List of largest empires
Encyclopedia
An empire involves the extension of a state's
sovereignty over external territories. For example, first the Spanish Empire
and then the British Empire
were called "the empires on which the sun never sets
", because of their territories and possessions around the globe. This article provides a list of the largest empire
s in world history
.
There are various notions of size that can be applied; for each of these notions it is the case that for most historical empires only estimates can be given for the maximal value in time attained for that particular notion of size, and usually there is furthermore no clear consensus among historians regarding the best estimate – if only because there is often no unambiguous information about an empire's historical boundaries. Thus, the values given here should generally be interpreted as being only indicative, and not as determining a precise ranking.
is included in the size of the Russian Empire
but not the Mongol Empire
. The Mongol Empire's northern border was somewhat ill-defined, but in most places it was simply the natural border between the steppe
and the taiga
. At the time the majority of the taiga
and tundra
were unexplored and uninhabited. This area was only very sparsely populated by the Russian Empire
, but it had been explicitly claimed by the Russian Empire by the 17th century, and its extent had been entirely explored by the late 19th century. Similarly, the northernmost Canadian
islands such as Ellesmere Island
were explored and claimed by the British Empire
by the mid-19th century (virtually the entire mainland was at least sparsely populated well before that).
The only claims on mainland Antarctica are included in the area of the British Empire.
Due to the historical trend of increasing population
and GDP, the list of largest empires in these categories is highly dependent on which relatively recent political entities are defined as empires. The measures of population and GDP as a percentage of the world total take into account this historical growth, although decent GDP data is only available for the last few centuries, accurate only for the last decades.
For example in India
, which experienced varying levels of European contact and imperial forays since Vasco da Gama’s
expeditions in 1497-1498, French, Dutch, Portuguese and especially British authorities claimed authority over increasing portions of the Indian Subcontinent. This process culminated in the period of the British Raj
(and its smaller French and Portuguese counterparts) after 1857. Nevertheless, even then approximately half of Indian territory consisted of Princely States under de facto and de jure rule of local raja
s and maharaja
s. While the Indian princes often sought protection and mediation from the European maritime powers, they minted their own coins, issued their own edicts, and otherwise ruled of their own accord; furthermore, the Indian independence Act, which ended the British presence by 1948, did not apply to the Princely States, which required separate negotiations with the new Indian nation as independent states in themselves. Thus, although many European maps showed nearly the whole of India as a predominantly British colony in the late 19th century, close to 50% was functionally independent.
Another issue is that many of history’s empires have ruled over vast and mostly uninhabited territorial expanses, sparsely populated by largely autonomous tribes, and with little in the way of direct administration or settlement by an imperial power. For example, various Mongol khanates from the 13th century established dominion over arid steppe
s in Central Asia
and Siberia
that were difficult to control from a central authority, as was the case with the expansionist Tsardom of Russia
empires from the 17th century, which established control in the same regions. In both cases, administrative structures and settlements were gradually introduced into the regions—with Russian settlers, for example, initiating forts and frontier cities in the 19th century in particular—and so the size of each empire in any given decade would depend on how strict one’s criteria are in regard to the presence of true settlement and administration. Likewise, in more recent history, almost half the land expanse that is often regarded as part of the British Empire (and also much of the historical French Empire in North America
), consisted of essentially barren and uninhabitable terrain in Canada
and the interior of Australia
, which was often difficult to even map, let alone settle and administer. Even today, the population of those regions (particularly in Nunavut
and the Northwest Territories
of Canada) consists largely of sparse settlements of self-governing indigenous peoples, with little in the way of submission to a central ruling authority.
During the Muslim conquests of the 7th and early 8th centuries, Rashidun armies
established the Caliphate
, or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires ever. The 7th century saw the introduction of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, where The Prophet Muhammad
established a new unified political polity in the Arabian peninsula
which under the subsequent Rashidun
and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Arab
power well beyond the Arabian peninsula in the form of a vast Muslim
Arab Empire with an area of influence that stretched from northwest India
, across Central Asia
, the Middle East
, North Africa
, southern Italy
, and the Iberian Peninsula
, to the Pyrenees
. However, internal feuding among ruling figures in the empire led it to fragment into several states under separate administrations, such as the Umayyads (whose rule continued in Spain after it collapsed elsewhere), Abbasids, Ayyubids, Mamluks and many others. These were in addition to a variety of other Muslim states in Sudan
, Indonesia
and elsewhere that later arose outside of the main Islamic Empires, through trade and other contacts. Thus, the size of these empires vary depending on how “membership” in the empire is defined—as being under a single administration, accepting a particular ruler or following the dictates of the Caliph (which technically, Sunni Muslim
s in general were expected to do).
Similarly, the Mongol Empire lost its unity upon the death of the Great Khan Möngke
during fighting in China in 1259, with the Golden Horde’s
Berke Khan and the Il-Khanate’s Hulegu Khan even taking up arms
against each other and supporting rival factions for selection of the Great Khan. However, upon the death of Berke—a Muslim—the religious impetus for conflict among the khanates subsided, with the Mongols again supposedly loyal to the new Great Khan Kublai
before fragmenting yet again later. If the khanates are considered to have been a unified Mongol Empire under Kublai—stretching from Korea
and China
in the east through Siberia
and Central Asia
and into Persia and Eastern Europe
in the west—it would easily be the world’s largest in terms of both land area and population (as a percentage of the world total). A related question arises with the granting of dominion
and commonwealth
statuses among former imperial domains, in which the domains acquire a high degree of self-rule, equivalent to independence in some estimations. For example, Australia
attained dominion status in 1901 which may or may not have indicated a departure from the British Empire, depending on interpretation of the status.
Finally, many of history’s empires have had unusual arrangements among multiple powers, such as joint rule by several authorities, layers of rule (with different powers assuming different levels of administrative authority), territorial division with blurred boundaries or other forms of empire without a single obvious central authority. For example, the Manchus, who established the Qing Dynasty
in 17th-century China, also conquered nomadic lands to the north, including Mongolia
. The Manchus increasingly merged with the Chinese population over the centuries, so that the administration took on both Manchu and Chinese features with no clear division among them. The Mongol chieftains of Outer Mongolia
in particular, pledged loyalty to the Manchus but retained substantial autonomy, and when the Qing Dynasty collapsed in the early 20th century, the status of Outer Mongolia relative to the new Chinese state became unclear. Britain had a very complicated arrangement with Egypt and Sudan. Egyptian forces battled the British in the Alexandria Expedition
in 1807, but in the wake of this, British officials exerted varying degrees of sway in Egypt especially by the late 19th century, with the French also assuming a role in the Suez Canal
territory. Sudan, in turn, was technically a colony of the Egyptians, but the British exerted de facto sway on Sudan indirectly via Egypt. Thus, accounts vary on the imperial status (or lack thereof) of both Egypt and Sudan. Lastly, in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, many nations took on a Communist character and attached themselves to the global Communist center of the Soviet Union
. Mongolia, North Korea
, and China following Communist victory in the Chinese civil war
, all took guidance from the Soviet Union especially in the years just after their Communist transformations. The Soviet Union also exercised varying control over Eastern Europe via the Warsaw Pact
even though the Pact countries were formally independent, while Communist nations in Africa
and Latin America
also sought Soviet guidance. Therefore, the lists of largest empires below represent merely a sample of possible rankings depending on the specific criteria used to define an empire.
an Age of Exploration that began with a race of exploration between the then most advanced maritime powers, Portugal
and Spain
, in the 15th century. The initial impulse behind these maritime empires and those that followed was trade, driven by the new ideas and the capitalism that grew out of the European Renaissance
. Agreements were also reached to divide the world up between them in 1479
, 1493
, and 1494
.
