Timeline
Borders change twice: once on the ground, and again on paper. Each event shows both dates. When paperwork lagged behind control, the gap averages about 9 years in this list.
Showing 104 of 104 events, oldest first
c. 1550 BCE
Never formalized
The New Kingdom begins. Over the next century Egypt pushes into the Levant and deep into Nubia, reaching its greatest extent under Thutmose III.
See it on the 1500 BCE mapc. 1274 BCE
15 years from control to formal recognition · Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, the oldest surviving peace treaty
After the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1274 BCE) ended in stalemate, Ramesses II and Hattusili III signed a treaty about 15 years later that froze the border between their empires.
See it on the 1000 BCE mapc. 722 BCE
Never formalized
Samaria falls to the Neo-Assyrian Empire and the northern kingdom becomes Assyrian provinces.
See it on the 700 BCE map539 BCE
Never formalized
Persia absorbs the Neo-Babylonian Empire, including Mesopotamia and the Levant, in a single campaign.
See it on the 500 BCE map525 BCE
Never formalized
Cambyses II defeats Psamtik III at Pelusium, making the Achaemenid Empire the largest the world had yet seen.
See it on the 500 BCE map334 BCE
Never formalized
In about a decade of campaigning (334–325 BCE) Alexander takes Anatolia, Egypt, Persia and reaches the Indus. No treaty ever recognizes the empire, which splits after his death in 323 BCE.
See it on the 323 BCE map323 BCE
2 years from control to formal recognition · Partition of Triparadisus
The Partition of Babylon (323 BCE) and Triparadisus (321 BCE) assign satrapies to the generals. Decades of war follow before the Ptolemaic, Seleucid and Antigonid kingdoms settle.
See it on the 323 BCE mapc. 305 BCE
2 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty between Seleucus I and Chandragupta Maurya
After a war over the Indus valley, Seleucus trades much of today's Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Pakistan to Chandragupta in exchange for war elephants.
See it on the 300 BCE map241 BCE
Formalized the same year · Treaty of Lutatius
The First Punic War (264–241 BCE) is fought over Sicily. When it ends, Carthage hands the island to Rome, which becomes Rome's first overseas province.
See it on the 200 BCE map230 BCE
9 years from control to formal recognition · Ying Zheng proclaims himself Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor
Qin conquers the other six Warring States between 230 and 221 BCE, creating the first unified Chinese empire.
See it on the 200 BCE map146 BCE
Never formalized
The Third Punic War ends with Carthage razed and its land turned into the Roman province of Africa.
See it on the 100 BCE map58 BCE
Never formalized
Eight years of campaigns (58–50 BCE) bring all of Gaul to the Rhine under Roman control.
See it on the 1 BCE map30 BCE
Never formalized
After Actium and the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian makes Egypt his personal province, ending the Ptolemaic dynasty.
See it on the 1 BCE map43 CE
Never formalized
Claudius launches the conquest. Rome never fully holds Scotland, and Hadrian's Wall (begun c. 122) marks the northern frontier.
See it on the 100 CE map101 CE
Never formalized
Dacia (101–106) and Arabia Petraea (106) are annexed, and by 117 Rome briefly holds Mesopotamia. His successor Hadrian gives Mesopotamia up almost immediately.
See it on the 200 CE map395 CE
Formalized the same year · Succession of Theodosius I's sons
On Theodosius I's death the empire splits between Honorius (West) and Arcadius (East). It is never reunited.
See it on the 400 CE map476 CE
Never formalized
Odoacer deposes Romulus Augustulus and rules Italy as king. The Eastern Empire continues for almost another thousand years.
See it on the 500 CE map636 CE
Never formalized
After Yarmouk (636) the Caliphate takes Syria, Egypt by 642 and ends the Sasanian Empire by 651.
See it on the 700 CE map711 CE
Never formalized
Tariq ibn Ziyad crosses at Gibraltar in 711. Within about seven years most of the peninsula is under Muslim rule.
See it on the 800 CE map840 CE
3 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Verdun
Charlemagne's grandsons fight a civil war after Louis the Pious dies in 840, then split the empire three ways. West and East Francia are the seeds of France and Germany.
