Greatest Empires in the World History

The Greatest empires of the world have been those that have established severe autocratic rule over people of all countries. The Greatest empires are defined using the areas they covered and the land they occupied during their rule. This article covers 5 major empires that set their ruling in the history of regimes and how the world witnessed their rise and fall. The top 5 Great Empires in World History that have ruled over the world are the British Empire, Mongol Empire, Russian Empire, Spanish Empire & Ottoman Empire.

Greatest Empires in the World History

Here’s a list of the Top 10 Greatest empires that have ruled over the world and the areas of land they covered during their rule along with the specified periods in which they ruled.

S. No	Name of Empire	Land area covered during rule (in square kilometres)	Years of rule
1.	British Empire	35.5 Million	1583 – 1977
2.	Mongol Empire	24 Million	1206 – 1368
3.	Russian Empire	22.8 Million	1721 – 1917
4.	Qing Dynasty	14.7 Million	1644 – 1912
5.	Spanish Empire	13.7 Million	1492 – 1976
6.	French Colonial Empire	11.5 Million	1852 – 1870
7.	Abbasid Caliphate	11.1 Million	750 – 1258
8.	Umayyad Caliphate	11.1 Million	661 – 750
9.	Yuan Dynasty	11 Million	1271 – 1368
10.	Xiongnu Empire	9 Million	176 BC – 1st century AD

1. The British Empire

• The British Empire is known to be the Greatest empire ever in the history as during the period of British colonisation, it covered a quarter of the planet’s area, that is, approximately, 26.35% of the world was ruled by Great Britain. In the 19th & 20th century, it was the Greatest global power of the world.

• It spread it’s control over 35.5 million square kilometers and was renowned as the empire where “The sun never sets”, meaning the empire which could never be defeated as there would be atleast one country where it would be ruling.

• Battle of Plassey, 172 : The start of the British Rule occurred in the 16th century. When Spain & Portugal were busy expanding their territories, the British became envious of their ruling and thus, decided to start to rule over the rest of the world. This also led to the start of rule in India by the East India Company. The Battle of Plassey, 1772 was fought in order to establish ruling over India. This battle was fought between the East India with the support of Mughals who together defeated Bengal. Mir Jafar was bribed and they resolved a treaty to hand over the throne to Mir Jafar by destructing the empire of the then ruler Siraj.

• The American War of Independence was fought which led to the loss of many colonies for the British and thus, it turned it’s heads to Asia. The start of the First British Empire was during the 18th century, when The Great Britain surpassed the Dutch in terms of transport, import, export in textiles and spices. It was here when the decline of Mughal Empire in India started and the British signed many treaties to remain in power.

• During the Second British Empire, 1783 – 1815, that is, during the mid eighteenth century, Spain sought to defeat Britain, however, France was in support with Britain so it stepped aback. 4 major Anglo-Mysore wars were held in Southern India between the sultanate of Mysore headed by Tipu Sultan and Britain. The first two wars were won by Mysore, however the other two were won by the British, which paved the way for their rule and regime as it led to the death of Tipu Sultan.

• Even in the nineteenth century, the defeat of Napolean Bonaparte left no stone unturned for the British as they had no rivalries left except for Russia. The Government of India Act, 1858 established British Raj in India and the ruled over India until the mid of twentieth century, when the British empire started to decline severely due to decolonisation and unity of Indians. The Great Britain empire was also left in debt and became bankrupt. And India became a free country in 1947 from the British Regime.

2. The Mongol Empire

• After the British Empire, it was the Mongol Empire which was the second Greatest empire in the world. Mongolia is situated between the areas of Asia & Russia and even after the decline of the empire the mongols still continue to follow the regime and rule of the then empire.

• The mongol empire constituted of the nomadic tribe, those tribal people who displace themselves after a regular time interval and have no fixed place to stay. They change their location according to the circumstances, food and shelter.

• The Mongol Empire was ruled by Genghis Khan and under him the mongol empire expanded as far till the countries of Central Asia, to countries, such as Russia, China & Europe. Genghis Khan was a leader who worked closely with the then Kerait leader and after Genghis Khan grew up, he was renowned as the King of Mongols. During his tenure, the mongols expanded their invasion and occupied large areas of land and also developed the world in terms of science, astronomy and mathematics. Also, during the ruling of Genghis Khan, the mongols were awarded freedom of religion. Apart from this, the mongols invasion in several countries helped connect the world for trade and development.

• After the death of Genghis Khan in August, 1227, his third son took over the throne, however, from here started the decline of Mongol Empire. And by the late thirteenth century the Mongol empire fell apart and the rule ended. Inspite of the end of the Mongol Empire, the mongols still follow the rules of past as they were of great benefit to them as well as the world.

3. The Russian Empire

• The Russian Empire occupied around 16.92% of land during years 1721 – 1917. Also referred to as The Imperial Empire, it started it’s ruling from most of the parts of Northern Eurasia. After the decline of Ottoman Empire in the start of eighteenth century, the Russian Empire saw it’s way as after the Great Northern War, the rule of Sweden and Poland also came to an end.

• The Russian Empire started to set it’s hands on military and unified the country as a whole into Moscow. The Tsardom system prevailed during those times, which meant that tsar was supposed to be the highest noble or authority. This system started to decline during the rule of The Russian Empire. It started by involving Europe into the Russian Rule and the first king of the empire was Peter The Great (1672 – 1725).

