Chad Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Chad appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 11 different states, among them Chad, French Equatorial Africa, Kanem-Bornu, Kanem, French West Africa.
ChadExplore the history of Chad in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Chad as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Chad, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| AD 700 | Saharan Nomadic Tribes 75% |
| AD 800 | Kanem 31% |
| AD 900 | Kanem 22% |
| 1000 | Kanem 25% |
| 1100 | Kanem 25% |
| 1200 | Tuareg Nomadic Tribes 66% · Kanem 16% |
| 1300 | Kanem-Bornu 9% |
| 1400 | Kanem-Bornu 9% |
| 1492 | Kanem-Bornu 9% |
| 1500 | Kanem-Bornu 9% |
| 1600 | Kanem-Bornu 16% · Wadai 13% · Bagirmi 9% |
| 1650 | Kanem-Bornu 13% · Wadai 13% · Bagirmi 9% |
| 1700 | Kanem-Bornu 19% · Wadai 13% |
| 1783 | Kanem-Bornu 19% · Bagirmi 13% · Wadai 13% |
| 1800 | Kanem-Bornu 19% · Bagirmi 13% · Wadai 13% |
| 1815 | Kanem-Bornu 6% |
| 1880 | Kanem-Bornu 25% · Wadai Empire 16% |
| 1900 | Kanem-Bornu 25% |
| 1914 | French West Africa 97% · Kamerun 3% |
| 1920 | French Equatorial Africa 100% |
| 1930 | French Equatorial Africa 100% |
| 1938 | French Equatorial Africa 100% |
| 1945 | Chad 100% |
| 1960 | Chad 100% |
| 1994 | Chad 100% |
| 2010 | Chad 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Chad?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Chad belonged to Chad, French Equatorial Africa, Kanem-Bornu, Kanem, French West Africa, Saharan Nomadic Tribes, along with 5 other states.
What was Chad part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Chad lay within Kanem.
What was Chad part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Chad lay within Kanem-Bornu.
What was Chad part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Chad lay within Kanem-Bornu.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.