From left, clockwise: In 1492, Christopher Columbus opens the route to the New World for Spain, the beginning of the Modern Age; The American Revolution of 1776, founds one of the most powerful countries in the world, the United States; The French Revolution shows the world the large scale destruction of social classes; The Atomic Bomb from World War II, the deadliest war in history, changes the world with the notion of human extinction by nuclear holocaust; An alternate source of light, the Light Bulb, is invented and used massively toward the end of the millennium; For the first time, a human being sets foot on the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 moon mission; Aeroplanes become the most-used way of transport though the skies; Napoleon Bonaparte, in the early 19th century, affects France and Europe on subjects of expansionism and modernization; Alexander Graham Bell's telephone changes the way the world communicates, local and distant; In 1348, the Black Death kills over 100 million people worldwide, and over half of Europe, in two years. (Background: An excerpt from the Gutenberg Bible, the first printed-by-press book, in the 1450s) Millennia: 1st millennium · 2nd millennium · 3rd millennium Centuries: 11th century · 12th century · 13th century · 14th century · 15th century · 16th century · 17th century · 18th century · 19th century · 20th century The 2nd millennium was a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1001 and ended on December 31, 2000, encompasses the High Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Early Modern Age, the age of Colonialism, industrialization, the rise of nation states, and culminates in the 20th century with the impact of science, widespread education, and universal health care and vaccinations in many nations. The centuries of expanding large-scale warfare with high-tech weaponry (of the World Wars and nuclear bombs) are offset by growing peace movements from the United Nations, the Peace Corps, religious campaigns warning against violence, plus doctors and health workers crossing borders to treat injuries and disease and the return of the Olympics as contest without combat.

Scientists prevail in explaining intellectual freedom, and new technology is developed by governments, industry, and academia across the world, with education shared by many international conferences and journals. The development of movable type, radio, television, and the Internet spread information worldwide, within minutes, in audio, video, and print-image format to educate, entertain, and alert billions of people by the end of the 20th century. From the 16th century, humans migrated from Europe, Africa and Asia to the New World, beginning the ever-accelerating process of globalization. The interwoven international trade led to the formation of multi-national corporations, with home offices in multiple countries. International business ventures reduced the impact of nationalism in popular thought. The world population doubled over the first seven centuries of the millennium, (from 310 million in AD 1000 to 600 million in AD 1700), and later increased tenfold over its last three centuries, exceeding to 6 billion in AD 2000. Contents 1 Calendar 2 Civilizations 3 Events 4 Significant people 5 Inventions, discoveries, introductions 6 Centuries and decades 7 References Calendar The 2nd millennium was a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1001, and ended on December 31, 2000. This is the second period of one thousand years Anno Domini. 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. So the end date is always calculated according to the Gregorian calendar, but the beginning date is usually according to the Julian calendar (or occasionally the Proleptic Gregorian calendar). This millennium is perhaps more popularly (albeit incorrectly) thought of as beginning and ending a year earlier, thus starting at the beginning of 1000 and finishing at the end of 1999. Many public celebrations for the end of the millennium were held on December 31, 1999–January 1, 20001—with few on the actual date a year later. The inaccuracy stems from the assumption that there is a year zero, however this is not the case for this calendar. Civilizations

