Editing 21st century BC (section)

== Events ==
[[Image:Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg|thumb|[[Ur-Nammu]] (seated) bestows governorship on Ḫašḫamer, patesi (high priest) of Iškun-[[Sin (mythology)|Sin]] (cylinder seal impression, ca. 2100 BC).]]

All dates from this long ago should be regarded as either approximate or conjectural; there are no absolutely certain dates, and multiple competing reconstructed chronologies, for this time period.
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* {{circa|2150–2040 BC}} – The [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt]], a period of decline in Egyptian central power.<ref name="O'Neill">{{Cite book |first=John P. |last=O'Neill |title=Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-87099-907-9 |page=20}}</ref>
* {{circa|2112–2004 BC}} – The [[Third Dynasty of Ur]].<ref name="GRoux">{{Cite book |first=Georges |last=Roux |title=La Mésopotamie |publisher=Seuil |year=1995 |isbn=978-2-02-008632-5 |page=189}}</ref> The [[Ziggurat of Ur]] is built. Administrative power in [[Ur]] is pushed far, with an [[Ensi (Sumerian)|Ensi]], an appointed civil servant, at the head of the constituencies. A meticulous and finicky bureaucracy manages, counts and controls the whole administration, which is as much concerned with the economy as with war or the service of the gods. The weight of such an administration arguably contributes to the collapse of the empire. Finally, the [[Elamites]] sack [[Ur]] and the third dynasty comes to an end.<ref name="Margueron">{{Cite book |first=Jean-Claude |last=Margueron |title=Le Proche-Orient et l'Égypte antiques |publisher=Hachette Éducation Technique |year=2012 |isbn=978-2-01-140096-3 |page=174}}</ref>
* {{circa|2100–2000 BC}}:
** [[Epic poetry]] is written in the Sumerian language, including the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''.<ref name="Papin">{{Cite book |first=Yves Denis |last=Papin |title=Chronologie de l'histoire ancienne |publisher=Jean-paul Gisserot |year=1998 |isbn=978-2-87747-346-0 |page=8}}</ref>
** In [[Chalcolithic Europe]], the two circles of [[bluestone]]s that form the inner part of [[Stonehenge]] are erected.<ref name="Azéma">{{Cite book |first1=Marc |last1=Azéma |first2=Laurent |last2=Brasier |title=Le beau livre de la préhistoire |publisher=Dunod |year=2016 |isbn=978-2-10-075789-3 |page=371}}</ref>
** [[Shahr-e Sukhteh]], "The Burnt City" in Persia, is abandoned.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Richard C. |last=Foltz |title=Iran in World History |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-19-933550-3 |page=6}}</ref>
* {{circa|2100–1900 BC}}: The beginning of the Middle [[Minoan civilization]] in [[Crete]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Demetrios |last=Protopsaltis |title=An Encyclopedic Chronology of Greece and Its History |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4691-3999-9 |page=37}}</ref> Bronze metallurgy and the [[potter's wheel]] are introduced,<ref>{{Cite book |first=Jean |last=Tulard |title=Histoire de la Crète |publisher=Que sais-je ? |year=1978 |isbn=978-2-13-065663-0 |page=72}}</ref> as are [[Cretan hieroglyphs]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=André |last=Pichot |title=La naissance de la science |volume=2 |publisher=Gallimard |year=2014 |isbn=978-2-07-253206-1 |page=15}}</ref>
* {{circa|2100–1800 BC}} – The [[Sintashta culture]] emerges in the northern [[Eurasian Steppe]].<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Bryan K. |last1=Hanks |first2=Katheryn M. |last2=Linduff |title=Social Complexity in Prehistoric Eurasia |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-51712-6 |page=47}}</ref>
* {{circa|2070 BC}} – [[Yu the Great]] establishes the [[Xia dynasty]] in China.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mungello|first=David E.|title=The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500–1800|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|edition=3|year=2009|isbn=9780742557987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9x3vE0UMPkMC&q=%22yu+the+great%22+legendary&pg=PA97|page=97}}</ref>
* {{circa|2050 BC}} – The beginning of the Middle [[Kerma culture]] in [[Upper Nubia]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=David N. |last=Edwards |title=The Nubian Past |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-134-20087-0 |page=81}}</ref>
* Late spring 2049&nbsp;BC – [[Seahenge]] is built in Britain.<ref>Based on tree felling date. {{Cite web |title=The art of Seahenge|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/art-seahenge|access-date=2023-10-08|website=The British Museum|language=en}}</ref>
* {{circa|2040 BC}} – [[Mentuhotep II]], ruler of the [[Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt]] in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], completes the reunification of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] following his victory over the pharaohs of [[Heracleopolis Magna|Herakleopolis]], which marks the beginning of the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]].<ref name="Grimal">{{Cite book |first=Nicolas |last=Grimal |title=Histoire de l'Égypte ancienne |publisher=Fayard |year=1988 |isbn=978-2-213-64001-3 |page=194}}</ref>
* {{circa|2000 BC}} – The earliest bronze age artifacts in Southeast Asia found in the [[Ban Chiang]] site in [[Thailand]] indicate the absence of a militaristic or urbanized state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://seasiabib.museum.upenn.edu:8001/pdf_articles/bookchapters/2008_White.pdf |title=White, J.C. 2008 Dating Early Bronze at Ban Chiang, Thailand. In From Homo erectus to the Living Traditions. Pautreau, J.-P.; Coupey, A.-S.; Zeitoun, V.; Rambault, E., editors. European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists, Chiang Mai, pp. 91-104. |access-date=2012-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808095943/http://seasiabib.museum.upenn.edu:8001/pdf_articles/bookchapters/2008_White.pdf |archive-date=2017-08-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref>