Most Powerful Empires in History

They were big, rich and ruled the world.

Most Powerful Empires in History

For quite some time, people have said that America is the next Roman Empire and that, like all empires, it too will fall.

Historically speaking, that assumption would be correct. Empires have risen and crumbled throughout history. But what were the largest and most powerful empires throughout history?

Let's take a look at the world's biggest empires. We ranked them by the landmass they controlled at their height. The biggest empire in the world controlled a quarter of the world's land. Can you guess what it is?

15. Rashidun Caliphate

Years: 632-661

Maximum land area year: 655

Millions of square miles occupied: 6.4

Percentage of the world: 4.75 percent

The First of the Four Caliphates

The Rashidun Caliphate was the first of four caliphates (government under a caliph, or spiritual leader of Islam) that were established following the death of the prophet Muhammed, who died in 632.

Abu Bakr became the first Rashidun leader and launched the Ridda Wars, which crushed rebelling Arabians who refused to see Bakr as their ruler after Muhammad died. He took the entire Arabian Peninsula but only ruled for 27 months, dying of illness in 634.

Over the course of 25 years, and subsequent caliphates, Mesopotamia, the Levant, parts of Anatolia and the Sasanian Empire came under the Rashidun Caliphate's rule.

The fresco above is of Bakr dying while Ali ibn Abi Talib — who would become the fourth caliphate — looks on.

14. Ming Dynasty

Years: 1368-1644

Maximum land area year: 1450

Millions of square miles occupied: 2.51

Percentage of the world: 4.82 percent

Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty

After Honqwu Emperor Taizu, or Zhu Yuanzhang, defeated the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (they're a bit further down this list), Yuanzhang established the Ming dynasty in 1368.

Yuanzhang ruled for 30 years in relative religious tolerance but not without copious amounts of murder. The emperor killed over 70,000 people whom he believed to oppose him, from high-level government officials to peasants. He also established a standing army of over one million troops.

After Yuanzhang's death, there was a civil war, but following that, a great expansion in trade with India and African countries, which grew the Ming dynasty's power. Eventually, constant war in Korea, Japan and against the ceaseless raids of the Mongols sapped the dynasty's power, and it collapsed in 1644.

One of the Ming dynasty's most notable accomplishments was the establishment of the Forbidden City, the largest palace in the world, which stretches over 180 acres.

13. Eastern Han Dynasty

Years: 202 B.C-220 A.D.

Maximum land area year: 100

Millions of square miles occupied: 2.51

Percentage of the world: 4.82 percent

Eastern Han Dynasty Ruled for 120 Years

The Eastern Han dynasty (also known as the Later Han dynasty) began after Wang Mang, the last emperor of the Western Han dynasty, was beheaded following an insurrection, and Liu Xiu took the mantle of Emperor Guangwu.

Xiu was an extraordinary strategist who toppled oppositional rebellion warlords throughout China, growing the Eastern Han dynasty as he did. He didn't put their heads on pikes, either, opting instead to spare them.

He united much of China during his reign and established the Eastern Han dynasty, which lasted for roughly 120 years. It ended after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the empire's splintering by the Warlord Dong Zhuo.

12. Iberian Union

Years: 1580-1640

Maximum land area year: 1640

Millions of square miles occupied: 2.51

Percentage of the world: 4.82 percent

Spain and Portugal Briefly Ruled as One

The Iberian Union was a dynastic union — that is, a two-state federation that governs under the same dynasty while still keeping their respective laws and boundaries — between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal under the Spanish Crown.

Long story short, the King of Portugal, Sebastian I, died in 1578, but had no direct heirs, prompting a succession crisis.

Philip II of Spain ultimately gained control of Portugal and united the two countries under the Iberian Union, which lasted 60 years.

Empire of Japan

Years: 1868-1947

Maximum land area year: 1942

Millions of square miles occupied: 3.285

Percentage of the world: 6.32 percent

The Japanese Empire Changed Modern History

The Japanese Empire, which joined the Axis powers, was a terrifying force. Under the emperor Hirohito, Japan attacked pretty much all of its neighbors and perpetrated numerous war crimes against China during the Second Sin-Japanese War, including the Nanjing Massacre, in which several hundred thousand Chinese civilians and soldiers were brutally murdered.

