Largest empire in history

So you think the most famous empire, Roman Empire would be the biggest? It’s not even on the list! (It almost made it, though!) Here, time to lean some historical facts and be amazed! These facts are based on Wikipedia and put together for the historical nerd in you. So the fact credits go to Wikipedia and its contributors. Source: The Maurya Empire, also known as the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Maurya dynasty from 322–185 BCE. Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh) in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna). The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, Ottoman Turkey or Turkey, was an empire founded in 1299 by Oghuz Turks under Osman I in northwestern Anatolia. After conquests in the Balkans by Murad I between 1362 and 1389, the Ottoman sultanate was transformed into a transcontinental empire and claimant to the caliphate. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. 23. Tang dynasty (2.01 million miles square) The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by the Lǐ family (李), who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress ...

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the population of the British Empire had stood at 88 million. By 1922, however, following the acquisition of additional territories in the wake of that war, this figure had grown to some 458 million. The population eventually peaked in 1938, on the eve of World War II, by which time the British Empire accounted for an incredible 531 million people, making it the largest empire in history by population. Today, it is estimated that the British Commonwealth includes as many as 2 billion people spread across its 54 member states. Records change on a daily basis and are not immediately published online. For a full list of record titles, please use our Record Application Search. (You will need to register / login for access) Comments below may relate to previous holders of this record.

Mongol leader Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rose from humble beginnings to establish the largest land empire in history. After uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau, he conquered huge chunks of central Asia and China. His descendants expanded the empire even further, advancing to such far-off places as Poland, Vietnam, Syria and Korea. At their peak, the Mongols controlled between 11 and 12 million contiguous square miles, an area about the size of Africa. Many people were slaughtered in the course of Genghis Khan’s invasions, but he also granted religious freedom to his subjects, abolished torture, encouraged trade and created the first international postal system. Genghis Khan died in 1227 during a military campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. His final resting place remains unknown. Genghis Khan: The Early Years Temujin, later Genghis Khan, was born around 1162 near the border between modern Mongolia and Siberia. Legend holds that he came into the world clutching a blood clot in his right hand. His mother had been kidnapped by his father and forced into marriage. At that time, dozens of nomadic tribes on the central Asian steppe were constantly fighting and stealing from each other, and life for Temujin was violent and unpredictable. Before he turned 10, his father was poisoned to death by an enemy clan. Temujin’s own clan then deserted him, his mother and his six siblings in order to avoid having to feed them. Shortly thereafter, Temujin killed his ...

The Mongol Empire was a huge but short-lived empire that at its peak stretched from the Pacific Ocean to central Europe. But while vast — it was the largest contiguous land empire in history — it was united for only a few decades, before breaking apart into smaller empires in the 1260s as a result of civil war. The Mongol Empire originated in the Eastern Steppe in 1206. Traditionally the Mongols were nomadic, herding large flocks of animals in Mongolia, and were highly skilled horsemen, wrote Marie Favereau, an associate professor of history at Paris Nanterre University, in her book "The Horde: How the Mongols changed the world" (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2021. "Mongol horses were especially impressive," Favereau wrote. "When dismounted, these horses were trained to follow their riders and could return to camp on their own." In wintertime they fed themselves "by seeking grass under the snow." The Mongols’ horses enabled them to travel vast distances and control a large swathe of territory. They also mastered the use of composite bows — powerful weapons that could be used on horseback — and other new technologies of the time, which gave them a strong advantage in battle, wrote Timothy May, a professor of Central Eurasian History at the University of North Georgia in his book "The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia" (ABC-CLIO, 2016) . A 14th-century portrait of Genghis Khan, from an album depicting Mongol emperors, now in the National Palace Museum...

(Photo: Empire at greatest extent:2,100,000 mi 2 (5,500,000 km 2 ) Under: Origin:Iran, Asia Capital: Lingua franca: Religion: Countries included:all of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Afghanistan. Part of Lybia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine. And a tiny bit of Russia. Advertisement Duration of the empire:559 – 330 BC The scoop:there had been other great empires in the area, like Assyria and Media. In the 4 th century BC, the Persian empire fell to Alexander the Great, so it became the Macedonian Empire. The Macedonian Empire covered basically the same territory as the Persian. It had 2,000,000 mi 2 ( More information: Other maps: (Photo: Empire at greatest extent:1,930,000 mi 2 (5,000,000 km 2) Under: Origin:India, Asia Capital: Lingua franca: Religion: Countries included:almost all India and Bangladesh. Part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and a bit of Iran Duration:322 – 185 BC The scoop:the founder of the empire was th century BC More information: Other maps: (Photo: Empire at greatest extent:1,930,000 mi 2 (5,000,000 km 2) Under: Origin:Italy, Europe Capital: Lingua franca: Religion: Countries included:all Italy, France, Cyprus, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City, San Marino, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, England, Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Alba...