Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, the Steppe and Rus’–Russia — from the Bronze Age to today. Each power is a bar from start to end, with three facts on click. Major bars stay labelled; the rest appear when you zoom. Pick a region below and its lane stays; the others recede.
Description: The Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms — one of the first great powers in history
Notable: It lasted longer than the time separating its fall from the building of the pyramids to today.
Another fact: Ancient Egypt went through three golden ages — the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms — separated by periods of turmoil.
Description: A maritime power on Crete, a model of early European statehood
Notable: Minoan frescoes rarely depict war, unusual for an ancient civilization.
Another fact: The Minoans likely perished after a volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini.
Description: The first empire known to history, uniting Sumer
Notable: The empire's founder, Sargon, was legendarily set adrift on a river in a reed basket as an infant.
Another fact: The empire lasted about 180 years before collapsing under pressure from Gutian nomads.
Description: An Anatolian power and rival of Egypt for Near Eastern dominance
Notable: The Hittites were among the first Near Eastern powers to make widespread use of iron.
Another fact: They signed one of the earliest known peace treaties in history, with Egypt.
Description: Palace-states of the Achaeans, celebrated by Homer
Notable: The Mycenaeans used the Linear B syllabic script, only deciphered in the 1950s.
Another fact: Mycenaean civilization inspired Homer's 'Iliad' centuries later.
Description: The oldest historically confirmed Chinese dynasty
Notable: The Shang dynasty's name gave rise to the oldest Chinese logographic writing system.
Another fact: Its rulers practiced divination on turtle shells and animal bones, leaving the oldest Chinese texts.
Description: A Hurrian kingdom of Bronze Age northern Mesopotamia
Notable: Its ruling elite spoke an Indo-Aryan language related to Sanskrit.
Another fact: It was destroyed by the combined efforts of the Hittites and Assyria.
Description: A Mediterranean maritime trading power and Rome's great rival
Notable: The Phoenicians called Carthage the 'New City' — the literal meaning of its name.
Another fact: The Phoenicians invented the alphabet that underlies Greek and later Latin script.
Description: China's longest dynasty, the age of Confucius
Notable: The Zhou dynasty introduced the 'Mandate of Heaven,' explaining dynastic change throughout later Chinese history.
Another fact: It formally lasted over 700 years, though the Zhou kings' real power weakened by the 8th century BCE.
Description: A military power that united nearly the entire Near East
Notable: The Assyrians were the first in history to create a large-scale professional standing army.
Another fact: Its capital Nineveh became the largest city in the world at the time, with over 100,000 residents.
Description: A kingdom of the Armenian Highlands and rival of Assyria
Notable: It built complex irrigation systems and fortresses in mountainous terrain.
Another fact: It left cuneiform inscriptions partly based on Assyrian script.
Description: A northern Greek kingdom that became the launchpad for Alexander's conquests
Notable: Before Philip II's rise, it was considered a peripheral Greek state.
Another fact: The Macedonian dialect was long not fully recognized as Greek by classical Greeks.
Description: A pre-Greek culture of Italy that heavily influenced the rise of Rome
Notable: The Etruscans passed on to Rome the practice of divination and the architectural arch.
Another fact: The Etruscan language remains only partly deciphered by linguists today.
Description: A nomadic power of the Black Sea steppes
Notable: The Scythians were famed for their distinctive 'animal style' in decorative art.
Another fact: The Scythians were the first steppe people to widely use mounted archery in battle.
Description: Scythian nomadic tribes of Central Asia
Notable: They left famous kurgan burial mounds featuring animal-style art.
Another fact: Some Saka tribes served as mercenaries in Persian and Greek armies.
Description: An Iranian power, forerunner of the Achaemenid Empire
Notable: It allied with Babylon to defeat the Assyrian Empire.
Another fact: It was absorbed by the Persians under Cyrus the Great.
Description: The power of Nebuchadnezzar II, destroyer of Jerusalem
Notable: This kingdom built the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders.
Another fact: It fell to the Persians under Cyrus the Great, who took Babylon almost without a fight.
Description: The largest power of the ancient world before Alexander
Notable: It governed a territory with a population of up to 50 million — a huge share of humanity at the time.
Another fact: It introduced, for the first time in history, a unified road and postal system spanning an entire continent.
Description: From city-state to ruler of the Mediterranean
Notable: Latin, this power's language, gave rise to the entire family of modern Romance languages.
Another fact: Roman citizenship gradually extended to all free inhabitants of the empire by 212 CE.
