50 Largest Empires in History — Who Was #1?

From Ancient Egypt to the British Empire: the 50 largest empires that ever existed, ranked by their maximum land area — every one shown on the same world map, at its peak. Rome only makes #22. The Mongols ruled 24 million km². But one empire covered a quarter of all the land on Earth. Who was #1? ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro · #50–#41 1:18 Top 40 2:41 Top 30 4:02 Top 20 6:20 Top 10 8:30 #1 8:42 What about the USSR and the USA? 📏 HOW WE RANK Each empire is measured at its largest extent (in million km²). "% of land" is the share of Earth's land area. Borders are approximate; peak sizes are estimates and different historians give different numbers. 📚 SOURCES • Taagepera, R. — Size and Duration of Empires (Social Science History, 1978–1997) • Turchin, Adams & Hall — East-West Orientation of Historical Empires (2006) • Encyclopaedia Britannica; standard historical atlases 💬 Would you count the USSR and the USA as empires? Which empire surprised you most? Tell us in the comments! 🔔 Subscribe to Bigger Than... for more visual rankings of history and the world. #history #empires #map