See it on the 900 CE map1066
Never formalized
William of Normandy wins at Hastings and is crowned on Christmas Day 1066. The north is subdued by force over the next few years.
See it on the 1100 map1099
Never formalized
The Crusader states are founded. Saladin retakes Jerusalem in 1187, and the last mainland stronghold, Acre, falls in 1291.
See it on the 1100 map1206
Never formalized
The Mongol conquests that follow create the largest contiguous land empire in history. By 1260 it splits into four khanates.
See it on the 1279 map1235
Never formalized
A war that began in 1235 ends at the naval Battle of Yamen in 1279, putting all of China under Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty.
See it on the 1279 map1453
Never formalized
Mehmed II ends the Byzantine Empire after a 53-day siege and makes the city his capital.
See it on the 1492 map1492
Agreed 1 year before control changed hands · Treaty of Granada (signed November 1491)
The surrender terms were signed weeks before the handover. Castile and Aragon took the city on 2 January 1492.
See it on the 1492 map1494
Formalized the same year · Treaty of Tordesillas
A line 370 leagues west of Cape Verde divides the world outside Europe between the two crowns. It was a claim on paper: almost none of that land was under their control yet.
See it on the 1500 map1521
Never formalized
Tenochtitlan falls on 13 August 1521 to Cortés and his Indigenous allies. New Spain is organized as a viceroyalty in 1535.
See it on the 1530 map1526
Never formalized
Victory over the Delhi Sultanate at Panipat starts an empire that eventually covers most of the subcontinent.
See it on the 1530 map1533
Never formalized
Pizarro takes Cusco in 1533. Inca resistance holds out in Vilcabamba until 1572.
See it on the 1600 map1552
Never formalized
Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556) give Muscovy the whole Volga and open the route to Siberia.
See it on the 1600 map1581
67 years from control to formal recognition · Peace of Münster (part of the Peace of Westphalia)
The northern provinces renounce Philip II in the Act of Abjuration. Spain only recognizes their independence 67 years later.
See it on the 1600 map1582
Never formalized
Yermak's Cossacks defeat the Khanate of Sibir. Russians reach the Pacific coast at Okhotsk by 1639, an advance of about 5,000 km in under 60 years.
See it on the 1600 map1644
Never formalized
The Manchu Qing enter Beijing after the Ming collapse. Ming loyalists hold Taiwan until 1683, and Qing expansion into Xinjiang is completed in 1759.
See it on the 1650 map1685
4 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Nerchinsk
After Qing sieges of the Russian fort at Albazin (1685–86), Russia withdraws from the Amur basin in exchange for trade rights.
See it on the 1700 map1686
13 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Karlowitz
Buda is retaken in 1686. Thirteen years later the Ottomans sign away most of Hungary and Transylvania, their first major permanent loss in Europe.
See it on the 1700 map1704
9 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Utrecht
Captured by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1704 and ceded to Britain in perpetuity in 1713. Spain still claims it today.
See it on the 1715 map1707
Formalized the same year · Acts of Union
Two kingdoms that had shared a monarch since 1603 merge their parliaments into the Kingdom of Great Britain.
See it on the 1715 map1757
8 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Allahabad (grant of the diwani)
Victory at Plassey makes the Company the real power in Bengal. Eight years later the Mughal emperor formally grants it the right to collect the province's revenue.
See it on the 1783 map1760
3 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Paris (1763)
Quebec falls in 1759 and Montreal surrenders in 1760. France formally cedes Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War.
See it on the 1783 map1769
Agreed 7 years before control changed hands · Treaty of Fontainebleau (confirmed 1763)
The transfer was signed in 1762, but Spain only took effective control of New Orleans in 1769. Spain secretly returned Louisiana to France in 1800, just before the Louisiana Purchase.
See it on the 1783 map1772
23 years from control to formal recognition · Third Partition treaties
Russia, Prussia and Austria split the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in three steps (1772, 1793, 1795). The first two were forced through the Polish parliament; the third erased the state. Poland only reappears in 1918.
See it on the 1783 map1776
7 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Paris (1783)
Britain recognizes independence, with a western border on the Mississippi River.
