30 historical events: can you put them in order?
Quick answer: Two sets of 15 shuffled historical events to put in order, with the answers and dates.
Set 1: Ancient and medieval (events 1–15)
Put these 15 events in order from earliest to latest, then check the answer table. Dates come up often in our “which came first?” questions.
| # | Event (shuffled) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Assassination of Julius Caesar |
| 2 | Hijra of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina |
| 3 | Battle of Hastings |
| 4 | Mongol sack of Baghdad |
| 5 | Building of the Great Pyramid of Giza |
| 6 | Birth of Buddha |
| 7 | Eruption of Vesuvius and burial of Pompeii |
| 8 | Founding of Baghdad |
| 9 | Saladin recaptures Jerusalem |
| 10 | Code of Hammurabi |
| 11 | Death of Alexander the Great |
| 12 | Fall of the Western Roman Empire |
| 13 | Coronation of Charlemagne |
| 14 | Magna Carta |
| 15 | Founding of Rome (traditional date) |
Answer: set 1 in order
| # | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building of the Great Pyramid of Giza | about 2560 BC |
| 2 | Code of Hammurabi | about 1750 BC |
| 3 | Founding of Rome (traditional date) | 753 BC |
| 4 | Birth of Buddha | about 5th century BC |
| 5 | Death of Alexander the Great | 323 BC |
| 6 | Assassination of Julius Caesar | 44 BC |
| 7 | Eruption of Vesuvius and burial of Pompeii | 79 AD |
| 8 | Fall of the Western Roman Empire | 476 |
| 9 | Hijra of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina | 622 |
| 10 | Founding of Baghdad | 762 |
| 11 | Coronation of Charlemagne | 800 |
| 12 | Battle of Hastings | 1066 |
| 13 | Saladin recaptures Jerusalem | 1187 |
| 14 | Magna Carta | 1215 |
| 15 | Mongol sack of Baghdad | 1258 |
Set 2: 1453 to today (events 16–30)
| # | Event (shuffled) |
|---|---|
| 16 | Start of the First World War |
| 17 | Columbus reaches the Americas |
| 18 | Fall of the Berlin Wall |
| 19 | Battle of Waterloo |
| 20 | Black Death reaches Europe |
| 21 | First human in space |
| 22 | American Declaration of Independence |
| 23 | End of the Second World War |
| 24 | Martin Luther’s 95 theses |
| 25 | Opening of the Suez Canal |
| 26 | Fall of Constantinople |
| 27 | Moon landing |
| 28 | Start of the French Revolution |
| 29 | Founding of the Arab League |
| 30 | Ottoman conquest of Egypt |
Answer: set 2 in order
| # | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Black Death reaches Europe | 1347 |
| 17 | Fall of Constantinople | 1453 |
| 18 | Columbus reaches the Americas | 1492 |
| 19 | Martin Luther’s 95 theses | 1517 |
| 20 | Ottoman conquest of Egypt | 1517 |
| 21 | American Declaration of Independence | 1776 |
| 22 | Start of the French Revolution | 1789 |
| 23 | Battle of Waterloo | 1815 |
| 24 | Opening of the Suez Canal | 1869 |
| 25 | Start of the First World War | 1914 |
| 26 | End of the Second World War | 1945 |
| 27 | Founding of the Arab League | 1945 |
| 28 | First human in space | 1961 |
| 29 | Moon landing | 1969 |
| 30 | Fall of the Berlin Wall | 1989 |
Frequently asked questions
When was Baghdad founded?
In 762, by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur.
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
In 1989.