Top 10 Most Important Empires In History
Being an imperial power doesn’t impress people the way it used to. A century ago, countries strived to be a dominating world power and were willing to fight wars to either acquire an Empire, or hold on to the one they already had. Nowadays, of course, in this “kinder, gentler” world, imperialism is considered politically incorrect. As a result—and because maintaining an empire is prohibitively expensive—they are basically no more, though a few remnants hang on (such as the Falkland Islands for the British and the Comoro Islands for France). At one time, however, they were all the rage, with some of them extending around the globe and a few of them lasting for hundreds and, in a few cases, even thousands of years.
So which were the largest or most important ones, and which lasted the longest? I realize that how one defines “important” can be subjective; I define it to mean its impact upon history or, more precisely, the ways in which it shaped the geopolitical map we see today. With that in mind, then, below is my top ten list of the ten largest, most powerful and important Empires in history.
10. The Mayan Empire (ca. 2000 BCE-1540 CE)
How does the Mayan Empire make it onto the list alongside such well-known empires like the Roman, British, and Mongol Empires? Easy. It holds the record for the longest running empire—almost 3500 years! That’s more than twice as long as the Roman Empire, and 1500 years longer than the various Chinese dynasties combined! While very little is known about its first 3,000 years, its demise and brief interaction with the Spanish in the 16th century is the stuff of legends (see the Mel Gibson-directed film Apocalypto to get a good idea of what the Mayan Empire looked like at its height). Today, all we have left of the Mayans is their impressive pyramid-like structures scattered across the Yucatan peninsula, and a doomsday calendar that seems to have everybody up in arms nowadays.
9. The French Empire (1534-1962)
Eventually becoming the second-largest empire in history (second only to the British Empire), at its zenith the French Colonial Empire extended over 4.9 million square miles, and covered almost 1/10 of the Earth’s total land area. Its influence made French one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world for a time, and brought French architecture, culture, and cuisine to the four corners of the globe. Alas, like all the great European empires, its collapse came about incrementally over a long period of time, as it lost territories to other emerging nations—especially to the British—and it suffered through two World Wars, which drained it financially. Though it continued to hold onto to some of its territories well into the 20th century (and still does to this day), by 1962, with the granting of independence to rebellious Algeria, the French Empire was basically no more, bringing a close to a long and cultured era in human history.
8. The Spanish Empire (1492-1976)
One of the first global empires, at its height it possessed territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, making it one of the most important political and economic powers in the world for several hundred years. Its establishment in the 15th century also ushered in the modern global era, and five centuries of European dominance of global affairs before competition from other European powers—particularly the French and British—weakened Spain to the point that, by the end of the 19th century, it was but a shadow of its former greatness. The end didn’t finally come until the 1970s, however, when it granted its last colonies in Africa and South America their independence, spelling finito to 600 years of Spanish colonialism. Its chief contribution came in its discovery of the New World in 1492 and the spread of Christianity to the western world, both of which was to dramatically change the geo-political dynamics of the planet and lay the foundation for the modern western world.
7. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)
This was the last ruling dynasty of China before the country became a Republic, bringing an end to many hundreds of years of imperial rule. Preceded by the better-known Ming Dynasty, the Qing dynasty was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in what is today Manchuria in 1644. It grew quickly until, by the 18th century, it covered all of what is today’s modern China, Mongolia, and even parts of Siberia—an area of over 5.7 million square miles (and making it the 5th largest empire in history, according to land mass.) The Qing Dynasty was finally overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, however, when the Empress Dowager Longyu abdicated on behalf of the last emperor, Puyi, in February of 1912, bringing an end to a long line of Emperors stretching back over 1500 years. Not a bad run by any standards!
6. The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)
I bet you’ve never heard of this one, but it proved to be one of the fastest growing—though shortest-lived—Empires in history. Organized in the aftermath of the death of the venerated prophet Muhammad, it was the mechanism by which Islam was spread across the Middle East and into North Africa, sweeping aside everything in its path. Actually, the Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four Islamic caliphates established after the death of Muhammad but, at its height, it would cover more than five million square miles, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen (modern Arab nationalism regards the period of the Umayyads as part of the Arab Golden Age of Islam). Though it was eventually superseded by various other caliphates and empires (including the Ottoman Empire), it laid the foundation for what was to be a nearly unbroken string of Muslim control in the region, that continues to this day.
