hidden pixel

List of Largest Empires Information

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 empires 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.

Contents

Measurement details

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 Siberia 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. Occupied areas north of this are included 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.

Debates regarding definition of imperial domains

This article is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (June 2011)

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, 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 rajas and maharajas. 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 steppes 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 Muslims 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.

European colonial empires

The first global empires were a product of the European 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).

Largest empires by land area and population

For context, note that the total land area of the Earth is 148,940,000 km2 (57,500,000 sq mi).[1]

All empires at their greatest extent

This list contains at least one incomplete section; you can help by expanding it.
Empire Max Land area (million km2) Max Land area (million mi2) % of world land area Contiguous Era Max Population (million) % of world population
11a 0 a -9999 0 0
British Empire 33.7 13.01 22.63% No 1922[2] 458 (in 1938)[3] 20% (458 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)[3]
Mongol Empire 24.0[4] 9.27 16.11% Yes 1270 or 1309[5] 110.0 (in the 13th century)[6] 25.6% (110.0 million out of 429 million[7] in the 13th century)
Russian Empire 23.7 9.15 15.91% Yes 1866[4][8] 176.4 in 1913 9.8% (176.4 million out of 1.791 billion[9] in 1913)
Spanish Empire 20.0 7.72 13.43% No 1740-1790 approx[10] 68.2 [11] 12.3% (68.2 million out of 556 million[9] in the 17th century)
Qing Dynasty, China 14.7 5.68 9.87% Yes 1790[4][8] 432.2 in 1851.[12] 36.6% (381.0 million out of 1.041 billion in 1820)[9]
Yuan Dynasty, Mongolia 14.0 5.41 9.40% Yes 1310[8] 59.8 in 1291.[13][14] 17.1% (59.8 million out of 350 million in 1290)
Umayyad Caliphate 13.0 5.02 8.73% Yes 720 or 750[15] 62.0 (in the 8th century)[16] 29.5% (62.0 million out of 210 million[17] in the 7th century AD)
Second French Colonial Empire 13.0 5.02 8.73% No 1938[10] 112.9 in 1938 5.1% (112.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
Abbasid Caliphate 11.1 4.29 7.45% Yes 750[8] — 20.0% (50.0 million out of 250 million in 850)[9]
Portuguese Empire 10.4 4.02 6.98% No 1815[10] — —
Rashidun Caliphate 9.0 3.48 6.04% Yes 654[8][18] — 19.1% (40.3 million out of 210 million in 7th century)
Empire of Brazil 8.5 3.28 5.71% Yes 1880, similar to the Federative Republic of Brazil of today [10] — —
Achaemenid Empire 8.0 3.09 5.37% Yes BC 480[19] 49.4 (in the 5th century BC)[20] 20.0% [21]
Japanese Empire 7.4 2.86 4.97% No 1942[10] 134.8 in 1938 5.9% (134.8 million out of 2.295 billion[9] in 1938)
Roman Empire 6.5 2.51 4.36% Yes 117[22] 80.0 (in 2nd century AD)[23][24] 35.9% (80.0 million out of 223 million[23] in the 2nd century AD)
Ming Dynasty, China 6.5 2.51 4.36% Yes 1450[4][8] 110.0 in 1600.[25][26] 28.8% (160.0 million out of 556.2 million in 1600)[9]
Han Dynasty, China 6.5 2.51 4.36% Yes 100[27] 74.0 in 2[13][28] 26.0% (59.6 million out of 230 million[9] in 2 AD)
Nazi Germany 6.4 2.47 4.30% Yes 1942 75.4 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938 —
Göktürk Khaganate 6.0 2.32 4.03% Yes 557[4][27] — —
Golden Horde Khanate 6.0 2.32 4.03% Yes 1310[4][8] — —
Uyghur Khaganate 5.5 2.12 3.69% Yes 800[4][8] — —
Tang Dynasty, China 5.4 2.09 3.63% Yes 715[4][8] 53.0 in 755[13][29] 28.0% (70.0 million out of 250 million in 850 AD)[9]
Macedonian Empire 5.2 2.01 3.49% Yes BC 323[4][30] — —
Ottoman Empire 5.2 2.01 3.49% Yes 1683[4][8] — 7.1% (39.0 million out of 556 million[9] in the 17th century)
Fatimid Caliphate 5.1 1.97 3.42% Yes 969[4][8] — —
Mauryan Empire 5.0 1.93 3.36% Yes BC 250[4] 50.0 in the 2nd century BC 33.3% (50.0 million out of 150 million in the 2nd century BC[31])
Northern Yuan Dynasty, Mongolia 5.0 1.93 3.36% Yes 1550[8] — —
First Mexican Empire 4.9 1.89 3.29% Yes 1822 — —
