List of Bronze Age states

This article is about the period from 3300 BC to 1200 BC. For the preceding article, see List of Copper Age states. For the succeeding article, see List of Iron Age states.

Bronze Age
↑ Neolithic
Near East (c. 3300–1200 BC) Anatolia, Caucasus, Elam, Egypt, Levant, Mesopotamia, Sistan, Canaan (Phoenicia) Bronze Age collapse South Asia (c. 3000– 1200 BC) Ochre Coloured Pottery Cemetery H Europe (c. 3200–600 BC) Aegean, Caucasus, Catacomb culture, Srubna culture, Beaker culture, Unetice culture, Tumulus culture, Urnfield culture, Hallstatt culture, Apennine culture, Canegrate culture, Golasecca culture, Atlantic Bronze Age, Bronze Age Britain, Nordic Bronze Age China (c. 2000–700 BC) Erlitou, Erligang
arsenical bronze writing, literature sword, chariot
↓Iron Age

The Bronze Age is a period, 3300 - 1200 BC, characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze and proto-writing, and other features of urban civilization, circa 3300 BC to 1200 BC. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, for classifying and studying ancient societies. Ancient civilizations can be in the Bronze Age either by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Worldwide, the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period. but in some parts of the world, the Copper Age served as a transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.

Development of states

The development of states—large-scale, populous, politically centralized, and socially stratified polities/societies governed by powerful rulers marks one of the major milestones in the evolution of human societies. Archaeologists often distinguish between primary (or pristine) states and secondary states. Primary states evolved independently through largely internal developmental processes rather than through the influence of any other pre-existing state. The earliest known primary states appeared in Mesopatamia c. 3700 BC, during the end of the Neolithic period, in Egypt c. 3300 BC, in the Indus Valley c. 2500 BC, India c. 1700 BC, and in China c. 1600 BC. As they interacted with their less developed neighbors through trade, warfare, migration, and more generalized ideological influences, the primary states directly or indirectly fostered the emergence of secondary states in surrounding areas, for example, the Hittites in Anatolia, the Minoan and Mycenaean states of the Aegean, or the Nubian kingdoms in the Sudan. Professor Gil Stein at the University of Chicago Oriental Institute states "The excavations and archaeological surveys of the last few decades have vastly increased both the quantity and quality of what we know about ancient states and urbanism. Archaeologists have broadened the scope of their research beyond the traditional focus on rulers and urban elites. Current research now aims at understanding the role of urban commoners, craft specialists, and village-based farmers in the overall organization of ancient states and societies. Given the immense geographical scope encompassed by the term 'the Ancient World'".^[1] This list's the main types state that existed in Africa, Americas, Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, Eurasian Steppe, South Asia, and West Asia, from the beginning of the Bronze Age to the beginning of Iron Age, a period of approximately 2,000 years.

Africa

Map of the world in the late Bronze Age, 1300 BC

Name	Capital/s	Type	Existed
Aethiopia	Adulis	Kingdom	c. 13th - 5th century BC
Egypt	Memphis, Thebes	Kingdom	3100 - 1550 BC
Egyptian Empire	Akhetaten, Pi-Ramesses, Thebes,	Empire	1550 - 1069 BC
Kerma	Kerma	Principalities^[2]	2500 - 15th century BC
Libu	Not specified	Tribal chiefdoms	1550 - 630 BC^[3]
Nubia	Kerma	Kingdom	3300 - 2500 BC
Punt	Not specified	Kingdom	2400 - 1069 BC

Americas

name	capital	state type	existed
Maya	Various	Kingdom city states	2000 BC - 900 AD
Olmec	La Venta, Tenochtitlán	Kingdom city states	1400 - 400 BC

Europe

Ancient history
Preceded by Prehistory
Ancient Near East
Sumer Egypt Elam Akkad Babylonia Canaan Hittite Empire Crete (Minoan) Syro-Hittite states Georgia Anatolia Armenia Neo-Assyrian Empire Urartu Neo-Babylonian Empire Medes
Classical antiquity
Greece Persia (Achaemenid) Hellenism Rome Africa Late Antiquity
East Asia
China Korea Japan
South Asia
Indus Valley Vedic period Maha Janapadas Maurya Empire Chola Empire Satavahana Gupta Empire
See also
History of the world Ancient maritime history Protohistory Axial Age Iron Age Historiography Ancient literature Ancient warfare Cradle of civilization
Followed by the Postclassical Era

