Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

List of largest empires

none

List of largest empires

none

Several empires in human history have been contenders for the largest of all time, depending on definition and mode of measurement. Possible ways of measuring size include area, population, economy, and power. Of these, area is the most commonly used because it has a relatively precise definition and can be feasibly measured with some degree of accuracy; nevertheless, even area is limited in this regard because of the difficulty in defining the boundaries of empires due to things like the indirect nature of imperial control and sparsely inhabited or even uninhabited areas that may nominally have been controlled by an empire but not meaningfully ruled by it.

Estonian political scientist Rein Taagepera, who published a series of academic articles about the territorial extents of historical empires between 1978 and 1997, and a book in 2024, defined an empire in this context as "any relatively large sovereign political entity whose components are not sovereign" and its size as the area over which the empire has some undisputed military and taxation prerogatives. The list is not exhaustive as there is a lack of available data for several empires; for this reason and because of the inherent uncertainty in the estimates, no rankings are given.

Largest empires by land area

For context, the land area of the Earth, excluding the continent of Antarctica, is {{#expr:148940000-14200000}} km2.

Empires at their greatest extent

The home and colonial areas of the world's empires in 1908, as given by ''The Harmsworth Atlas and Gazetteer''

Empire size in this list is defined as the dry land area it controlled at the time, which may differ considerably from the area it claimed. For example: in the year 1800, European powers collectively claimed approximately % of the Earth's land surface that they did not effectively control. Where estimates vary, entries are sorted by the lowest estimate. Where more than one entry has the same area, they are listed alphabetically.