Description: A maritime league under Athenian hegemony
Notable: At its peak, the Athenian League united 150–200 city-states paying tribute to Athens.
Another fact: The league was funded by mandatory contributions from member cities, which bred resentment.
Description: A powerful state of the Ganges valley on the eve of the Mauryan conquests
Notable: Tradition holds it had a huge army that frightened Alexander the Great's own troops.
Another fact: It was overthrown by Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the next great Indian empire.
Description: The shortest-lived but largest power of its era
Notable: Alexander never lost a single major battle in his entire military career.
Another fact: After Alexander's death, his generals divided the empire into several Hellenistic kingdoms.
Description: The first power to unite nearly the whole subcontinent
Notable: Under King Ashoka, the Maurya Empire renounced military conquest in favor of spreading Buddhism.
Another fact: After the brutal conquest of the neighboring Kalinga kingdom, the death toll shocked Ashoka into pacifism.
Description: The Hellenistic heir to Alexander's empire in the East
Notable: At different points, the Seleucid state had two major capital cities — Seleucia and Antioch.
Another fact: It gradually lost eastern territory to the pressure of Parthia and local rulers.
Description: A centuries-long rival of Rome on its eastern frontier
Notable: The Parthians were famous for the 'Parthian shot' — firing arrows at a full gallop, even while retreating.
Another fact: For a long time, the Parthians had no fixed capital, moving between several major cities.
Description: A power of the Deccan Plateau linking northern and southern India
Notable: It controlled India's maritime trade with the Roman Empire.
Another fact: It left behind extensive Deccan cave temple complexes.
Description: China's first unified state
Notable: Under Qin, writing, weights, and measures were standardized, and construction began on the Great Wall.
Another fact: The first emperor ordered himself buried with an entire terracotta army of thousands of clay soldiers.
Description: A nomadic confederation pressuring China and triggering the Great Migration
Notable: Under Xiongnu pressure, many neighboring peoples shifted westward, ultimately helping bring down Rome.
Another fact: Chinese dynasties built fortifications against the Xiongnu that later became part of the Great Wall.
Description: The golden age that gave the Chinese ethnicity its name
Notable: The Han dynasty's name is the origin of the self-designation of the Chinese ethnicity, 'Han.'
Another fact: Under this dynasty, paper was invented in China, a world first.
Description: The power that succeeded the Mauryas in northern India
Notable: It was founded by a general who overthrew the last Maurya king.
Another fact: It saw a revival of Brahmanism after Ashoka's earlier patronage of Buddhism.
Description: A Hellenistic state in northwest India, legacy of Alexander's campaigns
Notable: Its rulers minted coins with both Greek and Indian inscriptions.
Another fact: King Menander I is considered a patron of Buddhism among Greek rulers.
Description: An Arab trading kingdom centered on Petra
Notable: It controlled the incense trade routes between Arabia and the Mediterranean.
Another fact: It left behind the rock-cut city of Petra.
Description: An ancient South Arabian kingdom in what is now Yemen
Notable: It controlled the frankincense and myrrh trade across the Red Sea.
Another fact: In its later period, some of its rulers converted to Judaism.
Description: One of the three ancient Korean kingdoms, which later unified the peninsula
Notable: It was originally the weakest of the three ancient Korean kingdoms.
Another fact: It ultimately unified the Korean Peninsula with Chinese support.
Description: One of the three ancient Korean kingdoms, the largest by territory
Notable: It was the largest of the three ancient Korean kingdoms by territory.
Another fact: It waged prolonged wars against the Chinese Sui and Tang dynasties.
Description: One of the three ancient Korean kingdoms, in the southwest of the peninsula
Notable: It helped spread Buddhism and Chinese writing to Japan.
Another fact: It was destroyed by the alliance of Silla and Tang China.
Description: A power linking India, Central Asia, and the Silk Road
Notable: The Kushan Empire minted coins with Greek, Indian, and Iranian inscriptions all at once.
Another fact: It controlled key stretches of the Silk Road linking India, China, and Rome.
Description: An Arab Christian kingdom, a vassal of Byzantium
Notable: It served as a buffer state between Byzantium and Arabian tribes.
Another fact: It practiced Christianity, unlike most Arab tribes of the time.
Description: China's split into three rival kingdoms after the fall of Han
Notable: The period inspired one of the greatest novels of classical Chinese literature.
Another fact: It ended with China's reunification under the state of Wei and its successors.
Description: The last pre-Islamic Persian empire
Notable: Under the Sasanians, Zoroastrianism became the official state religion.
