All empires in history

The 300 largest and longest-lasting empires from our world history map — each with dates, greatest extent, a map, predecessors and successors. Open the interactive map →

Antiquity (until 500 · 82)

Achaemenid Empire550 BC – 327 BC
Akkadian Empire2300 BC – 2101 BC
Assyria1800 BC – 901 BC
Babylonia1800 BC – 601 BC
Brythonic KingdomsAD 439 – AD 1284
Burgundian KingdomAD 414 – AD 660
Cao WeiAD 224 – AD 264
Carthage650 BC – 145 BC
Eastern KushansAD 238 – AD 346
Eastern Roman EmpireAD 395 – AD 632
Eastern WuAD 207 – AD 282
Elam3200 BC – 601 BC
Former QinAD 353 – AD 393
FunanAD 51 – AD 640
Goguryeo36 BC – AD 681
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom247 BC – 127 BC
Greek City-States800 BC – AD 83
Gupta EmpireAD 324 – AD 554
Han Dynasty202 BC – AD 237
Himyarite Kingdom110 BC – AD 601
Hittites1600 BC – 1151 BC
Hunnic EmpireAD 426 – AD 468
HunsAD 106 – AD 425
Indo-Greeks126 BC – AD 13
Indo-Sasanian EmpireAD 260 – AD 357
Indo-Scythians144 BC – AD 282
Indus Valley Civilization3000 BC – 1701 BC
Kamarupa KingdomAD 353 – AD 1138
Kanva Dynasty66 BC – 28 BC
KidaritesAD 358 – AD 450
Kingdom of Armenia326 BC – AD 646
Kingdom of Axum50 BC – AD 946
Kingdom of Kush1000 BC – AD 346
Kingdom of Pontus281 BC – AD 67
Kingdom of the FranksAD 462 – AD 849
Kushan EmpireAD 43 – AD 237
Late Pallava EmpireAD 283 – AD 805
Later Zhou750 BC – AD 960
Liu Song DynastyAD 426 – AD 479
Macedonian Empire675 BC – 292 BC
Magadha - Shaishunaga dynasty404 BC – 334 BC
Mahajanapadas600 BC – 351 BC
MakuriaAD 347 – AD 1414
Maurya Empire318 BC – 171 BC
Mayan City-States247 BC – AD 849
Median Kingdom615 BC – 551 BC
Merovingian EmpireAD 462 – AD 717
Middle Kingdom of Egypt2000 BC – 1601 BC
Minyue333 BC – 111 BC
Nanda Empire333 BC – 319 BC
Nanyue206 BC – 111 BC
Neo-Assyrian Empire900 BC – 601 BC
Neo-Babylonian Empire600 BC – 531 BC
New Kingdom of Egypt1500 BC – 801 BC
Northern WeiAD 387 – AD 533
Parthian Empire239 BC – AD 237
Ptolemaic Kingdom331 BC – 28 BC
Qin Dynasty218 BC – 209 BC
Roman Empire31 BC – AD 394
Roman Republic480 BC – 32 BC
Rouran KhaganateAD 402 – AD 554
Sasanian EmpireAD 215 – AD 643
Satavahana Dynasty225 BC – AD 223
Scythia650 BC – 224 BC
Seleucid Empire318 BC – 64 BC
Shu HanAD 224 – AD 262
Shunga Empire170 BC – 67 BC
Southern QiAD 480 – AD 509
Spring and Autumn States750 BC – 481 BC
TuyuhunAD 287 – AD 665
Vakataka KingdomAD 260 – AD 554
Visigothic KingdomAD 426 – AD 723
Warring States China480 BC – 219 BC
Western JinAD 265 – AD 425
Western Roman EmpireAD 395 – AD 475
Western SatrapsAD 43 – AD 409
White HunsAD 410 – AD 560
XianbeiAD 60 – AD 237
Xin DynastyAD 6 – AD 29
Xiongnu208 BC – AD 153
Yuezhi404 BC – AD 42
Zhou Dynasty1000 BC – 751 BC

