The Cultural Tutor Profile picture
Jul 6, 2022 14 tweets 4 min read Read on X
If you study these 13 maps for just a couple of minutes each, you'll understand history much better.

Starting with... the migrations of prehistoric humanity. Image
Ancient Mesopotamia

The cradle of human civilisation. Writing, the wheel, and cities are just a few of the inventions we owe to the people of Sumer, Assyria, and Akkad. Image
The Bronze Age Collapse

A pivotal and mysterious moment in history, when much of the known world order imploded. Image
Ancient Greece

It wasn't a country - it was a collection of culturally aligned (but highly differing!) city-states with varying political structures. Image
The Conquests of Alexander the Great

From Macedonia to the Indus River Valley, history's greatest conqueror left a blazing trail across the known world. Image
Where were the books of the Bible written?

In many different places, centuries apart. This gives you some idea of the true scale of the Bible. Image
The Provinces of the Roman Empire

If you know the ancient names by which modern places were known, it will make reading Roman history much more enjoyable and understandable. Image
Ancient Rome itself. Image
Ancient India

A sorely unappreciated historical era. Image
The Crusades

You've heard about them, but now you can see where they came from, where they went, and how they got there. Image
The expansion of the Ottoman Empire

The growth of one of the first truly pluralistic empires, spanning three continents and lasting for over six centuries. Image
Pre-Colonial Africa

A vitally important map which isn't studied enough. Image
Europe on the eve of the First World War

Before the Old World tore itself to pieces. Nothing would ever be the same again. Image
These maps are far from a definitive list.

Rather, they're aimed at providing some general context of time and place.

Once you've got a basic framework of date and location in mind, history starts to make much more sense.

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More from @culturaltutor

Jan 18
Urban design isn't magic — there are specific reasons why we like some places more than others.

So here are 10 ways to make a street more (or less) interesting... Image
1. Street Parking

Parked cars, however nice they look themselves, almost always make a street look less appealing and feel less inviting.

There are two broad reasons for this. Image
The first is aesthetic — no car, however good it looks, was designed to be in the place it happens to be parked, with those particular buildings.

So, rather than contributing to a street's appearance, a parked car is always aesthetically incohesive with its surroundings. Image
Read 25 tweets
Jan 14
In 1995 there were 820 skyscrapers in the world.

There are now more than 7,000 — and they're being built at a faster rate than ever... but why?

Well, here's a brief history (& future) of skyscrapers... Image
The history of skyscrapers can be divided into five broad eras.

First are ancient and medieval buildings which were tall, though not what we think of when we hear the word "skyscraper".

Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a belltower, completed in 1372 after two centuries' work: Image
It was the 19th century that ushered in a new architecture and introduced a new kind of building — the skyscraper.

Thanks to inventions like reinforced concrete and steel frames it became possible to construct buildings of immense size both more easily and more quickly. Image
Read 25 tweets
Jan 6
164 years ago today a Belgian designer called Victor Horta was born.

You probably haven't heard of him, but he was one of the most important architects in history.

Why? Because Horta created Art Nouveau... Image
Imagine yourself in the late 19th century.

All architecture is directly based on the past: everything is Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, Neo-Byzantine, Neo-Romanesque, Neo-Renaissance, and so on.

There is no original style unique to the age; everything is backwards looking. Image
There's nothing wrong with that in principle, but across Europe a new generation was growing dissatisfied.

They believed architecture had become conventionalised — it simply copied the past for the sake of it, rather than being genuinely inspired.

Change was coming...
Read 25 tweets
Jan 1
The year is now 2025 — but only according to one of the world's many different calendars.

So here's what the year is, right now, according to some of the others... Image
Gregorian Calendar: 2025

The world's most commonly used dating system. Introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a slight modification of the old Julian Calendar.

It dates history from the birth of Jesus Christ and has no "year zero" — 1 BC is followed by 1 AD.
Julian Calendar: 2024

The calendar created by Julius Caesar in 45 BC, adapted from the old Roman system and used for over 1,500 years.

It loses one day against the Gregorian Calendar every century or so, and is currently 13 days behind — hence it is still in 2024.
Read 22 tweets
Dec 29, 2024
One building from each year of the 21st century:

1. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman (2001) Image
2. Kingdom Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2002)

Once the tallest building in Saudi Arabia (since surpassed), the Kingdom Centre is probably most interesting for containing the world's most elevated mosque — and, of course, its incredibly distinctive sky bridge. Image
3. Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, USA (2003)

Among the most iconic buildings by one of the 20th & 21st century's most iconic architects, Frank Gehry, complete with his trademark flowing surfaces.

Some love Gehry and others can't stand him — but nobody has ever called him boring. Image
Read 24 tweets
Dec 26, 2024
It might feel like Christmas is now over — but it's only just started.

Because Christmas really begins on the 25th December and ends on the 5th January.

That's why there are Twelve Days of Christmas... Image
The way Christmas is now celebrated makes the 25th December feel like its end and culmination.

But originally — and as remains the case religiously — the 25th December was the beginning of Christmas, not its end, as declared by the Council of Tours in 567 AD.
The period leading up to Christmas is known as "Advent", defined by the Council of Tours as a season of preparation.

Hence Advent Calendars, which first appeared in the 19th century.

They count down the days until the whole Christmas season begins, not simply to Christmas Day. Image
Read 14 tweets

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