Han Dynasty

State · 202 BCE – 237 CE · at its largest around 91 CE

Paper was invented, Sima Qian wrote his monumental history, and Confucian scholars trained for state service in an era so formative that the Chinese still call themselves the Han people. Silk caravans crossed Central Asia and, through middlemen, reached Rome.

Its battles, in Battle View

Battle of Red Cliffs (208 CE)

On its lands while it lasted

Dong Son culture (c. 1,000 BCE – c. 100 CE): Bronze Age culture of northern Vietnam's Red River valley, famous for large decorated bronze drums traded widely across Southeast Asia.
Ujjain (c. 600 BCE – c. 405 CE): Capital of Janapada of Avanti (600 BCE–405 BCE), Western Satraps (43–405).
Maurya Empire founded (c. 322–185 BCE): Chandragupta Maurya seized Magadha around 322 BCE and founded the Maurya Empire, the first to unite most of the Indian subcontinent; it lasted until about 185 BCE.
Emperor Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang) (c. 256 BCE – 195 BCE): Commoner-born rebel leader who founded the Han dynasty and ruled as its first emperor from 202 BCE.
Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE): Liu Bang founded the Han dynasty, a formative imperial age whose name became that of the majority Chinese ethnic group.
Ajanta Caves (c. 200 BCE): Rock-cut Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls in Maharashtra built in two phases, from the 2nd century BCE and in the 5th century CE, famed for their murals.
Pyongyang (c. 197 BCE): Capital of Gojoseon (197 BCE–108 BCE), Goguryeo (427–668), Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1948–today), and 1 more.
Mawangdui silk texts (c. 168 BCE): Philosophical, medical and astronomical texts written on silk and buried in a Han tomb at Mawangdui, Changsha, in 168 BCE; found in 1973, they include the oldest known copies of the Dao De Jing.
Emperor Wu of Han (156 BCE – 87 BCE): Han emperor whose 54-year reign saw wars against the Xiongnu, expansion into Central Asia, Korea and Vietnam, and state sponsorship of Confucianism.
Records of the Grand Historian (c. 94 BCE): Sima Qian's history of China from legendary times to his own day, completed around 94 BCE.
Goguryeo (c. 37 BCE – c. 668 CE): Kingdom traditionally founded by Jumong in 37 BCE that grew to rule northern Korea and Manchuria.
Papermaking improved by Cai Lun (105 CE): The court official Cai Lun presented an improved process for making paper from bark, hemp and rags; earlier paper fragments date to the 2nd century BCE.
Chinese porcelain (c. 150 CE): True high-fired porcelain developed from celadon stoneware in the Yue kilns of Zhejiang during the Eastern Han dynasty.
Battle of Red Cliffs (208 CE): Allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao's fleet on the Yangtze, preventing his conquest of the south.
Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE): After the end of the Han, China was divided among the states of Wei, Shu and Wu.