Stumbled across a rather astonishing timeline: A CHRONOLOGY OF THE COMMON ERA (the page is 1.5 MB). There’s tons there, much subsequent Googling ensued.

I’ve been reading a lot of history lately, especially trying to get a better grasp on early Europe, pre-Islamic Arabia and The Crusades. This was all largely skipped in the Western Civ classes I took in college (“we’re going to avoid too much emphasis on wars”, which now seems akin to describing a steak dinner as having too much emphasis on beef).

Though all this, I keep coming across this Shakespeare quote from Macbeth:

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing

Human history is a damned mess.