File:2nd millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: in 1492, Christopher Columbus reaches

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, opening the European colonization of the Americas; the American Revolution, one of the late 1700s

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

-inspired

Atlantic Revolutions The Atlantic Revolutions (22 March 1765 – 4 December 1838) were numerous revolutions in the Atlantic World in the late 18th and early 19th century. Following the Age of Enlightenment, ideas critical of absolutist monarchies began to spread. A ...

; the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople; the

Atomic Bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

from World War II; an alternate source of light, the

light bulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

; for the first time, a

human being Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedality, bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex Human brain, brain. This has enabled the development of ad ...

sets foot on the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 moon mission; airplanes enable widespread air travel;

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, in the early 19th century, affects France and Europe with

expansionism Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who of ...

modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...

, and nationalism;

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

's telephone; in 1348, the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

kills in just two years over 100 million people worldwide, and over half of Europe. (Background: An excerpt from the Gutenberg Bible, the first major book printed in the West using movable type, in the 1450s), 500px, thumb rect 3 3 253 191 European colonization of the Americas rect 259 5 438 123 American Revolution rect 445 4 559 159 Islamic conquest of Constantinople rect 260 129 438 249

rect 5 212 110 375

rect 129 197 253 299 Telephone rect 123 309 257 386 Airplane rect 268 257 432 379 Apollo 11 rect 446 165 560 296 World War II rect 440 303 514 387

Light Bulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

rect 1 1 566 394 Gutenberg Bible The second millennium of the ''

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

'' or Common Era was a millennium spanning the years 1001 to 2000 (

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

20th 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ba ...

centuries; in astronomy: JD – ). It encompassed the

High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...

and Late Middle Ages of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

, the Islamic Golden Age and the period of Renaissance, followed by the Early Modern period, characterized by the Wars of Religion in Europe, the Age of Enlightenment, the Age of Discovery and the colonial period. Its final two centuries coincide with

Modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

, characterized by

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

, the rise of nation states, the rapid development of science, widespread education, and universal

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

and vaccinations in the Western world. The

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 (1901, MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 (2000, MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu, Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and ...

saw increasing globalization, most notably the two World Wars and the subsequent formation of the United Nations. 20th-century technology includes powered flight, television and semiconductor technology, including

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

s. The term " Great Divergence" was coined to refer the unprecedented cultural and political ascent of the Western world in the second half of the millennium, emerging by the 18th century as the most powerful and wealthy world civilization, having eclipsed

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

and the

Islamic world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...

. This allowed the

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

by European countries of much of the world during this millennium, including the Americas, Africa, Oceania, and South and Southeast Asia. World population grew without precedent over the millennium, from about 310 million in 1000 to about 6 billion in 2000. The

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

rate increased dramatically during this time; world population approximately doubled to 600 million by 1700, and doubled more than three more times by 2000, ultimately reaching about 1.8% per year in the second half of the 20th century.

Political history

Middle Ages

;Europe *Western/Central Europe ** Kingdom of Scotland (843–1707): see Medieval Scotland ** Kingdom of England (927–1707): see Medieval England ** Holy Roman Empire (962–1806): see Medieval Germany ** Kingdom of France (987–1789): see Medieval France ** Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1526) **

Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385) The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

: see Medieval Poland **

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...

(from c. 1300): see Medieval Switzerland * Medieval Italy ** Kingdom of Italy ** Papal States ** Maritime republics **

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

Medieval Spain Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the History of Spain that began in the 5th Century following the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the Early modern period in 1492. The history of Spain is marked by waves ...

: see also Reconquista ** Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031) ** Crown of Aragon (1035–1479) **

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the access ...

(1030–1479) ** Emirate of Granada (1230–1492) *

Medieval Scandinavia In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

: see also Viking Age **

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

(c. 936–1397) ** Kingdom of Sweden (c. 970–1397) ** Kingdom of Norway (c. 1015–1397) **

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

(1397–1523) *Eastern/Southeastern Europe ** Byzantine Empire (330–1453) ** Kievan Rus (880–1150) ** Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), Croatia in union with Hungary (1102–1526) **

Kingdom of Bosnia The Kingdom of Bosnia ( sh, Kraljevina Bosna / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and ...

(1154–1463) **

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

(1185–1396) **

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

(1217–1346) ** Serbian Empire (1346–1371) ** Grand Duchy of Lithuania (c. 1236–1795) ** Golden Horde (1240s–1502), see also: Tatar yoke **

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

(1283–1547) ;Near East : see also Crusades, Mongol invasions * Byzantine Empire (330–1453) * Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517) *

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...

(910–1171) * Kingdom of Georgia (1008–1493) * Seljuk Empire (1037–1194) * Khwarazmian dynasty (1077–1231) *

Crusader states The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...

** County of Edessa (1098–1144) ** Principality of Antioch (1098–1268) ** Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291) ** County of Tripoli (1102–1289) ** Latin Empire (1204–1261) * Ayyubids (1171–1260) *

Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...

(1194–1308) * Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517) * Ilkhanate (1256–1353) * Ottoman Empire (1299–1924) * Timurid Empire (1370–1507) ;North Africa * Almoravid dynasty (1040–1147) * Almohad dynasty (1121–1269) *

Marinid dynasty The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) a ...

