Borders over time
East Asia’s borders, 2000 BCE to 2024
China’s dynasties expanding and splitting apart, the Mongol conquests, Korea and Japan, the Qing Empire and the borders of the 20th century.
every year drawn: 4,024 years
the borders change in 465 of them
Loading 4,024 years of borders…
2000BCE
Largest on the map
The big changes, year by year
222 changesEvery year in which a large state — over 100,000 km² inside this view — appears on the map or vanishes from it. Smaller shifts happen in many more years; press play above to see them all.
- 1600 BCE
New: Shang Dynasty
- 1000 BCE
New: Zhou Dynasty
Gone: Shang Dynasty
- 750 BCE
New: Jin, Chu, Qi, Wu
Gone: Zhou Dynasty
- 500 BCE
New: Yue
- 404 BCE
New: Yuezhi, Magadha - Shaishunaga dynasty
Gone: Jin, Magadha - Haryanka dynasty
- 333 BCE
New: Minyue, Nanda Empire
Gone: Yue, Magadha - Shaishunaga dynasty
- 326 BCE
New: Ptolemaic Kingdom
- 323 BCE
New: Macedonian Empire
Gone: Ptolemaic Kingdom
- 318 BCE
New: Maurya Empire, Kalinga
Gone: Nanda Empire
- 301 BCE
Gone: Macedonian Empire
- 256 BCE
New: Âu Lạc
Gone: Kalinga
- 225 BCE
New: Satavahana Dynasty
- 223 BCE
Gone: Chu
- 222 BCE
Gone: Yan
- 218 BCE
New: Qin Dynasty
Gone: Qi, Qin
- 208 BCE
New: Yan, Western Chu, Xiongnu, Zhai, Jibei
Gone: Qin Dynasty
- 206 BCE
New: Linjiang, Nanyue
Gone: Âu Lạc
- 203 BCE
Gone: Linjiang
- 202 BCE
New: Han Dynasty
Gone: Western Chu, Han
- 197 BCE
New: Korean Jin
- 170 BCE
New: Mahameghavahana Dynasty, Wusun, Shunga Empire
Gone: Satavahana Dynasty, Minyue, Maurya Empire
- 164 BCE
New: Satavahana Dynasty
Gone: Mahameghavahana Dynasty
- 144 BCE
Gone: Wusun
- 126 BCE
New: Minyue, Indo-Greeks
Gone: Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- 110 BCE
- 91 BCE
Gone: Korean Jin
- 77 BCE
Gone: Indo-Greeks
- 66 BCE
New: Wusun, Kanva Dynasty
Gone: Shunga Empire
- 27 BCE
Gone: Kanva Dynasty
- 6
New: Xin Dynasty
- 30
New: Han Dynasty
Gone: Xin Dynasty
- 43
New: Western Satraps, Trưng sisters
- 51
New: Southern Xiongnu
Gone: Trưng sisters
- 60
New: Xianbei
- 84
New: Pyu City-States
- 91
Gone: Indo-Scythians
- 106
Gone: Southern Xiongnu
- 117
New: Protectorate of the Western Regions
- 154
Gone: Xiongnu
- 197
New: Cao Cao
- 207
New: Eastern Wu
- 224
New: Shu Han, Cao Wei
Gone: Protectorate of the Western Regions, Cao Cao, Satavahana Dynasty
- 238
New: Eastern Kushans
Gone: Xianbei, Han Dynasty, Kushan Empire
- 260
New: Vakataka Kingdom
- 263
Gone: Shu Han
- 265
New: Western Jin
Gone: Cao Wei
- 283
Gone: Eastern Wu
- 287
New: Tuyuhun
- 306
New: Yaudheya Republic, Cheng Han, Former Zhao, Protectorate of the Western Regions
- 324
New: Former Liang, Gupta Empire
- 337
New: Former Yan, Later Zhao
Gone: Former Zhao
- 347
Gone: Cheng Han, Eastern Kushans
- 353
New: Kadamba Empire, Former Qin, Kamarupa Kingdom
Gone: Later Zhao
- 371
Gone: Former Yan
- 378
Gone: Former Liang, Yaudheya Republic
- 387
New: Western Qin, Northern Wei, Western Yan, Later Liang, Later Yan, Later Qin, Xionites
- 394
Gone: Western Yan, Former Qin
- 397
New: Northern Liang
- 402
