List of largest empires

Several empires in world 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.[1] Estonian political scientist Rein Taagepera, who published a series of academic articles about the territorial extents of historical empires between 1978 and 1997,[2][3][4][5] 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;[6] these are the criteria from which these lists are formed. 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 area estimates, no rankings are given.

Largest empires by land area

For context, the land area of the Earth, excluding the continent of Antarctica, is 134,740,000 km² (52,023,000 sq mi).[7]

Empires at their greatest extent

Empire size in this list is defined as the dry land area it controls. The area controlled may differ considerably from the area claimed; for example, in 1800 European powers collectively claimed approximately 20% of the Earth's land surface that they did not effectively control.[8] Where estimates vary, entries are sorted by the lowest estimate.

Empire	Maximum land area
	million km^2	million mi^2	% of world	Year
British Empire	35.5[9]	13.71	26.35%	1920[9]
Mongol Empire	24.0[9][10]	9.27	17.81%	1270[10] or 1309[9]
Russian Empire	22.8[9][10]	8.80	16.92%	1895[9][10]
Qing dynasty	14.7[9][10]	5.68	10.91%	1790[9][10]
Spanish Empire	13.7[9]	5.29	10.17%	1810[9]
Second French colonial empire	11.5[9]	4.44	8.53%	1920[9]
Abbasid Caliphate	11.1[9][10]	4.29	8.24%	750[9][10]
Umayyad Caliphate	11.1[9]	4.29	8.24%	720[9]
Yuan dynasty	11.0[9]	4.25	8.16%	1310[9]
Xiongnu Empire	9.0[10][11]	3.47	6.68%	176 BC[10][11]
Empire of Brazil[lower-alpha 1]	8.337[12]	3.22	6.19%	1889[12]
Empire of Japan	7.4[13]–8.51	2.86–3.285[14]	5.49%–6.32%	1942[13][14]
Iberian Union	7.1[9]	2.74	5.27%	1640[9]
Eastern Han dynasty	6.5[11]	2.51	4.82%	100[11]
Ming dynasty	6.5[9][10]	2.51	4.82%	1450[9][10]
Rashidun Caliphate	6.4[9]	2.47	4.75%	655[9]
Göktürk Khaganate	6.0[10][11]	2.32	4.45%	557[10][11]
Golden Horde Khanate	6.0[9][10]	2.32	4.45%	1310[9][10]
Western Han dynasty	6.0[10][11]	2.32	4.45%	50 BC[10][11]
Achaemenid Empire	5.5[10][11]	2.12	4.08%	500 BC[10][11]
Second Portuguese Empire[lower-alpha 1]	5.5[9]	2.12	4.08%	1820[9]
Tang dynasty	5.4[9][10]	2.08	4.01%	715[9][10]
Macedonian Empire	5.2[10][11]	2.01	3.86%	323 BC[10][11]
Ottoman Empire	5.2[9][10]	2.01	3.86%	1683[9][10]
