Seven Empires

Maps and Chronology

In the last one hundred and fifty years artifacts of archaeology have made the story of ancient civilization much more vivid. Recent discoveries have often confirmed biblical accounts. The picture of the ancient Middle East has gaps, but a general overview is certainly possible. The maps and "head-line news" number-line of were created after consulting various works, including biblical and historical atlases, and are listed in the Selected Bibliography. 

The focal point, the Promised Land of Israel is fixed at the center of each map.

The maps should not be considered exhaustive. Rather, they serve to illustrate the general cultural and political situation in the biblical world, and beyond.

The global view presented encompasses much more than what is generally called the Middle East. This allows easy comparison of the extent of the seven major civilizations.

Dates in ancient history are difficult to pinpoint, only approximate dates can be given for the earliest events in the number line. While critical thought in the modern era is generally skeptical of the historicity of the events in the first eleven chapters of Genesis it should be pointed out that Archaeology cannot disprove the account on the basis of artifacts discovered in the region. In fact, Archaeology reveals certain parallels. The earliest date in calendars of two widely separated cultures is quite close to the Genesis account, the Egyptian calendar is thought to begin at 4236 BCE while the earliest Mayan date is 3372 BCE. These fall within the range of the traditional Jewish date of the creation of the world, 3760 BCE, and 4004 BCE which is Archbishop Ussher's biblical calculation of Creation.

As an example of the accuracy of ancient dates, the Macmillan Bible Atlas of 1977 claimed their chronology of Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian and Persian kingdoms is accurate to within two years. Their chronology of Israel is conjectural to the end of Solomon’s reign, and within plus or minus ten years from Rehoboam to Manasseh. From Josiah to the end of the period dates are accurate to two years. Egyptian "Old Kingdom" dates are speculative. Dates in the Greek and Roman Empires are considered fairly well established and present no special problems. The earliest dates in Seven Empires are based on comparison of a number of chronologies, including those of biblical atlases and must be considered generally representative of current dating schemes.

BCE = Before the Current Era, Common Era, or Christian Era

CE = The Current Era, Common Era, or Christian Era

The Past
The Future

Hanoch Ben Keshet