The empire began to fall after the Battle of Midway, which shifted the tides of war in the Allies' favor during World War II. It all but completely fell on Aug. 15, 1945, after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing roughly 190,000 Japanese men, women and children.

Empire of Brazil

Year: 1822-1889

Maximum land area year: 1889

Millions of square miles occupied: 3.22

Percentage of the world: 6.19 percent

The Empire of Brazil Didn't Last Long

The Empire of Brazil was a state that encompassed what is modern-day Brazil and Uruguay, and it lasted for 67 years.

The country was founded by Pedro I, who sided with Brazil in the country's rebellion against Portugal in 1822.

The Empire of Brazil was fraught with inner-government turmoil and, after just nine years of being declared emperor, Pedro I abdicated the throne in 1831, leaving it for his 5-year-old son, Pedro II. While there was an initial crisis during this period, Pedro II grew to become a very good king and the Empire of Brazil hit its golden age in 1870.

However, Pedro II grew increasingly cynical and tired of ruling, and his heir, his eldest daughter, Isabel, didn't want to bother with becoming monarch. The monarchy gradually lost its power and in 1889, Pablo II and the monarchy were overthrown in a coup known as the Proclamation of the Republic.

Xiongnu Empire

Years: 209 B.C.-460

Maximum land area year: 176 B.C.

Millions of square miles occupied: 3.47

Percentage of the world: 6.68 percent

The Xiongnu Were the Reason for the Great Wall of China

The Xiongnu were a nomadic group from Central Asia that raided China so badly that the first Qin Dynasty emperor ordered the building of great fortifications to the country's north — the very beginning of the Great Wall of China.

The Xiongnu existed on the ancient eastern Eurasian Steppes from 209 B.C. into the fifth century. The Xiangnu Dynasty fell after the Xiongnu prince Liu Yao was captured in battle and executed in 329.

Yuan Dynasty

Years:1271-1368

Maximum land area year: 1310

Millions of square miles occupied: 4.25 million

Percentage of the world: 8.16 percent

The Mongol Empire Turned into the Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan dynasty succeeded the Mongol Empire and was founded by Kublai Khan. It was an extension of the Mongol Empire, which had recently splintered into four powers.

The Yuan dynasty ruled over what is now Mongolia, Korea, and most of modern-day China. The dynasty began in 1271 and lasted until 1368, when the empire's lands were beleaguered by natural disasters, short-reigning leaders, a weakened army and ineffective emperors which led to populist uprisings.

Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate

Years: Umayyad — 661-750; Abbasid — 750-1258, 1261-1517

Maximum land area year: Umayyad — 720, Abbasid — 750

Millions of square miles occupied: 4.29

Percentage of the world: 8.24 percent

Modern Quran Came from the Third Caliphate

The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates were the second and third caliphates following the Rashidun Caliphate. We're combining them because they both have the same landmass conquered, although they are two disparate dynasties.

Pictured here is the ancient city of Petra, located in Jordan, which has incredible rock-cut buildings. It shows the Al-Khazneh, a temple carved out of sandstone rock. Under the Umayyad Caliphate, this ancient city began to die. Under the Abbasid Caliphate, whatever remained of it after earthquakes was neglected, and the city almost entirely disappeared from history until the early 1800s.

Uthman ibn Affan, the third Caliphate, put together the standard version of the Quran.

Second French Colonial Empire

Years: 1534-1980

Maximum land area year: 1920

Millions of square miles occupied: 4.44

Percentage of the world: 8.53 percent

The French Conquered Much of Africa

The Second French Colonial Empire began in 1830 with the Invasion of Algiers.

Napoleon III greatly expanded the French empire overseas, and by the 1910s, France controlled nearly half of Africa. By 1931, the French had an imperial population of 64.3 million.