Middle Ages (500 – 1500 · 130)

Abbasid CaliphateAD 750 – AD 1259
Adal SultanateAD 1415 – AD 1546
Almohad CaliphateAD 1139 – AD 1343
Almoravid DynastyAD 1056 – AD 1205
Aq QoyunluAD 1407 – AD 1511
AquitaineAD 629 – AD 895
Avar KhaganateAD 561 – AD 805
Ayutthaya KingdomAD 1352 – AD 1768
Ayyubid SultanateAD 1177 – AD 1249
Bahmani SultanateAD 1352 – AD 1491
BalhaeAD 705 – AD 925
Bijapur SultanateAD 1492 – AD 1686
Blue HordeAD 1363 – AD 1449
Bornu EmpireAD 1385 – AD 1894
Buyid DynastyAD 936 – AD 1055
Byzantine EmpireAD 633 – AD 1474
Caliphate of CórdobaAD 936 – AD 1071
Carolingian EmpireAD 718 – AD 989
Chagatai KhanateAD 1294 – AD 1462
Chalukya DynastyAD 555 – AD 756
Chen DynastyAD 561 – AD 591
ChenlaAD 555 – AD 717
Chola EmpireAD 850 – AD 1259
Crown of CastileAD 1236 – AD 1515
Delhi SultanateAD 1210 – AD 1528
East FranksAD 850 – AD 910
Eastern GöktürksAD 587 – AD 632
Eastern Kara-KhanidsAD 1046 – AD 1138
Emirate of CórdobaAD 757 – AD 935
Ethiopian EmpireAD 1272 – AD 1935
Fatimid CaliphateAD 911 – AD 1176
First Bulgarian EmpireAD 682 – AD 1017
Five Dynasties and Ten KingdomsAD 911 – AD 979
Four OiratsAD 1402 – AD 1474
Ghaznavid EmpireAD 962 – AD 1191
Ghurid DynastyAD 1152 – AD 1209
Göktürk KhaganateAD 555 – AD 586
Golden HordeAD 1294 – AD 1695
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaAD 1220 – AD 1449
Grand Principality of MoscowAD 1294 – AD 1546
Great JinAD 1126 – AD 1235
Great Seljuk EmpireAD 1040 – AD 1201
Gurjara-Pratihara DynastyAD 732 – AD 1039
Habsburg MonarchyAD 1459 – AD 1805
Hamdanid EmiratesAD 936 – AD 1259
Harsha's EmpireAD 612 – AD 655
HaudenosauneeAD 1450 – AD 1782
Holy Roman EmpireAD 922 – AD 1806
IlkhanateAD 1294 – AD 1343
Inca EmpireAD 1440 – AD 1571
Kalmar UnionAD 1402 – AD 1525
Kara-KhanidsAD 850 – AD 1045
Kara-KhitansAD 1126 – AD 1219
Kazakh KhanateAD 1468 – AD 1847
Khalji DynastyAD 1294 – AD 1325
Khanate of SibirAD 1429 – AD 1587
KhazariaAD 630 – AD 979
Khmer EmpireAD 800 – AD 1867
Khwarezmid DynastyAD 1094 – AD 1201
Khwarezmid EmpireAD 1202 – AD 1235
Kievan Rus'AD 882 – AD 1240
Kimek-Kipchak confederationAD 750 – AD 1235
Kingdom of DaliAD 947 – AD 1259