Xin Dynasty, China 4.7 1.82 3.16% Yes 10[27] — —
Tibetan Empire 4.6 1.78 3.09% Yes 800[4][8] — —
Timurid Empire 4.6 1.78 3.09% Yes 1405[4][8] — —
Mughal Empire 4.6 1.78 3.09% Yes 1690[4][8] 175.0 in 1700 29.2% (175.0 million out of 600 million[32] in 1700)
Xiongnu Empire 4.03 1.56 2.71% Yes BC 176[33] — —
Pala Empire 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 850 — 24.0% (60.0 million out of 250 million in 850)[9]
Hunnic Empire 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 441[27] — —
Hephtalite Empire 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 490[27] — —
Eastern Turks Khanate 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 624[27] — —
Afsharid Dynasty, Persia 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 1747 — —
Western Turks Khanate 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 630[27] — —
Rouran Khaganate Juan-juan 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 405[4][27] — —
Karkota Dynasty, Kashmir, India 4.0 1.54 2.69% Yes 750[4][8] — —
Seleucid Empire 3.9 1.51 2.62% Yes BC 301[4][30] — —
Great Seljuq Empire 3.9 1.51 2.62% Yes 1080[4][8] — —
Italian Empire 3.8 1.47 2.55% No 1940 51.9 in 1938 2.3% (51.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
Kushan Empire 3.8 1.47 2.55% Yes 200[27] — 19.0% (42.37 million out of 223 million in 140)[9]
Ilkhanate 3.75 1.45 2.52% Yes 1310[4][8] — —
Dutch Empire 3.7 1.43 2.48% No 1940 60.0 in 1940. 3.5% (60.0 million out of 1.700 billion in 1907)
Chola Dynasty, India 3.6 1.39 2.42% Yes 1050[34][35] — —
Khwarazmian Empire 3.6 1.39 2.42% Yes 1218[8] — —
Sassanid Empire 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 550[4] 78.0 (in the 7th century AD) 37.1% (78.0 million out of 210 million[17] in the 7th century AD)
Gupta Empire 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 400[4] — 26.36% (58.0 million out of 220 million in 400 AD) [3]
Chagatai Khanate 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 1310 or 1350[4][8] — —
Safavid Dynasty, Persia 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 1512 — —
German Colonial Empire 3.5 1.35 2.35% No 1914 64.9 in 1914 3.7% (64.9 million out of 1.753 billion in 1910)
Western Jin Dynasty, China 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 300[27] 48.0 in 1195.[13][36] —
Shaybanid Uzbek Dynasty 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 1510[8] — —
Byzantine Empire 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 555[27] — —
Northern Song Dynasty, China 3.5 1.35 2.35% Yes 1100[4][8] 123.0 in 1103[13][37] 22.0% (59.0 million out of 268 million in 1000)[9]
Ghaznavid Empire 3.4 1.31 2.28% Yes 1029[4][8] — —
First French Colonial Empire 3.4 1.31 2.28% No 1670[8] — —
Almoravid Caliphate 3.3 1.27 2.22% Yes 1147[8] — —
Tughlaq Dynasty, India 3.2 1.24 2.15% Yes 1320[8] — 18.91% (70.0 million out of 370 million in 1330)[9]
Ghurids Sultanate, Persia 3.2 1.24 2.15% Yes 1200[8] — —
Sui Dynasty, China 3.1 1.20 2.08% Yes 610[8] 53.0 in 606[13][38] —
Khazar Khanate 3.0 1.16 2.01% Yes 850[4] — —
Kalmar Union 3.0 1.16 2.01% Yes 1397 — —
Kievan Rus' 3.0 1.16 2.01% Yes 1050[4][8] — —
Kara-Khanid Khanate 3.0 1.16 2.01% Yes 1025[8] — —
Qajar Dynasty, Persia 3.0 1.16 2.01% Yes 1796 — —
Danish Colonial Empire 3.0 1.16 2.01% No 1800 — —
Grand Duchy of Moscow 3.0 1.16 2.01% Yes 1505 — —
Samanid Dynasty, Persia 2.85 1.10 1.91% Yes 928[4][8] — —
Median Empire 2.8 1.08 1.88% Yes BC 585[4][30] — —
Qin Dynasty, China 2.8 1.08 1.88% Yes BC 206[27] — —
Parthian Empire 2.8 1.08 1.88% Yes 1[4][30] — —
Eastern Jin Dynasty, China 2.8 1.08 1.88% Yes 347[27] — —
Liu Song Dynasty, China 2.8 1.08 1.88% Yes 420[27] — —
Khilji Dynasty, India 2.7 1.04 1.81% Yes 1312 or 1320[4][8] — —
Ayyubid Caliphate 2.7 1.04 1.81% Yes 1190[4] — —
Majapahit Empire 2.7 1.04 1.81% No 1389[27] — —
Liao Dynasty, China 2.6 1.00 1.75% Yes 947[4][8] — —
Indo-Greek Yavana Kingdom 2.5 0.97 1.68% Yes BC 150[27] — —
Bactrian Empire 2.5 0.97 1.68% Yes BC 184[27] — —
Later Zhao Dynasty, China 2.5 0.97 1.68% Yes 329[27] — —
Maratha Empire 2.5 0.97 1.68% Yes 1760[4] — —
Belgian Empire 2.5 0.97 1.68% No 1914 — —
Kara-Khitan Khanate Western Liao 2.5 0.97 1.68% Yes 1210[4] — —
Jurchen Jīn Dynasty, China 2.3 0.89 1.54% Yes 1126[4][8] — —
