ChronoAtlas · Classroom

Teach history where it happened.

516 ready-to-teach lessons, from the first cities to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Each opens the living map at the exact year and place, with questions, a game round, a worksheet and a live lesson your class plays on their phones.

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The Roman Senate in session New · The Senate Let your students argue in the Curia They pick a real motion, face Cato and Cicero, and learn why Rome voted the way it did. Debate now
Lesson library

516 lessons, in the order history happened.

Each one is a complete lesson with three map steps, five discussion questions, a game round, a worksheet and a live lesson for the projector. The first is free, worksheet included - open it before you decide anything.

Prehistory and first cities

  1. 1 Beringia: the first people in the Americas In the Ice Age a wide land joined Siberia and Alaska. Students use the Ice Age Seas layer to find Beringia, follow the first people south to the tip of South America, and see why scientists still argue about the route. Old Stone AgeAt least 15,000 years ago 11–1450 min
  2. 2 Neanderthals: our closest cousins For hundreds of thousands of years Europe and western Asia belonged to another kind of human. Students meet the Neanderthals through the caves where they lived, and find out what their DNA in us reveals. Old Stone Age400,000-40,000 years ago 11–1445 min
  3. 3 Out of Africa: how humans spread across the world Our species began in Africa. Students follow small bands of hunter-gatherers along coasts and across seas to every inhabited continent, and use the Ice Age Seas layer to see the world they walked through. Old Stone Age300,000-15,000 years ago 11–1450 min
  4. 4 Sahul: the first Australians At least 50,000 years ago people crossed the sea to an Ice Age continent called Sahul. Students explore one of the great early voyages and the oldest continuous cultures on Earth, from Lake Mungo to the drowned Bassian Plain. Old Stone AgeAt least 50,000 years ago 11–1445 min
  5. 5 Ice Age cave art: Lascaux, Altamira and Sulawesi Horses, bison, lions and hand stencils glow on cave walls in France, Spain and Indonesia. Students find the painted caves on the map, learn how Ice Age artists worked, and debate why people painted in the dark. Old Stone Age40,000-15,000 years ago 10–1345 min
  6. 6 Doggerland: the land under the North Sea Hunters once walked from Britain to Denmark. Students turn on the Ice Age Seas layer and watch the North Sea swallow Doggerland, then ask what rising water meant for the people who lived there. Middle Stone AgeAbout 10,000-6000 BC 10–1345 min
  7. 7 Göbekli Tepe: the first monuments About 11,500 years ago people raised rings of giant carved pillars on a hilltop in southeastern Anatolia. Students find out who built Göbekli Tepe, and why it changed ideas about how farming and towns began. Early NeolithicAbout 9500-8000 BC 12–1545 min
  8. 8 Jericho and Çatalhöyük: the first towns A stone tower by a spring in the Jordan valley, and a town of thousands with no streets on the plain of Anatolia. Students visit two of the oldest towns in the world and ask what makes a town a town. NeolithicAbout 9000-6000 BC 11–1445 min
  9. 9 The first farmers of the Fertile Crescent Wheat, barley, lentils, sheep and goats: the first farmers of the Fertile Crescent changed how humans live. Students trace the arc of hills where farming began, follow it into Europe and South Asia, and weigh its gains and costs. NeolithicAbout 10,000-6000 BC 11–1450 min
  10. 10 Many cradles: farming begins around the world Farming was not invented once. Rice in China, maize in Mexico, potatoes in the Andes, taro in New Guinea: students find the world's farming cradles on the map and discover where the food on their own plate first came from. NeolithicAbout 9000-2500 BC 11–1445 min
  11. 11 Uruk: the first great city Between the Tigris and the Euphrates, a town of farmers grew into Uruk, probably the largest city in the world around 3000 BC. Students explore how canals, temples, trade and the first writing made city life possible. SumerAbout 4000-3000 BC 11–1450 min
  12. 12 Cuneiform: how writing began The first writing was not a poem but a receipt. Students follow cuneiform from the accounts of Uruk to the Epic of Gilgamesh, press their own signs, and find out how scholars learned to read it again in the 1800s. SumerAbout 3400-1700 BC 11–1445 min
  13. 13 Ötzi: a Copper Age traveler in the Alps In 1991 two hikers found a man in the ice of the Alps. He had lain there for about 5,300 years. Students turn detective: what do Ötzi's body, clothes and tools tell us about life, and death, in Copper Age Europe? Copper Age EuropeAbout 3300 BC 10–1345 min
  14. 14 How the world learned to write Wedges in clay, pictures on temple walls, cracks in oracle bones and, finally, a short list of letters. Students compare the first writing systems, find out which ones we still cannot read, and trace their own alphabet back to the Bronze Age. First writing systemsAbout 3400-1050 BC 11–1450 min
  15. 15 Egypt: gift of the Nile A narrow river valley between two deserts became one of the first kingdoms in the world. Students follow the Nile from the cataracts to the delta, see how its flood shaped Egyptian life, and find where Upper and Lower Egypt became one. Early EgyptAbout 3100-2700 BC 10–1345 min
  16. 16 Lapita: the first voyagers of the open Pacific Farmers and sailors from Taiwan spread across the islands of Southeast Asia. Their Lapita descendants then sailed out into the open Pacific to islands no human had ever reached. Students chart one of the boldest journeys in history. Austronesian and LapitaAbout 3000-1000 BC 11–1445 min
  17. 17 Wheels, horses and the steppe The wheel came thousands of years after farming. Students follow wagons and horses across the grasslands of the steppe, find the first spoked chariots, and see how one invention spread from Egypt to China. Copper and Bronze AgeAbout 3500-1200 BC 12–1545 min
  18. 18 The pyramids of Giza In about a hundred years Egyptians went from the first stone step pyramid to the Great Pyramid of Giza. Students follow the stone from the quarries to the building site, meet the workers who built it, and ask what it says about the power of a pharaoh. Old Kingdom EgyptAbout 2650-2500 BC 10–1350 min
  19. 19 Caral: the first city of the Americas While Egyptians built their first pyramids, people on the desert coast of Peru built platform mounds and sunken plazas at Caral. Students explore one of the oldest civilizations of the Americas, built on cotton, fish and trade. Norte Chico (Caral-Supe)About 3000-1800 BC 11–1445 min
  20. 20 Harappa and Mohenjo-daro: the Indus cities Planned streets, covered drains and standard bricks: the Indus cities were among the best organized in the ancient world, yet we cannot read their writing. Students explore Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Lothal, and ask why the cities emptied. Indus Valley civilizationAbout 2600-1900 BC 11–1450 min
  21. 21 Stonehenge and the megalith builders Farmers with stone and antler tools raised Stonehenge in stages over more than 1,000 years, dragging some stones from Wales. Students find the great stone monuments of Atlantic Europe and test ideas about what they were for. Neolithic BritainAbout 3200-1500 BC 10–1350 min
  22. 22 Ur and the city-states of Sumer Sumer was not one country but a land of rival city-states, each with its own god and ruler. Students visit Ur, Nippur and Lagash, look into the Royal Tombs of Ur and meet the oldest law code that survives. SumerAbout 2900-2000 BC 11–1450 min
  23. 23 Sargon of Akkad: the first empire A cupbearer from Kish conquered the cities of Sumer and claimed to rule from the Gulf to the Mediterranean. Students follow Sargon of Akkad, meet his daughter Enheduanna, and debate why the first empire fell. Akkadian EmpireAbout 2334-2154 BC 12–1550 min
  24. 24 Kerma: the kingdom of Kush South of Egypt, beyond the rapids of the Nile, lay Kerma, the capital of a powerful African kingdom that Egypt called Kush. Students explore its giant mud-brick temple, its trade in gold and ivory, and its long rivalry with Egypt. Kingdom of KermaAbout 2500-1500 BC 11–1445 min
  25. 25 Hammurabi's Babylon and the law Hammurabi turned Babylon from a small city-state into the capital of Mesopotamia and carved his laws in stone for all to see. Students find his conquests on the map, read his laws and judge them against their own idea of justice. Old BabylonianAbout 1792-1750 BC 11–1450 min
  26. 26 The Minoans of Crete Palaces with hundreds of rooms, bull-leapers on painted walls and a writing nobody can read: the Minoans of Crete ruled the sea lanes of the Aegean. Students explore Knossos, the volcano of Thera, and the mystery of the Minoans' decline. Bronze Age AegeanAbout 2000-1450 BC 11–1445 min
  27. 27 Earthworks: the mound builders of North America Thousands of years ago, Native peoples in North America raised giant earth rings, burial mounds and geometric earthworks. Students explore Poverty Point, the Adena and the Hopewell, and a myth that tried to take this history away from them. Eastern Woodlands1700 BC-500 AD 11–1445 min
  28. 28 The Hittites of Hattusa From a fortress capital in central Anatolia, the Hittite kings raided Babylon, fought Egypt and wrote the oldest texts in the language family that includes English. Students explore Hattusa, meet Queen Puduhepa and test an old myth about Hittite iron. Hittite EmpireAbout 1650-1180 BC 12–1545 min
  29. 29 Hatshepsut: the woman who became pharaoh Hatshepsut began as regent for a young king and made herself pharaoh. Students follow her building works at Thebes and her fleet to the land of Punt, and ask why later rulers tried to remove her from history. New Kingdom EgyptAbout 1479-1458 BC 11–1450 min
  30. 30 Akhenaten and Amarna: a religious revolution A pharaoh turned his back on the old gods, worshipped the sun disk and built a new capital in the desert. Students explore Akhenaten's city at Amarna, read the letters of the kings who wrote to him, and ask why his revolution failed. New Kingdom EgyptAbout 1353-1336 BC 12–1545 min
  31. 31 Tutankhamun and the Valley of the Kings A boy king ruled for about ten years and was almost forgotten, until 1922. Students explore the hidden royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the craftsmen who cut them, and the story of the most famous tomb ever found. New Kingdom EgyptAbout 1332-1323 BC 10–1345 min
  32. 32 Shang China: oracle bones and bronze Shang kings asked their ancestors questions by cracking bones in fire, and carved the answers in the oldest Chinese writing. Students visit the Shang capital at Anyang, meet the general Fu Hao, and compare the Shang with a very different bronze culture at Sanxingdui. Shang dynastyAbout 1600-1046 BC 11–1450 min
  33. 33 The Uluburun shipwreck: Bronze Age trade Around 1300 BC a ship loaded with copper, tin, glass, ivory and gold sank off the coast of Anatolia. Students unpack its cargo, trace each item to its homeland on the map, and discover how connected the Bronze Age world was. Late Bronze AgeAbout 1300 BC 11–1445 min
  34. 34 Kadesh: Ramesses II against the Hittites In 1274 BC two superpowers met at Kadesh in what may be the largest chariot battle ever fought. Both claimed victory. Students compare Egyptian and Hittite sources, and find out how the war ended in one of the oldest peace treaties known. New Kingdom Egypt1274-1259 BC 12–1550 min
  35. 35 Mycenae: Greece in the age of heroes Fortress palaces, gold masks and tablets full of sheep counts: the Mycenaeans were the Greeks of the Bronze Age. Students explore Mycenae, Pylos and Troy, and ask how much of Homer's Trojan War really happened. Mycenaean GreeceAbout 1600-1100 BC 11–1450 min
  36. 36 The Bronze Age collapse Within about fifty years, the Hittite Empire, the Mycenaean palaces and great ports like Ugarit were gone. Students investigate drought, raiders, earthquakes and broken trade, and decide how a connected world could fall apart. Late Bronze AgeAbout 1200-1150 BC 13–1650 min

