Question: Which is the oldest religion?

Timeline of religion





Mythology
American
Arabian
Armenian
Aztec
Amazigh
Celtic
Christian
Chinese
Egyptian
Greek
Guarani
Hindu
Inca
Islamic
Japanese
Jewish
Korean
Maya
Mesopotamian
Micronesian
Norse
Persian
Philippine
Polynesian
Roman
Romanian
Slavic
Turkic
See also
Religion and mythology
Comparative religion
Symbolism
Theology
List of mythologiesvt
The timeline of religion is a chronological catalogue of important and noteworthy religious events in pre-historic and modern times. This article reaches into pre-historic times, as the bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates written history. Written history (the age of formal writing) is only c.5000 years old.[1] A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of pre-historic religion being derived from archaeological records and other indirect sources, and from suppositions. Much pre-historic religion is subject to continued debate.
Prehistory
Middle Paleolithic (300,000-50,000 BCE)
Despite claims by some researchers of bear worship, belief in an afterlife, and other rituals, the archaeological evidence does not support the presence of Religious practices by modern humans or neanderthals during this period.[2]
100,000 BCEEarliest known human burial in the Middle East.
70,000-35,000 BCENeanderthal burials take place in areas of Europe and the Middle East.[3]
50th to 11th millennium BCE
40,000 BCEThe remains of one of the earliest known anatomically modern humans to be discovered cremated, was buried near Lake Mungo.[4][5][6][7][8]
38,000 BCEThe Aurignacian[9] Löwenmensch figurine, the oldest known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world and one of the oldest known sculptures in general, was made. The sculpture has also been interpreted as anthropomorphic, giving human characteristics to an animal, although it may have represented a deity.[10]
35-000-26,000 BCENeanderthal burials are absent from the archaeological record. This roughly coincides with the time period of the Homo sapiens' introduction to Europe and decline of the Neanderthals,[3] individual skulls and/or long bones began appearing, heavily stained with red ochre and separately buried. This practice may be the origin of sacred relics.[3] The oldest discovered "Venus figurines" appeared in graves. Some were deliberately broken or repeatedly stabbed, possibly representing the murders of the men with whom they were buried,[3] or owing to some other unknown social dynamic.
25,000–21,000 BCEClear examples of burials are present in Iberia, Wales, and eastern Europe. These, too, incorporate the heavy use of red ochre. Additionally, various objects were included in the graves (e.g. periwinkle shells, weighted clothing, dolls, possible drumsticks, mammoth ivory beads, fox teeth pendants, panoply of ivory artifacts, "baton" antlers, flint blades etc.).[3]
13,000–8,000 BCENoticeable burial activity resumed. Prior mortuary activity had either taken a less obvious form or contemporaries retained some of their burial knowledge in the absence of such activity. Dozens of men, women, and children were being buried in the same caves which were used for burials 10,000 years beforehand. All these graves are delineated by the cave walls and large limestone blocks. The burials share a number of characteristics (such as use of ochre, and shell and mammoth ivory jewellery) that go back thousands of years. Some burials were double, comprising an adult male with a juvenile male buried by his side. They were now beginning to take on the form of modern cemeteries. Old burials were commonly re-dug and moved to make way for new ones, with the older bones often being gathered and cached together. Large stones may have acted as grave markers. Pairs of ochred antlers were sometimes mounted on poles within the cave; this is compared to the modern practice of leaving flowers at a grave.[3]
10th Millennium to 1st century BCE
9130–7370 BCEThis was the apparent period of use of Göbekli Tepe, one of the oldest human-made sites of worship yet discovered; evidence of similar usage has also been found in another nearby site, Nevalı Çori.[11]
7500–5700 BCEThe settlements of Catalhoyuk developed as a likely spiritual centre of Anatolia. Possibly practising worship in communal shrines, its inhabitants left behind numerous clay figurines and impressions of phallic, feminine and hunting scenes. 