Southern Qi Dynasty, China 2.3 0.89 1.54% Yes 502[27] — —
Southern Song Dynasty, China 2.1 0.81 1.41% Yes 1127[8] 73.0 in 1193.[13][39] —
Bahriyya Mamluks, Egypt 2.1 0.81 1.41% Yes 1300[8] — —
Burjiyya Mamluks, Egypt 2.1 0.81 1.41% Yes 1400[4] — —
First French Empire 2.1 0.81 1.41% Yes 1813[8] — —
Wei Dynasty, China 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 263[27] — —
Earlier Zhao Dynasty, China 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 316[27] 64 in 156[13][40] —
Former Qin Dynasty, China 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 376[27] — —
Western Roman Empire 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 395[27] — —
Northern Wei Dynasty, China 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 450[27] — —
Saffarid Dynasty, Persia 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 900 — —
Almohad Caliphate 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 1200[4] — —
Satavahana Empire 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 90 AD[27] — —
Inca Empire 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 1527[4][8] — —
Second Mexican Empire 2.0 0.77 1.34% Yes 1864, similar to the United Mexican States of today[41] — —
Gurjara Pratihara Dynasty, India 1.8 0.69 1.21% Yes 860[8] — —
Sibir Khanate 1.8 0.69 1.21% Yes 1520[8] — —
Rashtrakuta Dynasty, India 1.7 0.66 1.41% Yes 805 — —
Buyid Sultanate, Persia 1.6 0.62 1.07% Yes 980[4][8] — —
Mamluk Sultanate, India 1.6 0.62 1.07% Yes 1228[8] — —
Indo-Parthian Kingdom 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes 50[27] — —
Wu Dynasty, China 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes 221[27] — —
Northern Zhou Dynasty, China 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes 577[27] — —
Nanda Dynasty, India 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes BC 350 or 321[27][42] — —
Indo-Scythian Kingdom 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes BC 100[30] — —
Tulunids Emirate 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes 900[27] — —
Idrisid Dynasty, Morocco 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes 828[4] — —
Suri Dynasty, India 1.5 0.58 1.01% Yes 1545 AD[4][8] — —
Neo-Assyrian Empire 1.4 0.54 0.940% Yes BC 670[4][30] — —
Songhai Empire 1.4 0.54 0.940% Yes 1500[43] — —
Empire of Harsha 1.35 0.52 0.906% Yes 625 or 648[4][8] — —
Liang Dynasty, China 1.3 0.50 0.873% Yes 502 or 549[4][27] — —
Western Wei Dynasty, China 1.3 0.50 0.873% Yes 557[27] — —
Later Liang Dynasty, China 1.3 0.50 0.873% Yes 923[8] — —
Later Tang Dynasty, China 1.3 0.50 0.873% Yes 923[8] — —
Mali Empire 1.29 0.50 0.866% Yes 1312[44] — 10.0% (45.0 million out of 450 million[45] in the mid-15th century)
Shang Dynasty, China 1.25 0.48 0.839% Yes BC 1122[4][30] — —
Western Zhou Dynasty, China 1.25 0.48 0.839% Yes BC 1122[30] — —
Aksumite Empire 1.25 0.48 0.839% Yes 350[4] — —
Carolingian Dynasty, Francia 1.2 0.46 0.806% Yes 814[4][8] — —
Polish-Lithuanian Empire 1.2 0.46 0.806% Yes 1650[4][8] — —
Srivijaya Empire 1.2 0.46 0.806% Yes 1200[4] — —
Sunga Empire 1.2 0.46 0.806% Yes BC 150[4] — —
Kingdom of Kush 1.2 0.46 0.806% Yes BC 700[4] — —
Thai Empire 1.12 0.43 0.752% Yes 1782 — —
Chalukya Dynasty, India 1.1 0.42 0.739% Yes 636 — —
Swedish Empire 1.1 0.42 0.739% No 1658 — —
Lodhi Dynasty, India 1.1 0.42 0.739% Yes 1517 — —
18th Dynasty, Egypt 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes BC 1450[30] — —
New Kingdom, Egypt 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes BC 1300[4][30] — —
Ptolemaic Dynasty, Egypt 1.0 0.39 0.671% No BC 301[30] — —
Eastern Wei Dynasty, China 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 550[27] — —
Northern Qi Dynasty, China 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 550[27] — —
Tahirid Dynasty, Persia 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 800[8] — —
Kalachuri Dynasty, India 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 1050[4][8] — —
Holy Roman Empire 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 1050[8] — —
Western Xia Dynasty, China 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 1100[4] — —
Western Chalukya Empire 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 1121 — —
