2nd millennium

From left, clockwise: in 1492, Italian navigator Christopher Columbus arrives in America; the American Revolution; the French Revolution; the Atomic Bomb from World War II; an alternate source of light, the light bulb; 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 with expansionism and modernization; Alexander Graham Bell's telephone; in 1348, the Black Death 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)

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 second millennium was a period of time spanning the years AD 1001 to 2000 (11th to 20th centuries).^{[note 1]} It encompassed the High and Late Middle Ages of the Old World, 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, characterized by industrialization, the rise of nation states, the rapid development of science, widespread education, and universal health care and vaccinations in the Western world. The 20th century 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 circuits. 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 and the Islamic World.

World population has grown without precedent over the millennium, from 310 million in AD 1000 to about 6,000 million in AD 2000.
Doubling time was at first seven centuries (reaching 600 million in 1700), and during the final three centuries population growth accelerated extremely, growth rate peaking at 1.8% p.a. in the second half of the 20th century. Unchecked globalization and population growth also caused considerable social and environmental consequences, giving rise to extreme povertyTemplate:Failed Verification, climate change and biotic crisis.^[1]

Contents

• 
  1 Political history
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Middle Ages
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Early Modern period
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Modern history
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Cultural and technological history
  


• 
  3 Calendar
  


• 
  4 Centuries and decades
  


• 
  5 Notes
  


• 
  6 References
  

Political history

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Further information: World history

Middle Ages

Main article: Middle Ages

Further information: List of states during the Middle Ages

11th century, 1143, 1400, 1495

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): see medieval Poland
    
  
  
  • 
    Old Swiss Confederacy (from c. 1300): see medieval Switzerland
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  medieval Italy
  
  
  
  • Kingdom of Italy
  
  
  • Papal States
  
  
  • Maritime republics
  
  
  • Kingdom of Sicily
  
  
  
  


• 
  medieval Spain: see also Reconquista
  
  
  
  • 
    Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031)
  
  
  • 
    Crown of Aragon (1035–1479)
  
  
  • 
    Crown of Castile (1030–1479)
  
  
  • 
    Emirate of Granada (1230–1492)
  
  
  
  


• 
  medieval Scandinavia: see also Viking Age
  
  
  
  • 
    Kingdom of Denmark (c. 936–1397)
  
  
  • 
    Kingdom of Sweden (c. 970–1397)
  
  
  • 
    Kindom of Norway (c. 1015–1397)
  
  
  • 
    Kalmar Union (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 (1154–1463)
  
  
  • 
    Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396)
  
  
  • 
    Kingdom of Serbia (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 (1283–1547)
  
  
  
  

Near East

see also Crusades, Mongol invasions

• 
  Byzantine Empire (330–1453)


• 
  Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517)


• 
  Fatimid Caliphate (910–1171)


• 
  Kingdom of Georgia (1008–1493)


• 
  Seljuk Empire (1037–1194)


• 
  Khwarazmian dynasty (1077–1231)


• 
  Crusader states
  
  
  
  • 
    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 (1194–1308)


• 
  Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517)


• 
  Ilkhanate (1256–1353)


• 
  Ottoman Empire (from c. 1299)

North Africa

• 
  Almoravid dynasty (1040–1147)


• 
  Almohad dynasty (1121–1269)


• 
  Marinid dynasty (1244–1465)


• 
  Hafsid dynasty (1229–1574)


• 
  Kingdom of Tlemcen (1235–1554)

East Asia

• 
  Goryeo (918–1392)


• 
  Hoysala Empire (1026–1343)


• 
  Jin dynasty (1115–1234)


• Joseon Dynasty


• 
  Khmer Empire (802–1431)


• 
  Liao dynasty (907–1125)


• 
  Mongol Empire (1206–1368)


• 
  Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)


• 
  Pagan Kingdom (849–1287)


• 
  Song dynasty (960–1279)


• 
  Western Xia (1038–1227)


• 
  Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (1271–1368)

India

Further information: Medieval India, Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, and Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent

• 
  Eastern Chalukyas (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)


• 
  Hoysala Empire (10th to 14th centuries)


• 
  Kakatiya Kingdom (1083–1323)


• 
  Sena dynasty (11th to 12th centuries)


• 
  Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526)


• 
  Bengal Sultanate (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

Further information: Islamization of the Sudan region and List of kingdoms in pre-colonial Africa

• 
  Gao Empire, Sahel (c. 9th to 15th centuries)


