1st millennium

[2] In Western Eurasia (Europe and Near East), the first millennium was a time of great transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages.

The 1st century saw the peak of the Roman Empire, followed by its gradual decline during the period of Late Antiquity, the rise of Christianity and the Great Migrations.

In South America, pre-Incan, coastal cultures flourished, producing impressive metalwork and some of the finest pottery seen in the ancient world.

In North America, the Mississippian culture rose at the end of the millennium in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys.

The events in this section are organized according to the United Nations geoscheme 313 Edict of Milan[7]370 Huns invade Eastern Europe[7]396 Alaric and the Visigoths invade Greece[7] 750 Sacred Cenote built at Chichén Itzá[13]780 Murals at Bonampak abandoned[13] c.722 Reconquista begins

Jesus Christ Roman Empire Great Mosque of Mecca Chess Attila the Hun Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD Early Middle Ages Teotihuacan Pilate's court
From top left, clockwise: Depiction of Jesus , the central figure in Christianity ; The Colosseum , a landmark of the once-mighty Roman Empire ; Kaaba , the Great Mosque of Mecca , the holiest site of Islam ; Chess , a new board game, becomes popular around the globe; The Western Roman Empire falls, ushering in the Early Middle Ages ; The skeletal remains of a young woman, known as the "ring lady", killed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79; Attila the Hun , leader of the Hunnic Empire , which takes most of Eastern Europe (Background: Reproduction of ancient mural from Teotihuacan , National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City )
Map of the world in 1 AD, at the beginning of the new millennium.