Another fact: The empire fought nearly constant wars with Byzantium for control of Armenia and Mesopotamia.
Description: A short-lived power on the Rome-Persia frontier, led by Queen Zenobia
Notable: At the height of her power, Queen Zenobia claimed the title of Empress of the East.
Another fact: It was crushed by the Roman emperor Aurelian.
Description: A Chinese dynasty that briefly reunified the country after the Three Kingdoms
Notable: It briefly reunified China after centuries of fragmentation.
Another fact: It was forced to flee south under pressure from nomadic peoples of the north.
Description: A South Indian power that patronized temple architecture
Notable: It sponsored the construction of the famous temples of Mahabalipuram.
Another fact: It waged constant wars against the neighboring Chalukya and Pandya dynasties.
Description: An Arab kingdom, vassal to the Persian Sasanians
Notable: It served as a buffer state between Persia and the Arabian Peninsula.
Another fact: Its capital, al-Hira, became a major center of pre-Islamic Arab culture.
Description: The golden age of classical Indian culture
Notable: Under the Guptas, Indian mathematicians introduced the concept of zero as a distinct digit.
Another fact: The era is considered the golden age of Sanskrit literature and theater.
Description: Rome's eastern continuation, a thousand-year bastion of the Christian East
Notable: Byzantines kept calling themselves Romans right up until the empire's fall in 1453.
Another fact: The Byzantines called themselves 'Romaioi' — Romans — until the empire's very end.
Description: A nomadic power in Mongolia before the rise of the Turks
Notable: It was the first steppe people to use the title 'khagan.'
Another fact: It was destroyed by rebelling Turks, who founded their own khaganate.
Description: The 'White Huns' who crushed the Gupta Empire
Notable: The Hephthalites were likely not direct relatives of Attila's Huns, despite the similar name in the West.
Another fact: The empire inflicted several major military defeats on the Persian Sasanians.
Description: The first attempt to revive an empire in the West
Notable: The division of this empire among Charlemagne's grandsons laid the future borders of France and Germany.
Another fact: The Carolingian Empire briefly revived the title of Western emperor, dormant since 476.
Description: The largest power stretching from Manchuria to the Black Sea
Notable: The Turkic Khaganate was the first to bring runic Turkic script into wide use.
Another fact: At its peak, the khaganate stretched from Manchuria to Crimea and the Caucasus.
Description: A nomadic power in Central Europe, heirs to steppe traditions
Notable: It controlled the Pannonian Plain in the heart of Europe for nearly two and a half centuries.
Another fact: It was finally crushed by the forces of Charlemagne.
Description: A short-lived but pivotal dynasty that unified China before the Tang era
Notable: It built the Grand Canal, linking northern and southern China.
Another fact: It collapsed under the weight of excessive construction projects and failed wars with Korea.
Description: An ancient Tamil dynasty of southern India
Notable: It is mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman sources as a trading partner.
Another fact: It was famed for pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar.
Description: A brief unification of northern India
Notable: Harsha's realm fell apart almost immediately after his death, leaving no lasting institutions.
Another fact: Harsha himself was a noted playwright and patron of Buddhist scholars.
Description: The peak of cultural and economic flourishing in medieval China
Notable: Under Tang, the capital Chang'an was likely the largest city in the world at the time.
Another fact: Chang'an received envoys and merchants from Persia, India, Korea, and Japan all at once.
Description: A nomadic power controlling the Volga trade route
Notable: According to several sources, the Khazar elite converted to Judaism, a rare case in world history.
Another fact: The state controlled the vital trade route between the Volga and the Black Sea.
Description: The first hereditary Arab monarchy
Notable: The Umayyads moved the caliphate's capital to Damascus, closer to the empire's growing center.
Another fact: Under the Umayyads, Arabic became the official language of administration across the caliphate.
Description: The first unified Korean state after the unification of the Three Kingdoms
Notable: It became the first state to unify most of the Korean Peninsula.
Another fact: It experienced a flourishing of Buddhist art and architecture.
Description: A maritime trading power controlling the Adriatic and eastern Mediterranean
Notable: Governed by an elected Doge and a complex system of councils that curbed personal power.
Another fact: It controlled the spice trade between Asia and Europe for centuries.
Description: A state in Manchuria and Korea, heir to Goguryeo's culture
Notable: Contemporaries sometimes called it the 'flourishing country of the East.'
Another fact: It was destroyed by the Khitan of the Liao dynasty.
