Atlas

Welcome to the Bahaipedia World Atlas, an organized collection of maps illustrating the geographic spread and historical development of the worldwide Bahá'í community. This atlas will continue to evolve and develop as more maps are found or created.

The world

The planet Earth.

“ The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. ” — Bahá’u’lláh

As the common home of humanity, the planet Earth is so far unique. It is the only planet known by science to harbour some form of intelligent life, and it is the setting of human history in its entirety. Bahá’u’lláh, in His role as the Manifestation of God for this age, has revealed teachings that constitute the foundation of an ever-advancing, world-embracing civilization. According to Bahá’u’lláh, all peoples, all nations, and all religions are one in the eyes of God. Accepting this fundamental oneness is the key to peace, security, well-being, and progress undreamed of in past generations.

Located in the orbit of a relatively small star, accompanied by a moon about one-quarter its size, and protected by an atmosphere and magnetic field that support life and shield it from high-energy radiation, Earth is the cradle of humanity and the source of its wealth and well-being.

Physical map of the world, as viewed by satellite.

The planet Earth has a surface area of 510,064,472km², 70% of which is covered by water in the form of oceans. Earth supports a variety of biomes and climates, ranging from wet rainforests through grassy plains to arid deserts, from frozen tundra and polar regions to temperate lands with fertile soils that support agriculture and flourishing towns and cities. A wide diversity of living creatures are spread throughout these varied regions, each with their own delicate ecosystems characterized by tightly woven, interdependent webs of organisms. Throughout its history, the human race has spread to all corners of the planet, with individual groups adapting to a wide variety of conditions and developing ways of life that reflect and celebrate their surroundings.

Continents

The Earth is commonly divided into continents, or landmasses. This atlas uses the following division of continents:

• 
  Africa
• 
  Americas: North & Central America
• 
  Americas: South America
• 
  Antarctica
• 
  Asia
• 
  Europe
• 
  Oceania/Australasia

Sub-continental and intercontinental regions

In certain cases, such as in the keeping of statistics, it is useful to consider regions of the world, generally smaller than the continental scale, but which regroup a number of countries that share broad cultural characteristics. Some of these are outlined below.

• 
  Central Asia and the Caucasus
• 
  Middle East and Northern Africa (Maghreb)
• 
  South Asia
• 
  East Asia
• 
  Southeast Asia
• 
  Latin America and the Caribbean
• 
  Subsaharan Africa

Countries

Blank map of the world, showing country boundaries.

The term "country" has a flexible meaning. It is variously used to refer to sovereign or dependent states (i.e. territories with their own populations and institutions), nations (i.e. large groups of people united by culture), and nation-states (i.e. nations which are also states). This Atlas generally uses the term "country" in its broadest possible sense for the sake of convenience, and may use it to refer to cover geographical entities that meet the definition of a state, a nation, or even a region that meets none of these definitions. In referring to (or not referring to) such entities, the Atlas does not seek to endorse, define or authoritatively establish their status or particular characteristics; rather, it seeks to tell the story of the geographic spread of the world-embracing Cause of God, in Whose eyes, as stated by Bahá’u’lláh, the earth is seen as one country—one common home for humanity.

The Bahá’í Faith

The World Centre

Main article: Atlas of the Bahá’í World Centre

The administrative buildings along the Arc on Mount Carmel, part of the Bahá’í World Centre.

The Bahá’í World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá’í Faith, located in the western part of the region of Galilee, in northern Israel. The World Centre consists of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh near ‘Akká (Acre), the Shrine of the Báb and its gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, and various other buildings in the area. These include the administrative buildings established on the Arc adjacent to the Shrine of the Báb, among which is the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í World Centre is also the current destination for Bahá’í pilgrimage.

Holy places

Main article: Atlas of Bahá’í holy places

The Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel.

Bahá’í holy places are sacred sites that are considered particularly significant in the Bahá'í Faith, generally due to their close connections with the Central Figures of the Faith: the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, also known as the Twin Manifestations of God for this age; and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the eldest son and chosen successor of Bahá’u’lláh. As a result of the travels of these Central Figures, many Bahá’í holy places are scattered throughout the Middle East, particularly in Iran (the birthplace and cradle of the Faith), Iraq, Palestine (now modern-day Israel), and Turkey.

Houses of Worship

Main article: Atlas of Bahá’í Houses of Worship

Location of the Bahá’í World Centre.

A Bahá’í House of Worship is the central place of worship, or temple of the Bahá’í Faith. In Arabic a House of Worship is called a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (Arabic: مشرق اﻻذكار) or "Dawning-place of the praise of God". This title applies technically to any place or group devoted to the worship of God. Houses of Worship are open to the public, and are exclusively reserved for worship, where sermons are prohibited and only scriptural readings may be read. As of 2023, thirteen Houses of Worship have been built around the world, including eight continental, one national and three local Houses of Worship.

Notes and references

General remarks The Bahai.media Atlas of the World is an organized and commented collection of geographical and historical maps. The main page is therefore the portal to maps and cartography. That page contains links to entries by country, continent and by topic as well as general notes and references. Every entry has an introduction section in English. The text of the introduction(s) is based on the content of the Bahaipedia encyclopedia. For sources of the introduction see therefore the Bahaipedia entries linked to. The same goes for the texts in the history sections. Historical maps are included in the continent, country and dependency entries. The status of various entities is disputed. See the content for the entities concerned. Notes References