Axial Age and Warring States 500 BC–221 BC

The age of the Hundred Schools, the Buddha and Zoroastrianism, with Persia ruling western Asia.

Map of Asia in 323 BC, during the Axial Age and Warring States — Border map for 323 BC. See the world in 323 BC.

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Border maps in this era

Timeline

Year	Event	Where
326 BC	Battle of the Hydaspes: Alexander reaches India	Battle of Hydaspes
321 BC	Chandragupta founds the Maurya Empire	Patna
261 BC	Ashoka conquers Kalinga	Battle of Kalinga War
260 BC	Battle of Changping	Battle of Changping

Battles and sites

Qin, Han and the classical empires →

Notable people of the Axial Age and Warring States

Lived	Person
c. 563 BC – 483 BC	Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha	Founder of Buddhism
551 BC – 479 BC	Confucius	Philosopher and teacher
550 BC – 486 BC	Darius I	King of Persia
c. 340 BC – 297 BC	Chandragupta Maurya	Founder of the Maurya Empire
c. 304 BC – 232 BC	Ashoka	Maurya emperor
259 BC – 210 BC	Qin Shi Huang	First Emperor of China
256 BC – 195 BC	Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han)	Founder of the Han dynasty

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.