46 civilizations
The Library’s civilizations
A reading list, organized by where in the world a story unfolded. Pick a civilization and walk its centuries.
- Silk Roads39 entries · 1500 BCE – 1370 CE
- Indian Ocean Trade34 entries · 1000 BCE – 1960 CE
- Islamic Caliphates25 entries · 900 BCE – 1332 CE
- Post Colonial Americas23 entries · 1521 CE – 1945 CE
- Enlightenment and Revolutions21 entries · 1729 CE – 1818 CE
- Colonial Americas18 entries · 1466 CE – 1800 CE
- Age of Sail and Empire17 entries · 1139 CE – 1845 CE
- Early Modern Europe17 entries · 1139 CE – 1729 CE
- Imperial China17 entries · 602 CE – 1866 CE
- Medieval Europe17 entries · 33 CE – 1479 CE
- Roman Republic and Empire16 entries · 900 BCE – 272 CE
- West African Empires16 entries · 1500 BCE – 1804 CE
- Trans Saharan Trade15 entries · 100 CE – 1804 CE
- World Wars Era15 entries · 1255 CE – 1939 CE
- Mesoamerican Civilizations14 entries · 6700 BCE – 1521 CE
- Steppe Empires14 entries · 800 BCE – 1483 CE
- Late Antique and Byzantine13 entries · 300 BCE – 1453 CE
- Andean Civilizations12 entries · 1 CE – 1738 CE
- Delhi Sultanate and Mughal12 entries · 1205 CE – 1618 CE
- Korean Kingdoms12 entries · 57 BCE – 1894 CE
- Modern Europe12 entries · 1479 CE – 1945 CE
- Ancient Egypt11 entries · 2180 BCE – 69 BCE
- East African Civilizations11 entries · 2500 BCE – 1892 CE
- Mesopotamian Civilizations11 entries · 5500 BCE – 626 BCE
- Mongol Empire and Successors11 entries · 800 BCE – 1370 CE
- Persian Empires11 entries · 1500 BCE – 1325 CE
- Polynesian Civilizations11 entries · 950 CE – 1970 CE
- Southeast Asian Empires11 entries · 192 CE – 1384 CE
- Vedic and Mauryan11 entries · 1200 BCE – 78 CE
- Classical Greece10 entries · 808 BCE – 69 BCE
- Early China10 entries · 600 BCE – 155 CE
- Gupta and Medieval India10 entries · 500 BCE – 947 CE
- Imperial Japan10 entries · 794 CE – 1760 CE
- Industrial Revolution10 entries · 1736 CE – 1871 CE
- Pre Islamic Arabia10 entries · 1000 BCE – 631 CE
- Austronesian Expansion9 entries · 192 CE – 1970 CE
- Central African Kingdoms9 entries · 1100 CE – 1665 CE
- Pre Columbian North American9 entries · 700 CE – 1906 CE
- Southern African Civilizations9 entries · 1075 CE – 1918 CE
- Southern Indian Empires9 entries · 300 BCE – 1750 CE
- Ottoman Empire8 entries · 330 CE – 1494 CE
- Indus Valley Civilization7 entries · 7000 BCE – 2400 BCE
- Caribbean and Circum Caribbean6 entries · 1743 CE – 1800 CE
- Bronze Age Collapse5 entries · 6000 BCE – 1200 BCE
- Bronze Age Aegean4 entries · 3300 BCE – 1822 CE
- Bantu Expansion2 entries