Reference Books are a good place to start when you have a timeline assignment. You can find information about the history of Asia, India, China, Africa, etc. in encyclopedias and in the specialized reference.
World Book Encyclopedia is particularly helpful. It provides a short “important dates” timeline for every country and continent. Look up the country of interest and find the “history” subsection.
Look for specialized reference books for world history timelines in the D 11 section of the library. Some good examples are in the column to the right.
On-line students should try adding "time-line" to their search in the Reference Databases (listed below).
Millennium Year by Year by 
National Geographic Concise History of the World: An Illustrated Time Line by 
Smithsonian Timelines of History by 
The Timetables of History by