Mexico Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Mexico appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 30 different states, among them Mexico, Viceroyalty of New Spain, Mogollon, Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms, Teotihuacan.
MexicoExplore the history of Mexico in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Mexico as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Mexico, 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 | Olmec 2% |
| 400 BC | Olmec 2% |
| 323 BC | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| 300 BC | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| 200 BC | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| 100 BC | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| 1 BC | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| AD 100 | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| AD 200 | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| AD 300 | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| AD 400 | Teotihuacan 6% · Monte Albán 4% · Maya chiefdoms and states 2% |
| AD 500 | Teotihuacan 6% · Veracruz civilization 6% · Monte Albán 4% |
| AD 600 | Teotihuacan 6% · Veracruz civilization 6% · Monte Albán 4% |
| AD 700 | Teotihuacan 6% · Veracruz civilization 6% · Monte Albán 4% |
| AD 800 | Mogollon 54% · Anasazi 17% · Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms 17% |
| AD 900 | Mogollon 54% · Anasazi 17% · Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms 17% |
| 1000 | Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms 25% · Toltec Empire 6% |
| 1100 | Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms 25% · Toltec Empire 6% |
| 1200 | Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms 25% · Toltec Empire 6% |
| 1300 | Mixtec Empire 10% · Zapotec Empire 6% |
| 1400 | Mixtec Empire 10% · Zapotec Empire 6% |
| 1492 | Mexihcah (Triple Alliance) 15% · Ndé Kónitsąąíí Gokíyaa (Lipan Apache) 4% · Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) 4% |
| 1500 | Apache 25% · Aztec Empire 23% · Mixtec Empire 4% |
| 1600 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 27% · Apache 17% |
| 1650 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 96% |
| 1700 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 96% |
| 1783 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 100% |
| 1800 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 100% |
| 1815 | Viceroyalty of New Spain 100% |
| 1880 | Mexico 100% |
| 1900 | Mexico 100% |
| 1914 | Mexico 100% |
| 1920 | Mexico 100% |
| 1930 | Mexico 100% |
| 1938 | Mexico 100% |
| 1945 | Mexico 100% |
| 1960 | Mexico 100% |
| 1994 | Mexico 100% |
| 2010 | Mexico 100% |
Historic cities in Mexico
Famous people of Mexico
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1466 – 1520 | Moctezuma II | Aztec emperor |
| 1485 – 1547 | Hernán Cortés | Spanish conquistador |
| c. 1648 – 1695 | Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz | Poet and scholar |
| 1806 – 1872 | Benito Juárez | President of Mexico |
Battles and historic sites
| Year | Battle or site |
|---|---|
| AD 450 | Teotihuacan |
| 1521 | Battle of Fall of Tenochtitlan |
Landmarks
Chichén ItzáRuins · AD 900
TeotihuacanRuins · AD 200
Templo MayorLost · 1487
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Mexico?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Mexico belonged to Mexico, Viceroyalty of New Spain, Mogollon, Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms, Teotihuacan, Monte Albán, along with 24 other states.
What was Mexico part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Mexico lay within Mesoamerican city-states and chiefdoms.
What was Mexico part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Mexico lay within Apache.
What was Mexico part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Mexico lay within Mexico.
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.