آقای آیزاک آسیموف در کنار نوشته‌های تخیلی خود، چندین کتاب تاریخی نیز دارد. بیشتر بنظر میرسد بررسی و گردآوری‌های تاریخی ایشان، برای درک بهتری از ملت‌ها و همچنین به عنوان خوراک بسیاری از داستان‌های ایشان بخصوص مجموعه کتاب بنیاد (Foundation) انجام شده است. در یکی از ساده‌ترین و روان‌ترین کتاب‌های تاریخ ایشان، تاریخچه خاور نزدیک از ۱۰۰۰۰ سال پیش نگارش شده است.
کتاب The Near East: 10,000 Years of History به انتشار سال ۱۹۶۸ گردآوری‌های ایشان در خصوص نواحی خاور نزدیک شامل منطقه ایران، کشورهای عربی و آفریقایی است. جدول زیر، بخشی از این کتاب است که به صورت خلاصه فهرست زمانی این منطقه را نشان می‌دهد. البته با توجه به زمان نگارش این کتاب در ۱۱ خرداد ۱۳۴۷ یعنی حدود ۵۳ سال پیش و همچنین تبار یهودی آسیموف چینش وقایع بعد از جنگ جهانی دوم، روند خاص خود را دارد.
خاور نزدیک از ۱۰۰۰۰ سال پیش
| پیش از میلاد | B.C. |
| Beginnings of agriculture northeast of Tigris River | 8500 |
| Agriculture along the upper Tigris and Euphrates Rivers | 5000 |
| Canal system begins along the lower Euphrates | 4500 |
| Sumerians enter lower Mesopotamia | 4000 |
| Invention of writing by Sumerians | 3100 |
| Akkadians enter Mesopotamia; Bronze comes into use | 3000 |
| The Great Flood | 2800 |
| Gilgamesh of Uruk | 2700 |
| Eannatum of Lagash; sets up “Stele of the Vultures” | 2550 |
| Urukagina of Lagash attempts reforms and fails | 2415 |
| Lugalzaggesi of Umma unifies Sumeria | 2400 |
| Sargon of Agade defeats Lugalzaggesi; sets up Akkadian Empire | 2370 |
| Naram-Sin; Akkadian Empire at peak | 2290 |
| Guti take Agade; destroy Akkadian Empire | 2215 |
| Gudea of Lagash | 2150 |
| Ur-Nammu of Ur; oldest surviving law-code | 2100 |
| Elam conquers Ur and ends last period of Sumerian domination; Amorites infiltrate Mesopotamia and take Babylon; nomads of the steppe tame the horse | 2000 |
| Abraham leaves Ur | 1950 |
| Sumerian language and sense of nationality peter out | 1900 |
| Amorites take Asshur | 1850 |
| Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria; first Assyrian conqueror | 1814 |
| Horse-and-chariot comes into use; Hurrian tribes begin to raid Middle-Eastern civilizations | 1800 |
| Hammurabi of Babylon | 1792 |
| Death of Hammurabi after bringing Amorite Empire to peak of power and initiating greatness of Babylon | 1750 |
| Hittite Empire established in eastern Asia Minor; Kassites invade Mesopotamia | 1700 |
| Kassites take Babylon | 1595 |
| Phoenicians invent alphabet; Indo-European tribes (Medes) settle in mountains north and east of Mesopotamia; other tribes (Aryans) invade India. Kingdom of Mitanni established and dominates Assyria. | 1500 |
| Thutmose III of Egypt defeats Canaanites at Megiddo; goes on to defeat Mitanni and Hittites | 1479 |
| Hittites establish new Empire | 1375 |
| Ashur-uballit wins Assyrian independence of Mitanni | 1365 |
| Assyria absorbs Mitanni; iron-smelting discovered in Caucasus foothills | 1300 |
| Shalmaneser I establishes First Assyrian Empire | 1275 |
| Tukulti-Ninurta I (Nimrod); First Assyrian Empire at peak | 1245 |
| Invasion of Peoples of the Sea; Hittite Empire destroyed; First Assyrian Empire greatly weakened | 1200 |
| Elamites take Babylon and carry off law-code of Hammurabi | 1174 |
| Nebuchadrezzar I of Babylon | 1124 |
| Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria; period of Assyrian revival | 1115 |
