List of largest empires#Contiguous empires
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File:British Empire and Mongol Empire (Robinson projection).svg (red) and Mongol Empire (blue) were the largest and second-largest empires in history, respectively. The precise extent of either empire at its greatest territorial expansion is a matter of debate among scholars.]]
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 fairly precise definition and can be feasibly measured with some degree of accuracy.{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1978|title=Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Social Science Research|language=en|volume=7|issue=2|pages=111|doi=10.1016/0049-089X(78)90007-8|issn=0049-089X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707192527/https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}} Estonian political scientist Rein Taagepera, who published a series of academic articles about the territorial extents of historical empires between 1978 and 1997,{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1978|title=Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Social Science Research|language=en|volume=7|issue=2|pages=108–127|doi=10.1016/0049-089X(78)90007-8|issn=0049-089X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707192527/https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}}{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1978|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt6wf6m5qg/qt6wf6m5qg.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Social Science Research|volume=7|issue=2|pages=180–196|doi=10.1016/0049-089x(78)90010-8|issn=0049-089X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707202816/https://escholarship.org/content/qt6wf6m5qg/qt6wf6m5qg.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}}{{cite journal|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1979|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.|journal=Social Science History|volume=3|issue=3/4|pages=115–138|doi=10.2307/1170959|jstor=1170959}}{{cite journal|author=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt3cn68807/qt3cn68807.pdf|url-status=live|journal=International Studies Quarterly|volume=41|issue=3|pages=475–504|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|jstor=2600793|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707203055/https://escholarship.org/content/qt3cn68807/qt3cn68807.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}} defined an empire 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.{{cite journal|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1979|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.|journal=Social Science History|volume=3|issue=3/4|page=117|doi=10.2307/1170959|jstor=1170959}} The list is not exhaustive owing to 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 {{convert|{{#expr:148940000-14200000}}|km2|sqmi|abbr=on|sigfig=5}}.{{Citation |title=World |date=2022-07-18 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/ |work=The World Factbook |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620115241/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/ |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |quote=land: 148.94 million sq km [...] Antarctica 14,200,000 sq km |access-date=2022-07-24 |archive-date=2022-06-20 |url-status=live}}
= Empires at their greatest extent =
File:The Harmsworth atlas and Gazetter 1908 (135853015).jpg
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 {{#expr:55-35}}% of the Earth's land surface that they did not effectively control.{{Cite book|last=Magdoff|first=Harry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9pWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|title=Imperialism: From the Colonial Age to the Present|date=1979|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-85345-498-4|pages=29|language=en|quote=[I]n 1800 Europe and its possessions, including former colonies, claimed title to about 55 percent of the earth's land surface: Europe, North and South America, most of India, and small sections along the coast of Africa. But much of this was merely claimed; effective control existed over a little less than 35 percent, most of which consisted of Europe itself. By 1878—that is, before the next major wave of European acquisitions began—an additional 6,500,000 square miles (16,800,000 square kilometers) were claimed; during this period, control was consolidated over the new claims and over all the territory claimed in 1800. Hence, from 1800 until 1878, actual European rule (including former colonies in North and South America), increased from 35 to 67 percent of the earth's land surface.|author-link=Harry Magdoff|access-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719190026/https://books.google.com/books?id=A9pWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|archive-date=2020-07-19|url-status=live}} Where estimates vary, entries are sorted by the lowest estimate. Where more than one entry has the same area, they are listed alphabetically.
