History
Bamiyan Valley
Bamiyan, Afghanistan
A valley on the Silk Road where two huge Buddhas were carved into the cliffs. The statues were destroyed in 2001, but caves and murals remain.
Period: 6th century CE
Map / History
World history map: key places, events and turning points
History happens somewhere. This page lists the historical places and events on the atlas, grouped by country, from early cities and empires to revolutions and independence movements.
Every pin has a short summary and a Wikipedia link. Try the Time travel tab to slide through the centuries and see what was standing in each period, or follow a story trail to move from stop to stop.
65 pins in 31 countries.
Jump to a country
- Afghanistan 1
- Belgium 1
- Canada 1
- Chile 1
- China 2
- Egypt 2
- Ethiopia 1
- France 3
- Germany 1
- Greece 5
- Guatemala 1
- India 11
- Iran 1
- Iraq 2
- Italy 1
- Japan 1
- Mexico 2
- Myanmar 1
- Pakistan 3
- Peru 1
- Poland 1
- Senegal 1
- South Africa 1
- Tanzania 2
- Thailand 1
- Tunisia 1
- Turkey 4
- United Kingdom 5
- United States 5
- Uzbekistan 1
- Zimbabwe 1
Questions about history
What are the oldest civilizations in the world?
The earliest large civilizations usually listed are Mesopotamia (Sumer, from roughly 3500 to 3000 BCE), Egypt along the Nile (around 3100 BCE), the Indus Valley (around 2600 BCE) and early China along the Yellow River. Dates are approximate and scholars draw the lines differently.
What is the oldest city in the world?
There is no single answer. Jericho has some of the earliest evidence of settlement, from about 9000 BCE, while Damascus and Aleppo are often named among the oldest continuously inhabited cities. Claims depend on how you define a city and continuous habitation.
How can I explore history by period?
Open the Time travel tab on the map, drag the slider to a year and the map shows the people who were alive and the places that were standing then. Dates are approximate.
History: Afghanistan
History: Belgium
History
Waterloo battlefield
Walloon Brabant, Belgium
The battle where Napoleon was finally defeated by Wellington and Blücher. A mound topped by a lion now overlooks the fields.
Date: 18 June 1815
History: Canada
History
L'Anse aux Meadows
Newfoundland, Canada
The remains of a Norse settlement, the only confirmed evidence of Europeans in North America before Columbus.
Period: c. 1000 CE
History: Chile
History
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Easter Island, Chile
The Rapa Nui people carved hundreds of giant stone figures called moai on this remote Pacific island.
Known for: Moai statues carved over several centuries
History: China
History
Terracotta Army
Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Thousands of life-sized clay soldiers were buried to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of unified China.
Period: c. 210 BCE
History
Great Wall of China (Badaling)
Beijing, China
Many walls were built across northern China over some two thousand years. The Badaling section near Beijing was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty.
Built: Walls built over many centuries; this section Ming era
History: Egypt
History
Valley of the Kings
Luxor, Egypt
A hidden valley where pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in rock-cut tombs. The tomb of Tutankhamun was found here in 1922.
Period: c. 1539–1075 BCE
History
Abu Simbel
Aswan Governorate, Egypt
Two temples cut into a cliff by Ramesses II. In the 1960s they were cut into blocks and moved to higher ground to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser.
Built: c. 1264 BCE
History: Ethiopia
History
Axum
Tigray, Ethiopia
Capital of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading power on the Red Sea route, known for its towering carved stone obelisks.
Period: c. 1st–7th century CE
History: France
History
Lascaux
Dordogne, France
A cave decorated with hundreds of painted and engraved animals by Paleolithic people. The original is closed to protect it, and replicas are open to visitors.
Period: About 17,000 years ago
History
Normandy Landing Beaches
Normandy, France
Allied forces landed on these beaches on D-Day, opening a western front against Nazi Germany. Cemeteries and museums now line the coast.
Date: 6 June 1944
History
Place de la Bastille
Paris, France
A crowd stormed the medieval prison that stood here at the start of the French Revolution. Bastille Day is France's national holiday.
Date: 14 July 1789
History: Germany
History
Berlin Wall Memorial
Berlin, Germany
The Berlin Wall divided the city for 28 years. The Bernauer Strasse memorial preserves a section and tells the stories of the people affected.
Period: 1961–1989
History: Greece
History
Marathon
Attica, Greece
Site of the Athenian victory over a Persian army in 490 BCE, a story that later inspired the modern marathon race.
Date: 490 BCE
History
Delphi
Phocis, Greece
Ancient Greeks travelled to Delphi to consult the oracle of Apollo, and the site was regarded as the centre of the world.
