26th century BC

The 26th century BC was a century which lasted from the year 2600 BC to 2501 BC.

Events

c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period continue.
c. 2600 BC: The Indus Valley Civilisation rises to become a powerful civilization.
c. 2600 BC: Pre-Palace Period, phase I, in Crete^[1]
c. 2600 BC: Icarus dies, either in an attempt to fly using artificial wings (according to legend) or by drowning at sea en route to Sicily (according to later accounts of the Hellenistic period).
c. 2613 BC: Pharaoh Sneferu references a ship by name for first time in recorded history.^[2]
c. 2600 BC – 2500 BC: Wild horses still provide hunting feasts in Denmark. (Clutton-Brock)
c. 2600 BC - 2000 BC: The city of Caral is founded and later abandoned in what is now modern Peru in South America.
c. 2600 BC – 1900 BC: Large water tank, possibly a public or ritual bathing area, Mohenjo-daro, Indus Valley Civilisation, is made.
c. 2589 BC: Pharaoh Khufu starts to rule (other date is 2601 BC).
c. 2578 BC: Khufu dies.
c. 2575 BC: Old Kingdom of Egypt; Fourth Dynasty of Egypt; Sneferu is Pharaoh.^[3]
c. 2570 BC: Khafra started to rule in Ancient Egypt.
c. 2566 BC: Pharaoh Khufu dies (other date is 2578 BC).
c. 2560 BC: Estimated date of completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
c. 2558 BC: Pharaoh Khafra starts to rule (other date is 2570 BC).
c. 2550 BC: Egyptian rulers contact Western Desert oases, such as Dakhla Oasis.
c. 2550 BC: About this time, Mesannepada is king of Ur (followed by his son, A-annepadda) who founds the First Dynasty of Ur and overthrows the last king of Uruk, as well as Mesilim of Kish.^[4]
c. 2550 BC – 2400 BC: Great Lyre with bull's head, from the tomb of King Meskalamdug, Ur (modern Muqaiyir, Iraq) is made. It is now kept at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia.
c. 2544 BC: Pharaoh Khafra dies.
c. 2533 BC: Pharaoh Menkaure starts to rule.
c. 2532 BC: Pharaoh Khafra dies (other date is 2544 BC).
c. 2532 BC: Pharaoh Menkaure starts to rule (other date is 2533 BC).
c. 2515 BC: Menkaure died.
c. 2510 BC – 2460 BC: Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, tomb of Ti, Saqqara, Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, is made. Discovered by French archaeologist Auguste Mariette in 1865.
c. 2503 BC: Pharaoh Menkaure dies (other date is 2515 BC).
c. 2500 BC: The legendary line of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of China is founded by the Yellow Emperor.
c. 2500 BC: the construction of the stone circle at Stonehenge begins and continues for the next five hundred years.
c. 2500 BC: "Menkaure and a Queen, perhaps his wife, Queen Khamerernebty II" sculpture, later found at Giza. Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. It is now at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Cultures

c. 2600 BC: The cities of Assur, Nineveh, Gasur and Arbela together with a number of other Assyrian towns and cities, existed since at least before the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, although they appear to have been Sumerian-ruled administrative centres at this time, rather than independent states.

Significant people

c. 2601 BC–2578 BC—reign of Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt (Old Kingdom of Egypt)
2575 BC—Pharaoh Sneferu of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt.^[3]
2528 BC—Djedefre is Pharaoh.^[3]
2520 BC—Khafra is Pharaoh.^[3]

Deaths

Khufu dies
Icarus dies (semi-legendary)

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Petroglyph at Rødøy in Norway show the use of skis
Bactrian camel and dromedary are domesticated
The pyramids are built

References

^ Mellersh, H. E. L. (1970). The Destruction of Knossos: The Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete. Barnes & Noble Inc. ISBN 978-1566191944.
^ Anzovin, item # 5393, page 385 "Reference to a ship with a name appears in an inscription of 2613 BCE that recounts the shipbuilding achievements of the fourth-dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Sneferu. He was recorded as the builder of a cedarwood vessel called 'Praise of the Two Lands.'"
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Baines, John; Málek, Jaromír (1989). Atlas of Ancient Egypt. New York, N.Y. : Facts on File Publications. ISBN 9780871963345.
^ Roux, Georges (1980). Ancient Iraq. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140208283.

Decades and years

[1] Mellersh, H. E. L. (1970). The Destruction of Knossos: The Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete. Barnes & Noble Inc. ISBN 978-1566191944.

[famousfirstfacts-2] Anzovin, item # 5393, page 385 "Reference to a ship with a name appears in an inscription of 2613 BCE that recounts the shipbuilding achievements of the fourth-dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Sneferu. He was recorded as the builder of a cedarwood vessel called 'Praise of the Two Lands.'"

[egypt-atlas-3] Baines, John; Málek, Jaromír (1989). Atlas of Ancient Egypt. New York, N.Y. : Facts on File Publications. ISBN 9780871963345.

[4] Roux, Georges (1980). Ancient Iraq. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140208283.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Millennium
3rd millennium BC
Centuries
27th century BC 26th century BC 25th century BC
Timelines
27th century BC 26th century BC 25th century BC
State leaders
27th century BC 26th century BC 25th century BC
Decades
2590s BC 2580s BC 2570s BC 2560s BC 2550s BC 2540s BC 2530s BC 2520s BC 2510s BC 2500s BC
Categories:
Births – Deaths Establishments – Disestablishments
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