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class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi"
! rowspan="2" width="200px"|Empire ! colspan="4" |Maximum land area |
data-sort-type="number" width="100px"| Million km2
! class="unsortable" width="100px"| Million sq mi ! class="unsortable" width="100px"| % of world ! width="150px"|Year |
---|
British Empire{{Efn|The largest peak areas of its former colonies following independence were Canada's {{convert|9.98|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1945, the United States' {{convert|9.67|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1899, and Australia's {{convert|7.68|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1945.|group=Table1}}
|{{convert|35.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|35.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Mongol Empire{{Efn|The Mongol Empire eventually fractured into four separate khanates: the Yuan dynasty, Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate, and Golden Horde. These are listed separately.|group=Table1}}
|{{convert|24.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|24.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting|1270}}{{cite journal|last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|author-link=Peter Turchin|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D.|date=December 2006|title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires|url=http://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Journal of World-Systems Research|volume=12|issue=2|pages=222–223|issn=1076-156X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707181315/http://peterturchin.com/PDF/Turchin_Adams_Hall_2006.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}} or {{Date table sorting|1309}} |
Russian Empire{{Efn|group=Table1|Its successor state the USSR and its successor in turn, the Russian Federation, reached maximum extents of {{convert|22.3|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1945 and {{convert|17.1|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1991, respectively.}}
|{{convert|22.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|22.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Qing dynasty{{Efn|group=Table1|Its successor state the Republic of China (1912–1949) and its successor in turn, the People's Republic of China (since 1949), reached maximum extents of {{convert|7.7|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1912 and {{convert|9.7|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} in 1950, respectively.}}
|{{convert|14.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|14.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Spanish Empire
|{{convert|13.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|13.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Second French colonial empire
|{{convert|11.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|11.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Abbasid Caliphate
|{{convert|11.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|11.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Umayyad Caliphate
|{{convert|11.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|11.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Yuan dynasty
|{{convert|11.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|11.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting|1310}}{{cite journal|author=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt3cn68807/qt3cn68807.pdf|url-status=live|journal=International Studies Quarterly|volume=41|issue=3|pages=492–502|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|jstor=2600793|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707203055/https://escholarship.org/content/qt3cn68807/qt3cn68807.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}} |
Xiongnu Empire
|{{convert|9.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|9.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
176}} |
Empire of Brazil{{efn|The reason the Empire of Brazil is listed as having a larger area in 1889 than the Portuguese Empire had in 1820, despite Brazil having been a Portuguese colony, is that the Portuguese settlers only had effective control over approximately half of Brazil at the time of Brazilian independence in 1822.|group=Table1|name=PortugalVsBrazil}}
|{{significant figures|8.337218|4}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/geociencias/areaterritorial/historico.shtm|title=Área Territorial Brasileira|website=www.ibge.gov.br|publisher=Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|quote=A primeira estimativa oficial para a extensão superficial do território brasileiro data de 1889. O valor de 8.337.218 km2 foi obtido a partir de medições e cálculos efetuados sobre as folhas básicas da Carta do Império do Brasil, publicada em 1883. [The first official estimate of the surface area of the Brazilian territory dates from 1889. A value of 8,337,218 km2 was obtained from measurements and calculations made on drafts of the Map of the Empire of Brazil, published in 1883.]|language=pt|access-date=16 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023100101/http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/geociencias/areaterritorial/historico.shtm|archive-date=23 October 2016|url-status=live}} |{{convert|8.337218|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|8.337218|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Empire of Japan
|7.4{{Cite journal|last=Conrad|first=Sebastian|date=2014|title=The Dialectics of Remembrance: Memories of Empire in Cold War Japan|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/199424523.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|volume=56|issue=1|pages=8|doi=10.1017/S0010417513000601|issn=0010-4175|jstor=43908281|s2cid=146284542|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708000924/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/199424523.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-08|access-date=2020-07-07|quote=In 1942, at the moment of its greatest extension, the empire encompassed territories spanning over 7,400,000 square kilometers.}}–{{convert|3.285|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|7.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|{{convert|3.285|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Eastern Han dynasty
|{{convert|6.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|6.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Ming dynasty
|{{convert|6.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|6.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Rashidun Caliphate
|{{convert|6.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|6.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
First Turkic Khaganate
