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Historical map · 1500

Map of the World in 1500

In 1500, the historical border data behind our interactive map draws 131 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 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.

OPEN 1500 ON THE MAP →Ask the history guide about 1500
Atlas map: Two Answers to the Environment (1500)
FROM THE ATLAS · CLIMATE AND INNOVATION, CHAPTER 12: TWO ANSWERS TO THE ENVIRONMENT (1500)

States and empires in the World in 1500

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
Grand Principality of Moscow Wikipedia2.1 million km²2.1 million km²1294–1546
Inca Empire Wikipedia2.1 million km²2.1 million km²1440–1571
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
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 Wikipedia831,000 km²831,000 km²990–1848
Nogai Horde Wikipedia702,000 km²702,000 km²1450–1737
Holy Roman Empire Wikipedia686,000 km²686,000 km²922–1806
Songhai Empire Wikipedia631,000 km²631,000 km²1463–1608
Personal union of Crown of Aragon with Crown of Castile Wikipedia568,000 km²568,000 km²1475–1515
Vassalage of Jaffna kingdom to Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia554,000 km²554,000 km²1314–1594
Golden Horde Wikipedia548,000 km²548,000 km²1294–1695
Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia530,000 km²530,000 km²1344–1571
Personal union of Kingdom of Bohemia with Kingdom of Hungary Wikipedia465,000 km²465,000 km²1492–1518
Lodi Dynasty Wikipedia442,000 km²442,000 km²1453–1528
Delhi Sultanate Wikipedia442,000 km²442,000 km²1210–1528
Crown of Castile Wikipedia412,000 km²412,000 km²1236–1515
Shaybanids Wikipedia395,000 km²395,000 km²1497–1511
Ayutthaya Kingdom Wikipedia395,000 km²395,000 km²1352–1768
Ethiopian Empire Wikipedia394,000 km²394,000 km²1272–1935
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
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

Also on the map: Kingdom of Bohemia, Habsburg Monarchy, Hafsid Dynasty, Makuria Kingdom, Bornu Empire, Lê Dynasty, Later Mayan City-States, Aztec Triple Alliance, Ava Kingdom, Khanate of Kazan, Astrakhan Khanate, 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, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Michoacán, 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, Electorate of Saxony, Duchy of Milan, 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 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, Rajahnate of Cebu, Principality of Abkhazia, Tondo, Mahdids, Principality of Guria, Ryukyu Kingdom, Comtat Venaissin, 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 1492

New on the map: Shaybanids, Rajahnate of Cebu.

Gone from the map: County of Armagnac.

What comes next: 1550

Appear by 1550: Spanish Empire, Personal union of Spanish Empire with Habsburg Monarchy, Safavid Dynasty, Tsardom of Russia, Tümed, Sur Empire, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of Sweden, Funj Sultanate, Denmark, Portuguese Empire, Khanate of Bukhara, Mughal Empire, Kingdom of Cambodia, First Toungoo Empire, Sultanate of Johor, Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, Khanate of Khiva, Sultanate of Maguindanao, Golconda Sultanate, Đại Việt, Portuguese Ceylon, Nayaks of Madurai, Sultanate of Aceh, Sultanate of Banjar, Duchy of Prussia, Itza Mayans, Portuguese Africa, Blambangan Kingdom, Sultanate of Perak and others.

Gone by 1550: Kalmar Union, Grand Principality of Moscow, Timurid Empire, Aq Qoyunlu, Mamluk Sultanate, Personal union of Crown of Aragon with Crown of Castile, Personal union of Kingdom of Bohemia with Kingdom of Hungary, Lodi Dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, Crown of Castile, Shaybanids, Tahirid Sultanate, Kingdom of Hungary, Sultanate of Bengal, Khmer Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia, Makuria Kingdom, Later Mayan City-States, Aztec Triple Alliance, Ava Kingdom, Crown of Aragon, Alodia, Sind-Samma Dynasty, Kapisa, House of Habsburg, Majapahit, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Michoacán, Bahrani Dynasty, Kingdom of Naples and others.

Read the history of 1500

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 1500?

The map data draws 131 states and other polities in the World 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 Kalmar Union.

What was the largest empire in the world 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 the World 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.

World in other years

Other regions in 1500