Somalia Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Somalia 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 Somalia, Italian Somaliland, Islamic city-states, British Somaliland, Zanzibar.
SomaliaExplore the history of Somalia in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Somalia as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Somalia, 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 | Kushites 69% |
| 1000 | Islamic city-states 29% |
| 1100 | Islamic city-states 29% |
| 1200 | Islamic city-states 29% |
| 1300 | Islamic city-states 29% · Shoa 4% |
| 1400 | Islamic city-states 29% · Shoa 4% |
| 1492 | Islamic city-states 10% · Adal 4% |
| 1500 | Islamic city-states 10% · Adal 4% |
| 1600 | Adal 31% · Islamic city-states 10% |
| 1783 | Zanzibar 31% |
| 1800 | Zanzibar 31% |
| 1815 | Somalia 33% · Zanzibar 21% |
| 1880 | Harer (Egypt) 21% · Sultanate of Zanzibar 13% |
| 1900 | Harer (Egypt) 21% · Sultanate of Zanzibar 13% |
| 1914 | British Somaliland 48% · Italian Somaliland 31% · British East Africa 21% |
| 1920 | Italian Somaliland 69% · British Somaliland 31% |
| 1930 | Italian Somaliland 69% · British Somaliland 31% |
| 1938 | Italian Somaliland 69% · British Somaliland 31% |
| 1945 | Somalia 69% · British Somaliland 31% |
| 1960 | Somalia 100% |
| 1994 | Somalia 100% |
| 2010 | Somalia 100% |
Historic cities in Somalia
Famous people of Somalia
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1371 – 1433 | Zheng He | Admiral and explorer |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Somalia?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Somalia belonged to Somalia, Italian Somaliland, Islamic city-states, British Somaliland, Zanzibar, Kushites, along with 5 other states.
What was Somalia part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Somalia lay within Islamic city-states.
What was Somalia part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Somalia lay within Islamic city-states.
What was Somalia part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Somalia lay within Harer (Egypt).
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.