|{{convert|6.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|6.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Golden Horde Khanate
|{{convert|6.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|6.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Western Han dynasty
|{{convert|6.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|6.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
50}}{{cite journal|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1979|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.|journal=Social Science History|volume=3|issue=3/4|pages=121–122, 124–129, 132–133|doi=10.2307/1170959|jstor=1170959}} |
Achaemenid Empire
|{{convert|5.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
500}} |
Second Portuguese Empire{{efn|group=Table1|name=PortugalVsBrazil}}
|{{convert|5.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Tang dynasty
|{{convert|5.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Macedonian Empire
|{{convert|5.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
323}} |
Ottoman Empire
|{{convert|5.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Northern Yuan dynasty
|{{convert|5.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Roman Empire
|{{convert|5.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|5.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Xin dynasty
|{{convert|4.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|4.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Tibetan Empire
|{{convert|4.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Xianbei state
|{{convert|4.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|4.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
First Mexican Empire
|{{convert|4.429|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.429|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Timurid Empire
|{{convert|4.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Fatimid Caliphate
|{{convert|4.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Eastern Turkic Khaganate
|{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Hunnic Empire
|{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Mughal Empire
|{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|4.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Great Seljuq Empire
|{{convert|3.9|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.9|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Seleucid Empire
|{{convert|3.9|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.9|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
301}} |
Italian Empire
|{{significant figures|(340409+3484470)/10^6|4}} |{{convert|{{#expr:(340409+3484470)/10^6}}|km2|mi2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{percent|(340409+3484470)/10^6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Ilkhanate
|{{convert|3.75|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.75|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Dzungar Khanate
|{{convert|3.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|3.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Chagatai Khanate
|{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Sasanian Empire
|{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Western Turkic Khaganate
|{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Western Xiongnu
|{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
First French colonial empire
|{{convert|3.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Ghaznavid Empire
|{{convert|3.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Maurya Empire
|{{convert|3.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|5.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|5.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
261}} or {{Date table sorting |
250}} |
Delhi Sultanate
|{{convert|3.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
German colonial empire
|{{convert|{{#expr:(208780+1006412)/10^6}}|mi2|km2|3|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{significant figures|(208780+1006412)/10^6|4}}{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Germany |volume= 11 |last1= Ashworth |first1= Philip Arthur |last2= and |first2= others | pages = 804–828 |quote=Area English Sq. m. [...] German Empire: 208,780 Area (estimated) sq. m. [...] Total dependencies: 1,006,412}} |{{percent|{{convert|{{#expr:(208780+1006412)/10^6}}|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Northern Song dynasty
|{{convert|3.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Uyghur Khaganate
|{{convert|3.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Western Jin dynasty
|{{convert|3.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Danish Empire
|3.0{{Cite web|last1=Korchmina|first1=Elena|last2=Sharp|first2=Paul|date=June 2020|title=Denmark and Russia: What can we learn from the historical comparison of two great Arctic agricultural empires?|url=http://www.ehes.org/EHES_187.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708001530/http://www.ehes.org/EHES_187.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-08|access-date=2020-07-04|publisher=European Historical Economics Society|page=3|quote=Around 1700, the Danish Empire covered around 3 million square kilometers}} |{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Sui dynasty
|{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|3.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Safavid empire
|{{convert|2.9|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|2.9|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Samanid Empire
|{{convert|2.85|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.85|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Eastern Jin dynasty
|{{convert|2.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Median Empire{{efn|group=Table1|More recent reassessment of the historical evidence, both archaeological and textual, has led modern scholars to question previous notions of the extent of the realm of the Medes and even its existence as a unified state.{{Cite journal|last=Waters|first=Matthew|date=2005|editor2-link=Michael Roaf|editor-last=Lanfranchi|editor-first=Giovanni B.|editor2-last=Roaf|editor2-first=Michael|editor3-last=Rollinger|editor3-first=Robert|editor3-link=Robert Rollinger|title=Media and Its Discontents|jstor=20064424|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=125|issue=4|pages=517–533|issn=0003-0279}}}}
|{{convert|2.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
585}} |
Parthian Empire
|{{convert|2.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Rouran Khaganate
|{{convert|2.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Byzantine Empire
|{{convert|2.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|2.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|2.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Indo-Scythian Kingdom