Portugal
began establishing the first global trade network and empire
under the leadership of Henry the Navigator. Portugal would eventually establish colonial domains from Brazil
, in South America
, to several colonies in Africa
(namely Portuguese Guinea
, Cape Verde
, São Tomé and Príncipe
, Angola
and Mozambique
), in Portuguese India
(most importantly Bombay and Goa
), in China
(Macau
), and Oceania
(most importantly Timor
, namely East Timor
), amongst many other smaller or short-lived possessions (see Evolution of the Portuguese Empire
).
During its peak, the Spanish Empire
had possession of the Netherlands
, Luxembourg
, Belgium
, most of Italy
, parts of Germany
, parts of France
, and many colonies in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. With the conquest of inland Mexico
, Peru
, and the Philippines
in the 16th century, Spain
established overseas dominions on a scale and world distribution that had never been approached by its predecessors (the Mongol Empire had been larger but was restricted to Eurasia). Possessions in Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean
, the Americas
, the Pacific Ocean
, and the Far East
qualified the Spanish Empire
as attaining a global presence in this sense.
From 1580 to 1640 the Portuguese Empire
and the Spanish Empire
were conjoined in a personal union
of its Habsburg monarchs
, during the period of the Iberian Union
, though the empires continued to be administered separately.
Subsequent global empires included the French
, Dutch
, and British
empires. The latter, consolidated during the period of British maritime hegemony in the 19th century, became the largest of all empires by virtue of the improved transportation technologies of the time. At its height, the British Empire
covered a quarter of the Earth
's land area and comprised a quarter of its population. Germany
and Italy
were unified later than the other major European countries and so they joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas only during the "Scramble for Africa
" in the 19th century. By the 1860s, the Russian Empire
— continued as the Soviet Union
— became the largest contiguous state in the world. Russia
continues this distinction, despite having "lost" its Soviet periphery (Russia today includes slightly over half the world's longitudes).
is 148940000 km² (57,506,055.5 sq mi).
estimates in the following list are mostly given for empires in modern times, from the 18th to 20th centuries. All dollar amounts are in 1990 USD
.
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
sovereignty over external territories. For example, first the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
and then the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
were called "the empires on which the sun never sets
The empire on which the sun never sets
The phrase, "the Empire on which the sun never sets", has been used with variations to describe certain global empires that were so extensive that there was always at least one part of their territory in daylight....
", because of their territories and possessions around the globe. This article provides a list of the largest empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
s in world history
History of the world
The history of the world or human history is the history of humanity from the earliest times to the present, in all places on Earth, beginning with the Paleolithic Era. It excludes non-human natural history and geological history, except insofar as the natural world substantially affects human lives...
.
There are various notions of size that can be applied; for each of these notions it is the case that for most historical empires only estimates can be given for the maximal value in time attained for that particular notion of size, and usually there is furthermore no clear consensus among historians regarding the best estimate – if only because there is often no unambiguous information about an empire's historical boundaries. Thus, the values given here should generally be interpreted as being only indicative, and not as determining a precise ranking.
Measurement
The calculation of the land area of a particular empire is controversial. In general, the list centers on the side of including any land area that was explored and explicitly claimed, even if the areas were populated very sparsely or not at all. For example, a large portion of Northern SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
is included in the size of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
but not the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
. The Mongol Empire's northern border was somewhat ill-defined, but in most places it was simply the natural border between the steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
and the taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
. At the time the majority of the taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
and tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
were unexplored and uninhabited. This area was only very sparsely populated by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, but it had been explicitly claimed by the Russian Empire by the 17th century, and its extent had been entirely explored by the late 19th century. Similarly, the northernmost Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
islands such as Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
were explored and claimed by the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
by the mid-19th century (virtually the entire mainland was at least sparsely populated well before that).
The only claims on mainland Antarctica are included in the area of the British Empire.
Due to the historical trend of increasing population
World population
The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. As of today, it is estimated to be billion by the United States Census Bureau...
and GDP, the list of largest empires in these categories is highly dependent on which relatively recent political entities are defined as empires. The measures of population and GDP as a percentage of the world total take into account this historical growth, although decent GDP data is only available for the last few centuries, accurate only for the last decades.
Debates regarding definition of imperial domains
Compilations of history’s largest empires (in both geographical size and population) often vary due to differing definitions of imperial borders throughout history and across distinct historical traditions. Imperial domains have been variously defined in terms of direct administrative rule from a common ruling authority, military presence, colonization and settlement, collection of tribute, economic dependence, or even incorporation into a common trading or ideological network. Many imperial domains have therefore enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy, self-rule, or even outright independence (though sometimes with a dependent or protectorate relationship to a stronger power). Some regions claimed by an imperial authority have been large, yet arid and very sparsely populated lands without much administrative control whatsoever. Therefore, empires can vary in size according to these designations, often quite significantly.For example in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, which experienced varying levels of European contact and imperial forays since Vasco da Gama’s
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
expeditions in 1497-1498, French, Dutch, Portuguese and especially British authorities claimed authority over increasing portions of the Indian Subcontinent. This process culminated in the period of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
(and its smaller French and Portuguese counterparts) after 1857. Nevertheless, even then approximately half of Indian territory consisted of Princely States under de facto and de jure rule of local raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
s and maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
s. While the Indian princes often sought protection and mediation from the European maritime powers, they minted their own coins, issued their own edicts, and otherwise ruled of their own accord; furthermore, the Indian independence Act, which ended the British presence by 1948, did not apply to the Princely States, which required separate negotiations with the new Indian nation as independent states in themselves. Thus, although many European maps showed nearly the whole of India as a predominantly British colony in the late 19th century, close to 50% was functionally independent.
Another issue is that many of history’s empires have ruled over vast and mostly uninhabited territorial expanses, sparsely populated by largely autonomous tribes, and with little in the way of direct administration or settlement by an imperial power. For example, various Mongol khanates from the 13th century established dominion over arid steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
that were difficult to control from a central authority, as was the case with the expansionist Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
empires from the 17th century, which established control in the same regions. In both cases, administrative structures and settlements were gradually introduced into the regions—with Russian settlers, for example, initiating forts and frontier cities in the 19th century in particular—and so the size of each empire in any given decade would depend on how strict one’s criteria are in regard to the presence of true settlement and administration. Likewise, in more recent history, almost half the land expanse that is often regarded as part of the British Empire (and also much of the historical French Empire in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
), consisted of essentially barren and uninhabitable terrain in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the interior of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, which was often difficult to even map, let alone settle and administer. Even today, the population of those regions (particularly in Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
and the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
of Canada) consists largely of sparse settlements of self-governing indigenous peoples, with little in the way of submission to a central ruling authority.
