When we look at a map of the world today, we often take for granted that that’s just
the way it is. A stable set of lines dividing the nations of the world. And while that is
somewhat true now, this was far from the case in the pre-modern world. In fact, the further
back in time you go, the more drastically the political map changed on a year to year
basis. But while many borders changed drastically, and frequently… some didn’t. Some borders
have been around for a very, very long time. So what are some of the world’s oldest international
borders?
This question is difficult to answer though, because things get complicated when you try
to apply a modern concept to a time when such a concept had yet to emerge. For example,
in medieval times, clearly defined lines on a map agreed upon by two countries… wasn’t
really a thing. More commonly, things were arranged in a system known as feudalism, with
hundreds of different rulers arranged in diverse and complex hierarchies.
The first border I’m going to look at, and is almost certainly the oldest border in the
world, is the microstate between France and Spain -- Andorra.
Nestled in the Pyrenees mountain range, Andorra is one of the smallest countries in Europe
at less than 500km2 in size. Andorra is believed to have been created as far back as the early
9th century, by the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne. Andorra was originally part of
the ‘Marca Hispanica’, the Frankish creation used as a buffer zone between the Franks and
the Moors, who controlled most of the Iberian peninsula at the time.
Andorra was ruled by the Count of Urgell until 988, when it was given to the Bishop of Urgell
in exchange for land elsewhere. Thinking that the Count might later try to reclaim the Andorran
Valleys, however, the Bishop sought protection. A co-sovereignty agreement was declared between
the Bishop and the Lord of Caboet.
Over the years, the latter title was passed through various political marriages, and was
eventually held by the Count of Foix. A military dispute between the co-sovereigns in the 13th
century led to the conflict being resolved in 1278, with mediation from the King of Aragon,
in what was known as the Paréage of Andorra. This established Andorra as a condominium
between the two lords, both having equal, joint sovereignty. The country still exists
with the same agreement in force, ruled by two princes. The Bishop of Urgell still being
one of them, but the Count of Foix title would be inherited by Henry IV, King of France.
This position has been held by the head of state of France ever since, meaning that today
one of the princes of Andorra is... the President of France. Who of course is democratically
elected, just not by the population of Andorra.
Now, who Andorra shared its border with has changed over the centuries - its southern
border used to be with the Kingdom of Aragón, but is now shared with Spain. Still, Andorra
is pretty unambiguously the oldest unchanged and complete border in the world... but what
if instead of looking at entire borders, we focus on sections of borders.
The Spanish-Portuguese border in its entirety is actually still one of the oldest borders
in the world, dating all the way back to 1297. So only slightly newer than that of Andorra.
That being said, Portugal’s northern border with Spain goes back a bit further.
The Spanish-Portuguese border in its entirety is one of the oldest borders in the world,
only slightly newer than that of Andorra, dating all the way back to 1297. That being
said, Portugal’s northern border with Spain goes back a bit further.
The County of Portugal gained its independence from the Kingdom of León back in 1139, after
a decisive battle against the Moors, when the Count of Portugal, Alfonso, was declared
a king. The resulting border between the Kingdoms of Portugal and León, today Spain, remains
unchanged to this day.
Over the next few decades Portugal began to take its modern shape as they continued the
Reconquista, removing the Moors from Iberia and re-establishing Christain rule. After
reaching the southern coast, taking control of the Algarve in 1249, the Portuguese part
of the Reconquista was completed, and Portugal’s shape started to look a lot like the modern-day
country.
In 1295 however, Portugal had a brief war with Castile, the now-dominant power on the
peninsula. The Treaty of Alcañices in 1297 established the border that still exists today,
as Castile ceded land to Portugal, though a minor dispute over the bordertown of Olivenza
has persisted ever since, but has never created much tension between the two countries.
Of course, there are countries whose history goes back much further, even if its borders
aren’t quite as old. San Marino, yet another microstate, is often considered the world’s
oldest republic, having been founded in AD 301. After more than a millennium, San Marino’s
borders extended beyond just the City of San Marino, reaching its peak borders in 1463;
these borders have been retained until today, with San Marino currently being an enclave
within Italy. So while its borders are nowhere near as old as the country itself, San Marino
definitely has one of the oldest borders in the world.
Now, moving on, to a country that, in its current form, is actually fairly new. The
Czech Republic has some of the oldest borders in the world, inherited from its predecessor,
Bohemia, and its neighbours. The German-Czech border, roughly speaking, goes as far back
as perhaps a thousand years, or maybe more. In fact, this border is so old… it’s arguably
older than borders themselves. What I mean by that, is that once we’ve gone this far
back in history, the very notion of international borders doesn’t really exist. At least,
not as we know them today. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t give it a go...
