The world in 500 BC
On 1 July 500 BC, IntMap’s historical map draws 117 names across the world. The borders for this date come from Cliopatria, Seshat Global History Databank (by year), then historical-basemaps — each drawn only where the records before it are silent. It also draws 114 outlines whose name the record does not give for this date.
Why this year has a page
The historical-basemaps atlas drew a world sheet for this year.
Names on the map
As the map labels them, largest first by the area of the outline drawn. Areas are of the drawn outline, rounded, and approximate. The record column says which record draws the outline; a Wikidata item is given where the record links one.
| Name | Record | Drawn area (km²) |
|---|---|---|
| Khoiasan | historical-basemaps | 11,700,000 |
| Saharan Pastoral Nomads | historical-basemaps | 10,100,000 |
| Australian aboriginal hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 7,600,000 |
| Paleo-Siberian hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 7,170,000 |
| Achaemenid Empire | Cliopatria · historical-basemaps Q389688 | 6,270,000 |
| West African cereal farmers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 6,030,000 |
| Arctic marine mammal hunters (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 5,910,000 |
| Proto-Altaic pastoralists (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 4,990,000 |
| Savanna hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 4,820,000 |
| Manioc farmers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 4,770,000 |
| Subarctic forest hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 4,330,000 |
| Amazon hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 4,280,000 |
| Finno-Ugric taiga hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 3,510,000 |
| Eastern North Amercian hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 3,320,000 |
| Plain bison hunters (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 2,850,000 |
| Desert hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 2,350,000 |
| Pampas cultures (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 1,830,000 |
| Maize farmers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 1,580,000 |
| Austronesians | historical-basemaps | 1,430,000 |
| Hindu kingdoms (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 1,360,000 |
| Iron Age megalith cultures (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 952,000 |
| Spring and Autumn States | Cliopatria | 898,000 |
| Papuan neolithic farmers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 884,000 |
| Andean hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 744,000 |
| Plateau fichers and hunter gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 722,000 |
| Scythia | Cliopatria | 643,000 |
| Saami | historical-basemaps | 631,000 |
| Zhou states (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 598,000 |
| North American Pacifi foraging, hunting and fishing peoples | historical-basemaps | 533,000 |
| Carthaginian Empire | historical-basemaps | 514,000 |
| Caribbean hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 513,000 |
| Ethiopian highland farmers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 376,000 |
| Chu | Cliopatria Q504759 | 353,000 |
| Kingdom of Kush | Cliopatria Q241790 | 337,000 |
| Late Jomon culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 281,000 |
| Chorrera | historical-basemaps | 262,000 |
| Patagonian shellfish and marine mammal hunters (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 259,000 |
| Plain-Pottery culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 235,000 |
| Adena Culture | historical-basemaps | 225,000 |
| Illyrians | historical-basemaps | 197,000 |
| Wu | Cliopatria Q912068 | 194,000 |
| Magadha | historical-basemaps | 185,000 |
| Brushed Pottery culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 184,000 |
| Bell-shaped burials culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 159,000 |
| Ainu | historical-basemaps | 159,000 |
| El Paraiso | historical-basemaps | 157,000 |
| Jin | Cliopatria Q912043 | 153,000 |
| Shellfish gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 149,000 |
| Greek City-States | Cliopatria | 148,000 |
| Carthage | Cliopatria Q2429397 | 126,000 |
All 117 names
| Name | Record | Drawn area (km²) |
|---|---|---|
| Greek city-states (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 114,000 |
| Paleo-Inuit | historical-basemaps | 112,000 |
| Yue | Cliopatria Q1936158 | 111,000 |
| Mahajanapadas | Cliopatria Q846025 | 93,800 |
| Blemmyes | historical-basemaps | 88,900 |
| Qi | Cliopatria Q837855 | 87,000 |
| Hadhramaut | Cliopatria Q1517159 | 86,200 |
| Milograd culture | historical-basemaps | 83,600 |
| Chavin | historical-basemaps | 82,900 |
| Eastern Masurian culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 74,500 |
| Pancala | historical-basemaps | 66,000 |
| Etruscans | Cliopatria Q17161 | 65,600 |
| Sabaeans | Cliopatria Q940785 | 64,200 |