North and West

Name	Capital/s	Type	Existed

South and East

Name	Capital/s	Type	Existed
Athens	Athens	Kingdom city state	1556 - 1068 BC
Alba Longa	Lavinium	Kingdom	1200 - 753 BC
Alashiya	Enkomi, Kalavasos	Kingdom	1450 - 1050 BC
Crestonia	Creston	Principality	14th century BC - 431 BC
Elis	Elis	Kingdom	1300 BC - 431 BC
Lacedaemon	Sparta	Kingdom	1300 - 950 BC
Locria	Amphissa, Naupactus	Kingdom	1250 - 386 BC
Messenia	Messene	Kingdom	1300 - 724 BC
Minoa	Knossos	Kingdom city states	2700 - 1420 BC
Mycenaea	Mycenae	Kingdom city states	1600 - 1100 BC
Mygdonia	Not specified	Tribal kingdom	16th century BC - 6th century BC
Pelasgia	Pavlopetri^[4]	Tribal kingdom	3000 - 1183 BC
Phrygia	Not specified	Tribal kingdom	1450 - 1200 BC
Sea Peoples	Not specified	Tribal confederacy	c. 2000 - 1175 BC
Sicani	Not specified	Tribal confederation	c. 13th century - 300 BC
Thrace	Various	Tribal chiefdoms	1500 - 450 BC

Eurasian Steppe and Central Asia

Name	Capital	Type	Existed
Bactria–Margiana	Gonur	Tribal kingdoms	2300 - 1700 BC
Chorasmia	Dzanbas-Kala, Toprak-Kala	Tribal confederation/kingdom	1292 - 180 BC
Cimmeria	Not specified	Tribal confederation	1300 - 626 BC
Colchis	Phasis	Kingdom	1300 BC - 2nd century AD
Donghu	Not specified	Nomadic tribal confederation	1400 - 150 BC

East Asia

Approximate location of the territory of the Shang Kingdom within China

name	capital	state type	existed
Ba	Yíchéng	Tribal confederation	13th century BC - 311 BC
Gojoseon	Asadal, Wanggeom-seong	Kingdom	2333 - 108 BC
Qi	Qi	Dukedom	1600 - 445 BC
Qiang	Not specified	Tribal chiefdoms/confederation	2000 BC - 150 BC
Shang	Anyang	Kingdom	1600 - 1046 BC
Sumpa	Not specified	Tribal chiefdom/client	1600 BC - 7th century AD
Văn Lang	Anyang	Confederation/kingdom	2879 - 258 BC
Xia	Yangcheng	Kingdom	2205 - 1600 BC
Xu	Gusu	Viscountcy/client	2000 - 512 BC

South Asia

Extent of various city states of the Harrapa Civilization by researcher Rajesh Rao.

name	capital	state type	existed
Anga	Champa or Campā	Kingdom	1380 - 550 BC
Āryāvarta	Multiple	Tribal confederated kingdoms	1750 - 600 BC
Chedi	Suktimati	Kingdom	1300 - 405 BC
Chola	Urayur/Kaveripattinam	Kingdom	2645 - 110 BC
Gandhara	Kapisa, Pushkalavati	Kingdom	1450 - 510 BC
Sindhu Sapata	Harrapa, Mohenjo Daro	Federated kingdom city states	3100 - 1300 BC
Kalinga	Dantapura/Rajapura^[5]	Kingdom	1376 - 285 BC
Kamboja	Rajapura	Kingdom	1450 - 195 BC
Kasmira	Asirgarh Qila	Kingdom	1250 - 322 BC
Kekeya		Kingdom	1250 - c. 4th century BC
Kirata		Tribal kingdom	1350 - c. 300 BC
Kosala	Ayodhya	Kingdom	1300 - 266 BC
Kuru	Āsandīvat, Indraprastha	Kingdom	1376 - 285 BC
Lanka	Lankapura	Kingdom	1200 - 543 BC
Madra	Sagala	Kingdom	1350 - 350 BC
Magadha	Rajagriha or Rajgir	Kingdom	1700 - 544 BC
Matsya	Viratanagara	Kingdom	1250 -318 BC
Panchala	Ahichatra, Kampilya	Kingdom	1200 - 700 BC
Pandya	Madurai	Kingdom	1350 - 460 BC
Pundra	Pundravardhana	Kingdom	1300 BC - 550 AD
Sindhu	Vrsadarbhpura	Kingdom	1300 - 320 BC
Surasena	Methora	Kingdom	1300 - 323 BC
Vanga	Gange	Kingdom	1300 BC - 580 AD
Vidarbha	Kundinapuri	Kingdom	1200-322 BC
Virata	Virata Nagari	Kingdom	1300-322 BC
Vriji	Vaishali	Confederacy	1250 - 322 BC
Yaksha	Narmada	Kingdom	1200 - 350 BC

