Western Sahara Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Western Sahara appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 7 different states, among them Western Sahara, Rio De Oro, Saharan Nomadic Tribes, Almoravid dynasty, Berber Tribes.
Western SaharaExplore the history of Western Sahara in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Western Sahara as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Western Sahara, 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 100% |
| AD 800 | Idrisid Caliphate 17% |
| AD 900 | Idrisid Caliphate 10% |
| 1100 | Almoravid dynasty 100% |
| 1200 | Berber Tribes 100% |
| 1914 | Rio De Oro 90% · Spanish Sahara 10% |
| 1920 | Rio De Oro 90% · Spanish Sahara 10% |
| 1930 | Rio De Oro 90% · Spanish Sahara 10% |
| 1938 | Rio De Oro 90% · Spanish Sahara 10% |
| 1945 | Western Sahara 100% |
| 1960 | Western Sahara 100% |
| 1994 | Western Sahara 100% |
| 2010 | Western Sahara 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Western Sahara?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Western Sahara belonged to Western Sahara, Rio De Oro, Saharan Nomadic Tribes, Almoravid dynasty, Berber Tribes, Spanish Sahara, along with 1 other states.
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.