Description: A Thai-descended state of southwestern China
Notable: It controlled key trade routes between China and Southeast Asia.
Another fact: It successfully repelled Tang Chinese invasions on several occasions.
Description: A Turkic nomadic power of western Siberia and Kazakhstan
Notable: It controlled territory along the Irtysh River in western Siberia.
Another fact: It served as one of the ancestors of the later Kipchak tribes.
Description: The golden age of Islam, centered on Baghdad
Notable: Baghdad under the Abbasids was called the 'City of Peace,' the era's leading center of science.
Another fact: The caliphate became the hub of a translation movement that introduced the Islamic world to Greek philosophy.
Description: A Buddhist dynasty of Bengal that patronized scholars and monasteries
Notable: It founded Vikramashila, one of the largest Buddhist universities in the world.
Another fact: It maintained close cultural ties with Tibet and Southeast Asia.
Description: One of the greatest powers of the medieval Deccan
Notable: It built the famous rock-cut Kailasa Temple at Ellora.
Another fact: Arab travelers named the Rashtrakuta kings among the four greatest rulers in the world.
Description: The first Persian dynasty of Islam genuinely independent of Baghdad
Notable: It formally answered to Baghdad but governed Khorasan in practice on its own.
Another fact: It helped revive Persian language and culture after the Arab conquest.
Description: A Pyrenean kingdom on the border between the Christian and Muslim worlds
Notable: It split into Spanish and French parts after the southern territory was conquered.
Another fact: The French portion passed to the French crown under Henry IV.
Description: The first Turkic Muslim state of Central Asia
Notable: It was the first Turkic state to officially adopt Islam as its state religion.
Another fact: It helped spread Islam among the Turkic peoples of Central Asia.
Description: An independent kingdom until union with England formed Great Britain
Notable: It preserved independence from England for nearly seven centuries despite constant wars.
Another fact: It merged with England in 1707 through an Act of Union, not conquest.
Description: A South Indian maritime power with a fleet reaching Southeast Asia
Notable: The Chola fleet mounted naval expeditions as far as present-day Indonesia.
Another fact: It introduced one of the world's earliest systems of local self-government through village assemblies.
Description: The first Muslim state to make Egypt independent since the pharaohs
Notable: It was founded by a Turkic military commander appointed governor by the Abbasids.
Another fact: For the first time since the pharaohs, it made Egypt effectively independent.
Description: A Scandinavian kingdom before entering the Kalmar Union
Notable: Unified by King Harald Fairhair in the 9th century.
Another fact: It joined the Kalmar Union after its own royal line died out.
Description: The first East Slavic state
Notable: The capital of Kievan Rus was, at different times, both Novgorod and Kyiv.
Another fact: The state adopted Christianity from Byzantium in 988 under Prince Vladimir.
Description: An Arab dynasty of northern Mesopotamia and Syria
Notable: It was famed for patronizing Arabic poetry and scholarship at its court in Aleppo.
Another fact: It waged near-constant border wars with Byzantium.
Description: A Shia state of highland Yemen, one of the longest-lived in the region
Notable: It is among the oldest Shia states in Islamic history.
Another fact: It survived until the 1962 revolution that established a republic.
Description: A Turkic state on the Volga, the first in the region to adopt Islam
Notable: It officially adopted Islam in 922, ahead of many neighboring peoples.
Another fact: It was destroyed by the Mongol invasion in 1236.
Description: A Shia caliphate rivaling the Abbasids for religious leadership
Notable: It founded Cairo as the caliphate's new capital.
Another fact: It claimed descent from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
Description: The Khitan empire controlling northern China and Mongolia
Notable: It was founded by the nomadic Khitan people, whose name gave Europe the term 'Cathay' for China.
Another fact: It practiced a dual administrative system for nomadic and settled populations.
Description: The Korean dynasty that gave the country its modern name
Notable: It gave Korea its modern international name.
Another fact: It was the first in the world to use movable metal type for printing.
Description: The unified Anglo-Saxon kingdom before the union with Scotland
Notable: It emerged from the unification of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by Alfred the Great and his successors.
Another fact: It survived the Norman Conquest of 1066, which replaced the ruling elite.
Description: An Iranian dynasty that controlled Baghdad under the caliph's nominal authority
Notable: It was the first Shia dynasty to take control of Baghdad.
Another fact: It kept the Abbasid caliphs as nominal religious leaders.
Description: A kingdom in what is now Yunnan province
Notable: It was heir to the earlier Kingdom of Nanzhao in Yunnan.
