The empire had ceded territory in two costly wars with Italy and Balkan states, and by the time the dust cleared on WWI, the borders of the newly minted nation of Turkey began at the furthest edge of continental Europe.

The Ottoman Empire-a fixture in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years-was in its waning years by the beginning of the 20th century. Unification helped position Germany as a major power, and by 1900 the country had the largest economy in Europe. The end of the Holy Roman Empire highlights the extreme territorial fragmentation in Germany and neighboring regions, in an era referred to as Kleinstaaterei.Įven as coherent nation states formed around it, the Holy Roman Empire and its remnants wouldn’t coalesce until Germany rose from the wreckage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. This victory stifled the expansion of the Golden Horde, and brought present-day Ukraine into its sphere of influence. A pivotal moment for Lithuania came after a decisive win at the Battle of Blue Waters. Today, Lithuania is one of Europe’s smallest countries, but at its peak in the middle ages, it was one of the largest states on the continent. Though the Mongols were slowly pushed eastward, they loomed large on the fringes of Europe until almost the 16th century. Facing invasion from formidable Mongol forces, central European princes temporarily placed their regional conflicts aside to defend their territory. In the mid-13th century, the “Golden Horde” led by grandsons of Genghis Khan, roared into Russia and Eastern Europe sacking cities along the way. The Romans would later get their revenge when they attacked the quarreling Goths and Huns, bouncing the latter out of Central Europe. The Huns waged their first attack on the Eastern Roman Empire in 395, but it was not until half a century later-under the leadership of Attila the Hun-that hordes pushed deeper into Europe, sacking and razing cities along the way. Spurred on by severe drought conditions in Central Asia, the Huns reached Europe and found a Roman Empire weakened by currency debasement, economic instability, overspending, and increasing incursions from rivals along its borders. This enormous empire remained mostly intact until 395, when it was irreparably split into Eastern and Western regions. At its height, under Trajan, the Roman Empire was a colossal 1.7 million square miles (quite a feat in an era without motorized vehicles and modern communication tools). The peak of the Roman Empire is one of the more dramatic moments shown on this animated European map. These decisive victories paved the way for the Roman Empire’s eventual domination of the Mediterranean. The fall of Carthage left the Romans in control of territory in North Africa, and the ransack and destruction of the Greek city-state of Corinth also kickstarted an era of Roman influence in that region. Empires rise and fall, invasions sweep across the continent, and modern countries slowly begin to take shape (with the added bonus of an extremely dramatic instrumental).īelow are nine highlights and catalysts that shifted the dividing lines of the European map: 146 BC – A Year of Conquestġ46 BC was a year of conquest and expansion for the Roman Republic. Today’s video comes to us from YouTube channel Cottereau, and it shows the evolution of European map borders starting from 400 BC. While there are rare exceptions like Andorra and Portugal, which have had remarkably static borders for hundreds of years, jurisdiction over portions of the continent’s landmass have changed hands innumerable times.

The history of Europe is breathtakingly complex. How the European Map Has Changed Over 2,400 Years

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