List of empires

For list of empires by size, see list of largest empires.

This is an alphabetical list of empires. The table may be resorted by other columns if your browser supports this function.

Empires and dynasties

Empire	Origin	Capital	From	To	Duration	Note
Achaemenid Empire	Persia	Various, including Pasargadae, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Susa, Babylon	550 BC	330 BC	220	The first Persian Empire, and the largest one in Classical Antiquity, founded by Cyrus the Great.
Afsharid Dynasty	Persia	Mashhad	1736	1796	60
Akkadian Empire	Sumer	Akkad	2300 BC	2200 BC	100
Aksumite Empire	Ethiopia	Axum	150	940	790	Succeeded by the Ethiopian Empire.
Almohad Dynasty	Morocco	Marrakech, Seville	1121	1269	148
Almoravid Dynasty	Morocco	Aghmat (1040–1062), Marrakech (1062–1147)	1040	1147	107
Angevin Empire	England, France	No official capital. Court was generally held at Angers and Chinon	1154	1242	88
Armenian Empire	Armenia	Tigranakert	190 BC	428	618	Tigranes the Great took the title king of kings.
Ashanti Empire	West Africa	Kumasi	1670	1902	232
Austrian Empire	Austria	Vienna	1804	1867	63	Preceded by the Holy Roman Empire.
Austro-Hungarian Empire	Austria, Hungary	Vienna, Budapest	1867	1918	51	Preceded by the Austrian Empire.
Ayyubid Dynasty	Middle East	Cairo, Damascus, Hama	1171	1341	170	Founded by Saladin, See also List of Muslim empires and dynasties.
Aztec Empire	Mesoamerica	Tenochtitlan	1428	1521	93	The capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.
Babylonian Empire	Mesopotamia	Babylon	1900 BC	1600 BC	300	See also Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Balhae	Northern part of Korean Peninsula, Manchuria	Sanggyeong	698	926	228	Successor of the Goguryeo.
Belgian Colonial Empire	Belgium	Brussels	1901	1962	61	Overseas possessions were referred to as "the colonies" rather than an empire.
Benin Empire	Nigeria	Benin City	1440	1897	457
Bornu Empire	Nigeria	Ngazargamu	1387	1893	506	The continuation of the Kanem Empire.
Empire of Brazil	Brazil	Rio de Janeiro	1822	1889	67	Established after Pedro I of Brazil declared the independence of Brazil from Portugal.
Britannic Empire	Britain	Londinium	286	296	10	Was a break-away state of the Roman Empire. See also Carausian Revolt.
British Empire	Britain	London	1603	1997	394	The largest Empire in world history. Today it is known as the British Commonwealth.
British Raj	Indian Subcontinent	Calcutta (1858–1912), New Delhi (1912–1947)	1858	1947	89	Governed by the Crown and part of the British Empire. Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1876.
Bruneian Empire	Borneo	Not specified, possibly Kota Batu	600	1888	1288	Lasted until it became a British protectorate in 1888.
First Bulgarian Empire	Balkans	Pliska (680–893), Preslav (893–972), Skopie (972–992), Ohrid (992–1018)	680	1018	338	Founded by Khan Asparukh. Under Tsar Simeon I became the first powerful Slavic Empire. Falls to the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Basil II.
Second Bulgarian Empire	Balkans	Tarnovo	1185	1422	237	Successor of the First Bulgarian Empire. Under the Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II became the most powerful state in the Balkans.
Buyid Dynasty	Persia	Shiraz	934	1055	121
Byzantine Empire	Eastern Roman Empire (Greece, Anatolia, Africa, Palestine, Syria, Italy)	Constantinople	330	1453	1123	Term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.
Caliphate of Córdoba	Iberian Peninsula	Córdoba	756	1031	275	See also Islamic Empire.
Carthaginian Empire	North Africa	Carthage	650 BC	146 BC	504
Chagatai Khanate	Transoxania	Almaliq, Qarshi	1225	1687	462	Division of the Mongol Empire.
Chalukya Dynasty	India	Badami	543	753	210
Chera Dynasty	Southern India	Vanchi Muthur	300 BC	300	600	A Tamil Empire.
Chola Dynasty	Southern India	Various, including Poompuhar, Urayur, Pazhaiyaarai, Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram	350 BC	1279	1629	A Tamil Empire.
Danish colonial empire	Denmark	Copenhagen	1350	1953	600	See also List of former Danish colonies.
Delhi Sultanate	Indian Subcontinent	Delhi	1206	1527	321
Durrani Empire	Afghanistan	Kandahar, Kabul	1747	1823	76
Dutch Empire	Netherlands	Amsterdam	1568	1975	407	See also Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company.
Egyptian Empire	Egypt	Various, including Thebes, Akhetaten, Pi-Ramesses, Memphis	1570 BC	1070 BC	500	See also 18th Dynasty, 19th Dynasty & 20th Dynasty.