Another fact: It was conquered by the Mongols as part of their campaign to subdue all of China.
Description: An era of technological breakthroughs — gunpowder, the compass, printing
Notable: Under Song, China introduced the world's first widely circulated paper money.
Another fact: Under this dynasty, China invented gunpowder as a weapon and the compass for navigation.
Description: A loose confederation of German lands under an imperial crown
Notable: Voltaire famously quipped it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.
Another fact: The empire had no single capital and united hundreds of formally independent principalities and cities.
Description: A Deccan power known for advanced temple architecture
Notable: It was known for an architectural school that influenced the entire Deccan region.
Another fact: It constantly rivaled the Chola dynasty for dominance in the south.
Description: The Capetian monarchy, the core of future French statehood
Notable: It began as the small royal domain of Hugh Capet around Paris.
Another fact: It survived the Hundred Years' War, nearly losing independence to England.
Description: One of the oldest Rus principalities, oriented toward the Baltic
Notable: It was one of the first Rus principalities to break away from Kyiv.
Another fact: It later became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Description: A remote Rus principality on the Taman Peninsula
Notable: It was located on the Taman Peninsula, cut off from the rest of Rus by the steppe.
Another fact: It was eventually absorbed by Cuman nomads and lost contact with Rus.
Description: A Central European kingdom, a key power of the Carpathian Basin
Notable: It stopped the Mongol invasion after the defeat at Mohi and recovered.
Another fact: It joined the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as an equal partner in 1867.
Description: A maritime republic and Venice's rival in Mediterranean trade
Notable: It funded Columbus's expedition, though the explorer sailed for Spain.
Another fact: It held colonies in Crimea and the Black Sea region until the Ottoman conquest.
Description: The first long-lasting independent Vietnamese dynasty
Notable: It moved the capital to Hanoi, then called Thang Long.
Another fact: It successfully repelled an invasion by China's Song empire.
Description: One of the largest principalities of pre-Mongol Rus
Notable: It was one of the wealthiest principalities of pre-Mongol Rus by number of towns.
Another fact: It suffered heavily from the Mongol invasion and the fragmentation that followed.
Description: A Central European power that later united with Lithuania
Notable: It formed Europe's largest state after the union with Lithuania in the 16th century.
Another fact: It ceased to exist after three partitions by neighboring powers.
Description: The wealthiest late-medieval European state, between France and the empire
Notable: It was considered one of the cultural centers of late Gothic art in Europe.
Another fact: It collapsed after the last duke died at the Battle of Nancy.
Description: A Mediterranean power of the Iberian Peninsula before the unification of Spain
Notable: At its peak it controlled Sicily, Sardinia, and part of southern Italy.
Another fact: It united with Castile through the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Description: A Turkic power that reshaped the map of the Middle East
Notable: The Seljuks, of Turkic origin, adopted Islam and Persian administrative culture.
Another fact: The Seljuks restored Sunni Islam as the dominant branch after Buyid Shia influence.
Description: A Tangut state destroyed by Genghis Khan's Mongols
Notable: The Tangut state developed its own unique writing system.
Another fact: It was completely destroyed by Genghis Khan's Mongols as an act of vengeance.
Description: A principality on the vital 'from the Varangians to the Greeks' trade route
Notable: It controlled a critical stretch of the waterway between the Baltic and Black Seas.
Another fact: It was finally annexed to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the early 15th century.
Description: A major regional power destroyed by the Mongols
Notable: The state was destroyed by Genghis Khan in just a few years of a lightning campaign.
Another fact: At its peak, the empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to the borders of India.
Description: The Seljuk state of Rum in Anatolia
Notable: It became a refuge for Persian and Turkic culture in Anatolia.
Another fact: It weakened after the Mongol invasion and splintered into beyliks, including the Ottoman one.
Description: A principality on the southwestern frontier of Rus
Notable: It is mentioned in the famous Old Rus literary monument 'The Tale of Igor's Campaign.'
Another fact: It repeatedly passed under the control of neighboring Lithuania and Moscow.
Description: A principality of the Volga-Oka interfluve
Notable: It is linked to the legend of Saints Peter and Fevronia, patrons of the family.
Another fact: It was finally annexed to the Principality of Moscow in the late 14th century.
Description: The Jurchen power that replaced the Khitan Liao in northern China
Notable: It destroyed the Liao state and seized northern China from the Song.
Another fact: It fell to Mongol conquerors in the 13th century.
