List Rules Vote up the empires that had the biggest and longest-lasting effects on world history.
The most powerful empires in history united warring factions, controlled great swaths of land, and had vast colonial resources at their control. From the first global empire, likely the Akkadian Empire founded by Sargon in 2300 BCE, to the great dynasties of antiquity, all the way through the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires of the 1900s, these empires ruled huge parts of the world - until they were defeated by empires even more powerful than their own.
A great empire has a huge population, controls huge amounts of land, and can control both with a strong military. On this list you'll find the empires that brought the world some of the toughest warriors, greatest military leaders, and strongest armies. But they also inspired the greatest art, literature, engineering, and scientific feats in human history. Many nations were part of many different empires, and each one added their own legacy to their history.
Here are the greatest, most powerful global empires. Vote up the ones that truly stood above the rest.
list ordered by
1
283 137
Ottoman Empire Ruled Southeast Europe and Western Asia for centuries.
2
246 129
Roman Empire The bastion of the ancient world. All roads led there.
3
244 148
British Empire Highest population of any empire in history, over 550 million.
4
209 112
Mongol Empire Largest contiguous land empire in history.
5
155 145
Spanish Empire Dominated Europe for over three centuries.
6
129 129
Golden Horde Mongol successor state that controlled much of Eastern Europe.
7
124 124
French Colonial Empire Second largest Empire in the 19th century.
8
129 152
German Empire Controlled large parts of Europe from 1870 until the end of World War I
9
125 164
Byzantine Empire The western part of the Roman Empire. Ruled for over 1,100 years.
10
127 177
Russian Empire Had more land than any except the British and Mongolian.