| Arameans infiltrate Fertile Crescent | 1100 |
| Assyria declines again under Aramean pressures | 1050 |
| David of Judah establishes Israelite Empire over western half of Fertile Crescent | 1013 |
| Hurrian principalities north of Assyria unite to form kingdom of Urartu | 1000 |
| Solomon of Israel | 973 |
| Chaldeans infiltrate Mesopotamia | 950 |
| Death of Solomon; Israelite Empire breaks up | 933 |
| Medes develop large breeds of horses capable of carrying armed warrior | 900 |
| Tukulti-Ninurta II of Assyria; Assyrian army begins to make use of iron and of siege machinery; Second Assyrian Empire | 889 |
| Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria; establishes Calah as capital; conducts wars of terror and cruelty; Second Assyrian Empire at peak | 883 |
| Shalmaneser III of Assyria | 859 |
| Israel and Syria unite to defeat Assyria at Karkar | 854 |
| Sammu-rammat of Assyria (Semiramis); Assyria in decline again | 810 |
| Urartu at its peak under Argistis I; Scythians invade regions north of Black Sea and begin to drive Cimmerians through the Caucasus | 750 |
| Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria; establishes Third Assyrian Empire | 745 |
| Tiglath-Pileser III establishes direct rule over Babylon | 729 |
| Shalmaneser V of Assyria | 727 |
| Sargon II of Assyria; takes Samaria and destroys kingdom of Israel | 722 |
| Sennacherib of Assyria; establishes Nineveh as capital | 705 |
| Sennacherib lays siege to Jerusalem but fails to take it | 701 |
| Sennacherib sacks Babylon | 689 |
| Esarhaddon of Assyria | 681 |
| Esarhaddon invades Egypt | 673 |
| Esarhaddon sacks Memphis in lower Egypt | 671 |
| Esarhaddon restores Bablon; Ashurbanipal of Assyria | 669 |
| Ashurbanipal sacks Thebes in Upper Egypt; Third Assyrian Empire at peak | 661 |
| Ashurbanipal in final victory over Cimmerians; Lydian kingdom established in western Asia Minor | 652 |
| Ashurbanipal defeats his brother Shamash-shum-ukin (Sardanapalus) in Babylon | 648 |
| Ashurbanipal takes and destroys Susa; Elamite history comes to end | 639 |
| Death of Ashurbanipal; Nabopolassar takes control of Babylon; Cyaxares rules over united Media | 625 |
| Nabopolassar takes and destroys Nineveh; establishes Chaldean Empire | 612 |
| Necho of Egypt defeats and kills Josiah of Judah at Megiddo | 608 |
| Nebuchadrezzar II of Chaldea defeats Necho and last Assyrian army; Assyria and Urartu disappear from history | 605 |
| Nebuchadrezzar II takes and destroys Jerusalem; carries Jews into Babylonian exile | 587 |
| Nebuchadrezzar II lays siege to Tyre; Chaldean Empire at peak | 585 |
| Zarathustra establishes Zoroastrian religion in Media | 575 |
| Nebuchadrezzar II forced to raise siege of Tyre | 572 |
| Death of Nebuchadrezzar II | 562 |
| Cyrus II of Persian principality of Anshan declares it independent of Media | 559 |
| Cyrus II takes Ecbatana, Median capital; Median Empire comes to end and Persian Empire takes its place | 550 |
| Cyrus II defeats Lydia; Lydian kingdom comes to end | 547 |
| Cyrus II takes Babylon; Chaldean Empire comes to end | 539 |
| Cyrus II allows Jews to return to Jerusalem | 538 |
| Cambyses of Persia | 530 |
| Cambyses takes Egypt | 525 |
| Darius I of Persia | 522 |
| Darius I suppresses rebellion in Babylon | 519 |
| Jewish Temple rebuilt in Jerusalem | 516 |
