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List of largest empires
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This SourceThis article provides a list of the largest empires in world history.
Definition
An empire is a state that extends dominion over areas and populations distinct culturally and ethnically from the culture/ethnicity at the center of power.
Difficulties in measuring and comparing empires
Empires are all individual in character, having been formed in widely different times under widely different political structures. In fact, the term Empire as stated above does not imply any particular form of government. Whether a nation is or was called an empire is also not relevant to whether it is considered an empire for the purposes of this article.The calculation of the land area of a particular empire is controversial. In particular, there is the question of whether a particular empire can be considered to have laid claim to an area that is sparsely populated, or not populated at all. In general, this list errs on the side of including any land area that was explored and explicitly claimed, even if the areas were very sparsely populated or unpopulated. For example, a large portion of Northern Siberia is not included in the size of the Mongol Empire. The Mongol Empire's northern border was somewhat ill-defined, but in most places it was simply the natural border between the steppe and the taiga. Occupied areas north of this are included in the area of the empire, but at the time the majority of the taiga and tundra were unexplored and uninhabited. This area was only very sparsely populated by the Russian Empire, but it had been explicitly claimed by the Russian Empire by the 1600s, and its extent had been entirely explored by the late 1800s. Similarly, the northernmost Canadian islands such as Ellesmere Island were explored and claimed by the British Empire by the mid 1800s (virtually the entire mainland was at least sparsely populated well before that). No claims on mainland Antarctica are included in the area of any of the empires.
Due to the historical trend of increasing population and GDP, the list of largest empires in these categories is highly dependent on which relatively recent political entities are defined as empires. The measures of population and GDP as a percentage of the world total take into account this historical growth, although decent GDP data is only available for the last few centuries, accurate only for the last decades.
Largest empires by landmass
Ancient empires
- Achaemenid Persian Empire - 7.5 million km² (under Darius the Great)
- Han Empire - 6 million km²
- Roman Empire - 5.9 million km² (under Emperor Trajan)
- Macedonian Empire - 5.4 million km² (under Alexander the Great)
- Maurya Empire - 5 million km² (under Ashoka the Great)
- Hunnic Empire - 4 million km² (under Attila the Hun in 441)
- Seleucid Empire - 3.9 million km²
- Gupta Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Chandragupta II in 400)
- Sassanid Persian Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Khosrau II in 626)
- Parthian Empire - 2.84 million km² (Under Mithridates II 123–88 BCE)
- Median Empire - 2.8 million km²
- Neo-Assyrian Empire - 1.4 million km²
- Aksumite Empire - 1.25 million km²
- Egyptian Empire - 1 million km²
- Akkadian Empire - 650,000 km²
- Neo-Babylonian Empire - 500,000 km²
- Armenian Empire - 400,000 km²
Medieval empires
- Mongol Empire - 33.2 million km² (under Khublai Khan in 1268)
- Umayyad Arab Empire - 13.2 million km²
- Rashidun Arab Empire - 9 million km² (under Caliph Uthman in 654)
- Ming Empire - 6.5 million km²
- Tang Empire - 5.4 million km²
- Byzantine Empire/Eastern Roman Empire - 4.5 million km²
- Mughal Empire - 4 million km² (under Aurangzeb in 1690)
- Seljuq Empire - 3.9 million km²
- Sassanid Persian Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Khosrau II in 626)
- Ghaznavid Empire - 3.4 million km²
- Pala Empire - 3.2 million km² (under Devapala)
- Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km²
- Kalmar Union - 3 million km²
- Khazar Empire - 3 million km²
- Chola Empire - 2.6 million km² (under Rajendra Chola I)
- Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyu) - 2 million km² (Under Atahualpa in 1532)
- Songhai Empire - 1.4 million km² (in 1500)
- Aksumite/Ethiopian Empire - 1.25 million km²
