Map of Europe in 500 AD (500 CE)
In 500 CE the atlas maps 18 states and empires with territory in Europe. The largest by mapped territory was Eastern Roman Empire, at about 2.00M km², followed by Visigothic Kingdom. The map below is set to 500 CE; the table lists every state shown, with the modern countries its borders covered.
- States Mapped
- 18
- Largest
- 2.00M km²
- Modern Countries Covered
- 44
- Longest Established
- 63 BCE – 500 CE
Map of Europe in 500 CE
Borders are drawn for 500 CE. Drag the timeline to move to another year.
The Major Powers of 500 CE
Eastern Roman Empire
395–632 CEThe Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.
Mapped extent in 500 CE: 2.00M km²
Visigothic Kingdom
426–723 CEThe Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths was a barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th century. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of Gallia Aquitania in southwest Gaul by the Roman government and then extended by conquest over all of Hispania.
Mapped extent in 500 CE: 689,712 km²
Ostrogothic Kingdom
500–560 CEThe Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy, was a barbarian kingdom established by the Germanic Ostrogoths that controlled Italy and neighbouring areas between 493 and 553. Led by Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogoths killed Odoacer, a Germanic soldier and erstwhile leader of the foederati.
Mapped extent in 500 CE: 556,166 km²
Scandinavian minor kingdoms
500–1002 CEIn Scandinavian prehistory, sometimes specifically Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period, or Vendel Age, appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age, specifically following the Volcanic winter of 536, subsiding around 550 AD. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland.
Mapped extent in 500 CE: 378,587 km²
Merovingian Empire
462–717 CEThe Kingdom of the Franks, also known as the Frankish Kingdom or Francia, was the largest post-Roman kingdom in Western Europe. It was established by the Franks, one of the Germanic peoples.
Mapped extent in 500 CE: 306,442 km²
Salian Franks
358–509 CEThe Salian Franks, or Salians, sometimes referred to by the Latin word Salii or Sali, were a Frankish people who lived in what is now the Netherlands in the 4th century. They are only mentioned under this name in historical records relating to one period when they came into conflict with Roman forces led by Julian the Apostate around 358 AD, when he was ruling Gaul as Caesar under his cousin the emperor Constantius II.
Mapped extent in 500 CE: 277,830 km²
Descriptions are the opening of each state's Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).
States and Empires in 500 CE
18 mapped, largest territory first. Dates are the span of each state's mapped borders.
500 CE by Region
500 CE: Quick Answers
- What empires and states existed in Europe in 500 CE?
- The atlas maps 18 states in Europe in 500 CE. The largest by mapped territory were Eastern Roman Empire, Visigothic Kingdom, Ostrogothic Kingdom, Scandinavian minor kingdoms, Merovingian Empire, Salian Franks.
- What was the largest empire in Europe in 500 CE?
- Eastern Roman Empire had the largest mapped territory among states present in Europe in 500 CE, about 2.00M km², followed by Visigothic Kingdom (689,712 km²). Areas are measured from the mapped borders and are approximate.
- What did the map of Europe look like in 500 AD?
- In 500 CE the map of Europe was divided between 18 mapped states and empires. Eastern Roman Empire held the largest territory, followed by Visigothic Kingdom. Their borders covered parts of 44 present-day countries.
- How many states are shown on the map for 500 CE?
- 18. The map shows the states recorded in the atlas's dated border dataset for that year; states and peoples absent from that dataset are not shown.