page_title: 2nd millennium BC
section_title: Events
hierarchical_section_title: 2nd millennium BC / Events
caption_attribution_description: English: Smaller tablet of Treaty of Kadesh, discovered at Boğazköy, Turkey. Museum of the Ancient Orient, one of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. 日本語: カデシュの戦いの休戦条約を記した粘土板(大小2点のうち小さいもの) イスタンブール考古学博物館内オリエント博物館にて撮影
context_page_description: The 2nd millennium BC spanned the years 2000 through 1001 BC.
  In the Ancient Near East, it marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age.
  The Ancient Near Eastern cultures are well within the historical era:
  The first half of the millennium is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. The alphabet develops.
  At the center of the millennium, a new order emerges with Minoan Greek dominance of the Aegean and the rise of the Hittite Empire. The end of the millennium sees the Bronze Age collapse and the transition to the Iron Age.
  Other regions of the world are still in the prehistoric period. In Europe, the Beaker culture introduces the Bronze Age, presumably associated with Indo-European expansion. The Indo-Iranian expansion reaches the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent, propagating the use of the chariot.
  Mesoamerica enters the Pre-Classic period. North America is in the late Archaic stage. In Maritime Southeast Asia, the Austronesian expansion reaches Micronesia. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Bantu expansion begins.
  World population rises steadily, possibly surpassing the 100 million mark for the first time.
context_section_description: c. 2000 BC – Seima-Turbino Phenomenon
  c. 1700–1300 BC – Palace complex in Knossos, Crete, was built.
  c. 1700 BC earthquake damages palaces at Knossos and Phaistos.
  1627 BC Minoan eruption
  c. 1600 BC–1360 BC Egyptian domination over Canaan and Syria.
  c. 1575 BC Nubian Kerma sacks Egypt.
  1520 BC Egypt conquers Nubia.
  1478 BC Battle of Megiddo
  1269 BC Ramses II and Hattusilis III sign peace treaty.
  1274 BC Battle of Kadesh
  c. 1250 BC destruction of Troy VII
  1045 BC Zhou Dynasty founded in China.
caption: The Kadesh peace agreement—on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum—is believed to be the earliest international agreement
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