New: Southern Yan, Rouran Khaganate
Gone: Xionites, Western Qin
- 410
New: Western Qin, White Huns
Gone: Western Satraps, Southern Yan
- 417
Gone: Later Qin
- 426
New: Liu Song Dynasty
Gone: Western Jin
- 439
Gone: Xia, Western Qin
- 441
Gone: Northern Liang
- 480
New: Southern Qi
Gone: Liu Song Dynasty
- 510
New: Liang Dynasty
Gone: Southern Qi
- 534
New: Eastern Wei, Western Wei
Gone: Northern Wei
- 540
New: Asuka Japan
- 555
New: Yenisei Kyrgyz, Northern Qi, Maukhari Dynasty, Göktürk Khaganate
Gone: Kadamba Empire, Gupta Empire, Eastern Wei, Vakataka Kingdom, Rouran Khaganate
- 561
New: Chen Dynasty, Northern Zhou
Gone: Liang Dynasty, White Huns, Western Wei
- 577
Gone: Northern Qi
- 587
New: Eastern Göktürks, Sui Dynasty, Western Göktürks
Gone: Göktürk Khaganate, Northern Zhou
- 592
Gone: Chen Dynasty
- 602
Gone: Protectorate of the Western Regions
- 612
New: Harsha's Empire
Gone: Maukhari Dynasty
- 623
New: Tibetan Empire, Tang Dynasty
- 628
Gone: Sui Dynasty
- 633
Gone: Eastern Göktürks
- 656
Gone: Harsha's Empire
- 661
New: Haripuñjaya
Gone: Western Göktürks
- 666
New: Turks
Gone: Tuyuhun
- 682
New: Unified Silla
- 692
New: Türgesh
- 705
New: Balhae
- 710
New: Nara Japan
Gone: Asuka Japan
- 718
Gone: Turks
- 732
New: Kannauj-Varman Dynasty, Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty
Gone: Maitraka Dynasty
- 750
New: Pala Empire, Uyghur Khaganate, Kimek-Kipchak confederation, Turks
Gone: Türgesh
- 755
New: Rashtrakuta Dynasty
- 757
Gone: Turks
- 763
Gone: Yenisei Kyrgyz
- 772
Gone: Kannauj-Varman Dynasty
- 793
New: Yenisei Kyrgyz, Qarlugs, Heian Japan
Gone: Nara Japan
- 850
New: Kara-Khanids, Tibetans
Gone: Qarlugs, Uyghur Khaganate, Tibetan Empire
- 860
New: Ganzhou Kingdom, Qocho Kingdom
Gone: Karkota Dynasty
- 888
New: Kingdom of Khotan
- 911
New: Min, Southern Han, Liao Dynasty, Former Shu, Later Liang Dynasty, Wuyue, Southern Chu, Southern Wu
Gone: Tang Dynasty, Nanzhao
- 922
New: Former Jin
- 926
New: Later Tang
Gone: Former Shu, Later Liang Dynasty, Former Jin, Balhae
- 936
New: Later Jin, Later Shu
Gone: Later Tang
- 947
New: Kingdom of Dali, Later Han
Gone: Min, Later Jin
- 960
New: Southern Tang, Later Zhou, Utpala Dynasty
Gone: Southern Wu, Later Han, Southern Chu
- 961
New: Northern Song
Gone: Later Zhou
- 970
Gone: Later Shu
- 980
New: Western Chalukya Empire, Paramara Dynasty, Chauhan Dynasty
Gone: Rashtrakuta Dynasty, Wuyue, Southern Han, Southern Tang
- 990
New: Western Xia
- 1000
Gone: Samanid Empire
- 1003
New: Lohara Dynasty
Gone: Utpala Dynasty
- 1010
Gone: Kingdom of Khotan
- 1040
Gone: Ganzhou Kingdom
- 1046
New: Eastern Kara-Khanids
Gone: Kara-Khanids
- 1056
New: Eastern Ganga Kingdom
- 1072
New: Sena Dynasty
- 1085
New: Gahadavala Dynasty
- 1126
New: Kara-Khitans, Great Jin
Gone: Liao Dynasty
- 1139
New: Southern Song
Gone: Eastern Kara-Khanids, Qocho Kingdom, Kamarupa Kingdom, Northern Song
- 1177
New: Kakatiya Dynasty
- 1188
New: Kamakura Shogunate, Yadava Dynasty
Gone: Heian Japan, Western Chalukya Empire, Ghaznavid Empire
- 1202