Ancient world

  1. 37 After the Bronze Age collapse: a new world Around 1200 BC the great Bronze Age kingdoms fell: the Hittite Empire vanished, Mycenaean palaces burned and Egypt barely held on. Students explore the smaller world that grew in the ruins, where iron, the alphabet and new peoples such as the Aramaeans got their start. Early Iron Age1100-900 BC 11–1450 min
  2. 38 The Bantu expansion: farmers on the move Over many centuries, farming families speaking Bantu languages spread from West Africa across most of central, eastern and southern Africa. Students trace one of the great migrations of history, step by small step. Bantu expansionabout 1000 BC-AD 500 11–1445 min
  3. 39 The Olmec: giant heads on the Gulf Coast On the hot, wet Gulf Coast of Mexico, the Olmec carved colossal stone heads and built the first great centres of Mesoamerica. Students explore San Lorenzo and La Venta and debate whether the Olmec were a "mother culture". Olmec1200-400 BC 11–1445 min
  4. 40 The Phoenicians: merchants of the purple sea From a few harbor cities on the Lebanese coast, the Phoenicians sailed the whole Mediterranean. Students follow cedar, purple dye and silver along their routes and find the colonies, from Cyprus to Spain, that they left behind. Phoenicia1000-700 BC 11–1450 min
  5. 41 The Vedic age and the sixteen great kingdoms Hymns memorized word for word for centuries, iron axes clearing the forests of the Ganges plain, and sixteen rival states by 500 BC. Students explore the Vedic age of India and find out how one of the sixteen, Magadha, began to outgrow the others. Vedic Indiac. 1500-500 BC 11–1445 min
  6. 42 The Zhou and the Mandate of Heaven Around 1046 BC the Zhou overthrew the Shang kings and explained their victory with a powerful idea: Heaven gives the right to rule to a just king and takes it away from a cruel one. Students explore an idea that shaped Chinese politics for almost 3,000 years. Zhou dynasty, China1046-771 BC 11–1445 min
  7. 43 Twenty-two letters: how the alphabet spread The Phoenician alphabet had just 22 letters, all consonants, and anyone could learn it in weeks. Students follow it from Byblos to Greece, where vowels were added, and on to Italy and the letters on this page. Phoenicia and Greece1050-700 BC 10–1345 min
  8. 44 Israel and Judah: two small kingdoms between empires The Bible tells of David and Solomon; archaeology adds the stones. Students follow the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah as Assyria closes in, and ask how a small people kept its identity when its state was crushed. Ancient Israel1000-701 BC 12–1550 min
  9. 45 Assyria: the first superpower From a heartland on the Tigris, Assyria built the largest empire the world had yet seen, from Egypt to Iran. Students study how it was run, why it was feared, and why it collapsed within a few years around 612 BC. Neo-Assyrian Empire900-612 BC 12–1550 min
  10. 46 Carthage: a trading empire of the western sea Long before it fought Rome, Carthage ruled the western Mediterranean with merchant ships, not legions. Students explore its double harbor, its outposts from Spain to Sicily, and the voyage of Hanno down the coast of West Africa. Carthage814-300 BC 11–1450 min
  11. 47 The Olympic Games: a truce every four years Every four years the quarrelling Greeks laid down their arms and traveled to Olympia to honor Zeus with footraces, wrestling and chariot racing. Students visit the sanctuary, learn what an athlete won, and ask what the Games did that no treaty could. Archaic and Classical Greece776-400 BC 10–1345 min
  12. 48 Romulus and Remus: how Rome began Twins, a she-wolf and a quarrel on the Palatine Hill: Rome's founding legend is famous. Students compare the story with what archaeologists have found, and ask why the Romans told it. Early Rome753 BC 10–1345 min
  13. 49 The polis: why Greece had hundreds of states The Greeks shared a language, gods and the Olympic Games, yet they never formed one country. Students study how mountains and the sea split Greece into hundreds of city-states, each with its own laws, army and pride. Archaic Greece800-500 BC 11–1450 min
  14. 50 Phrygia and King Midas: a real king behind the legend Everyone knows the king whose touch turned things to gold. Fewer know that Midas really ruled in central Anatolia around 700 BC, that Assyrian records mention him, and that his capital Gordion holds a giant burial mound. Students separate legend from evidence. Phrygia750-690 BC 10–1345 min
  15. 51 Greek colonies: a new city across the sea In two centuries the Greeks founded hundreds of new cities, from Spain to the Black Sea. Students follow settlers from a crowded mother city to Syracuse, Massalia and Byzantium, and ask what a colony owed to home. Archaic Greece750-550 BC 10–1350 min
  16. 52 Syracuse: the Greek giant of Sicily The richest Greek city in the west was not in Greece at all. Students explore Syracuse, from its founding by Corinth to the tyrant Dionysius, who built the largest fortress in the Greek world and whose engineers invented the catapult. Magna Graecia733-367 BC 11–1450 min
  17. 53 Sparta: a city built for war Sparta had no walls, no coins worth stealing and the best army in Greece. Students explore how a city that enslaved its neighbors turned every citizen into a soldier, what Spartan women could do that other Greek women could not, and why the system finally broke. Archaic and Classical Greece700-371 BC 12–1550 min
  18. 54 Ashurbanipal's library: a king who collected everything The last great king of Assyria could read and write, and he sent scribes across his empire to copy every text they could find. Students explore his library at Nineveh and the flood story of Gilgamesh, found in its ruins. Neo-Assyrian Empire668-612 BC 11–1445 min
  19. 55 Egypt's last pharaohs: the Saite revival After Assyrian armies had sacked Thebes, a family from Sais rebuilt Egypt with Greek soldiers and Greek traders. Students explore a pharaoh who tried to dig a canal to the Red Sea and sent ships around Africa, until Persia arrived in 525 BC. Late Period Egypt664-525 BC 12–1550 min
  20. 56 Delphi: the oracle at the navel of the world Kings and cities from Lydia to Sicily sent envoys up a mountain to ask a priestess what to do. Students visit Delphi, learn how the oracle worked, test some famous answers, and ask why a sanctuary no army defended stayed rich and safe for centuries. Archaic and Classical Greece650-279 BC 10–1345 min
  21. 57 Lydia and the first coins In the kingdom of Lydia, in western Anatolia, the first coins were struck around 600 BC. Students meet King Croesus, "rich as Croesus", follow gold down the river Pactolus, and watch the kingdom fall to Persia in 546 BC. Lydia650-546 BC 10–1345 min
  22. 58 The Scythians: horse lords of the steppe North of the Black Sea lived nomads who fought from horseback, buried their kings under huge mounds full of gold, and beat the Persian Empire without fighting a single battle. Students meet the Scythians through Herodotus and through their tombs. Scythia700-300 BC 11–1445 min
  23. 59 Nebuchadnezzar and the glory of Babylon For seventy years after Assyria fell, Babylon was the greatest city on earth. Students explore Nebuchadnezzar's blue Ishtar Gate and towering ziggurat, the exile of Judah, and the night in 539 BC when the city opened its gates to Persia. Neo-Babylonian Empire605-539 BC 11–1450 min
  24. 60 Cyrus the Great: an empire in thirty years A king of a small people in southern Iran took the Medes, Lydia and Babylon in a single lifetime and built the largest empire the world had seen. Students follow Cyrus's conquests and ask why he is remembered as a liberator rather than a destroyer. Achaemenid Persia559-530 BC 11–1450 min
  25. 61 The Celts: salt, iron and the princes of Hallstatt North of the Alps, chieftains grew rich on salt and iron and were buried with wagons, gold and Greek wine vessels. Students explore the Hallstatt and La Tene cultures, the first peoples the Greeks called Celts, and follow their warriors as far as Delphi and Anatolia. Iron Age Europe800-279 BC 11–1450 min
  26. 62 Athens invents democracy In 508 BC the Athenians began an experiment: the people themselves would vote on laws, war and peace. Students trace the steps from Solon to Cleisthenes to Pericles, visit the hill where 6,000 citizens met, and ask who was left out. Classical Greece594-430 BC 12–1550 min
  27. 63 Asking why: Greek science and philosophy On the coast of Ionia a few men began explaining the world without gods: water, numbers, atoms. Students follow the idea from Miletus to the medical school of Kos and the schools of Plato and Aristotle in Athens, and try the Greek habit of asking why. Classical Greece585-335 BC 12–1550 min
  28. 64 The Seven Wonders of the ancient world Greek travelers in the Hellenistic age made a list of seven sights everyone should see. Students find all seven on the map, from the pyramid of Giza to the lighthouse of Alexandria, work out which ones they could still visit, and decide what makes something a wonder. Hellenistic world2560-280 BC 10–1345 min
  29. 65 The Roman Republic: consuls, Senate and people After the last king, Rome split power between two consuls, the Senate and the people's assemblies. Students learn how the Republic worked, and spot its ideas in governments today. Roman Republic509 BC 12–1550 min
  30. 66 Chavín de Huántar: a temple in the high Andes High in a valley of the Andes, pilgrims from the coast and the mountains gathered at the temple of Chavín de Huántar. Students explore its underground galleries, the Lanzón idol, and how one style of art spread across the Andes long before the Inca. Chavín culturec. 900-200 BC 11–1445 min
  31. 67 Confucius and the Hundred Schools of Thought While the Zhou world broke into rival states, thinkers traveled from court to court with advice on how to bring back order. Students meet Confucius, Laozi and the Legalists, and debate which idea would really fix a country in chaos. Eastern Zhou, China551-221 BC 12–1650 min
  32. 68 Darius: how to run an empire of many peoples Darius I inherited an empire that stretched across three continents and dozens of languages. Students examine the tools he used to hold it together: provinces and governors, fixed taxes, a gold coin, a new capital at Persepolis and an inscription carved into a cliff. Achaemenid Persia522-486 BC 12–1550 min
  33. 69 Seven kings and the Etruscans Roman tradition counts seven kings before the Republic, the last three with Etruscan roots. Students meet Rome's powerful northern neighbors and find out what the Romans learned from them. Early Rome753-509 BC 11–1450 min
  34. 70 Siddhartha Gautama: the Buddha and his world A prince left his palace to find out why people suffer. After years of searching he became the Buddha, the awakened one, and spent the rest of his life teaching in the kingdoms of the Ganges. Students follow his life on the map and meet his ideas. Ancient Indiac. 500 BC 10–1345 min
  35. 71 The Royal Road: a message across an empire From Sardis near the Aegean to Susa in Iran, the Royal Road ran about 2,700 km with rest stations every day's march. Students measure it, race a relay courier against an army, and find out why roads mattered more than walls to the Persian kings. Achaemenid Persia500 BC 10–1345 min
  36. 72 Marathon: Persia reaches Greece When the Greek cities of Ionia rebelled against Persia, Athens sent twenty ships to help. The revolt failed, and in 490 BC King Darius sent a fleet to punish Athens. Students follow the chain of events to the plain of Marathon, where an outnumbered army of citizens charged. Persian Wars499-490 BC 11–1450 min
  37. 73 Patricians and plebeians: the Struggle of the Orders Rome's ordinary citizens, the plebeians, went on strike: they walked out of the city and refused to fight. Students follow how they won tribunes, written laws and a share of power. Roman Republic494-287 BC 12–1550 min
  38. 74 480 BC: Thermopylae and Salamis Ten years after Marathon, Xerxes brought the largest army the Greeks had ever seen across the Hellespont. Students follow it to the pass of Thermopylae, watch Athens empty its city, and see the war decided in the narrow strait of Salamis. Persian Wars480-479 BC 11–1450 min
  39. 75 Athens in its golden age: Pericles and the Parthenon After the Persian Wars, Athens led an alliance of island and coastal cities and turned it into an empire. Students follow the tribute money to the Acropolis, where the Parthenon rose in fifteen years, and ask whether the golden age was paid for fairly. Classical Greece478-431 BC 11–1450 min
  40. 76 Greek theater: tragedy and comedy for the whole city Every spring, Athens stopped work for a festival of plays in honor of Dionysus. Students visit the theater below the Acropolis, meet Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, and work out why a democracy wanted its citizens to watch tragedies. Classical Greece472-330 BC 11–1445 min
  41. 77 The Peloponnesian War: Athens against Sparta For 27 years the two leading Greek cities fought a war that neither could win quickly: Athens ruled the sea, Sparta the land. Students follow the plague, the disaster in Sicily and the final defeat, with the historian Thucydides as their guide. Classical Greece431-404 BC 12–1550 min
  42. 78 390 BC: the Gauls sack Rome A Celtic army crushes the Romans at the river Allia and sacks Rome itself. Students separate legend from evidence, and see how the disaster made Rome build a stone wall and rethink its defense. Roman Republic390 BC 10–1345 min
  43. 79 The Samnite Wars: Rome conquers Italy In the mountains of central Italy, the Samnites fought Rome for half a century and once trapped a whole Roman army. Students follow the wars on the map and learn how Rome turned defeated enemies into allies. Roman Republic343-290 BC 12–1550 min
  44. 80 Yayoi Japan: rice, bronze and Queen Himiko Rice farming, bronze and iron crossed the sea from the Korean peninsula and changed Japan. Moated villages grew into small kingdoms, and Chinese records tell of a queen named Himiko. Students combine archaeology and Chinese sources to explore early Japan. Yayoi period, Japanc. 300 BC - 250 AD 11–1445 min
  45. 81 Philip II: the king who united Greece Alexander's father inherited a weak kingdom on the edge of the Greek world and in twenty years made it master of Greece. Students study his new army with its long pikes, follow the money from the gold mines, and visit the field of Chaeronea where the free city-states lost. Macedon359-336 BC 12–1550 min
  46. 82 Alexander: an empire in ten years From a small Greek kingdom to the edge of India in a decade. Students follow the campaign route and discover why the empire broke apart just as fast. Hellenistic world334-323 BC 11–1445 min
  47. 83 Alexandria: the library and the lighthouse The Ptolemies built a Greek city on the Egyptian coast and filled it with every book they could find. Students explore the Museum and Library, the lighthouse on Pharos island, and the scholar who measured the Earth with a stick and a shadow. Ptolemaic Egypt331-240 BC 11–1450 min
  48. 84 After Alexander: the generals divide the world Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC without naming an heir. For forty years his generals fought over the empire, until three kingdoms were left. Students use the time slider to watch one empire become five, then three, and ask why nobody could hold it together. Hellenistic world323-281 BC 12–1550 min
  49. 85 Chandragupta and the rise of the Maurya Empire Within a few years of Alexander's retreat from India, a young leader named Chandragupta Maurya seized Magadha, pushed out the Greek garrisons and traded land for war elephants with Seleucus. Students map the birth of India's first great empire. Maurya Empire, Indiac. 321-297 BC 12–1545 min
  50. 86 The Appian Way: Rome's first great road and aqueduct In 312 BC one official, Appius Claudius, began both Rome's first great road and its first aqueduct. Students follow the Via Appia on the map and find out how Roman engineering tied an empire together. Roman Republic312 BC 11–1445 min
  51. 87 Ptolemaic Egypt: Greek kings as pharaohs For nearly three centuries a Macedonian family ruled Egypt, wearing the double crown in temples and speaking Greek at court. Students explore how two cultures shared one kingdom, from the temples of Edfu to the Rosetta Stone, carved in three scripts in 196 BC. Ptolemaic Egypt305-196 BC 12–1550 min
  52. 88 The Nabataeans: Petra and the incense road Deep in the desert of Jordan, Arab traders carved a city of tombs into pink cliffs and grew rich carrying frankincense from Arabia to the Mediterranean. Students follow the incense road to Petra, work out how a desert city found water, and watch a nomad people turn into a kingdom. Nabataean kingdom312-30 BC 11–1445 min
  53. 89 Nok: clay heads and early iron On the hills of central Nigeria, the Nok people shaped striking clay heads and smelted iron more than 2,000 years ago. Students learn how archaeologists read the past of a people who left no writing. Nok cultureabout 500 BC-AD 200 10–1345 min
  54. 90 Pyrrhus and the "Pyrrhic victory" A Greek king with war elephants beat the Romans twice, but lost so many men that his name became a word. Students follow Pyrrhus across southern Italy and find out why Rome could not be worn down. Roman Republic280-275 BC 11–1445 min
  55. 91 Qin Shi Huang: the First Emperor unites China In 221 BC the king of Qin conquered the last rival state and called himself the First Emperor. In eleven years he made China one country with one script, one coin and one law. Students weigh up his achievements against the price his people paid. Qin dynasty, China221-210 BC 11–1450 min
