Historical figures of the Ancient World
The atlas holds 93 people and 1,191 moments here, from 2566 BC to 476. The most recorded lives are Constantine the Great, Cicero and Alexander the Great. Among them Writers, Philosophers and Political Leaders.
Notable people
Aeschylus
from 525 BC to 456 BC
6 moments here
Ancient Greek tragedian and soldier, born at Eleusis in Attica and active in the Persian Wars.…
Aesop
from 620 BC to 564 BC
2 moments here
Greek fabulist and storyteller traditionally credited with Aesop’s Fables. His historical existence and biography are uncertain; this atlas records…
Akhenaten
from 1353 BC to 1336 BC
4 moments here
Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) was an Eighteenth-Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh whose reign is conventionally dated to the mid-14th century BC.…
Alexander the Great
from 356 BC to 323 BC
54 moments here
Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BCE), known as Alexander the Great, became king of Macedon in 336 BCE and campaigned from the Balkans through the…
Apuleius
from 124 to 169
5 moments here
Apuleius was a Numidian Latin prose writer, Platonist philosopher, and public speaker. The surviving evidence securely places him at his birthplace,…
Archimedes
from 287 BC to 212 BC
5 moments here
Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor associated above all with Syracuse in Sicily.…
Aristophanes
from 446 BC to 424 BC
2 moments here
Athenian comic playwright of Old Comedy. The surviving biographical record is unusually sparse: reliable evidence securely places him in Athens at…
Aristotle
from 384 BC to 322 BC
9 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath whose surviving biography is reconstructed from sparse and sometimes conflicting ancient traditions.…
Artaxerxes I
from 465 BC to 424 BC
4 moments here
Achaemenid king of kings, son of Xerxes I, who reigned from 465 to 424 BC. The securely documented physical-presence record is sparse: surviving…
Aryabhata
in 476
1 moment here
Indian mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta era. Surviving biographical evidence securely associates him with Kusumapura/Pataliputra, near modern…
Ashoka
from 304 BC to 249 BC
12 moments here
Ashoka was the third Mauryan emperor, ruling most of the Indian subcontinent from approximately 268 to 232 BCE.…
Attila
from 435 to 453
13 moments here
Attila, ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453, jointly ruled with his brother Bleda before becoming sole ruler.…
Augustine of Hippo
from 354 to 430
26 moments here
Aurelius Augustinus, known as Augustine of Hippo, was a North African rhetorician, Christian theologian, philosopher, priest, and bishop.…
Augustus
from 63 BC to 14
51 moments here
Augustus, born Gaius Octavius and conventionally called Octavian before 27 BC, founded the Roman principate.…
Cao Cao
from 155 to 220
33 moments here
Cao Cao (c. 155–15 March 220) was a late Eastern Han statesman, military leader, and poet. He built a power base in central and northern China,…
Catherine of Alexandria
from 287 to 305
2 moments here
Catherine of Alexandria is a traditionally venerated Christian virgin martyr associated with Alexandria in Roman Egypt.…
Chandragupta Maurya
from 322 BC to 298 BC
3 moments here
Founder and first emperor of the Maurya Empire. The chronology of his early life, rise, reign, abdication, and death is incompletely preserved and in…
Cicero
from 106 BC to 43 BC
83 moments here
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) was a Roman lawyer, orator, philosopher, consul, provincial governor, and defender of the late Republic.…
Cleopatra
from 69 BC to 30 BC
27 moments here
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (born early 69 BC, possibly late 70 BC; died 10 or 12 August 30 BC) was the last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt.…
Cleopatra I Syra
in 193 BC
1 moment here
Seleucid princess and Ptolemaic queen consort, Cleopatra I Syra married Ptolemy V and later ruled Egypt as regent for their son Ptolemy VI.…
Clovis I
in 466
1 moment here
Clovis I was king of the Salian Franks from 481 and the first Frankish king to unite much of the Frankish peoples under one ruler.…
Confucius
from 551 BC to 479 BC
23 moments here
Confucius, born Kong Qiu, was a teacher, political thinker, and sometime official of the Chinese state of Lu.…
Constantine the Great
from 272 to 337
96 moments here
Roman emperor from 306 to 337. Born at Naissus, Constantine served under Diocletian and Galerius in the eastern empire, joined his father in Britain,…
Cyrus the Great
from 559 BC to 529 BC
7 moments here
Cyrus II, commonly called Cyrus the Great, was king of Anshan and founder of the Achaemenid Empire.…
Moments
- 2566 BC Burial in the Great Pyramid Khufu
- 1810 BC Birth in Babylon Hammurabi
- 1765 BC Diplomatic meeting at Sippar Hammurabi
- 1763 BC Installed at conquered Larsa Hammurabi
- 1750 BC Death in Babylon Hammurabi
- 1463 BC Rites before Amun at Karnak Hatshepsut
- 1458 BC Burial in KV20 Hatshepsut
- 1457 BC Advance through the Aruna pass Thutmose III
- 1457 BC Crossing the frontier at Tjaru Thutmose III
- 1457 BC Battle and siege of Megiddo Thutmose III
- 1455 BC Third campaign survey in Canaan Thutmose III
- 1451 BC Fifth campaign at Ardata Thutmose III
- 1449 BC Seventh campaign at Ullaza Thutmose III
- 1447 BC Crossing the Euphrates against Mitanni Thutmose III
- 1447 BC Return through Niy Thutmose III
- 1447 BC Sailing to Byblos Thutmose III
- 1446 BC Ninth campaign in Nuhašše Thutmose III
- 1442 BC Thirteenth campaign in Nuhašše Thutmose III
- 1430 BC Final campaign to the Fourth Cataract Thutmose III
- 1353 BC Accession at Thebes Akhenaten
- 1347 BC Foundation ceremony at Akhetaten Akhenaten
- 1340 BC Year-twelve tribute reception Akhenaten
- 1336 BC Initial burial in the Royal Wadi Akhenaten
- 1330 BC Departure from Tell el-Amarna Tutankhamun
- 1330 BC Residence moved to Memphis Tutankhamun
- 1323 BC Burial in KV62 Tutankhamun
- 1281 BC Campaigns into Nubia as crown prince Ramesses II
- 1276 BC Campaigns in Amurru Ramesses II
- 1274 BC Passes Egypt's eastern frontier fortress Ramesses II
- 1274 BC Returns to Pi-Ramesses after Kadesh Ramesses II
- 1274 BC Arrives and fights at Kadesh Ramesses II
- 1274 BC Reaches the vicinity of Shabtuna Ramesses II
- 1272 BC Advances to Damascus and Upi Ramesses II
- 1272 BC Besieges Dapur Ramesses II
- 1272 BC Crosses the Dog River Ramesses II
- 1272 BC Marches on Hesbon Ramesses II
- 1272 BC Marches through Kumidi Ramesses II
- 1272 BC Reaches Tunip in northern Amurru Ramesses II
- 1269 BC Marches against Dapur again Ramesses II
- 1259 BC Receives the Hittite peace treaty Ramesses II
- 1255 BC Inaugurates Abu Simbel with Nefertari Ramesses II
- 1213 BC Buried in tomb KV7 Ramesses II
- 1213 BC Dies at probable royal residence Ramesses II
- 620 BC Traditional birth at Mesembria Aesop
- 600 BC Departure from Mytilene into exile Sappho
- 600 BC Exile in Sicily Sappho
- 570 BC Birth and early years on Samos Pythagoras
- 564 BC Death at Delphi Aesop
- 563 BC Born at Lumbini The Buddha
- 563 BC Grew up at Kapilavastu The Buddha