World map in 600 AD

Border history

The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 600 AD and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.

Biographical context

Meet figures alive in, or close to, 600 AD 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 medieval period.

600 AD – 800 AD

Late Moche Internecine Conflicts

Southern Moche polity (Huacas de Moche) vs Northern Moche polities (Pampa Grande, San José de Moro) vs Jequetepeque valley lords

During Moche Phase V, the southern Moche capital at Huacas de Moche was abandoned while northern centers such as Pampa Grande rose and then burned amid environmental stress from El Niño events and regional warfare on Peru's north coast.

Key battles and events: Abandonment of Huacas de Moche (c. 600 CE); Burning of Pampa Grande (c. 750 CE)

600 AD – 1288

Srivijaya Maritime Wars

Srivijaya Empire vs Chola Dynasty, Majapahit, Javanese kingdoms

Maritime thalassocracy based in Sumatra that controlled the Strait of Malacca trade for centuries before falling to Chola naval raids and Javanese rivals.

Key battles and events: Chola invasion of Srivijaya (1025); Conquest of Malay Peninsula ports

600 AD – 1000

Tiwanaku–Wari Rivalry

Tiwanaku polity (Lake Titicaca basin) vs Wari Empire (Ayacucho)

Two Middle Horizon Andean powers — highland Tiwanaku centered on Lake Titicaca and Wari in the central highlands — coexisted and competed over the Moquegua valley and southern Peru, evidenced by fortified frontier sites such as Cerro Baúl.

Key battles and events: Wari foundation of Cerro Baúl (c. 600 CE); Cerro Baúl ritual abandonment (c. 1000 CE)

600 AD – 1000

Wari Imperial Expansion

Wari Empire vs Nazca polities vs Moche successor states vs Local highland groups

The Wari state expanded from Ayacucho across the central Andes, building administrative centers such as Pikillaqta and Viracochapampa and projecting military power over coastal and highland Peru during the Middle Horizon.

Key battles and events: Conquest of the Nazca region (c. 650 CE); Establishment of Pikillaqta garrison (c. 650 CE)

598 AD – 614 AD

Goguryeo–Sui Wars

Kingdom of Goguryeo (Korea) vs Sui Dynasty (China)

The Sui Dynasty launched four massive invasions of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, mobilising over a million troops. The catastrophic defeats — especially the annihilation of 300,000 soldiers at the Salsu River — triggered rebellions that toppled the Sui Dynasty itself.

Key battles and events: First Sui Invasion (598); Battle of Salsu / Chongchon River (612)

552 AD – 744 AD

Göktürk Wars

Göktürk Khaganate vs Rouran, Sassanid Persia, Tang China, Uyghur

The Göktürks built the first great Turkic empire, stretching from Manchuria to the Byzantine frontier, before splitting into eastern and western khaganates and eventually falling to Tang China and the Uyghurs.

Key battles and events: Destruction of Rouran Khaganate (552); Istemi's western conquests (560s)

537 AD – 743 AD

Tikal–Calakmul Superpower Wars

Tikal (Mutal dynasty) vs Calakmul (Kaan/Snake dynasty) vs Caracol (Calakmul ally) vs Dos Pilas (Calakmul ally)

A multi-generational rivalry between the two Classic Maya superpowers, fought through proxy kingdoms across the central lowlands until Tikal's resurgent victories in the 8th century.

Key battles and events: Caracol defeats Tikal (562 CE); Dos Pilas defeats Tikal (679 CE)

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)

Arabian Peninsula

Muhammad

c. 570 CE – 632 CE

Founder of Islam, Prophet of God, statesman and military commander who unified the Arabian Peninsula and revealed the Quran — the sacred text that shaped the lives of over 1.8 billion people

Built 600 AD · Asia

Boudhanath Stupa

One of the largest stupas in the world, centre of Tibetan Buddhism in Kathmandu

Built 600 AD · North America

Cahokia Mounds

Pre-Columbian Mississippian city in Illinois, the largest archaeological site north of Mexico with massive earthen mounds

Built 600 AD · North America

Chichen Itza

Major Maya city with the iconic Kukulcán pyramid

Built 600 AD · Asia

Ellora Caves

Rock-cut Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cave temples in Maharashtra

Built 600 AD · North America

Joya de Cerén

Pre-Columbian farming village in El Salvador buried by volcanic ash around 660 AD, the 'Pompeii of the Americas' preserving daily Maya life

Built 600 AD · North America

Mesa Verde

Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the American Southwest

Arabian Peninsula · Philosopher

Muhammad

The Prophet Who United Arabia

From an orphaned merchant in Mecca to the founder of a civilization — the life of Muhammad ibn Abdullah, told in his own words: the first revelation, the Hijra, the battles of Badr and Uhud, the conquest of Mecca, and the Farewell Sermon that completed a faith for 1.8 billion people.