Ethiopian Empire	Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	1137	1974	837
Fatimid Caliphate	Egypt	Mahdia (909–969), Cairo (969–1171)	909	1171	262	See also Islamic Empire.
Second French Empire	France	Paris	1852	1870	18
French colonial empires	France	Paris	1534	1980	446	End of Empire was formally recognized with the end of French presence in condominium of Vanuatu (see New Hebrides).
Frankish Empire	Western Europe	Various, including Soissons, Paris, Reims, Orléans, Metz & Aachen	250	950	700
Gallic Empire	Rhineland-Palatinate	Colonia Agrippina	260	274	14	Broke off from the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century.
German Empire	Germany	Berlin	1871	1918	47	See also German Colonial Empire.
Ghana Empire	Mauritania, and Western Mali	Koumbi Saleh	790	1240	450	The Empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the "Ghana Empire" by the title of its ruler (meaning "Warrior King").
Ghaznavid Dynasty	Afghanistan	Ghazni later Lahore	963	1187	224
Ghurid Dynasty	Afghanistan	Firuzkuh	1148	1215	67
Goguryeo	Northern part of Korean Peninsula, Manchuria	Jolbon, Gungnae City, Pyongyang	37 BC	668	705	Predecessor of the Balhae.
Goryeo	Korean Peninsula	Gaegyeong, Ganghwa	918	1392	474	unification of the Korean Peninsula. State had maintain as empire between 918 and 1274.
Gorkha Empire	Greater Nepal		1600	1850	474	unification of Greater Nepal. State had maintain as empire between 1600 and 1840.
Göktürk Khaganate	Inner Asia	Ötüken	552	747	195	552–603 First empire, 603–658 Double empire, 658–681 Dark age, 681–747 Second empire.
Golden Horde	Central Asia	Sarai Batu	1240	1502	260	Break-away state of the Mongol Empire.
Empire of Great Fulo	Senegal	Tekrur	1514	1776	262
Great Moravian Empire	Central Europe	Mikulčice-Valy	833	900	67	The word "Moravia" did not refer only to present-day Moravia.
Great Seljuq Empire	Aral Sea, Asia Minor, Persia	Nishapur and later on Rey	1037	1194	157	Turkish empire, Predecessor of the Sultanate of Rum.
Gurjara-Pratihara	Indian Subcontinent	Kannauj	600	1136	660	.founded by great king of Gujjars
Han Dynasty	China	Chang'an, Luoyang, Xuchang	206 BC	220	426
Empire of Harsha	Northern India	Kannauj	606	647	41	Founded by Harshavardhana, collapsed after his death.
Hephthalite Empire	Afghanistan	Kabul	420	567	147
Hittite Empire	Anatolia	Hattusa	1460 BC	1180 BC	280	See also Neo-Hittite.
Holy Roman Empire	Central Europe	no capital city	962	1806	844	Officially known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1512 on.
Hotaki Dynasty	Afghanistan	Isfahan	1709	1738	29
Hoysala Empire	India	Belur, Halebidu	1026	1343	317
Hunnic Empire	Eurasia	Not specified	370	469	99
Ilkhanate	Persia	Maragheh, Tabriz, Soltaniyeh	1256	1335	79	Division of the Mongol Empire.
Imperial State of Iran	Persia	Tehran	1925	1979	54	Was the last Imperial dynasty of Iran.
Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyo)	Andes (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, parts of Chile, Argentina and Colombia)	Cusco	1438	1533	95	The largest empire in pre-Columbian America.
Italian Colonial Empire	Italy	Rome	1885	1943	58	See also Imperial Italy (fascist).
Empire of Japan	Japan	Tokyo	1868	1947	79	Emperor's government took control of the country in 1868. Regional hegemony in East Asia ended in 1945. The new constitution of 1947 formally abolished the empire.
Jin Dynasty (265–420)	China	Luoyang (265–311), Chang'an (312–316), Jiankang (317–420)	265	420	155	Subdivided into two dynasties. Western Jìn Dynasty, (265–316) Eastern Jìn Dynasty (317–420).
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)	Northern China, Manchuria	Huining, Zhongdu, Kaifeng	1115	1234	119	Also known as the Jurchens, were the ancestors of the Manchus who established the Qing Dynasty.
Kanem Empire	Chad	Njimi	700	1387	687
Kara-Khanid Khanate	Turkistan	Kashgar	840	1212	372	First Turkic dynasty to embrace Islam.
Khazar Khaganate	Pontic steppe, North Caucasus	Balanjar, later Atil	700	1000	300	Founded by Western Turks, the members of the royal family embraced Judaism.
Khmer Empire	Cambodia	Hariharalaya (802–889), Angkor (889–1431)	802	1431	629	Succeeded from the kingdom of Chenla.
Khilji Dynasty	Afghanistan	Kabul, Delhi	1290	1320	30
Khwarezmid Dynasty	Persia	Urgench	1077	1221	144