| Kuru | historical-basemaps | 64,000 |
| Simhala | historical-basemaps | 62,000 |
| Tasmanian hunter-gatherers (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 59,400 |
| Glades Culture | historical-basemaps | 59,100 |
| Macedonian Empire | Cliopatria Q83958 | 57,100 |
| Qin | Cliopatria Q34756 | 56,500 |
| Saba | historical-basemaps | 54,900 |
| Avanti | historical-basemaps | 53,300 |
| Yan | Cliopatria Q1055713 | 49,700 |
| Meroe | historical-basemaps | 46,900 |
| Chinchoros | historical-basemaps | 45,900 |
| Surasena | historical-basemaps | 44,500 |
| Pomeranian culture | historical-basemaps | 44,400 |
| Lu | Cliopatria Q736936 | 43,600 |
| Magadha - Haryanka dynasty | Cliopatria Q12459974 | 33,500 |
| Western Masurian culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 32,600 |
| Olmec | historical-basemaps | 31,800 |
| Kosala | historical-basemaps | 29,700 |
| Gandhāra | historical-basemaps | 24,000 |
| Song | Cliopatria Q1065073 | 22,600 |
| Curonians | historical-basemaps | 21,700 |
| Olmec Civilization | Cliopatria | 17,700 |
| Kasi | historical-basemaps | 16,500 |
| Peloponnesian League | Cliopatria Q208742 | 15,600 |
| Boii | historical-basemaps | 11,600 |
| Etrurians | historical-basemaps | 11,200 |
| Samnites | historical-basemaps | 9,160 |
| Guanches | historical-basemaps | 9,080 |
| Sambian-Nothangian culture (a description by the source, not a name) | historical-basemaps | 8,310 |
| Sabini | historical-basemaps | 7,630 |
| Wey | Cliopatria Q1147897 | 6,910 |
| Zhu | Cliopatria Q227007 | 6,650 |
| Zapotec Civilization | Cliopatria | 6,470 |
| Janapada of Malla | Cliopatria Q1376303 | 5,500 |
| Janapada of Aśmaka | Cliopatria Q1194906 | 5,420 |
| Zheng | Cliopatria Q197598 | 5,280 |
| Janapada of Kuru | Cliopatria | 5,240 |
| Janapada of Matsya | Cliopatria Q2665398 | 5,230 |
| Janapada of Surasena | Cliopatria Q1330149 | 5,200 |
| Janapada of Vajji | Cliopatria Q605199 | 5,170 |
| Malla | historical-basemaps | 5,140 |
| Janapada of Avanti | Cliopatria Q4827705 | 5,110 |
| Chen | Cliopatria Q1069690 | 5,050 |
| Janapada of Kāśī | Cliopatria | 5,050 |
| Janapada of Kosala | Cliopatria Q756854 | 5,000 |
| Janapada of Pañcāla | Cliopatria Q558603 | 4,970 |
| Janapada of Cedī | Cliopatria | 4,400 |
| Teng | Cliopatria Q1356151 | 4,320 |
| Janapada of Vatsa | Cliopatria Q1331184 | 4,020 |
| Cao | Cliopatria Q284964 | 4,010 |
| Cai | Cliopatria Q1025803 | 3,690 |
| Vatsa | historical-basemaps | 3,230 |
| Rome | historical-basemaps | 404 |
| Roman Republic | Cliopatria Q17167 | 238 |
What changed since 600 BC
Names counted are those the records date to the year or the day (CShapes, OpenHistoricalMap, Cliopatria). Outlines filled from the nearest historical-basemaps sheet are counted only when both years are years that sheet was drawn for — otherwise the change would be the switch between two sheets, not a change in the world. Names are compared as written, so a polity a record names differently in the two years (Carthaginian Empire, then Carthage) is in both lists.
Now drawn (6)
Achaemenid Empire, Yue, Magadha - Haryanka dynasty, Peloponnesian League, Zapotec Civilization, Roman Republic
No longer drawn (13)
Median Kingdom, Neo-Babylonian Empire, Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, Lydia, Kingdom of Urartu, Phoenicia, Phoenician Empire, Janapada of Anga, Janapada of Kamboja, Janapada of Magadha, Janapada of Gandhāra, Xu, Roman Kingdom
Events dated to 500 BC
The index of dated events holds no event for 500 BC.
Sources and method
Borders and names: Cliopatria v0.2.1 (Seshat Global History Databank, github.com/Seshat-Global-History-Databank/cliopatria) · CC BY 4.0 · adapted by IntMap: simplified, BC years made astronomical, and the ground OpenHistoricalMap (1689–1885, and from 1886 where CShapes is silent) and CShapes (1886–2019) state removed on their own dates + aourednik/historical-basemaps (github.com/aourednik/historical-basemaps) · GPL-3.0 · adapted by IntMap: each sheet before 1886 less the ground OpenHistoricalMap and Cliopatria state at that sheet's year.
Which years have a page is worked out when the site is built, from three rules applied to the records themselves: every year the historical-basemaps atlas drew a world sheet for; every year whose change from the year before (names the dated records begin or stop drawing) is in the top 5% of all such year-to-year changes since the dated records begin, leaving out the years where one record hands over to another; and every year of a geopolitical, war or revolution event in the dated events index, up to the last year the border records cover (2019).
On each year the map is read on 1 July, the instant the app’s own year links open on. Names are the source’s own, translated where the source or IntMap’s name table has a translation. A name is what a record draws there, not a verdict of history.
World map in 500 BC — the map, with the years it stays the same Historical maps by region Countries On this day