Khmer Empire 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 1290[4][8] — —
Avars Empire 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 600[27] — —
Kanem Empire 1.0 0.39 0.671% Yes 1200[8] — —
Maha-Meghavahana Dynasty, India 0.9 0.35 0.604% Yes BC 10[30] — —
Konbaung Dynasty, Burma 0.9 0.35 0.604% Yes 1800 AD — —
Volga Bulgars Khanate 0.9 0.35 0.604% Yes 1100[4][8] — —
Akkadian Empire 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes BC 2250[30] — —
Later Jin Dynasty, China 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes 936[8] — —
Ghana Empire 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes 1067[27] — —
Pagan Kingdom 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes 1200[8] — —
Western Satraps Dynasty, India 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes 100[27] — —
Himyarite Kingdom 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes 400 AD[30] — —
Balhae Kingdom 0.8 0.31 0.537% Yes 830[4] — —
Khanate of Kazan 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 1540[8] — —
Merovingian Dynasty, Francia 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 558[8] — —
Bulgarian Empire 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 900 — —
Shu Dynasty, China 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 221[27] — —
Yadava Gauli Kingdom 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 1250[8] — —
Paramara Dynasty, India 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 1050[27] — —
Kingdom of Dali 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 1200 — —
Vijayanagara Empire 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 1529 — 5.0% (25.0 million out of 500 million[9] in the 16th century)
Kingdom of Nanzhao 0.7 0.27 0.470% Yes 830[8] — —
Austro-Hungarian Empire 0.676615 0.26 0.454% Yes — 52.8 in 1914 2.9% (51.3 million out of 1.753 billion in 1910)
15th Dynasty, Egypt 0.65 0.25 0.436% Yes BC 1650[30] — —
26th Dynasty, Egypt 0.65 0.25 0.436% Yes BC 550[30] — —
Vakataka Kingdom 0.65 0.25 0.436% Yes 450 AD[30] — —
Visigothic Kingdom 0.6 0.23 0.403% Yes 580[27] — —
Caliphate of Córdoba 0.6 0.23 0.403% Yes 1000[8] — —
Rai Dynasty, Sindh, India 0.6 0.23 0.403% Yes 675 AD[27] — —
Maukhari Kannauj Dynasty, India 0.6 0.23 0.403% Yes 600 AD[8] — —
Bahmani Sultanate, India 0.6 0.23 0.403% Yes 1470 AD[8] — —
Nizams Dynasty, India 0.6 0.23 0.403% Yes 1740 AD — —
Sikh Empire 0.5609 0.22 0.377% Yes 1845 — —
Middle Kingdom, Egypt 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 1850[30] — —
Lydian Empire 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 585[30] — —
Neo-Babylonian Empire 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 562[30] — —
Kosala Dynasty, India 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 543[27] — —
Shishunaga Dynasty, India 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 510[27] — —
Chu Dynasty, China 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 350[27] — —
Pandyan Dynasty, India 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes 1251 — —
Later Han Dynasty, China 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes 947[8] — —
Kangju Empire 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes BC 100[27] — —
Ostrogothic Kingdom 0.5 0.19 0.336% Yes 510 AD[8] — —
Goguryeo Kingdom 0.45 0.17 0.302% Yes 476[30] — —
Xia Dynasty, China; (possible) 0.45 0.17 0.302% Yes BC 1800[30] — —
Crimean Khanate 0.4 0.15 0.269% Yes 1500[8] — —
Armenian Empire 0.4 0.15 0.269% Yes BC 83[27] — —
Old Kingdom, Egypt 0.4 0.15 0.269% Yes BC 2400[30] — —
Middle Kingdom, Assyria 0.4 0.15 0.269% Yes BC 1080[30] — —
Latin Empire 0.35 0.14 0.235% Yes 1204[27] — —
Mitanni Empire 0.3 0.12 0.201% Yes BC 1450[30] — —
Carthaginian Empire 0.3 0.12 0.201% No BC 220[30] — —
1st Dynasty, Babylon 0.25 0.10 0.168% Yes BC 1690[30] — —
Serbian Empire 0.25 0.10 0.168% Yes 1350 — —
Aztec Empire 0.22 0.08 0.148% Yes 1520[8] — —
Middle Elamite 0.2 0.08 0.134% Yes BC 1160[30] — —
2nd Dynasty, Isin 0.2 0.08 0.134% Yes BC 1130[30] — —
Urartu Empire 0.2 0.08 0.134% Yes BC 800[30] — —
Amorian Dynasty, Byzantium 0.2 0.08 0.134% Yes BC 750[30] — —
Old Kingdom, Assyria 0.15 0.06 0.101% Yes BC 1730[30] — —
Eastern Zhou Dynasty, China 0.15 0.06 0.101% Yes BC 770[30] — —
z 999 z 9999 9999 99