EmpireMaximum land areaMillion km2Million sq mi% of worldYear
British Empire35.535.5 km2
Mongol Empire24.024.0 km2or
Russian Empire22.822.8 km2
Qing dynasty14.714.7 km2
Spanish Empire13.713.7 km2
Second French colonial empire11.511.5 km2
Abbasid Caliphate11.111.1 km2
Umayyad Caliphate11.111.1 km2
Yuan dynasty11.011.0 km2
United Stateslast=Taageperafirst=Reinauthor-link=Rein Taageperatitle=More People, Fewer States: The Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizeslast2=Nemčokfirst2=Miroslavdate=2024publisher=Cambridge University Pressisbn=978-1-009-42780-7pages=216language=enchapter=Engineer Empires (From 1800 Onward)doi=10.1017/9781009427814.014chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r6gfEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA216}}9.5 km2
Xiongnu Empire9.09.0 km2
Empire of Brazil8.337218 km2
Empire of Japanlast=Conradfirst=Sebastiandate=2014title=The Dialectics of Remembrance: Memories of Empire in Cold War Japanurl=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/199424523.pdfurl-status=livejournal=Comparative Studies in Society and Historyvolume=56issue=1pages=8doi=10.1017/S0010417513000601issn=0010-4175jstor=43908281s2cid=146284542archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708000924/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/199424523.pdfarchive-date=2020-07-08access-date=2020-07-07quote=In 1942, at the moment of its greatest extension, the empire encompassed territories spanning over 7,400,000 square kilometers.}}–3.285 mi27.4 km2–3.285–
Eastern Han dynasty6.56.5 km2
Ming dynasty6.56.5 km2
Rashidun Caliphate6.46.4 km2
First Turkic Khaganate6.06.0 km2
Golden Horde Khanate6.06.0 km2
Western Han dynasty6.06.0 km2
Achaemenid Empire5.55.5 km2
Second Portuguese Empire5.55.5 km2
Tang dynasty5.45.4 km2
Macedonian Empire5.25.2 km2
Ottoman Empire5.25.2 km2
Northern Yuan dynasty5.05.0 km2
Roman Empire5.05.0 km2
Xin dynasty4.74.7 km2
Tibetan Empire4.64.6 km2
Xianbei statelast1=Scheidelfirst1=Waltertitle=The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experiencepublisher=Oxford University Pressyear=2020isbn=978-0-19-977311-4editor-last=Bangeditor-first=Peter Fibigereditor-link=Peter Fibiger Banglocation=pages=92–94language=enchapter=The Scale of Empire: Territory, Population, Distributionauthor-link=Walter Scheideleditor-last2=Baylyeditor-first2=C. A.editor-link2=Christopher Baylyeditor-last3=Scheideleditor-first3=Waltereditor-link3=Walter Scheidelchapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mkLEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92}}4.5 km2
First Mexican Empirelast1=Rodríguezfirst1=Jaimechapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X6FIUUjtq0oC&pg=PA47title=Myths, Misdeeds and Misunderstandings: The Roots of Conflict in US-Mexican Relationslast2=Vincentfirst2=Kathryndate=1997publisher=Scholarly Resources Inc.isbn=0-8420-2662-2edition=Firstlocation=Wilmington, DE, USApage=47chapter=The Colonization and Loss of Texas: A Mexican Perspectivequote=When it was founded in 1821, the Mexican Empire extended over 4,429,000 km2 (not including the 445,683 km2 temporarily added by the short-lived union of the Central American provinces).access-date=14 May 2020archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615060129/https://books.google.com/books?id=X6FIUUjtq0oC&pg=PA47archive-date=2020-06-15url-status=live}}4.429 km2
Timurid Empire4.44.4 km2
Fatimid Caliphate4.14.1 km2
Eastern Turkic Khaganate4.04.0 km2
Hunnic Empire4.04.0 km2
Mughal Empire4.04.0 km2
Great Seljuq Empire3.93.9 km2
Seleucid Empire3.93.9 km2
Italian Empirelast=Harrisonfirst=Markauthor-link=title=The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparisondate=2000publisher=Cambridge University Pressisbn=978-0-521-78503-7editor-last=Harrisoneditor-first=Markeditor-link=pages=3language=enchapter=The Economics of World War II: An Overviewchapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgFu2p5uogwC&pg=PA3}}{{#expr:(310+3488)/1000}} km2
Ilkhanate3.753.75 km2
Dzungar Khanate3.63.6 km2
Chagatai Khanate3.53.5 km2or
Sasanian Empire3.53.5 km2
Western Turkic Khaganate3.53.5 km2
Western Xiongnu3.53.5 km2
First French colonial empire3.43.4 km2
Ghaznavid Empire3.43.4 km2
Maurya Empire3.4–5.03.4 km2–5.0 km2–or
Delhi Sultanate3.23.2 km2
German colonial empire{{#expr:(208780+1006412)/10^6}} mi2
Northern Song dynasty3.13.1 km2
Uyghur Khaganate3.13.1 km2
Western Jin dynasty3.13.1 km2
Danish Empirelast1=Korchminafirst1=Elenalast2=Sharpfirst2=Pauldate=June 2020title=Denmark and Russia: What can we learn from the historical comparison of two great Arctic agricultural empires?url=http://www.ehes.org/EHES_187.pdfurl-status=livearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708001530/http://www.ehes.org/EHES_187.pdfarchive-date=2020-07-08access-date=2020-07-04publisher=European Historical Economics Societypage=3quote=Around 1700, the Danish Empire covered around 3 million square kilometers}}3.0 km2
Sui dynasty3.03.0 km2
Safavid empire2.92.9 km2
Samanid Empire2.852.85 km2
Eastern Jin dynasty2.82.8 km2
Median Empire2.82.8 km2
Parthian Empire2.82.8 km21
Rouran Khaganate2.82.8 km2
Byzantine Empire2.7–2.82.7 km2–2.8 km2–or
Indo-Scythian Kingdom2.62.6 km2