During the Muslim conquests of the 7th and early 8th centuries, Rashidun armies
Rashidun army
The Rashidun Caliphate Army or Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun Navy...
established the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
, or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires ever. The 7th century saw the introduction of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, where The Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
established a new unified political polity in the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
which under the subsequent Rashidun
Rashidun
The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...
and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
power well beyond the Arabian peninsula in the form of a vast Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Arab Empire with an area of influence that stretched from northwest India
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, across Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, to the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. However, internal feuding among ruling figures in the empire led it to fragment into several states under separate administrations, such as the Umayyads (whose rule continued in Spain after it collapsed elsewhere), Abbasids, Ayyubids, Mamluks and many others. These were in addition to a variety of other Muslim states in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and elsewhere that later arose outside of the main Islamic Empires, through trade and other contacts. Thus, the size of these empires vary depending on how “membership” in the empire is defined—as being under a single administration, accepting a particular ruler or following the dictates of the Caliph (which technically, Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in general were expected to do).
Similarly, the Mongol Empire lost its unity upon the death of the Great Khan Möngke
Möngke Khan
Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
during fighting in China in 1259, with the Golden Horde’s
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
Berke Khan and the Il-Khanate’s Hulegu Khan even taking up arms
Berke-Hulagu war
The Berke-Hulagu war was a civil war in the Mongol Empire which fought between two Mongol leaders: Berke Khan of the Golden Horde, and Hulagu Khan of the Ilkhanate. It was fought mostly in the Caucasus mountains area in the 1260s after the destruction of Baghdad in 1258...
against each other and supporting rival factions for selection of the Great Khan. However, upon the death of Berke—a Muslim—the religious impetus for conflict among the khanates subsided, with the Mongols again supposedly loyal to the new Great Khan Kublai
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
before fragmenting yet again later. If the khanates are considered to have been a unified Mongol Empire under Kublai—stretching from Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the east through Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and into Persia and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
in the west—it would easily be the world’s largest in terms of both land area and population (as a percentage of the world total). A related question arises with the granting of dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
and commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
statuses among former imperial domains, in which the domains acquire a high degree of self-rule, equivalent to independence in some estimations. For example, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
attained dominion status in 1901 which may or may not have indicated a departure from the British Empire, depending on interpretation of the status.
Finally, many of history’s empires have had unusual arrangements among multiple powers, such as joint rule by several authorities, layers of rule (with different powers assuming different levels of administrative authority), territorial division with blurred boundaries or other forms of empire without a single obvious central authority. For example, the Manchus, who established the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
in 17th-century China, also conquered nomadic lands to the north, including Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. The Manchus increasingly merged with the Chinese population over the centuries, so that the administration took on both Manchu and Chinese features with no clear division among them. The Mongol chieftains of Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia was a territory of the Qing Dynasty = the Manchu Empire. Its area was roughly equivalent to that of the modern state of Mongolia, which is sometimes informally called "Outer Mongolia" today...
in particular, pledged loyalty to the Manchus but retained substantial autonomy, and when the Qing Dynasty collapsed in the early 20th century, the status of Outer Mongolia relative to the new Chinese state became unclear. Britain had a very complicated arrangement with Egypt and Sudan. Egyptian forces battled the British in the Alexandria Expedition
Fraser campaign
The Alexandria expedition of 1807 or Fraser expedition was an operation by the Royal Navy and the British Army during the Anglo-Turkish War of the Napoleonic Wars to capture Alexandria in Egypt with the purpose of securing a base of operations against the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1807, but in the wake of this, British officials exerted varying degrees of sway in Egypt especially by the late 19th century, with the French also assuming a role in the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
territory. Sudan, in turn, was technically a colony of the Egyptians, but the British exerted de facto sway on Sudan indirectly via Egypt. Thus, accounts vary on the imperial status (or lack thereof) of both Egypt and Sudan. Lastly, in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, many nations took on a Communist character and attached themselves to the global Communist center of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Mongolia, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, and China following Communist victory in the Chinese civil war
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, all took guidance from the Soviet Union especially in the years just after their Communist transformations. The Soviet Union also exercised varying control over Eastern Europe via the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
even though the Pact countries were formally independent, while Communist nations in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
also sought Soviet guidance. Therefore, the lists of largest empires below represent merely a sample of possible rankings depending on the specific criteria used to define an empire.
European colonial empires
The first global empires were a product of the EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Age of Exploration that began with a race of exploration between the then most advanced maritime powers, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in the 15th century. The initial impulse behind these maritime empires and those that followed was trade, driven by the new ideas and the capitalism that grew out of the European Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
. Agreements were also reached to divide the world up between them in 1479
Treaty of Alcaçovas
The Treaty of Alcáçovas put an end to the War of the Castilian Succession in favor of Isabella I of Castile, and confirmed Castilian control of the Canary Islands and Portuguese control of the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands , all in the Atlantic Ocean The Treaty of Alcáçovas (also known...
, 1493
Inter caetera
Inter caetera was a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI on , which granted to Spain all lands to the "west and south" of a pole-to-pole line 100 leagues west and south of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands.It remains unclear to the present whether the pope was issuing a...
, and 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , , divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagueswest of the Cape Verde islands...
.
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
began establishing the first global trade network and empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
under the leadership of Henry the Navigator. Portugal would eventually establish colonial domains from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, to several colonies in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(namely Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
), in Portuguese India
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
(most importantly Bombay and Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
), in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
), and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
(most importantly Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
, namely East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
), amongst many other smaller or short-lived possessions (see Evolution of the Portuguese Empire
Evolution of the Portuguese Empire
This article is a comprehensive list of all the actual possessions of the Portuguese Empire.'-In Africa:Portuguese presence in Africa started in 1415 with the conquest of Ceuta and is generally viewed as ending in 1975, with the independence of its later colonies, although the present autonomous...
).
During its peak, the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
had possession of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, most of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, parts of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, parts of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and many colonies in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. With the conquest of inland Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in the 16th century, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
established overseas dominions on a scale and world distribution that had never been approached by its predecessors (the Mongol Empire had been larger but was restricted to Eurasia). Possessions in Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
qualified the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
as attaining a global presence in this sense.
From 1580 to 1640 the Portuguese Empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
and the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
were conjoined in a personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
of its Habsburg monarchs
Philippine Dynasty
The Portuguese House of Habsburg, commonly known as the Philippine Dynasty, is the third royal dynasty of Portugal. It was named after the three Spanish kings who ruled Portugal between 1580 and 1640 in a dynastic union of the two crowns...
, during the period of the Iberian Union
Iberian Union
The Iberian union was a political unit that governed all of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640, through a dynastic union between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain after the War of the Portuguese Succession...
, though the empires continued to be administered separately.
