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Historical map · 1492

Map of the World in 1492

In 1492, the historical border data behind our interactive map draws 130 states, empires and other polities in the world. By the land they held , 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 the World in 1492. 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.

OPEN 1492 ON THE MAP →Ask the history guide about 1492
Atlas map: Water: Dikes, Aqueducts and Floods (1499)
FROM THE ATLAS · CLIMATE AND INNOVATION, CHAPTER 8: WATER: DIKES, AQUEDUCTS AND FLOODS (1499)

States and empires in the World in 1492

StateTerritoryWhole stateIn the data
Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty4.8 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
Kalmar Union Wikipedia2.6 million km²2.6 million km²1402–1525
Kazakh Khanate Wikipedia2.3 million km²2.3 million km²1468–1847
Grand Principality of Moscow Wikipedia2.1 million km²2.1 million km²1294–1546
Timurid Empire Wikipedia1.9 million km²1.9 million km²1375–1506
Aq Qoyunlu Wikipedia1.7 million km²1.7 million km²1407–1511
Tibet Wikipedia1.5 million km²1.5 million km²1363–1952
Mamluk Sultanate Wikipedia1.5 million km²1.5 million km²1241–1518
Moghulistan Wikipedia1.4 million km²1.4 million km²1463–1686
House of Jagiellon Wikipedia1.0 million km²1.0 million km²1395–1571
Ottoman Empire Wikipedia929,000 km²929,000 km²1305–1923
Kingdom of France Wikipedia867,000 km²867,000 km²990–1848
Nogai Horde Wikipedia702,000 km²702,000 km²1450–1737
Holy Roman Empire Minor States Wikipedia684,000 km²684,000 km²922–1806
Songhai Empire Wikipedia631,000 km²631,000 km²1463–1608
Vassalage of Jaffna kingdom to Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia554,000 km²554,000 km²1314–1594
Golden Horde Wikipedia548,000 km²548,000 km²1294–1695
Personal union of Crown of Aragon with Crown of Castile Wikipedia543,000 km²543,000 km²1475–1515
Inca Empire Wikipedia539,000 km²539,000 km²1440–1571
Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia530,000 km²530,000 km²1344–1571
Personal union of Kingdom of Bohemia with Kingdom of Hungary Wikipedia465,000 km²465,000 km²1492–1518
Ayutthaya Kingdom Wikipedia395,000 km²395,000 km²1352–1768
Ethiopian Empire Wikipedia394,000 km²394,000 km²1272–1935
Crown of Castile Wikipedia390,000 km²390,000 km²1236–1515
Wattasid dynasty Wikipedia384,000 km²384,000 km²1468–1555
Tahirid Sultanate379,000 km²379,000 km²1459–1515
Lan Xang Wikipedia377,000 km²377,000 km²1363–1708
Mali Empire Wikipedia347,000 km²347,000 km²1236–1611
Lodi Dynasty Wikipedia338,000 km²338,000 km²1453–1528
Delhi Sultanate Wikipedia338,000 km²338,000 km²1210–1528
Kingdom of Hungary Wikipedia337,000 km²337,000 km²1000–1546
Sultanate of Bengal Wikipedia333,000 km²333,000 km²1344–1533
Kingdom of England Wikipedia331,000 km²331,000 km²936–1708
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
Kingdom of Bohemia Wikipedia256,000 km²256,000 km²1202–1528

Also on the map: Hafsid Dynasty, Makuria Kingdom, Bornu Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, Lê Dynasty, Later Mayan City-States, Ava Kingdom, Khanate of Kazan, Astrakhan Khanate, Aztec Triple Alliance, Crown of Aragon, Kashmiri Sultanate, Adal Sultanate, Crimean Khanate, Kingdom of Kongo, Zayyanid dynasty, Alodia, Sind-Samma Dynasty, Bijapur Sultanate, Kapisa, Livonian Conference, Kingdom of Portugal, House of Habsburg, Kingdom of Scotland, Majapahit, Kingdom of Mrauk U, Principality of Moldavia, Berar Sultanate, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Sultanate of Palembang, Principality of Wallachia, Michoacán, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Haudenosaunee, Bahrani Dynasty, Kingdom of Naples, Republic of Venice, Bidar Sultanate, Ceylon, Sunda Kingdom, Lan Na Kingdom, Sultanate of Brunei, Shirvan, County of Foix, House of Bourbon, Samtskhe-Saatabago, Electorate of Brandenburg, Papal States, Teutonic Order, Duchy of Bavaria, County of Savoy, Duchy of Milan, Electorate of Saxony, Beylik of Dulkadir, Kingdom of Georgia, Republic of Genoa, Ramadanid Emirate, Qasim Khanate, Kingdom of Kakheti, Swiss Confederation, Pskov Republic, Prome Kingdom, Duchy of Lorraine, Electorate of Trier, Ryazan, County of Armagnac, County of Nevers, Sultanate of Kedah, Principality of Mingrelia, Republic of Florence, Kingdom of Imereti, Samudera Pasai Sultanate, Chámpa, Sultanate of Cirebon, Demak Sultanate, Sultanate of Malacca, Principality of Abkhazia, Tondo, Mahdids, Principality of Guria, Comtat Venaissin, Ryukyu Kingdom, Duchy of Styria, Sultanate of Sulu, Republic of Ragusa, Namayan, Ashikaga Shogunate, County of Auvergne, Kathmandu, County of Urgell.

"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 1453

New on the map: Mongol Khanate, Kazakh Khanate, Moghulistan, Songhai Empire, Personal union of Crown of Aragon with Crown of Castile, Personal union of Kingdom of Bohemia with Kingdom of Hungary, Wattasid dynasty, Tahirid Sultanate, Kingdom of Hungary, Warring States Japan, Kingdom of Bohemia, Habsburg Monarchy, Astrakhan Khanate, Bijapur Sultanate, Kapisa, Berar Sultanate, Sultanate of Palembang, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Kingdom of Naples, Bidar Sultanate, Samtskhe-Saatabago, Electorate of Saxony, Kingdom of Kakheti, Prome Kingdom, Principality of Mingrelia, Kingdom of Imereti, Sultanate of Cirebon, Demak Sultanate, Sultanate of Malacca, Principality of Abkhazia and others.

Gone from the map: Vassalage of Qara Qoyunlu to Timurid Empire, Four Oirats, Chagatai Khanate, Novgorod Republic, House of Oldenburg, Marinid Sultanate, Rasulid Dynasty, Bahmani Sultanate, Jaunpur Sultanate, Beylik of Karaman, Chimu Empire, Duchy of Burgundy, Serbian Empire, Kingdom of Bosnia, Beylik of Isfendiyar, House of Valois-Anjou, Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal, Duchy of Brittany, House of Ascania, Emirate of Granada, Empire of Trebizond, Byzantine Empire, County of Périgord, County of Maine, Kingdom of Cyprus, County of Touraine, Despotate of Epirus, Tver, Earldom of Desmond, Duchy of Saint Sava and others.

What comes next: 1500

Appear by 1500: Shaybanids, Rajahnate of Cebu.

Gone by 1500: County of Armagnac.

Read the history of 1492

Guided atlas chapters set near this date, each with its own map, causes and consequences:

Questions about this map

Which countries were in the World in 1492?

The map data draws 130 states and other polities in the World in 1492. The largest by land were the Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty, the Mongol Khanate, the Ming Dynasty, the Khanate of Sibir and the Kalmar Union.

What was the largest empire in the world in 1492?

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 the World in 1492 interactively?

Yes. Open the interactive map at 1492, 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.

World in other years

Other regions in 1492