Early Modern Civilizations

The Safavid Empire started life as a quiet, spiritual movement, but eventually became a powerful gunpowder empire, centered around the modern region of Iran.

The Songhai Empire was a powerful trading state in West Africa, and the largest empire that the African continent has ever seen.

When the Spanish Empire rose to prominence at the end of the 15th century, they ushered in an age of exploration and colonization.

The British Empire established their first overseas colony, on the coast of North America, in 1607.

Before the start of the early modern period, Central Asia was dominated by two of the most powerful emperors in history: Timur and Genghis Khan.

For most parts of the world, the early modern period was a time of exploration, colonization, and cultural exchange.

The Qing Dynasty was founded by the Manchu people, a foreign tribe who took control of China in 1644.

The Incas were a powerful civilization that flourished in the Andes Mountains of South America.

The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people who rose to power in the 14th century, around the same time that the Ottoman Empire was rising in Anatolia.

The early modern period is usually defined as the span of centuries between 1450 and 1800.