5. The Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330 BCE)
More commonly referred to as the Medo-Persian Empire, this Asian Empire was the largest one in ancient history which, at its height, extended from the Indus valley of modern day Pakistan to Libya, and into the Balkans. Forged by Cyrus the Great, it is best remembered as the chief foe of the Greek city states during the Greco-Persian Wars, for emancipating its slaves and releasing the Jews from their Babylonian captivity, and for instituting the usage of official languages throughout its territories. It wasn’t very long, however, before it fell victim to Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and was quickly defeated and absorbed into Alexander’s own vast, but short-lived, Empire.
Upon his death, it splintered into two smaller Empires, the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, as well as into other minor territories, many of which gained independence after its collapse. Perhaps its greatest contribution was in its creation of a centralized administration that kept it running efficiently and profitably for centuries, and served as a model for future and modern governments. So these are the folks that invented bureaucracy, is it?
4. The Ottoman Empire (1299-1922)
The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest lasting empires in history. During its height (under Suleiman the Magnificent) in the 16th century, it stretched from the southern borders of the Holy Roman Empire to the Persian Gulf, and from the Caspian Sea to modern day Algeria, giving it de facto control of much of southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained no fewer than 32 provinces, along with numerous vassal states, making it one of the truly great empires whose influence continues to be felt to this day.
As is the case with most large empires, however, ethnic and religious tensions, and increasing competition from other emerging powers, whittled away at the Ottoman’s power until it finally began dissolving in the 19th century. In many ways, the circumstances surrounding the Ottoman Empire’s fall closely paralleled those surrounding the decline of the Roman Empire, particularly in regards to the ongoing tensions between the Empire’s different ethnic groups, and the various governments’ inability to deal with these tensions. Attempts to improve cultural rights and civil liberties came too late to reverse its demise, though it did lay the foundation for secularist governments in the Muslim world, as exemplified by modern-day Turkey.
3. The Mongol Empire (1206-1368)
Though short-lived as Empires go—it lasted a mere 162 years—while it was around, few were as frightening, or grew as quickly, as this one. Under the leadership of Ghengis Khan (1163-1227), it started small—basically just present-day Mongolia—but within seventy years it had grown into the largest contiguous land Empire in human history, eventually stretching from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan. At its height, it covered an area of 9 million square miles, and held sway over a population of 100 million.
It would probably have been even larger—and possibly have lasted longer—had it managed to invade Japan, but its fleet lost bouts with first-class tsunamis in 1274 and 1281, ending Kublai Khan’s plans to expand eastward. By the middle of fourteenth century, the empire began slowly falling apart through infighting and political instability until it finally folded, with its far-flung territories breaking away or being absorbed by other emerging powers. While it existed, however, few Empires had as big an impact on trade, religion, and culture in Asia as did the Mongols.
2. The British Empire (1603 to 1997)
Though it lasted a mere 400 years, no empire was larger than the one the comparatively-small island nation of Great Britain was able to maintain until fairly recently. How big was it? At its zenith in 1922, the British Empire held sway over nearly half a billion people (a fifth of the world’s population at the time) and covered more than 13 million square miles (almost a quarter of the Earth’s total land area)! Not bad for a country slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. In fact, at one point the sun never set on the British Empire, not because God couldn’t trust an Englishman in the dark, but because of its global reach (with colonies and possessions on every continent—including, believe it or not, Antarctica).
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and that end came in the twentieth century, when two World Wars drained England financially, making it cheaper to dissolve her empire than keep it. Of course, once they lost India in 1947 it was all over; except for a couple of small possessions (the aforementioned Falkland Islands and a few islands scattered around the globe), the sun really has set on the British Empire. Its most important possession remains Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean, and one that is supposed to remain in British hands as long as its population of Barbary Macaques—a type of obnoxious monkey—remains on the peninsula.
1. The Roman Empire (27 BCE to 1453)
This is a no-brainer, as absolutely no Empire is as well known and has been as thoroughly studied as is the one that owned the Mediterranean and much of Europe for almost 1,500 years. Founded in 27 BCE, when the Roman senate granted Octavian the title of Augustus—thereby ending the old Roman Republic (which itself had already stood a good 500 years)—it ended nearly 1500 years later when the Ottoman Turks, under Mehmed II, sacked the last vestiges of the old Empire’s capitol, Constantinople, in 1453. Of course, by that time it was a mere shadow of its former glory (and was no longer even ruled from Rome) but, at its zenith in 117 CE, it was the most powerful nation on the planet, bar none. While it wasn’t the largest, or even the longest-lasting Empire in history, its influence on western culture—especially in regards to architecture, language, literature, art, and science—cannot be underestimated. In fact, it’s difficult to imagine how the world would look today if there hadn’t been a Roman Empire those many centuries ago.