Maps

Ancient empires

Medieval empires

Modern empires

Largest empires by economy

GDP 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.

GDP size

  1. British Empire - $918.7 billion (in 1938)[3]
  2. Nazi German Empire - $375.6 billion (in 1938)[3]
  3. Japanese Empire - $260.7 billion (in 1938)[3]
  4. Russian Empire - $257.7 billion (in 1913)[9]
  5. Qing Empire, China - $241.3 billion (GDP decline to 1912, immediately before its downfall)[9]
  6. French Empire - $234.1 billion (in 1938)[3]
  7. Italian Empire - $143.4 billion (in 1938)[3]
  8. British India - $134.9 billion (in 1870)[9]
  9. Afsharid Empire, Persia - $119.85 billion (in 1740)[9]
  10. Austro-Hungarian Empire - $100.5 billion (in 1913)[46]
  11. Mughal Empire, India - $90.8 billion (GDP decline in 1700)[9]
  12. Dutch Empire - $60 billion (in 1900)
  13. Ottoman Empire - $26.4 billion (in 1913)[47]
  14. Portuguese Empire - $12.6 billion (in 1913)[46]
This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (November 2009)

See also

· · A history of empires
Ancient empires Akkadian · Egyptian · Kushite · Puntite · Azanian · Assyrian · Babylonian · Aksumite · Hittite · Iranian (Medes · Achaemenid · Parthian · Kushan · Sassanid) · Macedonian (Ptolemaic · Seleucid) · Indian (Maurya · Gupta) · Chinese (Qin · Han · Jin) · Roman (Western · Eastern) · Teotihuacan
Medieval empires Byzantine · Hunnic · Arab (Rashidun · Umayyad · Abbasid · Fatimid · Caliphate of Córdoba · Ayyubid) · Moroccan (Idrisid · Almoravid · Almohad · Marinid) · Persian (Tahirid · Samanid · Buyid · Sallarid · Ziyarid) · Ghaznavid · Bulgarian (First · Second) · Benin · Great Seljuq · Oyo · Bornu · Khwarezmian · Aragonese · Timurid · Indian (Chola · Gurjara-Pratihara · Pala · Eastern Ganga dynasty · Delhi) · Mongol (Yuan · Golden Horde · Chagatai Khanate · Ilkhanate) · Kanem · Serbian · Songhai · Khmer · Carolingian · Holy Roman · Angevin · Mali · Chinese (Sui · Tang · Song · Yuan) · Wagadou · Aztec · Inca · Srivijaya · Majapahit · Ethiopian (Zagwe · Solomonic) · Somali (Ajuuraan · Warsangali) · Adalite
Modern empires Tongan · Indian (Maratha · Sikh · Mughal) · Chinese (Ming · Qing) · Ottoman · Persian (Safavid · Afsharid · Zand · Qajar · Pahlavi) · Moroccan (Saadi · Alaouite) · Ethiopian · Somali (Dervish · Gobroon · Hobyo) · French (First · Second) · Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) · German · Russian · Swedish · Mexican (First · Second) · Brazil · Korea · Japan · Haitian (First · Second) · Central African
Colonial empires Portuguese · Spanish · Danish · Dutch · British · French · German · Italian · Belgian