Gone: Gahadavala Dynasty, Chauhan Dynasty
- 1206
New: Mongol Empire
- 1210
New: Mamluk Dynasty
Gone: Ghurid Dynasty
- 1216
New: Khwarezmid Empire
- 1220
Gone: Yenisei Kyrgyz, Kara-Khitans
- 1227
Gone: Western Xia, Kimek-Kipchak confederation
- 1236
Gone: Sena Dynasty, Paramara Dynasty, Great Jin, Kashmir
- 1241
New: Sukhothai Kingdom
- 1260
Gone: Goryeo, Kingdom of Dali, Lohara Dynasty
- 1279
Gone: Southern Song
- 1294
New: Yuan Dynasty, Khalji Dynasty, Shan States, Myinsaing Kingdom, Kashmir, Chagatai Khanate, Golden Horde
Gone: Pagan Kingdom, Mamluk Dynasty, Mongol Empire
- 1314
New: Kingdom of Pinya
Gone: Myinsaing Kingdom
- 1326
New: Tughlaq Dynasty
Gone: Kakatiya Dynasty, Yadava Dynasty, Khalji Dynasty
- 1333
New: Kenmu Restoration
Gone: Kamakura Shogunate
- 1344
New: Kashmiri Sultanate, Ashikaga Shogunate
Gone: Kenmu Restoration, Kashmir
- 1352
New: Bahmani Sultanate
Gone: Eastern Ganga Kingdom
- 1363
New: Goryeo, Tibet, White Horde, Lan Xang
Gone: Golden Horde
- 1375
New: Ava Kingdom, Ming Dynasty, Northern Yuan, Timurid Empire
Gone: Yuan Dynasty
- 1385
New: Golden Horde
Gone: White Horde
- 1395
New: Joseon, Jaunpur Sultanate
Gone: Goryeo
- 1402
New: Four Oirats
Gone: Golden Horde
- 1407
Gone: Ngô Dynasty
- 1429
New: Lê Dynasty, Khanate of Sibir
- 1440
Gone: Northern Yuan
- 1453
New: Lodi Dynasty
- 1463
New: Moghulistan, East Turkestan
Gone: Chagatai Khanate
- 1468
New: Kazakh Khanate, Warring States Japan, Mongol Khanate
- 1475
Gone: East Turkestan, Four Oirats
- 1482
Gone: Jaunpur Sultanate
- 1492
New: Bijapur Sultanate, Eastern Chagatai Khanate
Gone: Bahmani Sultanate
- 1512
Gone: Eastern Chagatai Khanate
- 1519
New: Eastern Moghulistan, Western Moghulistan
Gone: Moghulistan
- 1526
New: Timurid Empire
- 1529
New: Mughal Empire, Đại Việt
Gone: Lê Dynasty, Lodi Dynasty, Ava Kingdom, Timurid Empire
- 1534
New: Hussain Shahi Dynasty
Gone: Sultanate of Bengal
- 1540
New: Sur Empire
Gone: Hussain Shahi Dynasty
- 1547
New: Tümed, Golden Horde
Gone: Mughal Empire
- 1556
New: Mughal Empire
- 1564
Gone: Shan States
- 1572
Gone: Ayutthaya Kingdom
- 1579
Gone: Lan Xang
- 1582
New: Khoshut Khanate
- 1588
New: Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang, Gorkha Kingdom
Gone: Khanate of Sibir, Kashmiri Sultanate
- 1600
New: Tokugawa Shogunate
- 1602
Gone: Warring States Japan
- 1609
New: Dzungar Khanate
- 1619
New: Oirat Confederation
Gone: Dzungar Khanate
- 1636
Gone: Mongol Khanate, Western Moghulistan
- 1645
New: Southern Ming, Qing Dynasty
Gone: Later Jin Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng
- 1659
Gone: Southern Ming
- 1677
New: Dzungar Khanate
Gone: Oirat Confederation
- 1683
Gone: Southern Ming
- 1687
Gone: Eastern Moghulistan, Golconda Sultanate
- 1696
Gone: Golden Horde, Khoshut Khanate
- 1700
Gone: Tümed
- 1709
New: Vientiane, Kingdom of Luang Phrabang
Gone: Lan Xang
- 1718
New: Nawabs of Bengal
- 1721
New: Russian Empire
Gone: Tsardom of Russia
- 1727
New: Nawab of Awadh, Hyderabad State
- 1741
New: Afsharid Iran
- 1757