Others empires worthy of note: The Assyrian Empire (mentioned prominently in the Bible), the Byzantine Empire (the long-lived successor to the Roman Empire), The Holy Roman Empire (which owned Europe for nearly 900 years), the Egyptian Empire (regional but nearly as famous as the Roman Empire), and the Greek—or, more precisely—the Macedonian Empire (one of the shortest-lived but most powerful empires in the world, under Alexander the Great).
Jeff Danelek is a Denver, Colorado author who writes on many subjects having to do with history, politics, the paranormal, spirituality and religion. To see more of his stuff, visit his website at www.ourcuriousworld.com.
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there is hardly any reference as to why the empires were important, just how large and long lasting. what about their influences on civilisation? good and bad
Yes,you are right.Someone who make the list should have gone deep on each of the ten for making the right order.Besides, he should be free of prejudices and even need to forget his nationality and the region where he belongs to.
When it comes to’ importance’ I think it is mainly to do with the global impact.In this case,my point of view is, it is the Mongol Empire that goes as Number One.Although they were natourious for their “we came we saw we destroy’ way of conquering countries(including Myanmar,my home land),they deserve sure credit for reopening long blocked trade route(by turks) between china and eroupe,and channeling those most important inventions(paper,compass,paper money,gunpowder,advanced medical knowledgesof the east..) into the west, thus one way or another finally leading us into this modern world.(My reference is “Gengis Khan and making of the modern world” by….Amazon books.)
I disagree, I would stick with the traditional view of the Romans being number 1, above the Umayyads which I might put 2 or 3, as the Romans essentially founded Europe, while the Arabs essentially created the modern Muslim world. I would pick the Romans as 1 though because of Europe’s eminent place in shaping the entire rest of the world over the last half-millenium with a western culture that it in turn derived largely from the Romans
I disagree with this idea. As half of those most important inventions wernt transmitted over as an idea, but were reinvented independently. And Europe’s medical knowledge was gained from Arabia not the East.
This article ignores the impact of the Industrial Revolution, one of the most substantial events in human history -for the first time we were not held back by our mortal abilities- and this was created in/by an Empire. The Industrial revolution allowed the greatest advances in sciences and technology. If we are going by ideology as with the Roman Empire above, then Greece deserves 1st place no question.
You have chosen Roman Empire as 1st but it was ended by Ottoman Empire. By mistake (!), Ottoman Empire has been placed as 4th. Which one is bigger? The one which is ended by other? And also, Ottoman Empire was not ended by any other Empire. It was ended by M. Kemal Ataturk and his soldiers to build a Republic Country. M. Kemal Ataturk was military officer of Ottoman Empire. Even British Empire cannot affect Ottoman Empire as in Gallipoli War. So you don’t have any historical knowledge or you copied&paste from somewhere. As a result of this, your list is fake and not true totally.
The Turks didn’t ‘end’ their empire. The Ottoman empire allied with Germany in WWI and lost their empire to the British Empire during WWI, suffering numerous defeats.
The Ottoman Empire had been in decline for a long time.
France took Tunis off of the Ottomans in 1881.
Britain took Egypt off of the Ottomans 1882.
Italy took and Tripoli and Cyrenaica off of the Ottomans in 1911.
Britain took Palestine, Syria and Iraq off of the Ottomans during 1916-1918.
Turkey is what remains of the once powerful Ottoman Empire. Being a junior partner, it was only saved from allied invasion by the surrender of its senior partner, Germany.
Today, Turkey suffers a population collapse that threatens to destroy what little is left of the proud Turkish people that built a once great empire.
Well said sir, well said indeed.
You are just trying to pinch “realities”. You are totally true about “bla bla takes bla bla off” but as a result of these, is Turkey ended? Can France, Britain, Italy or any other finalize Turkey (Ottoman Empire)?. Sorry but a big NOOO. I am sorry about your country’s fails but NOBODY (as country) in the world could finalize Ottoman Empire. Turkish people finalized Ottoman Empire whom were officer of it. If you say “no bla bla (as country) finished Ottoman”, you are totally way off history.