Kingdom of EnglandAD 936 – AD 1708
Kingdom of FranceAD 990 – AD 1791
Kingdom of GeorgiaAD 1010 – AD 1802
Kingdom of HungaryAD 1000 – AD 1546
Kingdom of ItalyAD 587 – AD 1946
Kingdom of PolandAD 962 – AD 1449
Kingdom of PortugalAD 1147 – AD 1911
Lan XangAD 1363 – AD 1708
Liang DynastyAD 510 – AD 560
Liao DynastyAD 911 – AD 1125
MajapahitAD 1294 – AD 1518
Mali EmpireAD 1236 – AD 1611
Mamluk DynastyAD 1210 – AD 1293
Mamluk SultanateAD 1241 – AD 1518
Marinid SultanateAD 1250 – AD 1467
Ming DynastyAD 1375 – AD 1644
MoghulistanAD 1463 – AD 1518
Mongol EmpireAD 1206 – AD 1293
Mongol KhanateAD 1468 – AD 1635
NanzhaoAD 741 – AD 910
Nogai HordeAD 1450 – AD 1563
Northern SongAD 961 – AD 1138
Northern YuanAD 1375 – AD 1439
Northern ZhouAD 561 – AD 586
Novgorod RepublicAD 1056 – AD 1481
Oghuz TurksAD 750 – AD 1055
Old Kingdom of NorwayAD 866 – AD 1401
Ottoman EmpireAD 1305 – AD 1923
Pagan KingdomAD 850 – AD 1293
Pala EmpireAD 750 – AD 1168
Polish-Lithuania KingdomAD 1395 – AD 1449
Principality of MoldaviaAD 1363 – AD 1858
Qocho KingdomAD 860 – AD 1138
Rashidun CaliphateAD 633 – AD 665
Rashtrakuta DynastyAD 755 – AD 989
Rasulid DynastyAD 1236 – AD 1458
Saffarid DynastyAD 860 – AD 899
Samanid EmpireAD 886 – AD 999
Seljuk DynastyAD 990 – AD 1039
Shan StatesAD 1294 – AD 1563
ShaybanidsAD 1497 – AD 1511
Songhai EmpireAD 1463 – AD 1608
Southern SongAD 1139 – AD 1278
SrivijayaAD 674 – AD 1293
Sui DynastyAD 587 – AD 627
Sukhothai KingdomAD 1241 – AD 1458
Sultanate of RumAD 1094 – AD 1313
Taifas of IberiaAD 1010 – AD 1249
Tang DynastyAD 623 – AD 910
Tibetan EmpireAD 623 – AD 849
Timurid EmpireAD 1375 – AD 1528
Tughlaq DynastyAD 1326 – AD 1414
TulunidsAD 875 – AD 910
TürgeshAD 692 – AD 749
Turk ShahisAD 561 – AD 874
Umayyad CaliphateAD 656 – AD 756
Uyghur KhaganateAD 750 – AD 849
Vijayanagara EmpireAD 1344 – AD 1571
West FranksAD 850 – AD 989
Western Chalukya EmpireAD 980 – AD 1187
Western GöktürksAD 587 – AD 660
Western XiaAD 990 – AD 1226
White HordeAD 1363 – AD 1384
Yadava DynastyAD 1188 – AD 1325
Yenisei KyrgyzAD 555 – AD 1219
Yuan DynastyAD 1294 – AD 1374
Zengid dynastyAD 1139 – AD 1259