  56. 92 The First Punic War: Rome takes to the sea Rome had almost no navy when it went to war with Carthage, the great sea power of the west, over Sicily. Students find out how Rome built a fleet, survived disasters at sea and won its first province. Roman Republic264-241 BC 11–1450 min
  57. 93 The Seleucids: Greek kings from Syria to Iran The largest successor kingdom stretched from the Aegean to Central Asia and was run by Greeks ruling dozens of peoples. Students follow the Seleucids from Babylon to Antioch, watch them plant Greek cities across Asia, and see the giant shrink as Parthians, Romans and rebels close in. Hellenistic world312-140 BC 12–1550 min
  58. 94 The Warring States: seven kingdoms, one winner For about 250 years seven kingdoms fought for control of China, with iron weapons, crossbows and huge armies of farmers. Students map the rivals and work out why the western state of Qin came out on top. Warring States, China475-221 BC 11–1445 min
  59. 95 Pergamon and Rhodes: small states, big ideas Between the great kingdoms, a hill town and an island grew rich and famous. Students visit Pergamon, with its library, altar and parchment, and Rhodes, whose Colossus stood at the harbor for only 54 years, and ask how small states survived among giants. Hellenistic world305-133 BC 11–1445 min
  60. 96 Buddhism crosses Asia From the Ganges plain, Buddhism traveled with monks and merchants over mountains, deserts and seas: to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. Students watch the spread unfold on the map and find out how a faith changes when it travels. Buddhist Asia250 BC - 552 AD 11–1450 min
  61. 97 Archimedes and the Hellenistic scientists In the two centuries after Alexander, Greek scientists measured the Earth, proposed that it circles the sun, and built a bronze machine that predicted eclipses. Students meet Archimedes in Syracuse, Aristarchus and Hipparchus, and the Antikythera mechanism found in a shipwreck. Hellenistic world300-100 BC 12–1550 min
  62. 98 Ashoka: the emperor who regretted his war After a bloody conquest of Kalinga, the emperor Ashoka carved his regret into stone and promised to rule by kindness. Students read his edicts on the map, follow Buddhism as it spreads from his empire and judge whether he deserves the title "the Great". Maurya Empire, Indiac. 268-232 BC 11–1450 min
  63. 99 Hannibal crosses the Alps In 218 BC Hannibal led an army with elephants from Spain over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy. Students trace the route, weigh the losses and see why the march shocked Rome. Roman Republic218-217 BC 10–1350 min
  64. 100 Cannae, 216 BC: Rome's darkest day At Cannae, Hannibal surrounded and destroyed the largest army Rome had ever sent into battle. Students study the famous double envelopment, then ask the bigger question: why did Rome not give up? Roman Republic216 BC 12–1550 min
  65. 101 Archimedes and the siege of Syracuse When Syracuse switched to Carthage's side, Rome attacked it by land and sea, and the mathematician Archimedes defended it with his machines. Students separate fact from legend in one of history's most famous sieges. Roman Republic214-212 BC 10–1345 min
  66. 102 The terracotta army: soldiers for the afterlife In 1974 farmers digging a well near Xi'an hit pieces of a clay soldier. Below them stood thousands more, guarding the tomb of the First Emperor. Students explore what this buried army reveals about Qin power, beliefs and organization. Qin dynasty, China246-210 BC 10–1345 min
  67. 103 From Qin to Han: rebels and a commoner emperor One year after the First Emperor died, farmers late for duty rose in revolt. Within three years the Qin were gone, and by 202 BC a village official named Liu Bang had founded the Han dynasty. Students find out why one dynasty fell so fast and the next lasted 400 years. Qin and Han dynasties, China209-202 BC 12–1545 min
  68. 104 Scipio and Zama: the end of Hannibal's war A young Roman general took the war to Spain and then to Africa, and finally beat Hannibal at Zama. Students follow Scipio's strategy and weigh the peace of 201 BC. Roman Republic210-201 BC 11–1450 min
  69. 105 Hispania: Viriathus and Numantia resist Rome Rome needed about 200 years to conquer the whole Iberian Peninsula. Students meet the Lusitanian leader Viriathus and the town of Numantia, and look at the conquest from the side of the conquered. Roman Republic155-133 BC 12–1545 min
  70. 106 Meroe: pyramids, iron and ruling queens South of Egypt, the kingdom of Kush ruled the Nile from its royal city of Meroe. Students discover a kingdom of steep pyramids, iron works, its own script and powerful queens who even faced down Rome. Kingdom of Kushabout 300 BC-AD 350 11–1450 min
  71. 107 Rome conquers Greece, Greece conquers Rome Within about 50 years Rome defeated Macedon and the Greek cities, and in 146 BC destroyed Corinth. Yet Greek art, gods and ideas took over Roman life. Students ask who really conquered whom. Roman Republic200-146 BC 12–1550 min
  72. 108 The Parthians: horse archers between Rome and China A nomad people from the edge of the steppe took over Persia and Mesopotamia and held off Rome for almost three centuries. Students map the rise of Parthia, meet its horse archers and find out why it was so useful to stand between Rome and China. Parthian Empire247 BC - 224 AD 12–1545 min
  73. 109 The Xiongnu: an empire on horseback North of China, nomad herders on the steppe built the first great empire of horsemen. Their ruler Modu even trapped the founder of the Han dynasty. Students compare two ways of life and ask how our sources, written by Han enemies, shape the story. Xiongnu and Han, the steppe209 BC - 48 AD 12–1545 min
  74. 110 The Maccabees: a small people against a Greek king When the Seleucid king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and put a pagan altar in the Temple, a priest's family in a village started a revolt. Students follow Judah Maccabee from the hills to the rededication of the Temple, remembered every year at Hanukkah. Hellenistic Judea167-140 BC 12–1550 min
  75. 111 146 BC: the destruction of Carthage "Carthage must be destroyed," Cato kept telling the Senate. Students investigate why Rome attacked a city that was no longer a danger, how the Carthaginians resisted, and how the myth of the salted fields was born. Roman Republic149-146 BC 13–1650 min
  76. 112 The Gracchi: land, reform and violence Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus tried to give land to poor Romans, and both died in political violence. Students explore how Rome's success abroad caused trouble at home. Roman Republic133-121 BC 13–1650 min
  77. 113 Zhang Qian and the opening of the Silk Road In about 138 BC Emperor Wu sent Zhang Qian west to find allies against the Xiongnu. He was captured, escaped and came home 13 years later with news of rich lands no one in China had known. Students follow the journey that opened the Silk Road. Han dynasty, China138-101 BC 11–1450 min
  78. 114 Marius and Sulla: generals against the Republic Marius opened the legions to poor volunteers and was consul seven times; his rival Sulla marched his army on Rome itself. Students trace how soldiers came to be loyal to their generals instead of to the state. Roman Republic107-79 BC 13–1650 min
  79. 115 Emperor Wu and the Han golden age Emperor Wu of Han ruled for 54 years. He trained officials in the Confucian classics, sent armies into the steppe and pushed the empire into Korea, Vietnam and Central Asia. Students map his expansion and ask whether his wars were worth their cost. Han dynasty, China141-87 BC 12–1550 min
  80. 116 The Social War: Italy fights for citizenship Rome's Italian allies had fought in all its wars but were not Roman citizens. In 91 BC many of them rose up and set up a state of their own. Students explore a war Rome won on the battlefield but lost in politics. Roman Republic91-88 BC 13–1645 min
  81. 117 Spartacus and the great slave revolt In 73 BC a Thracian gladiator broke out of a school in Capua with about 70 others and soon led tens of thousands. Students look at Roman slavery through the eyes of the enslaved and follow the revolt across Italy. Roman Republic73-71 BC 12–1550 min
  82. 118 Pompey the Great: pirates and the east In about three months Pompey cleared the Mediterranean of pirates, then redrew the map of the east, from Pontus to Jerusalem. Students follow his campaigns and ask how much power one general should have. Roman Republic67-62 BC 12–1545 min
  83. 119 Caesar in Gaul In eight years Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, crossed the Rhine and landed in Britain, then wrote his own account of it all. Students follow his campaigns, meet Vercingetorix and question a source written by the winner. Roman Republic58-50 BC 12–1550 min
  84. 120 Cleopatra: the last queen of Egypt The last of the Ptolemies ruled a rich but weak kingdom beside a Rome at war with itself. Students follow Cleopatra from a palace coup in Alexandria to her alliances with Caesar and Antony and the sea battle at Actium, and ask what choices she really had. Ptolemaic Egypt51-30 BC 12–1550 min
  85. 121 Caesar: from the Rubicon to the Ides of March Caesar crossed the Rubicon, beat Pompey, became dictator for life and was stabbed at a Senate meeting five years later. Students follow the civil war across the Mediterranean and debate why the conspirators killed him. Roman Republic49-44 BC 11–1450 min
  86. 122 Antony, Cleopatra and the battle of Actium After Caesar's death, his heir Octavian and his general Mark Antony split the Roman world. Antony allied with Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and the struggle ended at Actium. Students see the story from Rome and from Alexandria. Roman Republic44-30 BC 12–1550 min
  87. 123 Augustus and the Pax Romana Octavian became Augustus, the first emperor, while claiming to restore the Republic. Students explore how he ruled, what the Pax Romana meant and who paid for the peace. Roman Empire27 BC-14 AD 11–1450 min
  88. 124 Carrhae, 53 BC: Rome meets the Parthian cavalry Crassus, the richest man in Rome, marched into Mesopotamia hoping for glory. On the open plain near Carrhae a smaller Parthian army of horse archers destroyed his legions. Students find out why, and how Rome got its lost standards back 33 years later. Parthia and Rome53-20 BC 12–1545 min
  89. 125 Christianity: from persecuted sect to state religion In about 350 years Christianity grew from a small group in Judea into the official religion of the Roman Empire. Students trace its spread along Roman roads and sea routes and explore why Rome first persecuted it, then embraced it. Roman Empire30-380 AD 12–1550 min
  90. 126 The Trung Sisters: Vietnam rises against the Han In AD 40 two sisters from the Red River delta, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, raised an army, drove out the Han governor and ruled for three years. Students map the revolt, compare Chinese and Vietnamese accounts and ask why the sisters are still national heroes. Han rule in Vietnam40-43 AD 11–1445 min
  91. 127 Roman Britain and Hadrian's Wall Rome invaded Britain in AD 43, faced Boudica's revolt and finally built a wall from coast to coast. Students explore Roman Britain, from the new towns of the south to the voices in the Vindolanda tablets on the frontier. Roman Empire43-410 AD 10–1350 min
  92. 128 Judea and Rome: the Jewish-Roman wars Two great revolts against Roman rule ended with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70 and the defeat of Bar Kokhba in 135. Students explore the causes, what changed for the Jewish people, and how the events are remembered. Roman Empire66-135 AD 13–1650 min
  93. 129 Pompeii and Vesuvius, AD 79 In AD 79 Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and hot volcanic flows. Students use the eyewitness letters of Pliny the Younger and the work of archaeologists to rebuild a Roman town and its last day. Roman Empire79 AD 10–1350 min
  94. 130 Everyday life in a Roman city Crowded apartment blocks, public baths, free grain and the games: students explore how ordinary people lived in Rome and its port Ostia, and who did the work that kept a city of perhaps a million people running. Roman Empire1-200 AD 10–1345 min
  95. 131 The Kushans: crossroads of Asia Descendants of nomads driven out of China, the Kushans built an empire across the Hindu Kush that touched Rome's trade, Han China and India at once. Students use coins and treasure to discover a crossroads empire many people have never heard of. Kushan Empirec. 30-250 AD 12–1545 min
  96. 132 Paper, silk and earthquakes: Han inventions In AD 105 a court official named Cai Lun presented a cheaper way to make paper. In 132 Zhang Heng built a device that detected distant earthquakes. Students explore how Han inventions spread along the Silk Road and changed the world. Eastern Han, China25-220 AD 10–1345 min
  97. 133 Rome at its heightFree Under emperor Trajan the empire reaches its greatest size. Students explore how far Rome really stretched, and what held such a giant together. Roman Empire117 AD 11–1450 min
  98. 134 The Three Kingdoms: the end of the Han In 184 rebels in yellow headscarves rose against the Han. The generals who crushed them became warlords, and by 220 China was split into three kingdoms: Wei, Shu and Wu. Students map the split and separate the real history from the famous novel. Late Han and Three Kingdoms184-280 AD 12–1545 min
  99. 135 Pepper and monsoons: South India and the Roman trade Every summer, Greek and Egyptian ships rode the monsoon winds from the Red Sea to the pepper ports of South India and came home with the winter winds. Students follow the trade between the Tamil kingdoms and Rome through winds, coins, pottery and poems. Tamil kingdoms, South Indiac. 30 BC - 200 AD 11–1445 min
  100. 136 The Sasanians: Shapur I and the captured emperor In 224 a prince from southern Iran overthrew the Parthians and founded the Sasanian dynasty. His son Shapur I beat three Roman emperors and took one of them prisoner. Students read his victory in stone and compare Persian and Roman versions of the story. Sasanian Empire224-272 AD 12–1545 min
  101. 137 The legions and the limes: guarding Rome's frontiers From the Rhine to the Syrian desert, legions and auxiliary troops guarded the empire's borders. Students follow the limes on the map and find out who the soldiers were and how they lived. Roman Empire9-260 AD 11–1450 min
  102. 138 The crisis of the third century In about 50 years Rome had more than 20 emperors, lost an emperor to the Persians and split into three parts. Students investigate what went wrong, from civil war and invasions to plague and worthless coins, and how the empire survived. Roman Empire235-284 AD 13–1650 min
  103. 139 Zenobia, queen of Palmyra A caravan city in the Syrian desert became the center of a realm stretching from Egypt to Asia Minor. Students follow Queen Zenobia's rise and fall and ask how Romans and Syrians have told her story. Roman Empire260-273 AD 11–1445 min
  104. 140 Diocletian and the rule of four Diocletian decided the empire was too big for one man and shared it among four emperors. Students explore the Tetrarchy on the map, his reforms of the army, taxes and prices, and his persecution of Christians. Roman Empire284-305 AD 12–1550 min
  105. 141 Moche and Nazca: art in the desert On the dry coast of Peru, two peoples turned river valleys into farmland. The Moche made lifelike pottery and huge adobe pyramids; the Nazca drew giant figures on the desert floor. Students explore what their art reveals without any writing. Andean civilizationsc. 100-800 11–1445 min
  106. 142 Constantine and the new Rome on the Bosporus Proclaimed emperor at York, Constantine fought his way to sole rule, backed the Christian church and founded Constantinople. Students follow his career on the map and weigh why his choices still shape the world. Roman Empire306-337 AD 11–1450 min
  107. 143 The fall of Rome In one century the western empire crumbles. Using the time slider, students watch a superpower disappear and debate the reasons why. Late Antiquity376-476 AD 12–1550 min
  108. 144 Aksum: coins, obelisks and a Red Sea power From the highlands of northern Ethiopia, the kings of Aksum traded across the Red Sea, minted gold coins and raised giant stone stelae. Students meet a kingdom a Persian writer counted among the four great powers of the world. Kingdom of Aksumabout AD 100-700 11–1450 min
  109. 145 China divided: Buddhism and the road to 589 After 316 China split between northern kingdoms, many founded by steppe peoples, and southern dynasties along the Yangtze. In this age of war a foreign faith, Buddhism, won millions of followers. Students explore cave temples, a pilgrim's journey and the reunion of 589. Northern and Southern dynasties316-589 AD 12–1550 min
  110. 146 The Gupta Empire: a golden age for India? Under the Gupta kings, poets wrote masterpieces in Sanskrit, smiths cast an iron pillar that barely rusts, and the monastery of Nalanda began to draw students from across Asia. Students explore the achievements and ask who really lived in this "golden age". Gupta Empire, Indiac. 320-550 AD 12–1550 min
  111. 147 Teotihuacan: the city of the gods Around 500 AD, Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico was one of the largest cities in the world. Students explore its giant pyramids, its neighbourhoods of migrants and its reach as far as the Maya city of Tikal. Teotihuacanc. 100 BC-550 AD 11–1450 min
  112. 148 Aryabhata and the numbers we use today In 499 a 23-year-old astronomer named Aryabhata finished a book on mathematics and the stars. India's scholars also built the place-value system with zero that we use every day. Students follow these numbers from India to Baghdad and on to Europe. Gupta India499 AD 11–1445 min

