26th century BC

The 26th century BC is 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 Harappan civilization rises to become a powerful civilization.
c. 2600 BC: Pre-Palace Period, phase I, in Crete (Mellersh 1970)
c. 2600 BC – 2500 BC: Wild horses still provide hunting feasts in Denmark. (Clutton-Brock)
c. 2600 BC – 1900 BC: Large water tank, possibly a public or ritual bathing area, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley Civilization, Harappan, is made.
c. 2589 BC: Pharaoh Khufu starts to rule (other date is 2601 BC).
c. 2578 BC: Khufu died.
c. 2575 BC: Old Kingdom in Egypt 4th Dynasty Snofru is Pharaoh. (Atlas of Egypt 1989)
c. 2570 BC: Khafra started to rule in Ancient Egypt.
c. 2566 BC: Pharaoh Khufu dies (other date is 2578 BC).
c. 2558 BC: Pharaoh Khafra starts to rule (other date is 2570 BC).
c. 2550 BC: Estimated date of completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
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 Mesalim of Kish. [Roux 1980]
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 University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
c. 2544 BC: Khafra died.
c. 2533 BC: Menkaura started to rule in Ancient Egypt.
c. 2532 BC: Pharaoh Khafra dies (other date is 2544 BC).
c. 2532 BC: Pharaoh Menkaura starts to rule (other date is 2533 BC).
c. 2515 BC: Menkaura died.
c. 2510 BC – 2460 BC: Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, tomb of Ti, Saqqara, Fifth dynasty of Egypt, is made. Discovered by French archeologist Auguste Mariette in 1865.
c. 2503 BC: Pharaoh Menkaura dies (other date is 2515 BC).
c. 2500 BC: The legendary line of Sanhuangwudi rulers of China is founded by Huang Di.
c. 2500 BC: the construction of the stone circle at Stonehenge begins and continues for the next five hundred years.
c. 2500 BC: "Menkaura and a Queen, perhaps his wife, Queen Khamerernebty II" sculpture, later found at Giza. Fourth Dynasty. It is now in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Cultures

Butmir culture existed in Butmir, near Ilidža, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dating from the Neolithic period. It is characterized by its unique pottery, and is one of the best researched European cultures from 2600-2400 BC

INOVATIONS

2565 BC Canopic jars for body parts burial(Egypt)
2500 BC Oldest known salt mine(Azerbaijan)
2500 BC Oldest known art of clowning(pigmy)(Egypt)
2500 BC Puppets(Indus Valley Civilization)
2500 BC Yams cultivated in West Africa
2500 BC Oldest known Swastika symbol(India/central Asia)
2500 BC Shandong province tombs(China)
2500 BC Greenland settled by paleo-Eskimo humans
2500 BC Black cherry tree as food/tea/sedative(East half of North America)
2500 BC Oldest known marine trade between Indus Valley & Mesopotamia
2500 BC Oldest known snow ski(Sweden)
2500 BC Oldest known library(Nineveh, Assyrian Empire->North Iraq)
2500 BC Slate roofing(England)
2500 BC Sumerian school for scribes
2500 BC Wales's oldest known metal tools
2500 BC Oldest known dental work in Americas(Mexico)
2500 BC Pitch as roofing material(Babylon)
2500 BC Duck tamed(South China)
2500 BC Oldest known use of asbestos(Finland)
2500 BC Coca leaves in graves(Peru)
2500 BC Pomegranates planted(Iran Plateau)
2500 BC Oldest known police force(Egypt)
2500 BC Golden harp of Ur

Significant people

c. 2601 BC–2578 BC—reign of Pharaoh Khufu of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty

2599 BC—Huni is Pharaoh. (Atlas of Egypt 1989)
2575 BC—Old Kingdom in Egypt; 4th Dynasty; Sneferu is Pharaoh. (Atlas of Egypt 1989)
2528 BC—Ra'djedef is Pharaoh. (Atlas of Egypt 1989)
2520 BC—Khep-heren (Ra'kha'ef) is Pharaoh. (Atlas of Egypt 1989)

Deaths

—Khufu dies

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Rock drawings at Rødøy in Norway show the use of skis
Bactrian Camel and Dromedary are domesticated

Decades and years

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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