| Revolt of Greek cities in Asia Minor crushed by Darius I; Persian Empire at peak | 499 |
| Athenians defeat Persians at Marathon | 490 |
| Xerxes I of Persia | 486 |
| Xerxes I sacks Babylon; final decline of city begins | 484 |
| Greeks defeat Persians at sea battle of Salamis | 480 |
| Artaxerxes I of Persia | 465 |
| Darius II of Persia | 424 |
| Artaxerxes II of Persia | 404 |
| Artaxerxes II defeats his younger brother, Cyrus, at Cunaxa | 401 |
| Ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon, retreating from Cunaxa, reach home safely | 400 |
| Artaxerxes III of Persia | 358 |
| Philip II of Macedon unites Greece, plans invasion of Persia | 338 |
| Philip II assassinated; Alexander III (the Great) succeeds to Macedonian throne; Darius III of Persia | 336 |
| Alexander the Great invades Persian Empire, defeats Persians at Granicus | 334 |
| Alexander the Great defeats Persians at Issus | 333 |
| Alexander the Great defeats Persians at Gaugamela | 331 |
| Darius III assassinated by his own men; Persian Empire comes to end | 330 |
| Alexander the Great dies in Babylon | 323 |
| Seleucus I, one of Alexander’s generals, takes Babylon; founds Seleucid Empire; builds new capital at Seleucia, and Babylon quickly declines to village | 312 |
| Bactria under Diodotus I and Parthia under Arsaces I establish independence of Seleucid Empire | 250 |
| Ptolemy III of Egypt occupies Mesopotamia briefly | 246 |
| Antiochus III of Seleucid Empire temporarily reestablishes control over Parthia and Bactria: Seleucid Empire at peak | 217 |
| Antiochus III defeated by Romans | 190 |
| Antiochus IV of Seleucid Empire | 175 |
| Mithridates I of Parthia wins its final independence; establishes Parthian Empire | 171 |
| Jews rebel against Antiochus IV under Maccabees | 168 |
| Mithridates I takes Media from Seleucid Empire | 150 |
| Mithridates I takes Mesopotamia; Seleucid Empire confined to Syria | 147 |
| Parthians ambush Seleucid army and take Seleucid king, Demetrius II, prisoner | 139 |
| Death of Mithridates I | 138 |
| Parthians establish capital at Ctesiphon; Seleucia remains great and prosperous as Greek city | 129 |
| Antiochus VII of Seleucid Empire killed in battle against Parthians | 127 |
| Parthians set up Tigranes as king of Armenia | 95 |
| Tigranes most powerful monarch in west Asia. Armenia at peak | 70 |
| Roman general, Pompey, takes Tigranese prisoner | 66 |
| Pompey annexes Syria and Judea to Rome; Seleucid Empire at end | 64 |
| Orodes I of Parthia | 57 |
| Roman army under Crassus defeated by Parthians at Carrhae | 53 |
| Parthians briefly take Syria and Judea and invade Asia Minor. Parthian Empire at peak | 40 |
| Roman general, Ventidius, defeats Parthians; eastern provinces restored to Rome | 38 |
| Augustus, first Roman Emperor, makes compromise peace with Phraates IV of Parthia | 20 |
| پس از میلاد | A.D. |
| Vologesus I of Parthia | 51 |
| Vologesus I makes compromise peace with Roman general, Corbulo; Armenia as buffer between two powers | 63 |
| Roman Emperor Trajan conquers Mesopotamia; Roman Empire at peak | 115 |
| Roman Emperor Hadrian abandons Mesopotamia to Parthia | 117 |
| Roman general, Avidius Cassius, takes and destroys Seleucia | 165 |
| Roman Emperor, Septimius Severus, takes Ctesiphon; passes utterly deserted Babylon | 198 |