Liao dynasty2.62.6 km2
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom2.52.5 km2
Later Zhao2.52.5 km2
Maratha Empire2.52.5 km2
Belgian colonial empire{{#expr:(11800+940000)/10^6}} mi2
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)2.32.3 km2
Khwarazmian Empire2.3–3.62.3 km2–3.6 km2–or
Qin dynasty2.32.3 km2
Dutch Empire2.12.1 km2
First French Empire2.12.1 km2
Kievan Rus'2.12.1 km2
Mamluk Sultanate2.12.1 km2or
Southern Song dynasty2.12.1 km2
Third Portuguese Empire2.12.1 km2
Almohad Caliphate2.0–2.32.0 km2–2.3 km2–or
Cao Wei2.02.0 km2
Former Qin2.02.0 km2
Former Zhao2.02.0 km2
Ghurid dynasty2.02.0 km2
Inca Empire2.02.0 km2
Kushan Empire2.0–2.52.0 km2–2.5 km2–
Liu Song dynasty2.02.0 km2
Northern Wei2.02.0 km2
Western Roman Empire2.02.0 km2
Ayyubid dynasty1.7–2.01.7 km2–2.0 km2–or
Gupta Empire1.7–3.51.7 km2–3.5 km2–or
Hephthalite Empire1.7–4.01.7 km2–4.0 km2–or
Buyid dynasty1.61.6 km2
Eastern Wu1.51.5 km2
Northern Qi1.51.5 km2
Northern Xiongnu1.51.5 km2
Northern Zhou1.51.5 km2
Neo-Assyrian Empire1.41.4 km2
Eastern Maurya Kingdom1.31.3 km2
Liang dynasty1.31.3 km2, , or
Qajar Empire{{#expr:0.5}} mi2last=Hughesfirst=Williamurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=3bovAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA175title=A Class-book of Modern Geography: With Examination Questionsdate=1873publisher=G. Philip & Sonpages=175language=enquote=In size it is about 500,000 square milesauthor-link=William Hughes (geographer)access-date=2020-08-26archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200826013805/https://books.google.com/books?id=3bovAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA175archive-date=2020-08-26url-status=live}}
Kingdom of Aksum1.251.25 km2
Shang dynasty1.251.25 km2
Francia1.21.2 km2
Srivijaya1.21.2 km2
Indo-Greek Kingdom1.11.1 km2
Mali Empire1.11.1 km2
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth1.11.1 km2or
Almoravid dynasty1.01.0 km2
Pushyabhuti dynasty1.01.0 km2or
Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty1.01.0 km2
Holy Roman Empire1.01.0 km2
Khazar Khanate1.0–3.01.0 km2–3.0 km2–or
Khmer Empire1.01.0 km2
New Kingdom of Egypt1.01.0 km2nowrapor
Ptolemaic Kingdom1.01.0 km2
Qara Khitai1.0–1.51.0 km2–1.5 km2–or
Scythialast=Turchinfirst=Peterauthor-link=Peter Turchindate=2009title=A theory for formation of large empiresurl=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4f5d/7c534b86b3833e1e27381113584873e35ec7.pdfurl-status=deadjournal=Journal of Global Historylanguage=envolume=4issue=2pages=202doi=10.1017/S174002280900312Xs2cid=73597670issn=1740-0228archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131162633/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4f5d/7c534b86b3833e1e27381113584873e35ec7.pdfarchive-date=2020-01-31access-date=2020-01-31}}1.0 km2
Shu Han1.01.0 km2
Tahirid dynasty1.01.0 km2
Western Xia1.01.0 km2
Swedish Empirelast=Sundbergfirst=Ulfurl=https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/156474/sundberg_ulf.pdftitle=Swedish defensive fortress warfare in the Great Northern War 1702–1710date=2018publisher=Åbo Akademis förlagisbn=978-951-765-897-3location=Åbopages=26oclc=1113941754quote=In 1700, the Swedish Empire covered a land area of 990,000 square kilometers and had 2,500,000 inhabitants.author-link=Ulf Sundbergarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703214934/https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/156474/sundberg_ulf.pdfarchive-date=2020-07-03}}0.99 km2
Kingdom of Armenialast1=Manaseryanfirst1=Ruben L.author1-link=:hy:Ռուբեն Մանասերյանtitle=Տիգրան Մեծի անձի և գործունեության գնահատականի շուրջjournal=Vemdate=2022page=39doi=10.57192/18291864-2022.3-33url=https://vemjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/03-%D5%8A%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%E2%80%932022-3.pdfarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210085442/https://vemjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/03-%D5%8A%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%E2%80%932022-3.pdfarchive-date=10 February 2024quote=Հայոց արքայի իշխելը 10 միլիոն բնակչություն ունեցող 900.000 կմ² տարածքի վրա}}0.9 km2
Akkadian Empire0.80.8 km2
Avar Khaganate0.80.8 km2
Chu0.80.8 km2
Huns0.80.8 km2
Songhai Empire0.80.8 km2
Hyksos0.650.65 km2
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt0.650.65 km2
Rozvi Empirelast=Cornellfirst=Jamesurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnmteYTFUmICtitle=Lost Lands and Forgotten Peoplepublisher=Sterling Publishing Companyyear=1978isbn=978-0-8069-3926-1page=24language=enquote=Zimbabwe continued to grow, reaching the height of its power in 1700, under the rule of the Rozwi people. When the first Europeans arrived on the African coast, they heard tales of a great stone city, the capital of a vast empire. The tales were true, for the Rozwi controlled 240,000 square miles (624,000 sq km)}}0.624 km2
Austro-Hungarian Empire0.239977 mi2
Caliphate of Córdoba0.60.6 km2
First Portuguese Empire0.60.6 km2
Visigothic Kingdom0.60.6 km2