Before Bohemia became part of the Holy Roman Empire, and even before it became a Kingdom…
the Duchy of Bohemia’s western border looked more-or-less the same as the modern-day country’s
border with Germany. Of course at the time it was bordering various other imperial German
states.
The German-Czech divide may go back even further, though, arguably going back to the migration
period following the decline of the Roman Empire, dividing western Slavs from the various
Germanic tribes. This may be due to the dense forests of the region, today called the Bohemian
and Bavarian forests on the Czech and German sides, respectively. This divide can actually
be seen from satellite photos of Earth, which the modern border follows very closely.
In this sense, the Czech-German border has been indirectly yet continuously shaped by
the geographical realities of the region. And this isn’t an isolated case - nature
itself has had a profound impact on the countries that formed around it. These natural borders
are quite common, especially in Europe and Asia, where all the oldest borders are.
Of course, forests aren’t the only natural borders out there - there’s also rivers.
One of the most important rivers in Europe, the Danube, flows through 10 different countries,
and makes up one of the oldest borders in the world (albeit between different political
entities and not continuously).
The vast majority of the modern-day border between Romania and Bulgaria follows the Danube.
Only on their east coast does it deviate from the river’s path. This section of the river
was historically the north-eastern frontier of the Roman Empire some 2000 years ago. This
persisted even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
The river would be the northern border of Bulgaria, Byzantium, Bulgaria again, the Ottomans,
briefly... and after a few hundred years of Ottoman rule, Bulgaria again, as the Balkan
states gained their independence in 1878. The border is the same today as it was then,
even though it was changed after the Second Balkan War, when Bulgaria ceded land to Romania.
This change was reversed during World War II, under pressure from Nazi Germany.
Other common natural borders that have endured even to the modern era are mountain ranges.
Historically, the difficulty of moving across mountainous terrain resulted in barriers between
civilizations.
One example of this would be the border between France and Spain, whose border is set at the
Pyrenees mountain range, which divides the Iberian peninsula from the rest of Europe.
For the last 1,500 years, the Pyrenees have been a partition between tribes, kingdoms,
and countries. Whether it be the Visigoths from the Franks, the Moors from the Franks,
Aragon from France, or finally, Spain from France, the Pyrenees were always there.
The treaty that created the modern-day border was agreed upon in 1689 in the appropriately
named Treaty of the Pyrenees. This was the result of a conflict that arose during the
Thirty Years’ War. The Spanish Kingdom ceded to France all villages north of the Pyrenees.
Due to a technicality there does remain one Spanish town, called Llívia, north of the
mountain range.
Natural borders are a good way of understanding how geography has influenced human politics
throughout history, and even to this day. For example, getting out of Europe, China
and India are the two most populous countries in the world. They share a 4,000km border,
with many, many disputed regions. The two countries are not culturally, nor politically,
aligned, and are two of the most ancient civilizations in history. Yet despite this, they have basically
never been at war… well, expect for a one-month conflict in 1962, but that’s it.
The reason why is actually fairly straightforward -- the Himalayas. This extremely tall and
extensive mountain range separates China and India. Of course, China hasn’t always extended
as far west as the Himalayas. The People’s Republic of China annexed Tibet in 1950 after
they had been de facto independent following the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. Ever
since, Tibet has been of great strategic importance to China. As things stand, China has a massive
natural boundary with India, which acts as protection from a potentially hostile neighbour.
If China didn’t control Tibet, then India might… and an Indian controlled Tibet could
expose the Chinese heartland in the event of military conflict.
When we talk about geopolitics, we often focus too much on the ‘politics’ without giving
as much thought to the ‘geography’. A mountain range doesn’t care about politics,
culture, or religion, it will split peoples without discrimination. Arguably, the oldest
borders in the world are the ones that were shaped by nature. Every country in the world
is confined by the geography of its location.
The importance of geography and how it shaped the world we live in is something I learned
about from a fascinating audiobook I listened to called Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall,
a New York Times best-seller - in fact, I got the idea to talk about the Chinese-Indian
border from there. I was able to listen to this audiobook using Audible, the sponsor
for this video and the world’s largest selection of audiobooks and audio entertainment.
If you’re as interested in geopolitics as I am, then I’m confident you’ll love Prisoners
of Geography. The audiobook is split up into 10 chapters, exploring different regions of
the world. The author looks at topics such as why Russia is so massive, and how geography
facilitated the United States’ path to becoming a global superpower.
You can start listening now with a 30-day Audible trial. Choose 1 audiobook and 2 Audible
Originals absolutely free. Visit audible.com/wonderwhy or text wonderwhy to 500-500. Audiobooks are
yours to keep even if you cancel, and can be exchanged if you don’t like what listening
to. Unused credits roll over month to month.
Again, that’s audible.com/wonderwhy or text wonderwhy to 500-500. And as always, thank
you so much for watching and I’ll see you next time.