Period: From the 8th century BCE
History
Knossos
Crete, Greece
The largest centre of the Minoan civilisation, with a palace complex of many rooms and colourful frescoes that inspired later stories of the labyrinth.
Period: Minoan, c. 1900–1400 BCE
History
Mycenae
Peloponnese, Greece
A fortified Bronze Age city entered through the Lion Gate. Its rulers were the leading powers of the Greek world in the age remembered by Homer.
Period: c. 1600–1100 BCE
History
Thermopylae
Phthiotis, Greece
A narrow coastal pass where a small Greek force led by the Spartan king Leonidas held back a much larger Persian army for several days.
Date: 480 BCE
History: Guatemala
History
Tikal
Petén, Guatemala
A great Maya city rising out of the rainforest, with towering temple-pyramids and carved stelae recording its rulers.
Period: Peak c. 200–900 CE
History: India
History
Dholavira
Kutch, Gujarat, India
A Harappan city built to a planned layout with advanced water-storage reservoirs. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021.
Period: c. 3000–1500 BCE
History
Lothal
Gujarat, India
A Harappan trading town with a structure that archaeologists identify as a dock, showing how seafaring and trade linked the Indus cities to distant lands.
Period: c. 2400 BCE
History
Dhauli Hills
Odisha, India
Rock edicts near Dhauli record Emperor Ashoka's remorse after the Kalinga war and his turn towards a Buddhist-inspired ethic of nonviolence.
Period: c. 260 BCE
History
Nalanda
Bihar, India
A great Buddhist monastic university that drew students from across Asia. Its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Period: 5th–12th century CE
History
Hampi
Karnataka, India
The ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, with temples, markets and royal enclosures spread among boulder-strewn hills.
Period: 14th–16th century
History
Dandi
Navsari, Gujarat, India
The 1930 Salt March led by Gandhi ended on this coast, where he picked up salt in defiance of the colonial salt law.
Date: April 1930
History
Bodh Gaya
Bihar, India
The place where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment beneath a bodhi tree. The Mahabodhi Temple here is one of the holiest Buddhist sites.
Period: c. 5th century BCE onward
History
Sarnath
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Where the Buddha gave his first teaching. The Ashokan lion capital found here became the national emblem of India.
Period: Buddha's first sermon, c. 5th century BCE
History
Red Fort
Delhi, India
The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's palace-fort in Old Delhi. India's Prime Minister raises the national flag here each Independence Day.
Built: 1639–1648
History
Cellular Jail
Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India
A colonial prison where many freedom fighters were held in isolation. It is now a national memorial with a nightly light-and-sound show.
Built: 1896–1906
History
Jallianwala Bagh
Amritsar, Punjab, India
A memorial garden marking the 1919 massacre, in which British troops fired on a crowd of unarmed men, women and children. It deepened anger against colonial rule.
Date: 13 April 1919
History: Iran
History
Persepolis
Fars Province, Iran
A ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, famous for its monumental staircases and carved reliefs of delegations bringing gifts.
Founded: c. 518 BCE
History: Iraq
History
Ur
Dhi Qar, Iraq
A major Sumerian city on the Euphrates, known for its great ziggurat and the Royal Cemetery with richly furnished burials.
Period: Occupied from c. 3800 BCE
History
Babylon
Hillah, Babil, Iraq
Capital of the ancient Mesopotamian empires, known for the Ishtar Gate and for the law code of King Hammurabi.
Period: Peak around the 6th century BCE
History: Italy
History
Pompeii
Campania, Italy
A Roman town buried by ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, preserving streets, homes and wall paintings.
Date: 79 CE
History: Japan
History
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Hiroshima, Japan
The ruined Genbaku Dome stands near the centre of the atomic bombing. The surrounding park and museum are dedicated to remembering the victims and calling for peace.
Date: 6 August 1945
History: Mexico
History
Templo Mayor
Mexico City, Mexico
The ruins of the main temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan lie in the middle of modern Mexico City.
Period: 14th–16th century
History
Teotihuacan
State of Mexico, Mexico
One of the largest cities in the ancient Americas, laid out along the Avenue of the Dead with the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.
Period: c. 100 BCE – 550 CE
History: Myanmar
History
Bagan
Mandalay Region, Myanmar
A vast plain dotted with thousands of Buddhist temples and pagodas built by the kings of the Pagan Kingdom.
Period: 9th–13th century
History: Pakistan
History
Mohenjo-daro
Sindh, Pakistan
One of the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, with planned streets, brick houses and a sophisticated drainage system. Its script has still not been deciphered.
Period: Indus Valley Civilisation, c. 2500 BCE
History
Harappa
Punjab, Pakistan
The site that gave the Indus Valley Civilisation its other name, the Harappan culture. Excavations uncovered brick-built streets, granaries and standardised weights.