Subsequent global empires included the French
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
, Dutch
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
, and British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
empires. The latter, consolidated during the period of British maritime hegemony in the 19th century, became the largest of all empires by virtue of the improved transportation technologies of the time. At its height, the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
covered a quarter of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's land area and comprised a quarter of its population. Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
were unified later than the other major European countries and so they joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas only during the "Scramble for Africa
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
" in the 19th century. By the 1860s, the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
— continued as the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
— became the largest contiguous state in the world. Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
continues this distinction, despite having "lost" its Soviet periphery (Russia today includes slightly over half the world's longitudes).
Largest empires by land area and population
For context, note that the total land area of the EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
is 148940000 km² (57,506,055.5 sq mi).
All empires at their greatest extent
| Empire | Max Land area (million km2) | Max Land area (million mi2) | % of world land area | Era | Max Population (million) | % of world population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | |||||
| British Empire British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the... |
33.7 | 13.01 | 22.63% | 1922 | 458 (in 1938) | 20.00% (458 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938) |
| Mongol Empire Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries... |
24.0 | 09.27 | 16.11% | 1270 or 1309 | 110.0 (in the 13th century) | 25.60% (110.0 million out of 429 million in the 13th century) |
| Russian Empire Russian Empire The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union... |
23.7 | 09.15 | 15.91% | 1866 | 176.4 in 1913 | 09.80% (176.4 million out of 1.791 billion in 1913) |
| Spanish Empire Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power.... |
20.0 | 07.72 | 13.43% | 1740-1790 approx | 68.2 | 12.30% (68.2 million out of 556 million in the 17th century) |
| Qing Dynasty, China Qing Dynasty The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.... |
14.7 | 05.68 | 09.87% | 1790 | 432.2 in 1851. | 36.60% (381.0 million out of 1.041 billion in 1820) |
| Yuan Dynasty, China Yuan Dynasty The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an... |
14.0 | 05.41 | 09.40% | 1310 | 59.8 in 1291. | 17.10% (59.8 million out of 350 million in 1290) |
| Umayyad Caliphate | 13.0 | 05.02 | 08.73% | 720 or 750 | 62.0 (in the 8th century) | 29.50% (62.0 million out of 210 million in the 7th century AD) |
| Second French Colonial Empire French colonial empire The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire... |
13.0 | 05.02 | 08.73% | 1938 | 112.9 in 1938 | 05.10% (112.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938) |
| Abbasid Caliphate | 11.1 | 04.29 | 07.45% | 750 | 50.0 (in 850) | 20.00% (50.0 million out of 250 million in 850) |
| Portuguese Empire Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history... |
10.4 | 04.02 | 06.98% | 1815 | — | — |
| Rashidun Caliphate Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia... |
09.0 | 03.48 | 06.04% | 654 | — | 19.10% (40.3 million out of 210 million in 7th century) |
| Achaemenid Empire Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation... |
08.75 | 03.42 | 05.85% | BC 480 | 50.0 (in 480 BC) | 44.5% (50.0 million out of 112.4 million in 480 BC) |
| Empire of Brazil | 08.5 | 03.28 | 05.71% | 1880, similar to the Federative Republic of Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... of today |
— | — |
| First French Colonial Empire French colonial empire The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire... |
08.1 | 03.13 | 05.44% | 1754 | 50.0 | 09.00% |
| Japanese Empire | 07.4 | 02.86 | 04.97% | 1942 | 134.8 in 1938 | 05.90% (134.8 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938) |
| Roman Empire Roman Empire The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.... |
06.5 | 02.51 | 04.36% | 117 | 65.0 to 88.0 (in 2nd century AD) | 29.20% to 39.50% (out of 223 million in the 2nd century AD) |
| Ming Dynasty, China Ming Dynasty The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic... |
06.5 | 02.51 | 04.36% | 1450 | 110.0 in 1600. | 28.80% (160.0 million out of 556.2 million in 1600) |
| Han Dynasty, China Han Dynasty The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang... |
06.5 | 02.51 | 04.36% | 100 | 74.0 in 2 | 26.00% (59.6 million out of 230 million in 2 AD) |
| Nazi Germany Nazi Germany Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by... |
06.4 | 02.47 | 04.30% | 1942 | 75.4 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938 | — |
| Göktürk Khaganate | 06.0 | 02.32 | 04.03% | 557 | — | — |
| Golden Horde Khanate Golden Horde The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire... |
06.0 | 02.32 | 04.03% | 1310 | — | |
| Sassanid Empire Sassanid Empire The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651... |
05.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 550 | 25.0 (in the 7th century AD) | 12.00% (25.0 million out of 210 million in the 7th century AD) |
| Uyghur Khaganate | 05.5 | 02.12 | 03.69% | 800 | — | — |
| Tang Dynasty, China Tang Dynasty The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire... |
05.4 | 01.62 | 02.89% | 689AD | 53.0 in 755 | 28.00% (70.0 million out of 250 million in 850 AD) |
| Macedonian Empire | 05.2 | 02.01 | 03.49% | BC 323 | — | — |
| Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries... |
05.2 | 02.01 | 03.49% | 1683 | 39.0 (in the 17th century) | 07.10% (39.0 million out of 556 million in the 17th century) |
| Fatimid Caliphate | 05.1 | 01.97 | 03.42% | 969 | — | — |
| Mauryan Empire, India Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC... |
05.0 | 01.93 | 03.36% | BC 250 | 50.0 in the 2nd century BC | 33.30% (50.0 million out of 150 million in the 2nd century BC) |
| Northern Yuan Dynasty, Mongolia | 05.0 | 01.93 | 03.36% | 1550 | — | — |
| First Mexican Empire First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper... |
04.9 | 01.89 | 03.29% | 1822 | — | — |
| Xin Dynasty, China Xin Dynasty The Xin Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty which lasted from AD 9 to 23. It followed the Western Han Dynasty and preceded the Eastern Han Dynasty.... |
04.7 | 01.82 | 03.16% | 10 | — | — |
| Tibetan Empire Tibetan Empire The historic name for the Tibetan Empire is different from Tibet's present name.Traditional Tibetan history preserves a lengthy list of rulers, whose exploits become subject to external verification in the Chinese histories by the seventh century. From the 7th to the 11th century a series of... |
04.6 | 01.78 | 03.09% | 800 | — | — |
| Timurid Empire | 04.6 | 01.78 | 03.09% | 1405 | — | — |
| Mughal Empire, India Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids... |
04.6 | 01.78 | 03.09% | 1690 | 175.0 in 1700 | 29.20% (175.0 million out of 600 million in 1700) |
| Xiongnu Empire | 04.03 | 01.56 | 02.71% | BC 176 | — | — |
| Pala Empire Pala Empire The Pāla Empire was one of the major middle kingdoms of India existed from 750–1174 CE. It was ruled by a Buddhist dynasty from Bengal in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent, all the rulers bearing names ending with the suffix Pala , which means protector. The Palas were often described... |
04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 850 | — | 24.00% (60.0 million out of 250 million in 850) |
| Hunnic Empire Hunnic Empire The Hunnic Empire was an empire established by the Huns. The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes from the steppes of Central Asia. Appearing from beyond the Volga River some years after the middle of the 4th century, they first overran the Alani, who occupied the plains between the Volga... |
