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Historical map · 1500

Map of Asia in 1500

In 1500, the historical border data behind our interactive map draws 88 states, empires and other polities in Asia. By the land they held inside this region, the largest were the Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty, the Mongol Khanate and the Ming Dynasty.

See this map live. The interactive map opens on Asia in 1500. Zoom in, move the year slider to watch the borders change, or ask the history guide a question and it draws the answer on the map.

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States and empires in Asia in 1500

StateIn this regionWhole stateIn the data
Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty4.6 million km²4.8 million km²1395–1897
Mongol Khanate Wikipedia4.5 million km²4.5 million km²1468–1635
Ming Dynasty Wikipedia4.3 million km²4.3 million km²1375–1644
Khanate of Sibir Wikipedia2.8 million km²2.8 million km²1429–1587
Grand Principality of Moscow Wikipedia2.1 million km²2.1 million km²1294–1546
Timurid Empire Wikipedia1.9 million km²1.9 million km²1375–1506
Kazakh Khanate Wikipedia1.9 million km²1.9 million km²1468–1847
Aq Qoyunlu Wikipedia1.7 million km²1.7 million km²1407–1511
Tibet Wikipedia1.5 million km²1.5 million km²1363–1952
Moghulistan Wikipedia1.4 million km²1.4 million km²1463–1686
Mamluk Sultanate Wikipedia1.4 million km²1.5 million km²1241–1518
Nogai Horde Wikipedia702,000 km²702,000 km²1450–1737
House of Jagiellon Wikipedia689,000 km²1.0 million km²1395–1571
Ottoman Empire Wikipedia609,000 km²929,000 km²1305–1923
Golden Horde Wikipedia548,000 km²548,000 km²1294–1695
Vassalage of Jaffna kingdom to Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia542,000 km²554,000 km²1314–1594
Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia530,000 km²530,000 km²1344–1571
Lodi Dynasty Wikipedia442,000 km²442,000 km²1453–1528
Delhi Sultanate Wikipedia442,000 km²442,000 km²1210–1528
Shaybanids Wikipedia395,000 km²395,000 km²1497–1511
Ayutthaya Kingdom Wikipedia395,000 km²395,000 km²1352–1768
Ethiopian Empire Wikipedia394,000 km²394,000 km²1272–1935
Tahirid Sultanate379,000 km²379,000 km²1459–1515
Lan Xang Wikipedia377,000 km²377,000 km²1363–1708
Sultanate of Bengal Wikipedia333,000 km²333,000 km²1344–1533
Warring States Japan Wikipedia321,000 km²321,000 km²1468–1601
Khmer Empire Wikipedia288,000 km²288,000 km²800–1539
Shan States Wikipedia275,000 km²275,000 km²1294–1563
Kalmar Union Wikipedia223,000 km²2.6 million km²1402–1525
Makuria Kingdom Wikipedia213,000 km²213,000 km²347–1518
Lê Dynasty Wikipedia191,000 km²191,000 km²1429–1571
Ava Kingdom Wikipedia174,000 km²174,000 km²1375–1528
Khanate of Kazan Wikipedia169,000 km²169,000 km²1440–1551
Astrakhan Khanate Wikipedia161,000 km²161,000 km²1468–1768
Kashmiri Sultanate Wikipedia152,000 km²152,000 km²1344–1587
Adal Sultanate Wikipedia150,000 km²150,000 km²1415–1578
Crimean Khanate Wikipedia136,000 km²136,000 km²1450–1782
Alodia Wikipedia124,000 km²124,000 km²347–1506
Sind-Samma Dynasty Wikipedia123,000 km²123,000 km²1344–1525
Bijapur Sultanate Wikipedia119,000 km²119,000 km²1492–1686

Also on the map: Kapisa, Majapahit, Kingdom of Mrauk U, Principality of Moldavia, Berar Sultanate, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Sultanate of Palembang, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Bahrani Dynasty, Livonian Conference, Bidar Sultanate, Ceylon, Sunda Kingdom, Lan Na Kingdom, Sultanate of Brunei, Shirvan, Samtskhe-Saatabago, Principality of Wallachia, Beylik of Dulkadir, Kingdom of Georgia, Ramadanid Emirate, Qasim Khanate, Kingdom of Kakheti, Pskov Republic, Prome Kingdom, Ryazan, Personal union of Kingdom of Bohemia with Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Hungary, Republic of Venice, Sultanate of Kedah, Principality of Mingrelia, Kingdom of Imereti, Republic of Genoa, Samudera Pasai Sultanate, Chámpa, Sultanate of Cirebon, Demak Sultanate, Sultanate of Malacca, Rajahnate of Cebu, Principality of Abkhazia, Tondo, Mahdids, Principality of Guria, Ryukyu Kingdom, Sultanate of Sulu, Namayan, Ashikaga Shogunate, Kathmandu.

"In the data" gives the first and last year the dataset draws the state under this identity; states often existed earlier or later in another form.

What changed since 1492

New on the map: Shaybanids, Rajahnate of Cebu.

What comes next: 1550

Appear by 1550: Safavid Dynasty, Tsardom of Russia, Tümed, Sur Empire, Funj Sultanate, Khanate of Bukhara, Mughal Empire, Kingdom of Cambodia, First Toungoo Empire, Sultanate of Johor, Kingdom of Sweden, Portuguese Empire, Khanate of Khiva, Sultanate of Maguindanao, Golconda Sultanate, Kingdom of Portugal, Đại Việt, Portuguese Ceylon, Nayaks of Madurai, Sultanate of Aceh, Sultanate of Banjar, Blambangan Kingdom, Denmark, Sultanate of Perak, Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, Nayaks of Thanjavur, Sultanate of Banten, Balinese Kingdom, Portuguese Africa, Maynila and others.

Gone by 1550: Grand Principality of Moscow, Timurid Empire, Aq Qoyunlu, Mamluk Sultanate, Lodi Dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, Shaybanids, Tahirid Sultanate, Sultanate of Bengal, Khmer Empire, Kalmar Union, Makuria Kingdom, Ava Kingdom, Alodia, Sind-Samma Dynasty, Kapisa, Majapahit, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Bahrani Dynasty, Ceylon, Shirvan, Samtskhe-Saatabago, Beylik of Dulkadir, Ramadanid Emirate, Pskov Republic, Prome Kingdom, Ryazan, Personal union of Kingdom of Bohemia with Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Hungary, Samudera Pasai Sultanate and others.

Questions about this map

Which countries were in Asia in 1500?

The map data draws 88 states and other polities in Asia in 1500. The largest by land were the Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty, the Mongol Khanate, the Ming Dynasty, the Khanate of Sibir and the Grand Principality of Moscow.

What was the largest empire in Asia in 1500?

Of the states on this map, the Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty held the most land in total: about 4.8 million km² in the reconstruction used here. Ancient and frontier borders are approximate, so treat areas as estimates.

Can I explore Asia in 1500 interactively?

Yes. Open the interactive map at 1500, zoom into any region, move through the years, and ask the history guide questions: it answers in plain words and draws places, armies and borders on the map.

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.

Asia in other years

Other regions in 1500