Korean Empire	Korean Peninsula	Hanseong	1897	1910	13	Was the last ruling Korean dynasties.
Kushan Empire	Afghanistan	Various, including Mathura, Peshawar, Begram, Taxila	30	345	315
Kushite Empire	Egypt, Nubia	Not specified	760 BC	656 BC	104
Latin Empire	Thrace, Asia Minor	Constantinople	1204	1261	57	See also Latinokratia.
Later Lê dynasty	Vietnam	Thang Long,Hanoi	1428	1789	361
Liao Dynasty	China	Shangjing	915	1125	210
Lodi Sultanate	Afghanistan	Delhi	1451	1526	75
Macedonian Empire	Macedonian Kingdom	Pella	334 BC	323 BC	11	Founded by Alexander the Great.
Majapahit Empire	Malay Archipelago	Majapahit, Wilwatikta	1293	1527	234
Mali Empire	West Africa	Niani, later Ka-ba	1235	1610	375	A Mandinka empire founded by Sundiata Keita.
Mamluk Sultanate	Egypt, Syria	Cairo	1250	1517	267	See also Islamic Empire.
Manchukuo	Manchuria	Hsinking	1932	1945	13	Created as a Puppet state of the Japanese Empire, with Emperor Puyi (the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty) installed as nominal regent and emperor.
Maratha Empire	Indian Subcontinent	Raigad, later Pune	1674	1818	144	Founded by Shivaji Maharaj, also known as the Maratha Confederacy.
Mauryan Empire	Ancient India	Pataliputra	321 BC	185 BC	136	Founded by Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka the Great transformed it into the first Buddhist empire.
Median Empire	Persia	Ecbatana	625 BC	549 BC	76	First Persian Empire, Founded by Deioces.
First Mexican Empire	Mexico	Mexico City	1821	1823	2	Preceded the Second Mexican Empire which was short lived (1864–1867). See also Mexican Imperial Orders.
Second Mexican Empire	Mexico	Mexico City	1864	1867	3	Succeeded the First Mexican Empire which was short lived (1821–1823). See also Mexican Imperial Orders.
Ming Dynasty	China	Nanjing (1368–1421), Beijing (1421–1644)	1368	1644	276
Mongol Empire	Mongolia	Karakorum	1206	1368	162	Split into four empires (Yuan Dynasty, Ilkhanate, Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde).
Mughal Empire	India	Agra, Delhi	1526	1858	332	Founded by Babur. "Mughal" is a Persian word for the Mongols.
Nanda Empire	Indian Subcontinent	Pataliputra	450 BC	350 BC	100	Dravidian Empire.
Neo-Assyrian Empire	Mesopotamia	Assur, later Nineveh	934 BC	609 BC	325	See also Assyrian Empire.
Neo-Babylonian Empire	Mesopotamia	Babylon	626 BC	539 BC	87	See also Babylonian Empire.
Nguyễn Dynasty	Vietnam	Phú Xuân	1802	1945	143	Was the last ruling Vietnamese Dynasty.
Empire of Nicaea	Bithynia	Nicaea	1204	1261	57	Successor state of the Byzantine Empire.
Northern Yuan Dynasty	Mongolia	Shangdu, Yingchang, Karakorum	1368	1635	267	Created after the expulsion of the Yuan Dynasty from China in 1368.
Omani Empire	Oman	Muscat	1698	1958	260	See Oman.
Ottoman Empire	Anatolia	Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople	1299	1922	623	Predecessor of the Republic of Turkey.
Oyo Empire	Southwestern Nigeria	Oyo-Ile	1400	1905	505
Pala Empire	Bengal, East India	Pataliputra	750	1174	424
Palmyrene Empire	Syria	Palmyra	260	273	13	Broke off from the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century.
Pandyan Empire	Southern India	Madurai . Also Tirunelveli , Korkai for few years	500 BC	1350	1850	A Tamil Empire. Considered by contemporary historians as being the richest country in the world.
Parthian Empire	Persia	Various, including Asaak, Hecatompylos, Ecbatana, Ctesiphon, Nisa	247 BC	224	471	Third Persian Empire, Founded by Arsaces I.|-
Pontic Empire	Pontus	Amaseia, Sinope	120 BC	47 BC	73	Mithridates VI had the title: King of Kings.
Portuguese Empire	Portugal	Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro (1815–1821)	1415	1999	584	Was the earliest and longest lived of the colonial Western European empires. See also United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.
Ptolemaic Empire	Egypt	Alexandria	305 BC	30 BC	275	See also Diadochi.
Qajar Dynasty	Persia	Tehran	1794	1925	131
Qin Dynasty	China	Xianyang	221 BC	206 BC	15	First dynasty of the Imperial Period.
Qing Dynasty	China	Shenyang, Beijing	1644	1912	268	Last dynasty of the Imperial Period.
Rashidun Caliphate	Saudi Arabia	Medina, Kufa	632	661	29	Predecessor of the Umayyad Caliphate, See also Islamic Empire.
Rashtrakuta Dynasty	India	Manyakheta	753	982	229
Roman Empire	Italy	Rome	27 BC	476	503
Rouran Khaganate	Inner China	Not specified	330	555	225
Russian Empire (Romanov)	Russia	Saint Petersburg	1721	1917	196	Successor state of the Tsardom of Russia.
