The Vampire Migrations: a map of the blood road

The blood road

From Mesopotamia to the whole world

Where the blood went, and how it travelled: from Mesopotamia to every corner of the world, following trade and human migration.

Every stage of the migration

1. Stage I: Where it began

   c. 3500 BCE

   Ground zero. The first of the blood wakes in the river cities of Sumer.

2. Stage II: The river cities and the Nile

   c. 3000 BCE

   The blood spreads along the rivers, and across Sinai to Egypt on the first long trade road.

3. Stage III: The Gulf and the Indus

   c. 2500 BCE

   Sea traders carry it down the Gulf to Magan and east to the Indus cities.

4. Stage IV: The Levant, Anatolia and Crete

   c. 1800 BCE

   Desert caravans reach the coast, climb into Hittite lands, and cross by sea to Crete.

5. Stage V: Phoenicians, Greeks and the Incense Road

   c. 1000 BCE

   Ships carry it across the Mediterranean. Frankincense caravans link Yemen to the sea.

6. Stage VI: The Royal Road and the upper Nile

   c. 500 BCE

   Persian roads open the interior. Up the Nile, the blood follows gold and ivory south.

7. Stage VII: The Silk Road, Rome and the Red Sea

   c. 100 BCE

   China is linked to Rome. The blood crosses into India, Gaul and Britain, and into Africa’s highlands.

8. Stage VIII: Migrations and the fall of Rome

   c. 400 CE

   Rome splits and peoples move. In Africa, the Bantu migration carries the blood south and east.

9. Stage IX: Caliphs, caravans and the coast

   c. 700 CE

   Baghdad is the hub. Pilgrims, camel caravans and monsoon ships link three continents.

10. Stage X: Vikings and the eastern seas

    c. 1000 CE

    Norse rivers reach Russia, ships reach Greenland, and monsoon trade ties India to Java and Madagascar.

11. Stage XI: The Mongol peace

    c. 1300 CE

    One empire from sea to sea. Steppe roads, Venetian ships, plague ships, and gold from Zimbabwe.

12. Stage XII: The Atlantic and the Pacific

    c. 1500 CE

    Iberian ships open the Atlantic, the African coast, the Americas, and the Pacific crossing to Manila.

13. Stage XIII: Russia’s long road

    c. 1600 CE

    Moscow rises. Fur traders push over the Urals and across Siberia to the China tea road.

14. Stage XIV: Empires and settlement

    c. 1700 CE

    Northern empires reach the Cape, India, China, the far south and the Pacific islands.

15. Stage XV: The modern world

    Today

    Rail, air and container routes make every port a hub, and the old roads fall away.

Routes follow trade and human migration and are approximate. Rumoured and disputed places and routes are marked on the map. Back to the Vampireverse