|{{convert|2.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Liao dynasty
|{{convert|2.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
|{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
184}} |
Later Zhao
|{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Maratha Confederacy
|{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Belgian colonial empire
|{{significant figures|(29450+2336900)/10^6|4}}–{{Convert|{{#expr:(11800+940000)/10^6}}|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{convert|{{#expr:(29450+2336900)/10^6}}|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}}–{{Significant figures|(11,800+940,000)/10^6|2}}{{Cite book|last1=Townsend|first1=Mary Evelyn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4-OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA19|title=European Colonial Expansion Since 1871|last2=Peake|first2=Cyrus Henderson|date=1941|publisher=J.B. Lippincott|pages=19|language=en|access-date=2020-07-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233455/https://books.google.com/books?id=P4-OAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA19|archive-date=2020-07-19|url-status=live}} |{{percent|(29450+2336900)/10^6|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|{{Convert|{{#expr:(11800+940000)/10^6}}|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
|{{convert|2.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Khwarazmian Empire
|{{convert|2.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|3.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|3.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Qin dynasty
|{{convert|2.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
220}} |
Dutch Empire
|{{convert|2.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|2.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
First French Empire
|{{convert|2.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Kievan Rus'
|{{convert|2.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Mamluk Sultanate
|{{convert|2.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Southern Song dynasty
|{{convert|2.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Third Portuguese Empire
|{{convert|2.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Almohad Caliphate
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|2.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|2.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Cao Wei
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Former Qin
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Former Zhao
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Ghurid dynasty
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Inca Empire
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Kushan Empire
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|2.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Liu Song dynasty
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Northern Wei
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Western Roman Empire
|{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Ayyubid dynasty
|{{convert|1.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|2.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|2.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Gupta Empire
|{{convert|1.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|3.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Hephthalite Empire
|{{convert|1.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.7|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|4.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Buyid dynasty
|{{convert|1.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Eastern Wu
|{{convert|1.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Northern Qi
|{{convert|1.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Northern Xiongnu
|{{convert|1.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Northern Zhou
|{{convert|1.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Neo-Assyrian Empire
|{{convert|1.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
670}} |
Eastern Maurya Kingdom
|{{convert|1.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
210}} |
Liang dynasty
|{{convert|1.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting|502}}, {{Date table sorting|549}}, or {{Date table sorting|579}} |
Qajar Empire
|{{Convert|{{#expr:0.5}}|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{percent|{{Convert|0.5|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Kingdom of Aksum
|{{convert|1.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.25|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Shang dynasty
|{{convert|1.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.25|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1122}} |
Francia
|{{convert|1.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Srivijaya
|{{convert|1.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Indo-Greek Kingdom
|{{convert|1.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
150}} |
Mali Empire
|{{convert|1.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
|{{convert|1.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Almoravid dynasty
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Pushyabhuti dynasty
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Holy Roman Empire
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Khazar Khanate
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|3.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Khmer Empire
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
New Kingdom of Egypt
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |nowrap|{{Date table sorting |
1450}} or {{Date table sorting |
1300}} |
Ptolemaic Kingdom
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
301}} |
Qara Khitai
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|1.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}}–{{percent|1.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Scythia
|1.0{{Cite journal|last=Turchin|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Turchin|date=2009|title=A theory for formation of large empires|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4f5d/7c534b86b3833e1e27381113584873e35ec7.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Journal of Global History|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=202|doi=10.1017/S174002280900312X|s2cid=73597670|issn=1740-0228|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131162633/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4f5d/7c534b86b3833e1e27381113584873e35ec7.pdf|archive-date=2020-01-31|access-date=2020-01-31}} |{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
400}} |
Shu Han
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Tahirid dynasty
