Atlas & Outline Maps
Every map the year needs.
Free outline maps for labeling exercises, scholarly atlases for primary-source work, and interactive tools for virtual field trips. All linked — no purchase required.
Quarter 1
Mesopotamia · Egypt · Indus · Shang
Ancient Near East outline map (PDF)
d-maps.com
Blank map of Mesopotamia & Fertile Crescent for labeling.
OpenEgypt & Nile outline map
Free World Maps
Outline of Egypt for upper/lower kingdoms exercise.
OpenIndus Valley civilization sites
Harappa.com
Site map showing Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Lothal.
OpenQuarter 2
Greece · Persia · Early Rome
Ancient Greece blank map
d-maps.com
Greek mainland & islands — for the polis labeling exercise.
OpenPersian Empire at its height
Ancient History Encyclopedia
Achaemenid extent c. 500 BCE.
OpenRoman Republic territorial growth
Vox / Wikimedia
Animated GIF — Rome's expansion 510 BCE to 14 CE.
OpenQuarter 3
Rome · Han China · Silk Road
Roman Empire AD 117 outline
d-maps.com
Blank max-extent map for the Romanization essay.
OpenThe Silk Road interactive
Asia Society
Click cities to see goods, religions, and routes.
OpenHan Dynasty extent
Wikimedia Commons
Han China territory for comparison with Rome.
OpenQuarter 4
Byzantium · Islamic Golden Age · West Africa · Medieval Europe
Islamic Caliphates 622–750
Wikimedia / Brown
Three-phase expansion map of the early caliphates.
OpenMedieval West Africa (Ghana/Mali/Songhai)
BBC Bitesize
Empires of West Africa with trade routes.
OpenOutline map of medieval Europe c. 1300
d-maps.com
Blank Europe map for the feudalism labeling exercise.
OpenTang & Song dynasty maps
China Online Museum
Side-by-side dynasty maps.
OpenEvergreen tools
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Stanford / Rumsey
150,000+ free high-resolution historical maps.
OpenWorld Outline Maps (every country, free PDF)
d-maps.com
Blank maps of every country and region in multiple projections.
OpenGoogle Earth (Voyager: history stories)
Fly along the Silk Road, climb the Pyramids, walk Rome.
OpenWorld Atlas of Ancient Maritime Routes
ORBIS (Stanford)
Plan a journey in the Roman world by season, cost, and route.
OpenSmithsonian History Explorer — Maps
Smithsonian
Curated thematic maps with lesson resources.
OpenHow to use it
- Print a fresh outline map at the start of every social-studies week — labeling is a Monday warmup.
- Build a year-long binder section: blank map first, then labeled, then a primary-source overlay.
- For the Silk Road and Roman empire research papers, use David Rumsey or ORBIS as primary sources.