West Asia

The Hittite Empire shown in blue late Bronze Age, 1400 BC

name	capital	state type	existed
Ahhiyawa	Milawata or Millawanda	Kingdom	1450 - 1220 BC
Akkadian Empire	Akkad	Empire	2334 - 2193 BC
Amorite	Various	United kingdoms	2000 – 1595 BC
Aratta	Aratta	Kingdom	c. 2700 – ? BC
Aramea	Various	Tribal chiefdom's/kingdom	2300 – 700 BC
Arme-Shupria	Van	Kingdom	1290 - 1190 BC
Armi	Armi	Kingdom city state/client	2290 - 40 BC
Arzawa	Apasa	Confederation of principalities	2300 - 1200 BC
Assyria	Assur	Kingdom	1975 - 934 BC
Assuwa League	Various	Confederation of city states	1300 - 1250 BC
Babylonia	Babylon	Kingdom	1894 - 732 BC
Bashan	Bashan	Confederation	1330 - 928 BC
Byblos	Byblos	Kingdom city state	1800 - 970 BC
Canaan	Various	Confederation of city states	3500 - 1194 BC
Karuwa or Caria	Apasa	Kingdom	1250 - 560 BC
Dardania	Dardania	Kingdom	1527 - 1183 BC
Dilmun	Qal'at	Kingdom	2600 - 675 BC
Ebla	Ebla	Kingdom	3500 - 1600 BC
Edom	Rabbath Ammon	Kingdom	1200 - 125 BC
Elam	Susa	Kingdom	2700 - 1210 BC
Eshnuna	Eshnunna	Kingdom city state	2000 BC - 8th century BC
Ganhar	Ganhar	Kingdom city state	c. 2350 BC - 2250 BC
Gutium	Arrapkha	Kingdom	2108 - 2089 BC
Hatti	Hattusa	Principality city states	2700 - 1900 BC
Harappa	Harrapa, Mohenjo Daro	Kingdom city states	3100 - 1300 BC
Hayasa-Azzi	Samuha	2 Kingdom confederation	1500 - 1190 BC
Hitti	Hattussa	Kingdom	1900 - 1600 BC
Hittite Empire	Hattusa	Empire	1600 - 1178 BC
Hyksos	Itjtawy, Thebes	Confederacy	1800 - 1178 BC
Isuwa	not specified	Kingdom	3000 - 12th c BC
Kassite	?	Tribal federation	c. 21st c - 1750 BC
Kassite	Babylon	Kingdom	1750 - 1135 BC
Kaskia	Zalpa, Nerik	Tribal confederation/kingdom	1430 - 1200 BC
Kizzuwatna	Kummanni	Kingdom	1600 - 1220 BC
Kussara	Kussara	Kingdom city states	1900 - 1650 BC
Lydia	Sardis	Kingdom	1200 - 680 BC
Lukka	Not specified	Tribal kingdom	2000 - 1183 BC
Lullubi	Lulubuna	Tribal kingdom	2400 - 650 BC
Luvia		Tribal kingdom	2300 - 1400 BC
Magan	Not specified	Kingdom	2200 - 550 BC
Ma'in	Ḥaram, Yathill	Kingdom	1200 - 85 BC
Marhasi	Marhaši	Kingdom city state	2900 - 1900 BC
Mari	Mari	Kingdom city state	2900 - 1759 BC
Mittani	Washukanni	Kingdom	1690 - 1300 BC
Mysia	Pergamene	Kingdom	1320 - 301 BC ^[6]
Namar	Namar	Kingdom	2350 - 750 BC
Moab	Dibon	Kingdom	1200 - 1300 BC
Paphlagonia	Gangra	Kingdom	1480 - 183 BC^[7]
Phoenicia	Various	Kingdom city states	1800 - 539 BC
Phrygia	Gordium	Kingdom	1200 - 547 BC
Purushanda	Purušhanda	Kingdom city state	2000 - 1650 BC
Sam'al	Samal	Principality/kingdom	1200 - 680 BC
Sea Peoples	Not specified	Tribal confederacy	c. 2000 - 1175 BC
Sumeria	Various	Kingdom city states	2900 - 1674 BC
Troas	Troy	Kingdom	3000 - 700 BC
Tyre	Tyre	Kingdom city state	1500 - 990 BC
Ugarit	Ugarit	Kingdom city state	2500 - 1090 BC
Upper Mesopotamia	Assur	Kingdom	1809 - 1776 BC
Urkesh	Urkesh	Kingdom city state/client	2250 - 1350 BC
Wilusa	Wilusa	Kingdom city state	c.2000 - 1180 BC
Yamhad	Halab	Kingdom	1810 - 1525 BC
Zabshali	Zalpa	Kingdom city state	c.2050 - 2000 BC
Zalpa	Zalpa	Kingdom city state/client	1830 - 1670 BC