04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 441 | — | — |
| Hephtalite Empire | 04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 490 | — | — |
| Eastern Turks Khanate | 04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 624 | — | — |
| Afsharid Dynasty, Persia Afsharid dynasty The Afsharids were members of an Iranian dynasty of Turkmen origin from Khorasan who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military commander Nader Shah who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself King of Iran. During Nader's reign,... |
04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 1747 | — | — |
| Western Turks Khanate | 04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 630 | — | — |
| Rouran Khaganate Juan-juan Rouran Rouran , Mongolia name Jujan or Nirun Ruanruan/Ruru , Tan Tan , Juan-Juan or Zhu-Zhuwas the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of Inner China from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century... |
04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 405 | — | — |
| Karkota Dynasty Lalitaditya Muktapida Lalitaditya Muktapida was a Hindu emperor of the Karkota dynasty from Kashmir, India. He ruled from , during this period he conquered most of Northern India and Central Asia. He was the son of emperor Durlabhvardhana, a ashwa-ghas kayastha... , Kashmir, India Kashmir Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range... |
04.0 | 01.54 | 02.69% | 750 | — | — |
| Great Seljuq Empire Great Seljuq Empire The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf... |
03.9 | 01.51 | 02.62% | 1080 | — | — |
| Italian Empire Italian Empire The Italian Empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved... |
03.8 | 01.47 | 02.55% | 1940 | 51.9 in 1938 | 02.30% (51.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938) |
| Kushan Empire Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries... |
03.8 | 01.47 | 02.55% | 200 | — | 19.00% (42.37 million out of 223 million in 140) |
| Ilkhanate Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire... |
03.75 | 01.45 | 02.52% | 1310 | — | — |
| Dutch Empire Dutch Empire The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing... |
03.7 | 01.43 | 02.48% | 1940 | 60.0 in 1940. | 03.50% (60.0 million out of 1.700 billion in 1907) |
| Chola Dynasty, India Chola Dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until... |
03.6 | 01.39 | 02.42% | 1050 | — | — |
| Khwarazmian Empire | 03.6 | 01.39 | 02.42% | 1218 | — | — |
| Gupta Empire Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the... |
03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 400 | — | 26.36% (58.0 million out of 220 million in 400 AD) |
| Chagatai Khanate Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors... |
03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 1310 or 1350 | — | — |
| Safavid Dynasty, Persia Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning... |
03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 1512 | — | — |
| German Colonial Empire German colonial empire The German colonial empire was an overseas domain formed in the late 19th century as part of the German Empire. Short-lived colonial efforts by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Imperial Germany's colonial efforts began in 1884... |
03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 1914 | 64.9 in 1914 | 03.70% (64.9 million out of 1.753 billion in 1910) |
| Western Jin Dynasty, China | 03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 300 | 48.0 in 1195. | — |
| Shaybanid Uzbek Dynasty | 03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 1510 | — | — |
| Byzantine Empire Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State... |
03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 555 | — | — |
| Northern Song Dynasty, China Song Dynasty The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a... |
03.5 | 01.35 | 02.35% | 1100 | 123.0 in 1103 | 22.00% (59.0 million out of 268 million in 1000) |
| Ghaznavid Empire Ghaznavid Empire The Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan... |
03.4 | 01.31 | 02.28% | 1029 | — | — |
| Almoravid Caliphate | 03.3 | 01.27 | 02.22% | 1147 | — | — |
| Tughlaq Dynasty, India Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty of north India started in 1321 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The Tughluqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin... |
03.2 | 01.24 | 02.15% | 1320 | — | 18.91% (70.0 million out of 370 million in 1330) |
| Ghurids Sultanate, Persia Ghurids The Ghurids or Ghorids were a medieval Muslim dynasty of Iranian origin that ruled during the 12th and 13th centuries in Khorasan. At its zenith, their empire, centred at Ghōr , stretched over an area that included the whole of modern Afghanistan, the eastern parts of Iran and the northern section... |
03.2 | 01.24 | 02.15% | 1200 | — | |
| Parthian Empire Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia... |
03.1 | 01.08 | 01.88% | 1 | — | |
| Median Empire | 03.1 | 01.08 | 01.88% | BC 585 | — | |
| Sui Dynasty, China Sui Dynasty The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty.... |
03.1 | 01.20 | 02.08% | 610 | 53.0 in 606 | — |
| Seleucid Empire Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre... |
03.0 | 01.51 | 02.62% | BC 301 | — | — |
| Khazar Khanate | 03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 850 | — | — |
| Kalmar Union Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population... |
03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 1397 | — | — |
| Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240.... |
03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 1050 | — | — |
| Kara-Khanid Khanate Kara-Khanid Khanate The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a confederation of Turkic tribes ruled by a dynasty known in literature as the Karakhanids or Ilek Khanids, . Both dynastic names represent titles with Kara Kağan being the most important Turkish title up till the end of the dynasty.The Khanate ruled Transoxania in... |
03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 1025 | — | — |
| Qajar Dynasty, Persia Qajar dynasty The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925.... |
03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 1796 | — | — |
| Danish Colonial Empire | 03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 1800 | — | — |
| Grand Duchy of Moscow Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow or Grand Principality of Moscow, also known in English simply as Muscovy , was a late medieval Rus' principality centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia.... |
03.0 | 01.16 | 02.01% | 1505 | — | — |
| Samanid Dynasty, Persia | 02.85 | 01.10 | 01.91% | 928 | — | — |
| Qin Dynasty, China Qin Dynasty The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring... |
02.8 | 01.08 | 01.88% | BC 206 | — | — |
| Eastern Jin Dynasty, China | 02.8 | 01.08 | 01.88% | 347 | — | — |
| Liu Song Dynasty, China Liu Song Dynasty The Liu Song Dynasty , also known as Song Dynasty , Former Song , or Southern Song , was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China, succeeding the Eastern Jin Dynasty and followed by the Southern Qi Dynasty.... |
02.8 | 01.08 | 01.88% | 420 | — | — |
| Khilji Dynasty, India Khilji dynasty The Khilji Sultanate was a dynasty of Turko-Afghan Khalaj origin who ruled large parts of South Asia from 1290 - 1320. They were the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India... |
02.7 | 01.04 | 01.81% | 1312 or 1320 | — | — |
| Ayyubid Caliphate Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they... |
02.7 | 01.04 | 01.81% | 1190 | — | — |
| Majapahit Empire Majapahit Empire Majapahit was a vast archipelagic empire based on the island of Java from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime... |
02.7 | 01.04 | 01.81% | 1389 | — | — |
| Liao Dynasty, China Liao Dynasty The Liao Dynasty , also known as the Khitan Empire was an empire in East Asia that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper between 9071125... |
