The notion of a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

arises in the mid-16th century with the development of modern

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

. For earlier times, the term "sovereign state" is an anachronism. What corresponded to sovereign states in the medieval and ancient period were monarchs ruling

By the Grace of God By the Grace of God ( la, Dei Gratia, abbreviated D.G.) is a formulaic phrase used especially in Christian monarchies as an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch. For example in England and later the United Kingdom, the phrase was fo ...

, de facto feudal or imperial autocrats, or de facto independent nations or tribal confederations.

Sovereign states

A

Adal Adal may refer to: *A short form for Germanic names in ''aþala-'' (Old High German ''adal-''), "nobility, pedigree"; see Othalan **Adál Maldonado (1948-2020), Puerto Rican artist ** Adal Ramones (born 1969), Mexican television show host ** Adal ...

– Adal Sultanate * – Kingdom of Alodia *

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

– Principality of Andorra * Aq Qoyunlu – Aq Qoyunlu Federation * – Sultanate of Arakan * * – Kingdom of Assam *

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

– Khanate of Astrakhan *

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...

– Ayutthaya Kingdom * Aztec Empire – Aztec Empire

B

* Béarn – Viscountcy of Béarn * – Sultanate of Bengal *

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

– Benin Empire * – Kingdom of Bhadgaon *

Bosnian Kingdom The Kingdom of Bosnia ( sh, Kraljevina Bosna / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and ...

C

* Ceylon – Kotte Kingdom * – Cherokee Tribe * – Empire of the Great Ming * – Kingdom of Connaught *

Cospaia Cospaia is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') of the comune of San Giustino in the Province of Perugia, Umbria. History The village was an independent republic from 1440 to 1826, when it was divided between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal ...

– Republic of Cospaia * – Creek Tribe *

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

– Crimean Khanate

D

* – Sultanate of Deccan * – Sultanate of Delhi

E

* – Kingdom of England * – Empire of Ethiopia

F

* Ferrara – Ferrara * – Kingdom of Fez *

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

– Republic of Florence * – Kingdom of France * – Funj Tribe

G

* – Republic of Genoa * – Kingdom of Gondwana * – Golden Horde * – Sultanate of Gujarat

H

* – Haasa Tribe * Ifriqiya – Ruled by the Hafsid dynasty * – Hawsa Tribe * – Sultanate of Hedjaz *

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

– Kingdom of Hungary * – Huron Tribe

I

* – Kingdom of Imereti, with autonomous vassals: **

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...

– Principality of Guria ** – Principality of Mingrelia, with vassal: *** Abkhazia –

Principality of Abkhazia The Principality of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზეთის სამთავრო, tr) emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of t ...

** –

Principality of Svaneti The Principality of Svaneti ( ka, სვანეთის სამთავრო, tr) was a small principality ( samtavro) in the Svaneti region of the Greater Caucasus mountains that emerged following the breakup of the Kingdom of Georgia in ...

* – Inca Empire * – Iroquois, the Nations

J

* Japan – divided into small warring states * – Jolof Empire, with vassal: **

Waalo Walo ( wo, Waalo) was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirat ...

– Kingdom of Waalo

K

* – Kingdom of Kaffa * –

Kingdom of Kakheti The Second Kingdom of Kakheti ( ka, კახეთის სამეფო, tr; also spelled Kaxet'i or Kakhetia) was a late medieval/ early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centered at the province of Kakheti, with its capital first at Grem ...

* – Kalmar Union, consisting of ** – Kingdom of Denmark **

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

– Kingdom of Norway ** Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden * – Empire of Kanem Bornu * – Kingdom of KartliKing Constantine II still claimed to be the King of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, although by this time the kingdom had fragmented into

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

, Kakheti, and

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...

* – Sultanate of Kashmir * – Kingdom of Kathmandu * – Kazakh Khanate *

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

– Khanate of Kazan * – Sultanate of Khandesh * Knights of St. John – Knights of St. John *

Kongo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

– Kingdom of Kongo *

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

– Kingdom of Joseon * – Kotoko Kingdom

L

* Lithuania – Grand Duchy of Lithuania *

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

– Republic of Lucca

M

* – Majapahit Empire * – Sultanate of Malacca *

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

– Sultanate of Maldives * – Mali Empire * – Sultanate of Malwa *

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16t ...

– Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt * – Kingdom of Mandara * – Kingdom of Manipur * – Maya Empire * Modena – Duchy of Modena *

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

– Principality of Moldavia * – Mong Mao * – Sultanate of Morocco * – Kingdom of Mrauk U * – Khanate of Mughalistan * – Kingdom of Munster * – Kingdom of Mutapa *

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...

– Grand Duchy of Moscow *

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

– Kingdom of Mysore * – Kingdom of Wakaner

N

* – Kingdom of Najd *

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

– Kingdom of Naples * Navarre – Kingdom of Navarre * – Kingdom of Nepal

O

* – Sultanate of Oman * – Kingdom of Orissa * – Ottoman Empire, with vassals: **

– Crimean Khanate **

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

– Principality of Wallachia * – Oyo Empire

P

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

– States of the Church * – Kingdom of Patan * – Kingdom of Pegu *

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

– Kingdom of Poland *

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

– Kingdom of Portugal * Pskov – Pskov Feudal Republic

Q

* – Federation of Qara Koyunlu *

Qasim Qasim, Qasem or Casim may refer to: * Qasim (name), a given name of Arabic origin and the name of several people * Port Qasim, port in Karachi, Pakistan * ''Kasım'' and ''Casim'', respectively the Ottoman Turkish and Romanian names for General To ...

– Qasim Khanate

R

* Ragusa – Republic of Ragusa * – Kingdom of Rajputna *

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

– Principality of Ryazan *

Ryūkyū The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara, Amami Islands, Amami, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, and Sakis ...

– Ryūkyū Kingdom

S

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

– Bishopric of Saaremaa-Wiek *

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...

– Marquisate of Saluzzo * – Principality of Samtskhe * – Most Serene Republic of San Marino * County of Santa Fiora * – Duchy of Savoy * – Kingdom of Scotland * – Kingdom of Shan * – Tribe of Shawnee * – Khanate of Sibir *

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

– Republic of Siena * – Sultanate of Sind * – Songhai Empire *

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

– Spain, a loose union between: ** Aragon – Crown of Aragon, consisting of: *** Aragon – Kingdom of Aragon ***

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

– Principality of Catalonia *** Majorca – Kingdom of Majorca ***

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

– Kingdom of Sicily ***

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

– Kingdom of Valencia ** Castile and León – Crown of Castile, consisting of: *** Castile – Kingdom of Castile *** León – Kingdom of León * – Kingdom of Sukhothai * – Sulu Sultanate * – Swahili Tribe

T

* Tartu – Bishopric of Tartu * – Kingdom of Taungu *

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

– Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights * – Kingdom of Texcoco * – Tibet *

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani (Chagatai language, Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Tu ...

Kingdom of Tlemcen The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen ( ar, الزيانيون) was a Berber kingdom in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijil ...

– Kingdom of Tlemcen * – Kingdom of Travancore * – Kingdom of Tripoli

U

* – Earldom of Ulster

V

* – Most Serene Republic of Venice * – Vijayanagara Empire

W

* – Principality of Wallachia * – Wattasid Sultanate

Y

* – Kingdom of Yemen

Z

* – Zapotec tribe *

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...

– Principality of Zeta

Notes

{{Lists of sovereign states by year , expanded=CE 1494