The 8th century BCE

The 8th century BCE spans the years 800 to 701 before the common era. It was a period of significant political and cultural change across the Near East, the Mediterranean, and Asia—developments that remain central to world history.

This century is remembered for several major developments: the expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia, the emergence of Greek city-states (poleis), the traditional founding of Rome according to Latin sources, and the spread of Phoenician settlements and trading posts along the western Mediterranean.

Near East

The Neo-Assyrian Empire extended its control across vast territories stretching from Mesopotamia to the Levantine coast during this period. Rulers including Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II implemented a system of provincial administration and pursued policies of population displacement to prevent rebellion. The northern kingdom of Israel reached the end of its political independence when Samaria fell.

Greece and the Mediterranean

Greece saw the development of the polis—an independent city-state with its own government and military forces. This century is also associated with the adoption of the Greek alphabet, adapted from Phoenician script, and with the composition of Homer's epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, which were transmitted orally. Greek populations established new settlements in southern Italy, Sicily, and along the Black Sea coast.

Italy and Phoenicia

Latin tradition places the founding of Rome in the middle of this century, though this remains a matter of cultural memory rather than firmly established fact. The Etruscan people maintained an advanced urban civilization in central Italy at the same time. The Phoenicians, particularly from the city of Tyre, established a network of trade routes and coastal settlements extending to North Africa and Spain.

Asia and Africa

In China, the Zhou dynasty shifted its capital eastward, marking the beginning of the Eastern Zhou period when central authority weakened. In India, Vedic culture developed and the early political formations of the north emerged. Egypt was ruled by rulers from Kush (Nubia), who established a dynasty that would endure for more than a century.