Middle Ages

  1. 149 After Rome: the new kingdoms of the West In 476 the last emperor in the West is pushed off his throne. Students map the Gothic, Frankish, Vandal and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that took the place of Rome, and ask how much really changed for the people living there. Early Middle Ages476-526 11–1445 min
  2. 150 Clovis and the rise of the Franks A teenage Frankish chief turns a small kingdom in northern Gaul into the strongest power in the West. Students follow Clovis from Tournai to Paris and discuss why his baptism mattered so much for France and the Church. Frankish Kingdom481-511 11–1445 min
  3. 151 Funan and the first kingdoms of Southeast Asia Halfway between India and China, the kingdom of Funan grew rich from ships, canals and markets in the Mekong delta. Its rulers adopted Sanskrit and Indian gods by their own choice. Students explore a port where a Roman medallion, Indian beads and Chinese mirrors lay side by side. Funan and Champac. 100-550 AD 11–1445 min
  4. 152 Kofun Japan: keyhole tombs and the Yamato kings Giant keyhole-shaped tombs, ringed by moats and clay figures, rose across Japan as the great kings of Yamato extended their power. Then Buddhism arrived from Korea. Students explore what the tombs reveal and how Japan learned from its neighbors. Kofun period, Japanc. 250-600 AD 11–1445 min
  5. 153 The Three Kingdoms of Korea Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest and Silla in the southeast fought each other for centuries, while passing Buddhism, writing and iron on to Japan. Students map the three kingdoms, meet King Gwanggaeto and ask what made each kingdom strong. Goguryeo, Baekje and Sillac. 300-600 AD 11–1445 min
  6. 154 Justinian and Theodora A peasant's nephew and a former actress rule the Eastern Roman Empire together. Students follow their law code, their wars to win back the West and the riot of 532 that almost ended their reign. Byzantine Empire527-565 12–1550 min
  7. 155 Monasteries: living by the Rule of Benedict Why would anyone give up family and property to live by a strict rule of prayer and work? Students explore the Rule of Benedict and discover how monasteries kept books, farming and learning alive in early medieval Europe. Early Middle Ages529-910 10–1345 min
  8. 156 The Plague of Justinian In 536 a strange haze dims the sun, and in 541 a new disease arrives with the grain ships from Egypt. Students track the first known pandemic of plague and weigh how much it changed Justinian's empire. Byzantine Empire536-549 12–1550 min
  9. 157 Hagia Sophia: a dome over Constantinople After a riot burns the old church, Justinian orders a new one, and it is finished in under six years. Students explore how Hagia Sophia was built, why its dome amazed the world and how it outlived the empire that built it. Byzantine Empire532-562 11–1445 min
  10. 158 Khosrow I: the Sasanian golden age Khosrow I reformed Persia's taxes and army, fought and made peace with Justinian, crushed the Hephthalites with Turkish allies and welcomed books, scholars and a new game from India: chess. Students explore an empire at the crossroads of Rome, India and the steppe. Sasanian Empire531-579 AD 12–1650 min
  11. 159 The Sui and the Grand Canal In 589 the Sui reunited a China that had been split for centuries. Emperor Yang then joined its great rivers with the Grand Canal. Students trace the canal on the map and weigh a project that helped build China and helped bring down its builder. Sui dynasty604-618 11–1450 min
  12. 160 Christian Nubia and the Baqt treaty For almost a thousand years, Christian kingdoms ruled the Nile south of Egypt. Students meet the archers of Makuria, the Baqt treaty that kept the peace with Muslim Egypt for centuries, and the painted cathedral of Faras. Medieval Nubiaabout 550-1500 12–1550 min
  13. 161 Iona, Canterbury and Whitby: missions to the English Two groups of missionaries reach the pagan Anglo-Saxons: Irish monks from the north and Roman monks from the south. Students map both routes and replay the meeting at Whitby in 664, where a king had to choose between them. Anglo-Saxon England563-664 11–1445 min
  14. 162 Mecca before Islam: caravans and the Kaaba Around 600, Arabia lay between two exhausted empires. Students explore the oasis towns, caravan routes and the sanctuary of Mecca: the world into which the Prophet Muhammad was born. Pre-Islamic Arabiaabout 500-610 11–1445 min
  15. 163 Silla unites Korea Silla, the smallest of Korea's three kingdoms, allied with Tang China, defeated its rivals and then drove out the Tang itself. Students follow the wars on the map and explore Silla's Buddhist capital, Gyeongju. Unified Silla660-935 11–1445 min
  16. 164 The Prophet Muhammad and the hijra In 622 the Prophet Muhammad and his followers left Mecca for Medina. Students follow the hijra on the map and find out why this journey became year one of the Islamic calendar. Early Islamabout 570-632 11–1450 min
  17. 165 Xuanzang: a monk's journey to India In 629 the monk Xuanzang slipped out of China to find Buddhist texts in India. Sixteen years later he came home a hero. Students follow his route over deserts and mountains and see how ideas travelled along the Silk Road. Tang dynasty629-645 10–1345 min
  18. 166 Out of Arabia: Yarmouk, Qadisiyya and the great conquests Within twenty years of the Prophet's death, Arab armies took Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Iran. Students compare the empires before and after, and weigh the reasons historians give for such fast conquests. Rashidun Caliphate633-651 12–1550 min
  19. 167 The four rightly guided caliphs After the Prophet's death in 632, four caliphs led the Muslim community from Medina and Kufa. Students explore how a small community became a large state, and why the question of leadership divided it. Rashidun Caliphate632-661 12–1545 min
  20. 168 Sunni and Shia: how the split began A disagreement about who should lead the Muslim community grew into the division between Sunni and Shia Islam. Students trace the events from 632 to Karbala in 680, with care and respect for both traditions. Early Islam632-680 13–1650 min
  21. 169 Wu Zetian: the only woman to rule China as emperor Wu Zetian rose from palace concubine to empress, and in 690 became the only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor in her own name. Students weigh her record and ask why later historians judged her so harshly. Tang dynasty655-705 12–1550 min
  22. 170 The Dome of the Rock Completed in 691-692, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the oldest surviving great Islamic monument. Students explore why it was built, what it says, and why Jerusalem matters to three faiths. Umayyad Caliphate691-692 11–1445 min
  23. 171 Wari and Tiwanaku: empires before the Inca Centuries before the Inca, two powers ruled the high Andes: Tiwanaku by Lake Titicaca and Wari in the mountains of Peru. Students compare how each held its lands together and what the Inca later learned from them. Andean Middle Horizonc. 600-1000 12–1545 min
  24. 172 Nara: Japan's first great capital In 710 Japan built its first great capital, Heijo-kyo, on the model of Tang Chang'an. Students explore how Japan borrowed Chinese writing, laws and Buddhism, and why an emperor raised a bronze Buddha about 15 m tall. Nara Japan710-794 10–1345 min
  25. 173 711: across the strait into Spain In 711 a Berber commander crossed a narrow strait and a kingdom fell. Students follow the conquest of Iberia to the Battle of Tours in 732 and weigh what that battle really meant. Umayyad Caliphate711-732 11–1445 min
  26. 174 The Umayyads: an empire ruled from Damascus From Damascus, the Umayyad caliphs ruled lands from Spain to the Indus. Students explore how they held such an empire together with a capital, a common language, new coins and great buildings. Umayyad Caliphate661-750 12–1550 min
  27. 175 The Arab sieges of Constantinople Twice the Umayyad caliphs sent huge forces against Constantinople, and twice they failed. Students find out how walls, the sea, Greek fire, allies and a hard winter stopped the advance. Umayyad Caliphate674-718 12–1545 min
  28. 176 Byzantium's battle over icons For more than a century Byzantine emperors, monks and empresses fought over whether holy images were sacred or forbidden. Students follow iconoclasm from Leo III to Empress Theodora and discuss why images stir such strong feelings. Byzantine Empire726-843 13–1650 min
  29. 177 Maya writing, numbers and calendars The Maya built the most complete writing system of the ancient Americas, counted with zero and tracked time in great cycles. Students read Maya numbers, learn how the script was cracked, and ask who should keep the four Maya books that survived. Classic Maya250-900 12–1550 min
  30. 178 The An Lushan Rebellion: the Tang shaken In 755 a powerful frontier general turned his armies on the Tang emperor. Eight years of war followed. Students follow the rebels to the capitals and see how a dynasty can survive a disaster and still never be the same. Tang dynasty755-763 12–1550 min
  31. 179 843: one empire becomes three kingdoms Charlemagne's grandsons fight a civil war and then split his empire in three. Students compare the maps of 800 and 900 and trace how the Treaty of Verdun drew lines that later became France, Germany and the contested lands in between. Carolingian Empire814-888 12–1545 min
  32. 180 Al-Khwarizmi and the birth of algebra A scholar in Baghdad wrote the book that gave us the word "algebra", and his name gave us "algorithm". Students follow numbers from India to Baghdad to Europe and try a problem in his style. Abbasid Caliphateabout 780-850 11–1445 min
  33. 181 Baghdad: the Round City of the Abbasids In 762 caliph al-Mansur founded a round city on the Tigris. Students explore why the new Abbasid dynasty moved its capital to Iraq and how Baghdad grew into one of the largest cities in the world. Abbasid Caliphate750-800 11–1445 min
  34. 182 Borobudur: a mountain of stone In central Java the Sailendra kings built Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world, with 504 Buddha statues and over 2,600 carved panels. Students explore how it was used and how Buddhism linked Java with Sumatra and India. Sailendra Java780-850 10–1345 min
  35. 183 Chang'an: capital of the Tang world Under the Tang, Chang'an grew into a walled city of about a million people at the eastern end of the Silk Road. Students explore its grid of streets, its markets full of foreign traders and the neighbours who copied its plan. Tang dynasty618-907 11–1450 min
  36. 184 Charlemagne: emperor of the West On Christmas Day 800 the pope crowns a Frankish king emperor in Rome. Students map Charlemagne's wars, visit his capital at Aachen, and judge a ruler who built schools but also forced conquered peoples to convert. Carolingian Empire768-814 11–1450 min
  37. 185 Dunhuang: an oasis on the Silk Road At the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, Dunhuang watered caravans and filled a cliff with painted Buddhist caves. Students find out what a desert oasis meant for trade and faith, and why it held the oldest dated printed book in the world. Silk Road600-1000 11–1445 min
  38. 186 Madagascar and the Merina kingdom From the central highlands of Madagascar, the Merina kings set out to rule the whole island. Students explore an island settled from both Asia and Africa, the reforms and conflicts of its rulers, and the French conquest of 1895. Merina kingdom1787-1897 12–1545 min
  39. 187 Srivijaya: masters of the straits From Palembang on Sumatra, the kings of Srivijaya controlled the sea gates between India and China for centuries. Students explore how monsoon winds, ports and Buddhist learning built a sea empire that left few stone ruins. Srivijaya671-1025 11–1445 min
  40. 188 Sutton Hoo and the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms In 1939 a ship full of treasure is dug out of a field in Suffolk. Students use the Sutton Hoo finds and the map to explore the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, from a royal burial around 625 to the power of Offa of Mercia. Anglo-Saxon England600-800 10–1345 min
  41. 189 Talas 751 and the road of paper In 751 Abbasid and Tang Chinese armies met near the Talas River. Students explore where two great empires touched on the Silk Road, and how paper spread west, which mattered far longer than the battle. Abbasid Caliphate751-800 12–1545 min
  42. 190 The Tibetan Empire on the roof of the world From the high plateau around Lhasa, Tibetan kings built an empire that rivalled Tang China and fought it for the Silk Road. Students explore how geography, marriage alliances and Buddhism shaped Tibet between 618 and 842. Tibetan Empire618-842 11–1445 min
  43. 191 The Viking Age begins In 793 raiders from the sea attack the monastery of Lindisfarne. Students meet the Vikings as raiders, traders and farmers, map their homelands and towns, and ask why they set out across the sea. Viking Age793-900 10–1345 min
  44. 192 Tikal and Calakmul: rival Maya city-states The Classic Maya never formed one empire. Dozens of city-states, each with its own holy king, competed, allied and fought. Students follow the great rivalry of Tikal and Calakmul and ask why the southern cities emptied after 800. Classic Maya250-900 11–1450 min
  45. 193 The House of Wisdom In Abbasid Baghdad, scholars translated Greek, Persian and Indian books into Arabic and added ideas of their own. Students explore the House of Wisdom and how knowledge traveled between cultures. Abbasid Caliphateabout 800-900 12–1550 min
  46. 194 Alfred the Great and the Danelaw In 878 a Danish army surprises the king of Wessex, who escapes into the marshes with a small band. Students follow Alfred's comeback, map the line between Wessex and the Danelaw, and ask how a king on the run became "the Great". Anglo-Saxon England865-899 10–1350 min
  47. 195 Chaco Canyon: great houses of the Ancestral Puebloans In a dry canyon in the American Southwest, Ancestral Puebloans built stone great houses with hundreds of rooms, long straight roads and calendars of light. Students explore Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, and why their people moved on rather than vanished. Ancestral Puebloansc. 850-1300 11–1445 min
  48. 196 Cyril, Methodius and the Slavic alphabet In 863 two brothers from Thessalonica set out for Moravia with a brand-new alphabet. Students follow how a script made for one mission led to Cyrillic, the alphabet that hundreds of millions of people use today. Byzantium and the Slavs863-893 12–1545 min
  49. 197 From the Baltic to Byzantium: the Varangians Scandinavian traders row, sail and drag their boats along the rivers of eastern Europe to reach Constantinople and the markets of the Islamic world. Students follow the river roads, trace the silver and the captives that moved along them, and meet the emperor's Varangian Guard. Viking Age860-1050 12–1550 min
  50. 198 Silver on the Volga: the trade of the Abbasid world Arab silver coins turn up in buried treasure in Sweden. Students follow the routes north along the Volga and east by sea to China, meet the traveler Ibn Fadlan, and ask who gained and who suffered from this trade. Abbasid Caliphateabout 800-1000 12–1550 min
  51. 199 The Amazon: rivers, gardens and the Tupi For a long time outsiders saw the Amazon as an empty wilderness. Archaeology tells another story: towns, earthworks and soils made fertile by people. Students explore Marajó Island, the Upper Xingu and the Tupi peoples of the Atlantic coast. Amazoniac. 400-1542 11–1445 min
  52. 200 The Reconquista: Christian kingdoms of Iberia From a mountain valley in Asturias to the edge of Granada, Christian kingdoms push south over five centuries. Students map their growth, meet the people who lived on the frontier, and ask whether "Reconquista" is the right name for it. Medieval Iberia722-1248 12–1550 min
  53. 201 The Normans: from Viking settlers to kings Viking raiders settle on the Seine, become French-speaking Christians and then conquer England, southern Italy and Sicily. Students follow the Normans across Europe and visit Palermo, where a Norman king ruled Latin, Greek and Arab subjects. Normans911-1154 12–1550 min
  54. 202 Otto the Great and the birth of the Holy Roman Empire In 955 King Otto defeats the Magyar horsemen near Augsburg, and in 962 the pope crowns him emperor in Rome. Students trace the birth of what was later called the Holy Roman Empire and see how Poland and Hungary joined Latin Christian Europe. Holy Roman Empire936-1001 12–1550 min
  55. 203 988: Kyiv chooses a faith Around 988 Prince Vladimir of Kyiv is baptized and orders his people into the waters of the Dnieper. Students explore why he chose the Christianity of Constantinople and how that choice shaped Kyivan Rus under his son Yaroslav the Wise. Kyivan Rus957-1054 12–1550 min
  56. 204 Córdoba, jewel of al-Andalus An Umayyad prince who escaped a massacre founded a new state in Spain. Students explore Córdoba, its Great Mosque and its people of three faiths, and ask how equal life in the caliphate really was. Al-Andalus756-1031 11–1450 min
  57. 205 Goryeo: celadon, the Tripitaka and metal type The kingdom of Goryeo gave Korea its name. It survived Khitan and Mongol invasions, made celadon pottery admired in China, carved over 81,000 printing blocks and printed the oldest surviving book made with metal type. Students explore a kingdom of craft under pressure. Goryeo918-1392 11–1445 min
  58. 206 Heian Japan: the world of The Tale of Genji In Heian-kyo, today's Kyoto, court nobles lived for poetry and beauty, and a court lady wrote The Tale of Genji. Students explore Japan's classical age, the families who ruled behind the emperor and the warriors who would end it. Heian Japan794-1185 12–1545 min
  59. 207 Ibn Sina, al-Razi and medieval medicine Two doctors from Persian lands, al-Razi and Ibn Sina, wrote medical books that were used for centuries, even in Europe. Students follow their lives on the map and look at how hospitals worked. Islamic Golden Ageabout 865-1037 12–1550 min
  60. 208 Ibn al-Haytham and the science of light In Fatimid Cairo, a scholar from Basra tested old ideas about light with careful experiments. Students discover how Ibn al-Haytham changed the way we understand seeing, and why testing ideas matters. Fatimid Caliphateabout 965-1040 12–1545 min
  61. 209 Iceland, Greenland and Vinland Norse settlers sail ever further west: to Iceland, to Greenland and, around the year 1000, to the coast of North America. Students follow them island by island, meet the peoples who already lived there, and ask why Vinland was given up. Viking Age870-1021 11–1450 min
  62. 210 The Cholas: sea kings of southern India From the Kaveri delta, Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I built an empire that reached Sri Lanka, the Ganges and, by sea, the ports of Srivijaya. Students explore their giant temples, bronze art and fleets. Chola Empire985-1044 11–1450 min
  63. 211 The Fatimids found Cairo A Shia dynasty from North Africa conquered Egypt and built a new capital: al-Qahira, Cairo. Students explore Fatimid Cairo, al-Azhar and the trade that made Egypt rich, in a world with three rival caliphs. Fatimid Caliphate909-1171 12–1545 min
  64. 212 The Ghana Empire: land of gold Long before the modern country of Ghana, an empire called Wagadu grew rich at the southern end of the Saharan trade. Students read what an Arab geographer wrote in 1068 and learn how a king controlled gold he did not mine. Ghana Empireabout 700-1200 11–1445 min
  65. 213 Tula and Chichen Itza: the Toltec puzzle Two cities more than 1,000 km apart, Tula in central Mexico and Chichen Itza in the Maya north, share warrior columns and serpent symbols. Students explore both cities and weigh the evidence: conquest, trade or shared ideas? Toltecc. 900-1150 12–1545 min
  66. 214 Cnut and the North Sea empire In 1016 a Danish prince wins the English crown, and soon he rules Denmark and Norway as well. Students map Cnut's empire around the North Sea, examine how a Viking conqueror ruled as a Christian king, and test the famous legend of the waves. Viking Age1013-1042 12–1545 min
  67. 215 1054: the split between East and West In July 1054 papal envoys lay a document of excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia. Students explore the differences that had grown between the Latin West and the Greek East, and ask whether 1054 was a sudden break or a slow parting. Medieval Church1054 13–1645 min
  68. 216 1066: the year England changed hands In 1066 three men claim the English crown and two armies invade within weeks. Students follow Harold's race from Stamford Bridge to Hastings, read the Bayeux Tapestry as a source, and see how castles and the Domesday Book tightened Norman rule. Norman England1066-1087 11–1450 min
  69. 217 Pope against emperor: the road to Canossa In January 1077 the king of Germany waits for three days in the snow outside a castle in Italy, begging the pope for forgiveness. Students unpack the struggle over who had the right to choose bishops, and why it shook medieval Europe. Holy Roman Empire1075-1122 13–1650 min