Now Turkey is comfortable country even the countries which you talk about are in crisis
Also Turkey doesn’t have any “inside” problem. Your sentences are just assumptions.
Beam me up, Scotty to where you came from because I think you are not from Earth. You have been teached a very different history.
what about the macedonian empire created by Alexander the Great? it was the first european empire to advance into asia and beat the persian empire arguably the most powerful in the ancient world. He had an empire that spanned from greece to egypt and right into the borders of india. he had 3 continents as part of his empire and founded nearly 70 modern cities throughout his empire. It was also one of the first to bring the people of asia and europe together
This list is ranked by the most important empires in shaping the history of the world, not necessarily the largest, longest-lasting or most powerful. I think it is right on the money.
Yet another list where British and English are incorrectly and insultingly used to refer to the same thing.
Well you know that Great Britain and the UK have always been dominated by the English, right? At least since the fall of the Stuarts. Even they ruled from London
plz no more mention of Mayan calendars. I’m sure if the Maya where around they would have made a new calendar much like we do after a solar cycle.
What about the Portuguese Empire ?
It was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries and most important it was was the first global empire in history ! From 1415 to 2002.
Kingdom of Portugal began the Age of Discovery in the world.
The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states.
With a total of 236 million speakers, Portuguese is the 6th most spoken language in the world, the 3rd most spoken language in the western hemisphere, and the most spoken language in the southern hemisphere. Portugal was the first empire to travel all aorund the globe.
We can see things related to this great empire in Brazil, Japan, USA, Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Indonesia, India, China etc.. Portugal was everywhere..
So, this list is absolutely fake. I guess u American guy have never heard of Portugal…
Finelly a some one tallkes about Potugal!
“Gaves New worlds to the World”
Here we go again with Portugal. Are you really going to consider length of empire as being of any importance? Then why don’t we fill the list with bronze age states like tyre or the zhou? How was portugal of ANY significance post-WW2? Or during the Iberian union? It was a state whose existance was defined by its vain effort to catch up to its bigger brother.
Yes, the portuguese were the first european “world empire” building nations.
a quote from Wikipedia: “The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Japan and the first to establish direct trade between Japan and Europe, in 1542.”
No Portuguese empire, the longest and biggest empire ever? Its bad enough you put the Spanish in the list (since every history man will agree that the spanish empire actually underachieved when compared to the portuguese), but you don’t even reference the portuguese, and thats just shamefull. Dude, what a s— c— BAD list I must tell you, and I never commented on this site. To not even mention Portugal is JUST bananas.
PS Carlos Costa speaks the truth
Portugal had neither the largest or longest lasting empire in history but it would probably come in at an 11 tied with the Dutch empire.
Portugal (and the Dutch, to the commenter below) are not top 30/40 empires. There have been a LOT of empires in history. When you consider the sheer number of little-known mighty and extensive states such as the Khitan – the Jurchen – the Chagatai – the Srivijaya – the White Huns – what is so particularly important about the Portuguese? All they really had of importance was Brazil. Goa, wow. And the Dutch were fantastic in the world of finance, and even industrialization, but that has little to do with their mediocre empire. They were briefly the strongest in the last 1600′s but for scarcely a decade
Well, thanks for giving me a good laugh!! Carlos Costa and PenguinMastan are right, Portugal was the first and longest empire.Portugal role and influence in europe and world was/is outstanding and we are talking about a small country. Unfortunately, because the Iberian Union, Portugal lost half of his empire for the Netherlands and England, and lost his best galleons and ships in the Spanish Armada, The Great Lisbon Earthquake( who had a geat impact in european thinking) and the French Invasions weakened and impoverished the country and the empire declined. In Pos War II Portugal was under a dictatorship ( the longest in europe) and in war with his african colonies.
Nowadays the country don´t have fault of the shitty, capitalists and corrupt governments.
An empire involves the extension of a state’s sovereignty over external territories. The greatness of an empire is based on the extent, population, economy, duration and many other factors.
“what is so particularly important about the Portuguese?”