- Srivijaya Empire - 1.2 million km²
- Frankish Empire - 1.2 million km²
- Mali Empire - 1.1 million km²
- Harsha Empire - 1 million km² (under Harsha Vardhana in 648)
- Almoravid Empire - 1 million km²
- Khmer Empire - 1 million km²
- Grand Duchy of Lithuania - 930,000 km² (under Vytautas the Great in 1430)
- Bulgarian Empire - 700,000 km² (under Tsar Simeon I)
- Vijayanagara Empire - 360,000 km²
- Serbian Empire - 200,000 km²
Modern empires
- British Empire - 36.6 million km² (under King George V in 1922)
- Russian Empire - 22.8 million km² (under Alexander II in 1867)
All empires
- British Empire - 36.6 million km² (under King George V in 1922)
- Mongol Empire - 33.2 million km² (under Kublai Khan in 1268)
- Russian Empire - 22.8 million km² (under Nicholas II in 1895)
Contiguous empires
- Mongol Empire - 33.2 million km² (under Khublai Khan in 1268)
- Russian Empire - 22.8 million km² (under Nicholas II in 1895)
Maritime empires
- British Empire - 36.6 million km² (under King George V in 1922)
- Spanish Empire - 19 million km² (under King Charles III)
- French Empire - 12.5 million km²
- Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km²
- American Empire - 10 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)
- Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (during World War II)
- Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (during World War II)
- Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²
- German Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Wilhelm II before WWI)
- Tongan Empire - 3 million km² (15th century)
- Chola Empire - 2.6 million km² (under Rajendra Chola I)
- Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km²
- Srivijaya Empire - 1.2 million km²
Largest empires by population
Population estimates are unknown for many other ancient empires not listed here.Population size
- British Empire - 531.3 million (in 1938)
- Qing Empire - 432 million (in 1912)
Percentage of world population
- Qing Empire - 36.6% (381 million out of 1.041 billion in 1820)
- Maurya Empire - 33.3% (50 million out of 150 million in the 2nd century BC)
- Umayyad Arab Empire - 29.5% (62 million out of 210 million in the 7th century)
- Mughal Empire - 29.2% (175 million out of 600 million in 1700)
- Ming Empire - 28.8% (160 million out of 556.2 million in 1600)
- Achaemenid Persian Empire - 27.6% (42 million out of 152 million in the 4th century BC)
- Han Empire - 26.5% (59.6 million out of 226 million in 2 AD)
- Roman Empire - 26.5% (60 million out of 226 million in the 1st century AD)
- Mongol Empire - 25.6% (110 million out of 429 million in the 13th century)
- British Empire - 23.15% (531.3 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
- Song Empire - 22% (59 million out of 268 million in 1000)
- Rashidun Arab Empire - 19.19% (40.3 million out of 210 million in 7th century)
- Spanish Empire - 12.3% (68.2 million out of 556 million in the 17th century)
- Russian Empire - 9.8% (176.4 million out of 1.791 billion in 1913)
- Ottoman Empire - 7.1% (39 million out of 556 million in the 17th century)
- American Empire - 6.4% (146.4 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
- Japanese Empire - 5.9% (134.8 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
- Vijayanagara Empire - 5.7% (25 million out of 438 million in the 16th century)
- Soviet Union - 5.5% (286,717,000 out of 5.175 billion in 1989)
- French Empire - 4.9% (112.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
- Nazi German Empire - 3.3% (75.4 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
- Austro-Hungarian Empire - 2.8% (50.6 million out of 1.791 billion in 1913)
- Italian Empire - 2.3% (51.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
- Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 1.9% (10.5 million out of 556 million in the 17th century)
- Portuguese Empire - 0.8% (14.7 million out of 1.791 billion in 1913)
Largest empires by economy
GDP estimates in the following list are only given for empires in modern times, from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. All dollar amounts are in 1990 USD.GDP size
- American Empire - $1,713.6 billion (in 1944)
- British Empire - $683.3 billion (in 1938)
- Nazi German Empire - $375.6 billion (in 1938)
- Japanese Empire - $260.7 billion (in 1938)
- Russian Empire - $257.7 billion (in 1913)