  70. 218 Toledo, Averroes and Maimonides While kings fought over Spain, knowledge crossed the frontier. Students meet the translators of Toledo, the Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd and the Jewish scholar Maimonides, both born in Córdoba. Al-Andalus1085-1212 13–1650 min
  71. 219 The first universities In Bologna, Paris and Oxford, students and teachers band together into a new kind of community: the university. Students explore what medieval scholars studied, how translations from Arabic changed European learning, and how much of it survives in schools today. High Middle Ages1088-1300 13–1645 min
  72. 220 The First Crusade In 1095 Pope Urban II calls on western knights to march east. Students follow the First Crusade from Clermont to Constantinople and the Holy Land, look at it through the eyes of crusaders, Byzantines, Jews and Muslims, and discuss how it should be remembered. Crusades1095-1099 13–1650 min
  73. 221 The Crusades seen from the Muslim side In 1097 armies from western Europe marched into a divided Middle East. Students look at the First Crusade through the eyes of the people of Syria, and see how rulers like Zengi and Nur al-Din slowly united them. The Crusades1097-1154 13–1650 min
  74. 222 Cahokia: the great city on the Mississippi Around 1100, the largest town north of Mexico stood near the banks of the Mississippi River. Students explore Cahokia's giant mounds, its plaza and its sun calendar, and the Mississippian towns that shared its way of life. Mississippian culturec. 1050-1350 11–1445 min
  75. 223 Dai Viet: holding off two empires In 938 the Viet won independence from China at the Bach Dang River. Over the next five centuries Dai Viet beat back Song, Mongol and Ming armies while borrowing Chinese schools and laws. Students explore how a small kingdom held off giants. Dai Viet938-1428 11–1450 min
  76. 224 Jenne-jeno: a city without a king? On the floodplain of the Niger, a town grew into a busy city long before any famous empire. Archaeologists found crafts, trade goods from far away and no palace. Students weigh the evidence for a city without a king. Middle Nigerabout 250 BC-AD 1400 11–1445 min
  77. 225 Jewish life in medieval Europe Jewish communities lived in the towns of medieval Europe as scholars, merchants and doctors, but also faced growing laws, accusations and expulsions. Students meet Rashi of Troyes, map where communities lived and were forced to leave, and discuss how this history should be remembered. Medieval Europe1000-1400 13–1650 min
  78. 226 Kaifeng and the first paper money The Northern Song capital Kaifeng was a city of canals, night markets and printers. In 1024 the Song printed the first government paper money. Students explore how money made of paper worked, and what happened when the city fell in 1127. Song dynasty960-1127 11–1445 min
  79. 227 Kanem-Bornu: a kingdom around Lake Chad One royal family ruled around Lake Chad for more than 700 years. Students follow the kingdom of Kanem-Bornu as it turned to Islam, moved its heartland across the lake and bought muskets through Ottoman Tripoli. Kanem-Bornuabout 1085-1600 12–1545 min
  80. 228 Song China: printing, compass and gunpowder Under the Song dynasty, China printed books with movable type, steered ships by compass and wrote down the first recipe for gunpowder. Students explore the inventions and ask why they changed the world so slowly. Song dynasty960-1279 10–1350 min
  81. 229 The Seljuks and Manzikert Turkish horsemen from Central Asia took over the heart of the Islamic world and beat a Byzantine emperor at Manzikert in 1071. Students explore how this opened Anatolia to the Turks and led to the Crusades. Seljuk Empire1037-1092 12–1550 min
  82. 230 Reaching for heaven: the Gothic cathedrals Around 1140 an abbot near Paris rebuilds his church with pointed arches and walls of colored glass. Students explore the new Gothic style, learn how flying buttresses let walls rise higher, and ask why towns spent generations building cathedrals. High Middle Ages1140-1250 11–1445 min
  83. 231 Saladin and the road to Jerusalem A Kurdish officer united Egypt and Syria, won the Battle of Hattin and took Jerusalem in 1187. Students follow Saladin on the map and play his hardest decisions in Rule History. Ayyubid Sultanate1169-1193 11–1450 min
  84. 232 Barbarossa and the cities of Italy Emperor Frederick Barbarossa marches into Italy to make its rich cities obey him, and they band together against him. Students map the Lombard League, replay the battle of Legnano in 1176 and discuss why self-governing cities mattered for Europe. Holy Roman Empire1152-1190 12–1545 min
  85. 233 Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade After Saladin takes Jerusalem in 1187, the kings of England and France and the German emperor set out to win it back. Students follow the Third Crusade by land and sea, meet Richard and Saladin through the sources, and ask why it ended in a truce. Crusades1187-1192 12–1550 min
  86. 234 1204: the crusade that sacked Constantinople A crusade meant for Egypt ends with crusaders looting the greatest Christian city in the world. Students trace the money, the ships and the decisions that led the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople in 1204, and follow the Byzantine states that fought back. Crusades1202-1261 13–1650 min
  87. 235 Angkor: city of the Khmer kings For six centuries Khmer kings ruled mainland Southeast Asia from Angkor, beside the great lake Tonle Sap. Students explore Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the water that fed the city, and the debate over why it was left behind. Khmer Empire802-1431 11–1450 min
  88. 236 Bagan: the kingdom of temples On a dry plain by the Irrawaddy River, the kings and people of Bagan built more than 10,000 temples and pagodas. Students explore how Theravada Buddhism shaped the first great Burmese kingdom and why it broke apart after the Mongol invasions. Pagan Kingdom1044-1287 11–1445 min
  89. 237 Hangzhou and the Southern Song After losing the north in 1127, the Song rebuilt their state in the south around Hangzhou, sea trade and China's first permanent navy. Students see how the Southern Song thrived for 150 years and how the Mongols finally ended it. Song dynasty1127-1279 11–1450 min
  90. 238 Knights of the cross: crusader states and military orders After 1099 four small crusader states cling to the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, defended by monk-knights such as the Templars and Hospitallers. Students locate the states and their castles, and follow the orders after the last crusader city fell in 1291. Crusades1099-1291 12–1545 min
  91. 239 Konya, Rumi and the Sultanate of Rum In the heart of Anatolia, Seljuk sultans built roads, inns and mosques, and a refugee poet named Rumi wrote verses still read worldwide. Students explore the Sultanate of Rum and its capital Konya. Sultanate of Rum1077-1308 12–1545 min
  92. 240 Life on the manor: those who prayed, fought and worked Around the year 1030 a French bishop wrote that society had three orders: those who pray, those who fight and those who work. Students step into a medieval village, follow the farming year and ask how much freedom a peasant really had. High Middle Ages1000-1300 10–1345 min
  93. 241 Magna Carta: the king under the law In June 1215 King John seals a charter in a meadow beside the Thames, promising to rule by the law. Students explore why the barons forced him, read the most famous clauses and ask who Magna Carta really protected. Medieval England1199-1225 12–1550 min
  94. 242 Sundiata and the founding of Mali A boy who could not walk grew up to unite the Mande peoples and found the Mali Empire. Students hear the epic of Sundiata as the griots tell it and ask how much oral history can tell us about the past. Mali Empireabout 1235-1255 10–1345 min
  95. 243 The Delhi Sultanate For three centuries five dynasties of sultans ruled northern India from Delhi. A former slave-soldier founded the sultanate, a woman ruled it, and its armies held off the Mongols. Students explore a state where Persian, Turkic and Indian cultures met. Delhi Sultanate1206-1526 12–1550 min
  96. 244 The samurai take power: the Kamakura shogunate After the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo set up a warrior government in Kamakura, far from the emperor's court. Students explore how the samurai came to rule Japan for almost 700 years, and why the first shogunate fell in 1333. Kamakura Japan1180-1333 11–1450 min
  97. 245 Genghis Khan unites the steppe A boy from a broken family on the Mongolian steppe became Genghis Khan, ruler of all the Mongols, in 1206. Students follow his rise on the map, look at how he built an army unlike any other, and weigh how different peoples remember him. Mongol Empire1162-1227 11–1450 min
  98. 246 The Mongols in Eastern Europe Between 1237 and 1242 Mongol armies under Batu Khan sweep through the Rus principalities and into Poland and Hungary, then suddenly turn back. Students follow the campaign on the map, weigh why the Mongols withdrew, and see how the Golden Horde ruled the Rus for two centuries. Mongol Empire1237-1242 12–1550 min
  99. 247 Ain Jalut: the Mamluks stop the Mongols In 1260 the Mamluks of Egypt, soldiers who had once been enslaved boys, defeated a Mongol army at Ain Jalut. Students explore who the Mamluks were and why this battle is called a turning point. Mamluk Sultanate1250-1291 12–1545 min
  100. 248 Marco Polo: the road to Kublai Khan In 1271 a 17-year-old Venetian set out with his father and uncle for the court of Kublai Khan. Students follow Marco Polo's journey on the map, look at Yuan China through his eyes and ask how far we can trust his famous book. Yuan dynasty1271-1295 10–1345 min
  101. 249 Kamikaze: the Mongol invasions of Japan Twice Kublai Khan sent fleets across the sea to conquer Japan, and twice they failed. Students look at the strait, the defences of Hakata Bay and the storms the Japanese called kamikaze, the divine wind. Kamakura Japan1274-1281 11–1445 min
  102. 250 1258: the fall of Abbasid Baghdad In 1258 a Mongol army took Baghdad and ended five centuries of Abbasid rule there. Students explore what was lost, what survived, and how historians remember a disaster whose death toll is still uncertain. Mongol Empire1253-1261 13–1645 min
  103. 251 Castles: Edward I and the conquest of Wales Between 1277 and 1295 King Edward I rings north Wales with some of the mightiest castles ever built. Students see how castles grew from earth and timber mounds into stone fortresses, and look at the conquest through Welsh as well as English eyes. Medieval Britain1277-1295 11–1450 min
  104. 252 Kublai Khan and the Yuan dynasty Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai conquered the Song and became the first Mongol to rule all of China. Students explore his two capitals, his failed wars at sea and why the Yuan dynasty lasted less than a century. Yuan dynasty1260-1368 12–1550 min
  105. 253 Lalibela: churches carved from rock High in the Ethiopian mountains, King Lalibela had eleven churches cut down into solid rock. Students find out how they were made, why a king might build a new Jerusalem in Africa, and why pilgrims still come today. Zagwe Ethiopiaabout 1180-1270 10–1345 min
  106. 254 The Mongol Empire: the largest land empire Within 70 years of Genghis Khan's rise, his heirs ruled from Korea to eastern Europe. Students explore the largest land empire in history, how relay stations and passports held it together, and why it split into four khanates. Mongol Empire1227-1294 11–1450 min
  107. 255 The Swiss Confederacy: an alliance of valleys In 1291 three Alpine valleys promise to help each other against anyone who attacks them. Students see how a pass through the Alps made the valleys important, how farmers beat Habsburg knights, and how to tell the history from the legend of William Tell. Late Middle Ages1291-1415 11–1445 min
  108. 256 1453: the city falls The conquest of Constantinople ends one empire and announces another. Students watch the Ottoman rise on the map and weigh what 1453 changed for Europe. Ottoman Empire1300-1683 12–1550 min
  109. 257 Gold for salt: crossing the Sahara Camel caravans crossed the largest hot desert on Earth to trade West African gold for Saharan salt. Students follow the caravans, meet the people who guided them and see how goods, faith and writing travelled together. Trans-Saharan tradeabout 300-1600 10–1345 min
  110. 258 Great Zimbabwe: the city of stone On a granite plateau in southern Africa, the ancestors of the Shona built huge walls of stone without mortar. Students explore a city that grew rich on cattle and gold, and the colonial myths that tried to deny who built it. Great Zimbabweabout 1100-1450 10–1350 min
  111. 259 Ife and Oyo: the Yoruba kingdoms Ife, the sacred city of the Yoruba, produced some of the finest metal sculpture in the world. Later Oyo built a cavalry empire with a council that could depose its king. Students explore art, power and checks on power. Yoruba kingdomsabout 1100-1836 12–1550 min
  112. 260 Kilwa and the Swahili coast Stone towns along the East African coast traded gold, ivory and cloth across the Indian Ocean on the monsoon winds. Students visit Kilwa, which Ibn Battuta called one of the most beautiful towns in the world. Swahili city-statesabout 1000-1505 11–1445 min
  113. 261 Kosovo 1389: battle and memory On the Field of Blackbirds in 1389 a Serbian-led army meets the Ottoman sultan Murad I, and both leaders die. Students place the battle in the Ottoman advance into the Balkans and explore how one battle became a powerful story of memory. Medieval Balkans1371-1389 13–1650 min
  114. 262 Poland-Lithuania: a union of crowns In 1385 the pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania agrees to be baptized and to marry the young queen of Poland. Students follow how this union created one of Europe's largest states and how it defeated the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald in 1410. Late Middle Ages1385-1410 12–1550 min
  115. 263 The Hanseatic League: merchants of the North From Lübeck, German merchant towns build a trading network that stretches from London and Bruges to Bergen and Novgorod. Students follow the Hanseatic trade route, load a cog with herring, furs and grain, and see how merchants without a king could beat a kingdom. Hanseatic League1159-1400 11–1445 min
  116. 264 Towns, markets and guilds After 1100 towns grow fast across Europe. Students visit the cloth towns of Flanders and the great fairs of Champagne, join a guild as an apprentice, and ask why a medieval saying linked town life with freedom. High Middle Ages1100-1300 11–1445 min
  117. 265 Venice and Genoa: rival sea republics Two merchant republics without kings compete for the trade of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Students map the colonies of Venice and Genoa, follow Marco Polo from Venice, and replay the war of Chioggia that settled their long rivalry. Italian sea republics1100-1381 12–1550 min
  118. 266 Wallace, Bruce and Scottish independence In 1296 Edward I of England invades Scotland and carries off the stone on which its kings were crowned. Students follow William Wallace and Robert the Bruce from Stirling Bridge to Bannockburn and read the Declaration of Arbroath as an early statement of a people's freedom. Medieval Scotland1296-1328 11–1450 min
  119. 267 Avignon and the Great Schism of the West For almost 70 years the popes live in Avignon, and then for almost 40 years there are two popes, and finally three. Students map which kingdoms followed which pope and see how a church council in Constance ended the split in 1417. Late Middle Ages1309-1417 13–1645 min
  120. 268 The Great Famine of 1315-1317 In 1315 the rain will not stop. For three years harvests rot in the fields across northern Europe, and then a cattle plague follows. Students link weather, food and power, and ask how a society copes when the harvest fails. Late Middle Ages1315-1322 12–1545 min
  121. 269 Mamluk Cairo: mother of the world Under the Mamluks, Cairo became the greatest city of the Islamic world, rich from the spice trade between India and Venice. Students explore its markets, the visit of Mansa Musa, the Black Death and the Portuguese threat. Mamluk Sultanate1250-1517 11–1445 min
  122. 270 Mansa Musa's journey to Mecca In 1324 the ruler of Mali crossed the Sahara on pilgrimage with so much gold that its value fell in Cairo. Students follow the most famous royal journey of the Middle Ages and ask what Mali gained from it. Mali Empire1324-1325 10–1350 min
  123. 271 Ibn Battuta: 29 years on the road A young scholar from Tangier set out for Mecca in 1325 and spent most of the next 29 years on the road, from China to West Africa. Students follow Ibn Battuta's journey on the map and test his story like historians. Medieval Islamic world1325-1354 11–1450 min
  124. 272 From Osman to Bayezid: the first Ottomans Around 1300 the Ottomans were one small Turkish state among many. Within a century they ruled lands on two continents. Students trace this rise on the map and weigh the reasons historians give for it. Ottoman Empire1299-1402 12–1545 min
  125. 273 Ibn Khaldun and the rise and fall of dynasties Born in Tunis and shaped by the Black Death, Ibn Khaldun asked why dynasties rise and fall. Students follow his life from Tunis to Cairo, meet his idea of group solidarity and test it on empires they know. Medieval North Africa1332-1406 13–1650 min
  126. 274 The Hundred Years' War For more than a century the kings of England claim the crown of France. Students follow the war from Sluys and Crécy to Agincourt, see why longbows mattered, and ask who really paid the price of a war fought mostly on French soil. Late Middle Ages1337-1453 12–1550 min
  127. 275 The Black Death In 1347 ships from the Black Sea bring plague to Sicily, and within five years it has crossed all of Europe. Students watch the Black Death spread on the map, trace it along the trade routes and weigh how it changed the lives of the survivors. Late Middle Ages1346-1353 12–1550 min
  128. 276 Majapahit: an island empire Founded in 1293 by a prince who outwitted a Mongol fleet, Majapahit grew from East Java into the greatest power of the islands under its chief minister Gajah Mada. Students explore a sea empire of rice, spices and court poetry. Majapahit1293-1527 11–1445 min
  129. 277 Zhu Yuanzhang: from beggar monk to Ming emperor A peasant boy who lost his family to famine joined a rebellion against the Mongol Yuan and became the first Ming emperor in 1368. Students trace his rise on the map and weigh a ruler who rebuilt China's farms and purged his own officials. Ming dynasty1351-1398 11–1450 min
  130. 278 When peasants rose: 1358 and 1381 After the Black Death, the survivors want better pay and more freedom, and the lords want the old ways back. Students compare the French Jacquerie of 1358 with the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and ask what the rebels wanted and what they won. Late Middle Ages1358-1381 12–1550 min
  131. 279 Granada and the Alhambra For 250 years the small kingdom of Granada survived as the last Muslim state in Iberia. Students explore the Alhambra, the surrender of 1492, and what happened to the Muslims and Jews of Spain afterwards. Nasrid Granada1238-1492 11–1445 min
  132. 280 Jan Hus and the Hussites A Prague preacher criticizes the wealth of the Church and preaches in Czech. Burned at Constance in 1415, Jan Hus becomes the hero of a movement that beats five crusades. Students follow the Hussites and ask what makes people fight for their beliefs. Late Middle Ages1402-1436 13–1650 min
  133. 281 Timur and the blue domes of Samarkand Timur conquered from Delhi to Ankara and filled his capital Samarkand with domes and gardens built by craftsmen from many lands. His grandson Ulugh Beg made it a city of science. Students weigh a conqueror who built one city by ruining others. Timurid Empire1370-1449 12–1550 min
  134. 282 Zheng He's treasure fleets Between 1405 and 1433 the admiral Zheng He led seven huge Ming fleets across the Indian Ocean, as far as Arabia and East Africa. Students follow the voyages on the map and ask why China then turned its back on the sea. Ming dynasty1405-1433 10–1350 min
  135. 283 The Forbidden City: Beijing becomes the capital The Yongle emperor moved the Ming capital north to Beijing and built the Forbidden City at its heart. Students explore why an emperor would put his capital close to the frontier, and how the Grand Canal kept it fed. Ming dynasty1402-1424 10–1345 min
  136. 284 Joan of Arc A teenage farm girl from Domrémy says saints have told her to save France. Students follow Joan from her village to Orléans and Reims, examine her trial through the records, and discuss why so many different people have claimed her as their heroine. Late Middle Ages1412-1431 11–1450 min