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Western Xia
|{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|1.0|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Swedish Empire
|{{convert|0.99|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|0.99|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Kingdom of Armenia
|{{convert|0.9|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.9|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
70}} |
Nazi Germany
|{{significant figures|823505/10^6|3}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/Tornisterschrift-des-Oberkommandos-der-Wehrmacht-Soldaten-Atlas|title=Soldaten-Atlas (Tornisterschrift des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Heft 39)|publisher=Bibliographisches Institut |year=1941|location=Leipzig|pages=8, 32}} |{{convert|{{#expr:823505/10^6}}|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|823505/10^6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Akkadian Empire
|{{convert|0.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
2250}} |
Avar Khaganate
|{{convert|0.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Chu
|{{convert|0.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
300}} |
Huns
|{{convert|0.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Songhai Empire
|{{convert|0.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.8|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Hyksos
|{{convert|0.65|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.65|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1650}} |
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
|{{convert|0.65|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.65|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
550}} |
Rozvi Empire
|{{convert|0.624|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.624|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Austro-Hungarian Empire
|{{convert|0.239977|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{significant figures|0.239977|2}}{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Austria-Hungary |volume= 03 |last1= Briliant |first1= Oscar |last2= and |first2= others | pages = 2–39 |quote= It occupies about the sixteenth part of the total area of Europe, with an area (1905) of 239,977 sq. m.}} |{{percent|{{convert|0.239977|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Caliphate of Córdoba
|{{convert|0.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
First Portuguese Empire
|{{convert|0.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Visigothic Kingdom
|{{convert|0.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.6|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Zhou dynasty
|0.55{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1978|title=Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Social Science Research|language=en|volume=7|issue=2|pages=116–117|doi=10.1016/0049-089X(78)90007-8|issn=0049-089X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707192527/https://escholarship.org/content/qt8vx325vq/qt8vx325vq_noSplash_a2c2db5cdb06a3d4d4e35b2852a74948.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}} |{{convert|0.55|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|0.55|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1100}} |
Sikh Empire
|{{convert|0.20|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{percent|{{convert|0.20|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Emirate of Córdoba
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Kosala
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
543}} |
Lydia
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
585}} |
Magadha
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
510}} |
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1850}} |
Neo-Babylonian Empire
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
562}} |
Satavahana dynasty
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
715}} |
Western Satraps
|{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.5|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
New Hittite Kingdom
|{{convert|0.45|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.45|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1250}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1220}} |
Xia dynasty
|{{convert|0.45|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.45|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1800}} |
Bulgarian Empire
|0.4{{cite book |last1=Rashev |first1=Rasho |title=Българската езическа култура VII -IX в./Bulgarian Pagan Culture VII – IX cтр. 38 |language=bg |date=2008 |publisher=Класика и стил |isbn=9789543270392}}{{Request quotation|date=September 2022}} |{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting|850}}{{cite book |last1=Rashev |first1=Rasho |title=Българската езическа култура VII -IX в./Bulgarian Pagan Culture VII – IX cтр. 38 |language=bg |date=2008 |publisher=Класика и стил |isbn=9789543270392}}{{Request quotation|date=September 2022}} |
Kingdom of France (Middle Ages)
|{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Middle Assyrian Empire
|{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1080}} |
Old Kingdom of Egypt
|{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
2400}} |
Sokoto Caliphate
|{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.4|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Latin Empire
|{{convert|0.35|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.35|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Ancient Carthage
|{{convert|0.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
220}} |
Indus Valley Civilisation{{efn|group=Table1|The extent to which this constituted a cohesive political entity is uncertain.}}
|{{convert|0.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1800}} |
Mitanni
|{{convert|0.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.3|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1450}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1375}} |
Ashanti Empire
|{{convert|0.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.25|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
First Babylonian Empire
|{{convert|0.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.25|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1690}} |
Aztec Empire
|{{convert|0.22|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.22|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Zulu Empire
|{{convert|0.08|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |0.08{{Cite journal|last=Gluckman|first=Max|author-link=Max Gluckman|date=1960|title=The Rise of a Zulu Empire|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-rise-of-a-zulu-empire/|journal=Scientific American|volume=202|issue=4|pages=162|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0460-157|issn=0036-8733|jstor=24940454|bibcode=1960SciAm.202d.157G|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-07-07|quote=By 1822 he had made himself master over 80,000 square miles}} |{{percent|{{convert|0.08|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Elamite Empire
