death (1346 to 1353) 

• Fall of Constantinople (May 29, 1453) 

Summaries: 

Construction of the first temple 

The First Temple (Solomon’s temple) was built in the capital city of ancient Israel – Jerusalem around the year 1000 B.C. as a final resting place for the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments. According to the bible, Solomon’s temple was suggested to have an inside ceiling that was 180 feet long, 90 feet wide and 50 feet high.  

Solomon’s father, king David, had actually wanted to build the temple earlier, but was stopped by a divine edict from God. “You will not build a house for My name,” God said to David, “for you are a man of battles and have shed blood” (I Chronicles 28:3).  

Founding of the imperial dynasty of Japan.  

Jimmu Tennō (神武天皇) was known as the first emperor of Japan and the founder of their imperial dynasty. According to Japanese chronicles like the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki, Jimmu held an expedition eastward from Hyuga in 607 B.C., defeating tribes in his path along the seto inland sea before he established his center of power in Yamato.  

Although, modern historians do not agree with the proposed 7th century B.C. date, preferring a date in the Early Christian era as they stressed that there was no actual evidence of his existence. Most scholars agree that Jimmu is a legendary figure whose story may reflect actual events.  

Construction of the Temple of Artemis 

The Temple of Artemis, also known as the Artemesium, was built by the king of Lydia Croesus about 550 BCE and was rebuilt after being burned by a notoriety seeking arsonist Herostratus in 356 BCE. The Artemesium was over 350 by 180 feet (about 110 by 55 metres) and adorned with magnificent works of art, making it one of the seven wonders of the old world.  

The temple was once again destroyed by the Gothic invasion of c. 267 CE. Once again rebuilt, and in 401 CE it was torn down for the last time by a Christian mob. 

The Battle of Plataea 

After the Greek victory in the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C.E., the Persian king Xerxes left Greece with most of his army. However, his general, Mardonius, remained in northern Greece to continue the fight with a vast army larger than the Greek allies.  

Mardonius established a base at Plataea in the territory of Persia’s ally, Thebes while the Greek army, under the Spartan Pausanius, assembled on hills near the Persian camp to confront them. At close quarters, the well-armed Greek hoplite infantry gradually gained the upper hand as Mardonius himself was killed in action with the Spartans, and the leaderless Persians then broke and fled, being slaughtered by the thousands from the pursuing Greek army.  

“The Art of War” (孫子兵法) 

The art of war was one of the first known treatise on warfare strategy in history. Featuring information about various battle maneuvers and tactics, strategic advice on collecting information about the enemy’s location and battlefield terrain before attacking, and many other strategies rather than specific warfare technology.  

The book has influenced leaders around the world not only in warfare but in many areas of life, including business, legal strategy, politics, sports, lifestyles and beyond. Military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong, Japanese daimyō Takeda Shingen, Vietnamese general Võ Nguyên Giáp, and American military generals Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. are all cited as having drawn inspiration from the book. 

Fall of the Western Roman empire 

in 395 A.D., Rome split into Eastern and Western empires after the continuous decline of the Roman empire ever since the reign of the Five Good Emperors ended. In the western empire, repeated invasions by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths left the city crippled and weak. In 410 A.D. the Visigoth King Alaric successfully sacked the city of Rome, the city was once again raided in 455A.D. by the Vandals, and finally, in 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus.  

In addition, aside from outside attacks, Rome was also collapsing from within due to an over-reliance of slave labour, a corrupt and over expanded land to govern, economic troubles as their spoils of war dried up, military overspending and overexpanding, and the weakening of the Roman legions from relying on barbarian mercenaries to fill up the legion ranks.  

Invention of Gunpowder 

The original “gunpowder” was black powder which consists of roughly 75% saltpetre (potassium nitrate), 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur. This black powder was accidentally discovered by Chinese monks in the 9th century A.D. during their quest for an elixir of immortality.  

Listed as one of China’s four great inventions, the knowledge of gunpowder rapidly spread through Asia and Europe in the 13th century due to the Mongol conquests, but between the 10th and 12th century, the Chinese had developed the huo qiang (“Fire lance”). A short-range gun prototype that stored gunpowder through a bamboo tube. By the late 13th century, the Chinese were employing true guns, made of cast brass or iron. By the 14th century, black powder firearms were adopted in Europe, and by the 17th century, black powder was employed for peaceful purposes as well like mining and road building. 