Northern Yuan dynasty	5.0[9]	1.93	3.71%	1368[9]
Roman Empire	5.0[10][11]	1.93	3.71%	117[10][11]
Xin dynasty	4.7[11]	1.81	3.49%	10[11]
Tibetan Empire	4.6[9][10]	1.78	3.41%	800[9][10]
First Mexican Empire	4.429[15]	1.71	3.29%	1821[15]
Timurid Empire	4.4[9][10]	1.70	3.27%	1405[9][10]
Fatimid Caliphate	4.1[9][10]	1.58	3.04%	969[9][10]
Eastern Turkic Khaganate	4.0[11]	1.54	2.97%	624[11]
Hunnic Empire	4.0[10][11]	1.54	2.97%	441[10][11]
Mughal Empire	4.0[9][10]	1.54	2.97%	1690[9][10]
Great Seljuq Empire	3.9[9][10]	1.51	2.89%	1080[9][10]
Seleucid Empire	3.9[10][11]	1.51	2.89%	301 BC[10][11]
Italian Empire	3.825[16]	1.48	2.84%	1941[16]
Ilkhanate	3.75[9][10]	1.45	2.78%	1310[9][10]
Chagatai Khanate	3.5[9][10]	1.35	2.60%	1310[9] or 1350[9][10]
Sasanian Empire	3.5[10][11]	1.35	2.60%	550[10][11]
Western Turkic Khaganate	3.5[11]	1.35	2.60%	630[11]
Western Xiongnu	3.5[11]	1.35	2.60%	20[11]
First French colonial empire	3.4[9]	1.31	2.52%	1670[9]
Ghaznavid Empire	3.4[9][10]	1.31	2.52%	1029[9][10]
Maurya Empire	3.4[11]–5.0[10]	1.31–1.93	2.52%–3.71%	261 BC[11] or 250 BC[10]
Delhi Sultanate	3.2[9][10]	1.24	2.37%	1312[9][10]
German colonial empire	3.147	1.215[17]	2.34%	1911[17]
Song dynasty	3.1[9][10]	1.20	2.30%	980[9][10]
Uyghur Khaganate	3.1[9][10]	1.20	2.30%	800[9][10]
Western Jin dynasty	3.1[11]	1.20	2.30%	280[11]
Danish Empire	3.0[18]	1.16	2.23%	1700[18]
Sui dynasty	3.0[11]	1.16	2.23%	589[11]
Samanid Empire	2.85[9][10]	1.10	2.12%	928[9][10]
Eastern Jin dynasty	2.8[11]	1.08	2.08%	347[11]
Median Empire[lower-alpha 2]	2.8[10][11]	1.08	2.08%	585 BC[10][11]
Parthian Empire	2.8[10][11]	1.08	2.08%	0[10][11]
Rouran Khaganate	2.8[10][11]	1.08	2.08%	405[10][11]
Byzantine Empire	2.7[10]–2.8[11]	1.04–1.08	2.00%–2.08%	555[10] or 450[11]
Indo-Scythian Kingdom	2.6[11]	1.00	1.93%	20[11]
Liao dynasty	2.6[9][10]	1.00	1.93%	947[9][10]
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom	2.5[11]	0.97	1.86%	184 BC[11]
Later Zhao	2.5[11]	0.97	1.86%	329[11]
Maratha Empire	2.5[10]	0.97	1.86%	1760[10]
Belgian colonial empire	2.366[16]–2.47	0.91–0.95[20]	1.76%–1.83%	1941[16] or 1939[20]
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)	2.3[9][10]	0.89	1.71%	1126[9][10]
Khwarazmian Empire	2.3[10]–3.6[9]	0.89–1.39	1.71%–2.67%	1210[10] or 1218[9]
Qin dynasty	2.3[11]	0.89	1.71%	220 BC[11]
First French Empire	2.1[9]	0.81	1.56%	1813[9]
Kievan Rus'	2.1[9][10]	0.81	1.56%	1000[9][10]
