World's Largest Empires


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Name Million km2 Million mi2 % of World Year
British Empire 35.5 13.71 23.84 1920 AD
Mongol Empire 24.0 9.27 16.11 1270 or 1309 AD
Russian Empire 22.8 8.8 15.31 1895 AD
American Empire 23.012 8.766 15.2 1902 AD
Spanish Empire 13.7 or 20.0 5.29 or 7.72 9.2 or 13.43 1810 or 1750 AD
Qing Dynasty 13.1 - 14.7 5.06 - 5.68 8.8 - 9.87 1790 AD
Second French Colonial Empire 11.5 4.44 7.72 1920 AD
Abbasid Caliphate 11.1 4.29 7.45 750 AD
Umayyad Caliphate 11.1 4.29 7.45 720 AD
Yuan Dynasty 11.0 or 13.72 4.25 or 5.3 7.39 or 9.21 1310 or 1330 AD
Xiongnu Empire 9.0 3.47 6.04 176 BC
Brazilian Empire 8.337 3.22 5.6 1889 AD
Empire of Japan 7.4 or 8.51 2.86 or 3.285 4.97 or 5.71 1938 or 1942 AD
Spanish Empire (Iberian Union) 7.1 2.74 4.77 1640 AD
Eastern Han Dynasty 6.5 2.51 4.36 100 AD
Ming Dynasty 6.5 2.51 4.36 1450 AD
Rashidun Caliphate 6.4 2.47 4.3 655 AD
Görktürk Khaganate 6.0 2.32 4.03 557 AD
Golden Horde Khaganate 6.0 2.32 4.03 1310 AD
Western Han Dynasty 6.0 2.32 4.03 50 BC
Persian Empire (Achaemenid) 5.5 or 8.0 2.12 or 3.09 3.69m or 5.37 500 or 480 BC
Second Portuguese Empire 5.5 or 10.4 2.12 or 4.02 3.69 or 6.98 1820 or 1815 AD
Tang Dynasty 5.4 or 10.7 2.08 or 4.13 3.63 or 7.18 715 or 669 AD
Alexander's Empire 5.2 2.01 3.49 323 BC
Ottoman Empire 5.2 2.01 3.49 1683 AD
Roman Empire 5.0 1.93 3.36 117 AD
Tibetan Empire 4.6 1.78 3.09 800 AD
Timurid Empire 4.4 1.7 2.95 1405 AD
Italian Empire 4.25 1.64 2.85 1941 AD
Fatimid Caliphate 4.1 1.58 2.75 969 AD
Eastern Görktürk Khaganate 4.0 1.54 2.69 624 AD
Hephthalite Empire 4.0 1.54 2.69 470 AD
Hunnic Empire (Attila) 4.0 1.54 2.69 441 AD
Mughal Empire 4.0 1.54 2.69 1690 AD
Seljuk Empire 3.9 1.51 2.62 1080 AD
Seleucid Empire 3.9 1.51 2.62 301 BC
Nazi German Empire 3.898 1.505 2.61 1942 AD
Ilkhanate 3.75 1.45 2.52 1310 AD
Chagatai Khaganate 3.5 1.35 2.35 1310 or 13560 AD
Sassanid Empire 3.5 1.35 2.35 550 BC
Western Turkic Khaganate 3.5 1.35 2.35 630 AD
Western Xiongnu 3.5 1.35 2.35 20 AD
First French Colonial Empire 3.4 1.31 2.28 1670 AD
Ghaznavid Empire 3.4 1.31 2.28 1029 AD
Maurya Empire 3.4 or 5.0 1.31 or 1.93 2.28 or 3.36 261 or 250 BC
Tughlaq Dynasty 3.2 1.24 2.15 1312 AD
German Colonial Empire 3.2 1.24 2.15 1912 AD
Song Dynasty 3.1 1.2 2.08 980 AD
Uyghur Khaganate 3.1 1.2 2.08 800 AD
Western Jin Dynasty 3.1 1.2 2.08 280 AD
Sui Dynasty 3.0 1.16 2.01 589 AD
Samanid Empire 2.85 1.1 1.91 928 AD
Byzantine Empire 2.8 1.08 1.88 450 AD
Eastern Jin Dynasty 2.8 1.08 1.88 347 AD
Median Empire 2.8 1.08 1.88 585 BC
Parthian Empire 2.8 1.08 1.88 0 AD
Rouran Khaganate 2.8 1.08 1.88 405 AD
Indo-Scythian Kingdom 2.6 1.0 1.75 20 AD
Liao Dynasty 2.6 1.0 1.75 947 AD
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 2.5 .97 1.68 184 BC
Later Zhao Dynasty 2.5 .97 1.68 329 AD
Maratha Empire 2.5 .97 1.68 1760 AD
Jin Dynasty 2.3 .89 1.54 1126 AD
Khwarezmian Empire 2.3 or 3.6 .89 or 1.39 1.54 or 2.42 1210 or 1218 AD
Qin Dynasty 2.3 .89 1.54 220 BC
First French Empire (Napoléon) 2.1 .81 1.41 1813 AD
Kievan Rus 2.1 .81 1.41 1000 AD
Mamluk Sultanate 2.1 .81 1.41 1300 or 1400 AD