The civilizations in this section are organized according to the UN geoscheme. Civilizations of the 2nd millennium AD Africa America Asia Europe Oceania Fatimid Empire Mamluk Sultanate Almoravid dynasty Almohad dynasty Saadi dynasty Mali Empire Songhai Empire Sokoto Caliphate Funj sultanate of Sinnar Ashanti Empire Kingdom of Dahomey Ife Oyo Empire Benin Empire Kongo Empire Merina Kingdom Buganda Empire Kingdom of Rwanda Kingdom of Burundi Empire of Kitara Mutapa Empire Maravi Empire Luba Empire Lunda Empire Zulu Empire Aztec Empire Inca Empire United States Punjab Empire Khmer Empire Pagan Kingdom Chola Dynasty Goryeo Song Dynasty Hoysala Empire Seljuks Mongol Empire Yuan Dynasty Ming Dynasty Vijayanagara Empire Qing Dynasty Mughal Empire Byzantine Empire (330–1453) Kievan Rus Serbian Empire Kingdom of Serbia Kingdom of England Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of France French colonial empire (1605–1960) Kingdom of Hungary Crown of Aragon Crown of Castile Ottoman Empire (1299–1922) Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) Kingdom of Poland Spanish Empire (1402–1975) Portuguese Empire (1415–1999) Austrian Empire (1526–1918) British Empire (1583–1997) Events The events in this section are organized according to the UN geoscheme. Events of the 2nd millennium AD   Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 11th Century 1043 Eze Nri Ìfikuánim becomes first king of Nri Kingdom 1054 Almoravid dynasty established2 1060 Kingdom of Kanem converts to Islam2   1000 Cahokia (present-day Illinois, USA) becomes regional chiefdom of Mississippian culture 1008 The Tale of Genji completed3 1005 Treaty of Shanyuan signed 1044 Gunpowder recipe published3 1054 The East-West Schism divides the Christian church 1088 The first university was founded3 1095 First Crusade3   12th Century 1143 Almohad dynasty take control from the Almoravids2 1171 Salah-ad-Din deposes Fatimid ruler of Egypt and establishes the Ayyubid dynasty2 1173 Ayyubids capture Qasr Ibrim in Nubia2

1100 Toltecs establish capital at Tula4 1124 Arnaldur appointed first bishop of Greenland4 1175 Destruction of Toltec civilization4 1117 The magnetic compass is used at sea3 1120 Meng Yuanlao describes four-star dining in Kaifeng3 1150 Construction of Angkor Wat3 1169 Averoes translates Aristotle3     Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 13th Century 1200 Kingdom of Mwenemutapa established in Zimbabwe2 1203 Sumaguru Kante of Sosso conquers kingdom of Ghana 2 1250 Mamluk soldiers take Egypt from the Ayyubids 2 1200 Chichén Itzá abandoned4 1200 Kingdom of Cuzco founded 4 1200 Expansion of Chimú state of Chimor 4 1211 Genghis Khan Builds an Empire3 1215 Magna Carta3 1260 Dedication of the Cathedral at Chartres3 1200 Tahitians colonize Hawaii 4 14th Century 1324 Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca3 1365 Crusade led by king of Cyprus sacks Alexandria2 1375 Kingdom of Songhai breaks away from Mali 2 1315 Founding of Tenochtitlan3 1350 Norsemen abandon Greenland4 1350 War between Inca and Chimú4 1350 Coffee was first brewed3 1368 Zhu Yuanzhang ousts the Mongols from power5 1348 Black Plague3 1350 Emergence of fashion3 1382 Wyclif's Bible 1300 Polynesian immigration to New Zealand6 1300 Hawaiians develop class structure7 1300 Huge stone statues erected on Easter Island7   Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 15th Century 1400 capital of Sayfawa Dynasty moved to Borno 1400 Funj settled Alodia 1496 Spain conquers Melilla, Morocco2 1470 Incas conquer Chimú empire 4 1428 Aztecs conquer Atzcapotzalco, ally with Texcoco and Tlacopan, become the dominant state in Mexico4 1492 Voyages of Christopher Columbus3 1407 Work begins on Forbidden City, Beijing5 1431 Ayutthaya conquers Angkor 5 1413 The invention of linear perspective3 1453 Ottoman conquest of Constantinople3 1455 Gutenberg Bible printed3 1400 Tongans build ceremonial centre at Mu'a7 16th Century