Mamluk Sultanate	2.1[9][10]	0.81	1.56%	1300[9] or 1400[10]
Third Portuguese Empire	2.1[9]	0.81	1.56%	1900[9]
Almohad Caliphate	2.0[10]–2.3[9]	0.77–0.89	1.48%–1.71%	1200[10] or 1150[9]
Cao Wei	2.0[11]	0.77	1.48%	263[11]
Former Qin	2.0[11]	0.77	1.48%	376[11]
Former Zhao	2.0[11]	0.77	1.48%	316[11]
Inca Empire	2.0[9][10]	0.77	1.48%	1527[9][10]
Kushan Empire	2.0[10]–2.5[11]	0.77–0.97	1.48%–1.86%	200[10][11]
Liu Song dynasty	2.0[11]	0.77	1.48%	450[11]
Northern Wei	2.0[11]	0.77	1.48%	450[11]
Western Roman Empire	2.0[11]	0.77	1.48%	395[11]
Dutch Empire	1.939[16]–2.08	0.75–0.80[20]	1.44%–1.54%	1941[16] or 1939[20]
Ayyubid dynasty	1.7[9]–2.0[10]	0.66–0.77	1.26%–1.48%	1200[9] or 1190[10]
Gupta Empire	1.7[11]–3.5[10]	0.66–1.35	1.26%–2.60%	440[11] or 400[10]
Hephthalite Empire	1.7[21]–4.0[11]	0.66–1.54	1.26%–2.97%	500[21] or 470[11]
Buyid dynasty	1.6[9][10]	0.62	1.19%	980[9][10]
Eastern Wu	1.5[11]	0.58	1.11%	221[11]
Northern Qi	1.5[11]	0.58	1.11%	557[11]
Northern Xiongnu	1.5[11]	0.58	1.11%	60[11]
Northern Zhou	1.5[11]	0.58	1.11%	577[11]
Assyria	1.4[10][22]	0.54	1.04%	670 BC[10][22]
Eastern Maurya Empire	1.3[11]	0.50	0.96%	210 BC[11]
Liang dynasty	1.3[10][11]	0.50	0.96%	502,[11] 549,[11] or 579[10]
Kingdom of Aksum	1.25[10]	0.48	0.93%	350[10]
Shang dynasty	1.25[10][22]	0.48	0.93%	1122 BC[10][22]
Francia	1.2[9][10]	0.46	0.89%	814[9][10]
Srivijaya	1.2[10]	0.46	0.89%	1200[10]
Indo-Greek Kingdom	1.1[11]	0.42	0.82%	150 BC[11]
Mali Empire	1.1[9][10]	0.42	0.82%	1380[9][10]
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1.1[9][10]	0.42	0.82%	1480[10] or 1650[9]
Almoravid dynasty	1.0[10]	0.39	0.74%	1120[10]
Empire of Harsha	1.0[9][10]	0.39	0.74%	625[9] or 648[9][10]
Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty	1.0[9]	0.39	0.74%	860[9]
Holy Roman Empire	1.0[9]	0.39	0.74%	1050[9]
Khazar Khanate	1.0[9]–3.0[10]	0.39–1.16	0.74%–2.23%	900[9] or 850[10]
Khmer Empire	1.0[9][10]	0.39	0.74%	1290[9][10]
New Kingdom of Egypt	1.0[10][22]	0.39	0.74%	1450 BC[22] or 1300 BC[10]
Ptolemaic Kingdom	1.0[11]	0.39	0.74%	301 BC[11]
Qara Khitai	1.0[9]–1.5[10]	0.39–0.58	0.74%–1.11%	1130[9] or 1210[10]
Scythia	1.0[21]	0.39	0.74%	400 BC[21]
Shu Han	1.0[11]	0.39	0.74%	221[11]
Tahirid dynasty	1.0[9]	0.39	0.74%	800[9]
Western Xia	1.0[10]	0.39	0.74%	1100[10]
Swedish Empire	0.99[23]	0.38	0.73%	1700[23]
Nazi Germany	0.824[16]	0.32	0.61%	1941[16]
