Kyrgyzstan Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Kyrgyzstan appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 20 different states, among them central Asian khanates, USSR, Chagatai Khanate, Russian Empire, Kyrgyzstan.
KyrgyzstanExplore the history of Kyrgyzstan in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Kyrgyzstan, 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 |
|---|---|
| 500 BC | Achaemenid Empire 94% |
| 400 BC | Achaemenid Empire 83% |
| 200 BC | Bactria 27% · Yuezhi 25% |
| 100 BC | Kushan Empire 27% |
| AD 100 | Kushan Empire 46% |
| AD 700 | Western Gokturk Khaganate 92% |
| AD 800 | Abbasid Caliphate 29% |
| AD 900 | Samanid Empire 25% |
| 1100 | Karkhanids 98% · Cuman-Kipchak confederation 2% |
| 1200 | Kara Khitai Khaganate 100% |
| 1300 | Chagatai Khanate 100% |
| 1400 | Timurid Empire 81% · Chagatai Khanate 19% |
| 1492 | Chagatai Khanate 100% |
| 1500 | Chagatai Khanate 100% |
| 1600 | central Asian khanates 71% · Kazakh Khanate 25% · Khiva Khanate 4% |
| 1650 | central Asian khanates 71% · Kazakh Khanate 25% · Khiva Khanate 4% |
| 1700 | central Asian khanates 71% · Kazakh Khanate 25% · Khiva Khanate 4% |
| 1783 | central Asian khanates 100% |
| 1800 | central Asian khanates 100% |
| 1815 | Turan 100% |
| 1880 | Russian Empire 90% · central Asian khanates 10% |
| 1900 | Russian Empire 90% · central Asian khanates 10% |
| 1914 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1920 | USSR 100% |
| 1930 | White Russia 100% |
| 1938 | USSR 100% |
| 1945 | USSR 100% |
| 1960 | USSR 100% |
| 1994 | Kyrgyzstan 100% |
| 2010 | Kyrgyzstan 100% |
Famous people of Kyrgyzstan
Battles and historic sites
| Year | Battle or site |
|---|---|
| AD 751 | Battle of Talas |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Kyrgyzstan?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan belonged to central Asian khanates, USSR, Chagatai Khanate, Russian Empire, Kyrgyzstan, Achaemenid Empire, along with 14 other states.
What was Kyrgyzstan part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Kyrgyzstan lay within Chagatai Khanate.
What was Kyrgyzstan part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Kyrgyzstan lay within Russian Empire.
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.