Notes and references

  1. ^ CIA - The World Factbook
  2. ^ Ferguson, Niall (2004). Empire, The rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global power. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02328-2.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harrison (1998, pp. 3,7).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf Peter Turchin, Thomas D. Hall and Jonathan M. Adams, "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires", Journal of World-Systems Research Vol. 12 (no. 2), pp. 219-229 (2006).
  5. ^ a b c «Mongolia se encomienda a Gengis Jan» (en español). diario El País 18.08.2007 (2007). Consultado el 19/06/2008.
  6. ^ The combined population of China and Korea in the 13th century was 83 in Biraben (2003). The combined population of Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey was about 27 in Maddison (2006).
  7. ^ Biraben, Jean-Noel; Biraben, Jean-Noel (1979-01). "Essai sur l'evolution du nombre des hommes". Population (French Edition) (Institut National d'&#201) 34 (1): 13–25. doi:10.2307/1531855. http://jstor.org/stable/1531855.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo Rein Taagepera (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". International Studies Quarterly 41 (3): 475–504. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Maddison, op cit. For alternate estimates, see the Economic History Services' USA/UK GDP search tool.
  10. ^ a b c d e Gordon (2005)
  11. ^ The combined population of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, United States and the Philippines was 29.2 in Maddison (2006). The population of Latin America was 39 in Biraben (2003), minus Brazil and its 4 people with was a part of the Portuguese empire.
  12. ^ Recorded number of persons in 1851 is 432,164,047 according to Draft History of Qing.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h (a) John D. Durand, 1960, "The Population Statistics of China, A.D. 2–1953," Population Studies Vol. 13 (No. 3), 209–256. (b) John D. Durand, 1974, "Historical Estimates of World Population: An Evaluation," University of Pennsylvania, Population Center, Analytical and Technical Reports, Number 10.
  14. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 1290 are 58,834,711 and 13,196,206, respectively (History of Yuan), while recorded peak number of persons and households are 59,848,964 and 13,430,322 in 1291, respectively (History of Yuan).
  15. ^ Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (1994). The End of the Jihad State, the Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd-al Malik and the collapse of the Umayyads. State University of New York Press. p. 37. ISBN 0791418278
  16. ^ The combined population of Southwest Asia and North Africa was about 57 in Biraben (2003). The combined population of Spain and Portugal was about 5 in Maddison (2006).
  17. ^ a b McEvedy and Jones (1978).
  18. ^ Rashidun Caliphate
  19. ^ Vasseghi, Sheda, "The other Iran story: Re-engineering the nation's cultural DNA", Breaking... WorldTribune.com World Tribune News, (12 October 2009).
  20. ^ While estimates for the Achaemenid Empire range from 10–80+ , most prefer 50 . Prevas (2009, p. 14) estimates 10 1. Langer (2001, p. 40) estimates around 16 2. McEvedy and Jones (2001, p. 50) estimates 17 3. Strauss (2004, p. 37) estimates about 20 4. Ward (2009, p. 16) estimates at 20 5. Aperghis (2007, p. 311) estimates 32 6. Scheidel (2009, p. 99) estimates 35 7. Zeinert (1996, p. 32) estimates 40 8. Rawlinson and Schauffler (1898, p. 270) estimates possibly 50 9. Astor (1899, p. 56) estimates almost 50 10. Lissner (1961, p. 111) estimates probably 50 11. Milns (1968, p. 51) estimates some 50 12. Hershlag (1980, p. 140) estimates nearly 50 13. Yarshater (1996, p. 47) estimates by 50 14. Daniel (2001, p. 41) estimates at 50 15. Meyer and Andreades (2004, p. 58) estimates to 50 16. Pollack (2004, p. 7) estimates about 50 17. Jones (2004, p. 8) estimates over 50 18. Safire (2007, p. 627) estimates in 50 19. Dougherty (2009, p. 6) estimates about 70 20. Richard (2008, p. 34) estimates nearly 70 21. Mitchell (2004, p. 16) estimates over 70 22. Hanson (2001, p. 32) estimates almost 75 23. West (1913, p. 85) estimates about 75 24. Zenos (1889, p. 2) estimates exactly 75 25. Cowley (1999 and 2001, p. 17) estimates possibly 80 26. Cook (1904, p. 277) estimates exactly 80 27.