| Arabic kingdom of Hira established | 200 |
| Ardashir takes Ctesiphon, founds new (Sassanid) dynasty; Parthian Empire at end and replaced by Sassanid Persian Empire | 228 |
| Shapur I of Sassanid Empire; Manichaeism begins to spread | 240 |
| Roman Emperor, Valerian, taken prisoner at Edessa by Sassanids | 260 |
| Imprisonment and death of Mani, founder of Manichaeism | 274 |
| Narsah of Sassanid Empire | 293 |
| Roman Emperor, Galerius, defeats Narsah | 297 |
| Hormisdas II of Sassanid Empire; fails as reformer | 301 |
| Shapur II, ruler of Sassanid Empire at birth | 309 |
| Shapur II begins long war against Rome | 337 |
| Roman Emperor, Julian, invades Mesopotamia, lays siege to Ctesiphon | 361 |
| Julian killed in Mesopotamia | 363 |
| Yazdegird I of Sassanid Empire; sympathetic to Christianity at first | 399 |
| Varahran V (Bahram Gor) of Sassanid Empire | 420 |
| Sassanid Empire gains control over eastern Armenia (Persarmenia) | 429 |
| Yazdegird II of Sassanid Empire; Christians persecuted | 439 |
| Firuz of Sassanid Empire | 457 |
| Firuz defeated and killed by raiding Hephthalite nomads; Anarchy in Sassanid Empire | 484 |
| Kavadh of Sassanid Empire; stability restored; Christianity in Empire almost entirely Nestorian; Zoroastrianism fights Mazdakite heresy | 501 |
| Chosroes I of Sassanid Empire; pagan Athenian philosophers flee to his court | 531 |
| Pagan Athenian philosophers return to Greece | 549 |
| Chosroes II of Sassanid Empire | 589 |
| Chosroes II destroys Arabic kingdom of Hira | 603 |
| Chosroes II takes Jerusalem | 615 |
| Chosroes II lays siege to Constantinople; Sassanid power at peak | 617 |
| Roman Emperor, Heraclius, counterattacks | 622 |
| Heraclius defeats Chosroes II near ruins of Nineveh | 627 |
| Death of Chosroes II | 628 |
| Yazdegird III of Sassanid Empire; Mohammed unites tribes of Arabia and dies | 632 |
| Arabs defeat Sassanids at Kadisiya; take Asian provinces from Roman Empire, shrink its territory to what comes to be called Byzantine Empire | 637 |
| Arabs defeat Sassanids at Nehavend | 642 |
| Death of Yazdegird III; end of Sassanid Empire | 651 |
| Assassination of Ali; establishment of the Omayyad Caliphate; beginning of Shiite sect of Moslems | 661 |
| Omayyads defeat Shiites at Kerbelah; Omayyad Caliphate at peak | 680 |
| Arabic siege of Constantinople fails | 717 |
| Omayyad dynasty overthrown; Abbasid Caliphate established in its place; Ismailism founded | 750 |
| Abbasids establish capital at Baghdad; Ctesiphon begins its final decay | 762 |
| Harun al-Rashid as Abbasid Caliph | 786 |
| Al-Mamun as Abbasid Caliph; Abbasid Caliphate at peak | 813 |
| Al-Mutasim as Abbasid Caliph; employs Turkish bodyguard | 833 |
| Al-Mutasim assassinated; Caliphate quickly declines | 861 |
| Arabic and Persian science at height; Al-Battani greatest astronomer of the era and Al-Razi the greatest physician | 900 |
| Turks under Ghazni rule over Persia; Firdausi writes Persian national epic | 1000 |
| Seljuk Turks under Tughril Beg take over Persia | 1037 |
| Tughril Beg conquers Mesopotamia | 1055 |
| Alp Arslan as Seljuk Sultan | 1063 |
| Alp Arslan defeats Byzantine Emperor, Romanus Diogenes, at Manzikert and takes over most of Asia Minor | 1071 |
| Malik Shah as Seljuk Sultan; Omar Khayyam writes poetry and reforms calendar | 1073 |
