Empires Through History
Borders across 4,000 years.
British Empire is the largest empire in recorded history by peak land area, covering an estimated 35.5 million square kilometers at its height in 1920, about 13.71% of the world's land surface at the time. Peak area is only one way to rank empires: ranking by population, or by the share of humanity under one government, produces a different order, because a smaller empire ruling a densely populated region can outrank a larger, emptier one. By area the next two are Mongol Empire, at 24 million square kilometers around 1270 or 1309, and Russian Empire, at 22.8 million square kilometers in 1895. 173 empires are ranked here, across 25 boundary snapshots from 2000 BCE to 1994 CE.
Boundaries are approximate. Historical borders are reconstructions from a work-in-progress scholarly dataset; precision varies by region and era, and many polities' edges are educated approximations rather than surveyed lines.
25 snapshots (timeline is sparse; years without a snapshot snap to the nearest one)
Colors group territories under the same controlling power in that year's snapshot; hover a region for its name. Data: historical-basemaps (GPL-3.0).
Largest empires by peak land area
| # | Empire | Peak area | % of world land | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | British Empire | 35.5M km2 | 13.7% | 1920 |
| 2 | Mongol Empire | 24.0M km2 | 9.3% | 1270 or 1309 |
| 3 | Russian Empire | 22.8M km2 | 8.8% | 1895 |
| 4 | Qing dynasty | 14.7M km2 | 5.7% | 1790 |
| 5 | Spanish Empire | 13.7M km2 | 5.3% | 1810 |
| 6 | Second French colonial empire | 11.5M km2 | 4.4% | 1920 |
| 7 | Abbasid Caliphate | 11.1M km2 | 4.3% | 750 |
| 8 | Umayyad Caliphate | 11.1M km2 | 4.3% | 720 |
| 9 | Yuan dynasty | 11.0M km2 | 4.3% | 1310 |
| 10 | United States | 9.5M km2 | 3.7% | 1900 |
| 11 | Xiongnu Empire | 9.0M km2 | 3.5% | 176 BC |
| 12 | Empire of Brazil | 8.3M km2 | 3.2% | 1889 |
| 13 | Empire of Japan | 7.4M km2 | 2.9% | 1942 |
| 14 | Eastern Han dynasty | 6.5M km2 | 2.5% | 100 |
| 15 | Ming dynasty | 6.5M km2 | 2.5% | 1450 |
| 16 | Rashidun Caliphate | 6.4M km2 | 2.5% | 655 |
| 17 | First Turkic Khaganate | 6.0M km2 | 2.3% | 557 |
| 18 | Jochi Khanate | 6.0M km2 | 2.3% | 1310 |
| 19 | Western Han dynasty | 6.0M km2 | 2.3% | no data |
| 20 | Achaemenid Empire | 5.5M km2 | 2.1% | 500 BC |
Areas after Rein Taagepera's published estimates, via Wikipedia's List of largest empires (CC BY-SA 4.0). Top 20 of 173 shown.
Boundaries: historical-basemaps (A. Ourednik et al., GPL-3.0), approximate by nature. Ranking: Wikipedia / Rein Taagepera (CC BY-SA 4.0).
About this visualization
About this data
25 boundary snapshots between 2000 BCE and 1994 CE, from an openly licensed scholarly reconstruction project. Border precision varies enormously by era; treat every line as approximate. The size ranking covers 173 empires and its figures trace to Rein Taagepera's comparative studies of empire extents.
Common questions
- What is the largest empire in history?
- British Empire, by peak land area: about 35.5 million square kilometers in 1920, roughly 13.71% of the world's land at the time. Mongol Empire follows at 24 million square kilometers around 1270 or 1309, then Russian Empire at 22.8 million square kilometers in 1895. Ranking by population instead of area gives a different answer, because population density varied enormously between them.
- How far back does the map go?
- To 2000 BCE, stepping forward through recorded history to 1994 CE. Each step redraws the world's political boundaries as they stood in that year.
- How accurate are ancient borders?
- Ancient and medieval borders are approximate by nature. Many historical states had frontiers and zones of influence rather than surveyed lines, so the shapes shown are a cartographer's reconstruction rather than a legal boundary.
- How are the largest empires ranked?
- By peak land area, which is the conventional basis for comparison. Ranking by population, or by share of the world's population at the time, produces a noticeably different order.