Lets see:
“Portugal is a country that has sometimes been dismissed as small and relatively unimportant. Portugal in European and World History, however, demonstrates that the contrary is true, showing that Portugal has been crucial to the development of Europe and the modern world. Spanning many centuries, from early Moorish times to the Atlantic Empire; the English Alliance of 1650 – 1900; African colonies; the Salazar regime; and the country’s liberal revolution in 1974, Malyn Newitt offers a fresh appraisal of Portuguese history and its role in the world.
The author examines episodes where Portugal was a key player or innovator, linking its history to a broader context. Chapters focus on such topics as Moorish Portugal, describing the cultural impact of contact with the Moors; the discovery of Brazil and opening up of trade with western Africa; and the explorations of Vasco de Gama and the evolution of Portugal as the first commercial empire of modern times. Newitt also examines Portugal’s role in the Counter-Reformation, in Spain’s wars in Europe, and in the Anglo-Portuguese alliance. The Portuguese diaspora is considered: emigration had been taking place systematically since the fifteenth century but it reached massive proportions between 1820 and 1980. The author also shows how emigration is linked to underdevelopment, imperialism and globalization, and how the Portuguese experience compares with that of other major diasporas. Finally, Portugal’s position in Africa is assessed, the Salazar/Caetano regime of 1928 – 74 examined, and the fall of fascism and decolonization of Portugal explored in the light of global empires and movements.
A new account of a country with a rich history, which has played a key role in the development and expansion of the modern world, Portugal in European and World History shows how Portugal has moved from being the last colonial power to one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the modern European ideal.”
Malyn Newitt is Emeritus Professor of History in the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, King’s College London. He is author of A History of Mozambique (1995).
Resource: http://www.reaktionbooks.co.uk/book.html?id=387
Before you right something, think and study about the subjects
Enjoy, the readings!!!!
“Portugal in European and World History.” Author: Marlyn Newitt
“The First Global Village.How Portugal change the World.” Author: Martin Page
“Empires in World: Power and the Politics of Difference”. Authors: Jane Burbank&Frederick Cooper
“Jeff Danelek is a Denver, Colorado author who writes on many subjects having to do with history, politics, the paranormal, spirituality and religion.”
This ridiculous list is totally explained to me now. This dude never heard of the greatest empire in the world for being too busy reading about ghosts LOOOL seriously now, this author/list is just laughble for its pure ignorance, and copy-paste kid book stuff. Don’t go on the internet trying to thing a job when you know NOTHING about the subject, some people will actually belive the things you say on this site.
How would you correct it then, mr. expert? It’s a very decent list, I would only remove the Mayan French and Qing.
As per standard operating procedure, someone will be ‘hurt’ and upset that “their” nation was left off the list.
You should list Tang Dynasty Empire in the list instead of Qing Dyansty, Tang is the strongest in the world at its time, Qing is the last empire in Chiese history and invaded by many foreign coutries including Englang, Amercia, Japan ….ect. How can you list it as the one of the 10 most important empire in the world. Ridiculous.
Agreed sir, imo the Tang was the strongest in the world and most important in Chinese history. It set the stage for East Asia as a whole- Chinese culture pervaded into Japan, into southeast Asia, and China became a superpower even greater than during the Han
Couldn’t read this article past the first entry. The Mayan Civilization was not an empire, but competing city-states that traded and occasionally went to war with each other. The definition of an empire is a collection of nations and territories united under the rule of a single person, oligarchy, or sovereign state. Apocalypto was filled with historical inaccuracies as many historical fiction movies are. The city shown in Apocalypto was Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. No Mayan city was close to that size when Europeans first arrived in the Americas.
So I see you completely glossed over India? How about the Mauryan Empire or the Cholan empire? You know the ones that had a lasting effect on all asian cultures?
lol, are you seriously suggesting the Cholas as a TOP TEN empire? The CHOLAS over the Han, Byzantine, Holy Roman, ancient Egypian, Tang, Russian, or Timurid?
The Mauryan were very impressive but not top ten. Maybe top 20- they did set the stage for millenia of powerful unified Indian states
LOLOLOL the Cholas HAHAHAHAHA
Why not?the cholas ruled the indonesia,bangladesh,philippines and many south asean countries.they had very big navy.also had trade with romans and french
I like how the author put in a couple original thoughts between all those cliches-just kidding there were no original thoughts.
If only the British Empire was around today.. Then you wouldn`t have countries we once owned, as Third World dumps..
no maybe not but they would probably still live in poverty like india
correction, Indonesia in its history is in no way relate with Portuguese Empire. Timor Leste in other hand…
Search the net: Dutch East India Company in Indonesia.
