Zambia Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Zambia appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 6 different states, among them Zambia, Lozi, Northern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, Barotse.
ZambiaExplore the history of Zambia in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Zambia as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Zambia, 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 |
|---|---|
| 1783 | Lozi 13% |
| 1800 | Lozi 13% |
| 1815 | Lozi 71% |
| 1880 | Lozi 58% · Barotse 23% · Yeke 2% |
| 1900 | Lozi 58% · Barotse 23% · Yeke 2% |
| 1914 | Rhodesia 100% |
| 1920 | Zambia 100% |
| 1930 | Zambia 100% |
| 1938 | Northern Rhodesia 100% |
| 1945 | Northern Rhodesia 100% |
| 1960 | Zambia 100% |
| 1994 | Zambia 100% |
| 2010 | Zambia 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Zambia?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Zambia belonged to Zambia, Lozi, Northern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, Barotse, Yeke.
What was Zambia part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Zambia lay within Lozi.
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.