Medieval China and India – dynasties and empires
HistoryAncient & Medieval WorldAges 12–13
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Ancient & Medieval World
A self-drawn map of Asia with two draggable timeline bands, one for Chinese dynasties and one for Indian empires, running from the 4th to the mid-19th century. Drag the time marker to watch each dynasty's territory reshape on the map and its years in power update. Click a segment on a band or a region on the map to read a summary and the leading achievements of that dynasty.
Lesson: China from the 7th to the mid-19th century; India from the 4th to the mid-19th century
What it shows
Placing China and India on one time scale makes their histories easier to compare. The map shows Chinese dynasties from the Tang, founded in 618, through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, and Indian states from the Gupta Empire of 320 through a long period of fragmentation, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, founded in 1526, up to British colonisation. Territories change shape as the marker moves, and capitals such as Chang'an, Beijing, Delhi and Agra show how political centres shifted. Each dynasty is linked to its achievements, from printing and the compass to the Taj Mahal.
How to use
Leave Starting year on the timeline at 618 and press Run, pausing whenever a new dynasty appears on either band. Use the Both, China and India buttons to compare the two countries side by side or to focus on one, and switch Capital on to follow the political centre. Click a band segment or a territory to read its summary and Leading achievements, then ask students to build a parallel timeline of their own.
Parameters you can change
- Starting year on the timeline 300–1900 year
- Region shown Both China and India, China only, India only
- Show dynasty's capital
- Timeline playback speed 0.2–3 ×
Questions to explore
- What was happening in India while the Tang dynasty ruled China?
- How did the location of China's capital change from the Tang dynasty to the Ming dynasty?
- Which inventions were perfected and widely used under the Song dynasty, and why did they matter beyond China?
