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Historical map · 1550

Map of the World in 1550

In 1550, the historical border data behind our interactive map draws 120 states, empires and other polities in the world. By the land they held , the largest were the Spanish Empire, the Personal union of Spanish Empire with Habsburg Monarchy and the Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty.

See this map live. The interactive map opens on the World in 1550. 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 the World in 1550

StateTerritoryWhole stateIn the data
Spanish Empire Wikipedia9.2 million km²9.2 million km²1516–1931
Personal union of Spanish Empire with Habsburg Monarchy Wikipedia5.2 million km²5.2 million km²1519–1563
Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty4.2 million km²4.2 million km²1395–1897
Ming Dynasty Wikipedia3.7 million km²3.7 million km²1375–1644
Ottoman Empire Wikipedia3.3 million km²3.3 million km²1305–1923
Khanate of Sibir Wikipedia2.8 million km²2.8 million km²1429–1587
Golden Horde Wikipedia2.5 million km²2.5 million km²1294–1695
Safavid Dynasty Wikipedia2.4 million km²2.4 million km²1502–1737
Tsardom of Russia Wikipedia2.4 million km²2.4 million km²1547–1720
Kazakh Khanate Wikipedia2.4 million km²2.4 million km²1468–1847
Tümed Wikipedia2.1 million km²2.1 million km²1547–1699
Tibet Wikipedia1.5 million km²1.5 million km²1363–1952
Sur Empire Wikipedia1.3 million km²1.3 million km²1540–1594
Eastern Moghulistan Wikipedia1.1 million km²1.1 million km²1463–1686
Kingdom of France Wikipedia979,000 km²979,000 km²990–1848
Kingdom of Spain Wikipedia970,000 km²970,000 km²1516–2024
House of Jagiellon Wikipedia748,000 km²748,000 km²1395–1571
Kingdom of Sweden Wikipedia669,000 km²669,000 km²980–2024
Funj Sultanate Wikipedia632,000 km²632,000 km²1507–1821
Songhai Empire Wikipedia631,000 km²631,000 km²1463–1608
Denmark Wikipedia609,000 km²609,000 km²1046–1940
Holy Roman Empire Minor States Wikipedia608,000 km²608,000 km²922–1806
Portuguese Empire Wikipedia602,000 km²602,000 km²1502–1910
Ethiopian Empire Wikipedia529,000 km²529,000 km²1272–1935
Mongol Khanate Wikipedia498,000 km²498,000 km²1468–1635
Nogai Horde Wikipedia438,000 km²438,000 km²1450–1737
Khanate of Bukhara Wikipedia430,000 km²430,000 km²1516–1787
Ayutthaya Kingdom Wikipedia406,000 km²406,000 km²1352–1768
Wattasid dynasty Wikipedia385,000 km²385,000 km²1468–1555
Lan Xang Wikipedia377,000 km²377,000 km²1363–1708
Shan States Wikipedia358,000 km²358,000 km²1294–1563
Kingdom of England Wikipedia357,000 km²357,000 km²936–1708
Mali Empire Wikipedia347,000 km²347,000 km²1236–1611
Vijayanagara Empire Wikipedia340,000 km²340,000 km²1344–1571
Warring States Japan Wikipedia321,000 km²321,000 km²1468–1601
Mughal Empire Wikipedia317,000 km²317,000 km²1529–1858
Kingdom of Cambodia Wikipedia275,000 km²275,000 km²1540–2024
First Toungoo Empire Wikipedia238,000 km²238,000 km²1502–1756
Sultanate of Brunei Wikipedia232,000 km²232,000 km²1363–2024
Hafsid Dynasty Wikipedia222,000 km²222,000 km²1236–1571

Also on the map: Sultanate of Johor, Habsburg Monarchy, Bornu Empire, Kingdom of Portugal, Khanate of Kazan, Astrakhan Khanate, Bijapur Sultanate, Kashmiri Sultanate, Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, Crimean Khanate, Lê Dynasty, Kingdom of Kongo, Khanate of Khiva, Zayyanid dynasty, Livonian Conference, Sultanate of Maguindanao, Golconda Sultanate, Kingdom of Scotland, Sultanate of Harar, Principality of Moldavia, Berar Sultanate, Sultanate of Palembang, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Principality of Wallachia, Haudenosaunee, Đại Việt, Republic of Venice, Lan Na Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, Portuguese Ceylon, Nayaks of Madurai, Swiss Confederation, Demak Sultanate, Sultanate of Aceh, Sunda Kingdom, House of Bourbon, Electorate of Brandenburg, Papal States, Sultanate of Banjar, Duchy of Prussia, Duchy of Bavaria, Electorate of Saxony, Itza Mayans, Bidar Sultanate, County of Foix, Portuguese Africa, Blambangan Kingdom, Kingdom of Georgia, Qasim Khanate, Sultanate of Perak, Kingdom of Kakheti, Sultanate of Malacca, Duchy of Lorraine, Electorate of Trier, Nayaks of Thanjavur, Principality of Mingrelia, Sultanate of Kedah, Republic of Genoa, Republic of Florence, Jaffna kingdom, Kingdom of Imereti, Sultanate of Banten, Sultanate of Cirebon, Chámpa, Balinese Kingdom, Rajahnate of Cebu, Principality of Abkhazia, Inca Empire, Tondo, Principality of Guria, Sultanate of Sulu, Maynila, Sultanate of Gowa, Comtat Venaissin, Sultanate of Bone, Republic of Ragusa, Namayan, Ashikaga Shogunate, 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 1500

New on the map: 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 from the map: 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.

What comes next: 1600

Appear by 1600: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Iberian Union, Saadi Sultanate, Khoshut Khanate, Jesuit Reducciones, Tokugawa Shogunate, Gorkha Kingdom, Trịnh lords, Nguyễn lords, Dutch Republic, Don Cossacks, Mataram Sultanate, House of Savoy, Kingdom of Mysore, Patani Kingdom.

Gone by 1600: Personal union of Spanish Empire with Habsburg Monarchy, Khanate of Sibir, Sur Empire, Kingdom of Spain, House of Jagiellon, Songhai Empire, Wattasid dynasty, Shan States, Vijayanagara Empire, Hafsid Dynasty, Kingdom of Portugal, Khanate of Kazan, Astrakhan Khanate, Kashmiri Sultanate, Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, Lê Dynasty, Zayyanid dynasty, Livonian Conference, Sultanate of Harar, Berar Sultanate, Principality of Wallachia, Demak Sultanate, Sunda Kingdom, House of Bourbon, County of Foix, Portuguese Africa, Kingdom of Georgia, Qasim Khanate, Kingdom of Kakheti, Principality of Mingrelia and others.

Questions about this map

Which countries were in the World in 1550?

The map data draws 120 states and other polities in the World in 1550. The largest by land were the Spanish Empire, the Personal union of Spanish Empire with Habsburg Monarchy, the Allegiance of Joseon to Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire.

What was the largest empire in the world in 1550?

Of the states on this map, the Spanish Empire held the most land in total: about 9.2 million km² in the reconstruction used here. Ancient and frontier borders are approximate, so treat areas as estimates.

Can I explore the World in 1550 interactively?

Yes. Open the interactive map at 1550, 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 1550