Maps of Ages — how to use it and where the data comes from
A world map you can step through, one frame (517 in all) for each year in which a country’s territory changes, from 3400 BC to AD 2024. Country names are set large along the territory, and arrows show the direction in which territory expanded.
How to use
Step through the frames with the slider, the ‹ › buttons and the era tabs. The keyboard ← → keys work too.
Click a territory or a name (tap on a phone) to open that country’s card. “Details” opens Wikipedia and Wikidata information and a graph of territorial area.
The “Countries” tab lets you search by name.
Grey hatching marks disputed areas whose ownership is contested (after 1945).
Data sources
Territories and years of existence: Cliopatria v0.21 (Seshat Global History Databank), CC BY 4.0. Shapes are simplified for display.
Disputed-area and Western Sahara shapes, today’s cities: Natural Earth (public domain).
Country names and summaries: English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); flags, capitals and similar: Wikidata (CC0).
Good to know
Borders are territories estimated by researchers from historical sources and may differ from the actual boundaries. The arrows showing expansion are not actual routes of advance. Part of the Goryeo period on the Korean Peninsula was redrawn to follow the standard account of Korean history (basis: Wikipedia “Goryeo under Mongol rule” and “Joseon”). Colonies, protectorates and mandate territories are drawn in a lighter shade of their parent state’s colour, and dominions have their own colours like independent countries.