World Back Then is an interactive world history map that lets you explore geopolitical boundaries across key periods of history — as if you were on Google Maps, but in the past.
Each time period shows the political landscape of the world at a glance: countries, kingdoms, empires, and other societies, with contextual information about each. Click on any territory to learn more and follow links to external sources for deeper exploration.
Filters allow you to overlay additional historical data, such as notable inventions and discoveries. More filter categories are currently in development and will be released over time.
Q: Where does the data come from?
All content is sourced from open datasets:
Disclaimer: all information presented is provided on a best-effort basis and may not be complete or fully accurate.
Q: Why are only specific years available?
The available time periods correspond to the years present in the original GIS shapefile dataset for historical state boundaries. Arbitrary year selection is not currently supported.
Found a bug or have a suggestion? Reach out at worldbackthen@gmail.com.
World Back Then was created by Gianluca Amori.