The first crusade 

The First Crusade, occurring between 1095 – 1102, was a military campaign fought by western European forces to recapture the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the control of Muslim Seljuks, a Turkish tribe of the steppe. The Muslims had won various battles in Asia minor against the Byzantine armies, gaining control over cities such as Edessa and Antioch and, in 1078 A.D., the Seljuks created the Sultanate of Rum with their capital at Nicaea in Bithynia in northwest Asia Minor. 

The Byzantine emperor, Alexios I Komnenos (1081 – 1118) used the fact that the Seljuk had expanded into the Holy Land as a chance to gain Western help in his battle against the Seljuk. Alexios then appealed to the west for soldiers in March 1095 towards Pope Urban II, and the Pope responded in kind, ultimately resulting in an army of 60 000 knights and non-combatants involved in the First Crusade.  

The Black Death 

The Black Death was a pandemic which devastated Europe and Asia between 1347 and 1351, killing more than 20 million people in Europe, a larger proportion of the population than any other known pandemic or war at that point in time. Having originated from China and inner Asia, the Black Death is widely believed to have been the result of plague, caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. 

Genoese ships carried the epidemic westward to Mediterranean ports, where it spread inland, affecting Sicily (1347); North Africa, mainland Italy, Spain, and France (1348); and Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, and the Low Countries (1349). The plague rapidly spread towards the southwestern countries in Europe, London suffered between February and May 1349, East Anglia and Yorkshire during that summer, and the Black Death reached the north of England, Scotland, Scandinavia, and the Baltic countries in 1350. 

The fall of Constantinople 

On May 29th ,1453, Constantinople was conquered by Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman empire, removing a powerful defender of Christian Europe against Muslim invasions and allowing for the Ottoman expansion into eastern Europe to remain mostly uninterrupted.  

By the 15th century, the Byzantine empire had been diminished to Constantinople and the land immediately west of it by struggles for dominance with the Balkans and Roman Catholic rivals. In addition, after several devastating sieges, the city of Constantinople’s population had plummeted from roughly 400 000 in the 12th century to between 40000 and 50000 in the 1450s. The Ottoman invaders had vastly outnumbered the Byzantines and their allies. With between 60,000 and 80,000 soldiers on land and 70 cannons, the Ottomans breached Constantinople’s land wall after besieging the city for 55 days. 

Citations: 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jimmu  

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Temple-of-Artemis-temple-Ephesus-Turkey  

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-temple  

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Temple-of-Jerusalem  

https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Plataea  

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/art-war  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War  

https://www.britannica.com/place/Roman-Empire/Height-and-decline-of-imperial-Rome  

https://www.history.com/news/8-reasons-why-rome-fell  

https://www.britannica.com/technology/gunpowder  

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7687.html#:~:text=Gunpowder%3A%20Origins%20in%20the%20East&text=%E2%80%9CGunpowder%2C%E2%80%9D%20as%20it%20came,for%20a%20life%2Dextending%20elixir 

https://www.worldhistory.org/First_Crusade/  

https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death  

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death  

https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453  

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFaeL2JZ4U/H3UfDRdZhhZiGefFW_Z4yw/edit?utm_content=DAFaeL2JZ4U&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

New List

Hagia Sophia

Emperor Diocletian had commissioned a tetrarchy to maintain the vast roman empire. He divided the empire in two, Western Rome and Eastern Rome. Western Rome encompassed the western half of the Roman empire which contained countries like France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, whereas the Eastern empire encompassed countries like turkey, Greece and the Balkans states. When western Rome fell, the eastern portion created vassal states on the fallen western side.

When the empire split in two, the western portion maintained it’s religion of polytheism  whereas the Eastern portion diverted away from polytheism and accepted Christianity. Emperor Constantine the first was the first Christian roman emperor. Upon finding the main administrative capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, Emperor Justinian the first had created the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia functioned as the religious and personal residence to Justinian the first and future Byzantine emperors.

The city of Timbuktu

Timbuktu, also known in French as Tombouctou, is a city in the country of Mali founded in 1100 AC / CE by Tuareg Nomads. It is a historical hotspot for trade on the the trans-Saharan gold and salt caravan route and served as a centre of Islamic culture. The city is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Niger River.

Within the Sankore University established in Timbuktu in 1324 is a 25,000-student university and other madrassas that spread Islam throughout Africa from the 13th to 16th centuries. Sacred Muslim texts were carried great distances to Timbuktu for scholars from Cairo, Egypt, Baghdad, Iraq, and more. The great teachings of Islam, from astronomy and mathematics to medicine and law, were collected and produced here in several hundred thousand manuscripts.