Akkadian Empire	0.8[22]	0.31	0.59%	2250 BC[22]
Avar Khaganate	0.8[11]	0.31	0.59%	600[11]
Chu (state)	0.8[11]	0.31	0.59%	300 BC[11]
First Portuguese Empire	0.8[9]	0.31	0.59%	1580[9]
Huns	0.8[11]	0.31	0.59%	287[11]
Songhai Empire	0.8[9]	0.31	0.59%	1550[9]
Hyksos	0.65[22]	0.25	0.48%	1650 BC[22]
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt	0.65[22]	0.25	0.48%	550 BC[22]
Austro-Hungarian Empire	0.62	0.24[24]	0.46%	1905[24]
Caliphate of Córdoba	0.6[9]	0.23	0.45%	1000[9]
Visigothic Kingdom	0.6[11]	0.23	0.45%	580[11]
Zhou dynasty	0.55[25]	0.21	0.41%	1100 BC[25]
Kosala	0.5[11]	0.19	0.37%	543 BC[11]
Lydia	0.5[22]	0.19	0.37%	585 BC[22]
Magadha	0.5[11]	0.19	0.37%	510 BC[11]
Middle Kingdom of Egypt	0.5[22]	0.19	0.37%	1850 BC[22]
Neo-Babylonian Empire	0.5[22]	0.19	0.37%	562 BC[22]
Satavahana dynasty	0.5[11]	0.19	0.37%	150[11]
Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt	0.5[22]	0.19	0.37%	715 BC[22]
Western Satraps	0.5[11]	0.19	0.37%	100[11]
New Hittite Kingdom	0.45[22]	0.17	0.33%	1250 BC–1220 BC[22]
Xia dynasty	0.45[22]	0.17	0.33%	1800 BC[22]
Kingdom of France (Middle Ages)	0.4[9]	0.15	0.30%	1250[9]
Middle Assyrian Empire	0.4[22]	0.15	0.30%	1080 BC[22]
Old Kingdom of Egypt	0.4[22]	0.15	0.30%	2400 BC[22]
Sokoto Caliphate	0.4[26]	0.15	0.30%	1804[26]
Ancient Carthage	0.3[11]	0.12	0.22%	220 BC[11]
Indus Valley Civilisation	0.3[25]	0.12	0.22%	1800 BC[25]
Mitanni	0.3[22]	0.12	0.22%	1450 BC–1375 BC[22]
First Babylonian Empire	0.25[22]	0.10	0.19%	1690 BC[22]
Aztec Empire	0.22[9]	0.08	0.16%	1520[9]
Zulu Empire	0.21	0.08[27]	0.16%	1822[27]
Elamite Empire	0.2[22]	0.08	0.15%	1160 BC[22]
Phrygia	0.2[22]	0.08	0.15%	750 BC[22]
Second Dynasty of Isin	0.2[22]	0.08	0.15%	1130 BC[22]
Urartu	0.2[22]	0.08	0.15%	800 BC[22]
Middle Hittite Kingdom	0.15[22]	0.06	0.11%	1450 BC[22]
Old Assyrian Empire	0.15[22]	0.06	0.11%	1730 BC[22]
Old Hittite Empire	0.15[22]	0.06	0.11%	1530 BC[22]
Larsa	0.1[22]	0.04	0.07%	1750 BC–1700 BC[22]
Neo-Sumerian Empire	0.1[22]	0.04	0.07%	2000 BC[22]
Tarascan empire	0.075[28]	0.03	0.06%	1450[28]
Lagash	0.05[25]	0.02	0.04%	2400 BC[25]
Sumer	0.05[22]	0.02	0.04%	2400 BC[22]
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 had effective control over approximately half of Brazil at the time of Brazilian independence in 1822.[9] 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.[19]

