A timeline of significant historic events, centered around the creation of New Testament documents:

Year	Event	Comment
7000 BCE	Use of pottery
6000	Linen made from the flax plant
5000	Mesopotanian civilization
3760	First year of Jewish calendar
3500	First phonetic writing and formation of numbering system by Sumerians
3000	The Epic of Gilgamesh written	Found on clay tablets in Nineveh. Tells story of semi-divine king who sought immortality.
2850	Fu-Hi becomes the first Emperor of China
2680	Great Pyramid of Giza completed
2050	The earliest known written legal code: Ur-Nammu's code	The code allowed for the dismissal of corrupt men, protection of the poor, giving testomony under oath, and the ability of judges to order damages be paid to a victim by the guilty party.)
1860	Construction of Stonehenge
1750	Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylonian empire, written
1500	Book of Job written. Vedas, the sacred books of Hinduism, written.
1000	David is King of Israel	Iron age begins
900	Homer writes Iliad and Odyssey
585	Aesop's fables written
563	Buddha born in India
551	Confucius born in China
500	Completion of original Hebrew manuscripts making 39 Books of the Old Testament
470	Socrates born near Athens
440	Greek philosopher Leucippus and his student Democritus offer idea of atoms ("indivisible")
336	Alexander the Great becomes King of Macedon and supreme general of Greeks
30	Suicide of Anthony and Cleopatra
04 CE	Death of Herod
23	Strabo publishes Geography	A work covering the world known by Romans and Greeks during time of Emperor Augustus
26	Pontius Pilate becomes Roman procurator of Judea
27	Probable year of Jesus of Nazareth crucifixion
34	Apostle Paul begins missionary journeys
43	Romans build pontoon bridge in London	First London bridge
50	Heron of Greece invents steam power
(50-62)	Council of Jerusalem held	Described by Paul in Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15
50-70	Gospel of Mark While the text of Papias (from the 2nd century) is no longer extant, it was quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea: And the presbyter would say this: Mark, who had indeed been Peter's interpreter, accurately wrote as much as he remembered, yet not in order, about that which was either said or done by the Lord. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but later, as I said, Peter, who would make the teachings anecdotally but not exactly an arrangement of the Lord's reports, so that Mark did not fail by writing certain things as he recalled. For he had one purpose, not to omit what he heard or falsify them.^[1] Two papyrologists, Fr. Jose O'Callaghan and Carsten Peter Thiede, have proposed that lettering on a postage stamp-sized papyrus fragment found in a cave at Qumran, 7Q5, represents a fragment of Mark Mark 6:52-53; thus they assert that the present gospel was written and distributed prior to 68. Most papyrologists, however, consider this identification of the fragmentary text, and its supposition that early Christians lived at Qumran, to be dubious.
54	Nero becomes last Caesar (of Caesar family) of Rome
63	Paul dies in Rome
64	Great fire of Rome
65	First persecution of Christians in Rome documented
65	Nero commits suicide
67-79	Pope Linus	The second pope
70	Jerusalem destroyed by Titus
70	Didache ("Teaching") written	Entitled "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles" may have been the first written catechism. Not accepted as part of the canon, except by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
71-80	Colosseum built in Rome
73	Siege of Massada
74	Emperor Domition made women gladiators fight by torchlight at night	Recorded by Suetonius
79-88	Pope Anacletus	The third pope
80-90	Gospel of Matthew Although the document is anonymous, the authorship of this Gospel is traditionally ascribed to St. Matthew, a tax collector who became an apostle of Jesus. The early church fathers were unanimous in this view. Critical biblical scholars, like Herman N. Ridderbos in his book Matthew, do not consider the apostle Matthew to be the author of this Gospel. He cites a number of reasons such as the text being in Greek, not Aramaic, the Gospel's heavy reliance on Mark, and the lack of characteristics usually attributed to an eyewitness account. ^[3] Francis Write Beare agrees, and goes on to say in his book The Gospel according to Matthew "there are clear indications that it is a product of the second or third Christian generation. The traditional name of Matthew is retained in modern discussion only for convenience."^[4] Some conservative scholars argue that it was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, probably between the years 60 and 65, in part because the Second Temple's destruction is believed to be prophesized by Jesus while there is no reference to this event actually being fulfilled. (Matt 24)^{[citation needed]}. Liberal scholars usually date the gospel between the years 80 and 100, in part because they believe the reference to the temple's impending destruction shows it actually was written after the fact. Most scholars agree that the writings of Ignatius reference, but do not quote, the Gospel of Matthew, suggesting the gospel was completed at the very latest by the turn of the 2nd century. A minority of conservative Christian scholars argue for an even earlier date, as seen in the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia: "Catholic critics, in general, favor the years 40-45..."^[5]
