58 maps · 1500 BC to 2020
Historical maps of Africa: 1500 BC to 2020
Every state and empire in Africa, year by year, from 1500 BC to 2020. Pick a year to see which states held the land, which ones were new since the year before, and the atlas chapters that tell their story. Each year opens on the interactive map, where you can move through every year between them and ask the history guide what happened.
1500 BC10 states · the New Kingdom of Egypt, Mitanni and Babylonia1000 BC10 states · the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Kingdom of Kush and Greek Dark Ages750 BC13 states · the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Kingdom of Kush and the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt500 BC7 states · the Achaemenid Empire, the Kingdom of Kush and Carthage323 BC13 states · the Macedonian Empire, the Kingdom of Kush and Carthage200 BC16 states · the Allegiance of Seleucid Empire to Roman Republic, the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kush100 BC19 states · the Parthian Empire, the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Kingdom of KushAD 116 states · the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire and the Kingdom of Kush10012 states · the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire and the Kingdom of Kush20011 states · the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire and the Kingdom of Kush3009 states · the Roman Empire, the Sasanian Empire and the Kingdom of Kush40012 states · the Eastern Roman Empire, the Allegiance of Kidarites to Sasanian Empire and the Sasanian Empire50011 states · the Allegiance of Ostrogothic Kingdom to Eastern Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire60010 states · the Eastern Roman Empire, the Sasanian Empire and the Kingdom of Axum7008 states · the Umayyad Caliphate, the Alliance between Byzantine Empire and Khazaria and Makuria80013 states · the Abbasid Caliphate, Rustamid dynasty and the Aghlabid Dynasty90022 states · the Allegiance of Ziyadid dynasty to Abbasid Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate and Tulunids100015 states · the Fatimid Caliphate, the Buyid Dynasty and Hamdanid Emirates110023 states · the Almoravid Dynasty, the Great Seljuk Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate120018 states · the Ayyubid Sultanate, the Almohad Caliphate and the Great Seljuk Empire130024 states · the Mamluk Sultanate, the Allegiance of Ilkhanate to Yuan Dynasty and the Mali Empire140035 states · the Mamluk Sultanate, the Mali Empire and the Vassalage of Kingdom of Georgia to Timurid Empire144429 states · the Mamluk Sultanate, the Mali Empire and the Vassalage of Qara Qoyunlu to Timurid Empire145329 states · the Mamluk Sultanate, the Mali Empire and the Vassalage of Qara Qoyunlu to Timurid Empire149225 states · the Mamluk Sultanate, Aq Qoyunlu and the Songhai Empire150025 states · the Mamluk Sultanate, Aq Qoyunlu and the Songhai Empire155019 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and the Songhai Empire160012 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and the Saadi Sultanate164821 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and the Ethiopian Empire170027 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and the Ethiopian Empire175032 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and the Ethiopian Empire177634 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and the Zand Dynasty178937 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Funj Sultanate and Morocco180033 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Emirate of Diriyah and the Funj Sultanate181537 states · the Ottoman Empire, the Emirate of Diriyah and the Funj Sultanate183040 states · Muhammad Ali dynasty, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire185038 states · Muhammad Ali dynasty, the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman Tripolitania187141 states · Khedivate of Egypt, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire188038 states · Khedivate of Egypt, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire190028 states · the British Empire, the British Africa and the French Africa191026 states · the French Third Republic, the French Africa and the British Empire191422 states · the French Third Republic, the French Africa and the British Empire191823 states · the British Empire, the French Third Republic and the French Africa192024 states · the British Empire, the French Third Republic and the French Africa193022 states · the French Third Republic, the French Africa and the British Empire193824 states · the French Third Republic, the French Africa and the British Empire193923 states · the French Third Republic, the French Africa and the British Empire194024 states · Vichy France, the French Africa and the British Empire194225 states · the British Empire, Vichy France and the French Africa194523 states · the French Africa, the French Fourth Republic and the British Empire195025 states · the French Africa, the French Fourth Republic and the British Empire196035 states · the French Fifth Republic, the British Empire and the British Africa197063 states · the Republic of Sudan, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo198072 states · the Republic of Sudan, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and Zaire199071 states · the Republic of Sudan, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and Zaire200073 states · the Republic of Sudan, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo201074 states · the Republic of Sudan, the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo202076 states · the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Sudan
Other regions
About these borders
The borders come from Cliopatria (v0.2.1, Seshat Global History Databank, CC BY 4.0), the dataset behind our interactive map, with our audited name and border corrections. It records each state's territory year by year from 3400 BC to 2024. Borders before modern surveys are reconstructions: the data draws a state where it held control, and frontier zones, nomadic realms and loose overlordships are approximate. Areas are measured on an equal-area projection. Read how we make our maps.