• Peter built Russia’s the then capital “Saint Petersburg” and occupied several military forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire. Under his rule new provinces and districts were formed, and tax revenues were tripled by then. After the death of Peter, there was no heir to ascend the throne, so Empress Catherine succeeded the throne and defeated the Ottoman Empire in true terms and also removed several rules and laws imposed by Peter one of those being The Beard Tax Rule, where in people having beard were supposed to pay taxes. She was known for her great governance and an eminent power of ruling.

• However, when her son Paul The Great succeeded the throne a war with France began and inspite of the victory over Napolean Bonaparte in 1807, they lost major wars in 1854-55 after the death of Paul. In 1903, the society got divided into Mensheviks & Bolsheviks, where they were of different mindsets. The former believed to bring above the underprivileged and underdeveloped people, whereas the latter sought to create rules of disciplinary and eminent personalities.

• After the defeat of Russia in World War II, and the abdication by Nicholas II, that is, refusal of accepting the throne led to the end of Russian Empire.

4. The Spanish Empire

• The Spanish Empire ruled from 1492 – 1976, also referred to as the Catholic Monarchy, or The Colonial Empire which spread it’s rule to about 13 million square kilometres and 10.17% of the world. It was known as the empire “where the sun never sets” as it captured hold of continents such as America, Asia & Africa. The Spanish empire also came into a joint partnership with the Portuguese Empire, who together won over several nations as initially,Portugal was the only threat to the Spanish Empire.

• The Spanish empire started with a union of Isabella (from Castile) & Ferdinand (from Aragon) which formed the foundation of the empire. Under their leadership, in 1559, several Italian wars were held which helped the empire to get hold of Italian Peninsula, and major parts of the Mediterranean Sea. And by 1581, Spain got hold of Portugal and controlled half of Italy and other territories.

• The 1500s were known to be the golden era for the Spanish Empire, as they were constantly in search of gold in places such as North America, where there were facts and rumours based on the location of gold. However, after Queen Isabella’s death, the empire came in with a collaboration with France. It was only during this time, Christopher Columbus, who was a travel voyager made his way from Italy to Spain and got support from the then monarch and continued his voyage. It was him who named a bunch of people in western Asia to be Indians and all the places he discovered became a part of Spanish colonization.

• The rule of Monarchs was established in Spanish Empire, which mean that only a set of noble and elite individuals of the society were entitled to certain benefits, and were advantageous as compared to people of other class.

• During the 19th century, The Napolean Era started where the Spanish Empire started trembling and lost several wars, after which the empire resulted into civil wars and unsettled disputes which continued for 10 years more even after the end of Spanish empire.

5. The Ottoman Empire

• Also known as The Turkish Empire, The Ottoman Empire lasted for several years which covered around 3.86% of the world. By the end of thirteenth century, the Ottoman Empire had started to establish themselves in areas of North Africa, Western Asia and South Eastern countries of the world.

• During 1520 – 1566, highest developmental reforms and establishment of rule took place for the Ottoman Empire under the rule of their first Sultan Suleiman. Osman was the founder of the empire and Suleiman led it to great heights of success were around 25 million people worked under him. Under his regime, the Turkish rulers went to the areas of Balkans where great heights of economy flourished under the sultan. However, after the death of Suleiman, the empire began to fall, not steeply but in a mediocre way.

• From 1533 – 1656, the empire saw a rule which stated that the mothers of sultan’s sons, or ones who were powerful could also rule over the people and could exercise their powers which were exercised by their sons.

• By the mid of sixteenth century, the empire saw the rise of inflation surges, and economically and financially unstable conditions, which however got better by the end of sixteenth century. But this period saw a decline in the power of Sultans and the empire lost in the wars with Europe.

• In 1830, Greece became independent from The Ottoman Empire and this empire then saw a steep decline for the next 100 years. Even in 1912 – 1913, the empire lost all Balkan wars and lost the area that had been conquered in Europe.

Conclusion

This article thus described about the powers and acquisition of different empires and their emperors and empresses. It was a series of battles to win over the land of other countries and continents and establish the supremacy of one’s own empire until every country gained freedom in the twentieth century. Of all the countries, the most deadliest and powerful rule was of the British all over the world which had captured around a quarter of the total planet’s area. It also ruled on India for more than 250 years. The British not only ruled all over the world but also took away certain possessions and artefacts. Though it also helped in the overall economic and resource development of several nations. However, the long freedom struggle freed us from the hands of the British and today we stand united.

FAQs on Greatest Empires in the World History

Which has been the biggest and most destructive empire in the history?

The British Empire has been the biggest and most destructive empire in the history.

Which empire was also known as the Imperial Empire?

The Russian Empire was also known as The Imperial Empire.

Which empire was also referred to as the Turkish Empire?

The Ottoman Empire was also known as The Turkish Empire.

Who was Genghis Khan?

He was regarded as The Greatest Khan in the Mongol empire and was the first leader of the nomadic tribes of The Mongol Empire who believed in unity among the nomads and other tribes, in order to conquer the world.

Which empire is regarded to defeat Napolean Bonaparte?

The British Empire was responsible for the defeat of Napolean Bonaparte in the year 1815.