Maps of the Ancient Near East

Near East Maps Index
Maps of the Chinese Empire | Indus Valley Maps
Also see Neareast Timelines Index

Maps of the lands of the Bible can be controversial. Please be aware that the sources for these maps may have biases with which some of you take issue.

Ancient Asia Minor

Information on the major city-states of ancient Asia Minor: Phrygia, Lycia, Lydia, Pontus and Bithynia, Cilicia, Mysia, and Caria.

• Ancient Jerusalem
  356K JPG city map, the from Perry-Castaneda Library, showing elevations, landmarks, modern and ancient walls.

• Ancient Near East Empires 700-300 BCE
  Shockwave interactive map. Click on map to show extent of Assyrian Empire (660 B.C.), Babylonian Empire (539 B.C.), Persian (520 B.C.), and the Macedonian Empire (323 B.C.).

• Ancient Mesopotamia
  Oriental Institute map of Akkad, Babylonia, Assyria, and Sumer located alongside the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Major cities and other rivers included in line drawing.

Bible Maps

• Ancient Near East before the Exodus
  Map shows Abraham's journey around 2000 B.C.
• Bible Maps
  Successive World Kingdoms. Maps of Persia, Babylon, Assyria, 640-500 B.C. Eventually spanning from Libya and Macedonia in the West to the end of the Persian Gulf in the East, maps show the outlines of each empire.
• The Exodus from Egypt
  Map of the Neareast around 1500 B.C.
• Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
  Map showing the division between Judah and Israel from 900-722 B.C.
• Palestine at the time of Jesus
  Map of Palestine at the time of Jesus (A.D. 33).
• 12 Tribes in Canaan
  Map of the locations of the twelve tribes during the period between Joshua and Saul, 1400-1100 B.C.
• United Kingdoms of David and Solomon.
  Map showing the kingdoms of David and Solomon about 1000 B.C.

Asie, Orient, Egypte, Arabie et Perse
A.D. 380 map showing Thrace and Macedonia on the northwest, Egypt on the south and lines marking the frontiers of the Roman Empire.

Babylonian Clay Tablet World Map
Circular map from 600 B.C. which if the interpretive redrawing is correct shows Babylon, Armenia, and the Bitter River.

Canaan Map
Map of Lebanon, marked with place names believed to be of Canaanite origin.

• The Earliest Known Map
  Monograph to accompany a slide of a clay Babylonian map from 6200 B.C. Conjectures on earlier map making. Includes bibliography.
  Also see Clay Tablet town plan map from Ga-Sur, 2500 B.C. with a redrawn map showing what may have been on the original,
  Town Plan wall drawing from Catal Hyuk, 6200 B.C., and
  Mesopotamian City Plan map, from Nippur, 1500 B.C.

• A Glimpse of Yesterday
  In addition to showing the place name variations between Aramaic, Canaanite, and Arabic, site explains the arbitrary temporal and geographic distinctions between Ancient Near East and Middle East.
• Lebanon Map
  Map of modern Lebanon showing Syria and the Mediterranean Sea.

Map of Ancient Iran
Large JPEG file showing the extent of the Persian Empire with cities.

Map of the Roman Empire Detail
Click on map for closeup. Map shows Mesopotamia, Armenia, Syria, and Media.

Maps of the Middle East The Perry-Castaneda Library's collection of ancient maps of places in the Middle east.

Petra
Located about 50 mi. south of modern Amman, Petra was established in the 6th Century B.C. by nomads and as a commercial empire extended into Syria.

Political Change in Mesopotamia 3000-1000 BCE
Interactive map using shockwave to show successive political waves from Sumerian to Kassite with Babylonian, Assyrian, and Agade along the way.

Sea People of the Late Bronze Age
Map of the Near East shows major cities all located along waterways, from Troy in the north to Nile delta cities and Memphis in the south. Also shows movements of armies and naval forces.

Sumer
Map showing areas and time periods for Sumer, Akkadian Empire, and the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

> > Introduction to Sumer

The URL for this resource page is
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_maps_asia_neareast.htm
Maps Ancient Near East This resource page is copyright © 1999-2002 N.S. Gill.