Map of Asia in 500 BC (500 BCE)

The Achaemenid Empire was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. 5 million square kilometres, making it the largest empire of its time.

Mapped extent in 500 BCE: 5.55M km²

The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou, characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject to the Zhou exercised increasing political autonomy. The period's name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 481 BCE, which tradition associates with Confucius.

Mapped extent in 500 BCE: 898,103 km²

The Scythians or Scyths, also known as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranic equestrian nomadic people who migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC from Central Asia to the Pontic Steppe in modern-day Ukraine and Southern Russia, where they remained until the 3rd century BC.

Mapped extent in 500 BCE: 644,921 km²

Chu was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC.

Mapped extent in 500 BCE: 353,244 km²

Wu was a state during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period, outside the Zhou cultural sphere. It was also known as Gouwu (句吳) or Gongwu (工/攻吳) from the pronunciation of the local language.

Mapped extent in 500 BCE: 193,280 km²

Jin, originally known as Tang (唐), was a major state during the middle part of the Zhou dynasty, based near the centre of what was then China, on the lands attributed to the legendary Xia dynasty: the southern part of modern Shanxi. Although it grew in power during the Spring and Autumn period, its aristocratic structure saw it break apart when the duke lost power to his nobles.

Mapped extent in 500 BCE: 152,647 km²