(1244–1465) *

Hafsid dynasty The Hafsids ( ar, الحفصيون ) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. who ruled Ifriqiya (western ...

(1229–1574) * Kingdom of Tlemcen (1235–1554) ;East Asia * Goryeo (918–1392) *

Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...

(1026–1343) * Jin dynasty (1115–1234) * Joseon dynasty * Khmer Empire (802–1431) * Liao dynasty (907–1125) *

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

(1206–1368) * Ming dynasty (1368–1644) * Pagan Kingdom (849–1287) * Song dynasty (960–1279) * Western Xia (1038–1227) *

Yuan (Mongol) dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

(1271–1368) ;India *

Eastern Chalukyas Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, were a dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. They started out as governors of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan region. Subsequently, they became ...

(7th to 12th centuries) * Pala Empire (8th to 12th centuries) * Chola Empire (9th century to 13th centuries) * Western Chalukya Empire (10th to 12th centuries) * Kalachuri dynasty (10th to 12th centuries) * Eastern Ganga dynasty (11th to 15th centuries) *

(10th to 14th centuries) *

Kakatiya Kingdom The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. T ...

(1083–1323) * Sena dynasty (11th to 12th centuries) *

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

(1206–1526) *

Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...

(1352–1576) * Ahom Kingdom (from 1228) * Reddy Kingdom (1325–1448) * Seuna (Yadava) dynasty (1190–1315) * Vijayanagara Empire (1375–1591) ;Sahel / Sudan and Sub-Saharan Africa * Gao Empire, Sahel (c. 9th to 15th centuries) *

Benin Empire The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire ( Bini: ') was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th c ...

, West Africa (from c. 1180) * Sultanate of Ifat, Horn of Africa (1285–1415) *

Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...

, Sahel (c. 1230–1600) *

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...

, Sahel (c. 1464–1591) * Empire of Kitara, East Africa (13th century) * Oyo Empire, West Africa (from c. 1300) * Kongo Empire, West Africa (from c. 1390) * Kingdom of Nri, West Africa (from c. 1200?) ;Pre-Columbian Americas * Maya civilisation * Toltec *

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

* Vinland * Chimú * Kingdom of Cuzco *

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...

* Inca Empire

Early Modern period

;Europe * Kingdom of Poland * Holy Roman Empire (see

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among Germany, German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and ...

, early modern Germany ) * Kingdom of France, (see early modern France ) * Kingdom of England (before 1707) * Kingdom of Scotland (before 1707) * Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801) * Habsburg Empire (1526–1867) ; Colonial empires * Spanish Empire (1402–1975) * Portuguese Empire (1415–2002) * Dutch Empire (1543–1975) * British Empire (1583–1997) *

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

(1605–1960) ;Asia * Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) *

Safavid Persia Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

* Zand dynasty (1750–1794) * Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) * Afsharid dynasty (1736–1796) * Mughal Empire (1526–1858) * Mysore empire (1399–1950) ;Sub-Saharan Africa * Mutapa Empire * Maravi Empire * Luba Empire * Lunda Empire

Modern history

;Europe * French First Empire * British Empire (1583–1997) * Russian Empire (1721–1917) * United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) * Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918) * Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) * French Second Empire (1852–1870) * German Empire (1871–1918) * French Third Republic (1870–1940) * Nazi Germany (1933–1945) * United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (since 1922) * Soviet Union (1922–1991) ;Asia * Qing dynasty (1636–1912) * Qajar dynasty (1794–1925) * British Raj (1858–1947) * Empire of Japan (1868–1947) * Republic of China (1912–1949) * People's Republic of China (from 1949) * Partition of India (1947) *Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire *Russian conquest of Central Asia *First Philippine Republic (1898–1901) ;Americas * United States, United States of America (from 1776) * First Mexican Empire, Mexican Empire (1821–1823) * Empire of Brazil (1822–1889) * Federal Republic of Central America (1823–1841) * Gran Colombia (1819–1831) * Canadian Confederation (1867) ;Africa *European exploration of Africa *Scramble for Africa *French West Africa *French Equatorial Africa *French Algeria *German East Africa *Italian Libya *Portuguese Angola *Portuguese Mozambique *Spanish Sahara *Spanish protectorate in Morocco *Belgian Congo *Decolonisation *List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa

Cultural and technological history

Calendar

The Julian calendar was used in Europe at the beginning of the millennium, and all countries that once used the Julian calendar had adopted the Gregorian calendar by the end of it. For this reason, the end date of the 2nd millennium is usually calculated based on the Gregorian calendar, while the beginning date is based on the Julian calendar (or occasionally the proleptic Gregorian calendar). In the late 1990s, there was a dispute as to whether the millennium should be taken to end on December 31, 1999, or December 31, 2000. Stephen Jay Gould at the time argued there is no objective way of deciding this question. Associated Press reported that the third millennium began on 1 January 2001, but also reported that celebrations in the US were generally more subdued at the beginning of 2001, compared to the beginning of 2000. Many public celebrations for the end of the second millennium were held on December 31, 1999 – January 1, 2000—with a few people marking the end of the millennium a year later.

Centuries and decades

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Millennium 2nd millennium, Millennia