Early modern

  1. 285 Gutenberg and the printing press In Mainz, a metalworker combines movable metal type, oil-based ink and a press. Within fifty years printers work in more than two hundred towns. Students watch printing spread across the map and ask what changes when books become cheap. Renaissance Europe1450-1500 10–1345 min
  2. 286 Sejong the Great and Hangul King Sejong of Joseon gave Korea its own alphabet in 1446, so that ordinary people could read and write. Students explore the new dynasty and its capital, Sejong's scientists and the debate over Hangul at his court. Joseon Korea1392-1450 10–1345 min
  3. 287 Around the world in three years Columbus sails west, Magellan's crew circles the globe. Students follow the journeys layer and discover how the world map itself was the discovery. Age of Exploration1492-1522 10–1345 min
  4. 288 Fort Jesus and the Swahili coast After Vasco da Gama, Portugal tries to control the old trading cities of the East African coast. Students follow the struggle from Malindi and Mombasa to Mozambique Island, and see how Swahili towns, Omani sailors and Portuguese soldiers fought over the coast for two centuries. Portuguese Empire1498-1698 11–1445 min
  5. 289 Portugal's sea empire in Asia Portugal builds an empire of forts and sea lanes rather than land, from Mozambique to Goa, Malacca and Macau. Students map the chain of bases, meet the Asian rulers and merchants who already ran Indian Ocean trade, and ask how a small kingdom held it. Portuguese Empire1505-1641 11–1450 min
  6. 290 Brazil and sugar: a plantation colony Portuguese ships reached the coast of Brazil in 1500. Within a century the colony was the world's leading producer of sugar, grown on plantations worked first by enslaved Indigenous people and then by enslaved Africans. Students explore the Tupi, the sugar mills and Dutch Brazil. Portuguese Brazil1500-1654 12–1550 min
  7. 291 Hispaniola: the Taíno and the first Spanish colony The Taíno of the Caribbean were the first people in the Americas to live under Spanish rule. Students explore Taíno society, the forced-labour system that devastated it, the Taíno leaders who resisted, and the friar who changed his mind. Spanish Caribbean1492-1542 12–1550 min
  8. 292 Jamestown and Plymouth: colonies on Native land The first lasting English colonies in North America were built in the homelands of the Powhatan and the Wampanoag. Students explore how both sides first needed each other, why relations broke down, and how the first Thanksgiving is remembered in different ways. English colonies1607-1676 11–1450 min
  9. 293 Malacca: the port of the monsoon winds Around 1400 a prince from Sumatra founded Malacca on the narrow strait between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Within a century it was one of the greatest ports in the world, until a Portuguese fleet took it in 1511. Malacca Sultanate1400-1511 11–1445 min
  10. 294 The Haudenosaunee: the Great Law of Peace Before Europeans arrived, five nations south of Lake Ontario agreed to stop fighting and govern together under the Great Law of Peace. Students explore how the Haudenosaunee Confederacy worked, the power of clan mothers, and its place in American history. Haudenosaunee Confederacybefore 1600-1722 11–1450 min
  11. 295 The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 In August 1680, Pueblo peoples across New Mexico rose together and drove out the Spanish colonists. Students explore why towns with different languages united, how knotted cords set the date, and what changed when the Spanish returned in 1692. Spanish New Mexico1598-1692 12–1550 min
  12. 296 The long Maya resistance, 1524-1697 The Aztec capital fell in two years, but the conquest of the Maya took more than 170. Students explore why many small Maya kingdoms were so hard to conquer, from the highlands of Guatemala to the last free Maya city on Lake Petén Itzá. Spanish conquest1524-1697 12–1550 min
  13. 297 1521: the fall of Tenochtitlan How did a few hundred Spaniards bring down the Aztec capital? Students follow the campaign of 1519-1521 and discover that it was won largely by Indigenous armies and by smallpox, and they read the conquest through Nahua eyes. Spanish conquest1519-1521 12–1550 min
  14. 298 Coffee and the coffeehouse Coffee began as a drink of Sufis in Yemen and became a worldwide habit. Students follow the bean from the Red Sea to Istanbul and London, and find out why rulers both loved and feared the coffeehouse. Ottoman Empireabout 1450-1700 11–1445 min
  15. 299 Erasmus and the northern Renaissance The most famous writer in Europe has no country and no palace: Erasmus of Rotterdam moves between printers, universities and friends. Students map his life and discuss his belief that education, not war, makes a good society. Northern Renaissance1500-1536 13–1645 min
  16. 300 Guru Nanak and the Sikh Gurus In the Punjab, Guru Nanak taught that there is one God and that all people are equal. Over ten Gurus, Sikhism grew a holy book, the Golden Temple and the Khalsa. Students explore a new faith in the land of five rivers. Sikhism1469-1708 10–1345 min
  17. 301 Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael Three artists, three cities, one generation. Students follow Leonardo to Milan and France, Michelangelo to Florence and Rome, and Raphael into the Vatican, and discuss who paid for this art and why. Italian Renaissance1495-1520 11–1450 min
  18. 302 Malinche: the woman who spoke for two worlds An enslaved Nahua girl, handed to the Spaniards in 1519, became the most important interpreter of the conquest of Mexico. Students follow Malinche's journey, see how Indigenous painters showed her, and debate how she should be remembered. Spanish conquest1519-1521 12–1545 min
  19. 303 Moctezuma II: an emperor meets strangers In 1519 Moctezuma II ruled the most powerful state in Mesoamerica when a few hundred Spaniards landed on his coast. Students play his choices in Rule History, compare Spanish and Mexica accounts, and test a famous story many historians now doubt. Aztec (Mexica)1502-1520 11–1450 min
  20. 304 Qhapaq Ñan: the Inca road system Roads of some 30,000 to 40,000 km tied the Inca Empire together, across deserts, mountain passes and gorges. Students follow the roads, the relay runners who raced along them and the grass bridges that are still rebuilt every year. Inca Empire1438-1533 10–1345 min
  21. 305 Queen Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba For four decades Queen Njinga fought, negotiated and made alliances to keep her people free from Portuguese rule. Students follow one of the great leaders of African history and ask why she is remembered so differently. Ndongo and Matamba1622-1663 11–1445 min
  22. 306 Selim I takes Cairo, Mecca and Medina In two short campaigns Sultan Selim I destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate and made the Ottomans masters of Syria, Egypt and the holy cities of Islam. Students compare the map before and after 1517. Ottoman Empire1516-1517 12–1545 min
  23. 307 Shah Ismail and the Safavid revolution In 1501 a fourteen-year-old leader of a Sufi order was crowned shah in Tabriz and made Shia Islam the faith of his state. Students explore how Ismail changed Iran for centuries and why he clashed with the Ottomans. Safavid Empire1501-1524 13–1645 min
  24. 308 Songhai: the great empire of the Niger From its capital Gao, Songhai grew into one of the largest empires in African history. Students meet Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad and find out how an army that crossed the Sahara with guns brought the empire down in 1591. Songhai Empire1464-1591 11–1450 min
  25. 309 Tawantinsuyu: the Inca Empire In less than a century, the Inca built the largest empire of the Americas, stretching about 4,000 km along the Andes. Students explore how Tawantinsuyu was run from Cusco without money or writing, and why Machu Picchu survived. Inca Empire1438-1533 11–1450 min
  26. 310 Tenochtitlan: a city built on a lake The Mexica founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325. Two centuries later it was one of the largest cities in the world, linked to the shore by causeways and fed by fields built in the lake. Students explore how a city on a lake worked. Aztec (Mexica)1325-1519 10–1345 min
  27. 311 The Aztec Empire: tribute and the Triple Alliance In 1428 three lake cities joined forces and built an empire on tribute. Students explore how the Triple Alliance controlled hundreds of towns without governing them directly, what tribute lists reveal, and which neighbours were never conquered. Aztec (Mexica)1428-1519 12–1550 min
  28. 312 The Italian Wars and Machiavelli France and Spain fight over Italy for more than sixty years. In Florence an out-of-work official writes The Prince, a handbook on how rulers keep power. Students follow the armies on the map and test Machiavelli's advice. Italian Renaissance1494-1559 13–1650 min
  29. 313 The Ming Great Wall The Great Wall most people picture today was built by the Ming after a Mongol army captured their emperor in 1449. Students follow the wall from the desert to the sea and judge whether walls kept the Ming safe. Ming dynasty1449-1644 10–1345 min
  30. 314 Timbuktu: a city of books At the edge of the Sahara, Timbuktu became a city of scholars, mosques and private libraries. Students discover what its manuscripts contain, who wrote them and how families kept them safe for centuries. Mali and Songhaiabout 1325-1591 11–1445 min
  31. 315 Vijayanagara: the City of Victory For more than two centuries the empire of Vijayanagara ruled southern India from a great city among the boulders of Hampi. Students explore it through the eyes of foreign visitors and ask how one battle in 1565 could empty a capital. Vijayanagara Empire1336-1565 11–1445 min
  32. 316 Babur and the birth of the Mughal Empire Babur became a king at 11, lost his homeland, took Kabul and in 1526 won northern India at Panipat. He also wrote one of the great memoirs of history. Students follow his road from Central Asia to Delhi and Agra. Mughal Empire1494-1530 11–1445 min
  33. 317 Luther and the Reformation A monk in a small Saxon town challenges the most powerful institution in Europe. Students follow Luther from Wittenberg to Worms and the Wartburg, and see how printing turned one man's protest into a movement that split the Western Church. Reformation1517-1530 11–1450 min
  34. 318 The great dying: epidemics in the Americas Smallpox, measles and other diseases from Europe and Africa met people in the Americas who had never faced them. Together with war and forced labour, they caused one of the largest population collapses in history. Students explore how and why, with care. Columbian Exchange1518-1620 12–1550 min
  35. 319 The German Peasants' War of 1525 Inspired partly by Reformation ideas, peasants across southern and central Germany demand an end to serfdom. Students read their Twelve Articles, follow the rising on the map and discuss why Luther turned against them. Reformation1524-1525 13–1645 min
  36. 320 Mohács and the first siege of Vienna In 1526 the Ottomans destroyed the Hungarian army at Mohács; in 1529 they stood before Vienna. Students follow the long march up the Danube and ask why the siege failed. Ottoman Empire1526-1529 12–1545 min
  37. 321 Charles V and the Habsburg world Born in Ghent in 1500, Charles inherits Spain, the Low Countries, Austria, southern Italy and new lands in the Americas, and is then elected emperor. Students map the largest inheritance in European history and see why it was so hard to rule. Habsburg Empire1519-1556 11–1450 min
  38. 322 Ethiopia and Adal: war in the Horn In 1529 the Sultanate of Adal invaded the Christian Ethiopian Empire, and for fourteen years the Horn of Africa was at war. Ottoman muskets and Portuguese soldiers joined in. Students look at the war from both sides. Ethiopia and Adal1529-1543 13–1650 min
  39. 323 Florence and the Medici A family of bankers runs a republic without ever being crowned. Students explore how Medici money paid for artists and builders, and why Florence became a cradle of the Renaissance. Italian Renaissance1434-1494 11–1450 min
  40. 324 Henry VIII and the English Reformation A king wants a son and a new marriage; the pope says no. Students follow how Henry VIII broke with Rome, closed the monasteries and made himself head of the Church of England, and what that meant for ordinary people. Tudor England1527-1547 11–1450 min
  41. 325 Janissaries: the sultan's soldiers The Ottoman sultans took Christian boys from their families, converted and trained them, and made them soldiers, architects and viziers. Students look at the devshirme from the side of the families and of the empire. Ottoman Empireabout 1380-1826 13–1645 min
  42. 326 Kongo: an African Christian kingdom When Portuguese ships reached the Congo river, the kingdom of Kongo chose to become Christian and to trade. Students read the letters of King Afonso I, who protested against the slave trade in 1526, and follow Kongo to its defeat at Mbwila. Kingdom of Kongo1483-1665 12–1550 min
  43. 327 Russia crosses Siberia In less than sixty years Cossacks and fur traders cross Siberia from the Urals to the Pacific. Students watch Russia grow on the map, learn why furs drove the expansion, and meet the Indigenous peoples who paid the price. Russian Empire1582-1689 13–1645 min
  44. 328 Sengoku: Japan's age of warring states After 1467 Japan broke apart into domains ruled by warring lords. Portuguese guns arrived in 1543, and Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi fought their way to unity by 1590. Students follow a century of war and the rise of a new order. Sengoku Japan1467-1590 11–1450 min
  45. 329 Cajamarca 1532: Atahualpa and Pizarro In November 1532 the Inca ruler Atahualpa, fresh from winning a civil war, met fewer than 200 Spaniards at Cajamarca and was taken prisoner. Students explore why the empire was so vulnerable, and how an Andean artist later drew the conquest. Inca Empire1532-1533 12–1550 min
  46. 330 Manco Inca and the free state of Vilcabamba The conquest of Peru did not end in 1533. Manco Inca rose against the Spaniards, besieged Cusco and won a battle at Ollantaytambo, then ruled a free Inca state in the forests of Vilcabamba. Students follow 36 years of Inca resistance. Inca resistance1536-1572 12–1545 min
  47. 331 Barbarossa, Malta and Lepanto For forty years Ottoman and Christian fleets fought for the Mediterranean. Students follow the corsair-admiral Barbarossa, the siege of Malta and the great galley battle of Lepanto, and ask who really won. Ottoman Empire1533-1573 12–1545 min
  48. 332 Copernicus, Galileo and a Sun-centred universe A Polish church official puts the Sun at the centre of the universe; an Italian professor points a telescope at the sky and finds moons circling Jupiter. Students follow the new astronomy across Europe and discuss Galileo's trial in 1633. Scientific Revolution1543-1642 11–1450 min
  49. 333 The Counter-Reformation The Catholic Church answers the Protestants with reforms of its own. Students follow the bishops to the Council of Trent and the first Jesuits from Rome to India and Japan, and ask how a worldwide church renewed itself. Catholic Reformation1540-1600 13–1645 min
  50. 334 Calvin's Geneva A French refugee turns a small city on Lake Geneva into a training school for Protestants from all over Europe. Students map how Calvin's ideas travelled to France, Scotland and the Netherlands, and debate life in a city with strict rules for everyone. Reformation1536-1564 13–1645 min
  51. 335 Akbar the Great Akbar became emperor at 13 and turned the Mughal state into a great empire. He won allies among the Rajputs, abolished a tax on non-Muslims and invited scholars of every faith to debate at his court. Students weigh his policy of "peace with all". Mughal Empire1556-1605 11–1450 min
  52. 336 William of Orange and the Dutch Revolt The Low Countries rise against Philip II of Spain over taxes, old freedoms and faith. Students follow William of Orange from nobleman to rebel leader, see Leiden saved by flooding the land, and ask why he is called the father of the Dutch nation. Dutch Revolt1566-1584 11–1450 min
  53. 337 The French Wars of Religion For 36 years Catholics and Protestant Huguenots fight over France. Students follow the wars from Paris to La Rochelle and Nantes and judge the Edict of Nantes, which allowed two faiths in one kingdom. Reformation France1562-1598 13–1650 min
  54. 338 Suleiman the Magnificent and Sinan Europe called him "the Magnificent", his own people "the Lawgiver". Students explore the reign of Suleiman, his campaigns from Belgrade to Baghdad, and the buildings of his architect Sinan. Ottoman Empire1520-1566 11–1450 min
  55. 339 Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada In 1588 Philip II sends a great fleet to carry an army to England. Students follow the Armada from Lisbon up the Channel to Gravelines and home around Scotland and Ireland, and ask what decided its fate: English ships, Spanish plans or the weather. Tudor England1558-1603 10–1350 min
  56. 340 The Imjin War and Admiral Yi Sun-sin In 1592 Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent a huge army into Korea on its way to conquer Ming China. Korea's armies collapsed, but Admiral Yi Sun-sin won battle after battle at sea. Students follow a seven-year war and ask how it shaped three countries. Joseon Korea1592-1598 12–1550 min
  57. 341 Benin: the Oba's kingdom and its brass plaques In the forest of southern Nigeria, the Obas of Benin ruled a walled capital and kept a royal guild of brass casters. Students read the history told by Benin's plaques and debate where the artworks taken in 1897 belong today. Kingdom of Beninabout 1440-1897 11–1450 min
  58. 342 Shah Abbas and Isfahan, half the world Shah Abbas rebuilt the Safavid army, won back lost lands and made Isfahan one of the most beautiful cities on earth. Students explore his great square, his silk trade and the people who paid the price of his plans. Safavid Empire1588-1629 12–1550 min
  59. 343 Shakespeare's London A glover's son from Stratford becomes the most famous playwright in the world. Students explore the crowded London of the Globe Theatre, where courtiers, apprentices and pickpockets watched the same plays, and ask why theatre was so popular. Elizabethan England1590-1616 11–1445 min
  60. 344 The Columbian Exchange: a world of new foods After 1492, plants, animals and people crossed the oceans in both directions. Potatoes and maize fed Europe, Africa and Asia; horses and cattle changed the Americas. Students trace the exchange on the trade routes and in the food on their own plates. Columbian Exchange1492-1700 10–1345 min
  61. 345 The Eighty Years' War and the Peace of Münster After William's death the revolt nearly collapses, then a young republic fights Spain to a standstill. Students follow a long war of sieges, from the fall of Antwerp to the peace signed at Münster in 1648, and see how the Low Countries split in two. Dutch Revolt1585-1648 13–1645 min
  62. 346 The Hausa cities: Kano, Katsina and Zazzau Walled cities with busy markets, dye pits and scholars grew up across northern Nigeria. Students explore the Hausa city-states, their trade across the Sahara, and the warrior queen Amina whom history remembers but cannot pin down. Hausa city-statesabout 1400-1800 11–1445 min
  63. 347 The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth In 1569 Poland and Lithuania join to form one of the largest states in Europe, where nobles elect their king. Students map the Commonwealth, explore its religious tolerance and its noble democracy, and ask what made it strong and what made it fragile. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth1569-1683 13–1650 min
  64. 348 Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Battle of Sekigahara When Hideyoshi died in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu waited, made deals and won the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Students follow his path to power and see how his shogunate kept Japan at peace for about 250 years. Tokugawa Japan1598-1616 11–1450 min
  65. 349 The Thirty Years' War begins In 1618 Protestant nobles throw two royal officials out of a window of Prague Castle. Students follow how a revolt in Bohemia grew into a war that drew in much of Europe and devastated the German lands. Thirty Years' War1618-1629 13–1650 min
  66. 350 1644: from Ming to Qing In 1644 rebels took Beijing, the last Ming emperor died, and the Manchus rode through the Great Wall to found the Qing dynasty. Students trace the collapse on the map and weigh the choices of rebels, generals and conquerors. Qing dynasty1616-1683 12–1550 min
  67. 351 Gustavus Adolphus and Sweden at war In 1630 the king of Sweden lands in Germany with a modern army. Students follow Gustavus Adolphus from the Baltic coast to victory at Breitenfeld and death at Lützen, and discuss what the war meant for the people in its path. Thirty Years' War1630-1635 13–1645 min
  68. 352 The English Civil War King and Parliament go to war over money, religion and who holds power. Students follow the Civil War from Nottingham to Naseby, the trial and execution of Charles I, and the years when England had no king. Stuart England1642-1660 11–1450 min
  69. 353 The Peace of Westphalia Envoys from across Europe spend years negotiating in two towns in Westphalia. Students map the peace that ended the Thirty Years' War, recognised two independent states and changed the rules of the empire, and discuss why it became so famous. Thirty Years' War1643-1648 13–1650 min
  70. 354 Aurangzeb, Shivaji and the Deccan wars Under Aurangzeb the Mughal Empire reached its greatest size, yet the Maratha leader Shivaji built a kingdom of hill forts that the emperor could never defeat. Students compare two famous rivals and ask why the biggest empire was also overstretched. Mughal Empire1658-1707 12–1550 min
  71. 355 Ayutthaya: Siam's island capital For four centuries Ayutthaya, an island city ringed by rivers, was the capital of Siam and one of the great trading cities of Asia. Students explore its rivers, its foreign quarters and its fall in 1767, and see how Siam recovered. Ayutthaya Kingdom1351-1767 11–1445 min
  72. 356 Lhasa and the Dalai Lamas A Mongol khan gave the title Dalai Lama to a Tibetan teacher in 1578. Within a century the Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet from the Potala Palace. Students explore how religion and politics joined on the roof of the world, between Mongols and the Qing. Tibet1578-1793 11–1445 min
  73. 357 New France and the fur trade In 1608 Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. New France lived from the fur trade, which depended on alliances with First Nations such as the Wendat, Algonquin and Innu. Students follow the canoe routes, the wars over furs and the Great Peace of 1701. New France1608-1701 11–1450 min
  74. 358 New Spain: life in a colonial society From 1535 a Spanish viceroy ruled from Mexico City, built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. Students explore a society of Indigenous towns, Spaniards, Africans and people of mixed ancestry, with its silver mines and printing presses, and a nun who fought for the right to learn. Viceroyalty of New Spain1535-1700 12–1550 min
  75. 359 Palmares: a free kingdom in the hills of Brazil For almost a century, people who escaped slavery built Palmares, a network of free villages in the hills of north-east Brazil. Students explore how it lived and defended itself, the choice between Ganga Zumba and Zumbi, and why 20 November is a national day in Brazil. Portuguese Brazilc. 1605-1695 12–1545 min
  76. 360 Potosí: the mountain of silver In 1545 a mountain of silver was found high in the Andes. Potosí became one of the largest cities in the world, built on the forced labour of Indigenous miners, and its silver flowed to Spain, Europe and China. Students follow the silver and ask who paid for it. Viceroyalty of Peru1545-1650 12–1550 min
  77. 361 Shah Jahan and the Taj Mahal When his wife Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, the emperor Shah Jahan began the Taj Mahal, a white marble tomb on the Yamuna River. Students explore how and why it was built, and weigh the glory and the cost of Mughal building. Mughal Empire1628-1658 10–1345 min
  78. 362 The Dutch Golden Age A small republic becomes a world power through water, trade and ships. Students trace the trade network and discuss both the wealth and its dark side. Dutch Republic1588-1672 11–1450 min
  79. 363 London's plague and Great Fire, 1665-1666 In two years London suffers its last great plague and a fire that destroys most of the old city. Students use Samuel Pepys's diary, find the village of Eyam that shut itself off to protect others, and see how London was rebuilt in brick and stone. Stuart England1665-1666 10–1345 min
  80. 364 Newton and the age of experiment In London a club of curious men meets to test ideas by experiment. Students explore the Royal Society, Isaac Newton's laws of motion and gravity, and how the new science travelled from Cambridge and Greenwich across Europe. Scientific Revolution1660-1727 13–1645 min
  81. 365 The Little Ice Age in Europe Colder winters freeze the Thames, the Baltic and the lagoon of Venice. Students use the Weather of History layer to explore frost fairs, failed harvests and a volcano in Iceland, and ask how climate shaped wars, food and daily life between 1600 and 1789. Early modern Europe1600-1789 10–1345 min
  82. 366 The Glorious Revolution of 1688 A Dutch prince sails to England with a large fleet and an army, and the king flees. Students follow William of Orange from Hellevoetsluis to Torbay and discuss the Bill of Rights, which limited royal power for good. Stuart England1688-1689 13–1645 min
  83. 367 Edo Japan: a closed country? From the 1630s the Tokugawa shoguns banned Christianity, expelled the Portuguese and kept the Dutch on a tiny island at Nagasaki. Students test the idea of a "closed country" on the map, and explore Edo, a city of about a million people. Tokugawa Japan1633-1800 12–1550 min
  84. 368 Karlowitz, tulips and the first Ottoman press After losing Hungary in 1699, the Ottoman court looked anew at Europe: envoys went to Paris, tulip gardens bloomed and the first press printing in Ottoman Turkish opened in Istanbul. Students explore an empire adapting. Ottoman Empire1699-1730 13–1645 min
  85. 369 Louis XIV and Versailles The Sun King turns his father's hunting lodge into the most famous palace in Europe and keeps the nobles close. Students explore how Louis XIV used buildings, ceremony and war to show absolute power, and what it cost France. Bourbon France1643-1715 11–1450 min
  86. 370 Peter the Great and St Petersburg A very tall young tsar travels to Holland and England to learn shipbuilding, then builds a new capital on the marshes of the Baltic. Students follow Peter's journey and wars, and weigh the cost of his reforms for the people who built his city. Russian Empire1682-1725 11–1450 min
  87. 371 The Atlantic slave trade and the Americas Over more than three centuries, about 12.5 million Africans were forced onto ships bound for the Americas. Students look at where they came from and where they were taken, the plantations their labour built, and the many ways enslaved people resisted and kept their cultures alive. Atlantic world1500s-1700s 13–1650 min
  88. 372 The East India Company in India A London trading company arrives in Mughal India asking for permission to trade, and about 160 years later it rules Bengal. Students follow the Company from Surat, Madras and Calcutta to the battlefield of Plassey, and ask how traders became rulers, and at what cost. East India Company1600-1785 13–1650 min
  89. 373 The Seven Years' War: a war around the world Britain and France fight in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, West Africa and India at the same time. Students follow the war from the Ohio valley to Quebec and Plassey, and see how the Peace of Paris of 1763 redrew the map of empires. Global empires1756-1763 13–1650 min
  90. 374 The War of the Spanish Succession When the childless king of Spain dies in 1700, he leaves his empire to a grandson of Louis XIV. Much of Europe goes to war to stop France and Spain from joining. Students follow the war from Blenheim to Gibraltar and Barcelona, and see who gained what at Utrecht in 1713. Age of Louis XIV1701-1714 13–1645 min
  91. 375 The partitions of Poland In 23 years three neighbours divide one of Europe's largest states among themselves until it vanishes from the map. Students compare the borders of 1700 and 1800, meet the reformers of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 and Kościuszko's rising, and ask how a country can disappear. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth1772-1795 13–1650 min
  92. 376 Asante and the Golden Stool Around 1701 Osei Tutu united Akan chiefdoms into the Asante kingdom, bound together by the sacred Golden Stool. Students explore a forest empire of gold, roads and brass weights that defeated a British army in 1824. Asante Empire1701-1874 11–1445 min
  93. 377 The American Revolution Thirteen British colonies go to war with their king and declare that "all men are created equal". Students follow the war from Lexington to Saratoga and Yorktown, and ask what independence meant for Loyalists, enslaved people and Native nations as well as for the new United States. American Revolution1775-1783 11–1450 min
  94. 378 The Atlantic slave trade seen from Africa Over more than three centuries about 12.5 million Africans were forced onto ships bound for the Americas. Students look at the trade from the African side: the states and ports involved, the people taken, and those who resisted. Atlantic slave tradeabout 1500-1867 13–1650 min
  95. 379 The Cape frontier and the Xhosa wars A Dutch supply station at the Cape grew into a colony that pushed east onto the lands of the Khoikhoi, San and Xhosa. Students follow a hundred years of frontier wars from the side of the people who resisted. Cape frontier1652-1879 13–1650 min
  96. 380 Drawing a border: Ottomans and Safavids For 125 years the Sunni Ottomans and the Shia Safavids fought over Iraq, Azerbaijan and the Caucasus. Students follow the wars, see how the Treaty of Zuhab drew a lasting line, and compare it with today's border. Ottoman and Safavid empires1514-1639 13–1650 min
  97. 381 Frederick the Great and the rise of Prussia A young king who loves flute music and French books seizes Silesia and turns Prussia into a great power. Students follow Frederick from Potsdam to the battlefields, and weigh the "enlightened" ruler against the man who started wars. Kingdom of Prussia1740-1786 13–1650 min
  98. 382 Maria Theresa and Habsburg Austria At 23 Maria Theresa inherits the Habsburg lands, and enemies attack at once. Students follow how she held her lands together, won the support of Hungary, reformed schools and government, and why she never forgave Frederick for Silesia. Habsburg Monarchy1740-1780 11–1445 min
  99. 383 1754-1763: the war that redrew North America France and Britain fought for control of North America, and Native nations fought for their own lands between them. Students follow the war from the Ohio valley to Quebec, the peace of 1763 that removed France from the continent, and Pontiac's War that followed. Seven Years' War1754-1763 12–1550 min
  100. 384 Sugar, plantations and the triangular trade Sugar turns small Caribbean islands into some of the richest colonies on Earth, built on the forced labour of enslaved Africans. Students follow the triangle of trade, see how sugar changed European diets, and meet the Maroons who fought for their freedom in the mountains. Atlantic world1640-1789 13–1645 min
  101. 385 The Middle Passage and the Atlantic slave trade For more than three centuries, about 12.5 million Africans were forced onto ships bound for the Americas. Students map where captives came from and where they were taken, hear the voices of those who survived, and ask how this history should be remembered. Atlantic world1500s-1860s 13–1650 min
  102. 386 The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 On All Saints' Day 1755 an earthquake, a tsunami and fires destroy much of Lisbon. Students follow the waves across the ocean, see how the city was rebuilt with earthquake-resistant buildings, and discuss why the disaster shook Europe's thinkers. Enlightenment1755 11–1445 min
  103. 387 Resistance and the first abolitionists Enslaved people never accepted slavery: they revolted, ran away and went to court. By the 1780s they had allies among Quakers, writers and a new campaign in London. Students follow the struggle from Jamaica to Philadelphia and London and ask who really ended the slave trade. Atlantic world1760-1789 13–1650 min
  104. 388 The Enlightenment: reason, rights and the Encyclopédie In Paris salons, Edinburgh clubs and coffee houses across Europe, writers ask whether reason can improve society. Students meet Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Beccaria and Kant, follow the Encyclopédie and ask which of their ideas still shape our laws. Enlightenment1748-1784 13–1650 min
  105. 389 Catherine the Great A German princess seizes the Russian throne from her husband and rules for 34 years. Students follow Catherine from St Petersburg to the Black Sea, read about her letters with French thinkers, and face the Pugachev rebellion that showed the anger of Russia's serfs. Russian Empire1762-1796 13–1650 min
  106. 390 James Cook and the Pacific In three voyages James Cook charts more of the Pacific than any European before him. Students follow his ships from Tahiti to New Zealand, Australia and Hawai'i, meet the Pacific navigators and Indigenous peoples he encountered, and ask what these meetings meant for both sides. Pacific encounters1768-1779 11–1450 min
  107. 391 Dahomey: the kingdom of Abomey From its inland capital Abomey, Dahomey fought its way to the coast, paid tribute to Oyo and grew rich and powerful through the slave trade. Students meet its women soldiers and King Behanzin, who fought the French army. Kingdom of Dahomeyabout 1650-1894 12–1545 min
  108. 392 India in the 1700s: new powers rise After Aurangzeb died in 1707, the Mughal Empire broke into many states. Marathas, Afghans, Mysore and a British trading company fought for India. Students follow the century on the map and ask how a company came to rule Bengal. India1707-1799 13–1650 min
  109. 393 Napoleon: from Corsica to emperor An artillery officer from Corsica becomes a general at 24, conquers Italy, invades Egypt and crowns himself emperor. Students follow Napoleon's rise on the map and ask how a revolution produced an emperor. Napoleonic France1793-1804 11–1450 min
  110. 394 The High Qing: Kangxi to Qianlong Under Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong the Qing became the largest and richest state in Asia, and its population roughly doubled. Students explore the empire at its height and why Qianlong told a British envoy in 1793 that China needed nothing from Britain. Qing dynasty1661-1799 12–1550 min
  111. 395 Australia: from penal colony to nation In 1788 a British fleet lands convicts on the land of the Eora people. Over a century, colonies spread across a continent that had been home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for tens of thousands of years. Students follow colonisation, gold and federation, and ask whose story it is. British Empire in the Pacific1788-1901 12–1550 min