Description: A state founded by Khitans who fled west after the fall of Liao
Notable: It was founded by Khitans who fled west after the defeat of their Liao state.
Another fact: It preserved elements of Buddhist and Chinese culture far from its ancestral homeland.
Description: A Turkic dynasty fighting the Crusaders in Syria
Notable: Its founder Zengi was the first Muslim ruler to retake a city from the Crusaders.
Another fact: It laid the groundwork for Saladin's later successes.
Description: The first Rus principality to bear the brunt of the Mongol invasion
Notable: It was the first Rus land to bear the brunt of Batu Khan's invasion in 1237.
Another fact: It was the last of the great principalities of northeastern Rus to be annexed by Moscow.
Description: A Norman Mediterranean power blending European and Arab traditions
Notable: It fused Norman, Byzantine, Arab, and Italian cultural traditions.
Another fact: It was considered one of the most religiously tolerant states of medieval Europe.
Description: A veche-governed state in northwestern Rus
Notable: The Novgorod Republic was governed by a popular assembly rather than a single ruler, unusual for medieval Rus.
Another fact: The republic controlled vast northern territories reaching to the Ural Mountains.
Description: The mother country that split from Castile and became a colonial power
Notable: One of Europe's oldest continuously existing states within unchanged borders.
Another fact: It endured a personal union with Spain from 1580 to 1640.
Description: The strongest principality of northeastern Rus, Moscow's forerunner
Notable: It became the political and cultural center of Rus after Kyiv's decline.
Another fact: The later Principality of Moscow grew out of its lands.
Description: Saladin's power, uniting Egypt and Syria
Notable: It was founded by Saladin after the overthrow of the Fatimids.
Another fact: It recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
Description: Japan's first military government
Notable: It was the first to establish military rule in Japan under a nominal emperor.
Another fact: It repelled two Mongol invasions with the help of 'kamikaze' typhoons.
Description: A southwestern Rus principality that rivaled Poland and Hungary
Notable: It was the only Rus principality whose ruler received a royal title from the Pope.
Another fact: It was eventually divided between Poland and Lithuania.
Description: The first Islamic power in northern India
Notable: For three centuries, the Delhi Sultanate successfully repelled Mongol invasions.
Another fact: It consisted of five successive dynasties over its three centuries of existence.
Description: The largest land empire in history by area
Notable: At its peak, the Mongol Empire covered territory that could not be crossed on horseback in less than several months.
Another fact: After Genghis Khan's death, the empire was divided among his sons into several khanates.
Description: One of the oldest principalities of northeastern Rus
Notable: It was one of the oldest urban centers of northeastern Rus.
Another fact: It gradually lost significance to neighboring Vladimir and Moscow.
Description: A principality of northeastern Rus
Notable: It is known as one of the centers of Russian icon painting.
Another fact: It was annexed to Moscow through a dynastic agreement without war.
Description: The Vietnamese dynasty that repelled Mongol invasions
Notable: It repelled Mongol Yuan invasions three separate times.
Another fact: It developed its own Vietnamese Chu Nom writing system.
Description: A Thai-descended state in Assam, independent of the Mughals
Notable: It was the only Indian state never conquered by the Mughal Empire.
Another fact: It was founded by Thai settlers who assimilated with the local population.
Description: The largest kingdom of the Reconquista, the core of unified Spain
Notable: It funded Columbus's expedition in 1492.
Another fact: It became the largest part of unified Spain after the union with Aragon.
Description: A monastic-military state on the Baltic, forerunner of Prussia
Notable: Founded by a military-religious order for crusades against Baltic pagans.
Another fact: Secularized in 1525 and turned into the secular Duchy of Prussia.
Description: A power that included a significant part of the western and southern Rus lands
Notable: At its peak, its territory included most of present-day Ukraine and Belarus.
Another fact: The official language of state documents remained Old Ruthenian (West Russian) for a long time.
Description: A monastic-military state in the Baltic region
Notable: It controlled territory in what is now Latvia and Estonia.
Another fact: It collapsed after the Livonian War involving Russia, Poland, and Sweden.
Description: A small principality of the Russian North
Notable: It was a small principality on an important route to the northern fur-trading lands.
Another fact: It was annexed to Moscow in the late 15th century without resistance.
Description: The western Mongol khanate that kept Rus in subjugation
Notable: The Golden Horde collected tribute from Russian principalities for almost two and a half centuries.
Another fact: Its capital, Sarai, on the Volga, was one of the largest cities of the medieval world.