80-90	Gospel of Luke Nowhere in Luke or Acts does it explicitly say that the author is Luke, the companion of Paul. The earliest surviving witnesses that place Luke as the author are the Muratorian Canon (c. 170), the writings of Irenaeus (c. 180), and the Anti-Marcionite Prologue (second half of the 2nd century).[1][2] Modern scholarship does not unanimously agree on these points, stating that the author of Luke was anonymous. The general consensus is that Luke was written by a Greek for gentile Christians. The Gospel is addressed to the author's patron, the most excellent Theophilus, which in Greek simply means Friend of God, and may not be a name, but a generic term for a Christian. The date of this gospel's composition is uncertain. Estimates range from c. 50 to c. 100. Traditionally, Christians believe that Luke wrote under the direction, if not at the dictation, of Paul. Conservative scholars suggest this would place it as having been written before the Acts, with Acts being composed around 63 or 64. In contrast to the traditional view, many contemporary scholars regard Mark as a source text used by the author(s) of Luke, following from the theory of Markan Priority. Since Mark may have been written around the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, around 70, Luke probably would not have been written before 70. These scholars have suggested dates for Luke from 75 to as late as 100, The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke are four papyrus fragments dating from the first half of the 3rd century [4], one containing portions of all four gospels (P⁴⁵) and three others preserving only brief passages (P⁴, P⁶⁹, P⁷⁵). These early copies, as well as the earliest copies of Acts, date after the Gospel was separated from Acts. The Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are 4th century codices of the Greek bible that are the oldest manuscripts that contain parts of Luke. The Codex Bezae, which contains the oldest complete copy of Luke, is a 5th or 6th century manuscript that contains Luke in Greek and Latin versions on facing pages. The Greek version appears to have descended from an offshoot of the main manuscript tradition, departing from more familiar readings at many points.
95-125	Persecution of Christians common	Believing groups beginning to develop around this time included: Marcionites - supporters of Marcion's teachings; scattered throughout much of the Mediterranean during mid- to late second century; believed Paul was the true apostle and were against the Jewish Law and their God - Jesus only seemed to be human, Gnostics - in major urban areas throughout the Mediterranean; believed Jesus was a human, entered by a god from the divine realm at his baptism who then left at his death; believed this Christ taught the knowledge of salvation to a few, Jewish-Christian Adoptionists - concentrated around Palestine; believed Jesus to be a righteous human, adopted by God at his baptism and raised at his death; believed in following the law, and proto-orthodox Christians - the forerunners of today's Christian; believed Jesus was both human and divine; drew the largest number of believers; eventually became the predominant group
98	Pope Clement I	The fourth pope, may have written two epistles to Corinth, Clement I and Clement II, that were widely read, neither was canonized
100-165	Justin Martyr lived and wrote earliest surviving Christian apologies	Writes the First Apology and The Dialogue and Resurrection
117-138	Hadrian rules Rome	Postal system established, Roman law codified, Hadrian wall built between England and Scotland
120-180	Gospel of Mary Magdelene was written
122	Julius Caesar conquers England
136	Jewish revolt suppressed	Jewish race dispersed by Romans
180-350	Gospel of Phillip was written
182-251	Origen become one of the leading scholars of the early Christian Church
238	Six Roman Emperors in one year	Maximin, Gordian I, Gordian II, Balbinus, Pupienus Maximus & Gordian III
250	Earliest uncovered Christian Church	A house converted to serve as a church in the city of Dura in eastern Syria
250	Greek mathematician Diophantus publishes Arithmetica	First known algebra text, 13 parts - 6 survive
284-305	Diocletian and Maximian share Roman Emperor
300	The church council of Elvira, Spain, prohibits intermarriage, or eating together, between Jews and Christian
301	Armenia was first nation to adopt Christianity as official state religion
305	Emperor Diocletian initiates "Great Persecution" of Christians	The last and worst was intended to wipe out the church.
305-311	Galerius is Roman Emperor	Proclaims first tolerance of Christianity
313	Edict of Milan, issued by Constantine 1 (the western emperor) and Licinius (the Eastern emperor), states that the Roman Empire will be neutral with regard to religious worship	Known as Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, given credit for allowing Christians to practice their faith in the Roman empire
325	Constantine introduces Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week. Council of Nicea convened.	Also introduced movable (Easter) and immovable (Christmas) feasts. Many councils of bishops were convened during that time, including council of Alexandria by St. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, but Nicea produced the documents used today: Nicene Creed, canons and synodal decree
326	Constantine and his mother Helena start a perdio of building churches in Palestine to mark the places considered holy to Christianity	Includes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
337	Constantine converts to Christianity on his deathbed
362	Emperor Julian attempts to reestablish paganism
381	Emperor Theodosius IX makes Christianity the official state religion	Council of Constantinople held
382	The Canon of the Bible established by Pope Saint Damasus I
390	Jerome's Latin Vulgate manuscripts published, containing all 80 books of the Scriptures	(39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament, 14 Apocrypha)
395	Division of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius 1 dies	Split between his sons: Arcadius given rule over th east; Honorius rules the west from Milan
432	St Patrick starts missionary work in Ireland
440	December 25th celebrated as birth date of Christ
1095	At Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II calls for holy war to wrest Jerusalem from Muslims, launching the First Crusade the next year.	Gilbert Crispin's "A Friendly Disputation" published - a series of discussions on the opposing arguments of faiths between him and a Jew from Mainz.
Bibles over time Gospels over time Consideration of Women prior to Christianity Contracts Code of the Assura Code of the Nesilim Babylonian reports Other Gospels Mary Magdelene Philip Didache Clement I Clement II Nicene Creed Nazarenes