See it on the 1783 map1788
Never formalized
The First Fleet lands at Sydney Cove. Britain claimed the land without any treaty with Aboriginal nations. The 1992 Mabo decision rejected the doctrine that it had been terra nullius.
See it on the 1800 map1803
Formalized the same year · Louisiana Purchase Treaty
The US buys about 2.1 million km² from France for $15 million, doubling its size. Most of that land was still controlled by Native nations.
See it on the 1815 map1814
1 year from control to formal recognition · Final Act of the Congress of Vienna
After Napoleon's defeat, Europe's borders are reset. Prussia gains the Rhineland and Russia gains most of Poland.
See it on the 1815 map1818
3 years from control to formal recognition · Adams–Onís Treaty (signed 1819, ratified 1821)
Andrew Jackson's 1818 incursion shows Spain cannot hold Florida. The treaty also fixes the US–Spanish border all the way to the Pacific.
See it on the 1878 map1818
28 years from control to formal recognition · Oregon Treaty
Britain and the US jointly occupy Oregon Country from 1818, then split it along the 49th parallel.
See it on the 1878 map1821
9 years from control to formal recognition · London Protocol
The revolt begins in 1821. Britain, France and Russia guarantee independence in 1830, and the borders are fixed in 1832.
See it on the 1878 map1821
15 years from control to formal recognition · Santa María–Calatrava Treaty
Independence follows the Treaty of Córdoba in 1821, but Spain does not formally recognize Mexico for another 15 years.
See it on the 1878 map1822
3 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Rio de Janeiro
Pedro I declares independence and is crowned emperor. Portugal recognizes the Empire of Brazil three years later.
See it on the 1878 map1830
Never formalized
Algiers falls in 1830, and the interior is subdued over decades. Algeria is declared part of France in 1848.
See it on the 1878 map1836
12 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Republic of Texas wins at San Jacinto in 1836. Mexico never recognizes it, the US annexes it in 1845, and Mexico only accepts the Rio Grande border after losing the 1846–48 war.
See it on the 1878 map1840
Formalized the same year · Treaty of Waitangi
British and Māori chiefs sign, but the English and Māori texts differ on sovereignty. The meaning of what was agreed is still debated and is the basis of settlements today.
See it on the 1878 map1841
1 year from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Nanking
Occupied during the First Opium War and ceded in 1842. Kowloon follows in 1860, and the New Territories are leased for 99 years in 1898.
See it on the 1878 map1846
2 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
US forces occupy California and New Mexico in 1846–47. Mexico cedes about 1.36 million km². Counting Texas, Mexico lost about half its territory between 1836 and 1848.
See it on the 1878 map1854
Formalized the same year · Gadsden Purchase Treaty (signed Dec 1853)
The US buys about 77,000 km² of southern Arizona and New Mexico for a southern railroad route.
See it on the 1878 map1858
2 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Aigun (1858) and Convention of Peking (1860)
Qing China cedes the land north of the Amur and east of the Ussuri. Russia founds Vladivostok there in 1860.
See it on the 1878 map1859
2 years from control to formal recognition · Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy
The kingdom is proclaimed in March 1861. Venice joins in 1866, and Rome is taken in September 1870.
See it on the 1878 map1867
Formalized the same year · Treaty of Cession
The US buys about 1.5 million km² from Russia for $7.2 million. The flag changes at Sitka on 18 October 1867.
See it on the 1878 map1867
Formalized the same year · British North America Act
Four provinces confederate. Rupert's Land (1870), British Columbia (1871) and Newfoundland (1949) later make it the world's second-largest country.
See it on the 1878 map1870
1 year from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Frankfurt
The empire is proclaimed at Versailles in January 1871. France cedes Alsace-Lorraine in May. France takes it back in 1918.
See it on the 1878 map1877
1 year from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Berlin
After the Russo-Turkish War, the great powers recognize three Balkan states and shrink Ottoman Europe.
See it on the 1878 map1884
1 year from control to formal recognition · General Act of the Berlin Conference
No African state is invited. By 1914 roughly 90% of the continent is under European control, and only Ethiopia and Liberia remain independent.