|{{convert|0.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1160}} |
Phrygia
|{{convert|0.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
750}} |
Second Dynasty of Isin
|{{convert|0.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1130}} |
Urartu
|{{convert|0.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.2|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
800}} |
Eastern Zhou
|{{convert|0.15|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.15|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
770}} |
Middle Hittite Kingdom
|{{convert|0.15|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.15|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1450}} |
Old Assyrian Empire
|{{convert|0.15|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.15|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1730}} |
Old Hittite Empire
|{{convert|0.15|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.15|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1530}} |
Oyo Empire
|{{convert|0.15|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.15|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Bornu Empire
|{{convert|0.05|mi2|km2|2|abbr=|disp=number}} |{{percent|{{convert|0.05|mi2|km2|2|disp=number}}|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Larsa
|{{convert|0.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
1750}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1700}} |
Neo-Sumerian Empire
|{{convert|0.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.1|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
2000}} |
Tarascan empire
|0.075{{Cite thesis|last=Blanford|first=Adam Jared|date=2014|title=Rethinking Tarascan Political and Spatial Organization|type=PhD thesis|publisher=University of Colorado Boulder|page=6|s2cid=147339315|url=https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/xw42n795p|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213021458/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/59c1/6f2a2864d85d403b223a9735015be38f4f10.pdf|archive-date=2020-02-13|access-date=2023-03-24|quote=By A.D. 1450, the Tarascan Uacúsecha were leaders of an empire that spanned 75,000 square kilometers of west Mexico}} |{{convert|0.075|km2|mi2|2|disp=number|abbr=}} |{{percent|0.075|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |
Lagash
|{{convert|0.05|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.05|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
2400}} |
Sumer
|{{convert|0.05|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{percent|0.05|134.74|2|pad=yes}} |{{Date table sorting |
2400}} |
class="sortbottom"
| colspan="5" |{{Notelist|group=Table1}} |
= 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.{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt3cn68807/qt3cn68807.pdf|url-status=live|journal=International Studies Quarterly|language=en|volume=41|issue=3|pages=480|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|issn=0020-8833|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707203055/https://escholarship.org/content/qt3cn68807/qt3cn68807.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}}
{{sticky header}}
class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style="width: 550px"
! class="unsortable" rowspan="2" |Empire ! colspan="2" |Land area ! class="unsortable" rowspan="2" |Year |
class="unsortable" |Million km2
! class="unsortable" |Million sq mi |
---|
Upper and Lower Egypt
|{{convert|0.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
3000}} |
rowspan="2" |Old Kingdom of Egypt
|{{convert|0.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2850}} |
0.4
|{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2400}} |
rowspan="2" |Akkadian Empire
|{{convert|0.65|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2300}} |
0.8
|{{convert|0.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2250}} |
New Kingdom of Egypt
|1.0{{Cite journal|last=Taagepera|first=Rein|author-link=Rein Taagepera|date=1978|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt6wf6m5qg/qt6wf6m5qg.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Social Science Research|volume=7|issue=2|pages=182–189|doi=10.1016/0049-089x(78)90010-8|issn=0049-089X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707202816/https://escholarship.org/content/qt6wf6m5qg/qt6wf6m5qg.pdf|archive-date=2020-07-07|access-date=2020-07-07}} |{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1450}} |
Shang dynasty
|{{convert|1.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1122}} |
Neo-Assyrian Empire
|{{convert|1.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
670}} |
Median Empire{{efn|group=Table2|More recent reassessment of the historical evidence, both archaeological and textual, has led modern scholars to question previous notions of the extent of the realm of the Medes and even its existence as a unified state. If the Median Empire never surpassed the size of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the latter remained the largest empire the world had seen until the Achaemenid Empire surpassed it.}}
|{{convert|2.8|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
585}} |
rowspan="2" |Achaemenid Empire
|{{convert|3.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
539}} |
5.5
|{{convert|5.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
500}} |
Xiongnu Empire
|{{convert|9.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
176}} |
Umayyad Caliphate
|{{convert|11.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |
rowspan="2" |Mongol Empire
|{{convert|13.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |
24.0
|{{convert|24.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |
rowspan="2" |British Empire
|{{convert|24.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |
35.5
|{{convert|35.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |
colspan="4" |{{Notelist|group=Table2}} |
= Timeline of largest empires at the time =
class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style="width: 550px"
! class="unsortable" rowspan="2" |Empire ! colspan="2" |Land area during time |
class="unsortable" |Million km2
! class="unsortable" |Million sq mi |
---|
Upper Egypt
|0.1 |{{convert|0.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
3000}} |
Old Kingdom of Egypt
|0.25–0.4 |{{convert|0.25|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2800}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
2400}} |
Akkadian Empire