1546 Songhai Empire takes Niani 1509 African slaves arrive in the Americas3 1517 Ottomans capture Egypt8 1535 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V conquers Tunis8 1535 Europeans discover tobacco3dubious – discuss 1537 Europeans discover potatoes3 1545 The discovery of silver in the Andes mountains3   1517 The Ninety-Five Theses published3 1543 Publication of On the Structure of the Human Body3 1596 Invention of the toilet3 1550 Maoris of New Zealand build fortified enclosures9   Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 17th Century 1600 Kingdom of Rwanda founded 1600 Dahomey Kingdom founded 1644 Start of the Char Bouba8 1607 Virginia colony founded10 1624 Manhattan island purchased from Native Americans10 1697 Last Mayan resistance defeated 10 1610 Tea spreads to the world3 1637 Japanese prohibition against European contact11 1603 First performance of Hamlet3 1610 Galileo publishes his observations of Jupiter3 1666 Discovery of gravitation3 1600 Tu'i Konokupolu dynasty take power in Tonga9 1642 Abel Tasman sights New Zealandcitation needed 18th Century 1700 Maravi Empire tears apart 1754 Usman Dan Fodio is born 1799 Discovery of the Rosetta Stone3 1742 Native American revolt against Spanish in Peru3 1776 United States Declaration of Independence published3 1751 Chinese occupy Tibet11 1722 Bach composed the Well-Tempered Clavier3 1769 Invention of the steam engine3 1796 The first vaccination3     Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 19th Century 1869 The Suez Canal opens3 1896 Battle of Adwa 1879 Battle of Isandlwana 1821 Bolívar liberates Venezuela3 1876 Menlo Park opens3 1876 First telephone transmission3 1868 End of Japanese seclusion3 1830 First steam railway3 1859 Origin of Species3 1882 Germ theory proven3 1840 Treaty of Waitangi signed12 1845 New Zealand land wars13 20th Century

1956 Suez Crisis14 1967 Six-Day War14 1996 End of apartheid14 1903 First controlled, powered airplane flight3 1908 Ford builds the Model T3 1928 First television broadcast3 1917 The Russian Revolution3 1934 Mao's long march3 1945 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki3 1901 First transatlantic radio transmission3 1928 Discovery of penicillin3 1933 Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor3 1915 Australians and New Zealanders serve in the Gallipoli Campaign 1985 Nuclear Free Zone established in New Zealand15 Significant people The people in this section are organized according to the UN geoscheme. Significant people of the 2nd millennium AD   Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 11th Century Humai ibn Salamna Eze Nri Ìfikuánim Yahya ibn Ibrahim   Shen Kuo Omar Khayyám William the Conqueror16 Basil II   12th Century Abd al-Mu'min Saladin Dunama I Sapa Inca Minamoto no Yoritomo Bhaskara II Genghis Khan16 Richard I of England   13th Century Sundiata Keita Dunama Dabbalemi Mansa Uli     Marco Polo Roy Mata7 14th Century Kato Kintu Ibn Khaldun Muhammad Ture Acamapichtli Yongle Emperor Madhava Timur Johannes Gutenberg16 Jan Hus   15th Century Ilunga Tshibinda Sonni Ali Zara Yaqob Moctezuma I Hongxi Emperor Guru Nanak Dev Suleiman Nicolaus Copernicus16 Leonardo DaVinci     Africa America Asia Europe Oceania 16th Century Idris Aloma Orompoto Ahmad al-Mansur Atahualpa Xu Guangqi Shah Jahan William Shakespeare16 Ferdinand Magellan Christopher Columbus Otto Brunfels 17th Century Wegbaja Osei Tutu Okomfo Anokye Powhatan, Pocahontas Squanto Matsuo Basho Sir Isaac Newton16 Peter the Great16 Otto von Guericke   18th Century Usman Dan Fodio Opoku Ware I Dossou Agadja Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson George Washington Qianlong Emperor Napoleon I of France16 Catherine the Great Adam Smith Carl Linnaeus Kamehameha I 19th Century Moshoeshoe I Shaka Menelik II Thomas Edison16 Simón Bolívar16 Abraham Lincoln Empress Dowager Cixi Mangal Pandey Charles Darwin16 Nikola Tesla Karl Marx Ludwig van Beethoven Te Kooti 20th Century Mo Ibrahim Nelson Mandela Desmond Tutu Max Theiler Martin Luther King, Jr. Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman John F. Kennedy George Gershwin Pele Mao Zedong16 Mahatma Gandhi Gamal Abdel Nasser16 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Albert Einstein16 Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Igor Stravinsky Joseph Stalin Adolf Hitler Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