Yes. Portuguese had quite a little colony rule in south-east asia. However they had Goa in India, Macau in China and East-Timor in Indonesia.
Dutch had almost the whole Indonesia and Philippines were under spanish rule until 1898, when the war between Spain and USA erupted. Eventually Spain lost and Cuba was decleared independent, Puerto Rico and Guam became US territories and Philippines went on independence war against USA.
Nathaniel’s empire. Wengerocracy is a form of government where the people watch the ruler entirely amongst their reign. Wengerocracy prevents the leader of a country from covering up unlawful behavior going on.
Over 100 million lives died in the 20th century alone because of leaders of numerous countries covering up unlawful behavior.
PS Why isn’t Anne Frank writing and publishing books on the importance of instating wengerocracy in Germany?
Answer the question.
I am teaching the importance to instate wengerocracy. Google it.
I have been teaching the importance to instate wengerocracy for over five years.
Why aren’t you writing and publishing articles on the importance of instating wengerocracy in Syria?
I agree with 7/10, nice list. The Mayans were not an empire, and I would knock of those, the French, and the Qing, for the Tang (much more important than Qing), Macedonian (massive Hellenic culture influence), and Russian (highly influential in ending the power of the central asian khanates). Very good list though, and particularly astute to include the Umayyads rather than the Abbasids
You forgot the Mughals.. Or did you include them with the Mongols? At the height of their power, they would make England look like an average province..
An average province than governed a quarter of the world? That would be one hell of an ‘average province’. Compared to the Mughals that had parts of the Indian subcontinent and that was it! The Mughals, as far as I recall, were actually overthrown by the British, and the last remnants of the empire taken over by the British Raj. At the height of their power they would still have come up short against the British red-coat, no doubt about that.
The roman republic and empire could be number one and two respectively.lol
Let´s see… Where is portuguese empire? Probably the author thinks it was mixed with the spanish empire, due to a 60 years during (1580-1640) iberian union in a 6 centurys colonial history , and, in consequence, “One of the first global empires, at its height it possessed territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania”…
It´s so wrong… But, well… he´s american, what could we expect?
I guess the same anti-American response we can expect from you?
Maybe, but I don´t make considerations with such errors, derived from ignorance.
And, do not misunderstand me, i´m not offended with portugal´s absence in the list. But, please, don´t mix up Portugal and Spain and its empires and history. That´s unforgivable…
The great empires were first Spanish and later the British Empire for his extension. Spain and England had colonies in 5 continents. With the discovery of America Spain became the first major empire in history with “Isabel I of Castile and Fernando of Aragon seconds”, although its peak was with Philip II. The British Empire was the most expelndor with Queen Victoria
First came the Spanish and later the British.
First european world empire builders came from Portugal and Spain. They travelled all around the world and conquered/discovered vast areas of this world. They ruled the oceans in the 15th and 16th centuries. Diaz, Columbus, Da Gama, Pizarro, Cortez etc.
Then came the dutch. They ruled the oceans in the 17th century. A dutch company VOC was the biggest trading company of all times (back then).
After dutch came french and english. They rivalled some 200 years to beat each other over the world seas. Finally Britain became the most succesful european empire by beating french in the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
After that France and Britain didn’t go to war to each other again, but they rivalled the domination of the world other ways by conquering colonies around the world.
1922 British Empire ruled over 33 million sq.km. of land in the world.
1938 The second French colonial Empire ruled over 12 million sq.km. of land in the world.
Today they are quite equal in many ways and both are shadows of their past might.
I’d like to add that before 1803 most of North America (USA/Canada) was French possession.
Napoleon needed money – because the war chest was pretty much empty, due to revolution of the people of France – to beat and conquer England.
Napoleon agreed with Jefferson to sell Louisiana to the United States.
That – Louisiana purchase – doubled the size of the United States to over 5 million sq.km.
And the run to the west really began.
Umayyad Bro!?
“…but, at its zenith in 117 CE, it was the most powerful nation on the planet, bar none.”
That’s not really true. The tribes of barbarians (mostly germanic tribes) crushed 3 roman legions in the battle of Teutoburg in the year 9 AD. After that romans never even tried to gain a strong presence over the Rhein river and also Donau, which had a barbaric Vandals tribe on the north side.