Period: c. 2600–1900 BCE
History
Taxila
Punjab, Pakistan
An ancient crossroads city of learning and trade between South and Central Asia, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Buddhist monasteries and stupas.
Period: c. 6th century BCE – 5th century CE
History: Peru
History
Nazca Lines
Ica Region, Peru
Giant figures of animals and geometric lines scratched into the desert floor by the Nazca people, best seen from the air or nearby hills.
Period: c. 500 BCE – 500 CE
History: Poland
History
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
Oświęcim, Poland
Former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, where over a million people, most of them Jews, were murdered. It is preserved as a memorial and museum.
Period: 1940–1945
History: Senegal
History
Gorée Island
Dakar, Senegal
A small island whose House of Slaves serves as a memorial to the Atlantic slave trade. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Period: 15th–19th century
History: South Africa
History
Robben Island
Cape Town, South Africa
An island used as a prison, notably for political prisoners. Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison here.
Period: 17th–20th century
History: Tanzania
History
Olduvai Gorge
Ngorongoro, Tanzania
A gorge where the Leakey family and others found early human fossils and stone tools, important evidence for human evolution in East Africa.
Period: Fossils up to about 2 million years old
History
Kilwa Kisiwani
Lindi Region, Tanzania
A Swahili trading city on an island off the coast, which grew rich on trade in gold and ivory. Its ruins include a great mosque and palace.
Period: 11th–16th century
History: Thailand
History
Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya Province, Thailand
The capital of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, once among the largest cities in the world. Brick temples and Buddha statues remain among the ruins.
Period: 1350–1767
History: Tunisia
History
Carthage
Tunis, Tunisia
A Phoenician-founded city that grew into a Mediterranean power and fought Rome in the Punic Wars before being destroyed in 146 BCE.
Period: Founded c. 814 BCE, destroyed 146 BCE
History: Turkey
History
Göbekli Tepe
Şanlıurfa, Turkey
Huge carved stone pillars arranged in circles, built by hunter-gatherers about 11,000 years ago, changed ideas about when people began building monuments.
Period: c. 9500 BCE
History
Çatalhöyük
Konya Plain, Turkey
A Neolithic town where houses were packed together and entered through the roof, giving a rare look at early settled life.
Period: c. 7100–5700 BCE
History
Troy
Çanakkale, Turkey
The archaeological site often linked with the city of Homer's Iliad, with nine major layers of settlement built one atop another.
Period: Occupied for about 4,000 years
History
Ephesus
İzmir Province, Turkey
A great trading city of the ancient world with a restored library facade and a vast theatre. It was once home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders.
Period: Greek and Roman city
History: United Kingdom
History
Stonehenge
Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
A prehistoric circle of giant standing stones. Some of the smaller stones were brought from about 240 km away in Wales.
Period: Built in stages from c. 3000 BCE
History
Bletchley Park
Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
Codebreakers working here during the Second World War, including Alan Turing, broke German Enigma ciphers.
Period: 1939–1945
History
Runnymede
Surrey, England, United Kingdom
King John agreed to the Magna Carta near here in 1215, an early document limiting the power of the crown.
Date: 1215
History
Hadrian's Wall
Northumberland, England, United Kingdom
A Roman frontier wall stretching across northern Britain, with forts and milecastles along its length. Much of it can still be walked.
Built: From 122 CE
History
Battle Abbey, Hastings
East Sussex, England, United Kingdom
The abbey marks the site of the Battle of Hastings, where William of Normandy defeated King Harold and began the Norman conquest of England.
Date: 14 October 1066
History: United States
History
Independence Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and adopted in this building.
Dates: 1776 and 1787
History
Kitty Hawk
North Carolina, United States
On 17 December 1903 the Wright brothers made the first sustained, controlled powered flights near here.
Date: 17 December 1903
History
Cahokia Mounds
Illinois, United States
The largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico, with earthen mounds, among them Monks Mound, built by the Mississippian culture.
Period: c. 1050–1350 CE
History
Gettysburg
Pennsylvania, United States
The site of a three-day battle in the American Civil War, and of Lincoln's brief Gettysburg Address four months later.
Date: July 1863
History
Ellis Island
New York Harbor, United States
The main US immigration station for over sixty years. Around 12 million people passed through, and it is now a museum.
Period: 1892–1954
History: Uzbekistan
History
Samarkand
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
A crossroads city on the Silk Road, famed for its markets, scholars and the monuments of the Timurid era.
Period: Major Silk Road city for over 2,000 years
History: Zimbabwe
History
Great Zimbabwe
Masvingo, Zimbabwe
Imposing dry-stone walls mark the capital of a medieval trading society. The modern country took its name from the site.
Period: 11th–15th century