I stumbled onto this page before I saw the discussion in Wikipedia:Wikiproject Years, and I really like the idea of this page if it becomes a series. I had been trying to think of a way to arrange the list of extinct states in a more useful order (one alphabetical order) and link them to the list of years. The problem whether to use the word 'state', 'country' or 'empire' etc. is solved when focusing on the heads of state. I cannot find a project like this in any one book or on the Internet. Potentially very useful  keep it up!  18:28, 7 Apr 2004 (UTC)