A Map of Every War Ever Fought

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Conflicts from 1900 to 2000. Photo: TecToys

In the year 1400 B.C. in the Book of Joshua, a book of the Old Testament, the Israelites attacked and took the region of Canaan. Archaeologists question the specifics of this  biblical tale but evidence of conflict at the time is thought to exist.

Whether the battle played out precisely as told in the Bible or not, the Battle of Jericho ranks as one of the oldest dated skirmishes in human history. On the interactive Conflict History map, the Battle of Jericho serves as the starting point.

A screen capture from the TecToys project Conflict History. Photo: TecToys

It is the first entry in a a massive project that sees the dates, locations, and brief descriptions for thousands of human conflicts overlaid on a scrollable, zoom-able map. Built by web and app developer TecToys, Conflict History pulls together the information archived in the Freebase database, a open-access database that aims to compile information from the open web, and overlays it on Google maps. A timeline along the bottom lets you scroll through history.

The map scrolls up to March 21, 2012, capping off with a battle in Mali.