User:BenRussell/List of longest-lasting empires

This article is a list of longest-lasting empires, default-sorted according to their length of existence.

An empire is a state that extends dominion over populations distinct culturally and ethnically from the culture/ethnicity at the center of power. Existence of each empire calculated from when the culture/ethnicity of power took control until that same power lost control of its empire.

Some empires have the label conventially rather than as an indication of hegemony. They may "inherit" imperial status (the Nicean Empire, for example), or aspire to supra-royal status ( Haiti, Central African Empire).

One cannot always identify start- and end-dates for empires in a consistently objective manner: the details remain subject to scholarly debate. For example, according to the most generous interpretation one could argue that the Roman Empire began in the third century BC when Rome conquered substantial territories beyond the city and ended in the twentieth century AD when the Ottoman Empire, which claimed the Roman throne, was disbanded (most scholars, however, do not subscribe to this interpretation). In general some empires are assigned start dates beginning with when the state came into being according to some authority. Others begin not when the state emerges, but when the culture/ethnicity of power emerges. End-dates vary based on events as varied the conclusion of a key battle to a particular change in leadership. For the convenience of the reader, this article uses the date when the people at the center of power were no longer in formal control of the state due to being overthrown or placed in a position of vassalage to another authority. But even this specific definition remains open to some debate among scholars.

References

ahom kindom north east india 1228AD to 1826AD

See also

• List of extinct states
• List of empires
• List of largest empires
• Historical powers
• List of historical countries and empires spanning more than one continent