- Qing Empire - $241.3 billion (GDP decline to 1912, immediately before its downfall)
- French Empire - $234.1 billion (in 1938)
- Italian Empire - $143.4 billion (in 1938)
- Austro-Hungarian Empire - $100.5 billion (in 1913)
- Mughal Empire - $90.8 billion (GDP decline in 1700)
- Ottoman Empire - $26.4 billion (in 1913)
- Portuguese Empire - $12.6 billion (in 1913)
Percentage of world GDP
- American Empire - 35% ($1,644.8 billion out of $4,699 billion in 1945)
- Qing Empire - 32.9% ($228.6 billion out of $694.4 billion in 1820)
- Mughal Empire - 24.5% ($90.8 billion out of $371 billion in 1700)
- British Empire - 23.8% ($265 billion out of $1,111 billion in 1870)
- Russian Empire - 9.4% ($257.7 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)
- Nazi German Empire - 8.3% ($375.6 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
- Japanese Empire - 5.8% ($260.7 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
- French Empire - 5.2% ($234.1 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
- Austro-Hungarian Empire - 3.7% ($100.5 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)
- Italian Empire - 3.2% ($143.4 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
- Ottoman Empire - 1% ($26.4 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)
- Portuguese Empire - 0.5% ($12.6 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)
Notes and references
Bibliography
- Jonathan M. Adams, Thomas D. Hall and Peter Turchin (2004). East-West Orientation of Historical Empires. University of Connecticut.
- J. Beloch (1886), Die Bevölkerung der griechisch–römischen Welt, Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig.
- Jean-Noël Biraben (2003). "The rising numbers of humankind", Populations & Societies 394.
- Roger Boesche (2003). "Kautilya’s Arthashastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India", The Journal of Military History 67 (p. 9–38).
- Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison (2005). The Economics of World War I. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-8521 2-9.
- Christopher Chase-Dunn, Alexis Álvarez, and Daniel Pasciuti (2002). Power and Size: Urbanization and Empire Formation in World-Systems Since the Bronze Age. University of California, Riverside.
- Raymond W. Goldsmith (1984), "An estimate of the size and structure of the national product of the Early Roman Empire", Journal of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth 30
- Bruce R. Gordon (2005). To Rule the Earth... (cached) (See Bibliography for sources used.)
- Mark Harrison (1998). The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison.
- Angus Maddison (2001). The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective. OECD, Paris.
- Angus Maddison (2006). The Contours of the World Economy 1-2030 AD. Oxford University Press.
- Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones (1978), "Atlas of World Population History", Facts on File (p. 342-351). New York.
- Sevket Pamuk (2005), "The Ottoman Empire in World War I". In Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison (2005), The Economics of World War I, p. 112-136. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-8521 2-9.
- Donald Quataert (2005). The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922.
- Walter Scheidel (2005). The monetary systems of the Han and Roman empires Stanford University.
- Walter Scheidel (2006). Imperial state formation in Rome and China Stanford University.
- Carla M. Sinopoli (2003). The Political Economy of Craft Production: Crafting Empire in South India, C. 1350-1650.
- Ralph Thomlinson (1975), Demographic Problems, Controversy Over Population Control, Second Edition.
- Dr Frances Wood (2006). China: The Three Emperors. Royal Academy.
- H. Yoon (1985). "An early Chinese idea of a dynamic environmental cycle", GeoJournal 10 (2), p. 211-212.
See also
- Empire
- Global empire
- List of empires
- List of longest empires
- List of countries by area
- List of countries by GDP
- List of countries by population
- List of extinct states
- European Empires
- African Empires
- The World Economy: Historical Statistics
External links
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Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 14:06:53 PDT (GMT -0700)
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