Ancient and Medieval History Maps

Global

Ancient Civilizations 3500 B.C.E.-1700 B.C.E.

Remains of Prehistoric PeoplesThis map shows the locations where scientists have found the earliest fossils and other remains of prehistoric people. Scientists have found remains in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Most scientists believe that our closest prehuman ancestors originated in Africa, and prehistoric people later spread to other parts of the world.

Ancient and Medieval Exploration Routes

World Map 300 C.E.-1500C.E.

World known by Europeans in 1300

Language Regions-Eastern Hem.

Language Regions: Eastern

Hemisphere

Seven Wonders Ancient WorldThis map shows the locations of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Pyramids of Giza are in northern Egypt. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were near what is now Baghdad, Iraq. The Temple of Artemis was built in the Greek city of Ephesus, on the west coast of what is now Turkey. The statue of Zeus was at Olympia, Greece. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was built in what is now southwestern Turkey. The Colossus stood near the harbor of Rhodes, an island in the Aegean Sea. The Lighthouse of Alexandria stood on the island of Pharos in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt.

Map of world wealth today

Europe

Aegean Civilizations

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek City-States

Ancient Greek Alliances

Voyage of the Argonauts

Eturia

This map shows the location of Etruria, the home of the Etruscans. Etruria extended from the Arno River in the north to the Tiber River in the south, and from the Apennine Mountains in the east to the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west.

Sparta 500 B.C.E.

Troy

Macedonia: Home of Alexander

Alexander’s Empire

Empire of Alexander the Great

Ancient Rome

Rome takes Italy B.C.E. 272

Roman Empire under Augustus

Division of the Roman Empire 100 C.E.

At its peak, in the A.D. 100's, the Roman Empire covered about half of Europe, much of the Middle East, and the north coast of Africa. But the Roman Empire grew weaker during the A.D. 300's. In 395, it was split into the West Roman Empire and the East Roman Empire. Each empire was subdivided into two parts called prefectures. The West Roman Empire consisted of the prefecture of Gaul and the prefecture of Italy and Africa. The prefecture of Illyricum and the prefecture of the East made up the East Roman Empire. The West Roman Empire fell to Germanic tribes in 476. The East Roman survived as the Byzantine Empire until 1453.

Roman Britain

Roman Empire 117 C.E.

Appian Way

Growth of the Roman Empire

Journey of St. Paul

Anglo-Saxons

The seafaring Jutes, Angles, and Saxons who invaded Britain in the mid-400's became known as Anglo-Saxons. This map shows the origin of each group in mainland Europe. The Jutes were from what is now Denmark and northern Germany. The Angles were from Angeln, a district in what is now the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The Saxons were from northern Germany.

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

Empire of Attila the Hun 450s C.E.

Byzantine Empire around 500 C.E.

Kingdom of the Franks 768 C.E.

Byzantine Empire 876-1057 C.E.

Europe c. 1000 C.E.

Italy 1200 C.E.

Byzantine Empire around 1300 C.E.

Empire of Charlemagne

First and Third Crusades

This map shows the routes taken by some of the major European armies during the First and Third crusades. The First Crusade began in 1096 and ended in 1099. Key European leaders in the crusade included Robert of Flanders, Raymond of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Bohemond of Taranto. The crusaders traveled from Europe toward Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) and then marched toward Jerusalem. They succeeded in capturing Jerusalem. They also established the crusader states: Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Jerusalem.The Third Crusade began in 1189 and ended in 1192. Important European leaders of the Third Crusade were Frederick I of Germany, Philip II of France, and Richard I of England. The crusaders failed to recapture Jerusalem. But they recovered the Palestinian coastline and won an agreement with the Muslims to permit Christians to visit Jerusalem.

Holy Roman Empire c. 1250 C.E.

Exploration by the Vikings

Capetian France

Marco Polo’s Routes

The map is hyperlinked to the map’s web site. Click it while running the slide show to see Magellan’s route animated.

Ottoman Empire

The Americas

Land of the Maya

Aztec Empire

Aztec Controlled Area

Indians: Andes Cultural Area

This map shows where the American Indians of the Andes cultural area lived. The Andean Indians lived in the highlands of the Andes Mountains of South America and in nearby coastal areas. This large region includes southwestern Colombia, central Ecuador, coastal Peru, most of Chile, and parts of western Bolivia and Argentina. Next to the map is a list of the Indian groups that lived there. Major groups included the Inca, Mapuche, Nazca, and Moche. Each of the underlined groups has a separate article in World Book.

Incan Empire

Indians: CaribbeanThis map shows where the American Indians of the Caribbean cultural area lived. The area includes the southern half of Central America, the northern parts of what are now Colombia and Venezuela, and the islands of the Caribbean Sea. Next to the map is a list of the Indian groups that lived there. Major groups included the Arawak, Carib, and Chibcha. Each of the underlined groups has a separate article in World Book.