See it on the 1900 map1893
5 years from control to formal recognition · Newlands Resolution (not a treaty)
American businessmen overthrow Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893. An annexation treaty fails in the Senate, so Congress annexes Hawaii by joint resolution in 1898. Congress formally apologized for the overthrow in 1993.
See it on the 1900 map1898
Formalized the same year · Treaty of Paris (1898)
After a four-month war, Spain gives up its last major colonies. The Philippine–American War follows (1899–1902).
See it on the 1900 map1902
30 years from control to formal recognition · Proclamation of the Kingdom
Ibn Saud retakes Riyadh in 1902 and conquers the Hejaz in 1925. The unified kingdom is proclaimed 30 years after he began.
See it on the 1914 map1905
5 years from control to formal recognition · Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty
Korea becomes a protectorate in 1905 and is annexed in 1910 under treaties signed under duress. A 1965 Japan–South Korea treaty declared them 'already null and void'.
See it on the 1914 map1917
5 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
The Bolsheviks seize power in 1917 and win the Civil War. Four Soviet republics sign the Union Treaty in December 1922.
See it on the 1920 map1918
1 year from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Versailles
Germany loses about 13% of its European territory and all of its colonies. Alsace-Lorraine, occupied by France at the armistice, is returned.
See it on the 1920 map1918
2 years from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Trianon
Neighbouring armies occupy much of the kingdom in 1918–19. The treaty confirms Hungary's loss of about two-thirds of its pre-war territory.
See it on the 1920 map1922
Agreed 1 year before control changed hands · Anglo-Irish Treaty
The War of Independence (1919–21) ends with a treaty in December 1921. Britain hands over power in 1922 and the Free State is formally established that December. Northern Ireland opts to stay in the UK.
See it on the 1930 map1922
1 year from control to formal recognition · Treaty of Lausanne
Turkish nationalists fight from 1919 and win by September 1922, overturning the punitive Treaty of Sèvres (1920). Lausanne recognizes the new republic's borders.
See it on the 1930 map1936
Never formalized
Italian forces invade in 1935 and take Addis Ababa in May 1936. Ethiopia is liberated in 1941.
See it on the 1938 map1938
Never formalized
Austria is absorbed in March 1938. It is re-established in 1945, and full sovereignty returns with the 1955 Austrian State Treaty.
See it on the 1938 map1938
Formalized the same year · Munich Agreement (Czechoslovakia not consulted)
Britain, France and Italy agree to the transfer without Czechoslovakia at the table. Germany occupies the rest of the Czech lands in March 1939.
See it on the 1938 map1940
Never formalized
The Baltic states are occupied in June 1940 and annexed in August. Many Western countries never recognized the annexation. Independence is restored in 1991.
See it on the 1945 map1945
Never formally settled
Occupied in August–September 1945. Japan still claims the four southernmost islands, and the two countries have never signed a peace treaty.
See it on the 1945 map1945
45 years from control to formal recognition · German–Polish Border Treaty
At Potsdam the Allies place Poland's western border on the Oder–Neisse line, provisionally. A reunified Germany only confirms it by treaty 45 years later.
See it on the 1945 map1947
Formalized the same year · Indian Independence Act 1947
India and Pakistan become independent in August 1947. Partition displaces an estimated 10–20 million people.
See it on the 1960 map1947
Never formally settled
The 1947–48 war leaves a UN ceasefire line (1949), renamed the Line of Control in 1972. India, Pakistan and China each administer part of the region, and none of the claims is resolved.
See it on the 1960 map1948
1 year from control to formal recognition · Armistice agreements and UN membership
The 1949 armistice lines (the 'Green Line') were ceasefire lines, not agreed borders. Most of Israel's final borders remain unsettled.
See it on the 1960 map1949
Never formally settled
Mao proclaims the PRC on 1 October 1949. The Republic of China government retreats to Taiwan, and both sides' claims remain unresolved.
See it on the 1960 map1950
1 year from control to formal recognition · Seventeen Point Agreement
PLA forces take Chamdo in October 1950, and Tibetan delegates sign the agreement under pressure in 1951. The Dalai Lama repudiated it after fleeing in 1959, but Tibet is internationally recognized as part of China.
