First Intermediate Period: Did you mean...?

The Greek Archaic Period (c. 800-479 BCE) started from what can only be termed uncertainty, and ended with the Persians being ejected from Greece for good after the battles of Plataea and Mykale in 479 BCE. The Archaic Period is preceded...

Following the Yayoi Period of Japan when farming and metalworking techniques were introduced from mainland Asia was the Kofun Period (c. 250 CE - 538 CE) where the religion of Shinto emerges from the beliefs of previous eras and the Yamato...

An inscription on an Egyptian papyrus dating from the 2nd century CE relates that the goddess Isis, bestowing gifts on humanity at the beginning of time, gave as much power and honor to women as she did to men. This brief passage reflects...

The Kamakura Period or Kamakura Jidai (1185-1333 CE) of medieval Japan began when Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199 CE) defeated the Taira clan at the Battle of Dannoura in 1185 CE. The period is named after Kamakura, a coastal town 48 kilometres...

The Asuka Period (Asuka Jidai) of ancient Japan covers the period from 538 CE to 710 CE and, following on from the Kofun Period (c. 250-538 CE), so constitutes the latter part of the Yamato Period (c. 250-710 CE). For some scholars the period...

The Heian Period of Japanese history covers 794 to 1185 CE and saw a great flourishing in Japanese culture from literature to paintings. Government and its administration came to be dominated by the Fujiwara clan who eventually were challenged...

The Nara Period (Nara Jidai) of ancient Japan (710-794 CE), so called because for most of that time the capital was located at Nara, then known as Heijokyo, was a short period of transition prior to the significant Heian Period. Despite the...

The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (Azuchi-Momoyama Jidai, aka Shokuho Period, 1568/73 - 1600 CE) was a brief but significant period of medieval Japan's history which saw the country unified after centuries of a weak central government and petty...

The Early Joseon Period (1392 - c. 1550 CE) in Korea was bookended by internal power struggles but witnessed major scientific and societal advances and prosperity. The Joseon (Choson) Dynasty ruled Korea from 1392 CE to 1897 CE, and scholars...

The Edo period refers to the years from 1603 until 1868 when the Tokugawa family ruled Japan. The era is named after the city of Edo, modern-day Tokyo, where the Tokugawa shogunate had its government. It is also sometimes referred to as the...