Age of revolutions

  1. 396 1789: France in revolution A bankrupt king calls an old assembly, and within months Paris storms the Bastille and a National Assembly declares the rights of man. Students explore how a money crisis turned into a revolution. French Revolution1789-1791 12–1550 min
  2. 397 Haiti: the revolution of the enslaved In France's richest colony, enslaved people rise up, defeat the armies of three empires and found Haiti, the first nation born from a successful revolt of the enslaved. Students follow Toussaint Louverture and Dessalines. Atlantic revolutions1791-1804 12–1550 min
  3. 398 The Republic and the Terror At war with half of Europe, revolutionary France abolishes its monarchy, executes its king and turns to terror against its own citizens. Students trace how fear, war and big ideas pushed the Revolution to extremes. French Revolution1792-1794 13–1650 min
  4. 399 1857: rebellion in India In May 1857 Indian soldiers of the East India Company rise up, and the revolt spreads across northern India. Princes, soldiers and farmers fight the Company until 1858. Students follow the rebellion, meet Rani Lakshmibai and ask what the events should be called. Company rule in India1857-1858 13–1650 min
  5. 400 Canada: Confederation and the Métis In 1867 four colonies unite as the Dominion of Canada and set out to stretch from sea to sea. Students follow the railway west, meet Louis Riel and the Métis, and ask who was included in the new country. British North America1867-1885 12–1550 min
  6. 401 Cottonopolis: Manchester and the factory age Steam engines, cotton mills and coal turn a small English town into the world's first great industrial city. Students follow cotton from the plantations of the American South to the mills of Manchester and weigh the progress and the misery of the factory age. Industrial Revolution1780-1850 11–1450 min
  7. 402 Ending the Atlantic slave trade Campaigners in Britain, formerly enslaved writers and rebels in the Caribbean all fought the slave trade. Students follow the struggle from the first petitions to the end of slavery in the British colonies, and ask whose actions mattered most. Age of abolition1787-1838 12–1550 min
  8. 403 Mexico: from Hidalgo's cry to independence On 16 September 1810 a village priest rings his church bell and calls for revolt. Eleven years later Mexico is independent, won by poor farmers, priest-generals and a royalist officer who changed sides. Students trace the long road on the map. Latin American independence1810-1821 12–1550 min
  9. 404 Simón Bolívar, the Liberator Born rich in Caracas, Simón Bolívar loses battle after battle, crosses the Andes and helps free five future nations from Spain. Then he watches his dream of one great republic fall apart. Students follow his campaigns and weigh his legacy. Latin American independence1810-1830 12–1550 min
  10. 405 The Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark In 1803 the United States doubles in size by buying Louisiana from Napoleon. Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea and their companions then travel to the Pacific and back through the lands of many Native nations. Students ask what was really bought. Early United States1803-1806 11–1445 min
  11. 406 Napoleon's Europe: Austerlitz to Tilsit Beaten at sea at Trafalgar, unbeatable on land at Austerlitz and Jena: by 1807 Napoleon dominates the continent and an empire of 800 years disappears. Students map Napoleon's Europe and ask how it was held together. Napoleonic Wars1805-1810 12–1550 min
  12. 407 Brazil: from colony to empire to republic Brazil takes a path unlike its neighbours: a European court moves to Rio, a prince declares independence and becomes emperor, and slavery lasts until 1888. Students trace how Brazil became independent with little fighting and why freedom came so late. Empire of Brazil1808-1889 12–1550 min
  13. 408 Spain and Portugal against Napoleon Napoleon's armies march into Portugal and Spain, the Portuguese court flees to Brazil, and Spaniards rise up in a "little war" that gives the world the word guerrilla. Students see how a war in Iberia shook two empires. Napoleonic Wars1807-1814 12–1545 min
  14. 409 1812: the march on Moscow In June 1812 the largest army Europe had ever seen crosses into Russia. Six months later only a small part of it comes back. Students follow the road to Moscow and back, and weigh why the campaign failed. Napoleonic Wars1812 11–1445 min
  15. 410 From Leipzig to Waterloo: Napoleon falls Beaten at Leipzig, exiled to Elba, back for a Hundred Days and finally defeated at Waterloo: students follow Napoleon's last campaigns across the map and ask why all of Europe turned against him. Napoleonic Wars1813-1815 11–1445 min
  16. 411 Greece breaks free In 1821 Greeks rise against Ottoman rule. Poets, painters and volunteers across Europe take up their cause, and in 1827 three great powers destroy the Ottoman fleet. Students follow the birth of the first fully independent state carved out of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. Ottoman Europe1821-1832 12–1545 min
  17. 412 New Zealand and the Treaty of Waitangi In 1840 Māori chiefs and the British Crown sign the Treaty of Waitangi. But the English and Māori texts say different things, and within a generation war and land confiscation follow. Students ask what was promised and why the treaty still matters. British Empire in the Pacific1840-1893 12–1550 min
  18. 413 San Martín crosses the Andes In 1817 José de San Martín leads an army over the high passes of the Andes to free Chile, then sails north to Lima. Students follow one of the boldest marches in history and meet a general who walked away from power. Latin American independence1810-1822 11–1445 min
  19. 414 Shaka and the rise of the Zulu kingdom In about twelve years Shaka turned a small chiefdom into the most powerful kingdom of south-east Africa. Students look at his army reforms, the wars and migrations of the time, and why historians still argue about him. Zulu kingdom1816-1828 12–1545 min
  20. 415 Texas and the Mexican-American War Texas breaks away from Mexico in 1836 and joins the United States in 1845. A year later the two countries are at war, and by 1848 Mexico has lost about half its land. Students compare how Americans and Mexicans remember the war. US expansion1836-1848 12–1550 min
  21. 416 The Congress of Vienna redraws Europe After 20 years of war, emperors, kings and diplomats meet in Vienna to redraw the map of Europe. Students compare the borders before and after, and judge a peace that lasted, but ignored what peoples wanted. Restoration Europe1814-1815 13–1650 min
  22. 417 The Sokoto Caliphate and Nana Asma'u In 1804 the scholar Usman dan Fodio led a jihad that overthrew the Hausa kings and created one of the largest states in Africa. Students meet him and his daughter Nana Asma'u, poet and teacher of women. Sokoto Caliphate1804-1903 12–1550 min
  23. 418 Java: Diponegoro and the Cultivation System A Javanese prince leads a five-year war against Dutch rule. Then the Dutch force Javanese villages to grow coffee and sugar for export, and the profits flow to the Netherlands. Students explore the Java War, the Cultivation System and the novel that exposed it. Dutch East Indies1825-1870 13–1650 min
  24. 419 The Trail of Tears The Cherokee had a written language, a newspaper and a constitution, and they won their case in the Supreme Court. They were still forced from their homeland. Students follow the removal of the south-eastern nations and ask how it should be remembered. Indian Removal1830-1839 12–1550 min
  25. 420 The railway age In 1825 a steam locomotive pulls the first public train. Within fifty years railways cross continents from Britain to India, North America and Japan. Students trace the spread of the railway and how it changed time, travel and trade. Industrial Revolution1825-1872 11–1445 min
  26. 421 The Opium Wars Britain wants Chinese tea and pays with opium grown in India. When China tries to stop the drug trade, British warships force it open. Students follow the Opium Wars from Canton to Hong Kong and Shanghai, and see why China calls this the start of a "century of humiliation". Qing China1839-1860 13–1650 min
  27. 422 The Suez Canal In ten years, tens of thousands of Egyptian workers dig a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The sea route from Europe to Asia shrinks by thousands of kilometres, and Egypt falls into debt and foreign control. Students ask who really gained from the canal. Age of empire1859-1882 11–1445 min
  28. 423 The Great Famine in Ireland When blight destroys the potato crop from 1845, about a million people in Ireland die and more than a million leave. Students follow the famine from the fields to the emigrant ships and ask why a disaster inside the world's leading industrial power was so deadly. Victorian Britain and Ireland1845-1852 12–1550 min
  29. 424 1848: the springtime of peoples In 1848 revolution spreads from Palermo and Paris to Vienna, Berlin, Milan and Budapest. Kings flee, parliaments meet, serfs are freed, and within two years most of the old rulers are back. Students map a year of revolutions and ask what changed. Revolutions of 18481848-1849 13–1650 min
  30. 425 Bismarck and the making of Germany Through three short wars in seven years, Prussia's Otto von Bismarck turns dozens of German states into one empire, proclaimed in the palace of the French kings. Students follow "blood and iron" on the map and ask whose Germany it was. German unification1862-1871 13–1650 min
  31. 426 Italy united: Cavour, Garibaldi and the Risorgimento In 1848 Italy is a patchwork of kingdoms, duchies and Austrian provinces. By 1871 it is one kingdom with Rome as its capital. Students follow Cavour's diplomacy, Garibaldi's Thousand and the popular votes that made Italy. Risorgimento1848-1871 12–1550 min
  32. 427 Escaping slavery: the Underground Railroad Thousands of enslaved people escaped north, some helped by a secret network of Black and white "conductors". Students follow the routes from the slave states to the free states and Canada, and meet Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and William Still. Antebellum United States1830-1861 11–1445 min
  33. 428 The Taiping Rebellion A failed exam candidate who believes he is the younger brother of Jesus founds a "Heavenly Kingdom" and conquers much of southern China. Students follow one of the deadliest wars in history and ask why so many people followed Hong Xiuquan. Qing China1850-1864 13–1650 min
  34. 429 Black ships: Japan opens up For over 200 years Japan has kept most foreigners out. Then, in 1853, American steam warships sail into Edo Bay and demand trade. Students follow the "black ships" and see how fifteen years of crisis ended the rule of the shoguns. Tokugawa Japan1853-1868 11–1445 min
  35. 430 The Crimean War Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France go to war over the Black Sea. It is one of the first wars reported by telegraph and photographed, and the war of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. Students explore why it began and what it changed. Russian and Ottoman empires1853-1856 12–1550 min
  36. 431 Russia frees its serfs After defeat in the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II frees more than 20 million serfs in 1861. Students explore what serfdom was, why the tsar acted, why many peasants were disappointed, and why the "Tsar Liberator" was assassinated. Russian Empire1855-1881 13–1645 min
  37. 432 1863: Emancipation and Gettysburg In 1863 the Civil War becomes a war against slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect, Black soldiers join the Union army, and Gettysburg and Vicksburg turn the tide. Students ask how freedom and victory became linked. American Civil War1863 12–1550 min
  38. 433 The Meiji Restoration In 1868 a group of young samurai put the emperor back at the head of Japan and set out to build a "rich country, strong army". In one generation Japan gains railways, schools, a constitution and an empire. Students ask how, and at what cost. Meiji Japan1868-1912 12–1550 min
  39. 434 A nation divided: the Civil War begins Abraham Lincoln is elected, eleven Southern states leave the Union to protect slavery, and guns fire on Fort Sumter. Students map the divided country, compare the two sides and see why both expected a short war. American Civil War1860-1862 12–1550 min
  40. 435 Victory, assassination and Reconstruction The Union wins, Lincoln is murdered and four million people are free. For twelve years the country tries to rebuild the South with new rights for Black Americans, until those rights are taken away again. Students ask why Reconstruction is called an unfinished revolution. Reconstruction1864-1877 13–1650 min
  41. 436 The Plains wars and Little Bighorn Treaties promised the Lakota the Black Hills. Then gold was found. Students follow the struggle for the Great Plains from Fort Laramie to Little Bighorn, see what the end of the bison meant, and ask how the story looks from the Plains nations' side. US expansion1851-1890 12–1550 min
  42. 437 Isandlwana 1879: the Zulu kingdom fights back In January 1879 Britain invaded the Zulu kingdom, and at Isandlwana a Zulu army defeated a British force armed with rifles and cannon. Students follow King Cetshwayo's war from the ultimatum to the fall of Ulundi. Anglo-Zulu War1879 12–1545 min
  43. 438 1898: Cuba, the Philippines and the end of Spain's empire Cubans and Filipinos fight for independence from Spain. In 1898 the United States joins in, wins a short war and takes Spain's last colonies. Students ask whether 1898 brought liberation or a new kind of empire. Age of empire1868-1902 13–1650 min
  44. 439 Gold rush and the railroad west Gold in California brings people from every continent in 1849. Twenty years later a railroad joins the Atlantic and the Pacific. Students follow the forty-niners and the railway builders and ask who paid the price for the race west. US expansion1848-1869 11–1450 min
  45. 440 Hawaii: from kingdom to US territory For most of the 1800s Hawaii is an independent kingdom with a palace, a constitution and treaties with the great powers. Then sugar planters overthrow its queen. Students ask how a nation lost its independence without a war. Pacific kingdoms1810-1898 12–1545 min
  46. 441 Moshoeshoe and the mountain kingdom In a time of war, Moshoeshoe gathered refugees on a flat-topped mountain and built the Basotho nation. Students follow a leader who used diplomacy as much as force, and see how his kingdom became today's Lesotho. Basotho kingdom1824-1870 11–1445 min
  47. 442 Samori Toure: resistance to French conquest For sixteen years Samori Toure fought French armies in West Africa, buying modern rifles, making his own and even moving his whole state east. Students weigh the strategy and the costs of one of Africa's longest resistance wars. Wassoulou Empire1882-1898 12–1545 min
  48. 443 The Aceh War In 1873 the Netherlands attacks the independent sultanate of Aceh in northern Sumatra. The Dutch take the capital within a year, but the Acehnese fight on for three decades. Students study the longest war in Dutch colonial history and how it is remembered. Dutch East Indies1873-1904 13–1650 min
  49. 444 The British Raj and the rise of Indian nationalism After 1858 India is ruled by a British viceroy, with railways, famines and a small number of British officials governing hundreds of millions of people. Students follow the birth of the Indian National Congress and the protests against the partition of Bengal. British Raj1858-1911 13–1650 min
  50. 445 The Ottoman Empire: reform and retreat Called "the sick man of Europe" by its rivals, the Ottoman Empire tries to save itself with sweeping reforms, a constitution and railways, while it loses land in the Balkans. Students follow the Tanzimat, the crisis of 1878 and the Young Turk revolution of 1908. Ottoman Empire1839-1908 13–1650 min
  51. 446 The Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference In 1880 most of Africa is ruled by Africans. By 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia are independent. Students compare the maps, look at the Berlin Conference, where no African was present, and at resistance such as the Ethiopian victory at Adwa. Age of empire1881-1914 13–1650 min
  52. 447 1911: the end of imperial China An accidental bomb blast in Wuhan sparks an army mutiny, and within months more than 2,000 years of rule by emperors is over. Students follow the revolution of 1911, meet Sun Yat-sen and the last emperor, Puyi, and ask what kind of China came next. Republic of China1911-1912 12–1545 min
  53. 448 Across the ocean: the great migration Between 1880 and 1914 tens of millions of Europeans cross the oceans in steamships to the Americas and beyond, while Asian migrants face new barriers. Students follow emigrants from village to port to Ellis Island and Buenos Aires, and ask why people leave home. Age of mass migration1880-1914 11–1445 min
  54. 449 The Balkan Wars In 1912 four Balkan states join forces and drive the Ottoman Empire almost out of Europe. A year later they fight each other over the spoils. Students map the wars, the birth of Albania and the road to the shots in Sarajevo in June 1914. Balkans1912-1914 13–1645 min
  55. 450 The Boxer Uprising Hungry, angry young men in North China blame foreigners and Christians for their troubles. In 1900 the Boxers besiege the foreign legations in Beijing, and eight nations send armies. Students weigh the causes and the high price China paid. Qing China1899-1901 13–1645 min
  56. 451 The Congo Free State For 23 years King Leopold II of Belgium owns the Congo as his private state. Forced rubber collection brings him a fortune and brings terror and death to the Congolese. Students learn how the system worked and how one of the first international human rights campaigns exposed it. Age of empire1885-1908 14–1650 min
  57. 452 Yaa Asantewaa and the War of the Golden Stool In 1900 a British governor demanded the sacred Golden Stool of the Asante. Yaa Asantewaa, queen mother of Ejisu, led the rising that followed. Students find out why the Asante lost the war but kept the stool. Asante resistance1900 11–1445 min
  58. 453 Russia against Japan, 1904-1905 Two empires clash over Manchuria and Korea. Japan attacks Russia's fleet at Port Arthur, wins on land at Mukden and destroys a Russian fleet that sailed halfway round the world. Students ask why this victory shook the world. Meiji Japan1904-1905 13–1645 min
  59. 454 Maji Maji: the rising against German rule In 1905 villagers in southern Tanzania pulled up the cotton they were forced to grow, and a rising spread across more than twenty peoples. Students learn why it began, how it was crushed and how Tanzania remembers it. German East Africa1905-1907 13–1650 min
  60. 455 The Mexican Revolution begins After about 30 years of rule by Porfirio Díaz, Mexico explodes. Madero, Zapata, Villa and Huerta fight over power and land. Students follow the first years of the revolution and ask why its leaders turned on each other. Mexican Revolution1910-1914 13–1650 min