Description: Moscow's main rival for leadership among the Rus lands
Notable: For a long time, it contested Moscow's right to the patent for the grand principality.
Another fact: It was finally subdued by Ivan III in 1485.
Description: A state of former slave-soldiers that stopped the Mongols and defeated the Crusaders
Notable: It was ruled by a caste of slave-soldiers replenished annually with new recruits.
Another fact: It halted the Mongol invasion at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.
Description: A Mongol state in Persia, legacy of Hulagu Khan's conquests
Notable: It was founded by Hulagu Khan, who destroyed Baghdad in 1258.
Another fact: Its rulers eventually converted to Islam, abandoning Mongol traditions.
Description: The Mongol dynasty that united China under Kublai Khan
Notable: Kublai, founder of Yuan, was a grandson of Genghis Khan.
Another fact: Under the Mongol dynasty, China first received foreign guests such as the Venetian Marco Polo.
Description: Six centuries of power from the Balkans to Arabia
Notable: At its peak, the Ottoman Empire controlled territory on three continents at once.
Another fact: The empire governed subjects of different religions through a system of autonomous communities, the millets.
Description: The last major Hindu bastion of southern India
Notable: Vijayanagara remained the largest Hindu state during the era of India's Islamic sultanates.
Another fact: The empire's capital astonished European travelers with a size comparable to Rome of the time.
Description: Japan's second military government, the Muromachi era
Notable: The period saw a flourishing of tea ceremony culture and garden art.
Another fact: It gradually weakened, leading the country into a century of civil war.
Description: An independent sultanate in the Himalayas before absorption into the Mughal Empire
Notable: It was ruled by independent sultans before being absorbed into the Mughal Empire.
Another fact: The region remains a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan to this day.
Description: A major Volga principality that rivaled Moscow
Notable: It briefly rivaled Moscow for leadership in northeastern Rus.
Another fact: It was finally annexed to Moscow under Vasily I.
Description: The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan Plateau
Notable: It was the first to bring Persian court culture to the Deccan Plateau.
Another fact: It broke apart into five successor sultanates in the early 16th century.
Description: A veche republic of northwestern Rus alongside Novgorod
Notable: It was governed by a popular assembly like Novgorod, but was formally its 'younger brother.'
Another fact: It retained independence from Moscow longer than most Rus lands.
Description: A union of Northern European trading cities dominating Baltic commerce
Notable: It united up to 200 cities across Northern Europe at various points.
Another fact: It had no permanent capital, army, or unified government.
Description: Restored Chinese rule, the era of the Forbidden City
Notable: Under Ming, the Forbidden City in Beijing, residence of China's emperors, was built.
Another fact: Under this dynasty, Admiral Zheng He made seven maritime expeditions as far as East Africa.
Description: Tamerlane's power, centered on Samarkand
Notable: Timur claimed descent from Genghis Khan's line, though historians doubt it.
Another fact: Under the Timurids, the capital Samarkand became a major center of Islamic science and architecture.
Description: The Korean dynasty that ruled for nearly five centuries
Notable: It made Confucianism the state ideology in place of Buddhism.
Another fact: Under King Sejong, it created the Korean Hangul alphabet.
Description: A personal union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under the Danish crown
Notable: It united three Scandinavian crowns under a single monarch.
Another fact: It collapsed after Sweden's revolt against Danish dominance.
Description: A South Indian principality, especially powerful under Tipu Sultan
Notable: Under Tipu Sultan, it was the first in India to use rocket weaponry in battle.
Another fact: It was conquered by the British after a series of Anglo-Mysore wars.
Description: One of the longest-lasting Vietnamese dynasties
Notable: Under this dynasty, Vietnam reached its greatest territorial expansion to the south.
Another fact: It went through a period when real power belonged to rival regent clans.
Description: An island state of the Ryukyu archipelago before annexation by Japan
Notable: It thrived as a trade intermediary between China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Another fact: It was formally annexed by Japan and turned into Okinawa Prefecture.
Description: A Turkic khanate on the Volga, heir to the Golden Horde
Notable: It was annexed by Russia under Ivan the Terrible after a long siege in 1552.
Another fact: It remained an important center of Tatar culture and trade on the Volga.
Description: A nomadic state between the Volga and the Urals
Notable: It roamed between the Volga and the Urals, with no permanent capital.
Another fact: It gradually disintegrated under pressure from the Russian state and the Kalmyks.
Description: The Golden Horde's heir in the Black Sea region, an Ottoman vassal
Notable: For centuries it raided Russian and Polish lands to capture slaves.
