List of largest empires
Empires at their greatest extent
Empire size in this list is defined as the dry land area it controls. Where estimates vary, entries are sorted by the lowest estimate.

List of largest empires

Section Title: Empires at their greatest extent
Table Section Text: Empire size in this list is defined as the dry land area it controls. Where estimates vary, entries are sorted by the lowest estimate.

Empire	Maximum land area

million km2	million mi2	% of world	Year

British Empire	35.5	13.71	23.84%	1920

Mongol Empire	24.0	9.27	16.11%	1270 or 1309

Russian Empire	22.8	8.80	15.31%	1895

Spanish Empire	13.7–20.0	5.29–7.72	9.20%–13.43%	1810 or 1750

Qing dynasty	12.16–14.7	4.70–5.68	8.16%–9.87%	1820 or 1790

Second French colonial empire	11.5	4.44	7.72%	1920

Abbasid Caliphate	11.1	4.29	7.45%	750

Umayyad Caliphate	11.1	4.29	7.45%	720

Yuan dynasty	11.0–13.72	4.25–5.30	7.39%–9.21%	1310 or 1330

Xiongnu Empire	9.0	3.47	6.04%	176 BC

Brazilian Empire	8.337	3.22	5.60%	1889

Empire of Japan	7.4–8.51	2.86–3.285	4.97%–5.71%	1938 or 1942

Iberian Union	7.1	2.74	4.77%	1640

Eastern Han dynasty	6.5	2.51	4.36%	100

Ming dynasty	6.5	2.51	4.36%	1450

Rashidun Caliphate	6.4	2.47	4.30%	655

Göktürk Khaganate	6.0	2.32	4.03%	557

Golden Horde Khanate	6.0	2.32	4.03%	1310

Western Han dynasty	6.0	2.32	4.03%	50 BC

Achaemenid Empire	5.5–8.0	2.12–3.09	3.69%–5.37%	500 BC or 480 BC

Second Portuguese Empire	5.5–10.4	2.12–4.02	3.69%–6.98%	1820 or 1815

Tang dynasty	5.4–10.76	2.08–4.15	3.63%–7.22%	715 or 669

Macedonian Empire	5.2	2.01	3.49%	323 BC

Ottoman Empire	5.2	2.01	3.49%	1683

Roman Empire	5.0–6.5	1.93–2.51	3.36%–4.36%	117

Tibetan Empire	4.6	1.78	3.09%	800

Timurid Empire	4.4	1.70	2.95%	1405

Fatimid Caliphate	4.1	1.58	2.75%	969

Eastern Turkic Khaganate	4.0	1.54	2.69%	624

Hephthalite Empire	4.0	1.54	2.69%	470

Hunnic Empire	4.0	1.54	2.69%	441

Mughal Empire	4.0	1.54	2.69%	1690

Great Seljuq Empire	3.9	1.51	2.62%	1080

Seleucid Empire	3.9	1.51	2.62%	301 BC

Italian Empire	3.798–4.25	1.47–1.64	2.55%–2.85%	1938 or 1941

Ilkhanate	3.75	1.45	2.52%	1310

Chagatai Khanate	3.5	1.35	2.35%	1310 or 1350

Sasanian Empire	3.5	1.35	2.35%	550

Western Turkic Khaganate	3.5	1.35	2.35%	630

Western Xiongnu	3.5	1.35	2.35%	20

First French colonial empire	3.4	1.31	2.28%	1670

Ghaznavid Empire	3.4	1.31	2.28%	1029

Maurya Empire	3.4–5.0	1.31–1.93	2.28%–3.36%	261 BC or 250 BC

Delhi Sultanate (Tughlaq dynasty)	3.2	1.24	2.15%	1312

German colonial empire	3.199	1.24	2.15%	1912

Song dynasty	3.1	1.20	2.08%	980

Uyghur Khaganate	3.1	1.20	2.08%	800

Western Jin dynasty	3.1	1.20	2.08%	280

Sui dynasty	3.0	1.16	2.01%	589

Samanid Empire	2.85	1.10	1.91%	928

Eastern Jin dynasty	2.8	1.08	1.88%	347

Median Empire	2.8	1.08	1.88%	585 BC

Parthian Empire	2.8	1.08	1.88%	0

Rouran Khaganate	2.8	1.08	1.88%	405

Byzantine Empire	2.7–2.8	1.04–1.08	1.81%–1.88%	555 or 450

Indo-Scythian Kingdom	2.6	1.00	1.75%	20

Liao dynasty	2.6–4.5	1.00–1.74	1.75%–3.02%	947or 1111

Greco-Bactrian Kingdom	2.5	0.97	1.68%	184 BC

Later Zhao	2.5	0.97	1.68%	329

Maratha Empire	2.5	0.97	1.68%	1760

Jin dynasty (1115–1234)	2.3	0.89	1.54%	1126

Khwarazmian Empire	2.3–3.6	0.89–1.39	1.54%–2.42%	1210 or 1218

Qin dynasty	2.3	0.89	1.54%	220 BC

First French Empire	2.1	0.81	1.41%	1813

Kievan Rus'	2.1	0.81	1.41%	1000

Mamluk Sultanate	2.1	0.81	1.41%	1300 or 1400

Third Portuguese Empire	2.1	0.81	1.41%	1900

Almohad Caliphate	2.0–2.3	0.77–0.89	1.34%–1.54%	1200 or 1150

Cao Wei	2.0	0.77	1.34%	263