See it on the 1960 map1960
Formalized the same year · Independence of 17 African states
Seventeen African countries, mostly former French colonies, become independent in a single year.
See it on the 1960 map1962
Formalized the same year · Évian Accords
An eight-year war (1954–62) ends 132 years of French rule. The Évian Accords are signed in March and independence comes on 5 July 1962.
See it on the 1994 map1967
Never formally settled
Sinai was returned to Egypt under the 1979 peace treaty, with withdrawal completed in 1982. The West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan remain disputed. UN Security Council Resolution 497 (1981) declared Israel's extension of its law to the Golan null and void.
See it on the 1994 map1971
3 years from control to formal recognition · Pakistan's recognition
Independence is declared in March 1971, and the war ends in December. Pakistan recognizes Bangladesh in 1974.
See it on the 1994 map1974
Never formally settled
The north declares itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. Only Türkiye recognizes it.
See it on the 1994 map1975
Never formally settled
After the Green March and the 1975 Madrid Accords, Morocco takes control of most of the territory, and the Polisario Front holds the east. The UN still lists Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory.
See it on the 1994 map1975
27 years from control to formal recognition · Independence after the 1999 UN-run referendum
The UN never recognized Indonesia's 1976 annexation. After a 1999 vote for independence, Timor-Leste becomes independent in May 2002.
See it on the 1994 map1990
Formalized the same year · Treaty on the Final Settlement (Two Plus Four)
East Germany joins the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, three weeks after the four wartime Allies give up their rights.
See it on the 1994 map1991
Formalized the same year · Belovezha Accords and Alma-Ata Protocol
The Soviet flag comes down over the Kremlin on 25 December 1991, and the USSR formally ceases to exist the next day.
See it on the 1994 map1991
1 year from control to formal recognition · European Community recognition of Slovenia and Croatia
Slovenia and Croatia declare independence in June 1991, and wars follow through 1995. Montenegro (2006) and Kosovo (2008) are the last to split off.
See it on the 1994 map1991
2 years from control to formal recognition · UN-monitored referendum
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front takes Asmara in May 1991. A 1993 referendum makes independence official.
See it on the 1994 map1993
Agreed 1 year before control changed hands · Constitutional Act on the dissolution (November 1992)
Parliament votes for the split in 1992, and two countries exist from 1 January 1993.
See it on the 1994 map1993
Never formally settled
Both regions break from Georgian control in early-1990s wars. After the August 2008 war Russia recognizes them, but almost no other country does.
See it on the 1994 map1997
Agreed 13 years before control changed hands · Sino-British Joint Declaration
Agreed 13 years before the handover on 1 July 1997. Portugal returns Macau in 1999 under a similar agreement.
See it on the 2000 map1999
Never formally settled
Kosovo is under UN administration from 1999 and declares independence in 2008. About half of UN members recognize it, but Serbia does not. The International Court of Justice found in 2010 that the declaration did not violate international law.
See it on the 2000 map2005
6 years from control to formal recognition · Independence after the January 2011 referendum
The 2005 peace agreement grants autonomy. Almost 99% vote for independence, which takes effect on 9 July 2011.
See it on the 2010 map2014
Never formally settled
Russian forces take control in February–March 2014, and Russia declares annexation on 18 March. UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 affirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity, and most countries do not recognize the annexation.
See it on today’s map2015
Agreed 41 years before control changed hands · Land Boundary Agreement
Agreed in 1974 but only carried out on 1 August 2015, 41 years later. It ends one of the world's strangest borders.
See it on today’s map2022
Never formally settled
After its full-scale invasion, Russia declares annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts on 30 September 2022, though it does not control all of them. UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/4 rejected it. Front lines shift, so this map does not draw them.
See it on today’s map2023
Agreed 32 years before control changed hands · Recognized as part of Azerbaijan since independence
Armenian forces control the region from 1994. Azerbaijan retakes much of it in 2020 and the rest in September 2023, and the breakaway republic dissolves on 1 January 2024.
See it on today’s map