How The European Map Has Changed Over 2,400 Years

How the European Map Has Changed Over 2,400 Years


View: https://youtu.be/UY9P0QSxlnI



How the European Map

Has Changed Over 2,400 Years

The history of Europe is breathtakingly complex.

While there are rare exceptions like Andorra and Portugal,
which have had remarkably static borders for hundreds of years,
jurisdiction over portions of the continent’s landmass
has changed hands innumerable times.

Today’s video comes to us from YouTube channel Cottereau,
and it shows the evolution of European map borders starting
from 400 BC. Empires rise and fall, invasions sweep
across the continent, and modern countries slowly begin to take shape
(with the added bonus of an extremely dramatic instrumental).

Below are nine highlights and catalysts
that shifted the dividing lines of the European map:
146 BC – A Year of Conquest

146 BC was a year of conquest and expansion
for the Roman Republic.

The fall of Carthage left the Romans in control of territory
in North Africa, and the ransack and destruction
of the Greek city-state of Corinth also kickstarted
an era of Roman influence in that region.

These decisive victories paved the way for
the Roman Empire’s eventual domination of the Mediterranean.
117 AD – Peak Roman Empire

The peak of the Roman Empire is one of the more dramatic moments
shown on this animated European map.

At its height, under Trajan, the Roman Empire
was a colossal 1.7 million square miles
(quite a feat in an era without motorized vehicles
and modern communication tools).

This enormous empire remained mostly intact until 395,
when it was irreparably split into Eastern and Western regions.

370 AD – The Arrival of the Huns

Spurred on by severe drought conditions in Central Asia,
the Huns reached Europe and found a Roman Empire
weakened by currency debasement, economic instability,
overspending, and increasing incursions from rivals along its borders.

The Huns waged their first attack on the Eastern Roman Empire in 395,
but it was not until half a century later
– under the leadership of Attila the Hun
– that hordes pushed deeper into Europe,
sacking and razing cities along the way.

The Romans would later get their revenge
when they attacked the quarreling Goths and Huns,
bouncing the latter out of Central Europe.
1241 – The Mongol Invasion of Europe

In the mid-13th century, the “Golden Horde” led by grandsons
of Genghis Khan, roared into Russia and Eastern Europe
sacking cities along the way.

Facing invasion from formidable Mongol forces,
central European princes temporarily placed their regional conflicts
aside to defend their territory.

Though the Mongols were slowly pushed eastward,
they loomed large on the fringes of Europe
until almost the 16th century.
1362 – Lithuania

Today, Lithuania is one of Europe’s smallest countries,
but at its peak in the middle ages, it was one of the largest states
on the continent.

A pivotal moment for Lithuania came after a decisive win
at the Battle of Blue Waters.

This victory stifled the expansion of the Golden Horde,
and brought present-day Ukraine into its sphere of influence.
1648 – Kleinstaaterei

The end of the Holy Roman Empire highlights
the extreme territorial fragmentation in Germany
and neighboring regions, in an era referred to as Kleinstaaterei.

Even as coherent nation states formed around it, the Holy Roman Empire
and its remnants wouldn’t coalesce until Germany
rose from the wreckage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

Unification helped position Germany as a major power,
and by 1900 the country had the largest economy in Europe.
1919 – The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire – a fixture in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years
– was in its waning years by the beginning of the 20th century.

The empire had ceded territory in two costly wars
with Italy and Balkan states, and by the time the dust cleared
on WWI, the borders of the newly minted nation of Turkey
began at the furthest edge of continental Europe.
1942 – Expanding and Contracting Germany

At the furthest extent of Axis territory in World War II, Germany
and Italy controlled a vast portion of continental Europe.

After the war, however, Germany again became fragmented
into occupation zones – this time, overseen by the United States,
France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union.

Germany would not be made whole again until 1990,
when a weakening Soviet Union loosened its grip on East Germany.
1991 – Soviet Dissolution

In the decades following WWII, the political boundaries
of the European map remained relatively stable

– that is, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Almost overnight, the country’s entire western border splintered
into independent nations.

When the dust settled, there were 15 breakaway republics,
six of which were in Europe.

Bonus: If you liked the video above, be sure to watch
this year-by-year account of who ruled territories across Europe.


https://www.visualcapitalist.com/24...k7X2RYPk1EXVQKiteWhHzppqcGztWe3nzdLNAea_AjSL4
Animation: How the European Map Has Changed Over 2,400 Years (visualcapitalist.com)

 

View: https://youtu.be/UY9P0QSxlnI