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
Kumārajīva
from 344 to 413
8 moments here
Kumārajīva was a Kuchean Buddhist monk, scholar, and Sanskrit-to-Chinese translator. His education and movements connected Kucha, Kashmir, Kashgar,…
Livy
in 59 BC
1 moment here
Titus Livius, known as Livy, was a Roman historian born at Patavium (modern Padua). The surviving evidence for his movements is sparse: the principal…
Lucian of Samosata
from 125 to 165
7 moments here
Syrian-born Greek-language satirist, rhetorician, and pamphleteer, conventionally dated c. 125 to after 180.…
Marcus Aurelius
from 121 to 180
18 moments here
Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and Stoic philosopher. This chronology records securely attested physical presence from his birth and Roman residences…
Matthew the Apostle
in 30
2 moments here
Matthew the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles. The surviving sources securely place him at a tax-collection station in Capernaum when called by…
Mencius
from 371 BC to 289 BC
8 moments here
Mencius (Meng Ke) was a Confucian philosopher of the Warring States period. The traditional dates of his life are approximate.…
Mesrop Mashtots
from 361 to 440
12 moments here
Armenian linguist, cleric, educator, and inventor traditionally credited with creating the Armenian alphabet.…
Nāgārjuna
from 150 to 250
2 moments here
Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist scholar-monk, philosopher, and teacher traditionally dated c. 150–c. 250 CE.…
Nero
from 37 to 68
19 moments here
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was Roman emperor from 13 October 54 to 9 June 68. This chronology records securely documented physical…
Odoacer
from 472 to 476
2 moments here
Odoacer (c. 433–15 March 493) was a Roman military officer and ruler of Italy from 476 until his killing by Theodoric at Ravenna.…
Ovid
from 43 BC to 17
9 moments here
Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) was a Roman poet born at Sulmo. Educated in Rome, he later travelled in Greece, Asia Minor, and Sicily, though the…
Paul the Apostle
from 5 to 64
45 moments here
Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was a first-century Jewish Christian apostle and missionary. The chronology below follows the traditional reconstruction used…
Philip II of Macedon
from 382 BC to 336 BC
24 moments here
King of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. Philip transformed Macedon into the dominant power in Greece through military reform,…
Pindar
in 490 BC
1 moment here
Ancient Greek lyric poet from Boeotia, celebrated chiefly for victory odes composed for patrons across the Greek world.…
Plato
from 428 BC to 347 BC
18 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens, student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, and founder of the Academy.…
Pliny the Elder
from 23 to 79
13 moments here
Gaius Plinius Secundus, known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, military commander, and imperial procurator.…
Plotinus
from 205 to 270
5 moments here
Plotinus was a Greek-speaking philosopher from Roman Egypt and the foundational figure of Neoplatonism.…
Plutarch
from 66 to 95
4 moments here
Greek Platonist philosopher, biographer, essayist, magistrate, and Delphic priest. He was born at Chaeronea between 45 and 47 CE and died after 119…
Pompey
from 106 BC to 48 BC
34 moments here
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic.…
Ptolemy
from 127 to 141
2 moments here
Claudius Ptolemy was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and music theorist.…
Pyrrhus of Epirus
from 319 BC to 272 BC
23 moments here
Pyrrhus (c. 319–272 BC) was an Aeacid king of Epirus and a major Hellenistic military leader.…
Pythagoras
from 570 BC to 490 BC
5 moments here
Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of the Pythagorean way of life. The surviving evidence for his biography is sparse and often contradictory;…
Qin Shi Huang
from 259 BC to 210 BC
34 moments here
Born Zhao Zheng at Handan, he became king of Qin as a child, completed the conquest of the rival Warring States, and proclaimed himself China’s First…
Ramesses II
from 1281 BC to 1213 BC
17 moments here
Ramesses II, commonly called Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty.…
Moments
- 496 BC Traditional death at Gusu Sun Tzu
- 495 BC Arrives and lodges in Chen Confucius
- 495 BC Passes through Cao Confucius
- 495 BC Passes through Zheng Confucius
- 494 BC Leaves Pu for Wei Confucius
- 494 BC Remains in Chen Confucius
- 492 BC Practices rites under a tree in Song Confucius
- 490 BC Fought at Marathon Aeschylus
- 490 BC Pythian Games attendance Pindar
- 490 BC Death at Metapontum Pythagoras
- 489 BC Besieged between Chen and Cai Confucius
- 489 BC Visits the Duke of Ye Confucius
- 486 BC Entombment at Naqsh-e Rostam Darius the Great
- 484 BC Returns home to Qufu Confucius
- 484 BC Spent the final retreat at Beluva The Buddha
- 483 BC Crossed the Kakkuttha River The Buddha
- 483 BC Died at Kushinagar The Buddha
- 483 BC Stayed in Cunda's grove at Pava The Buddha
- 480 BC Military service at Salamis Aeschylus
- 480 BC Birth on Salamis Euripides
- 480 BC Victory paean after Salamis Sophocles
- 479 BC Fought at Plataea Aeschylus
- 479 BC Buried beside the Sishui River Confucius
- 479 BC Dies in Lu Confucius
- 469 BC Born in the deme of Alopece Socrates
- 468 BC First Dionysia victory Sophocles
- 465 BC Receives Argive envoys at Susa Artaxerxes I
- 460 BC Birth at Abdera Democritus
- 458 BC Final Sicilian visit to Gela Aeschylus
- 456 BC Death at Gela Aeschylus
- 455 BC First City Dionysia competition Euripides
- 447 BC Migration to Athens Herodotus
- 446 BC Birth in Athens Aristophanes
- 445 BC Court audience with Nehemiah Artaxerxes I
- 443 BC Migration to Thurii Herodotus
- 440 BC Samian campaign Sophocles
- 432 BC Serves at Potidaea Socrates
- 428 BC Born in Athens Plato
- 424 BC Production of The Knights at the Lenaia Aristophanes
- 424 BC Burial at Naqsh-e Rustam Artaxerxes I
- 424 BC Death at Susa Artaxerxes I
- 424 BC Retreats from Delium Socrates
- 422 BC Fights at Amphipolis Socrates
- 420 BC Reception of Asclepius at his house Sophocles
- 409 BC Residence in Magnesia Euripides
- 408 BC Final competition in Athens Euripides
- 408 BC Journey to Archelaus's court Euripides
- 406 BC Death in Macedon Euripides
- 406 BC Mourning appearance at the City Dionysia proagon Sophocles
- 404 BC Summoned to the Tholos by the Thirty Socrates