Types of state

Types of state

Chiefdom	A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in ancient tribal societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a political-ideological aristocracy relative to the general group.^[8] A chiefdom is thus led by a highly ranked incumbent of an inherited political role, tribal chief or king: chiefs lead because of their ascribed status, not their achieved status, examples of this type of state would be, Aedui, Brigantes.

City state	A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity, not administered as a part of another local government, whose territory consists of a sovereign city its dependencies and possibly its surrounding territory, examples of this type of state would be, Sparta, Tyre.

Client state	A client state is a state that is economically, politically or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state in international affairs.^[9] Types of client states include: satellite state, associated state, puppet state, neo-colony, protectorate, vassal state and tributary state, More powerful ancient states would create client states by making the leaders of that state subservient out of those it defeated, examples of this type of state would be, Armenia, Ammon, Zheng.

Confederation	A confederation, in the context of the history, may refer to a semi-permanent political and military alliance consisting of multiple "nations" or "chiefdoms" or "tribes" which maintained their separate leadership, examples of this type of state would be, the Alemanni, Caledonii, Xiongnu.

Dukedom	A dukedom or, duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. Some historic duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms,others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the ancient era, examples of this type of state would be the Qin and Swabia.

Earldom	An earldom is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by an Earl, Count or Countess in which case it would be called a Countship. Some historic earldom's/countship's were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms,others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the post-classical era.

Empire	The English word empire derives from the Latin imperium (power, authority). Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples (ethnic groups) united and ruled either by a monarch (emperor, empress) or an oligarchy. An imperial political structure is established and maintained in two ways: (i) as a territorial empire of direct conquest and control with force (direct, physical action to compel the emperor's goals) or (ii) as a coercive, hegemonic empire of indirect conquest and control with power (the perception that the emperor can physically enforce his desired goals). Examples of this type of state would be, the Athenian Empire, Median Empire and Roman Empire.

Federation	A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central (federal) government. Several ancient chiefdoms and kingdoms, such as the 4th-century BC League of Corinth, Noricum in Central Europe, and the Haudenosaunee Confederation in pre-Columbian North America, could be described as federations or confederations. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an early example of formal non-unitary statehood.

Khanate	A khanate, or chanat, is a Turco-Mongol-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a khan. In modern Turkish, the word used is kağanlık or hanlık and in modern Azeri of the Republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the khanate of the Kerait. This political entity is typical for people from the Eurasian Steppe and it can be equivalent to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or even empire. Examples of this type of state would be, the Göktürk Khaganate,

Kingdom	A kingdom is a state ruled by a king or queen) is a form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual (the monarch).^[10] Forms of monarchy differ widely based on the level of legal autonomy the monarch holds in governance, the method of selection of the monarch, and any predetermined limits on the length of their tenure. When the monarch has no or few legal restraints in state and political matters, it is called an absolute monarchy and is a form of autocracy. Examples of this type of state would be, Epirus, Nabatea and Pontus.

Marquess	A marquess or marquisate is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a Marquis or marchioness .Some historic marquisate's were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms,others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the ancient era, examples of this type of state would be the Jin.

Principality	A principality, or princedom, can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince. Most of these states have historically been a polity, but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely style is held. The prince's estate and wealth may be located mainly or wholly outside the geographical confines of the principality. Examples of this type of state would be: Gardman, Corduene.

Republic	A republic is a form of government in which power is exercised by the public at large, and affairs of state are a concern of the public sphere (from Latin: res publica), rather than privately accommodated (such as through inheritance or divine mandate). In modern times the definition of a republic is also commonly limited to a government which excludes a monarch. Examples: Roman Republic, and Kalinga.

Viscountcy	A viscountcy, or county, is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a viscount or viscountess. Some historic viscountcies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the ancient era. Examples of this type of state would be: Xu, Chu.

