European history contains prehistoric times - in which man lived in the continent of Europe - and the ages of history that continued until now. The archaeological excavations - which date back to 35,000 years BC - confirm the presence of humans in the continent of Europe at that time, and we infer the legend of the Iliad written by Homer in the ancient Greek era in the year 700 BC, which is considered as the first historical reference in Europe and in addition to the ancient state of Greece was the Kingdom of Rome - which was founded in the eighth century BC, is one of the oldest and most glorious civilizations in Europe. At a time when both the civilizations of ancient Greece and the ancient Romans collapsed in the fourth century AD, Christianity began to have a significant and effective influence on European civilization and culture. At a time when Europe experienced a period of stagnation and decay in the early Middle Ages, many advanced civilizations in the Middle East and Asia were left behind, but after the renaissance and reform movements that began in the modern era, Europe began to control many areas in terms of political, economic, and democratic aspects. The countries of Europe - which used all these forces - established their colonies in various continents, thus ensuring their peoples to live in a high standard of living compared to the peoples of other continents, taking advantage of the economic resources of these continents. The countries of Europe - which dominated the world in terms of economic, military and political aspects until the twentieth century - have handed over the reins of economic and military powers to the United States of America. In addition to this, many countries in the Asian continent, such as Japan and Korea, followed by China and India, have followed suit in the development and progress of the continent of Europe. Meanwhile, European countries formed the European Union. The European Union - which includes 27 countries now - is the largest economic power in the world in terms of total exports, imports and gross domestic product.