5500–4500 BCEThe Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE) emerged, probably within the Pontic-Caspian steppe (though their exact urheimat is debated). The PIE peoples developed a religion focused on sacrificial ideology, which would influence the religions and cultures throughout Eurasia.
The Ancient Era
c.3750 BCEThe Proto-Semitic people emerged from a generally accepted urheimat in the Levant. The Proto-Semitic people would migrate throughout the Near East into Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean.
3300–1300 BCE
The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system and multi-storeyed houses.
3200–3100 BCENewgrange, the 250,000 ton (226,796.2 tonne) passage tomb aligned to the winter solstice in Ireland, was built.[12]
3100 BCEThe initial form of Stonehenge was completed. The circular bank and ditch enclosure, about 110 metres (360ft) across, may have been completed with a timber circle.
3000 BCESumerian Cuneiform emerged from the proto-literate Uruk period, allowing the codification of beliefs and creation of detailed historical religious records.
The second phase of Stonehenge was completed and appeared to function as the first enclosed cremation cemetery in the British Isles.
2635–2610 BCEThe oldest surviving Egyptian Pyramid was commissioned by Pharaoh Djoser.
2600 BCEStonehenge began to take on its final form. The wooden posts were replaced with bluestone. It began taking on an increasingly complex setup (including an altar, a portal, station stones, etc.) and shows consideration of solar alignments.
2560 BCEThis is the approximate time accepted as the completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest pyramid of the Giza Plateau.
2494–2345 BCEThe first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the Pyramid Texts, was composed in Ancient Egypt.
2200 BCEThe Minoan Civilization developed in Crete. Citizens worshipped a variety of goddesses.
2150–2000 BCEThe earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh—originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī)—were written.
1700–1100 BCEThe oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed. This is the first mention of Rudra a fearsome form of Shiva as the supreme god.
1600 BCEThe ancient development of Stonehenge came to an end.
1500 BCEThe Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
1351 or 1353 BCEThe reign of Akhenaten, sometimes credited with starting the earliest known recorded monotheistic religion, in Ancient Egypt.
1300–1000 BCEThe "standard" Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni.
1250–600 BCEThe Upanishads (Vedic texts) were composed, containing the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
1200 BCEThe Greek Dark Age began.
1200 BCEThe Olmecs built the earliest pyramids and temples in Central America.[13]
877–777 BCEThe life of Parshvanatha, 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism.[14][15]
800 BCEThe Greek Dark Age ends.
8th to 6th centuries BCEThe Chandogya Upanishad is compiled, significant for containing the earliest to date mention of Krishna. Verse 3.17.6 mentions Krishna Devakiputra (Sanskrit: कृष्णाय देवकीपुत्रा) as a student of the sage Ghora Angirasa.
6th to 5th centuries BCEThe first five books of the Jewish Tanakh, the Torah (Hebrew: תורה‬), are probably compiled.[16]
6th century BCEPossible start of Zoroastrianism; however some date Zarathustra closer to 1000 BCE . Zoroastrianism flourished under the Persian emperors known as the Achaemenids. The emperors Darius (ruled 522–486 B.C.E.) and Xerxes (ruled 486–465 B.C.E.) made it the official religion of their empire.[17]
600–500 BCEThe earliest Confucian writing, Shu Ching, incorporates ideas of harmony and heaven.
599–527 BCEThe life of Mahavira, 24th and last Tirthankara of Jainism.[18]
c.563/480–c.483/400 BCE,[19][20][21]Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism was born.
551 BCEConfucius, founder of Confucianism, was born.[13]
399 BCESocrates was tried for impiety.
369-372 BCEBirth of Mencius and Zhuang Zhou
300 BCEThe oldest known version of the Tao Te Ching was written on bamboo tablets.
300 BCETheravada Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Venerable Mahinda.
c.250 BCEThe Third Buddhist council was convened by Ashoka. Ashoka sends Buddhist missionaries to faraway countries, such as China, mainland Southeast Asia, Malay kingdoms, and Hellenistic kingdoms.
