Border history
The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 400 BC and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.
Classical historical map
World map in 400 BC
Explore a reconstruction of the world around 400 BC. Follow Mediterranean, Persian, Indian, and East Asian powers as the classical world expands and collides. Figures near this year include Plato, Socrates, Aristotle.
Snapshot at a glance
What this 400 BC world map contains
Counts come directly from this snapshot and the historical layers available in HistorIQly Map.
80 named mapped areas
190 boundary geometries
4 conflict records covering this year
280 landmarks standing
Example labels in this source snapshot
These names are encoded in the boundary dataset. Inclusion does not settle disputed borders, sovereignty, spelling, or historical interpretation.
- Achaemenid Empire
- Xiongnu
- Hindu kingdoms
- Scythians
- Zhou states
- Zhangzhung Kingdom
- Carthaginian Empire
- Celts
- Chorrera
- Greek city-states
- Greek colonies
- Chavin
- Simhala
- Khoiasan
What this snapshot shows
Explore the 400 BC world in context
Biographical context
Meet figures alive in, or close to, 400 BC and move from political geography to the people connected to the period.
Era-based reading
The related chronicles below provide long-form reading tied closely to the classical period.
Conflicts connected to 400 BC
Conflict records whose date ranges include 400 BC
These editorial date ranges include 400 BC. Some records group intermittent campaigns or long-running conflict series, so inclusion does not mean continuous fighting in that exact year.
400 BC – 900 AD
Maya City-State Wars
Tikal vs Calakmul vs Caracol vs Dos Pilas vs Palenque vs Copán vs other Maya polities
Over a millennium of warfare among rival Classic Maya polities, dominated by the Tikal–Calakmul superpower rivalry and a web of proxy conflicts that shaped Classic Maya civilization.
Key battles and events: Caracol sack of Tikal (562 CE); Dos Pilas campaigns against Tikal (648–761 CE)
475 BC – 221 BC
Warring States Period
State of Qin vs States of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei & Han
Seven major Chinese states fought for supremacy over 250 years of escalating warfare, ending when the State of Qin conquered all rivals and unified China under the first imperial dynasty in 221 BC.
Key battles and events: Battle of Guiling (354 BC); Battle of Maling (342 BC)
480 BC – 307 BC
Sicilian Wars
Greek city-states of Sicily vs Carthage
A series of wars between Greek colonies in Sicily — led by Syracuse — and Carthage for control of the island. These conflicts shaped the western Mediterranean balance of power for two centuries before Rome's rise.
Key battles and events: Battle of Himera (480 BC); Siege of Syracuse (415-413 BC)
509 BC – 264 BC
Roman–Etruscan Wars
Roman Republic vs Etruscan city-states
Centuries of intermittent conflict between Rome and the Etruscan civilization. Rome's conquest of Veii in 396 BC was a turning point, and by 264 BC all Etruscan cities had been absorbed into the Roman state.
Key battles and events: Battle of the Cremera (477 BC); Siege of Veii (406–396 BC)
Historical figures near 400 BC
People connected to this part of the timeline
Greece
Plato
c. 428 BC – c. 348 BC
Philosopher, founder of the Academy, author of the Republic and the Dialogues
Greece
Socrates
c. 470 BC – 399 BC
Philosopher, founder of Western ethics, inventor of the Socratic method
Greece
Aristotle
384 BC – 322 BC
Philosopher, scientist, tutor of Alexander the Great, founder of the Lyceum
Athens
Pericles
c. 495 BC – 429 BC
Athenian statesman, orator, patron of the arts, architect of the Golden Age of Athens
Macedon
Alexander the Great
356 BC – 323 BC
Undefeated military commander, conqueror of the Persian Empire, founder of over twenty cities
India
Chandragupta Maurya
c. 340 BC – c. 297 BC
Founding the Maurya Empire, unifying India, defeating Seleucus Nicator, Arthashastra statecraft
Landmarks standing in 400 BC
Monuments and wonders of the 400 BC world
Sites already standing (or still being used) in 400 BC, drawn from the map's landmark layers.
Built 400 BC · Africa
Axum
Ancient capital of the Aksumite Empire with towering obelisks
Built 400 BC · Africa
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
Most sacred site in Ethiopian Orthodoxy in Axum, claimed to house the Ark of the Covenant
Built 400 BC · Europe
Ostia Antica
Ancient Rome's main port city at the mouth of the Tiber, remarkably preserved with apartment blocks, baths, theaters, and vivid mosaics
Built 400 BC · Asia
Yoshinogari
Largest Yayoi-period settlement in Japan, a fortified moat-encircled village on Kyushu revealing early Japanese state formation
Built 435 BC · Europe
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Monumental seated figure of the king of gods, destroyed by fire
Built 447 BC · Europe
Parthenon
Temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to Athena
Related chronicles
Long-form reading for the same period
Greece · Philosopher
Plato
The Philosopher Who Invented the West
The philosopher who founded the Academy, wrote the Republic, and shaped every branch of Western thought for two and a half thousand years — from the streets of wartime Athens to the courts of Sicilian tyrants.
Read PlatoGreece · Philosopher
Socrates
The Man Who Knew Nothing
The stonemason’s son who never wrote a word, yet became the most influential philosopher in Western history — condemned to death by the democracy he loved for the crime of asking questions.
Read SocratesGreece · Philosopher
Aristotle
The Man Who Catalogued the World
The philosopher who catalogued the world — from logic to biology, politics to poetry. Plato's greatest student, Alexander's tutor, and the mind that shaped Western thought for two thousand years.
Read AristotleAthens · Leader
Pericles
The First Citizen of Athens
The statesman who built the Parthenon, perfected Athenian democracy, and delivered the most famous speech in Western history — then watched plague destroy everything he had created.
Read PericlesBoundary source and context layers
How to read this historical reconstruction
Boundary geometry is adapted from Historical Basemaps, a GPL-3.0 project built for world- and continent-scale historical mapping. The source is a work in progress: pre-modern territories can overlap, borders are often disputed, and a snapshot should be read as a reconstruction around 400 BC, not as survey-level fact.
The source marks 190 of 190 geometries in this snapshot as approximate.
Conflicts, landmarks, trade routes, and biographies come from separate HistorIQly editorial datasets. They provide discovery context but do not yet expose a citation for every individual record; verify a specific claim with specialist sources before citing it.
Frequently asked questions
About the 400 BC world map
What does the 400 BC world map show?
The 400 BC source snapshot reconstructs political borders, territories, and named states for around 400 BC. You can inspect individual territories, view linked historical figures, and compare this snapshot with nearby years like 700 BC and 500 BC.
Which conflicts are connected to the period around 400 BC?
HistorIQly records whose date ranges include 400 BC include Maya City-State Wars, Warring States Period, Sicilian Wars, Roman–Etruscan Wars. Long-running entries may represent intermittent campaigns rather than continuous warfare.
Which historical figures are connected to the period around 400 BC?
Figures linked near 400 BC include Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Pericles. Some were alive in this year; others are included because their lives fall within the surrounding historical period.
How many time periods does HistorIQly Map cover?
HistorIQly Map includes 49 historical snapshots spanning from 3000 BC through the modern era, covering the classical era and every other major period of world history.
Which powers and regions appear on the 400 BC map?
Example labels encoded in the 400 BC source snapshot include Achaemenid Empire, Xiongnu, Hindu kingdoms, Scythians, Zhou states, Zhangzhung Kingdom. These labels and reconstructed boundaries can be approximate or disputed; inspect the map methodology before using them for research.
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