02.6 | 01.00 | 01.75% | 947 | — | — |
| Indo-Greek Yavana Kingdom | 02.5 | 00.97 | 01.68% | BC 150 | — | — |
| Bactrian Empire | 02.5 | 00.97 | 01.68% | BC 184 | — | — |
| Later Zhao Dynasty, China Later Zhao The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity... |
02.5 | 00.97 | 01.68% | 329 | — | — |
| Maratha Empire Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km².... |
02.5 | 00.97 | 01.68% | 1760 | — | — |
| Belgian Empire | 02.5 | 00.97 | 01.68% | 1914 | — | — |
| Kara-Khitan Khanate Western Liao Kara-Khitan Khanate The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China... |
02.5 | 00.97 | 01.68% | 1210 | — | — |
| Jurchen Jīn Dynasty, China | 02.3 | 00.89 | 01.54% | 1126 | — | — |
| Southern Qi Dynasty, China Southern Qi The Southern Qi Dynasty was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated... |
02.3 | 00.89 | 01.54% | 502 | — | — |
| Southern Song Dynasty, China | 02.1 | 00.81 | 01.41% | 1127 | 73.0 in 1193. | — |
| Bahriyya Mamluks, Egypt Bahri dynasty The Bahri dynasty or Bahriyya Mamluks was a Mamluk dynasty of mostly Kipchak Turkic origin that ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1382 when they were succeeded by the Burji dynasty, another group of Mamluks... |
02.1 | 00.81 | 01.41% | 1300 | — | — |
| Burjiyya Mamluks, Egypt Burji dynasty The Burji dynasty المماليك البرجية ruled Egypt from 1382 until 1517. It proved especially turbulent, with short-lived sultans. Political power-plays often became important in designating a new sultan. During this time Mamluks fought Timur Lenk and conquered Cyprus. Constant bickering may have... |
02.1 | 00.81 | 01.41% | 1400 | — | — |
| First French Empire First French Empire The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France... |
02.1 | 00.81 | 01.41% | 1813 | — | — |
| Wei Dynasty, China Wei Dynasty Wei Dynasty can refer to two different dynasties in Chinese history:* Cao Wei was a Han Chinese dynasty that existed during the Three Kingdoms Period.... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 263 | — | — |
| Earlier Zhao Dynasty, China Han Zhao The Han Zhao , or Former Zhao, or Northern Han , was a Southern Xiongnu state during Sixteen Kingdoms period coeval with the Chinese Jin Dynasty... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 316 | 64 in 156 | — |
| Former Qin Dynasty, China Former Qin The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 376 | — | — |
| Western Roman Empire Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire.... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 395 | — | — |
| Northern Wei Dynasty, China | 02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 450 | — | — |
| Saffarid Dynasty, Persia Saffarid dynasty The Saffarids or the Saffarid dynasty was a Persian empire which ruled in Sistan , a historical region in southeastern Iran, southwestern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 900 | — | — |
| Almohad Caliphate | 02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 1200 | — | — |
| Satavahana Empire | 02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 90 AD | — | — |
| Inca Empire Inca Empire The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 1527 | — | — |
| Second Mexican Empire Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. It was created by Napoleon III of France, who attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times... |
02.0 | 00.77 | 01.34% | 1864, similar to the United Mexican States Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... of today |
— | — |
| Gurjara Pratihara Dynasty, India | 01.8 | 00.69 | 01.21% | 860 | — | — |
| Sibir Khanate | 01.8 | 00.69 | 01.21% | 1520 | — | — |
| Rashtrakuta Dynasty, India Rashtrakuta Dynasty The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known... |
01.7 | 00.66 | 01.41% | 805 | — | — |
| Buyid Sultanate, Persia | 01.6 | 00.62 | 01.07% | 980 | — | — |
| Mamluk Sultanate, India | 01.6 | 00.62 | 01.07% | 1228 | — | — |
| Indo-Parthian Kingdom Indo-Parthian Kingdom The Gondopharid dynasty, and other so-called Indo-Parthian rulers, were a group of ancient kings from present day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan who ruled India, during or slightly before the 1st century AD... |
01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | 50 | — | — |
| Wu Dynasty, China Eastern Wu Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China... |
01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | 221 | — | — |
| Northern Zhou Dynasty, China | 01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | 577 | — | — |
| Nanda Dynasty, India Nanda Dynasty The Nanda Empire originated from the region of Magadha in Ancient India during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bengal in the east, to Punjab in the west and as far south as the Vindhya Range... |
01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | BC 350 or 321 | — | — |
| Indo-Scythian Kingdom Indo-Scythians Indo-Scythians is a term used to refer to Sakas , who migrated into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE.... |
01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | BC 100 | — | — |
| Tulunids Emirate Tulunids The Tulunids were the first independent dynasty in Islamic Egypt , when they broke away from the central authority of the Abbasid dynasty that ruled the Islamic Caliphate during that time... |
01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | 900 | — | — |
| Idrisid Dynasty, Morocco | 01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | 828 | — | — |
| Suri Dynasty, India | 01.5 | 00.58 | 01.01% | 1545 AD | — | — |
| Neo-Assyrian Empire | 01.4 | 00.54 | 00.940% | BC 670 | — | — |
| Songhai Empire Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city... |
01.4 | 00.54 | 00.940% | 1500 | — | — |
| Empire of Harsha Harsha Harsha or Harsha Vardhana or Harshvardhan was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 AD. He was the son of Prabhakara Vardhana and younger brother of Rajya Vardhana, a king of Thanesar, Haryana... |
01.35 | 00.52 | 00.906% | 625 or 648 | — | — |
| Liang Dynasty, China Liang Dynasty The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty... |
01.3 | 00.50 | 00.873% | 502 or 549 | — | — |
| Western Wei Dynasty, China | 01.3 | 00.50 | 00.873% | 557 | — | — |
| Later Liang Dynasty, China Later Liang Dynasty The Later Liang was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Zhu Wen, posthumously known as Taizu of Later Liang, after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour... |
01.3 | 00.50 | 00.873% | 923 | — | — |
| Later Tang Dynasty, China Later Tang Dynasty The Later Tang Dynasty was a short-lived dynasty that lasted from 923 to 937 one of the five dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was also the first in a series of three dynasties ruled by the Shatuo Turks... |
01.3 | 00.50 | 00.873% | 923 | — | — |
| Mali Empire Mali Empire The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I... |
01.29 | 00.50 | 00.866% | 1312 | — | 10.00% (45.0 million out of 450 million in the mid-15th century) |
| Shang Dynasty, China Shang Dynasty The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley... |
01.25 | 00.48 | 00.839% | BC 1122 | — | — |
| Western Zhou Dynasty, China | 01.25 | 00.48 | 00.839% | BC 1122 | — | — |
| Aksumite Empire Aksumite Empire The Kingdom of Aksum or Axum, also known as the Aksumite Empire, was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ca. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD... |
01.25 | 00.48 | 00.839% | 350 | — | — |
| Carolingian Dynasty, Francia | 01.2 | 00.46 | 00.806% | 814 | — | — |
| Srivijaya Empire Srivijaya Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6... |
01.2 | 00.46 | 00.806% | 1200 | — | — |
| Sunga Empire Sunga Empire The Sunga Empire or Shunga Empire was a royal Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled vast areas of the Indian Subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pusyamitra Sunga, after the fall of the Maurya Empire... |
01.2 | 00.46 | 00.806% | BC 150 | — | — |
| Kingdom of Kush Kingdom of Kush The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham .... |
