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
Darius the Great
from 522 BC to 486 BC
12 moments here
Darius I, commonly called Darius the Great, was Achaemenid king of kings from 522 to 486 BCE.…
Democritus
in 460 BC
1 moment here
Greek atomist philosopher traditionally dated c. 460–c. 370 BC. Ancient biographical testimony is sparse, late, and sometimes contradictory; this…
Epictetus
from 50 to 135
4 moments here
Greek Stoic philosopher, born enslaved at Hierapolis in Phrygia, later active in Rome, and founder of a philosophical school at Nicopolis in Epirus.…
Epicurus
from 341 BC to 270 BC
7 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of Epicureanism. The securely documented outline of his movements runs from his birth and upbringing on Samos…
Eratosthenes
from 276 BC to 194 BC
3 moments here
Ancient Greek polymath of Cyrene whose documented life is associated with Cyrene, Athens, and Alexandria.…
Euclid
in 300 BC
1 moment here
Ancient Greek mathematician and geometer, conventionally known as Euclid of Alexandria. Biographical evidence is exceptionally sparse: his birthplace…
Euripides
from 480 BC to 406 BC
6 moments here
Euripides was an Athenian tragic playwright traditionally born on Salamis around 480 BC and conventionally said to have died in Macedon around 406…
Galen
from 129 to 169
16 moments here
Galen of Pergamon was a Greek physician, surgeon, medical author, and philosopher active in the Roman Empire.…
Gallienus
from 253 to 268
7 moments here
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (c. 218–September 268) was Roman emperor, co-ruling with his father Valerian from 253 and ruling alone from 260.…
Hadrian
from 76 to 138
18 moments here
Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian traveled extensively through the Roman Empire, inspecting frontiers and armies, intervening in provincial…
Hammurabi
from 1810 BC to 1750 BC
4 moments here
Hammurabi was the sixth Amorite king of Babylon, conventionally dated to c. 1792–1750 BC in the Middle Chronology.…
Hannibal
from 247 BC to 183 BC
43 moments here
Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian general and statesman best known for leading an army from Iberia across the Alps into Italy during the Second Punic…
Hannibal
from 247 BC to 183 BC
32 moments here
Hannibal (Hannibal Barca) was a Carthaginian general and statesman, born at Carthage in 247 BC.…
Hatshepsut
from 1463 BC to 1458 BC
2 moments here
Eighteenth-Dynasty Egyptian ruler who first acted as regent for Thutmose III and later ruled as pharaoh.…
Helena, mother of Constantine I
from 246 to 330
6 moments here
Flavia Julia Helena, later Augusta, was the mother of Constantine I. The surviving evidence supports only a sparse itinerary: a traditional Bithynian…
Heraclitus
in 500 BC
2 moments here
Heraclitus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher associated with Ephesus in Ionia, active around 500 BC.…
Herodotus
from 447 BC to 443 BC
2 moments here
Greek historian and geographer, conventionally dated c. 484–c. 425 BC. The surviving biographical evidence is unusually sparse and often late or…
Horace
from 65 BC to 8 BC
15 moments here
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, known as Horace, was a Roman lyric poet, satirist, and former republican military tribune.…
Hypatia
from 370 to 415
5 moments here
Hypatia was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and teacher. Her birth is disputed, with estimates ranging from about 350 to…
James the Great
from 40 to 44
2 moments here
James the Great, also called James son of Zebedee, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. The surviving chronological record for his movements is…
Jesus Christ
from 5 BC to 30
26 moments here
Jesus of Nazareth was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader in Roman Judaea. Most modern scholars agree that he existed historically;…
John Chrysostom
from 347 to 407
11 moments here
John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) was a Christian preacher, theologian, and archbishop of Constantinople.…
Julius Caesar
from 100 BC to 44 BC
50 moments here
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman politician, general, orator and author whose career spanned the late Roman Republic.…
Khufu
in 2566 BC
1 moment here
Khufu (Cheops) was the second pharaoh of Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty. His reign is conventionally dated c.…
Moments
- 559 BC Accession at Pasargadae Cyrus the Great
- 551 BC Born in Zou Confucius
- 550 BC Battle near Pasargadae Cyrus the Great
- 550 BC Capture of Ecbatana Cyrus the Great
- 547 BC Battle of Pteria Cyrus the Great
- 547 BC Engineering the Halys crossing with Croesus' army Thales of Miletus
- 546 BC Occupation of Sardis Cyrus the Great
- 544 BC Traditional birth in Qi Sun Tzu
- 534 BC Begged for alms at Rajagaha The Buddha
- 534 BC Departed Kapilavastu as an ascetic The Buddha
- 533 BC Crossing of the Hindu Kush Cyrus the Great
- 530 BC Emigration to Croton Pythagoras
- 529 BC Campaign against the Massagetae Cyrus the Great
- 528 BC Awakened beneath the Bodhi tree The Buddha
- 528 BC Delivered the first sermon at Sarnath The Buddha
- 528 BC Spent the first rains retreat at Sarnath The Buddha
- 527 BC Established retreats at Veluvana The Buddha
- 525 BC Birth at Eleusis Aeschylus
- 525 BC Visits the ruler of Tan Confucius
- 524 BC Kept the fifth retreat near Vesali The Buddha
- 522 BC Answers Duke Jing in Lu Confucius
- 522 BC Arrival at Susa before the accession coup Darius the Great
- 522 BC Move to Ecbatana after coronation Darius the Great
- 522 BC Overthrow of Gaumata at Sikayauvatiš Darius the Great
- 522 BC Capture of Babylon Darius the Great
- 522 BC Crossing of the Tigris during the Babylonian campaign Darius the Great
- 521 BC Battle against Phraortes at Kunduruš Darius the Great
- 520 BC Spent the ninth retreat at Kosambi The Buddha
- 517 BC Seeks service in Qi Confucius
- 517 BC Egyptian royal visit and pacification Darius the Great
- 516 BC Returns to Lu Confucius
- 516 BC Campaign march to Taxila Darius the Great
- 515 BC Kept the fourteenth retreat at Jetavana The Buddha
- 514 BC Returned to Kapilavastu for the fifteenth retreat The Buddha
- 513 BC Crossing the Bosporus into Europe Darius the Great
- 513 BC Danube crossing into Scythia Darius the Great
- 510 BC Departure from Croton amid anti-Pythagorean violence Pythagoras
- 510 BC Flight to Metapontum Pythagoras
- 509 BC Returned to Rajagaha for the twentieth retreat The Buddha
- 508 BC Began the long Savatthi residence cycle The Buddha
- 501 BC Governs Zhongdu Confucius
- 500 BC Represents Lu at Jiagu Confucius
- 500 BC Active philosopher of Ephesus Heraclitus
- 500 BC Deposited his book at the Artemision Heraclitus
- 497 BC Departs Lu for exile Confucius
- 497 BC Lives in Wei Confucius
- 497 BC Second Egyptian visit and canal inauguration Darius the Great
- 496 BC Passes through Pu Confucius
- 496 BC Stays with Qu Boyu in Wei Confucius
- 496 BC Surrounded at Kuang Confucius