| Malik Shah takes Jerusalem; Seljuk power at peak | 1076 |
| Ismailis establish Assassin stronghold in mountains | 1090 |
| Western Europeans begin First Crusade against Moslems | 1096 |
| Crusaders take Jerusalem | 1099 |
| Saladin of Egypt and Syria retakes Jerusalem | 1187 |
| Death of Genghis Khan after conquest of northern half of China and eastern half of Persia | 1227 |
| Mongol general, Hulagu, invades Mesopotamia and destroys Assassin stronghold | 1255 |
| Hulagu sacks Baghdad, destroys canal system of Mesopotamia | 1258 |
| Kublai Khan as Mongol Khan; Mongol Empire at peak | 1259 |
| Mongols defeated by Mamelukes of Egypt; Mongol Il-Khans in power in Persia | 1260 |
| Othman becomes leader of a Turkish tribe, called Ottoman Turks after him; begins to spread through Asia Minor | 1290 |
| Last crusaders driven out of Asia | 1291 |
| Ghazan as Il-Khan; converted to Islam; Il-Khans at peak | 1295 |
| Orkhan I as Ottoman ruler | 1324 |
| Ottoman Turks cross Hellespont to establish first foothold in Europe | 1345 |
| Bayazid I as Ottoman ruler | 1389 |
| Ottoman Turks at outskirts of Constantinople | 1391 |
| Mongol conqueror, Tamerlane, defeats Il-Khans and puts an end to their dynasty | 1395 |
| Tamerlane takes and sacks Baghdad | 1401 |
| Tamerlane defeats Ottoman Turks at Ankara; takes Bayazid I prisoner | 1402 |
| Death of Tamerlane | 1404 |
| Mohammed II as Ottoman ruler | 1451 |
| Ottoman Turks take Constantinople; end of Byzantine Empire | 1453 |
| Ismail I takes Tabriz; founds Safavid dynasty ruling over Persia | 1501 |
| Portuguese explorer, Albuquerque, lands on island of Ormuz Ottoman | 1510 |
| Turks defeat Persians at Chaldiran and take over Mesopotamia; Ottoman Turkish Empire at peak | 1514 |
| Tahmasp I as Persian Shah | 1524 |
| English trader, Anthony Jenkinson, reaches Persia | 1561 |
| Abbas I as Persian Shah | 1587 |
| Abbas I retakes Mesopotamia from Turks; establishes capital at Isfahan; Safavid dynasty at peak | 1603 |
| Death of Abbas I | 1629 |
| Ottoman ruler, Murad IV, takes Mesopotamia once more | 1638 |
| Afghan invaders take and sack Isfahan | 1722 |
| Abbas III, last Safavid Shah, deposed; Nadir Shah rules Persia | 1736 |
| Nadir Shah invades India; sacks Delhi | 1739 |
| Nadir Shah assassinated | 1747 |
| Tehran becomes Persian capital | 1796 |
| Bahaism founded | 1844 |
| German company obtains permission to build railroad through Mesopotamia | 1892 |
| Great Britain and Russia divide Persia into spheres of influence | 1907 |
| Great Britain invades Mesopotamia in course of World War I | 1915 |
| British take Baghdad | 1917 |
| British control Mesopotamia (Iraq) as a League of Nations mandate | 1918 |
| Faisal I of Iraq | 1921 |
| Reza Khan seizes throne of Persia | 1925 |
| Iraq becomes nominally independent; joins League of Nations | 1932 |
| Iran becomes official name of Persia | 1935 |
| British send force into Iraq in course of World War II; occupy Baghdad; British and Russians occupy Iran and force Reza Khan to abdicate | 1941 |
| Israel becomes independent nation | 1948 |
| Israel defeats Egypt in Sinai peninsula | 1956 |
| Revolution in Iraq; King Faisal II killed and a republic established under Kassem | 1958 |
| Kassem assassinated | 1963 |
| Israel defeats Arab nations in Six-Day War | 1967 |