01.2 | 00.46 | 00.806% | BC 700 | — | — |
| Thai Empire | 01.12 | 00.43 | 00.752% | 1782 | — | — |
| Chalukya Dynasty, India Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi from the... |
01.1 | 00.42 | 00.739% | 636 | — | — |
| Swedish Empire Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"... |
01.1 | 00.42 | 00.739% | 1658 | — | — |
| Lodhi Dynasty, India Lodhi dynasty Lodi Dynasty was a Pashtun dynasty that was the last dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. The dynasty founded by Bahlul Lodi ruled from 1451 to 1526... |
01.1 | 00.42 | 00.739% | 1517 | — | — |
| Polish-Lithuanian Empire | 01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1619 | ca. 12.0 (in 1619) | 02.07% to 02.41% (avg. 02.2%) |
| 18th Dynasty, Egypt Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | BC 1450 | — | — |
| New Kingdom, Egypt New Kingdom The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt.... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | BC 1300 | — | — |
| Ptolemaic Dynasty, Egypt Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | BC 301 | — | — |
| Eastern Wei Dynasty, China | 01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 550 | — | — |
| Northern Qi Dynasty, China | 01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 550 | — | — |
| Tahirid Dynasty, Persia Tahirid dynasty The Tahirid Dynasty, was a Persian dynasty that governed from 820 to 872 over the northeastern part of Greater Iran, in the region of Khorasan . The dynasty was founded by Tahir ibn Husayn, a leading general in the service of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 800 | — | — |
| Kalachuri Dynasty, India Kalachuri Kalachuri Empire is this the name used by two kingdoms who had a succession of dynasties from the 10th-12th centuries, one ruling over areas in Central India and were called Chedi or Haihaya and the other southern Kalachuri who ruled over parts of Karnataka... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1050 | — | — |
| Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1050 | — | — |
| Western Xia Dynasty, China | 01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1100 | — | — |
| Western Chalukya Empire | 01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1121 | — | — |
| Khmer Empire Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1290 | — | — |
| Avars Empire Eurasian Avars The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 600 | — | — |
| Kanem Empire Kanem Empire The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya , eastern Niger and north-eastern Nigeria... |
01.0 | 00.39 | 00.671% | 1200 | — | — |
| Maha-Meghavahana Dynasty, India Maha-Meghavahana Dynasty The Maha-Megha-Vahana Dynasty was an ancient ruling dynasty of Kalinga after the decline of the Mauryan Empire. The third ruler of the dynasty, Kharavela, conquered much of India in a series of campaigns at the beginning of the common era.-External links:... |
00.9 | 00.35 | 00.604% | BC 10 | — | — |
| Konbaung Dynasty, Burma Konbaung dynasty The Konbaung Dynasty was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. The dynasty created the second largest empire in Burmese history, and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of modern state of Burma... |
00.9 | 00.35 | 00.604% | 1800 AD | — | — |
| Volga Bulgars Khanate Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria, or Volga–Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now Russia.-Origin:... |
00.9 | 00.35 | 00.604% | 1100 | — | — |
| Akkadian Empire | 00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | BC 2250 | — | — |
| Later Jin Dynasty, China Later Jin Dynasty (Five Dynasties) Note that there are four periods of Chinese history using the name "Jin" The Later Jìn was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Shi Jingtang, posthumously known as Gaozu of Later Jin... |
00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | 936 | — | — |
| Ghana Empire Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE... |
00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | 1067 | — | — |
| Pagan Kingdom Pagan Kingdom The Pagan Kingdom or Pagan Dynasty was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute the modern-day Burma... |
00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | 1200 | — | — |
| Western Satraps Dynasty, India | 00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | 100 | — | — |
| Himyarite Kingdom | 00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | 400 AD | — | — |
| Balhae Kingdom Balhae Balhae was a Manchurian kingdom established after the fall of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's capital and southern territories fell to Unified Silla, Dae Jo-yeong, a Mohe general, whose father was Dae Jung-sang, established Jin , later called Balhae.Balhae occupied southern parts of Manchuria and... |
00.8 | 00.31 | 00.537% | 830 | — | — |
| Khanate of Kazan Khanate of Kazan The Khanate of Kazan was a medieval Tatar state which occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El,... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 1540 | — | — |
| Merovingian Dynasty, Francia Merovingian dynasty The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 558 | — | — |
| Bulgarian Empire Bulgarian Empire Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 900 | — | — |
| Shu Dynasty, China Shu Han Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 221 | — | — |
| Yadava Gauli Kingdom | 00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 1250 | — | — |
| Paramara Dynasty, India Paramara Paramara is a Maratha, Gurjar,& Rajput clan of India.The Paramara clan belongs to the Agnivansha of Rajputs ancient Kshatriyas... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 1050 | — | — |
| Kingdom of Dali Kingdom of Dali Dali or Great Li was a Bai kingdom centred in what is now Yunnan Province of China. Established by Duan Siping in 937, it was ruled by a succession of 22 kings until the year 1253, when it was conquered by an invasion of the Mongol Empire. The capital city was at Dali.- History :The Kingdom of... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 1200 | — | — |
| Vijayanagara Empire Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts... |
00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 1529 | — | 05.00% (25.0 million out of 500 million in the 16th century) |
| Kingdom of Nanzhao | 00.7 | 00.27 | 00.470% | 830 | — | — |
| Austro-Hungarian Empire | 00.676615 | 00.26 | 00.454% | — | 52.8 in 1914 | 02.90% (51.3 million out of 1.753 billion in 1910) |
| 15th Dynasty, Egypt Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Fifteenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1650 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:... |
00.65 | 00.25 | 00.436% | BC 1650 | — | — |
| 26th Dynasty, Egypt | 00.65 | 00.25 | 00.436% | BC 550 | — | — |
| Vakataka Kingdom Vakataka The Vākāṭakas were a royal Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-third century CE. Their kingdom is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the western to the... |
00.65 | 00.25 | 00.436% | 450 AD | — | — |
| Visigothic Kingdom Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of... |
00.6 | 00.23 | 00.403% | 580 | — | — |
| Caliphate of Córdoba Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous... |
00.6 | 00.23 | 00.403% | 1000 | — | — |
| Rai Dynasty, Sindh, India Rai Dynasty The Rai Dynasty was an Aryan dynasty of Sindh, from c. 489–690 AD. The influence of the Rai empire extended from Kashmir in the east, Makran and Debal port in the west, Surat port in south, Kandahar, Sistan, Suleyman, Ferdan and Kikanan hills in the north, ruling an area of over 600,000... |
00.6 | 00.23 | 00.403% | 675 AD | — | — |
| Maukhari Kannauj Dynasty, India Maukhari The Maukhari Dynasty, classically called the Megar Dynasty, was a royal Indian dynasty that controlled vast areas of Northern India for over six generations. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas as well as related to Harsha and his short-lived Vardhan dynasty. The Maukhari's established... |
00.6 | 00.23 | 00.403% | 600 AD | — | — |
