1500 BC world map

Border history

The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 1500 BC and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.

Biographical context

This page highlights figures close to 1500 BC so readers can move from geography to biography without leaving the Historiqly ecosystem.

Era-based reading

The related chronicles below surface long-form reading connected to the ancient period.

1550 BC – 1450 BC

Mitanni–Hittite Rivalry

Mitanni Empire vs Hittite Empire

The Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni and the Hittite Empire clashed for dominance over northern Syria and the upper Euphrates. This great-power rivalry shaped the Late Bronze Age political order until Mitanni's eventual collapse.

Key battles: Hittite campaigns into northern Syria (c. 1500 BC); Battle for Aleppo

1595 BC – 1155 BC

Kassite Conquest of Babylon

Kassite dynasty vs Babylonian kingdom

After the Hittite sack of Babylon, the Kassites seized power and ruled Babylonia for over four centuries — one of the longest-lasting dynasties in Mesopotamian history.

Key battles: Fall of Babylon to Hittites (1595 BC); Kassite consolidation of Babylonia

1764 BC – 1150 BC

Elamite–Babylonian Wars

Babylonian Empire vs Kingdom of Elam

Centuries of intermittent warfare between Babylon and Elam for control of southern Mesopotamia. Hammurabi initially defeated Elam, but Elamite kings later sacked Babylon and carried off the stele of Hammurabi's law code.

Key battles: Hammurabi's defeat of Elam (1764 BC); Elamite sack of Babylon (1158 BC)

Egypt / Sinai / Canaan

Moses

c. 1391 BC – c. 1271 BC

“Let my people go.”

Leading the Exodus from Egypt, receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, founding Israelite law and nationhood

Egypt

Nefertiti

c. 1370 BC – c. 1330 BC

Queen of Egypt, religious revolutionary, co-regent of the Aten heresy, owner of the most famous face in ancient art

Israel / Judah

King David

c. 1040 BC – c. 970 BC

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Slaying Goliath, uniting the tribes of Israel, conquering Jerusalem, composing the Psalms

Israel / Judah

King Solomon

c. 990 BC – c. 931 BC

“Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

Building the First Temple, legendary wisdom, the Judgment of Solomon, trade empire, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

Mesopotamia

Sargon of Akkad

c. 2334 BC – c. 2279 BC

“My mother was a high priestess, my father I knew not. She set me in a basket of rushes, she sealed my lid with bitumen. She cast me into the river, which rose not over me.”

Founding the Akkadian Empire, the first empire in recorded history, uniting Sumer and Akkad under a single dynasty

Northern India / Nepal

Buddha

c. 563 BC – c. 483 BC

“All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your salvation with diligence.”

Founder of Buddhism, philosopher, teacher of the Middle Way and the Four Noble Truths

Built 1539 BC · Africa

Valley of the Kings

Royal burial ground of pharaohs including Tutankhamun

Built 1600 BC · Asia

Hattusa

Capital of the Hittite Empire in ancient Anatolia

Built 1600 BC · Europe

Mycenae

Bronze Age citadel and major center of Greek civilization

Built 1700 BC · North America

Poverty Point

Monumental earthwork complex in Louisiana with concentric ridges and a 72-foot mound, built by hunter-gatherers 3,500 years ago

Built 2000 BC · Asia

Baalbek

Roman temple complex with the largest hewn stone blocks in the world

Built 2000 BC · South America

Isla del Sol

Sacred island on Lake Titicaca revered by the Inca as the birthplace of the sun, dotted with ruins of shrines and the sanctuary of the Sacred Rock.

Egypt / Sinai / Canaan · Leader

Moses

The Lawgiver Who Freed a Nation

The prince of Egypt who became a fugitive shepherd, confronted the most powerful ruler on earth, and led an enslaved nation to freedom — told in his own words.

Egypt · Leader

Nefertiti

The Beautiful One Has Come

The queen who helped overthrow a thousand years of Egyptian religion, ruled as equal to a pharaoh, and vanished from history — leaving behind the most recognised face in the ancient world.

Israel / Judah · Leader

King David

The Shepherd Who Built a Kingdom

The shepherd boy who killed a giant, survived a king's jealousy, and built a kingdom that shaped three world religions — told in his own words.

Israel / Judah · Leader

King Solomon

The Wisest King

The son of David who built the Temple, amassed legendary wealth, and wrote the wisdom literature that shaped three civilisations — then watched it all slip away.