Safavid Dynasty	Persia	Tabriz, Qazvin, Esfahan	1501	1736	235
Saffarid Dynasty	Afghanistan	Zaranj	867	1002	135
Sassanid Dynasty	Persia	Ctesiphon	224	651	427	Fourth Persian Empire.
Satavahana Dynasty	India	Amaravathi village, Guntur district Dharanikota	230 BC	220	450	An Andhra Dynasty which preceded the Vengi Dynasty of Andhra.
Samanid Dynasty	Persia	Balkh, Bukhara	819	999	180
North Sea Empire	Denmark	Ribe	1016	1035	19	See also Viking expansion.
Seleucid Empire	Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria	Seleucia, Antioch	312 BC	63 BC	249	See also Diadochi.
Serbian Empire	Serbia	Skopje, Prizren	1346	1371	25	Founded by Stephen Uroš IV (Dušan the Mighty), fell into feudal disarray after his death.
Shu Han	China	Chengdu	221	263	42	See also Three Kingdoms.
Siam Empire	Thailand	Bangkok	1782	1932	150
Sikh Empire	Punjab region, India	Amritsar	1733	1849	116	Preceded the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent.
Song Dynasty	China	Bianjing (960–1127), Lin'an (1127–1279)	960	1279	319
Songhai Empire	West Africa	Gao	1340	1591	251	Former vassal of the Mali Empire which became one of the largest African empires in history.
Spanish Empire	Iberian Peninsula	Madrid	1402	1975	573	Was founded with the conquer of the Canary Islands. It was one of the first global empires.
Srivijaya Empire	Malay Archipelago	Palembang, Mataram	683	1293	610	was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, then based on Mataram (Medang Kingdom) under Sailendra's Dynasty
Sui Dynasty	China	Chang'an	581	618	37
Shunga Empire	Indian Subcontinent	Pataliputra, Vidisa	185 BC	73 BC	112	Magadha dynasty that controlled North-central and Eastern India.
Swedish Empire	Scandinavia	Stockholm	1611	1718	107	See also Swedish overseas colonies.
Tahirid Dynasty	Persia	Nishapur	821	873	52
Tang Dynasty	China	Chang'an (618–904), Luoyang (904–907)	618	907	289	Founded By Li Yuan (aka. Emperor Gaozu of Tang).
Tay Son Dynasty	Vietnam	Phú Xuân	1778	1802	24
Empire of Thessalonica	Epirus, Kingdom of Thessalonica	Thessaloniki	1224	1246	42	Evolved from the Despotate of Epirus.
Third Reich	Germany	Berlin (1933–1945), Flensburg (1945)	1933	1945	12	Nazi Germany signed a treaty (Tripartite Pact) with the Japanese and Italian Empires.
Tibetan Empire	Tibet	Lhasa	755	870	115
Timurid Empire	Persia and Central Asia	Samarkand, Herat	1370	1526	156	Persianized form of the Mongolian word kürügän, Turko-Mongol Empire.
Tlemcen	Algeria	Tlemcen	1235	1556	321	Zayyanid dynasty
Empire of Trebizond	Pontus	Trebizond	1204	1461	257	Successor state of the Byzantine Empire.
Toltec Empire	Mesoamerica	Tollan-Xicocotitlan	496	1122	626
Tu'i Tonga Empire	Tonga, Pacific Ocean	Mu'a	450	1865	1415	See History of Tonga.
Turgesh Khaganate	Turkistan	Balasagun	699	766	67	Founded as a successor of West Turkish empire.
Umayyad Caliphate	Syria	Damascus, Córdoba (Capital-in-exile)	661	750	89	Successor of the Rashidun Caliphate, See also Islamic Empire.
Uyunid dynasty	Arabian	Al-Hasa, Qatif	1076	1253	163	The Uyunids, were a Sunni Arab dynasty that ruled Bahrain for 163 years, from the 11th to the 13th centuries.
Uyghur Khaganate	Central Asia	Ordubaliq	742	848	106	742–848 Founded as a successor of Göktürk Khaganate, 848–1036 Gansu state, 856–1209 Turfan state.
Vijayanagara Empire	South India	Vijayanagara	1336	1646	310	The founding of the original kingdom was based on the principality of Anegondi.
Wari Empire	Peru, Bolivia	Huari/Tiwanaku	500	1100	600	It is a matter of conflict as to whether it was a real organized state that could be called an empire. If so, it would be considered the first empire in the Americas.
Wei Empire	China	Luoyang	220	265	45	See also Three Kingdoms.
Western Chalukya Empire	South India	Manyakheta, Basavakalyan	973	1189	216
Western Roman Empire	Italy	Mediolanum, Ravenna	395	476	81	The western half of the Roman Empire.
Eastern Wu	China	Wuchang, Jianye	229	280	51	See also Three Kingdoms.
Western Xia Dynasty	China	Xingqing	1038	1227	189	Also called the Tangut Dynasty.
Xin Dynasty	China	Chang'an	9	23	14	The Xin Dynasty had only one ruling Emperor.
Yuan Dynasty	China, Mongolia	Dadu	1271	1368	97	Division of the Mongol Empire. The Yuan emperors had nominal supremacy over western khanates.
Zand Dynasty	Persia	Shiraz	1750	1794	44
Zulu Empire	South Africa	KwaBulawayo, Ulundi	1818	1897	79

