In South Africa, the descendants of the European farmers settled on the southern tip of Africa have been multiplying. But farming and pastoral populations are continuing to encroach on their lands, and in many parts of the world the rise of civilization is astonishing.

A History Of The World In 500 Maps (book) - old.aso.org A History Of The World In 500 Maps (book) - old.aso.org

Printing may have been an indigenous European invention rather than an Asian import, but even so it is very likely that the concept of printing, if not the actual techniques, came from the East). In any event, these were the first people to bridge the divide between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The Arabs have brought a vast territory under their control, with chunks of both Europe (in Spain and Portugal) and the Indian sub-continent (most of modern-day Pakistan) falling to them.

At this point in world history, at the height of the Bronze Age, civilization is continuing to spread throughout the Ancient World. All countries with coasts are open to invasion, wherever and whenever Britain or her allies choose to strike. This expansion is carried out mostly by thousands of ordinary farmers, but coming up behind them comes the authority of the Russian state. In the Middle East, the past few centuries have seen the rise and fall of a succession of great empires – the Assyrian, the Neo-Babylonian and the Median.

World in 500 BCE.png - Wikimedia Commons File:World in 500 BCE.png - Wikimedia Commons

The international political situation within Europe has been marked by sharpening rivalries between the leading powers. This same political momentum is now bringing about Revolution in France, which starts in this year, 1789. Trade links are being extended in West Africa, where Berber traders are pioneering the trans-Saharan trade routes, with the vital aid of camels. However, they will eventually establish a firm rule to become the last imperial dynasty of Chinese history. BC—Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism in Northern India after achieving enlightenment after six years of practicing penance and meditation.It is a great experience for world history enthusiasts to find map resources in one place, even for those still studying in school. In particular, the last couple of centuries have seen the dramatic rise and decline of the Delhi Sultanate. Then the French Revolution broke out in 1789 and led to 20 years of war, reaching to every part of the continent and shaking European politics to its foundations.

A History of the World in 500 Maps | Stanfords

Most of North America remains home to hunter-gatherer societies, but the early farming cultures of the Mogollon and Hopewell flourish in very different environments. This is a moment of great importance for the future of China, as it marks the arrival of the first of a series of great imperial dynasties which will, on and off, rule China right up to the 20th century.They were the mightiest of ships, able to project power around the world courtesy of fearsome armament. You can learn about the distribution of ancient tribes and populations, social movements or trade routes, and how the boundaries shifted over a certain period. A thousand or so miles away, the foundations for another great civilization are being laid, that of Ancient Egypt, in the Nile Valley. A branch of the Turks migrated west and then, converting to Islam, conquered a huge empire in the Middle East.

World Map - 500 BCE: Greece, Persia, India and China - TimeMaps World Map - 500 BCE: Greece, Persia, India and China - TimeMaps

This is doing its best to preserve Europe’s Classical heritage, and acts as a civilizing influence on a barbarous society. In North America, the Hopewell farming culture of the eastern forests has vanished; in South America the Moche civilization continues to flourish. This is a trend which will last throughout global history, right up to the present day, as farmers push hunter-gatherers into ever smaller corners of the planet.

South Asia has seen British power grow to the point where it now effectively dominates India; and it is still expanding.