140 BCEThe earliest grammar of Sanskrit literature was composed by Pāṇini.
100 BCE–500 CEThe Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, constituting the foundational texts of Yoga, were composed.
The Common Era
1st to 5th Centuries
c.4 BCE–c.30/33 CEThe life of Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity.
31-36The death of John the Baptist.
50–62The first Christian Council was convened in Jerusalem.
70The Siege of Jerusalem, the Destruction of the Temple and the rise of Rabbinic Judaism.
220Manichaean Gnosticism was formed by the prophet Mani.
250Some of the oldest parts of the Ginza Rba, a core text of Mandaean Gnosticism, were written.
250–900Classic Mayan step pyramids were constructed.
313The Edict of Milan decreed religious toleration in the Roman empire.
325The first ecumenical council (the Council of Nicaea) was convened to attain a consensus on doctrine through an assembly representing all Christendom. It established the original Nicene Creed and fixed the date of Easter. It also confirmed the primacy of the Sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, and granted the See of Jerusalem a position of honour.
c.350The oldest record of the complete biblical texts (the Codex Sinaiticus) survives in a Greek translation called the Septuagint, dating to the 4th century CE.
380Theodosius I declared Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
381The second ecumenical council (the First Council of Constantinople) reaffirmed and revised the Nicene Creed, repudiating Arianism and Macedonianism.
381–391Theodosius proscribed paganism within the Roman Empire.
393A council of early Christian bishops listed and approved a biblical canon for the first time at the Synod of Hippo.
Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries)

5th to 10th centuries
405St. Jerome completed the Vulgate, the first Latin translation of the Bible.
410The Western Roman Empire began to decline, signalling the onset of the Dark Ages.
424The Church of the East in Sassanian Empire (Persia) formally separated from the See of Antioch and proclaimed full ecclesiastical independence.
431The third ecumenical council (the First Council of Ephesus) was convened as a result of the controversial teachings of Nestorius of Constantinople. It repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (the God-bearer or Mother of God). It also repudiated Pelagianism and again reaffirmed the Nicene Creed.
449The Second Council of Ephesus declared support for Eutyches and attacked his opponents. Originally convened as an ecumenical council, its ecumenical nature was rejected by the Chalcedonians, who denounced the council as latrocinium.
451The fourth ecumenical council (the Council of Chalcedon) rejected the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism, adopting instead the Chalcedonian Creed. It reinstated those deposed in 449, deposed Dioscorus of Alexandria and elevated the bishoprics of Constantinople and Jerusalem to the status of patriarchates.
451The Oriental Orthodox Church rejected the christological view put forth by the Council of Chalcedon and was excommunicated.
480–547Benedict of Nursia wrote his Rule, laying the foundation of Western Christian monasticism.
553The fifth ecumenical council (the Second Council of Constantinople) repudiated the Three Chapters as Nestorian and condemned Origen of Alexandria.
570–632The life of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullāh, the Prophet of Islam.
632–661The Rashidun Caliphate heralded the Arab conquest of Persia, Egypt and Iraq, bringing Islam to those regions.
650The verses of the Qur'an were compiled in the form of a book in the era of Uthman, the third Caliph of Islam.
661–750The Umayyad Caliphate brought the Arab conquest of North Africa, Spain and Central Asia, marking the greatest extent of the Arab conquests and bringing Islam to those regions.
680–681The sixth ecumenical council (the Third Council of Constantinople) rejected Monothelitism and Monoenergism.
c.680The division between Sunni and Shiites Muslims developed.
692The Quinisext Council (also known as the Council in Trullo), an amendment to the 5th and 6th ecumenical councils, established the Pentarchy.