  21. ^ Strauss (2004, p. 37)
  22. ^ Steele, Christy, "Rome", p. 36 (2001).
  23. ^ a b Mclynn Frank "Marcus Aurelius" p. 4. Published by The Bodley Head 2009
  24. ^ There are several different estimates for the Roman Empire. Scheidel (2006, p. 2) estimates 60 . Goldsmith (1984, p. 263) estimates 55 . Beloch (1886, p. 507) estimates 54 . Maddison (2006, p. 51, 120) estimates 48 . Roman Empire Population estimates 65 (while mentioning several other estimates between 55 and 120 ).
  25. ^ Jean-Noël Biraben, "The History of the Human Population From the First Beginnings to the Present" in Demography: Analysis and Synthesis: A Treatise in Population (Eds: Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, Guillaume J. Wunsch), Vol. III, Chapter 66, pp 5-18, Academic Press:San Diego (2005).
  26. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 1393 are 60,545,812 and 10,652,870, respectively (Ming Hui Dian), while recorded peak number of persons and households are 66,598,337 and 11,415,829 in 1403, respectively (Book of Ming).
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au Rein Taagepera "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.", Social Science History Vol. 3, 115-138 (1979).
  28. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in AD 2 are 59,594,978 and 12,233,062, respectively (Book of Han).
  29. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 755 are 52,919,309 and 8,914,709, respectively (Book of Tang).
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag Rein Taagepera "Size and Duration of Empires Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.", Social Science Research Vol. 7, 180-196 (1978).
  31. ^ Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones (1978), "Atlas of World Population History", Facts on File (p. 342-351). New York.
  32. ^ Thomlinson (1975, Table 1).
  33. ^ Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, J. Daniel Rogers, Steven P. Wilcox, & Jai Alterman, "Computing the Steppes: Data Analysis for Agent-Based Modeling of Polities in Inner Asia", Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the Amer. Pol. Sci. Assoc., Boston, MA, p. 8 August 28–31, (2008).
  34. ^ [1]
  35. ^ "The Cholas"" University of Madras"K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
  36. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 1195 are 48,490,400 and 7,223,400, respectively (History of Jin).
  37. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 1103 are 45,981,845 and 20,524,065, respectively (Song Huiyao), while recorded peak number of persons and households are 46,734,784 and 20,882,438 in 1109, respectively (Song Huiyao).
  38. ^ Recorded number of persons and households are 46,019,956 and 8,907,546, respectively, in 606 (Tongdian) or 609 (Book of Sui).
  39. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 1193 are 27,845,085 and 12,302,873, respectively (Wenxian Tongkao), while recorded peak number of persons and households are 28,320,085 and 12,670.801 in 1223, respectively (Wenxian Tongkao).
  40. ^ Recorded number of persons and households in 156 are 56,486,856 and 10,677,960 respectively (Book of the Later Han).
  41. ^ Mexico entry at The World Factbook
  42. ^ Rein Taagepera "Size and Duration of Empires: Systematics of Size", Social Science Research Vol. 7, 108-127 (1978).
  43. ^ John O. Hunwick: Timbuktu and the Songahy Empire: Al-Sa’di’s Ta’rikh Al-sudan Down to 1613 and other Contemporary Documents (Brill, 2003),p. xlix.
  44. ^ Hempstone, page 312
  45. ^ Walker, Sheila S., African roots/American cultures: Africa in the creation of the Americas, Published by Rowman & Littlefield, p. 127. (2001)
  46. ^ a b Broadberry and Harrison (2005).
  47. ^ Pamuk (2005).

