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Africa in 500 BC

500 BC is the Persian Empire at its height, on the eve of the Persian Wars. This map shows the 7 states and peoples the data has for Africa in that year.

Map of Africa in 500 BC with 7 states and peoples
Borders: Cliopatria, Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coarse outlines: check and adjust them for your story.

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States and peoples in Africa in 500 BC

Largest first, by area on this map.

  • Achaemenid Empire
  • Kingdom of Kush
  • Carthage
  • Hadhramaut
  • Sabaeans
  • Greek City-States
  • Peloponnesian League

New on the map since 600 BC

Achaemenid Empire · Peloponnesian League

Animated maps of this time

Africa in other years

Other regions in 500 BC

The outlines are coarse and follow the Cliopatria dataset: borders before modern surveys are estimates, and a blank area means the data has no state on record there, not that nobody lived there. A state that changed hands during the year can appear together with its successor.