712Kojiki, the oldest Shinto text, was written.[13]
716–936The migration of Zoroastrian (Parsi) communities from Persia to India began, caused by Muslim conquest of their lands and the ensuing persecution.
754The latrocinium Council of Hieria supported iconoclasm.
787The seventh ecumenical council (the Second Council of Nicaea) restored the veneration of icons and denounced iconoclasm.
788–820The life of Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara, who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedānta.
c.850The oldest extant manuscripts of the vocalized Masoretic text, upon which modern editions are based, date to 9th century CE.
11th to 15th centuries
c.1052–c.1135The life of Milarepa, one of most famous yogis and poets of Tibetan Buddhism.
1054The Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches was formalised.
1095–1099The First Crusade led to the capture of Jerusalem.
1107–1110Sigurd I of Norway led the Norwegian Crusade against Muslims in Spain, the Balearic Islands and in Palestine.
1147–1149The Second Crusade was waged in response to the fall of the County of Edessa.
1189–1192In the Third Crusade European leaders attempted to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin.
1202–1204The Fourth Crusade, originally intended to recapture Jerusalem, instead led to the sack of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
1206The Delhi Sultanate was established.
1209–1229The Albigensian Crusade was conducted to eliminate Catharism in Occitania, Europe.
1217–1221With the Fifth Crusade, Christian leaders again attempted (but failed) to recapture Jerusalem.
1222−1282The life of Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law and founder of Nichiren Buddhism.. Based at the Nichiren Shoshu Head Temple Taisekiji (Japan), this branch of Buddhism teaches the importance of chanting the mantra Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō.
1228–1229The Sixth Crusade won control of large areas of the Holy Land for Christian rulers, more through diplomacy than through fighting.
1229The Codex Gigas was completed by Herman the Recluse in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice near Chrudim.
1244Jerusalem was sacked again, instigating the Seventh Crusade.
1270The Eighth Crusade was launched by Louis IX of France but largely petered out when Louis died shortly after reaching Tunis.
1271–1272The Ninth Crusade failed.
1320Pope John XXII laid the groundwork for future witch-hunts with the formalisation of the persecution of witchcraft.
1378–1417The Roman Catholic Church split during the Western Schism.
1415The death of Jan Hus who is considered as the first reformer of the Western Christianity. This event is often considered as the begin of the Reformation.[22][23]
1469–1539The life of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism.
1484Pope Innocent VIII marked the beginning of the classical European witch-hunts with his papal bull Summis desiderantes.
1486-1534Chaitanya Mahaprabhu popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna and composed the Siksastakam (eight devotional prayers) in Sanskrit. His followers, Gaudiya Vaishnavas, revere him as a spiritual reformer, a Hindu revivalist and an avatar of Krishna.
Early modern and Modern eras

16th Century
1500In the Spanish Empire, Catholicism was spread and encouraged through such institutions as the missions and the Inquisition.
1517Martin Luther posted The Ninety-Five Theses on the door of All Saints' Church, Wittenberg, launching the Protestant Reformation.
1526African religious systems were introduced to the Americas, with the commencement of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
1534Henry VIII separated the English Church from Rome and made himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.
1562The Massacre of Vassy sparked the first of a series of French Wars of Religion.
17th Century
1699Guru Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa in Sikhism.
18th Century
1708Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the last Sikh guru, died after instituting the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, as the eternal Guru.
1770Baron d'Holbach published The System of Nature said to be the first positive, unambiguous statement of atheism in the West.[24]
1781Ghanshyam, later known as Sahajanand Swami/Swaminarayan, was born in Chhapaiya at the house of Dharmadev and Bhaktimata.
1789–1799In the Dechristianisation of France[25][26] the Revolutionary Government confiscated Church properties, banned monastic vows and, with the passage of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, removed control of the Church from the Pope and subordinated it as a department of the Government. The Republic also replaced the traditional Gregorian Calendar and abolished Christian holidays.
c.1790–1840The Second Great Awakening, a Protestant religious revival in the United States.