Bibliography

External links

· · Lists of countries by political rankings
Freedom Trade · Press (Freedom House · Reporters Without Borders) · Economic (Fraser Institute · The Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal)
Corruption Bribes · Corruption perceptions
Competitiveness e-Government · Nation Brands Index · Failed States Index · Composite Index of National Capability · Comprehensive National Power · National Power Index
History Empire size · First human settlement · Flag adoption date · Formation date
Rights Democracy Index · Privacy · Property rights
Other Ease of doing business · Globalization
Lists by country · List of international rankings · List of top international rankings by country

Categories:

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Wed Nov 16 11:26:36 2011.
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

More Information Results for "List of Largest Empires"
[Hide]▼
'List of Largest Empires' Images
'List of Largest Empires' News
'Lost interview' with late Apple visionary Steve Jobs to air at theaters
Daily Mail
'Lost interview' with late Apple visionary Steve Jobs to air at theaters
Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:40:22 -0800

The film, 'Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview,' is from a conversation Mr Jobs filmed with author and producer Robert Cringely for the 1996 mini-series 'Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires .' The show, about the origins of the personal ...
Google News Search: list of largest empires,
Wed Nov 16 11:26:38 2011
'List of Largest Empires' Blogs
My Top 10 Empires A Torvik Reviews Blog
torvikreviews.wordpress.com
My Top 10 Empires A Torvik Reviews Blog

torvikreviews, torvikreviews.wordpress.com
2011-04-05 13:57:33

My Top 10 Empires . By torvikreviews. Their power, vast areas, longevity, influence and wealth are very fascinating. This is my list of the best empires and their entries are by the points stated earlier. 10. ...

Google Blogs Search: list of largest empires,
Wed Nov 16 11:26:37 2011
[Hide]▲