Empires

Western Asia was among the earliest seats of civilization, and as long as political events been recorded, the lands and routes of Eurasia have been alternatively shared and contested among empires. The Chinese dynasties of Han and Tang extended west well into the trading entrepots of Central Asia, and the Greek empire under Alexander stretched to what is now India. For a few generations in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Mongols united much of Eurasia under a single political system. Religions as well as empires (and sometimes the two hand in hand) also moved along the Silk Road, Buddhism and Islam noteworthy among them.

The resources on this site include a detailed look at one Silk Road empire, the Persian Sasanian empire, and an interactive map overview depicting the rise and fall of many of the regimes and religions of the region over time.

Empires - Interactive Java TimeMap
Multi-media interactive map featuring regional empires.

Boundaries - Interactive Java TimeMap
Time enabled interactive map showing regional empire expansion over 1800 years.

Islamic Boundaries 600ce - 1800ce - Interactive Java TimeMap

Silk Road Empires 500bce - 1800ce
Over 15 regional empires represented in this animation of boundary changes over more than 2000 years. (70MB video file)

Sasanian Seals Collection and Sasanian Empire Project
High resolution and interactive maps of the Sasanian Empire

International Dunhuang Project (IDP) - Buddhism on the Silk Road
Historical account of the spread of Buddhism through Central Asia. Includes maps.

Ming Empire Video
Dynamic representation of the Ming Empire extent, 14th - 17th centuries

Sources