1791Freedom of religion, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, was added as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, forming an early and influential secular government.
19th Century
1801The French Revolutionary Government and Pope Pius VII entered into the Concordat of 1801. While Roman Catholicism regained some powers and became recognized as "the religion of the great majority of the French", it was not afforded the latitude it had enjoyed prior to the Revolution and was not re-established as the official state religion. The Church relinquished all claims to estate seized after 1790, the clergy was state salaried and was obliged to swear allegiance to the State. Religious freedom was restored.
1819–1850The life of Siyyid 'Alí Muḥammad Shírází (Persian: سيد علی ‌محمد شیرازی), better known as the Báb, the founder of Bábism.
1817–1892The life of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
1823The Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith saw the Angel Moroni and prophesied of what is now the Book of Mormon.
1830sAdventism was started by William Miller in the United States.[27]
1830The Church of Christ was founded by Joseph Smith on 6 April — initiating the Latter Day Saint restorationist movement.
1835–1908The life of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the messianic Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam.
1836–1886The life of Ramakrishna, saint and mystic of Bengal.
1841Satguru Ram Singh Ji created the Namdhari sect within the Sikh religion.
1844Joseph Smith was murdered on 27 June, resulting in a succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement.
1857First great popular uprising against British colonial government in India. Also called Sepoy Mutiny.
1875The Theosophical Society was formed in New York City by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others.
1879Christian Science was granted its charter in Boston, Massachusetts.
1881Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed by Charles Taze Russell, initiating the Bible Student movement.
1889The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established.
1893Swami Vivekananda's first speech at The Parliament of World Religions, Chicago, brought the ancient philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world.
1899Aradia (aka The Gospel of the Witches), one of the earliest books describing post witchhunt European religious Witchcraft, was published by Charles Godfrey Leland.[28]
20th Century
1901The incorporation of the Spiritualists' National Union legally representing Spiritualism in the United Kingdom.
1904Thelema was founded by Aleister Crowley.
1905In France the law on the Separation of the Churches and the State was passed, officially establishing state secularism and putting an end to the funding of religious groups by the state.[29]
Becoming a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids and other pagans, the Ancient Order of Druids organised the first recorded reconstructionist ceremony in Stonehenge.
1908The Khalifatul Masih was established in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as the "Second Manifestation of God's Power".
1917The October Revolution in Russia led to the annexation of all church properties and subsequent religious suppression.
1920The Self Realization Fellowship Church of all Religions with its headquarters in Los Angeles, CA, was founded by Paramahansa Yogananda.
1926Cao Dai founded.
1929The Cristero War, fought between the secular government and religious Christian rebels in Mexico, ended.
1930The Rastafari movement began following the coronation of Haile Selassie I as Emperor of Ethiopia.
The Nation of Islam was founded in Detroit, Michigan.
1932A neo-Hindu religious movement, the Brahma Kumaris or "Daughters of Brahma", started.  Its origin can be traced to the group "Om Mandali", founded by Lekhraj Kripalani(1884–1969).
1931Jehovah's Witnesses emerged from the Bible Student movement under the influence of Joseph Franklin Rutherford.[30]
1939–1945Millions of Jews were relocated and murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
1947First nation in the name of Islam was created called Pakistan. British India was partitioned into the Islamic nation of Pakistan and the secular nation of India with a Hindu majority.
1948The modern state of Israel was established as a homeland for the Jews.
1954The Church of Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard.[31]
Wicca was publicised by Gerald Gardner.[32]
1956Navayana Buddhism (Neo-Buddhism) was founded by B. R. Ambedkar, initially attracting some 380,000 Dalit converts from Hinduism.
1959The 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet amidst unrest and established an exile community in India.
1960sVarious Neopagan and New Age movements gained momentum.
1961Unitarian Universalism was formed from the merger of Unitarianism and Universalism.[33]
1962The Church of All Worlds, the first American neo-pagan church, was formed by a group including Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, and Richard Lance Christie.