Zhou dynastylast=Taageperafirst=Reinauthor-link=Rein Taageperadate=1978title=Size and duration of empires: Systematics of sizeurl=https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdfurl-status=livejournal=Social Science Researchlanguage=envolume=7issue=2pages=116–117doi=10.1016/0049-089X(78)90007-8issn=0049-089Xarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707192527/https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdfarchive-date=2020-07-07access-date=2020-07-07}}0.55 km2
Sikh Empire0.20 mi2last=Singhfirst=Amarpalurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=RHWoAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16title=The First Anglo-Sikh Wardate=2010-08-15publisher=Amberley Publishing Limitedisbn=978-1-4456-2038-1language=enquote=By 1839, the year of his death, the Sikh kingdom extended from Tibet and Kashmir to Sind and from the Khyber Pass to the Himalayas in the east. It spanned 600 miles from east to west and 350 miles from north to south, comprising an area of just over 200,000 square miles.}}
Emirate of Córdoba0.50.5 km2
Kosala0.50.5 km2
Lydia0.50.5 km2
Magadha0.50.5 km2
Middle Kingdom of Egypt0.50.5 km2
Neo-Babylonian Empire0.50.5 km2
Satavahana dynasty0.50.5 km2
Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt0.50.5 km2
Western Satraps0.50.5 km2
New Hittite Kingdom0.450.45 km2
Xia dynasty0.450.45 km2
Bulgarian Empirelast1=Rashevfirst1=Rashotitle=Българската езическа култура VII -IX в./Bulgarian Pagan Culture VII – IX cтр. 38language=bgdate=2008publisher=Класика и стилisbn=9789543270392}}0.4 km2
Kingdom of France (Middle Ages)0.40.4 km2
Middle Assyrian Empire0.40.4 km2
Old Kingdom of Egypt0.40.4 km2
Sokoto Caliphatelast=Wesselingfirst=H. L.url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdHMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA93title=The European Colonial Empires: 1815-1919date=2015-10-23publisher=Routledgeisbn=978-1-317-89507-7pages=93language=enquote=Islam spread quickly in Hausaland, which, after the jihad of 1804, was incorporated into the Sokoto Caliphate, a vast empire of 400,000 square kilometres.author-link=Henk Wesselingaccess-date=2020-07-03archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708001930/https://books.google.com/books?hl=sv&lr=&id=PdHMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA93archive-date=2020-07-08url-status=live}}0.4 km2
Latin Empire0.350.35 km2
Ancient Carthage0.30.3 km2
Indus Valley Civilisation0.30.3 km2
Mitanni0.30.3 km2
Ashanti Empirelast=Iliffefirst=Johnurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=dlHE51ScKTUC&pg=PA143title=Africans: The History of a Continentdate=1995-08-25publisher=Cambridge University Pressisbn=978-0-521-48422-0pages=143language=enquote=At its peak around 1820 the empire embraced over 250,000 square kilometres [...]author-link=John Iliffe (historian)}}0.25 km2
First Babylonian Empire0.250.25 km2
Aztec Empire0.220.22 km2
Zulu Empire0.08 mi2last=Gluckmanfirst=Maxauthor-link=Max Gluckmandate=1960title=The Rise of a Zulu Empireurl=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-rise-of-a-zulu-empire/journal=Scientific Americanvolume=202issue=4pages=162doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0460-157issn=0036-8733jstor=24940454bibcode=1960SciAm.202d.157Gurl-access=subscriptionaccess-date=2020-07-07quote=By 1822 he had made himself master over 80,000 square miles}}
Elamite Empire0.20.2 km2
Phrygia0.20.2 km2
Second Dynasty of Isin0.20.2 km2
Urartu0.20.2 km2
Eastern Zhou0.150.15 km2
Middle Hittite Kingdom0.150.15 km2
Old Assyrian Empire0.150.15 km2
Old Hittite Empire0.150.15 km2
Oyo Empirelast=Thorntonfirst=Johnurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVZDHeVEeywC&pg=PA104title=Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800date=1998-04-28publisher=Cambridge University Pressisbn=978-0-521-62724-5pages=104language=enquote=By 1680, the Oyo Empire (in Nigeria) may have exceeded 150,000 square kilometers, though not by much.}}0.15 km2
Bornu Empire0.05 mi2last1=Hughesfirst1=Williamurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=0J4BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA281title=A Class-book of Modern Geography: With Examination Questions, Notes, & Indexlast2=Williamsfirst2=J. Francondate=1892publisher=G. Philip & sonpages=281language=enquote=It has an area of perhaps 50,000 square miles.author-link=William Hughes (geographer)author-link2=John Francon Williamsarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530113925/https://books.google.com/books?id=0J4BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA281archive-date=2021-05-30url-status=live}}
Larsa0.10.1 km2
Neo-Sumerian Empire0.10.1 km2
Tarascan empirelast=Blanfordfirst=Adam Jareddate=2014title=Rethinking Tarascan Political and Spatial Organizationtype=PhD thesispublisher=University of Colorado Boulderpage=6s2cid=147339315url=https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/xw42n795parchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213021458/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/59c1/6f2a2864d85d403b223a9735015be38f4f10.pdfarchive-date=2020-02-13access-date=2023-03-24quote=By A.D. 1450, the Tarascan *Uacúsecha* were leaders of an empire that spanned 75,000 square kilometers of west Mexico}}0.075 km2
Lagash0.050.05 km2
Sumer0.050.05 km2

