Country history · Africa

History of Djibouti

8 recorded states lay in what is now Djibouti, from Land of Punt (2500 BCE) to Djibouti. 2 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)Open in the atlas →

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

26th century BCE

  1. Land of Punt2500 BCE – 1100 BCE · chiefdom

13th century

  1. Sultanate of Ifat1285 CE – 1415 CE · sultanate

16th century

  1. Sultanate of Tadjoura1500 CE – 1896 CE · sultanate

18th century

  1. Aussa Sultanate1734 CE – 1936 CE · sultanate

19th century

  1. Obock1862 CE – 1896 CE · colony
  2. French Somaliland1896 CE – 1967 CE · colony

20th century

  1. French Territory of the Afars and the Issas1967 CE – 1977 CE · colony
  2. Djibouti1977 CE – present · republic

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of Horn and East Africa → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Djibouti. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/djibouti
MLA
“History of Djibouti.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/djibouti. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Djibouti.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/djibouti.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Djibouti’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/djibouti (Accessed: ).