• 
  Benin Empire, West Africa (from c. 1180)


• 
  Sultanate of Ifat, Horn of Africa (1285–1415)


• 
  Warsangali Sultanate, Horn of Africa (1218–1886)


• 
  Mali Empire, Sahel (c. 1230–1600)


• 
  Songhai Empire, 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


• Vinland


• Chimú


• Kingdom of Cuzco


• Aztec Empire


• Inca Empire

Early Modern period

Main article: Early Modern period

Further information: Age of Discovery, Colonial era, and Great Divergence

Further information: List of sovereign states in 1528, List of sovereign states in 1648, List of sovereign states in 1660, and List of sovereign states in 1777

Europe

Further information: Early modern Europe and Thirty Years War

Further information: European wars of religion, French Revolution, Napoleonic wars, and Monarchies_in_Europe § Early_Modern_Europe

• Kingdom of Poland


• 
  Holy Roman Empire, see German Renaissance, 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 (1415–2000)


• 
  Dutch Empire (1543–1975)


• 
  British Empire (1583–1997)


• 
  French colonial empire (1605–1960)

Asia

• 
  Ottoman Empire (1299–1922)


• Safavid Persia


• 
  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

Main article: Modern history

Further information: Timeline of the 19th century, Timeline of the 20th century, and World Wars

Further information: List of political entities in the 19th century, List of sovereign states in the 1900s, List of sovereign states in the 1950s, and List of sovereign states in the 1990s

Europe

• 
  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)


• 
  German Empire (1871–1918)


• 
  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 of America (from 1776)


• 
  Mexican Empire (1821–1823)


• 
  Empire of Brazil (1822–1889)


• 
  Federal Republic of Central America (1823–1841)


• 
  Gran Colombia (1819–1831)


• 
  Canadian Confederation (1867)

Further information: United Nations geoscheme for the Americas, South_America § Countries_and_territories, and Northern_America § Countries_and_dependent_territories

Africa

Further information: History_of_Africa § European_colonial_territories

• 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


• Decolonisation


• List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa

Cultural and technological history

Further information: History of technology and History of science

Further information: East–West Schism, Renaissance of the 12th century, Neo-Confucianism, Bhakti movement, Reformation, Spiritualism, and Great Awakening

Further information: Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, Age of Enlightenment, Modernity, Industrial Revolution, and European miracle

Inventions, discoveries and introductions

Communication and Technology	Science and Mathematics	Manufacturing	Transportation and Space exploration	Warfare
Printing press[2] Thermometer Electrical battery Telegraph Photography Telephone Animation Television Computer Transistor Satellite Internet[2] Electrostatic generator	Accounting Probability Calculus Vaccination[2][3] Atomic theory[3] Anesthesia[2][3] Natural selection[3] Genetics[2][3] Special relativity[3] Penicillin[2][3] DNA[3] Quantum mechanics[3] Electricity	Canned food Plastic[3] Assembly line Sliced bread Frozen food Nuclear reactor Food processor Finite geometry	Barometer 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

Calendar

Further information: Year 2000 problem

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 1999, there was some public debate 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.^[4]
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.^[5]
Many public celebrations for the end of the second millennium were held on December 31, 1999 – January 1, 2000^[6]—with a few people marking the end of the millennium a year later.

Centuries and decades

11th century	1000s[note 2]	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

Notes

1. 
   ^ The year 2000 is technically the last year of the 2nd millennium, but it is popularly considered the first year of the 3rd millennium. See more at century and millennium.
   


2. 
   ^ 9 of the 10 years of the decade are in this millennium
   

References

1. 
   ^ "The Sixth Extinction – The Most Recent Extinctions". Archived from the original on 2015-12-18..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ ^abcdef Keeley, Larry (2007-02-16). "The Greatest Innovations of All Time". BusinessWeek. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
   


3. 
   ^ ^abcdefghij "The Big 100: the Science Channels 100 Greatest Discoveries". Discovery Communications, LLC. 2008. Archived from the original on 31 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
   


4. 
   ^ Stephen Jay Gould, Questioning the Millennium: A Rationalist's Guide to a Precisely Arbitrary Countdown (New York: Harmony Books, 1999), ch 2.
   


5. 
   ^ Associated Press, "Y2K It Wasn't, but It Was a Party", Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2001.
   


6. 
   ^ "Millennium FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions". When does the Millennium start?. Greenwich2000.ltd.uk. 2008-08-12. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
   

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