Possible and informal empires

These governments, confederations and other entities have sometimes been informally referred to as "empires". Some did not fit the modern definition of empire (e.g. the Delian League), some were self-proclaimed by their first and often last ruler, others were short-lived attempts to turn an existing government into an empire, and there are also instances of the word "empire" being used to refer to unofficial spheres of influence which do not consider themselves empires.

"Empire"	Origin	Capital	From	To	Duration	Note
American Empire	United States	Washington, D.C.	1776	Present	and counting	The concept of an American Empire was first popularized during the presidency of James K. Polk who led the United States into the Mexican–American War of 1846. In recent times the concept has been revived to refer to the sphere of influence of the United States by critics of the United States.
Athenian Empire (Delian League)	Ancient Greece	Delos island	478 BC	404 BC	74	Also known as Delian League. It was an association of Greek city-states.
Second Athenian Empire	Ancient Greece	Athens	378 BC	355 BC	23	Second Athenian Empire, headed by Athens primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and the Persian Empire.
Central African Empire	Central African Republic	Bangui	1976	1979	3	President Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared himself Emperor Bokassa I.
Empire of China	China	Beijing	1915	1916	1	Was a short-lived attempt by Yuan Shikai to reinstate the Imperial Monarchy.
First Empire of Haiti	North America	Port-au-Prince	1804	1806	2	First Haitian Empire, Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared himself Emperor Jacques I.
Second Empire of Haiti	North America	Port-au-Prince	1849	1859	10	Second Haitian Empire, Faustin Soulouque is proclaimed Emperor Faustin I.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania	Lithuania	Vilnius	1200	1569	369	It was the largest state in Europe in the 15th century.
Mayan Empire	Central America	Not specified	250	900	650
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth	Poland, Lithuania	Kraków	1569	1795	226	It was formed by the Union of Lublin in 1569, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe, with some 390,000 square miles (1,000,000 km2) and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century.
Soviet Empire	Soviet Union	Moscow	1922	1991	69	A political term for the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union used by its critics.
Ur III Empire	Sumer	Ur	2100 BC	2000 BC	100	The dynasty/empire is also known as the Sumerian Renaissance.
Empire of Vietnam	Vietnam	Huế	1945	1945	0.45	A short-lived (March 11 – August 23) puppet state of the Japanese Empire.

See also

• List of extinct states
• Fictional empires
• List of kingdoms
• List of historical countries and empires spanning more than one continent
• Historical powers
• List of largest empires
• Middle Eastern Empires

External links

• Pella, John & Erik Ringmar, History of International Relations Open Textbook Project, Cambridge: Open Book, forthcoming.