World History Atlas
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53 snapshots

Timeline

From 123,000 BCE to 2010 CE — click any year to open the map at that moment in history.

Prehistoric

123,000 BCE – 3,000 BCE

Hunter-gatherers, ice ages, and the slow first flowering of human culture.

123000 BCE
10000 BCE
8000 BCE
5000 BCE
4000 BCE

Ancient

3,000 BCE – 500 BCE

River civilisations, the Bronze Age, and the world's earliest written records.

3000 BCE
2000 BCE
1500 BCE
1000 BCE
700 BCE

Classical

500 BCE – 500 CE

The Axial Age, Greek philosophy, Rome's rise, and the birth of the world religions.

500 BCE
400 BCE
323 BCE
300 BCE
200 BCE
100 BCE
1 BCE
100 CE
200 CE
300 CE
400 CE

Medieval

500 CE – 1400 CE

Feudal kingdoms, the Islamic golden age, the Crusades, and the Mongol conquests.

500 CE
600 CE
700 CE
800 CE
900 CE
1000 CE
1100 CE
1200 CE
1279 CE
1300 CE

Early Modern

1400 CE – 1800 CE

European expansion, the Scientific Revolution, and the Age of Sail.

1400 CE
1492 CE
1500 CE
1530 CE
1600 CE
1650 CE
1700 CE
1715 CE
1783 CE

Modern

1800 CE – 2010 CE

Industrialisation, world wars, decolonisation, and the connected world.

1800 CE
1815 CE
1880 CE
1900 CE
1914 CE
1920 CE
1930 CE
1938 CE
1945 CE
1960 CE
1994 CE
2000 CE
2010 CE

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