1962–1965The Second Vatican Council was convened.[34][35][36][37]
1965Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and introduced translations of the Bhagavad-Gita and Vedic Scriptures in mass production all over the world.
1966The Church of Satan was founded by Anton LaVey on Walpurgisnacht.[38]
1972–1984The Stonehenge free festivals started.[39]
1972–2004Germanic Neopaganism (aka Heathenism, Heathenry, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siðr, Vor Siðr, and Theodism) began to experience a second wave of revival.[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]
1973Claude Vorilhon established the Raëlian Movement and changed his name to Raël following a purported extraterrestrial encounter in December 1973.
1975The Temple of Set was founded in Santa Barbara, California.
1979The Iranian Revolution resulted in the establishment of an Islamic Republic in Iran.
1981The Stregherian revival continued. "The Book of the Holy Strega" and "The Book of Ways" Volume I & II were published.
1984Operation Blue Star in the holiest site of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, led to Anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and adjoining regions, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
1985The Battle of the Beanfield forced an end to the Stonehenge free festivals.[39][51][52]
1989Following the revolutions of 1989, the overthrow of many Soviet-style states allowed a resurgence in open religious practice in many Eastern European countries.[53]
1990sReconstructionist Pagan movements (Celtic, Hellenic, Roman, Slavic, Baltic, Finnish, etc.) proliferate throughout Europe.
1993The European Council convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, agreed to the Copenhagen Criteria, requiring religious freedom within all members and prospective members of the European Union.
1998The Strega Arician Tradition was founded.[54]
21st century

200121 terrorists from Al-Qaeda killed 2,977 on September 11, 2001 in the name of Islam against the United States of America. Osama Bin Laden claimed responsibility and praised the attacks.[55]
2001In England and Wales, 390,127 people (almost 0.8%) stated their religion as Jedi on the 2001 Census forms, surpassing the numbers of Sikhs, Jews and Buddhists, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country. In the same census, 2.6% of the population of Brighton claimed to be Jedi.[56]
2006Sectarian rivalries exploded in Iraq between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, with each side targeting the other in terrorist acts, and bombings of mosques and shrines.[57]
2008Nepal, the world's only Hindu Kingdom, was declared a secular state by its Constituent Assembly after declaring the state a Republic on 28 May 2008.[58]
2009The Church of Scientology in France was fined €600,000 and several of its leaders were fined and imprisoned for defrauding new recruits of their savings.[59][60][61] The state failed to disband the church owing to legal changes occurring over the same time period.[61][62]
2011Civil war broke out in Syria over domestic political issues. The country soon split along sectarian lines between Sunni, Alawite and Shiite Muslims.[63] War crimes and acts of genocide were committed by both parties as religious leaders on each side condemned the other as heretics.[64] The Syrian civil war soon became a battleground for regional sectarian unrest, as fighters joined the fight from as far away as North America and Europe, as well as Iran and the Arab states.[65]
2014A supposed Islamic Caliphate was established by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in regions of war torn Syria and Iraq, drawing global support from radical Sunni Muslims.[66][67] This was a modern-day attempt to re-establish Islamic self-rule in accordance with strict adherence to Shariah- Islamic religious law.[68][69] In the wake of the Syrian civil war, Islamic extremists targeted the indigenous Arab Christian communities. In acts of genocide, numerous ancient Christian and Yazidi communities were evicted and threatened with death by various Muslim Sunni fighter groups.[70] After ISIS terrorist forces infiltrated and took over large parts of northern Iraq from Syria, many ancient Christian and Yazidi enclaves were destroyed.[70][71][72][73]
See also
Axis age
Evolutionary origin of religions
History of religions
Holocene era
Ionian stage
Paleolithic Religion
Prehistoric religion
Religion and mythology
Tarantian stage
Notes

Bibliography