Gone: Afsharid Iran, First Toungoo Empire, Dzungar Khanate
- 1762
Gone: Nawabs of Bengal
- 1769
New: Thonburi Kingdom
Gone: Ayutthaya Kingdom
- 1783
New: Rattanakosin Kingdom
Gone: Thonburi Kingdom
- 1788
Gone: Trịnh lords
- 1794
Gone: Tibet
- 1799
Gone: Hyderabad State
- 1803
New: Nguyễn dynasty
Gone: Nawab of Awadh, Tây Sơn dynasty
- 1820
New: Burma
Gone: Konbaung Dynasty
- 1828
New: Emirate of Afghanistan
Gone: Durrani Empire, Vientiane
- 1840
Gone: Emirate of Afghanistan
- 1846
New: Kashmir and Jammu
- 1848
Gone: Kazakh Khanate
- 1853
New: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
- 1856
New: Panthay Rebellion
- 1859
New: British Raj
Gone: British Empire
- 1865
Gone: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
- 1870
Gone: Tokugawa Shogunate
- 1873
Gone: Panthay Rebellion
- 1885
Gone: Burma, Kashmir and Jammu, Nguyễn dynasty
- 1895
Gone: Kingdom of Luang Phrabang
- 1898
New: Korean Empire
Gone: Joseon
- 1911
Gone: Korean Empire
- 1912
New: Republic of Uryankhay, Republic of China, Great Mongol State, Tibet
Gone: Qing Dynasty
- 1914
Gone: Republic of Uryankhay
- 1916
New: Empire of China
Gone: Republic of China
- 1917
New: Russian Republic, Kuomintang
Gone: Empire of China, Russian Empire
- 1920
New: Republics of the Soviet Union
Gone: Great Mongol State, Russian Republic
- 1922
New: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Great Mongol State, Provisional Priamurye Government
Gone: Republics of the Soviet Union
- 1924
Gone: Provisional Priamurye Government
- 1926
New: Mongolian People's Republic
Gone: Great Mongol State
- 1930
New: Republic of China, Anti-Kuomintang Coalition
Gone: Kuomintang
- 1932
New: Kingdom of Thailand, Communist Party of China
Gone: Rattanakosin Kingdom, Anti-Kuomintang Coalition
- 1945
New: East Turkestan Republic
- 1946
Gone: Empire of Japan
- 1947
New: Republic of India, Kashmir and Jammu, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Hyderabad State
- 1948
New: Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Burma
Gone: British Raj, Kashmir and Jammu, Hyderabad State
- 1950
New: People's Republic of China
Gone: Communist Party of China, East Turkestan Republic
- 1953
New: Japan
Gone: Tibet
- 1956
New: Kingdom of Laos, Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Gone: French Indochina
- 1973
New: People's Republic of Bangladesh
- 1976
New: Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Communist Laos
Gone: Kingdom of Laos, Democratic Republic of Vietnam
- 1990
New: Union of Myanmar
Gone: Burma
- 1992
New: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation
Gone: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Mongolian People's Republic
More time-lapses
Borders from Cliopatria by the Seshat Global History Databank, licensed CC BY 4.0; simplified, clipped to this view and coloured by empire here. Each shape records the years it applies to, so every year has its own map; pre-modern borders are approximate. Areas are measured on the sphere. The full atlas uses a different source and may differ in places.