// Great Empires
The World Through the Centuries
Interactive world history map · every empire from 3400 BC to today
Historical borders from antiquity to today — major empires (red, labeled on the map) on a real timeline. Click a territory for a detailed description. Data source: Cliopatria (Seshat Global History Databank, CC BY 4.0), Map tiles: Esri, Descriptions: Wikipedia.
Jahr
1200 AD
// Prehistory & Stone Age
Before the first empires: human species, hunter-gatherers, first farmers and villages. Tap a moment, then an area for info.
Imagine the entire history of the universe (13.8 billion years) squeezed into a single year: the Big Bang happens on 1 January at 00:00, and today is New Year's Eve at midnight.
- Big BangJanuary 1
13,800,000,000 years ago
- The first stars igniteJanuary 6
13,600,000,000 years ago
- Sun and Earth formSeptember 2
4,570,000,000 years ago
- First traces of lifeSeptember 22
3,800,000,000 years ago
- Oxygen builds up in the airOctober 29
2,400,000,000 years ago
- Cells with a nucleusNovember 14
1,800,000,000 years ago
- First multicellular animalsDecember 16
600,000,000 years ago
- Cambrian explosionDecember 17
539,000,000 years ago
- Dinosaurs appearDecember 25
230,000,000 years ago
- Dinosaurs go extinctDecember 30
66,000,000 years ago
- First humans of the genus HomoDecember 31, 22:13:21
2,800,000 years ago
- Modern humans (Homo sapiens)December 31, 23:48:34
300,000 years ago
- Farming beginsDecember 31, 23:59:32.5
12,000 years ago
- First writingDecember 31, 23:59:48.1
5,200 years ago
- Pyramids of GizaDecember 31, 23:59:49.4
4,600 years ago
- Start of the common eraDecember 31, 23:59:55.4
2,000 years ago
- Gutenberg's printing pressDecember 31, 23:59:58.6
575 years ago
- First Moon landingDecember 31, 23:59:59.8
57 years ago
- TodayDecember 31, 24:00
A human life of 80 years lasts only 0.18 seconds in this calendar.
Dates are rounded approximations based on current research.