Here you will find a selection of lessons that help with getting the most out of TimeMaps.
Background Centuries prior to the advent of the Gupta empire, the Maurya empire had arisen in 3rd century BCE. This was a huge state, covering the majority of the Indian subcontinent. For several centuries after it had vanished no empire arose in India to take its...
1. The Origins of Civilization Up until about 12,000 years ago, all humans were hunter-gatherers: that is, they lived by hunting wild game, fishing, and gathering fruits and berries. They lived in small bands, following a mobile lifestyle as they followed animal herds...
The Rise of the Roman Empire Origins of Rome The roots of the Roman Empire go back to the origins of the city of Rome. The traditional date for this was 753 BCE, and archaeological evidence indeed points to an origin around the Eighth century. The city was located in...
Introduction Longevity In terms of longevity, the only rival it has is India's, the other civilization that dates back to ancient times which is still flourishing today. And indeed, the Indus civilization pre-dated the rise of literate, urban civilization in China by...
Map of the Ancient Middle East in 3500 BCE, showing the merging Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia. Maps telling the story of Ancient Mesopotamia Timeline of Ancient Mesopotamian Civilization c. 5000-3500 BCE: The first city-states gradually develop in...
History Atlas: Maps of Ancient China Timeline of Ancient Chinese History 1766 BCE: traditional date for the founding of the first historic dynasty in China, the Shang dynasty 1122 BCE: Western Zhou dynasty founded after the overthrow of the last Shang king 771...
Overview and Timeline of Ancient Egypt The civilization of Ancient Egypt is known for its stupendous achievements in a whole range of fields, including art and architecture, engineering, medicine and statecraft. Its great buildings on the banks of the River still...
Introduction Egypt's geographical position, lying in the northern portion of the long valley of the River Nile, meant that it was cut off from the rest of Africa by almost impassable desert to east and west, and by only somewhat less-impassable cataracts to the south....
History map of the Indus Valley civilization Timeline and Overview of Ancient India Timeline of the history of ancient India: c.2800 BCE: the Indus Valley civilization begins to emerge c.1700 BCE: the Indus Valley civilization vanishes c.1500 BCE: Aryan tribes...
Overview The period of European history which we call “Medieval” is usually regarded as consisting of the thousand years or so between the fall of the Roman Empire in the west (in the 5th century), through to the period of the Renaissance in the 15th century. In fact,...
Overview and Timeline of Ancient Greek Civilization The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged into the light of history in the 8th century BC. Normally it is regarded as coming to an end when Greece fell to the Romans, in 146 BC. However, major Greek (or...
Timeline of Roman History 753 BCE - traditional date for the founding of ancient Rome 509 BCE - traditional date for the founding of the Roman Republic 390 BCE - traditional date for the sack of Rome by the Gauls 264-241 and 218-202 BCE - The First and Second Punic...
Geography: the Aztec homeland The origins of Aztec civilization lay in the large mountain-rimmed Valley of Mexico. This was a huge basin whose floor was some 2,500 feet above sea level and surrounded by high mountains reaching up to 6,000 feet. Much of the land was...
The Russian Revolutions of 1917 By 1917, the people of Russia were heartily sick of World War I, with its terrible casualties at the front, economic hardships at home and no military successes to speak of. The mismanagement of the war effort had utterly undermined...
1. Geographical background The geography of Sub-Saharan Africa poses severe challenges to the rise and spread of pre-modern civilization. A hard environment The ancientness of the continent’s rocks, whose minerals have leeched out over the aeons, mean that the soil is...
Section I: Historical background The roots of Nazi Germany go back to the beginnings of Germany as a united country, in the late 19th century. Germany before and during World War I The German Empire, 1871-1914 In 1871, the whole of Germany had been united under the...
Introduction Take a step back and look at the history of Eurasia as a whole, however, and a different picture emerges. One sees that the steppes play a central part. Moreover, one can see that their influence is not merely destructive, but contains much that is...
Settlement of North America Sometime after 35,000 BCE and before 10,500 BCE, people from Siberia arrived in North America. They had crossed the Bering Straight between Siberia and Alaska, which at that time was dry land due to the lower sea levels during the last Ice...
Section 1: After World War I The end of World War I did not bring an end to tragedy. By a dreadful irony, just as the carnage of World War I was coming to an end, a world-wide pandemic called the Spanish Flu broke out. This killed between 50 and 100 million people,...
The Early Years of the Twentieth Century The start of the 20th century saw the United States established as a truly continental country. Its territory stretched across North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and although much of it, especially in the West,...