|0.2–0.6 |{{convert|0.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|0.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2300}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
2200}} |
Indus Valley Civilisation{{efn|group=Table3| The extent to which this constituted a cohesive political entity is uncertain. If the largest empire in the year 2100 BC was not the Indus Valley Civilisation, it was the First Intermediate Period of Egypt with an area of {{convert|0.1|e6km2|e6sqmi|2|abbr=unit}}.}}
|0.15 |{{convert|0.15|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2100}} |
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
|0.2–0.5 |{{convert|0.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
2000}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1800}} |
Xia dynasty
|0.4 |{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1700}} |
Hyksos
|0.65 |{{convert|0.65|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1600}} |
New Kingdom of Egypt
|0.65–1.0 |{{convert|0.65|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|1.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1500}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1300}} |
Shang dynasty
|0.9–1.1 |{{convert|0.9|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|1.1|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1250}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1150}} |
New Kingdom of Egypt
|0.5–0.6 |{{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|0.6|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1100}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
1050}} |
Zhou dynasty
|0.35–0.45 |{{convert|0.35|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|0.45|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
1000}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
900}} |
Neo-Assyrian Empire
|0.4–1.4 |{{convert|0.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|1.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
850}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
650}} |
Median Empire{{efn|group=Table3|More recent reassessment of the historical evidence, both archaeological and textual, has led modern scholars to question previous notions of the extent of the realm of the Medes and even its existence as a unified state. If the largest empire in the year 600 BC was not the Median Empire, it was Late Egypt with an area of {{convert|0.55|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}}.}}
|3.0 |{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
600}} |
Achaemenid Empire
|2.5–5.5 |{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|5.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
550}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting |
350}} |
Macedonian Empire
|5.2 |{{convert|5.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
323}} |
Seleucid Empire
|4.0 |{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
300}} |
Maurya Empire
|3.5 |{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
250}} |
Han dynasty
|2.5 |{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
200}} |
Xiongnu Empire
|5.7 |{{convert|5.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
150}} |
Han dynasty
|4.2–6.5 |{{convert|4.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|6.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting |
100}}{{Spaced en dash}}{{Date table sorting|200}} AD |
Roman Empire
|4.4 |{{convert|4.4|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|250}}–{{Date table sorting|350}} |
Sasanian Empire
|3.5 |{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|400}} |
Hunnic Empire
|4.0 |{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|450}} |
Sasanian Empire
|3.5 |{{convert|3.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|500}} |
Göktürk Khaganate
|3.0–5.2 |{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|5.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|550}}–{{Date table sorting|600}} |
Rashidun Caliphate
|5.2 |{{convert|5.2|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|650}} |
Umayyad Caliphate
|9.0–11.0 |{{convert|9.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|11.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|700}}–{{Date table sorting|750}} |
Abbasid Caliphate
|8.3–11.0 |{{convert|8.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|11.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|750}}–{{Date table sorting|800}} |
Tibet
|2.5–4.7 |{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|4.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|850}}–{{Date table sorting|950}} |
Song dynasty
|3.0 |{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1000}} |
Seljuk Empire
|3.0–4.0 |{{convert|3.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1050}}–{{Date table sorting|1100}} |
Tibet
|2.5 |{{convert|2.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1150}} |
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
|2.3 |{{convert|2.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1200}} |
Mongol Empire
|18.0–24.0 |{{convert|18.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|24.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1250}}–{{Date table sorting|1300}} |
Yuan dynasty
|11.0 |{{convert|11.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1350}} |
Timurid Empire
|4.0 |{{convert|4.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1400}} |
Ming dynasty
|4.7–6.5 |{{convert|4.7|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|6.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1450}}–{{Date table sorting|1500}} |
Ottoman Empire
|4.3 |{{convert|4.3|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1550}} |
Tsardom of Russia
|6.0–12.0 |{{convert|6.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|12.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1600}}–{{Date table sorting|1700}} |
Russian Empire
|14.0–17.0 |{{convert|14.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|17.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1750}}–{{Date table sorting|1800}} |
British Empire
|23.0–34.0 |{{convert|23.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}}–{{convert|34.0|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1850}}–{{Date table sorting|1925}} |
Soviet Union
|22.5 |{{convert|22.5|km2|mi2|2|disp=number}} |{{Date table sorting|1950}}–{{Date table sorting|1975}} |
colspan="4" |{{Notelist|group=Table3}} |
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{Cite book |last=Taagepera |first=Rein |author-link=Rein Taagepera |title=More People, Fewer States: The Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizes |last2=Nemčok |first2=Miroslav |date=2024 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others= |isbn=978-1-009-42783-8 |edition=1st |location=New York}}
{{Empires}}
{{Politics country lists}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Largest Empires}}