Timeline of largest empires to date

The earliest empire which can with certainty be stated to have been larger than all previous empires was that of Upper and Lower Egypt, which covered ten times the area of the previous largest civilisation around the year 3000 BC.

EmpireLand areaYearMillion km2Million sq mi
Upper and Lower Egypt0.10.1 km2
Old Kingdom of Egypt0.250.25 km2
0.40.4 km2
Akkadian Empire0.650.65 km2
0.80.8 km2
New Kingdom of Egyptlast=Taageperafirst=Reinauthor-link=Rein Taageperadate=1978title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt6wf6m5qg/qt6wf6m5qg.pdfurl-status=livejournal=Social Science Researchvolume=7issue=2pages=182–189doi=10.1016/0049-089x(78)90010-8issn=0049-089Xarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707202816/https://escholarship.org/content/qt6wf6m5qg/qt6wf6m5qg.pdfarchive-date=2020-07-07access-date=2020-07-07}}1.0 km2
Shang dynasty1.251.25 km2
Neo-Assyrian Empire1.41.4 km2
Median Empire2.82.8 km2
Achaemenid Empire3.63.6 km2
5.55.5 km2
Xiongnu Empire9.09.0 km2
Umayyad Caliphate11.111.1 km2
Mongol Empire13.513.5 km2
24.024.0 km2
British Empire24.524.5 km2
35.535.5 km2