Twentieth century

  1. 456 1914: how Europe went to war On 28 June 1914 two shots in Sarajevo set off a chain reaction. Within six weeks the great powers of Europe were at war. Students trace the alliances on the 1914 map and ask why one murder became a world war. First World War1914 12–1550 min
  2. 457 1917-1918: how the Great War ended In 1917 the United States joined the war and Russia left it. In 1918 Germany made one last great attack, then collapsed. Students follow the final year to the armistice of 11 November 1918, signed in a railway carriage near Compiègne. First World War1917-1918 12–1550 min
  3. 458 1917: revolution in Russia In 1917 Russia had two revolutions. In February the tsar fell; in October Lenin's Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. A civil war followed, and in 1922 the Soviet Union was born. Students use the 1914 and 1920 maps to see how the empire broke apart and was rebuilt. Russian Revolution1917-1922 13–1650 min
  4. 459 A world war: Africa, Asia and the Middle East The First World War was not only fought in Europe. African soldiers and carriers fought in East Africa, Japan seized a German port in China and Arab forces rose against Ottoman rule. Students follow the war across the 1914 map of empires. First World War1914-1918 12–1550 min
  5. 460 Adwa 1896: Ethiopia defeats Italy On 1 March 1896 the army of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu crushed an Italian invasion at Adwa. Students find out how a mistranslated treaty led to war and why the victory became a symbol for Africans everywhere. Ethiopian Empire1889-1896 12–1550 min
  6. 461 Gallipoli 1915: the battle for the straits In 1915 Britain and France tried to force the Dardanelles and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. Eight months later they gave up. Students see why the narrow straits mattered and why Turkey, Australia and New Zealand still remember Gallipoli. First World War1915-1916 12–1545 min
  7. 462 Ireland 1916-1922: from Easter Rising to Free State At Easter 1916 rebels in Dublin proclaimed an Irish Republic. Six years later most of Ireland was a self-governing Free State, while six counties in the north stayed British. Students compare the 1914 and 1938 maps and weigh the hopes of nationalists and unionists. Irish independence1916-1922 12–1545 min
  8. 463 The Western Front: four years in the trenches After the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 the armies dug in. A line of trenches ran from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. Students follow the front on the map and meet the soldiers who lived in it. First World War1914-1918 12–1550 min
  9. 464 The end of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War in 1914 and did not survive it. Britain and France divided its Arab lands into mandates, and from the ruins rose new states. Students compare the 1914 and 1920 maps of the Middle East and test the promises made during the war. Ottoman Empire1914-1923 13–1650 min
  10. 465 Votes for women In 1900 women could vote in national elections almost nowhere. Within a few years of the First World War they could in much of Europe and North America, but some countries took until 1971 and later. Students map the struggle and compare the methods of campaigners. Twentieth century1918-1971 11–1445 min
  11. 466 How Hitler took power in Germany Germany's first democracy, the Weimar Republic, survived revolts and hyperinflation. Then the Depression struck. Students follow the Nazi party from a failed putsch in Munich to power in Berlin, and ask how a democracy can be destroyed from within. Interwar years1919-1934 13–1650 min
  12. 467 Versailles 1919 and the new map of Europe In 1919 the winners met in Paris to make peace. Three empires had fallen, and new states filled the map from Finland to Yugoslavia. Students compare the 1914 and 1920 borders and judge whether the peacemakers built a lasting peace. Interwar years1919-1920 12–1550 min
  13. 468 1929: the crash and the Great Depression In October 1929 share prices on Wall Street crashed. Within three years factories, banks and farms failed around the world, and millions lost their jobs. Students follow the crisis from New York to Berlin and Brazil, and compare how governments responded. Interwar years1929-1939 12–1550 min
  14. 469 1948: Israel and the Palestinian Nakba In 1947 the United Nations proposed to divide British Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. In May 1948 Israel declared independence, and war followed. For Israelis 1948 means independence; for Palestinians it is the Nakba, the catastrophe. Students study both stories with the map. Middle East1947-1949 13–1650 min
  15. 470 China divided: the Long March In the 1920s and 1930s China was split between warlords, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and the Communists. In 1934 the Communists broke out of a trap in the south and retreated thousands of kilometers to the north. Students trace the Long March and ask how a retreat became a legend. Republic of China1927-1936 12–1545 min
  16. 471 Gandhi and the Salt March In March 1930 Mohandas Gandhi set out to walk about 385 km to the sea to make salt, which British law forbade. Millions followed his example. Students trace the march on the map and explore how nonviolent protest challenged an empire. Indian independence1930-1931 11–1445 min
  17. 472 Mussolini and Fascist Italy In 1922 Benito Mussolini became prime minister of Italy and soon ruled as a dictator. He promised order and the glory of ancient Rome, and in 1935 he invaded Ethiopia. Students explore how fascism took power and why the League of Nations failed to stop it. Interwar years1922-1936 13–1650 min
  18. 473 1939-1940: Blitzkrieg and the fall of France In September 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union crushed Poland. In May 1940 German tanks broke through the Ardennes and reached the Channel in days, and France fell in six weeks. Students follow the fast campaigns on the map and ask why the Allies were caught by surprise. Second World War1939-1940 12–1550 min
  19. 474 Africa's wave of independence, 1957-1960 In 1957 Ghana became independent. Three years later, in the "Year of Africa", seventeen more countries followed. Students compare the 1938 and 1960 maps of Africa and meet leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba. Decolonization1957-1960 12–1550 min
  20. 475 Algeria's war of independence France saw Algeria not as a colony but as part of France itself. In 1954 Algerian nationalists rose in revolt, and an eight-year war followed that toppled a French government and ended in independence in 1962. Students compare the views of Algerians, French settlers and people in France. Decolonization1954-1962 13–1650 min
  21. 476 Atatürk and the new Turkish Republic Out of the defeated Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal built a new state. After a war of independence the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923, with Ankara as its capital. Students follow the war on the map and weigh his sweeping reforms. Turkish Republic1919-1938 12–1545 min
  22. 477 Barbarossa to Stalingrad: the war in the east On 22 June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union along a front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. It reached Leningrad and the edge of Moscow, but at Stalingrad the tide turned. Students follow the largest land war in history and its enormous human cost. Second World War1941-1943 13–1650 min
  23. 478 D-Day and the liberation of western Europe On 6 June 1944 Allied armies landed on five beaches in Normandy. Within three months Paris and Brussels were free; by spring 1945 the Allies crossed the Rhine. Students locate the beaches, follow the liberation on the map and weigh its cost. Second World War1944-1945 12–1550 min
  24. 479 El Alamein and the war in North Africa For three years armies fought back and forth along the coast of North Africa, with the Suez Canal as the prize. At El Alamein in 1942 the British Eighth Army stopped Rommel, and American landings trapped the Axis in Tunisia. Students follow the desert war on the map. Second World War1940-1943 12–1545 min
  25. 480 Indonesia: independence and the Dutch On 17 August 1945 Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed the independence of Indonesia. The Netherlands tried to restore its rule, and four years of war followed before the Dutch transferred sovereignty in December 1949. Students locate the key places on Java and compare Indonesian and Dutch memories. Decolonization1945-1949 13–1650 min
  26. 481 Japan's empire in Asia, 1931-1941 In 1931 the Japanese army seized Manchuria. Six years later Japan went to war with China, and by 1941 it looked south to the oil of Southeast Asia. Students compare the 1930 and 1938 maps and follow the path that led Japan to war with the United States. Interwar years1931-1941 13–1650 min
  27. 482 Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific On 7 December 1941 Japanese planes attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor. In six months Japan conquered a huge area, from Burma to the Dutch East Indies. Then the tide turned at Midway. Students follow the war across the largest ocean on Earth. Second World War1941-1945 12–1550 min
  28. 483 Stalin's Soviet Union Joseph Stalin set out to turn the Soviet Union into an industrial power in ten years. New steel towns rose in the Urals, while peasants were forced onto collective farms and millions died in famine and terror. Students weigh progress against its human cost. Soviet Union1928-1939 13–1650 min
  29. 484 The Battle of Britain and the Blitz In the summer of 1940 Germany tried to win control of the skies over Britain before an invasion. The RAF, helped by radar and pilots from many nations, held on. Then came the Blitz on Britain's cities. Students explore the Channel on the map and life under the bombs. Second World War1940-1941 11–1445 min
  30. 485 The Holocaust: persecution, rescue and resistance Between 1933 and 1945 Nazi Germany moved step by step from excluding Jews to murdering about six million of them. Students learn how persecution grew, and use the map to find places where people resisted and rescued. Written with care for students aged 13 and older. Second World War1933-1945 13–1650 min
  31. 486 The Netherlands under occupation In May 1940 Germany conquered the Netherlands in five days. Five years of occupation followed: persecution, adaptation, collaboration and resistance, the Hunger Winter and finally liberation. Students locate key places on the map and explore the choices ordinary people faced. Second World War1940-1945 12–1550 min
  32. 487 The Spanish Civil War In July 1936 army officers rose against Spain's elected government. For three years Spaniards fought Spaniards, while Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union sent weapons and volunteers came from across the world. Students locate the war on the map and ask why Europe cared so much. Interwar years1936-1939 13–1650 min
  33. 488 The Vietnam War After defeating France in 1954, Vietnam was split in two. The United States sent more than half a million soldiers to stop communism in the South, and still lost. Students follow the war from Dien Bien Phu to the fall of Saigon and ask why it divided opinion around the world. Cold War1954-1975 13–1650 min
  34. 489 The road to war, 1936-1939 Step by step, Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles: the Rhineland, Austria, the Sudetenland, Prague. Britain and France gave way until 1939. Students follow each step on the 1930 and 1938 maps and debate whether appeasement could have worked. Interwar years1936-1939 13–1650 min
  35. 490 1945: Yalta, Berlin and the end of the war in Europe In February 1945 Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to plan the peace. By May, Soviet troops held Berlin and Germany surrendered. The 1945 map shows Germany cut into four zones. Students see how the end of one war set the stage for the next conflict. Second World War1945 13–1650 min
  36. 491 1945: the atomic bombs and Japan's surrender In August 1945 the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Japan surrendered weeks later. Students trace the secret Manhattan Project and the path to surrender, and listen to the voices of survivors. Second World War1942-1945 13–1650 min
  37. 492 1945: the founding of the United Nations Before the Second World War had even ended, delegates from 50 countries met in San Francisco to found the United Nations. Students locate the UN's main cities, test how the Security Council works and read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Postwar world1945-1948 12–1545 min
  38. 493 1949: Mao and the People's Republic of China After Japan's defeat, China's civil war broke out again. In 1949 the Communists won, and on 1 October Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic in Beijing, while the Nationalists fled to Taiwan. Students follow the end of the war on the map and see why there are still two Chinese governments. Chinese Revolution1945-1950 12–1545 min
  39. 494 The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949 In June 1948 the Soviet Union cut all land links to West Berlin. For almost a year American and British planes flew in food and coal for more than two million people. Students find Berlin inside the Soviet zone and follow the air corridors that kept the city alive. Cold War1948-1949 12–1545 min
  40. 495 The Korean War, 1950-1953 In June 1950 North Korea invaded the South. UN troops, among them Dutch soldiers, and later Chinese armies joined the fighting, and the front swept up and down the peninsula. Three years later it ended close to where it began. Students follow the war on the map and ask why it never officially ended. Cold War1950-1953 12–1550 min
  41. 496 1947: independence and the partition of India In August 1947 British rule in India ended and two states were born: India and Pakistan. A new border cut through Punjab and Bengal, and millions of people fled in both directions. Students compare the 1938 and 1960 maps and hear the voices of those who had to move. Decolonization1947-1948 13–1650 min
  42. 497 1956: Suez and Hungary In the same weeks of 1956, Britain, France and Israel attacked Egypt over the Suez Canal, and Soviet tanks crushed a revolution in Hungary. Students follow both crises on the map and discover what they revealed about the real superpowers. Cold War1956 13–1650 min
  43. 498 1968: the Prague Spring In 1968 Czechoslovakia's new leader Alexander Dubček promised "socialism with a human face": free speech, open borders, honest news. In August, tanks from the Soviet Union and four allies rolled in. Students follow the Prague Spring on the map and ask what freedom was allowed behind the Iron Curtain. Cold War1968 12–1545 min
  44. 499 1979: the Iranian Revolution In 1979 huge protests drove the Shah of Iran from his throne, and Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to build an Islamic republic. Students trace the story back to the coup of 1953, follow the revolution on the map and see how the hostage crisis changed Iran's relations with the West. Middle East1953-1981 13–1650 min
  45. 500 1989: revolutions across eastern Europe In a single year communist rule ended in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. Most of it happened peacefully, with candles and keys; in Romania it ended in gunfire. Students follow the domino run of 1989 from Budapest to Prague and Timișoara. Cold War1989 12–1545 min
  46. 501 9 November 1989: the Wall comes down In the summer of 1989 Hungary opened its border, East Germans fled through it, and crowds marched every Monday in Leipzig. On the evening of 9 November a confused press conference opened the Berlin Wall. Students follow the chain of events and the road to a united Germany in 1990. Cold War1989-1990 12–1550 min
  47. 502 Apartheid in South Africa From 1948 South Africa's government built a system of laws to separate people by race: apartheid. Students see how it worked, follow resistance from the Freedom Charter to Soweto, and find the island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. Twentieth century1948-1976 12–1550 min
  48. 503 China's Cultural Revolution In 1966 Mao Zedong called on China's young people to attack "old ideas" and anyone who stood in the way of revolution. Schools closed, Red Guards roamed the cities, and millions of young people were later sent to the countryside. Students explore ten years that China still finds hard to discuss. People's Republic of China1966-1976 13–1650 min
  49. 504 From coal and steel to the euro: the European Union Six countries that had just fought a war began in 1951 by sharing coal and steel. Half a century later, hundreds of millions of Europeans crossed open borders and paid in euros. Students follow the growth of the European Union on the map, from Maastricht to the big enlargement of 2004. Post-Cold War1951-2004 12–1550 min
  50. 505 Solidarity: Poland's road to 1989 In August 1980 shipyard workers in Gdańsk went on strike and won the right to a free trade union: Solidarity. Within a year it had ten million members. Banned under martial law, it came back to win Poland's first partly free election in 1989. Students follow the first crack in the Soviet bloc. Cold War1980-1989 12–1545 min
  51. 506 The Berlin Wall goes up In the night of 12-13 August 1961 East German soldiers rolled out barbed wire through the middle of Berlin. Within days a wall cut the city in two. Students find Berlin inside East Germany, follow the border and hear how the Wall split families for 28 years. Cold War1961-1963 12–1545 min
  52. 507 The Iron Curtain and the Marshall Plan In 1946 Churchill warned that an "iron curtain" had come down across Europe. America answered with the Marshall Plan and NATO; the Soviet Union with its own bloc and the Warsaw Pact. Students draw the line on the map and see how Europe split in two. Cold War1946-1955 13–1650 min
  53. 508 The civil rights movement in the United States In the southern United States, Black Americans were kept apart by law and often kept from voting. From the Montgomery bus boycott to the Selma march, students follow a movement that changed the law without taking up arms, and meet Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and the students of Little Rock. Twentieth century1954-1968 12–1550 min
  54. 509 The space race In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first satellite. Twelve years later two Americans walked on the Moon. Students find the launch sites on the map, keep score of the "firsts" and ask how a Cold War rivalry pushed people into space. Cold War1957-1969 11–1445 min
  55. 510 Thirteen days: the Cuban Missile Crisis In October 1962 American spy planes found Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, about 150 km from Florida. For thirteen days the world stood close to nuclear war. Students follow the crisis on the map and take the decisions that Kennedy and Khrushchev faced. Cold War1959-1962 12–1550 min
  56. 511 1991: the end of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev tried to reform the Soviet Union with glasnost and perestroika. Instead, the Baltic republics demanded independence, a coup failed in Moscow, and on 25 December 1991 the Soviet flag came down over the Kremlin. Students compare the 1960 and 1994 maps and find fifteen new states. Cold War1985-1991 13–1650 min
  57. 512 Mandela and the end of apartheid On 11 February 1990 Nelson Mandela walked out of prison after 27 years. Four years of talks, violence and hope followed, and on 27 April 1994 South Africans of all races voted together for the first time. Students follow the road from prison to presidency and ask how a divided country made peace. Twentieth century1990-1994 12–1550 min
  58. 513 Rwanda 1994: genocide, and those who did not look away In about 100 days in 1994, Hutu extremists murdered an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda, while the world looked on. Students learn how the genocide was prepared, why the UN pulled back, and meet the people who sheltered and rescued others. Written with care for students aged 14 and older. Post-Cold War1994 14–1650 min
  59. 514 The wars in Yugoslavia, 1991-1999 After Tito's death, Yugoslavia broke apart. Slovenia left after ten days; Croatia and Bosnia saw years of war, the siege of Sarajevo and the genocide at Srebrenica. Students compare the 1960 and 1994 maps and ask how neighbors became enemies and how the wars were stopped. Post-Cold War1991-1999 13–1650 min
  60. 515 China opens up: from Deng to the 2008 Olympics From 1978 Deng Xiaoping opened China to markets and the world. Fishing villages became megacities and hundreds of millions escaped poverty, while the party kept control, as the crackdown of June 1989 showed. Students follow China's rise on the map from Shenzhen to the Beijing Olympics. People's Republic of China1978-2008 13–1650 min
  61. 516 A connected world: globalisation, 1990-2010 Shipping containers, the internet and open markets tied the world together as never before. A phone designed in California, built in China and sold in Rotterdam became normal. Students follow goods, money and ideas across the 2010 map and weigh who gained and who lost. Post-Cold War1990-2010 12–1550 min

Historia magistra vitae est.

History is life's teacher. Cicero, De Oratore
Marble statue of emperor Augustus in a red cloak, pointing ahead
Augustus · 27 BC - AD 14
Anatomy of a lesson

Fifty minutes, already planned.

Every lesson follows the same rhythm, so after the first one your class knows exactly what to do - and you can simply teach.

  1. i.

    Explore the map

    Three assignments, each opening the map at the right year, place and zoom.

  2. ii.

    Discuss

    Five questions that move from what happened to why it mattered.

  3. iii.

    Play

    A Rule History round where students make the ruler's decisions themselves.

  4. iv.

    Write it down

    A printable A4 worksheet with writing lines and a map sketch box.

  5. v.

    Or teach it live

    The board on the projector, the class on their phones: they find places on the map and their pins drop in together.

Classroom

Every worksheet, for every class.

One subscription for one teacher and all their classes: every lesson live on the board, ad-free, with assignable games and priority on new eras.

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All worksheets and live lessons unlocked, today and every lesson we add.

Not sure yet? Teach the free lesson first

Marble statue of Minerva with spear, helmet and shield
Minerva · goddess of wisdom