To who so ever will understand, the history of "mankind" is known to have begun approximately 4.3 million years ago. The old testament of the bible is the "reported" history of a "people". Christianity, as introduced to the world by "The Way" according to the ministry of Jesus (whose date of birth was between 6 and 4 BC), began approximately at his baptism around 23-28 AD. Christianity was ultimately enforced through captivity and world domination by Romans over 300 years after the reported death of Jesus' at the cross. Check out fsmitha(dot)com for a year to year account of MANKIND'S "Macrohistory and World Report" timeline from 4.3 million years ago to 2011.