13th century BC
← 14th century BC 12th century BC →
What happened around the world
Middle East
- 1274 BC Battle of Kadesh — A chariot stalemate leads to one of the first peace treaties
- c. 1250 BC The Exodus — In the Bible, Moses leads Israel out of slavery
Africa
- c. 1264 BC Temples of Abu Simbel — Ramesses II's colossi, later moved to escape the Aswan Dam
Asia
- c. 1250 BC Oracle bone inscriptions — Questions to the ancestors — the oldest Chinese writing
- c. 1200 BC Bronzes of Sanxingdui — Giant masks show early China was more than one civilization
Americas
- c. 1200 BC Rise of Olmec San Lorenzo — Colossal stone heads from Mesoamerica's mother culture
Oceania
- c. 1200 BC Thylacine vanishes from mainland Australia — Gone from the mainland, it survives only in Tasmania
Who ruled
- China: dynasties
- Shang 1600 BC – 1046 BC