State · 476 – 221 BCE

Warring States period

A state of 476 – 221 BCE — 255 years in East and Southeast Asia. It was followed by Qin dynasty. Its line of rulers holds 11 people. Its own article says it was replaced by Zhao.

For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the state.

Stood: 255 years; 476 BCE – 221 BCE
Rulers: 11; the Chinese king
Most ground: 1.63 million km²; in 291 BCE

Map: Warring States period in 291 BCE, its borders in gold among its neighbours — Warring States period in 291 BCE, when it held the most ground the borders dataset draws for it: 1.63 million km². Its neighbours wear their tints, as on the atlas's own map. Borders from Cliopatria (CC BY 4.0), coast and rivers from Natural Earth, cities from Reba, Reitsma & Seto 2016 (CC BY 4.0), each city under the name it bore that year.

Warring States period in 480 BCE, first mapped — The rise and the fall in one frame: the same ground at the years the borders dataset first maps it, maps it largest, and last maps it.

Warring States period in 291 BCE, at its largest — The rise and the fall in one frame: the same ground at the years the borders dataset first maps it, maps it largest, and last maps it.

Where it sits in time

Five thousand years, 3000 BCE to 2026; the state in gold, what it replaced or followed and what replaced or followed it in grey.

Before and after

The states the record files it as replacing or following, and those that replaced or followed it - Wikidata's own statements, each read from this state's side.

After it

Qin dynasty · followed by · 221 – 206 BCE

How it ended, as its article says

Replaced by Zhao. Read from the article's section “History - Conquest of Zhao and Yan” by its grammar; the claim is only that the article says so.

They were replaced with Zhao Cong and Ju Xin.

One sentence of the English Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Rulers

The line of Chinese king.

killed, executed or dead in battledied in office

11 terms are shared from [object Object].

Ruler	Reign	Length	How it ended · source	To the ruler before
King Yuan of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	476 BCE – 469 BCE	7 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone
King Zhending of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	468 BCE – 441 BCE	27 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
King Si of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	441 BCE – 441 BCE	under a year	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
King Ai of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	441 BCE – 441 BCE	under a year	killed, the article saysread from the ruler's own article	sibling
King Kao of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	440 BCE – 426 BCE	14 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	sibling
King Weilie of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	425 BCE – 402 BCE	23 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
King An of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	402 BCE – 376 BCE	26 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
King Lie of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	376 BCE – 369 BCE	7 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
King Xian of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	368 BCE – 321 BCE	47 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	sibling
King Shenjing of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	320 BCE – 315 BCE	5 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
King Nan of Zhou · from the line of Eastern Zhou	315 BCE – 256 BCE	59 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child

11 rulers, 11 with terms dated as terms, covering 476 BCE – 256 BCE. Median reign 14 years. 1 of 10 handovers irregular - a killing, a deposition, a rival claimant, a rising or a coup beside it. A blank in the last column means no kin on record, which is coverage, never “unrelated”.

Ground held, by year

km² inside its borders as the borders dataset draws them, measured on an equal-area grid; a step series, held between the years the dataset maps.

1.01 million km² in 476 BCE, 1.63 million km² in 221 BCE; at its largest 1.63 million km² in 286 BCE. Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0.

Among all states

Each measure against the states that carry it, never against all of them: a bar is the share of those states below this one.

How long it stood255 years
stood longer than 69% of 3,187 states with a recorded end or still standing.
The most ground it held1,634,300 km²
held more ground at its peak than 89% of 1,465 states with a border in Cliopatria.
Wars recorded per centurynone
had more wars on record per century than 44% of 3,187 states, counting the wars the atlas hosts under each.
How long a reign lasted, at the median14 years
had longer reigns, at the median, than 46% of 967 states whose dated line can carry a median.
Rulers on record11
has more rulers on record than 83% of 1,968 states with a line of rulers.

What led to it, and what came of it

The investigation's own picture: 4 causes the record names and 1 result, the strongest six of each at their own years, joined to the state by the kind of claim - a recorded statement solid, the article's sentence dashed, a theory dash-dot.

in the articlelinked

Open the investigation: every row with its evidence, the conditions at the time, the theories condition by condition, and the succession analysed.

Open in the atlas

On the timeline, 502 BCE – 195 BCE, with everything that stood beside it.
On the map in 291 BCE, live: scrub the year and watch its borders move.
Investigate it: what led to it, what came of it, and its succession analysed.

Wikidata Q185063 (CC0) · borders Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0 · coast and rivers Natural Earth · one sentence of the English Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA 4.0 · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.