Third Portuguese Empire 2.1 .81 1.41 1900 AD
Almohad Caliphate 2.0 or 2.3 .77 or.89 1.34 or 1.54 1200 or 1250 AD
Cao Wei Dynasty 2.0 .77 1.34 263 AD
Former Qin Dynasty 2.0 .77 1.34 376 AD
Former Zhao Dynasty 2.0 .77 1.34 316 AD
Inca Empire 2.0 .77 1.34 1527 AD
Kushan Empire 2.0 or 2.5 .77 or .97 1.34 or 1.68 200 AD
Liu Song Dynasty 2.0 .77 1.34 450 AD
Northern Wei Dynasty 2.0 .77 1.34 450 AD
Ayyubid Dynasty 1.7 or 2.0 .66 or .77 1.14 or 1.34 1200 or 1190 AD
Gupta Empire 1.7 or 3.5 .66 or 1.35 1.14 or 2.35 440 or 400 AD
Buyid Dynasty 1.6 .62 1.07 980 AD
Eastern Wu Dynasty 1.5 .58 1.01 221 AD
Northern Qi Dynasty 1.5 .58 1.01 557 AD
Northern Xiongnu 1.5 .58 1.01 60 AD
Northern Zhou Dynasty 1.5 .58 1.01 557 AD
Assyrian Empire 1.40 .54 .94 670 BC
Maurya Empire 1.3 .50 .87 210 BC
Liang Dynasty 1.3 .50 .87 579 AD
Kingdom of Aksum 1.25 .48 .84 350 AD
Shang Dynasty 1.25 .48 .84 1122 BC
Kingdom of the Franks 1.2 .46 .81 814 AD
Srivijaya 1.2 .46 .81 1200 AD
Indo-Greek Kingdom 1.1 .42 .74 150 BC
Mali Empire 1.1 .42 .74 1380 AD
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1.1 .42 .74 1480 or 1650 AD
Almoravid Dynasty 1.0 .39 .67 1120 AD
Empire of Harsha 1.0 .39 .67 625 or 648 AD
Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty 1.0 .39 .67 860 AD
Holy Roman Empire 1.0 .39 .67 1050 AD
Khazar Khanate 1.0 or 3.0 .39 or 1.16 .67 or 2.01 900 or 850 AD
Khmer Empire 1.0 .39 .67 1290 AD
New Kingdom of Egypt 1.0 .39 .67 1450 or 1300 BC
Ptolemaic Empire 1.0 .39 .67 301 BC
Qara Khitai 1.0 or 1.5 .39 or .58 .67 or 1.01 1130 or 1210 AD
Shu Han Dynasty 1.0 .39 .67 221 AD
Tahirid Dynasty 1.0 .39 .67 800 AD
Western Xia Dynasty 1.0 .39 .67 1100 AD
First Bulgarian Empire .80 .31 .54 927 AD
Akkadian Empire .80 .31 .54 2250 BC
Avar Khaganate .80 .31 .54 600 AD
Chu State .80 .31 .54 300 BC
First Portuguese Empire .80 .31 .54 1580 AD
Songhai Empire .80 .31 .54 1550 AD
Hyksos .65 .25 .44 1650 BC
Egyptian 26th Dynasty .65 .25 .44 550 BC
Caliphate of Córdoba .60 .23 .40 1000 AD
Visigothic Kingdom .60 .23 .40 580 AD
Kingdom of Kosala .50 .19 .34 543 BC
Lydia .50 .19 .34 585 BC
Kingdom of Magadha .50 .19 .34 510 BC
Egyptian Middle Kingdom .50 .19 .34 1850 BC
Neo-Babylonian Empire .50 .19 .34 562 BC
Satvahana Dynasty .50 .19 .34 150 AD
Egyptian 25th Dynasty .50 .19 .34 715 BC
Western Satraps .50 .19 .34 100 AD
Second Bulgarian Empire .477 .18 .32 1241 AD
New Hittite Kingdom .45 .17 .30 1250 or 1220 BC
Xia Dynasty .45 .17 .30 1800 BC
Middle Assyrian Empire .40 .15 .27 1080 BC
Egyptian Old Kingdom .40 .15 .27 2400 BC
Ancient Carthage .30 .12 .20 220 BC
Mitanni Empire .30 .12 .20 1450 or 1375 BC
Babylonian Empire .25 .10 .17 1690 BC
Aztec Empire .22 .08 .15 1520 AD
Elamite Empire .20 .08 .13 1160 BC
Phrygia .20 .08 .13 750 BC
Second Dynasty of Isin .20 .08 .13 1130 BC
Urartu Kingdom .20 .08 .13 800 BC
Middle Hittite Kingdom .15 .06 .10 1450 BC
Old Assyrian Empire .15 .06 .10 1730 BC
Old Hittite Kingdom .15 .06 .10 1530 BC
Ashanti Empire .10 .04 .07 1872 AD
Larsa (Lugalzagesi of Umma) .10 .04 .07 1750-1700 BC
Sumerian 3rd Dynasty .05 .02 .03 2000 BC
Sumerian Empire .05 .02 .03 2400 BC

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