A timeline of significant historic events, centered around the creation of New Testament documents:

Year

Event

Comment

7000 BCE

Use of pottery

6000

Linen made from the flax plant

5000

Mesopotanian civilization

3760

First year of Jewish calendar

3500

First phonetic writing and formation of numbering system by Sumerians

3000

The Epic of Gilgamesh written

Found on clay tablets in Nineveh. Tells story of semi-divine king who sought immortality.

2850

Fu-Hi becomes the first Emperor of China

2680

Great Pyramid of Giza completed

2050

The earliest known written legal code: Ur-Nammu's code

The code allowed for the dismissal of corrupt men, protection of the poor, giving testomony under oath, and the ability of judges to order damages be paid to a victim by the guilty party.)

1860

Construction of Stonehenge

1750

Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylonian empire, written

1500

Book of Job written. Vedas, the sacred books of Hinduism, written.

1000

David is King of Israel

Iron age begins

900

Homer writes Iliad and Odyssey

585

Aesop's fables written

563

Buddha born in India

551

Confucius born in China

500

Completion of original Hebrew manuscripts making 39 Books of the Old Testament

470

Socrates born near Athens

440

Greek philosopher Leucippus and his student Democritus offer idea of atoms ("indivisible")

336

Alexander the Great becomes King of Macedon and supreme general of Greeks

30

Suicide of Anthony and Cleopatra

04 CE

Death of Herod

23

Strabo publishes Geography

A work covering the world known by Romans and Greeks during time of Emperor Augustus

26

Pontius Pilate becomes Roman procurator of Judea

27

Probable year of Jesus of Nazareth crucifixion

34

Apostle Paul begins missionary journeys

43

Romans build pontoon bridge in London

First London bridge

50

Heron of Greece invents steam power

(50-62)

Council of Jerusalem held

Described by Paul in Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15

50-70

Gospel of Mark

While the text of Papias (from the 2nd century) is no longer extant, it was quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea:

54

Nero becomes last Caesar (of Caesar family) of Rome

63

Paul dies in Rome

64

Great fire of Rome

65

A minority of conservative Christian scholars argue for an even earlier date, as seen in the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia: "Catholic critics, in general, favor the years 40-45..."^[5]