World map in 700 AD

Border history

The interactive map lets you inspect named territories in 700 AD and compare them to earlier or later snapshots on the timeline.

Biographical context

Meet figures alive in, or close to, 700 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.

629 AD – 1180

Byzantine–Arab Wars

Byzantine Empire vs Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate

Centuries of warfare between Byzantium and successive Arab caliphates. The Arabs besieged Constantinople twice (674–678, 717–718) but failed both times, with Greek fire proving decisive. The frontier stabilized along the Taurus Mountains for centuries.

Key battles and events: Battle of Yarmouk (636); First Arab Siege of Constantinople (674–678)

700 AD – 1846

Kanem–Bornu Wars

Kanem-Bornu Empire (Mai Idris Alooma and successors) vs Bulala vs Hausa states vs Sokoto Caliphate / Fulani jihadists

One of Africa's longest-lived empires, spanning over a millennium around Lake Chad, defending against Bulala invasions, Hausa rivals, and the Fulani jihad before falling to the Sokoto Caliphate.

Key battles and events: Bulala overthrow of Kanem at Njimi (c. 1380); Mai Idris Alooma's campaigns (1564–1596)

681 AD – 1018

Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars

Byzantine Empire vs Bulgarian Empire

Over three centuries of intermittent warfare between Byzantium and Bulgaria for control of the Balkans. The conflict included Emperor Basil II's final conquest of Bulgaria in 1018, after which he reportedly blinded 99 out of every 100 Bulgarian prisoners, earning the title 'Bulgar-Slayer'.

Key battles and events: Battle of Pliska (811); Battle of Anchialus (917)

642 AD – 799 AD

Khazar-Arab Wars

Khazar Khaganate vs Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates

The Khazars blocked Arab expansion into the Caucasus and Eastern Europe for over a century, acting as a crucial buffer that may have changed the course of European history.

Key battles and events: Battle of Balanjar (642 AD); Battle of Marj Ardabil (730 AD)

632 AD – 750 AD

Early Muslim Conquests

Rashidun & Umayyad Caliphates vs Byzantine Empire vs Sassanid Empire

One of the most rapid expansions in history — Arab armies conquered from Spain to Central Asia within a single century, reshaping the religious and political map of the world.

Key battles and events: Yarmouk (636); Qadisiyyah (636)

626 AD – 800 AD

Caracol–Naranjo Wars

Caracol (K'an II, K'inich Joy K'awiil) vs Naranjo (Wak Chanil Ajaw dynasty) vs Calakmul (shifting allegiance)

A century and a half of Classic Maya warfare between Caracol and Naranjo, documented on hieroglyphic stairways, with Caracol sacking Naranjo in 631 CE before Naranjo's revival under Lady Six Sky and her son K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak.

Key battles and events: Caracol star-war defeat of Naranjo (626 CE); Caracol sack of Naranjo (631 CE)

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

Frankish Empire

Charlemagne

c. 742 AD – 814 AD

Emperor of the Romans, King of the Franks, father of Europe, Carolingian Renaissance

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

Baghdad

Al-Khwarizmi

c. 780 CE – c. 850 CE

Father of algebra, originator of the word 'algorithm', pioneer of Hindu-Arabic numerals in the Islamic world

India (Kerala to the Himalayas)

Shankara

c. 788 CE – c. 820 CE

Founder of Advaita Vedanta, philosopher of non-dualism, unifier of Hindu thought across India

Built 700 AD · Asia

Quanzhou

Medieval China's greatest port, gateway to the maritime Silk Road

Built 700 AD · Europe

Ragusa (Dubrovnik)

Maritime republic rivaling Venice, key Adriatic trade hub connecting the Balkans with Mediterranean commerce

Built 692 AD · Asia

Al-Khamis Mosque

One of the oldest mosques in the Gulf region, its twin minarets in Bahrain mark over 1,300 years of continuous Islamic worship

Built 691 AD · Asia

Dome of the Rock

Islamic shrine on Jerusalem's Temple Mount

Built 670 AD · Africa

Great Mosque of Kairouan

Oldest mosque in North Africa, founded by Uqba ibn Nafi during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb

Built 650 AD · North America

Xochicalco

Hilltop Mesoamerican ceremonial city in Morelos dominated by the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, where astronomer-priests gathered to reform the calendar.

Frankish Empire · Conqueror

Charlemagne

The King Who United Europe

The Frankish king who conquered half of Europe, was crowned Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day 800, and launched a cultural renaissance that preserved learning through the Dark Ages — the man historians call the Father of Europe.

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.

Baghdad · Thinker

Al-Khwarizmi

The Man Who Invented Algebra

The Baghdad scholar who gave the world algebra and the word algorithm — how a ninth-century polymath at the House of Wisdom synthesised Greek, Indian, and Persian mathematics into a system that would power every equation ever written.

India (Kerala to the Himalayas) · Philosopher

Shankara

The Man Who Reclaimed the Infinite

In thirty-two years, Adi Shankaracharya walked the length of India barefoot, defeated every rival philosophical school in open debate, founded four monasteries that still stand today, and delivered one message that reshaped a civilization: you are Brahman. You always were.