The Days of Thunder was an ancient period of Toril's history. This was the time of the fabled creator races, or Iqua-Tel'Quessir in the elven tongue, and many other races still hid in caves.

The Dawn Age, also known as the Age of Dawn, the Time of Dragons, or the Time of Giants, was a period lasting from −30,000 DR to −24,000 DR, when the powerful empires of the creator races disappeared from the face of Toril and their land was occupied by giants and dragons far more powerful than those of the Present Age. It was a time of constant war for land in Faerûn, that led to the creation of great kingdoms and empires.

Scholars believe the Dawn Age began circa −30,000 DR, when dragons launched devastating attacks against the dominant Aearee Empires throughout the land, air, and underground, creating the first flight of dragons, destroying those nations completely. They also battled against giants over territory, forcing giantkind to yield their lands and flee to the north. Individual dragons and dragon clans came to rule large swaths of territory and battled with their rivals not only for dominion of those lands, but also over matters of religious nature as the dragons of this age were devout followers of the Draconic pantheon. Those wars, known as the Draco Holy Wars, led the race to near extinction.

During that time, the "lesser" races (those of primitive humans and other demihumans) were enslaved by the dragon lords. Although some believe the metallic dragons were less brutal masters than the chromatics, a few metallics believe this was not the case.

The Dawn Age came to an end after the first Rage of Dragons had devastated the dragons' civilizations, and elves began to build their first empires in Faerûn, starting the age known as the First Flowering.

The First Flowering was a period in Faerûn's history between −24,000 DR and −12,000 DR. At the start of this period, the elves had split into five major realms: Aryvandaar, Illefarn, Keltormir, Miyeritar and Shantel Othreier, as well as several smaller ones such as Eiellûr, Ilythiir, Orishaar, Syòrpiir and Thearnytaar. During the First Flowering, the last of the winged elven race of the avariel are believed to have left Faerûn.

The Crown Wars were a series of elven wars fought early in the history of Faerûn. Over a period of 3,000 years, the great elven kingdoms participated in five primary conflicts, leading to the near destruction of the elven race.

The Founding Time, or the Age of the Proud Peoples, was the period just after the end of the Crown Wars when the elves and the dwarves dominated Faerûn. During this time, the humanoid races began their expansionist efforts. Elves, dwarves, and the human tribes founded several realms such as Evereska, High Shanatar, and Imaskar. Several major conflicts occurred during this time, including the Spider Wars[4] and the Era of Skyfire.

It is generally perceived to have lasted about six thousand years from −9000 DR to −3000 DR. It was followed by the Age of Humanity.

The Age of Humanity was the period from about −3000 DR to 1358 DR.

This period began with the decline of the elven and dwarven empires and the flourishing and expansion of the human empires. These new, expanding empires included Calimshan, Imaskar, Jhaamdath, Mezro, Mulhorand, Netheril, Narfell, Raumathar, and Unther.

Of these human empires, that of Netheril represented the genesis of this epoch. Thanks to the discovery of the nether scrolls, they were launched into history. Around −3000 DR, the Archmage Ioulaum raised the first enclave of Netheril, Xinlenal, through his newly fashioned mythallar. However, all of these human empires left their indelible mark on the Realms, and the influence of their actions was felt for centuries afterward, as three of these nations - Calimshan, Mulhorand, and Unther - survived past this era, albeit in forms much different than seen in this epoch.

The Era of Upheaval was the time period between Time of Troubles of 1358 DR and the Second Sundering of the decade of the 1480s DR. The Era of Upheaval was part of the historical period known as the Present Age.

Most scholars believed that the Era of Upheaval started with the calamitous event known as the Time of Troubles, that took place in 1358 DR, when the gods were cast down from the Upper planes and roamed the land incarnated as mortals. The chaos of the Time of Troubles left a lasting mark on the world. When Lord Ao destroyed the Tablets of Fate, he unraveled the laws of Realmspace and the worlds of Abeir and Toril, separated since the Tearfall, began to join once again.