Former Qin	2.0	0.77	1.34%	376

Former Zhao	2.0	0.77	1.34%	316

Inca Empire	2.0	0.77	1.34%	1527

Kushan Empire	2.0–2.5	0.77–0.97	1.34%–1.68%	200

Liu Song dynasty	2.0	0.77	1.34%	450

Northern Wei	2.0	0.77	1.34%	450

Western Roman Empire	2.0	0.77	1.34%	395

Ayyubid dynasty	1.7–2.0	0.66–0.77	1.14%–1.34%	1200 or 1190

Gupta Empire	1.7–3.5	0.66–1.35	1.14%–2.35%	440 or 400

Buyid dynasty	1.6	0.62	1.07%	980

Eastern Wu	1.5	0.58	1.01%	221

Northern Qi	1.5	0.58	1.01%	557

Northern Xiongnu	1.5	0.58	1.01%	60

Northern Zhou	1.5	0.58	1.01%	577

Assyria	1.4	0.54	0.94%	670 BC

Eastern Maurya Empire	1.3	0.50	0.87%	210 BC

Liang dynasty	1.3	0.50	0.87%	502, 549, or 579

Kingdom of Aksum	1.25	0.48	0.84%	350

Shang dynasty	1.25	0.48	0.84%	1122 BC

Francia	1.2	0.46	0.81%	814

Srivijaya	1.2	0.46	0.81%	1200

Indo-Greek Kingdom	1.1	0.42	0.74%	150 BC

Mali Empire	1.1	0.42	0.74%	1380

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	1.1	0.42	0.74%	1480 or 1650

Almoravid dynasty	1.0	0.39	0.67%	1120

Empire of Harsha	1.0	0.39	0.67%	625 or 648

Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty	1.0	0.39	0.67%	860

Holy Roman Empire	1.0	0.39	0.67%	1050

Khazar Khanate	1.0–3.0	0.39–1.16	0.67%–2.01%	900 or 850

Khmer Empire	1.0	0.39	0.67%	1290

New Kingdom of Egypt	1.0	0.39	0.67%	1450 BC or 1300 BC

Ptolemaic Kingdom	1.0	0.39	0.67%	301 BC

Qara Khitai	1.0–1.5	0.39–0.58	0.67%–1.01%	1130 or 1210

Shu Han	1.0	0.39	0.67%	221

Tahirid dynasty	1.0	0.39	0.67%	800

Western Xia	1.0	0.39	0.67%	1100

First Bulgarian Empire	0.807	0.31	0.54%	927

Akkadian Empire	0.8	0.31	0.54%	2250 BC

Avar Khaganate	0.8	0.31	0.54%	600

Chu (state)	0.8	0.31	0.54%	300 BC

First Portuguese Empire	0.8	0.31	0.54%	1580

Huns	0.8	0.31	0.54%	287

Songhai Empire	0.8	0.31	0.54%	1550

Hyksos	0.65	0.25	0.44%	1650 BC

Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt	0.65	0.25	0.44%	550 BC

Austro-Hungarian Empire	0.62	0.24	0.42%	1905

Caliphate of Córdoba	0.6	0.23	0.40%	1000

Visigothic Kingdom	0.6	0.23	0.40%	580

Zhou dynasty	0.55	0.21	0.37%	1100 BC

Kosala	0.5	0.19	0.34%	543 BC

Lydia	0.5	0.19	0.34%	585 BC

Magadha	0.5	0.19	0.34%	510 BC

Middle Kingdom of Egypt	0.5	0.19	0.34%	1850 BC

Neo-Babylonian Empire	0.5	0.19	0.34%	562 BC

Satavahana dynasty	0.5	0.19	0.34%	150

Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt	0.5	0.19	0.34%	715 BC

Western Satraps	0.5	0.19	0.34%	100

Second Bulgarian Empire	0.477	0.18	0.32%	1241

New Hittite Kingdom	0.45	0.17	0.30%	1250 BC–1220 BC

Xia dynasty	0.45	0.17	0.30%	1800 BC

Middle Assyrian Empire	0.4	0.15	0.27%	1080 BC

Old Kingdom of Egypt	0.4	0.15	0.27%	2400 BC

Ancient Carthage	0.3	0.12	0.20%	220 BC

Indus Valley Civilisation	0.3	0.12	0.20%	1800 BC

Mitanni	0.3	0.12	0.20%	1450 BC–1375 BC

First Babylonian Empire	0.25	0.10	0.17%	1690 BC

Aztec Empire	0.22	0.08	0.15%	1520

Elamite Empire	0.2	0.08	0.13%	1160 BC

Phrygia	0.2	0.08	0.13%	750 BC

Second Dynasty of Isin	0.2	0.08	0.13%	1130 BC

Urartu	0.2	0.08	0.13%	800 BC

Middle Hittite Kingdom	0.15	0.06	0.10%	1450 BC

Old Assyrian Empire	0.15	0.06	0.10%	1730 BC

Old Hittite Empire	0.15	0.06	0.10%	1530 BC

Ashanti Empire	0.1	0.04	0.07%	1872

Larsa	0.1	0.04	0.07%	1750 BC–1700 BC

Neo-Sumerian Empire	0.1	0.04	0.07%	2000 BC

Lagash	0.05	0.02	0.03%	2400 BC

Sumer	0.05	0.02	0.03%	2400 BC

Its successor state the USSR and its successor in turn, Russia, reached maximum extents of 22.3 million km2 in 1945 and 17.1 million km2 in 1991, respectively.

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