Skip to content
Maps of History Start free

Historical map · 1600

Map of the World in 1600

In 1600, the historical border data behind our interactive map draws 95 states, empires and other polities in the world. By the land they held , the largest were the Spanish Empire, the Alliance between Papal States and Spanish Empire and Tsardom of Russia.

See this map live. The interactive map opens on the World in 1600. 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 1600 ON THE MAP →Ask the history guide about 1600

States and empires in the World in 1600

StateTerritoryWhole stateIn the data
Spanish Empire Wikipedia13.6 million km²13.6 million km²1516–1931
Alliance between Papal States and Spanish Empire Wikipedia7.3 million km²7.3 million km²755–1870
Tsardom of Russia Wikipedia4.8 million km²4.8 million km²1547–1720
Ottoman Empire Wikipedia4.3 million km²4.3 million km²1305–1923
Golden Horde Wikipedia3.9 million km²3.9 million km²1294–1695
Ming Dynasty Wikipedia3.9 million km²3.9 million km²1375–1644
Mughal Empire Wikipedia2.8 million km²2.8 million km²1529–1858
Kazakh Khanate Wikipedia2.6 million km²2.6 million km²1468–1847
Safavid Dynasty Wikipedia2.2 million km²2.2 million km²1502–1737
Tibet Wikipedia1.5 million km²1.5 million km²1363–1952
Eastern Moghulistan Wikipedia1.1 million km²1.1 million km²1463–1686
Kingdom of France Wikipedia921,000 km²921,000 km²990–1848
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Wikipedia841,000 km²841,000 km²1572–1793
Iberian Union Wikipedia796,000 km²796,000 km²1582–1639
Kingdom of Sweden Wikipedia712,000 km²712,000 km²980–2024
Habsburg Monarchy Wikipedia702,000 km²702,000 km²1459–1805
Funj Sultanate Wikipedia632,000 km²632,000 km²1507–1821
Denmark Wikipedia617,000 km²617,000 km²1046–1940
Holy Roman Empire Wikipedia585,000 km²585,000 km²922–1806
Saadi Sultanate Wikipedia578,000 km²578,000 km²1556–1740
Ethiopian Empire Wikipedia526,000 km²526,000 km²1272–1935
Mongol Khanate Wikipedia498,000 km²498,000 km²1468–1635
Ayutthaya Kingdom Wikipedia452,000 km²452,000 km²1352–1768
Kingdom of England Wikipedia430,000 km²430,000 km²936–1708
Tümed Wikipedia414,000 km²414,000 km²1547–1699
First Toungoo Empire Wikipedia401,000 km²401,000 km²1502–1756
Lan Xang Wikipedia377,000 km²377,000 km²1363–1708
Bornu Empire Wikipedia341,000 km²341,000 km²1072–1894
Khanate of Bukhara Wikipedia337,000 km²337,000 km²1516–1787
Khoshut Khanate Wikipedia291,000 km²291,000 km²1582–1695
Kingdom of Cambodia Wikipedia275,000 km²275,000 km²1540–2024
Principality of Moldavia Wikipedia256,000 km²256,000 km²1363–1858
Bijapur Sultanate Wikipedia248,000 km²248,000 km²1492–1686
Joseon235,000 km²235,000 km²1395–1897
Jesuit Reducciones Wikipedia216,000 km²216,000 km²1595–1768
Sultanate of Johor Wikipedia209,000 km²209,000 km²1529–1884
Warring States Japan Wikipedia165,000 km²165,000 km²1468–1601
Tokugawa Shogunate Wikipedia164,000 km²164,000 km²1600–1869
Gorkha Kingdom Wikipedia148,000 km²148,000 km²1588–1787
Kingdom of Kongo Wikipedia132,000 km²132,000 km²1440–1669

Also on the map: Mali Empire, Khanate of Khiva, Sultanate of Brunei, Golconda Sultanate, Small Horde, Sultanate of Maguindanao, Trịnh lords, Kingdom of Scotland, Nguyễn lords, Sultanate of Banten, Kingdom of Mrauk U, Sultanate of Palembang, Dutch Republic, Haudenosaunee, Sultanate of Malacca, Don Cossacks, Sultanate of Aceh, Crimean Khanate, Portuguese Empire, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Portuguese Ceylon, Lan Na, Republic of Venice, Nayaks of Madurai, Mataram Sultanate, House of Savoy, Electorate of Brandenburg, Swiss Confederation, Sultanate of Banjar, Duchy of Prussia, Duchy of Bavaria, Itza Mayans, Bidar Sultanate, Sultanate of Cirebon, Blambangan Kingdom, Electorate of Saxony, Sultanate of Perak, Republic of Florence, Kingdom of Mysore, Duchy of Lorraine, Electorate of Trier, Republic of Genoa, Nayaks of Thanjavur, Sultanate of Kedah, Patani Kingdom, Đại Việt, Chámpa, Balinese Kingdom, Sultanate of Sulu, Sultanate of Gowa, Comtat Venaissin, Sultanate of Bone, Republic of Ragusa, 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 1550

New on the map: 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 from the map: 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.

What comes next: 1648

Appear by 1648: Qing Dynasty, Southern Ming, Swedish Empire, Oirat Confederation, Kingdom of Spain, Sultanate of Darfur, Wadai Empire, Qasimids, Commonwealth of England, Kalmyk Khanate, Astrakhan Khanate, Principality of Transylvania, Brandenburg-Prussia, Kingdom of Portugal, Yarubid dynasty, Principality of Wallachia, Irish Catholic Confederation, English Colonial Empire, New Netherland, Bhutan, New France, Kingdom of Kartli, Principality of Mingrelia, Sultanate of Sukadana, Kingdom of Imereti, Sultanate of Bima, Kutai Kingdom, Oyo Empire, Sultanate of Sambas, Principality of Abkhazia and others.

Gone by 1648: Ming Dynasty, Iberian Union, Kingdom of Sweden, Mongol Khanate, Warring States Japan, Mali Empire, Kingdom of Scotland, Don Cossacks, Lan Na, Electorate of Brandenburg, Duchy of Prussia, Bidar Sultanate, Electorate of Trier.

Questions about this map

Which countries were in the World in 1600?

The map data draws 95 states and other polities in the World in 1600. The largest by land were the Spanish Empire, the Alliance between Papal States and Spanish Empire, Tsardom of Russia, the Ottoman Empire and the Golden Horde.

What was the largest empire in the world in 1600?

Of the states on this map, the Spanish Empire held the most land in total: about 13.6 million km² in the reconstruction used here. Ancient and frontier borders are approximate, so treat areas as estimates.

Can I explore the World in 1600 interactively?

Yes. Open the interactive map at 1600, 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 1600