Timeline of largest empires at the time

EmpireLand area during time
as largest empireApproximate periodMillion km2Million sq mi
Upper Egypt0.10.1 km2
Old Kingdom of Egypt0.25–0.40.25 km2–0.4 km2
Akkadian Empire0.2–0.60.2 km2–0.6 km2
Indus Valley Civilisation0.150.15 km2
Middle Kingdom of Egypt0.2–0.50.2 km2–0.5 km2
Xia dynasty0.40.4 km2
Hyksos0.650.65 km2
New Kingdom of Egypt0.65–1.00.65 km2–1.0 km2
Shang dynasty0.9–1.10.9 km2–1.1 km2
New Kingdom of Egypt0.5–0.60.5 km2–0.6 km2
Zhou dynasty0.35–0.450.35 km2–0.45 km2
Neo-Assyrian Empire0.4–1.40.4 km2–1.4 km2
Median Empire3.03.0 km2
Achaemenid Empire2.5–5.52.5 km2–5.5 km2
Macedonian Empire5.25.2 km2
Seleucid Empire4.04.0 km2
Maurya Empire3.53.5 km2
Han dynasty2.52.5 km2
Xiongnu Empire5.75.7 km2
Han dynasty4.2–6.54.2 km2–6.5 km2AD
Roman Empire4.44.4 km2–
Sasanian Empire3.53.5 km2
Hunnic Empire4.04.0 km2
Sasanian Empire3.53.5 km2
Göktürk Khaganate3.0–5.23.0 km2–5.2 km2–
Rashidun Caliphate5.25.2 km2
Umayyad Caliphate9.0–11.09.0 km2–11.0 km2–
Abbasid Caliphate8.3–11.08.3 km2–11.0 km2–
Tibet2.5–4.72.5 km2–4.7 km2–
Song dynasty3.03.0 km2
Seljuk Empire3.0–4.03.0 km2–4.0 km2–
Tibet2.52.5 km2
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)2.32.3 km2
Mongol Empire18.0–24.018.0 km2–24.0 km2–
Yuan dynasty11.011.0 km2
Timurid Empire4.04.0 km2
Ming dynasty4.7–6.54.7 km2–6.5 km2–
Ottoman Empire4.34.3 km2
Tsardom of Russia6.0–12.06.0 km2–12.0 km2–
Russian Empire14.0–17.014.0 km2–17.0 km2–
British Empire23.0–34.023.0 km2–34.0 km2–
Soviet Union22.522.5 km2–

Largest empires by share of world population

The home and colonial populations of the world's empires in 1908, as given by ''The Harmsworth Atlas and Gazetteer''

Because of the trend of increasing world population over time, absolute population figures are for some purposes less relevant for comparison between different empires than their respective shares of the world population at the time. For the majority of the time since roughly 400 BC, the two most populous empires' combined share of the world population has been 30–40%. Most of the time, the most populous empire has been located in China.

Empirelast1=Scheidelfirst1=Waltertitle=The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experiencepublisher=Oxford University Pressyear=2020isbn=978-0-19-977311-4editor-last=Bangeditor-first=Peter Fibigereditor-link=Peter Fibiger Banglocation=pages=103language=enchapter=The Scale of Empire: Territory, Population, Distributionauthor-link=Walter Scheideleditor-last2=Baylyeditor-first2=C. A.editor-link2=Christopher Baylyeditor-last3=Scheideleditor-first3=Waltereditor-link3=Walter Scheidelchapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mkLEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103}}Year
Qing dynasty37
Northern Song dynasty33
Western Han dynasty32
Mongol Empire31
Roman Empire30
Jin dynasty (266–420)28
Ming dynasty28
Qin dynasty24
Mughal Empire24
Tang dynasty23
Delhi Sultanate23
British Empire23
Empire of Japan20
Maurya Empire19
Former Qin19
Northern Zhou16
Macedonian Empire15
Empire of Harsha15
Gupta Empire13
Northern Wei13
Umayyad Caliphate13
Achaemenid Empire12
Former Yan12
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)12
Nazi Germany12

