A structured knowledge base covering ancient history from the earliest civilizations through the fall of the Western Roman Empire @t[..=0476]. The knowledge base spans roughly 3,000 years of human history across Eurasia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean world.

Scope

This knowledge base documents:

Civilizations — empires, kingdoms, and city-states (Sumer, Akkad, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, Carthage, Maurya, Han China, and more)
Rulers — kings, pharaohs, emperors, and generals (Alexander the Great, Hammurabi, Ramesses II, Augustus, Cyrus the Great, and others)
Battles — major military engagements and their strategic significance (Marathon, Thermopylae, Gaugamela, Cannae, Actium, Adrianople)
Cities — major urban centers and archaeological sites (Rome, Athens, Babylon, Alexandria, Ur, Pompeii, Troy)
Treaties — diplomatic agreements and peace settlements (Treaty of Kadesh, Peace of Nicias, Treaty of Apamea)
Religions — belief systems and their development (Greek religion, Egyptian religion, Zoroastrianism, Mesopotamian religion, early Christianity, Roman religion)
Technologies — engineering and material innovations (bronze-working, iron smelting, Roman concrete, aqueducts, roads)
Trade routes — commercial networks and their cultural impact (Silk Road, Incense Route, Amber Road)
Legal codes — foundational law texts (Code of Hammurabi, Code of Ur-Nammu, Twelve Tables)
Writing systems — scripts and literacy (cuneiform, Phoenician alphabet, Egyptian hieroglyphics)
Cultural movements — intellectual and artistic traditions (Greek philosophy, Hellenism)
Definitions — glossary of terms, acronyms, and conventions used throughout

Conventions

Dates use BCE/CE notation throughout (not BC/AD)
Temporal tags use factbase syntax: @t[=331 BCE] for exact events, @t[~2560 BCE] for approximate dates, @t[305 BCE..30 BCE] for ranges
Approximate dates (common in ancient history) are marked with ~
Contested chronologies are noted inline with scholarly variants cited
Every factual claim cites a source — primary ancient texts or modern archaeological scholarship
Cross-references link rulers ↔ civilizations ↔ battles ↔ cities where relevant

Folder Structure

Folder	Document Type	Contents
`battles/`	battle	Military engagements
`cities/`	city	Urban centers and archaeological sites
`civilizations/`	civilization	Empires, kingdoms, and cultures
`cultural-movements/`	cultural-movement	Intellectual and artistic traditions
`definitions/`	definition	Glossary and term definitions
`legal-codes/`	legal-code	Law texts and governance documents
`religions/`	religion	Belief systems and religious history
`rulers/`	person	Individual rulers and leaders
`technologies/`	technology	Engineering and material innovations
`trade-routes/`	trade-route	Commercial and cultural exchange networks
`treaties/`	treaty	Diplomatic agreements
`writing-systems/`	writing-system	Scripts and literacy systems

Sources

Primary sources include Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, Polybius, Plutarch, Strabo, and cuneiform tablets. Secondary sources draw on peer-reviewed archaeology, university publications, and established encyclopedias such as the Oxford Classical Dictionary and the Cambridge Ancient History series.