Ancient

Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lighthouse built by Sostratus of Cnidus of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The construction was completed during the reign of Soter’s son Ptolemy II in about 280 B.C., and for many centuries, it was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world, estimated to have been at least 100 meters tall in overall height.

Unfortunately, between 956 and 1323 A.D., the light house was severely damaged by three earthquakes and became an abandoned ruin. It survived in part until 1480, when the last of its stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay, making it the third longest surviving ancient wonder after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Great Pyramid of Giza.

However, in 1994 a team of French archaeologists dove into the water of Alexandria’s Eastern Harbor and discovered some remains of the lighthouse on the sea floor. In 2016 the Ministry of State of Antiquities in Egypt had plans to turn submerged ruins of ancient Alexandria, including those of the Pharos, into an underwater museum where divers could view the many statues, stone sphinxes, and remains of the lighthouse.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Resonating in modern day Southern Iraq, Babylonia was established. Babylonia was not a unified single state, instead two countries, Akkad and Sumeria. Throughout Babylonian’s history, the two countries were constantly in war. The constant battles between each other had degraded the countries and eventually led to their collapse. Furthermore, the two countries were battling between the Ammonites, who eventually took over them (akkad and sumeria) unifying Babylonia and creating the Babylonian empire. The empire had pushed their administrative sector to Babylon, which became the capital city. The city of Babylon was open to trade.

As Babylonia’s status grew, their central hub also grew. To support their status and prominence, they created various architectural masterpieces. One such structure was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The emperor of the Babylonia empire, king Nebuchadnezzar II had commissioned the building to be a gift for his wife. Construction finished around 600 BC and the hanging garden became an example of Babylon infrastructure and creativity. Within the garden, there was an irrigation system that provided water for the vegetation. Unlike other structures, the irrigation system was something to marvel about because it was new and unknown.

Finalists

Stonehenge-A monument that stands on the Salisbury plains and built throughout the stone age to the bronze age, Stonehenge became a significant part of English society. Stonehenge symbolises England’s history and identity.

Stonehenge is a mystery to archaeologists and historians. The purpose of Stonehenge has always been debated between historians. Many historians had accumulated evidence proclaiming Stonehenge to be a ceremonial site used by druids of ancient Briton. However, others speculated the usage was to be burial monument, meeting ground for chiefdoms or an astronomical computer (tell the time and stars). Even though the purpose is debated, the construction is agreed upon by all to have begun around 6000 BCE. Stonehenge was constructed through 6 phases. Those 6 phases spanned around the stone age to the bronze age.

England’s Salisbury plains ,during the construction of Stonehenge, was filled with many ethnic groups and therefore it is unknown who built Stonehenge. Archeological evidence proved that Mesolithic hunters and gathers.

Sydney opera house

The Sydney Opera house is a multi-venue performing arts center in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour and built on a site sacred to the local Gadigal people for thousands of years, the opera house is one of the most recognisable buildings of the twentieth century, widely regarded as one of the world’s most famous and distinctive buildings.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and completed by an Australian architectural team by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II, the building is comprised of multiple performance venues, which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, and are attended by more than 1.2 million people.

On 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the National Trust of Australia register since 1983, the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory since 2000, the New South Wales State Heritage Register since 2003, and the Australian National Heritage List since 2005.

Canada

Old Quebec City  

Old Quebec was founded by a French explorer by the name of Samuel de Champlain for the construction of his first Abitation in 1608. During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the site grew larger and was established atop the promontory of Cap Diamant for strategic and military advantages. It is the only North American city to have preserved its ramparts, numerous bastions, gates, and other defensive works which surrounds Old Quebec to this day, making old Quebec one of the most successfully preserved fortified city from colonial times and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

The town is separated into two sections, the lower town concentrated around place royale and the upper town surrounded by the many defensive structures. Together, the town cover a surface area of approximately 135 hectares (1.35 km).

Others

Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is known to be one of the greatest achievements of 17^th century French art. Listed as a World Heritage Site for over 40 years, the palace is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV 12 miles west of Paris in Versailles. Louis XIII built a simple hunting lodge on the site of the Palace of Versailles in 1623 and replaced it with a small château in 1631–34. Louis XIV expanded the château into a palace in several phases from 1661 to 1715, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the capital of France.

During the French revolution, the palace of Versailles was largely abandoned and emptied as the royal family and capital of France returned to Paris in 1789. However, since 1995, under the management and direction of the French Ministry of Culture, the palace has been restored and about 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.