References

References

  1. Taagepera, Rein. (1978). "Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size". [[Social Science Research]].
  2. (2020). "The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experience". Oxford University Press.
  3. Taagepera, Rein. (1978). "Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size". [[Social Science Research]].
  4. Taagepera, Rein. (1978). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.". [[Social Science Research]].
  5. (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". [[Social Science History]].
  6. Taagepera. (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". [[International Studies Quarterly]].
  7. (2024). "More People, Fewer States". [[Cambridge University Press]].
  8. (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". [[Social Science History]].
  9. (2022-07-18). "World". [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
  10. Magdoff, Harry. (1979). "Imperialism: From the Colonial Age to the Present". NYU Press.
  11. (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". [[Journal of World-Systems Research]].
  12. Taagepera. (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". [[International Studies Quarterly]].
  13. (1908). "Harmsworth Atlas and Gazetteer". The Amalgamated Press Ltd..
  14. Taagepera, Rein. (2024). "More People, Fewer States: The Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizes". [[Cambridge University Press]].
  15. "Área Territorial Brasileira". [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]].
  16. Conrad, Sebastian. (2014). "The Dialectics of Remembrance: Memories of Empire in Cold War Japan". [[Comparative Studies in Society and History]].
  17. James, David H.. (2010-11-01). "The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire". Routledge.
  18. (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". [[Social Science History]].
  19. (2020). "The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experience". Oxford University Press.
  20. (1997). "Myths, Misdeeds and Misunderstandings: The Roots of Conflict in US-Mexican Relations". Scholarly Resources Inc..
  21. Harrison, Mark. (2000). "The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison". [[Cambridge University Press]].
  22. {{Cite EB1911
  23. (June 2020). "Denmark and Russia: What can we learn from the historical comparison of two great Arctic agricultural empires?". [[European Historical Economics Society]].
  24. Waters, Matthew. (2005). "Media and Its Discontents". [[Journal of the American Oriental Society]].
  25. (1941). "European Colonial Expansion Since 1871". J.B. Lippincott.
  26. Hughes, William. (1873). "A Class-book of Modern Geography: With Examination Questions". G. Philip & Son.
  27. Turchin, Peter. (2009). "A theory for formation of large empires". [[Journal of Global History]].
  28. Sundberg, Ulf. (2018). "Swedish defensive fortress warfare in the Great Northern War 1702–1710". Åbo Akademis förlag.
  29. (2022). "Տիգրան Մեծի անձի և գործունեության գնահատականի շուրջ". Vem.
  30. Cornell, James. (1978). "Lost Lands and Forgotten People". Sterling Publishing Company.
  31. {{Cite EB1911
  32. Taagepera, Rein. (1978). "Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size". [[Social Science Research]].
  33. Singh, Amarpal. (2010-08-15). "The First Anglo-Sikh War". Amberley Publishing Limited.
  34. (2008). "Българската езическа култура VII -IX в./Bulgarian Pagan Culture VII – IX cтр. 38". Класика и стил.
  35. Wesseling, H. L.. (2015-10-23). "The European Colonial Empires: 1815-1919". Routledge.
  36. Iliffe, John. (1995-08-25). "Africans: The History of a Continent". Cambridge University Press.
  37. Gluckman, Max. (1960). "The Rise of a Zulu Empire". [[Scientific American]].
  38. Thornton, John. (1998-04-28). "Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800". Cambridge University Press.
  39. (1892). "A Class-book of Modern Geography: With Examination Questions, Notes, & Index". G. Philip & son.
  40. Blanford, Adam Jared. (2014). "Rethinking Tarascan Political and Spatial Organization". [[University of Colorado Boulder]].
  41. Taagepera, Rein. (1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". [[International Studies Quarterly]].
  42. Taagepera, Rein. (1978). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.". [[Social Science Research]].
  43. (2020). "The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experience". Oxford University Press.
  44. Myrdal, Janken. (2013). "Ecology and Power: Struggles over Land and Material Resources in the Past, Present and Future". Routledge.
  45. (2020). "The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experience". Oxford University Press.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

empires former-empires lists-by-area lists-of-countries-by-geography history-related-lists-of-superlatives largest-things
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about List of largest empires — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report