Early modern period (1500 – 1800 · 38)

Afsharid IranAD 1734 – AD 1756
British Cape ColonyAD 1796 – AD 1884
British Colonial EmpireAD 1706 – AD 1999
British EmpireAD 1706 – AD 1999
Denmark-NorwayAD 1526 – AD 1940
Durrani EmpireAD 1748 – AD 1827
Dutch RepublicAD 1582 – AD 1795
Dzungar KhanateAD 1609 – AD 1756
Eastern MoghulistanAD 1519 – AD 1686
Emirate of DiriyahAD 1744 – AD 1819
First Toungoo EmpireAD 1502 – AD 1756
Funj SultanateAD 1507 – AD 1821
Hotaki DynastyAD 1709 – AD 1737
Iberian UnionAD 1582 – AD 1639
Khanate of BukharaAD 1516 – AD 1787
Khanate of KhivaAD 1512 – AD 1919
Khanate of KokandAD 1709 – AD 1876
Konbaung DynastyAD 1741 – AD 1819
Later Jin DynastyAD 1619 – AD 1644
Maratha EmpireAD 1677 – AD 1845
Mughal EmpireAD 1529 – AD 1858
Oirat ConfederationAD 1619 – AD 1676
Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthAD 1572 – AD 1793
Portuguese EmpireAD 1502 – AD 1910
Qajar DynastyAD 1788 – AD 1923
Qing DynastyAD 1645 – AD 1911
Rattanakosin KingdomAD 1783 – AD 1931
Russian EmpireAD 1721 – AD 1916
Saadi SultanateAD 1556 – AD 1740
Safavid DynastyAD 1502 – AD 1737
Small HordeAD 1564 – AD 1737
Southern MingAD 1645 – AD 1682
Spanish EmpireAD 1516 – AD 1931
Sur EmpireAD 1540 – AD 1594
Swedish EmpireAD 1612 – AD 1814
Tokugawa ShogunateAD 1600 – AD 1869
Tsardom of RussiaAD 1547 – AD 1720
Zand DynastyAD 1748 – AD 1793

Modern era (since 1800 · 50)

Argentine ConfederationAD 1834 – AD 1929
Austria-HungaryAD 1868 – AD 1918
Austrian EmpireAD 1806 – AD 1867
Belgian CongoAD 1890 – AD 1962
Brazilian RepublicAD 1890 – AD 1966
British AfricaAD 1885 – AD 1960
British East AfricaAD 1961 – AD 1972
British Gold CoastAD 1873 – AD 1960
British RajAD 1859 – AD 1947
BurmaAD 1820 – AD 1989
Centralist MexicoAD 1836 – AD 1847
Dutch East IndiesAD 1800 – AD 1949
Emirate of AfghanistanAD 1828 – AD 1925
Emirate of Jabal ShammarAD 1825 – AD 1921
Emirate of NejdAD 1824 – AD 1925
Empire of BrazilAD 1822 – AD 1889
Empire of ChinaAD 1916 – AD 1916
Empire of JapanAD 1868 – AD 1945
Federated Republic of BrazilAD 1967 – AD 1986
Federated Republic of MexicoAD 1824 – AD 1865
French AfricaAD 1846 – AD 1957
French Fourth RepublicAD 1945 – AD 1957
French IndochinaAD 1860 – AD 1957
French Third RepublicAD 1871 – AD 1939
German AfricaAD 1871 – AD 1918
German EmpireAD 1871 – AD 1919
Gran ColombiaAD 1822 – AD 1833
Great Mongol StateAD 1912 – AD 1925
Italian AfricaAD 1890 – AD 1943
Khedivate of EgyptAD 1866 – AD 1884
Kingdom of EgyptAD 1922 – AD 1952
Kingdom of LibyaAD 1953 – AD 1968
Libyan Arab RepublicAD 1969 – AD 2013
Mahdist StateAD 1890 – AD 1899
Mongolian People's RepublicAD 1926 – AD 1991
Muhammad Ali dynastyAD 1805 – AD 1865
Nazi GermanyAD 1936 – AD 1944
Ottoman TripolitaniaAD 1840 – AD 1911
Pahlavi DynastyAD 1924 – AD 1978
Peru-Bolivian ConfederationAD 1836 – AD 1839
Portuguese RepublicAD 1911 – AD 1925
Republic of New GranadaAD 1834 – AD 1858
Río de la PlataAD 1811 – AD 1833
Russian RepublicAD 1917 – AD 1919
Sokoto CaliphateAD 1805 – AD 1904
Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicsAD 1922 – AD 1991
Unitary State of BrazilAD 1932 – AD 1945
United Kingdoms of Sweden and NorwayAD 1815 – AD 1904
Vichy FranceAD 1940 – AD 1944
ZaireAD 1973 – AD 1995

Largest empire on the list: British Empire (approx. 29.2 million km²). Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.