References

↑ Stein, Gil J (2001). Understanding Ancient State Societies in the Old World. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press. pp. 353–379.
↑ "Karmah Archaeological site (The Sudan)". Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
↑ Taylor, Francis. "Kingdoms of North Africa: Encyclopaedia of African History: Volume 1 A-G". 1999-2014. The History Files. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
↑ "European Kingdoms Ancient Greece". 2014. The History Files. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
↑ "Far East Kingdoms, South Asia". 2014. The History Files. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
↑ "Kingdoms of Anatolia". 2014. The History Files. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
↑ "Middle East Kingdoms Ancient Anatolia". 2014. The History Files. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
↑ Helms, Mary W. (198). Access to Origins: Affines, Ancestors and Aristocrats. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 4.
↑ Michael Graham Fry, Erik Goldstein, Richard Langhorne. Guide to International Relations and Diplomacy. London, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Continuum International Publishing, 2002. Pp. 9.
↑ Stuart Berg Flexner and Leonore Crary Hauck, editors, Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd Ed., Random House, New York (1993)

External links

Lists of sovereign states by year

AD (CE)

Current list of sovereign states

Centuries: 1st; 2nd; 3rd; 4th; 5th; 6th; 7th; 8th; 9th; 10th; 11th; 19th

Years
12th–18th century: 1143; 1400; 1494; 1496; 1500; 1528; 1648; 1660; 1661; 1768; 1769; 1776

19th century: 1820; 1821; 1822; 1823; 1824; 1825; 1826; 1827; 1828; 1829; 1830; 1831; 1832; 1833; 1834; 1835; 1836; 1837; 1838; 1839; 1840; 1841; 1842; 1843; 1844; 1845; 1846; 1847; 1848; 1849; 1850; 1851; 1852; 1853; 1854; 1855; 1856; 1857; 1858; 1859; 1860; 1861; 1862; 1863; 1864; 1865; 1866; 1867; 1868; 1869; 1870; 1871; 1872; 1873; 1874; 1875; 1876; 1877; 1878; 1879; 1880; 1881; 1882; 1883; 1884; 1885; 1886; 1887; 1888; 1889; 1890; 1891; 1892; 1893; 1894; 1895; 1896; 1897; 1898; 1899

20th century: 1901; 1902; 1903; 1904; 1905; 1906; 1907; 1908; 1909; 1910; 1911; 1912; 1913; 1914; 1915; 1916; 1917; 1918; 1919; 1920; 1921; 1922; 1923; 1924; 1925; 1926; 1927; 1928; 1929; 1930; 1931; 1932; 1933; 1934; 1935; 1936; 1937; 1938; 1939; 1940; 1941; 1942; 1943; 1944; 1945; 1946; 1947; 1948; 1949; 1970; 1971; 1980; 1981; 1989; 1990; 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1995; 1996; 1997; 1998; 1999; 2000

21st century: 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; 2005; 2006; 2007; 2008; 2009; 2010; 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016

Decades: 1950s; 1960s; 1970s; 1980s; 1990s; 2000s; 2010s

Ages: Classical; Late Antiquity; Middle

BC (BCE)

100 BC Centuries 35th BC 21st BC 20th BC 19th BC 18th BC 17th BC 16th BC 15th BC 14th BC 13th BC 12th BC 11th BC 10th BC 9th BC 8th BC 7th BC 6th BC 5th BC 4th BC 3rd BC 2nd BC 1st BC Ages Copper Bronze Iron Classical

Centuries and millennia

Millennium	Century
BC (BCE)
4th	40th	39th	38th	37th	36th	35th	34th	33rd	32nd	31st
3rd	30th	29th	28th	27th	26th	25th	24th	23rd	22nd	21st
2nd	20th	19th	18th	17th	16th	15th	14th	13th	12th	11th
1st	10th	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
AD (CE)
1st	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
2nd	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
3rd	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th	27th	28th	29th	30th

Bronze Age

↑ Holocene epoch

Bronze Age	Abashevo culture Aegean civilization Andronovo culture Apennine culture Atlantic Bronze Age BMAC Bronze Age Britain Bronze Age Europe Catacomb culture Chinese Bronze Age Cycladic culture Deverel–Rimbury culture Elp culture Ewart Park Phase Ezero culture Glazkov culture Argaric culture Hallstatt culture Helladic period Indus Valley Civilization Lusatian culture Minoan civilization Mumun pottery period Mycenaean Greece Nordic Bronze Age Ordos culture Penard Period South-Western Iberian Bronze Srubna culture Tagar culture Terramare culture Trzciniec Tumulus culture Unetice culture Urnfield culture Wessex culture Wilburton-Wallington Phase

Bronze Age (North Caucasus and Transcaucasia)	Kurgan Koban Kura–Araxes Shulaveri-Shomu Colchian Trialeti Maykop culture Leyla-Tepe culture Jar-Burial Khojaly–Gadabay

↓ Iron Age

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