THE WORLD ATLAS

Chapter · Late Antiquity

Rome Divided, Huns Advancing

The world in 400

In 400 CE the Roman Empire is permanently split. Since 395 it has been ruled by two brothers: Honorius in the West, guided by the general Stilicho, and Arcadius in the East from Constantinople.

Christianity is now the official religion. But the Huns, horse archers from the eastern steppe, have driven the Goths across the Danube, and Alaric's Visigoths are loose inside the empire; within ten years they will sack Rome itself. Persia is at peace under the tolerant Sasanian king Yazdegerd I. India is enjoying a golden age under the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II, admired by the Chinese pilgrim Faxian, who sets out for India in 399. China is divided between the Eastern Jin in the south and the Sixteen Kingdoms in the north, where the Tuoba Northern Wei are rising. In Korea, Gwanggaeto the Great is building Goguryeo into a regional power, and in the Americas Teotihuacan has recently installed its influence over the Maya city of Tikal.

Open the map in 400

The great powers

Region by region

Southern Africa

Bantu-speaking farmers, with iron tools and cattle, now live across much of central, eastern and southern Africa, reaching the eastern coast of South Africa. Khoisan peoples continue to forage and herd in the Kalahari and the Cape. Austronesian sailors from Southeast Asia may be beginning to reach Madagascar.

Northern Africa

North Africa from Morocco to Libya belongs to the Western Roman Empire, while Egypt belongs to the East. Axum, which adopted Christianity under King Ezana in the 330s, is the leading power of the Horn, and the old Kushite kingdom of Meroe has collapsed, leaving the Nubian peoples who will form Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia. In West Africa, the early kingdom of Ghana (Wagadu) is likely taking shape.

Europe

The Western Roman Empire under Honorius (r. 395–423) holds Italy, Gaul, Spain and Britain, but relies on Germanic soldiers and the general Stilicho; the Visigoths under Alaric are already threatening Italy. The Eastern Roman Empire of Arcadius holds the Balkans and Greece. The Huns, under leaders such as Uldin, dominate the plains north of the Danube, ruling over Goths, Alans and Gepids, while Franks, Alamanni and Burgundians wait along the Rhine.

Middle East & South Asia

The Eastern Roman Empire holds Anatolia, Syria and Egypt, while the Sasanian Persian Empire under Yazdegerd I (r. 399–420) holds Mesopotamia and Iran; the two have recently divided Armenia between them. In Arabia, the kingdom of Himyar dominates Yemen. Northern India is united under the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II (c. 375–415), a time of great Sanskrit literature, science and art, while the Vakatakas, his allies by marriage, rule the Deccan.

Northern & Central Asia

The Huns have moved west towards Europe, and new nomadic powers are forming in the east. The Rouran (Ruanruan) dominate Mongolia and the eastern steppe, where their leader Shelun takes the title khagan in 402. Hunnic groups such as the Kidarites are moving into Bactria, and Siberia remains home to scattered forest and tundra peoples.

East Asia

China is split. The Eastern Jin dynasty under Emperor An (r. 396–419) rules the south from Jiankang (Nanjing), while the north is divided among the Sixteen Kingdoms, where the Tuoba Northern Wei, under Emperor Daowu, is rising from its capital at Pingcheng. Goguryeo under King Gwanggaeto the Great (r. 391–413) is conquering territory in Manchuria and Korea, fighting Baekje and its Japanese allies, and Japan's Yamato rulers are building huge kofun tombs.

Southeast Asia

Funan is the leading power of mainland Southeast Asia, controlling sea trade between India and China. The Cham kingdom of Linyi rules central Vietnam, and Indian-style kingdoms are appearing in Java and Borneo, where the earliest Sanskrit inscriptions of Indonesia (at Kutai) date from around this time.

Northern North America

Dorset Paleo-Inuit hunt seals and walrus across the eastern Arctic, and coastal peoples of Alaska hunt whales. Subarctic hunting bands live in the boreal forest, and the Pacific Northwest supports rich fishing societies.

Southern North America

Teotihuacan is at the peak of its power, and in 378 a Teotihuacan warlord, Siyaj K'ak', arrived at Tikal and installed a new dynasty, spreading central Mexican influence through the Maya world. Monte Albán rules the Zapotec lands of Oaxaca. In the eastern woodlands the Hopewell tradition is fading, while farmers in the Southwest grow maize and squash.

Northern South America

The Moche are at their height on Peru's north coast, building great adobe pyramids such as the Huaca del Sol. Nazca continues on the south coast, and Tiwanaku is expanding its influence around Lake Titicaca. Farming peoples flourish along the Amazon, including the mound-building Marajoara culture at its mouth.

Southern Cone

The pampas and Patagonia are home to mobile hunting peoples, and maritime foragers live in the southern archipelagos. Farming villages in northwest Argentina and northern Chile trade with Tiwanaku through llama caravans.

Australasia & Oceania

Aboriginal Australians live in diverse societies across the continent. New Guinea is home to many farming and trading peoples, and Polynesians in Tonga and Samoa are developing seafaring skills that will later carry them to the most remote islands on Earth.

Events

  1. Goths fleeing the Huns cross the Danube
  2. Goths destroy a Roman army at Adrianople
  3. Teotihuacan's Siyaj K'ak' arrives at Tikal
  4. Christianity becomes the Roman state religion
  5. Roman Empire permanently divided into East and West
  6. Chinese monk Faxian sets out for India
  7. Vandals, Alans and Suebi cross the Rhine
  8. Alaric's Visigoths sack Rome

Moments of this period

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Sources