All the countries in the world were historically ruled by many empires and there are many empires that are truly contenders of the largest empires in history. There are multiple parameters to measure that that includes area, population, economy, and power. The most precise and used parameter is area because it has a degree of accuracy. Here is the list of largest empires in history,
Largest Empires In History
1.British Empire- 35.5 Million km2
The British Empire is the largest empire in history covering quater land of the total Earth surface. It is believed that the empires ruled over 458 million people. The 16th century is also known as the “Age of Discovery” where the target was to build better ships for emploring new places. Britain is looking for new lands where they build new colonies and these in return will give Britain valuable materials like metals, sugar, and tobacco that would help them in trading with other countries. These colonies also help England in making money-making opportunities for rich Englishmen and provide jobs to England’s poor and unemployed to live and earn in new places.
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2.Mongol Empire- 24.0 Million km2
Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. The empire originated from the Mongol heartland of central Asia. During the 13th century, it increased its territory from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Danube River and the shores of the Persian Gulf in the west. During the peak of the empire, it covered around 24 million square kilometres making it one of the largest empires in history. The empire was first led by Genghis Khan from 1206 until 1368. It was expanded to cover most of Eurasia. According to the historian Diana Lary, The Mongol Empire had gained a reputation for destroying its enemies, and it “spread terror and panic as news of the cities they had razed preceded them,”
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3.Russian Empire- 22.8 Million km2
The Russian empire, which is also known as Imperial Russia, is actually a country which is located in Europe as well as Asia. It was started in the year 1721 when it was Peter I of Russia proclaimed it. Initially, it was known as the Duchy of Moscow and lasted till March 1917 after the Russian revolution and later it came out as an absolute monarchy ruled by Russian emperors known as ‘Tsars’. Till 1914, it covered an area of 22.8 Million km2 and the official language was the Russian language and the official church was the Russian Orthodox Church.
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4.Qing dynasty- 14.7 Million km2
This is the last dynasty of China and it ruled the country from 1644 to 1912 before it was overthrown by the Republic of China. The Qing dynasty is also known as the Manchu dynasty. It started in the early 1600s when the Manchu people of northern China and began to unite against the Ming dynasty. In 1644, the Manchus crossed the great wall of China and invaded China where they took the control of the Chinese capital city, Beijing, and declared the beginning o the new empire called the Qing. The first Qing emperor was the 5-year-old boy who becomes the Shunzhi Emperor. The Manchus continue to conquer more of China and in the year 1683, the Qing empire included all of China.
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5.Spanish Empire- 13.7 Million km2
The Spanish empire is also one of the largest empires in history and they have maintained the powerful and vast empire for a longer period of time. This is the fifth largest empire in history that covers 13.7 million square km area across the globe. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish empire emerged as a global empire and this is the first empire which is known as the empire in which the sun never sets. The Spanish language gave the Americas and other parts of the world a language that was dominant in many parts of the country.
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6.Second French colonial empire- 11.5 Million km2
The French colonial Empire was landed under French rule during the 17th century and to the late 1960s. The first colonial empire has taken control to start with the French colonization of the Americas and to end with the Napoleonic Wars and the second colonial empire of France is in the era of the 19th and 20th centuries and second largest in the world after the British Empire. Both first and second colonial empire of France was big and it gave people a new language which is now as Franch.
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7.Abbasid Caliphate- – 11.1 Million km2.
The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the total four great Muslim caliphates of the Arab Empire. It has taken over the Umayyad caliphs from all but Al-Andalus. The empire was built by the descendant of Muhammad’s youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. It was flourished by two centuries and later ended in 1258, when Hulagu Khan, the Mongol conqueror, sacked Baghdad, however, they continued to claim authority in religious matters from their base in Egypt.
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8.Umayyad Caliphate- 11.1 Million km2
The Umayyad Caliphate also is known as Omayyad was the first great Muslim dynasty to rule the empire of the caliphate (661–750 CE). The empire was headed by Abu sufyanbelong to the family of the Quraysh tribe centred at Mecca. The rule of the empire was divided into two branches of the family, first is the Sufyānids that ruled between 661–684 and the second one is between the Marwanids which is from 684–750.
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9.Yuan dynasty- 11.0 Million km2
The Yuan dynasty is the first foreign dynasty that ruled China between (1279–1368). The dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, leader of the vast Mongol Empire, and later lost because of internal rebellion after it lost touch with its Mongol roots. The Kublai’s empire was the first dynasty to use paper money as the main currency. The Han ethnic people were divided into the four-class system during the administration of Mongols. The Italian traveller named Marco Polo visited China during the Yuan Dynasty and introduced the state to the Europeans.
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10.Xiongnu Empire- 9.0 Million km2
The Xiongnu Empire was between (209 BCE – 48 CE) was a state formed by the nomadic people called the Xiongnu. This is primarily in the area north of China and even the state was stretched to modern-day Mongolia. The empire has a complex relationship with the early Chinese dynasties that includes military conflict. The Xiongnu is the most prominent group during the Han dynasty. There are also theories that suggest they were proto-Mongols but there is no evidence as such.
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These are the largest empires in history. Kindly post and do share your comments.
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