{{Empires}}

Category:Empires

Category:Former empires

Category:History-related lists

Empire	Origin	Duration in years	From	To	Demise	Note
First Mexican Empire	Modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Southwestern United States.	1	1822	1823	Replaced by the Mexican First Republic	See also First Mexican Empire
Serbian	Modern-day northern Vojvodina, Serbia	1	1526	1527	state of a mercenary, Jovan Nenad
Haitian	North America	2	1804	1806	Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared himself Emperor
Central African	Central African Republic	3	1976	1979	Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared himself Emperor Bokassa in 1976
Second Mexican Empire	Modern-day Mexico	3	1864	1867	Established by French invasion and collapsed following their withdrawal; replaced by a restored Republic	See also Second Mexican Empire
Irish	Ireland	9	1005	1014	Brian Boru, a High King, briefly conquered most of Ireland, but his "Empire" fragmented after his death.
First French Empire	France	10	1804	1814
Colombian	Colombia	12	1819	1831		see Gran Colombia
Third Reich	Germany	12	1933	1945	Destroyed by invasion of Allied forces in WWII	Like the Soviet Union, a de facto -- not a de jure -- empire.
Korean	Korean Peninsula	13	1897	1910	Annexed by Japan	See also Korean Empire
Palmyrene	Syria (Roman province)	13	260	273	broke off the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century
Gallic	Rhineland-Palatinate	14	260	274		In Latin, Imperium Galliarum
Qin	Central China	15	221 BC	206 BC		The first true imperial dynasty of China
Second French Empire	France	18	1852	1870
Serbian	Serbian Kingdom	26	1345	1371	fell into feudal disarray
Macedonian Greek	Greece	29	338 BC	309 BC	never conquered, split into smaller empires after Alexander's death.	Founded by Alexander the Great
Rashidun	Saudi Arabia	29	632	661
Armenian	modern day Armenia	35	95 BC	60 BC		Tigranes was named as the king of kings.
Harsha	India	41	606	647
Athenian	Ancient Greece	46	477 BC	431 BC		Also known as Delian League. It was an association of Greek city-states
German	Germany	47	1871	1918
Sikh	Punjab region	48	1801	1849		Preceded the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent
Austro-Hungarian	Central Europe	51	1867	1918		Replaced the Austrian Empire
Mongol	Mongolia	54	1206	1368	(Mongol Khanates sank into prolonged internecine wars and anarchy. the Empire of the Great Khan lost effective control over China.)
Latin	Asia Minor	57	1204	1261		See also Crusader states
Nicaean	Anatolia	57	1204	1261
Italian	Modern day Italy	58	1885	1943
Belgian	Belgium	61	1901	1962		overseas possessions were referred to as "the colonies" rather than as an empire
Zulu	South Africa	62	1817	1879		Powerful bantu kingdom founded by Shaka
Austrian	Modern day Austria	63	1804	1867		Replaced the Holy Roman Empire
Brazilian	Brazil	67	1822	1889		Established by the Portuguese royal family went into exile in Brazil after Napoleonic occupation of Portugal
Great Moravia	Mitteleuropa/Central Europe	67	833	900		The word "Moravia" did not refer only to present-day Moravia
Soviet	Russia	69	1922	1991	USSR dissolved in 1991 by Russia	Like Nazi Germany, a de facto -- not a de jure -- empire.
Japanese Empire	Japan	77	1868	1945	Terminated by U.S. occupation following its defeat in World War II	The modern Japanese Empire dates from 1868, and is generally held to have ended with Japan's surrender at the close of World War II. Nevertheless, Japan is technically still ruled by an emperor, the only country in the world for which this is true; and moreover, the Japanese ruling house dates not from 1868 but from 660 BC, with an unbroken line of succession down to the current Emperor Akihito, making his the oldest ruling house in world history.
Incan	Peru	95	1438	1533
Yuan	North China	97	1271	1368	Overthrown by the Ming.	One of four successor states to the Mongol Empire, ruling China. Kublai Khan was the greatest emperor of this dynasty, and Marco Polo visited him.
Ur III	Sumer	100	2100 BC	2000 BC		The dynasty/empire is also known as the Sumerian Renaissance
Hasmonean Kingdom	Israel and Western Jordan	103	140 BC	37 BC	Hasmonean line broken by Herod the Great. Becomes Kingdom of Judea until annexed by Roman Empire	Founded by Maccabean Revolt against Antiochus IV
Timurid	Persia and Central Asia	105	1401	1506		Persianized form of the Mongolian word kürügän
Almoravid	Senegal	107	1040	1147		See also Almohads
Swedish	Scandinavia	107	1611	1718
Golden Horde	Central Asia	124	1378	1502		One of four successor states of the Mongol Empire
Hebrew	Israel	130	1050 BC	920 BC	aka "United Kingdom of Israel and Judah" later divided to Kingdom of Israel until 720 BC and Kingdom of Judah until 586 BC.
Second Colonial French	France	130	1830	1960		While a few overseas territories still have some French influence, French colonialism effectively ceased by around 1960
Mauryan	Ancient India	136	321 BC	185 BC		Founded by Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka the Great transformed it into the first Buddhist empire
Maratha	Indian subcontinent	144	1674	1818		Also known as the Maratha Confederacy.
Aztec	Mesoamerica	146	1375	1521	Conquered by the Spanish Empire	The capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.
Almohad	Morocco	148	1121	1269		See also Almoravids
Seljuk	Middle East, Turkey	157	1037	1194	Disintegrated into smaller Seljuk and atabeg states
Turkic	Middle Asia, Turkestan, Caucasus	193	551	744	Replaced by Uygur Khanette in the Middle Asia and Khazar Khanette in the Caucasus.
Russian	Russia	196	1721	1917		formed from the powerful medieval state of Muscovy
First Colonial	France	198	1605	1803
Akkadian	Sumer	200	2350 BC	2150 BC
Khwar	Afghanistan	200	11th Century	1220	Conquered by the Mongol Empire
Songhai	West Africa	216	1375	1591		Former vassal of the Mali Empire which became one of the largest African empires in history.
Achaemenid	Persia (Iran)	220	550 BC	330 BC	Conquered by Macedonian Empire (Alexander the Great)	aka Persian Empire
Polish-Lithuanian Empire	Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania	222	1569	1791
Ghaznavid Empire	Greater Iran	224	963	1187		See also Persian Empire
Magadhan	Ancient India	225	545 BC	320 BC		See also Mahajanapadas and Maurya Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire	Veliko Tarnovo	237	1185	1422	Conquered by the Ottoman Empire	Successor of the First Bulgarian Empire. Under the Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II became the most powerful state on the Balkans