Portugal’s Empire

Trade Winds

Native American Cultural Regions

Indians: California

This map shows where the American Indians of the California cultural area lived. The area includes much of California. The area extends from the southern edges of Oregon in the north to Baja, in Mexico, in the south. It stretches from the Sierra Nevada in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Next to the map is a list of the Indian groups that lived there. Major groups included the Chumash, Miwok, Pomo, and Wintun. Each of the underlined groups has a separate article in World Book.

Indians: Great Basin

Indians: Middle Americas

Indians: Northeast

Indians: Northwest

Indians: Plains

Indians: Plateau

Indians: South America

Indians: Southeast

Indians: Southwest

Indians: Subarctic

Inuit Lands

Indians: Tropical Forest

Indians: Arctic Area

The Maya

Asia

Cradles of Civilization

Indus Valley CivilizationThis map shows the location of the Indus Valley civilization, which flourished from about 2500 B.C. to about 1700 B.C. The civilization grew to cover most of present-day Pakistan and parts of what are now Afghanistan and northern India. The heart of the civilization was the vast flood plain of the Indus and Hakra rivers. The Hakra River is now dry. It flowed east of—and parallel to—the Indus River.

Shang Dynasty China 1700 – 1100 B.C.E.

Asian Empires 300 B.C.E.-200B.C.E.

Qin Dynasty 221 B.C.E.

Asian Empires 100 C.E.- 300 C.E.

Mauryan Empire c. 300 B.C.E.This map shows the location of the Mauryan Empire, the first empire to unite almost all of India under a single government. The empire lasted from about 324 to about 185 B.C. Under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, which ended about 298 B.C., the empire included much of what is now northern India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Chandragupta’s son Bindusara and Bindusara's son Ashoka expanded the empire far into South India. The empire's capital was Pataliputra (now Patna).

Gupta Empire 320 C.E.- 500C.E.

Mughal Empire 1600 C.E.

Korea-Three Kingdoms Period(100) B.C.E.

Han Empire 100 C.E.

Indochina Peninsula 300 C.E.

Asian Empires 700 C.E.

Tang EmpireThis map shows the land ruled by the Tan emperors from their capital at Chang'an. The Tang Empire reached its greatest size under Emperor Xuanzong. It controlled territory from eastern China to Persia. Arabs defeated Chinese armies at Talas in A.D. 751. This battle marked the end of Tang power in Turkestan and the closing of overland trade routes to the west.

Empire of Genghis Khan 1227 C.E.

Mongol Empire 1200s C.E.

Mongol Empire

Empire of Kublai Khan

Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368 C.E.

Marco Polo’s Routes

The map is hyperlinked to the map’s web site. Click it while running the slide show to see Magellan’s route animated.

Silk Road

Asia Minor

Asian Empires 1500 C. E.-1700 C. E.

Africa

Ancient Egypt

Carthage

Kingdom of Kush

Nubia

Kingdom of Aksum 300 C.E.

Ghana Empire around 1050 C.E.

Fatimid Empire

Kingdom of Mali 1337 C.E.

Africa in the 1400s

Ottoman Empire

Africa in the 1400s

Kingdom of Benin about 1500 C.E.

Middle East

Mesopotamia

Euphrates River

Ancient Egypt

Phoenicia 1400B.C.E.-1200 B.C.E.

Canaan 1000 B.C.E.

Kingdom of Israel 980 B.C.EThis map shows the location of the kingdom of Israel during the 900's B.C., at the height of its power. Between about 1800 and 1500 B.C., Abraham, the ancestor of the Jews, settled in Canaan (roughly an area from east of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea). At first, the Jews were divided into tribes. About 1000 B.C., they united to form the kingdom of Israel, later called Judah or Judea. The region extended north to the Euphrates River and south to the Gulf of Aqaba.

Judea 100 B.C.E.

Chaldea

Fertile Crescent

Babylonia

Assyria 1300B.C.E. - 600B.C.E.

Israel 1000 B.C.E.

Lydia 545 B.C.E.

Media 500 B.C.E.

Persian Empire 400 B.C.E.

Parthia 100 B.C.E.

Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Byzantine Empire around 500 C.E.

Empire of TimurThe empire of Timur, an Asian conqueror, covered much of Southwest Asia in the 1390’s. This map shows the routes of Timur’s invading armies to India in 1398 and to Egypt and Syria in 1400 and 1401. Timur died in 1405 before he could conquer China.

Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Expansion

Middle East

Australia and Pacific Islands

Aboriginal Migration Routes and Excavations