| Bahmani Sultanate, India Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms... |
00.6 | 00.23 | 00.403% | 1470 AD | — | — |
| Nizams Dynasty, India Nizam Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India... |
00.6 | 00.23 | 00.403% | 1740 AD | — | — |
| Sikh Empire | 00.5609 | 00.22 | 00.377% | 1845 | — | — |
| Middle Kingdom, Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 1850 | — | — |
| Lydian Empire | 00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 585 | — | — |
| Neo-Babylonian Empire Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria. Throughout that time Babylonia... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 562 | — | — |
| Kosala Dynasty, India Kosala Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 543 | — | — |
| Shishunaga Dynasty, India Shishunaga dynasty The Shishunaga dynasty was the third ruling dynasty of Magadha, a kingdom in ancient India. But according to the Puranas, this dynasty is the second ruling dynasty of Magadha, which succeeded the Barhadratha dynasty.... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 510 | — | — |
| Chu Dynasty, China Chu (state) The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 350 | — | — |
| Pandyan Dynasty, India | 00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | 1251 | — | — |
| Later Han Dynasty, China Later Han Dynasty (Five Dynasties) The Later Han Dynasty was founded in 947. It was the fourth of the Five Dynasties and the third consecutive Shatuo Turk dynasty... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | 947 | — | — |
| Kangju Empire Kangju Kangju was the name of an ancient people and kingdom in Central Asia. It was a nomadic federation of unknown ethnic and linguistic origin which became for a couple of centuries the second greatest power in Transoxiana after the Yuezhi.... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | BC 100 | — | — |
| Ostrogothic Kingdom Ostrogothic Kingdom The Kingdom established by the Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas lasted from 493 to 553. In Italy the Ostrogoths replaced Odoacer, the de facto ruler of Italy who had deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The Gothic kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of its... |
00.5 | 00.19 | 00.336% | 510 AD | — | — |
| Goguryeo Kingdom Goguryeo Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province.... |
00.45 | 00.17 | 00.302% | 476 | — | — |
| Xia Dynasty, China Xia Dynasty The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him... ; (possible) |
00.45 | 00.17 | 00.302% | BC 1800 | — | — |
| Polish Piast State Piast dynasty The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great... |
00.4 | 00.15 | 00.269% | 1003 | ca. 2 (in 1003) | 0.58% to 0.79% (avg. 0.7%) |
| Crimean Khanate Crimean Khanate Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan... |
00.4 | 00.15 | 00.269% | 1500 | — | — |
| Armenian Empire | 00.4 | 00.15 | 00.269% | BC 83 | — | — |
| Old Kingdom, Egypt Old Kingdom Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was... |
00.4 | 00.15 | 00.269% | BC 2400 | — | — |
| Middle Kingdom, Assyria | 00.4 | 00.15 | 00.269% | BC 1080 | — | — |
| Latin Empire Latin Empire The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261... |
00.35 | 00.14 | 00.235% | 1204 | — | — |
| Mitanni Empire Mitanni Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia from ca. 1500 BC–1300 BC... |
00.3 | 00.12 | 00.201% | BC 1450 | — | — |
| Carthaginian Empire Carthage Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC... |
00.3 | 00.12 | 00.201% | BC 220 | — | — |
| 1st Dynasty, Babylon First Babylonian Dynasty The chronology of the first dynasty of Babylonia is debated as there is a Babylonian King List A and a Babylonian King List B. In this chronology, the regnal years of List A are used due to their wide usage... |
00.25 | 00.10 | 00.168% | BC 1690 | — | — |
| Serbian Empire Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire... |
00.25 | 00.10 | 00.168% | 1350 | — | — |
| Aztec Empire | 00.22 | 00.08 | 00.148% | 1520 | — | — |
| Middle Elamite Elam Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq... |
00.2 | 00.08 | 00.134% | BC 1160 | — | — |
| 2nd Dynasty, Isin Isin Isin was an ancient city-state of lower Mesopotamia about 20 miles south of Nippur at the site of modern Ishan al-Bahriyat in Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate.-History:... |
00.2 | 00.08 | 00.134% | BC 1130 | — | — |
| Urartu Empire Urartu Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland.... |
00.2 | 00.08 | 00.134% | BC 800 | — | — |
| Amorian Dynasty, Byzantium | 00.2 | 00.08 | 00.134% | BC 750 | — | — |
| Old Kingdom, Assyria Assyria Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur... |
00.15 | 00.06 | 00.101% | BC 1730 | — | — |
| Eastern Zhou Dynasty, China | 00.15 | 00.06 | 00.101% | BC 770 | — | — |
Largest empires by economy
GDPGross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
estimates in the following list are mostly given for empires in modern times, from the 18th to 20th centuries. All dollar amounts are in 1990 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
.
GDP size
- British EmpireBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
- $918.7 billion (in 1938) - Nazi German EmpireNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
- $375.6 billion (in 1938) - Japanese EmpireEmpire of JapanThe Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
- $260.7 billion (in 1938) - Russian EmpireRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
- $257.7 billion (in 1913) - Qing Empire, ChinaQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
- $241.3 billion (GDP decline to 1912, immediately before its downfall) - French EmpireFrench colonial empiresThe French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
- $234.1 billion (in 1938) - Italian EmpireItalian EmpireThe Italian Empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved...
- $143.4 billion (in 1938) - Indian Empire (British Raj) - $134.9 billion (in 1870)
- Afsharid Empire, Persia - $119.85 billion (in 1740)
- Austro-Hungarian EmpireAustria-HungaryAustria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
- $100.5 billion (in 1913) - Mughal Empire, IndiaMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
- $90.8 billion (GDP decline in 1700) - Dutch EmpireDutch EmpireThe Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
- $60 billion (in 1900) - Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
- $26.4 billion (in 1913) - Portuguese EmpirePortuguese EmpireThe Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
- $12.6 billion (in 1913)
See also
- EmpireEmpireThe term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
- List of empires
- Historical powersHistorical powersHistorical powers include great powers, nations, or empires in history.The term "Great power" represent the most important world powers. In a modern context, recognised great powers came about first in Europe during the post-Napoleonic era. The formalization of the division between small powers and...
- List of historical countries and empires spanning more than one continent
- List of countries by area
- List of countries by GDP
- List of countries by population
- List of extinct states
- List of political and geographic subdivisions by total area
- European empiresEuropean empiresEuropean Empire may refer to:*in a historical context, the Colonial empires of the Early Modern period*in current usage, a term for the Eurosphere emphasizing a prediction of growing influence of Europe in the 21st century...
- African empiresAfrican empiresThere have been a number of pre-colonial African kingdoms of varying size and influence:*Iron Age empires of North Africa*Medieval Islamic empires in North Africa and the Horn of Africa*The medieval Sahelian kingdoms...
- The World Economy: Historical StatisticsThe World Economy: Historical StatisticsThe World Economy: Historical Statistics is a book by Angus Maddison. Published in 2004 by the OECD Development Centre, it studies the growth of populations and economies across the centuries: not just the World Economy as it is now, but how it was in the past.Among other things, it showed that...