Ramazanoğlu	Anatolia	256	1352	1608	Joined the Ottoman Empire	Single Family Heredity Manner Rule of 13 Emirs all descendants of Ramazan Bey of the Anatolian Turkish Beylik of Ramazanoğlu
Trebizond	Black Sea	257	1204	1461		Successor state of the Byzantine Empire
Fatimid	Egypt	261	910	1171
Seleucid	Persia (Iran)	263	323 BC	60 BC
Ming	China	276	1368	1644
Qing	China	276	1636	1912		Last dynasty of the Imperial Period
Hittite	Anatolia	280	1460 BC	1180 BC		See also Neo-Hittite
Tang	China	289	618	907
Angevin	England and France	299	1154	1453	Hundred Years war
Axumite	Ethiopia	300	c. 400 BC	c. 100 BC
Babylonian	Mesopotamia	300	1900 BC	1600 BC	Conquered by the Persian Empire	See also Neo-Babylonian Empire
Mitanni	Southern Asia	300	c. 1500 BC	c. 1200 BC		Founded by Indo-Aryans
Gupta Empire	Indian subcontinent	310	240	550
Song	China	319	960	1279
Vijayanagara	South India	324	1336	1660		The founding of the original kingdom was based on the principality of Anegondi
Ghana	Mauritania	326	750	1076		See also Wagadou Empire
Mughal	India,Pakistan	331	1526	1857		Founded by Babur. "Mughal" is a Persian word for the Mongols
Neo-Assyrian	Mesopotamia	334	943 BC	609 BC		Exact origin at Upper Tigris river
First Bulgarian Empire	Danube delta	337	681	1018		Founded by the Bulgar ruler Asparukh. Under Tsar Simeon I became the first powerful Slavic Empire. Falls to the Byzantine Empire under Basil the Bulgar-Slayer
Dutch	Netherlands	352	1602	1954		See also Dutch East India Company
First Pandyan	India	360	560	920		Considered by contemporary historians as being the richest country in the world
Mali	West Africa	375	1235	1610		A Mandinka empire founded by Sundiata Keita
Hoysala	India	400	1000	1400
Tibetan	Tibet	400	7th century	11th century
British	Britain	414	1583	1997	From the first landing in Newfoundland to the handover of Hong Kong, described as the "end of the empire" by Prince Charles	It refers to economic and cultural influence, and holds many overseas territories. Largest Empire in world history
Pala	Bengal, India	424	750	1174
Han	China	426	206 BC	220 AD
Chola	Southern India	429	c. 850	1279		A Tamil empire
Satavahana	India	429	230 BC	199		Indian Middle Kingdoms Middle kingdoms of India
Sassanid	Persia (Iran)	437	205	651		Second Persian Empire
Parthian	Persia	471	247 BC	224 AD		See Persian Empire
Xia	China	471	2146 BC	1675 BC
Goryeo	Korea	474	918	1392
Spanish	Iberian peninsula	483	1492	1975	From the landing of Columbus in the Americas to the abandonment of the last African colony of Western Sahara.	Was among the first truly global empires
Kongo	Southwest Africa	488	1400	1888	BaKongo kingdom that dominated West Central Africa and included parts of modern day Angola, Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bornu	Niger	497	1396	1893		Second empire of the Sayfawa Dynasty
Chera	Southern India	500	c. 300 BC	c. 200		A Tamil empire
Egyptian Empire	Egypt, Africa	500	1570 BC	1070 BC
Frankish	Gaul	500	5th century	10th century
Western Roman	Modern Italy & Mediterranean region	872 (territorial); 503 years (form of government)	396 BC; 27 BC	476		Territorial empire dated from conquest of Veii; Imperial form of government dated from Augustus' overthrow of the Republic (see also Roman Republic and Imperium). Note also that, if dated from the founding of Rome (753 BC), the Western empire lasted 1229 years, exclusive of the Eastern Roman Empire noted below.
Abbasid	Modern-day Iraq	508	750	1258	Conquered by the Mongol Empire	See also Umayyad Empire
Joseon	Korea	518	1392	1910	Annexed by the Japanese	Joseon was known as the Korean Empire from 1897-1910, but the dynasty remained intact until full Japanese annexation in 1910.
Tu'i Tongan	Tonga, Pacific Ocean	550	950	1500		See History of Tonga
Siam	Thailand	564	1345	1909
Hittite	Turkey	570	1750 BC	1180 BC	Defeated by Sea people
Portuguese	Portugal	584	1415	1999	Was the longest lived of the colonial Western European empires. From the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the hand over of Macau 1999.	Was one of the first truly global empires.
Chalukya	India	600	600	1200		see Chalukya dynasty
Vedic	India	600	1200 BC	600 BC		See Kingdoms of ancient India and Mahajanapadas
Ottoman	Turkey, Near East, North Africa, Caucasus, Balkans and Hungary	623	1299	1922	Defeated in the First World War. replaced by the Turkish Republic.	Capitals were Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne and İstanbul (after 1453).
Khmer	Nowadays Cambodia	630	802	1432		Seceded from the kingdom of Chenla
Ethiopian	Ethiopia	666	1270	1936	Conquered by Italy
Kanem	Chad	676	700	1376		First empire in one of the longest dynasties in African history
Holy Roman	Central Europe	844	962	1806	Dissolved by Napoleon Bonaparte	Also known as The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. See also Roman Empire
Silla	Korea	992	57 BC	935
Venetian	Northeast Italy	1100	697	1797	Conquered by Napoleon Bonaparte	A de jure republic with a territorial empire. Also known as The Most Serene Republic of Venice
Eastern Roman (Byzantine)	Byzantine Greece	1123	330	1453	Ceased after the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans	The term "Byzantine Empire" has been used conventionally only since the 19th century, to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Total Roman Empire (East and West) 1849 years: 396 BC - 1453 AD.
Kush	Sudan	1420	1070 BC	350	Ended after its conquest by the Axumite Empire	Also known as Meroitic Empire.
Roman (Western & Eastern)	Modern Italy & Mediterranean region	1849 (territorial); 1480 years (form of government)	396 BC; 27 BC	1453	Ceased after the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans	Territorial empire dated from conquest of Veii; Imperial form of government dated from Augustus' overthrow of the Republic (see also Roman Republic and Imperium). Late date includes the so-called Byzantine Empire, a term never used during the period. Note also that, if dated from the founding of Rome (753 BC) until the fall of Constantinople (1453), the Empire is history's longest-lasting at 2206 years.'
Ahom Kingdom	North east India	600	1228AD	1838AD	Ended After British Making it as its protectorate	it defeated mughal kingdom of India with a small army it also checked any foreign invasion before falling under British