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 tenfolded the area of the previous largest civilisation.[29]

Empire	Land area (million km^2)	Year
Upper and Lower Egypt	0.1[22]	3000 BC[22]
Old Kingdom of Egypt	0.25[22]	2850 BC[22]
	0.4[22]	2400 BC[22]
Akkadian Empire	0.65[22]	2300 BC[22]
	0.8[22]	2250 BC[22]
New Kingdom of Egypt	1.0[22]	1450 BC[22]
Shang dynasty	1.25[22]	1122 BC[22]
Assyria	1.4[22]	670 BC[22]
Median Empire[lower-alpha 1]	2.8[11]	585 BC[11]
Achaemenid Empire	3.6[11]	539 BC[11]
	5.5[11]	500 BC[11]
Xiongnu Empire	9.0[11]	176 BC[11]
Umayyad Caliphate	11.1[9]	720[9]
Mongol Empire	13.5[9]	1227[9]
	24.0[9]	1309[9]
British Empire	24.5[9]	1880[9]
	35.5[9]	1920[9]
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.[19] If the Median Empire never surpassed the size of Assyria, the latter remained the largest empire the world had seen until the Achaemenid Empire surpassed it.[22][11]

Timeline of largest empires at the time

Empire	Land area during time as largest empire (million km^2)	Year
Upper Egypt	0.1[25]	3000 BC[25]
Old Kingdom of Egypt	0.25–0.4[25]	2800 BC–2400 BC[25]
Akkadian Empire	0.2–0.6[25]	2300 BC–2200 BC[25]
Indus Valley Civilisation	0.15[25]	2100 BC[25]
Middle Kingdom of Egypt	0.2–0.5[25]	2000 BC–1800 BC[25]
Xia dynasty	0.4[25]	1700 BC[25]
Hyksos	0.65[25]	1600 BC[25]
New Kingdom of Egypt	0.65–1.0[25]	1500 BC–1300 BC[25]
Shang dynasty	0.9–1.1[25]	1250 BC–1150 BC[25]
New Kingdom of Egypt	0.5–0.6[25]	1100 BC–1050 BC[25]
Zhou dynasty	0.35–0.45[25]	1000 BC–900 BC[25]
Assyria	0.4–1.4[25]	850 BC–650 BC[25]
Median Empire[lower-alpha 1]	3.0[25]	600 BC[25]
Achaemenid Empire	2.5–5.5[25]	550 BC–350 BC[25]
Macedonian Empire	5.2[25]	323 BC[25]
Seleucid Empire	4.0[25]	300 BC[25]
Maurya Empire	3.5[25]	250 BC[25]
Han dynasty	2.5[25]	200 BC[25]
Xiongnu Empire	5.7[25]	150 BC[25]
Han dynasty	4.2–6.5[25]	100 BC–200[25]
Roman Empire	4.4[25]	250–350[25]
Sasanian Empire	3.5[25]	400[25]
Hunnic Empire	4.0[25]	450[25]
Sasanian Empire	3.5[25]	500[25]
Göktürk Khaganate	3.0–5.2[25]	550–600[25]
Rashidun Caliphate	5.2[25]	650[25]
Umayyad Caliphate	9.0–11.0[25]	700–750[25]
Abbasid Caliphate	8.3–11.0[25]	750–800[25]
Tibetan Empire	2.5–4.7[25]	850–950[25]
Song dynasty	3.0[25]	1000[25]
Seljuk Empire	3.0–4.0[25]	1050–1100[25]
Tibetan Empire	2.5[25]	1150[25]
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)	2.3[25]	1200[25]
Mongol Empire	18.0–24.0[25]	1250–1300[25]
Yuan dynasty	11.0[25]	1350[25]
Timurid Empire	4.0[25]	1400[25]
Ming dynasty	4.7–6.5[25]	1450–1500[25]
Ottoman Empire	4.3[25]	1550[25]
Tsardom of Russia	6.0–12.0[25]	1600–1700[25]
Russian Empire	14.0–17.0[25]	1750–1800[25]
British Empire	23.0–34.0[25]	1850–1925[25]
Soviet Union	22.5[25]	1950–1975[25]
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.[19] If the largest empire in the year 600 BC was not the Median Empire, it was Late Egypt with an area of 0.55 million km^2.[25]

See also

• List of political and geographic subdivisions by total area
• List of countries and dependencies by area
• List of former transcontinental countries
• List of former sovereign states
• Lists of sovereign states by year

Notes and references

1. Taagepera, Rein (1978). "Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size" (PDF). Social Science Research. 7 (2): 111. doi:10.1016/0049-089X(78)90007-8. ISSN 0049-089X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
2. Taagepera, Rein (1978). "Size and duration of empires: Systematics of size" (PDF). Social Science Research. 7 (2): 108–127. doi:10.1016/0049-089X(78)90007-8. ISSN 0049-089X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
3. Taagepera, Rein (1978). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C." (PDF). Social Science Research. 7 (2): 180–196. doi:10.1016/0049-089x(78)90010-8. ISSN 0049-089X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
4. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 115–138. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
5. Taagepera, Rein (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia" (PDF). International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 475–504. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
6. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 117. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
7. "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020. Antarctica [...] land: 14.2 million sq km (285,000 sq km ice-free, 13.915 million sq km ice-covered) (est.)
   [...]
   World [...] land: 148.94 million sq km
8. Magdoff, Harry (1979). Imperialism: From the Colonial Age to the Present. NYU Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-85345-498-4. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020. [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.
9. Taagepera, Rein (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia" (PDF). International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 492–502. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
10. Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D. (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires" (PDF). Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 222–223. ISSN 1076-156X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
11. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 121–122, 124–129, 132–133. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
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24. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Austria, Lower" to "Bacon" Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019. It occupies about the sixteenth part of the total area of Europe, with an area (1905) of 239,977 sq. m.
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26. Wesseling, H. L. (23 October 2015). The European Colonial Empires: 1815-1919. Routledge. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-317-89507-7. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020. 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.
27. Gluckman, Max (1960). "The Rise of a Zulu Empire". Scientific American. 202 (4): 162. ISSN 0036-8733. JSTOR 24940454. Retrieved 7 July 2020. By 1822 he had made himself master over 80,000 square miles
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