The second colonial empire began to fall during the 1940s. During World War II, decolonization movements and in Algeria were crushed by the French settlers, who slaughtered thousands in Setif and Guelma on the same day that Germany surrendered. This brutal response by the French sowed the seeds for the Algerian War of Independence, which would end the second French colonial empire by the 1960s.

Spanish Empire

Years: 1492-1976

Maximum land area year: 1810

Millions of square miles occupied: 5.29

Percentage of the world: 10.17 percent

The Sun Never Set on the Spanish, Until It Did

For three centuries, the Spanish Empire spanned so much of the globe that it was known as "the empire on which the sun never sets" due to one of its territories always being in daylight.

But its power began to wane by the end of the 17th century due to a series of lackluster rulers. Its empire was so extensive, though, that it required quick industrialization to keep up with the times. Instead, it languished, while other European powers caught up and surpassed Spain in the early 1880s.

Qing Dynasty

Years: 1636-1912

Maximum land area year: 1790

Millions of square miles occupied: 5.68

Percentage of the world: 10.91 percent

The Qing Dynasty Was the Last Imperial Dynasty of China

The Qing dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 1636 until 1912. It was at its height in the late 18th century, with China's population doubling that of the Ming dynasty and a high level of education throughout the land.

The Qing dynasty flourished in the arts, and the commercialization of high-quality porcelain became a valuable trade asset that bolstered the empire's economy.

The Opium Wars of the mid-19th century weakened the Empire. Britain flooded the country with the drug, causing mass addiction to opium. British took Hong Kong after the Second Opium War. The Taiping Rebellion ended with more than 20 million Chinese dead.

In 1912, the Qing dynasty was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution, ushering in a new era of Chinese government.

Russian Empire

Years: 1721-1917

Maximum land area year: 1895

Millions of square miles occupied: 8.8

Percentage of the world: 16.92%

The Russian Empire Ended With a Revolution

The Russian Empire had some incredible rulers, like Ivan the Great, Peter the Great, Elizabeth of Russia, Catherine the Great and Alexander I. At its height, during the end of the 19th century, Russia controlled about one-sixth of the world's landmass.

The Russian Empire ended with Nicholas II, who was overthrown in 1917 by a group of Communists led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.

In 1918, the remaining members of the Romanov family, which had ruled Russia for 300 years, were executed.

Mongol Empire

Years: 1206-1368

Maximum land area year: 1279

Millions of square miles occupied: 24

Percentage of the world: 17.81 percent

The Mongols Were Fearsome

The Mongol Empire is one of the most famous empires in history.

Genghis Khan united several nomadic tribes, creating the most feared invaders of the 13th century. During Khan's reign, they seemed to have an endless supply of men, who, if an army were defeated, would come back with an even larger force to crush their neighbors.

The Mongol Empire began to fall apart in 1259, after the death of Mongke Khan. His lack of an heir apparent ignited a civil war and led to the fracturing of the Mongol Empire into four different powers, including the Yuan dynasty, which ruled over present-day China.

British Empire

Years: 1707-1997

Maximum land area year: 1920

Millions of square miles occupied: 13.71

Percentage of the world: 26.35 percent

The British Empire Didn't Totally End Until 1997

The reach of the British Empire during its extent was remarkable. By the early 1900s, the country had an imperial population of some 412 million people, nearly a quarter of the world's population.

Britain has a long and bloody history of rule and subjugation throughout the world, as would be expected from any empire even a tenth of its size. It lost its grip on many nations after enduring World War II, which left Britain bankrupt and unable to keep control over places like Malay, Palestine and Ghana.

Eddie Izzard has a bit from "Dress to Kill" that sums it up:

"So after the second world war, the whole world was going, 'Come on, Europe, give these countries back. Come on, we had a bloody war, let's give 'em back. Britain?'

'What?'

'What's that behind your back?'

'Oh, it's India and a number of other countries.'

'Give them back.'

'Oh alright...'"

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China, completely ending what was left of the British Empire.