See also Lists of people by nationality Category:People by century Category:People by nationality and period Gottlieb, Agnes Hooper; Henry Gottlieb, Barbar Bowers, Brent Bowers (1998). 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking the Men and Women Who Shaped the Millennium. Kodansha International. ISBN 1568362536.  Inventions, discoveries, introductions Inventions, discoveries and introductions Communication and Technology Math and Science Manufacturing Transportation and Space exploration Warfare Printing press1718 Telegraph17 Photography17 Telephone17 Animation17 Television17 Computer17 Transistor17 Satellite Internet1718 Electrostatic generator Calculus17 Vaccination1819 Atomic theory19 Anesthesia1819 Natural selection19 Genetics1819 Special relativity19 Penicillin1819 DNA19 Quantum mechanics19 Canned food17 Plastic19 Assembly line17 Sliced bread17 Frozen food17 Nuclear reactor17 Food processor17 Bicycle Steam engine Steam turbine Internal combustion engine Steam locomotive Human flight Moon landing Space shuttle Space station GPS navigation Longbow Rockets Aircraft carrier Nuclear weapon Submarine Tanks Firearms Centuries and decades 11th century 1000s 1010s 1020s 1030s 1040s 1050s 1060s 1070s 1080s 1090s 12th century 1100s 1110s 1120s 1130s 1140s 1150s 1160s 1170s 1180s 1190s 13th century 1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s 1290s 14th century 1300s 1310s 1320s 1330s 1340s 1350s 1360s 1370s 1380s 1390s 15th century 1400s 1410s 1420s 1430s 1440s 1450s 1460s 1470s 1480s 1490s 16th century 1500s 1510s 1520s 1530s 1540s 1550s 1560s 1570s 1580s 1590s 17th century 1600s 1610s 1620s 1630s 1640s 1650s 1660s 1670s 1680s 1690s 18th century 1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s 1740s 1750s 1760s 1770s 1780s 1790s 19th century 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 20th century 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s v · d · eMillennia

1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th · 11th and beyond 11th BC and prior · 10th BC · 9th BC · 8th BC · 7th BC · 6th BC · 5th BC · 4th BC · 3rd BC · 2nd BC · 1st BC References ^ "Millennium FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions". When does the Millennium start?. Greenwich2000.ltd.uk. 2008-08-12. http://wwp.millennium-dome.com/info/millennium-faq.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-29.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Africa AD 600–1500". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/AD600-1500. Retrieved 2008-11-17.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb Toast, Scott (2002-02-19). "Top 100 Events of the Millennium". adapted from LIFE Magazine. Scott Toast. http://www.tostepharmd.net/hissoc/top100events.html. Retrieved 2008-11-14.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Americas AD 1000–1492". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/americas/AD1000-1492. Retrieved 2008-11-16.  ^ a b c "Asia AD 1200–1500". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/asia/AD1200-1500. Retrieved 2008-11-23.  ^ |Whitmore, Robbie. "Timeline of events in New Zealand history". New Zealand in History. http://www.history-nz.org/timeline.html. Retrieved 2008-11-16.  ^ a b c d "Oceania AD 1000–1520". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/oceania/AD1100-1520. Retrieved 2008-11-16.  ^ a b c "Africa AD 1500–1850". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/AD1500-1850. Retrieved 2008-11-23.  ^ a b "Oceania AD 1520–1770". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/oceania/AD1520-1770. Retrieved 2008-11-16.  ^ a b c "Americas 1492–1800". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/americas/AD1492-1800. Retrieved 2008-11-16.  ^ a b "Asia AD 1500–1800". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/asia/AD1500-1800. Retrieved 2008-11-23.  ^ Michael King (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-301867-1.  ^ Belich, James (1986). The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict. Oxford University Press. ISBN 186940002X.  ^ a b c "Africa AD 1950–2000". World Timelines. The British Museum. 2005. http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/AD1950-2000. Retrieved 2008-11-23.  ^ "New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act". http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0086/latest/DLM115116.html. Retrieved 25 November 2008.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hart, Michael H. (2000). The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. Citadel. pp. 556 pages. ISBN 0806513500.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Greatest Inventions of All Time". i-dinnout.com. 2002-01-30. http://www.i-dineout.com/pages2003/inventions1.html. Retrieved 2008-11-12.  ^ a b c d e f Keeley, Larry (2007-02-16). "The Greatest Innovations of All Time". BusinessWeek. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2007/id20070216_377845.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-12.  ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Big 100: the Science Channels 100 Greatest Discoveries". Discovery Communications, LLC. 2008. http://science.discovery.com/convergence/100discoveries/big100/big100.html. Retrieved 2008-11-12.