The Wheel of Time (abbreviated by fans to WoT) is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, the length was increased by increments; at the time of Rigney's death, he expected it to be 12, but it will actually run 14. There is also a prequel novel and a companion book available. Rigney began writing the first volume, The Eye of the World, in 1984 and it was published in January 1990.

The author died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the final volume in the series, although he had prepared extensive notes so another author could complete the book according to his wishes. Fellow fantasy author and long-time Wheel of Time fan Brandon Sanderson was brought in to complete the final book, but during the writing process it was decided that book would be far too large to be published in one volume, and would instead be published as three volumes as large as, or larger than, any previous book in the series. The first volume was published in 2009 under the title The Gathering Storm. The final two books are called Towers of Midnight (released November 2, 2010) and A Memory of Light (Release date: January 8, 2013).

The Wheel of time or wheel of history (Kalachakra) is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages. Many other cultures contain belief in a similar concept: notably, the Q'ero Indians in Peru, as well as the Hopi Indians of Arizona.

The Wheel of Time or Kalachakra is a Tantric deity that is associated with Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, which encompasses all four main schools of Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug, and is especially important within the lesser-known Jonang tradition.

The Kalachakra tantra prophesies a world within which (religious) conflict is prevalent. A worldwide war will be waged which will see the expansion of the mystical Kingdom of Shambhala led by a messianic king.

In an interview included with the audio book editions of his novels, author Robert Jordan has stated that his bestselling fantasy series The Wheel of Time borrows the titular concept from Hindu mythology.^{[citation needed]}

A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle. The wheel is one of the main components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel and flywheel.

Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel greatly reduces friction by facilitating motion by rolling together with the use of axles. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment needs to be applied to the wheel about its axis, either by way of gravity, or by the application of another external force or torque.

The English word wheel comes from the Old English word hweol, hweogol, from Proto-Germanic *hwehwlan, *hwegwlan, from Proto-Indo-European *k^wek^wlo-, an extended form of the root *k^wel- "to revolve, move around". Cognates within Indo-European include Greek κύκλος kýklos, "wheel", Sanskrit chakra, Old Church Slavonic kolo, all meaning "circle" or "wheel",