Another fact: It was annexed to the Russian Empire by Catherine II in 1783.
Description: A principality in the northeast of the Rus lands
Notable: It served as a gateway for Russian colonization of the Urals and western Siberia.
Another fact: It was annexed to Moscow during the reign of Ivan III.
Description: A state of Kazakh tribes in Central Asia
Notable: It split into three zhuzes (tribal confederations) each with its own rulers.
Another fact: It gradually came under Russian imperial control in the 18th–19th centuries.
Description: The khanate of the lower Volga, heir to the Golden Horde
Notable: It controlled the mouth of the Volga and trade routes to the Caspian Sea.
Another fact: It was annexed to the Russian state shortly after the fall of Kazan.
Description: A Turko-Mongol khanate of western Siberia
Notable: It was conquered by the Cossack detachment of ataman Yermak Timofeyevich.
Another fact: Its conquest opened the way for Russian colonization of Siberia.
Description: The last independent kingdom of Sri Lanka
Notable: It successfully resisted Portuguese and Dutch colonizers for centuries.
Another fact: It fell to British rule, the last of the island's independent states.
Description: One of the Deccan sultanates that fought the Mughal Empire
Notable: It built one of the largest unreinforced domes of the medieval world.
Another fact: It was conquered by the Mughal Empire under Emperor Aurangzeb.
Description: The first truly global colonial power
Notable: Spanish galleons carried silver to Europe in quantities that reshaped the world economy of the time.
Another fact: Spain's American colonies became the largest source of silver in world history at that point.
Description: An Uzbek state in Central Asia centered on Bukhara
Notable: It later became an emirate and survived as a Russian protectorate until 1920.
Another fact: It was abolished by the Bolsheviks and turned into a Soviet republic.
Description: A Persian power that made Shia Islam the state religion
Notable: The Safavids made Twelver Shia Islam the state religion, a rarity among Muslim powers of the time.
Another fact: The dynasty traced its origins to a Sufi religious order rather than a military elite.
Description: An Uzbek state in the Khwarazm oasis
Notable: It was located in the Khwarazm oasis in the Karakum Desert.
Another fact: It became a protectorate of the Russian Empire in 1873.
Description: A Deccan sultanate famous for its diamond mines
Notable: It controlled famous diamond mines, including the source of the Koh-i-Noor.
Another fact: It fell after a long siege by Mughal forces in 1687.
Description: One of the wealthiest powers of its era
Notable: Under the Mughals, the Taj Mahal was built, one of the world's most recognized architectural landmarks.
Another fact: At its peak, the empire accounted for roughly a quarter of world industrial output.
Description: From Quebec to Algeria
Notable: French remains an official language across dozens of countries thanks to this colonial legacy.
Another fact: Its colonial holdings peaked in the 1920s, exceeding 12 million square kilometers beyond mainland France.
Description: The centralized state that gathered the Rus lands
Notable: It was under the Tsardom of Muscovy in 1547 that Ivan IV first took the title of tsar.
Another fact: The tsardom's territory grew several times over through the annexation of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia.
Description: The Dutch republic, one of the first republics of the modern era
Notable: It became one of the world's first republics governed by a merchant bourgeoisie.
Another fact: It experienced a golden age of painting, including Rembrandt and Vermeer.
Description: The largest empire in history by territory
Notable: At its peak, the empire covered nearly a quarter of the planet's land area.
Another fact: At its peak, it covered about a quarter of the planet's land and nearly a quarter of its population.
Description: A maritime trading power controlling Indonesia and other colonies
Notable: It founded the Dutch East India Company, one of the world's first joint-stock companies.
Another fact: It controlled present-day Indonesia for nearly three and a half centuries.
Description: Japan's last and longest-lived military government
Notable: It pursued a policy of national self-isolation for nearly two and a half centuries.
Another fact: It ended with the Meiji Restoration and the return of full power to the emperor.
Description: A Baltic power at its peak before defeat by Russia
Notable: It controlled a significant stretch of the Baltic Sea coast at its height.
Another fact: It lost great-power status after defeat by Russia in the Great Northern War.
Description: The last great nomadic power of Central Asia
Notable: The Dzungars were the last major nomadic state to be defeated and nearly annihilated by Qing China.
Another fact: The state waged nearly continuous wars against Qing China for a century.
Description: China's last imperial dynasty
Notable: Qing was a Manchu, not ethnically Chinese dynasty, yet ruled China for nearly three centuries.
Another fact: The dynasty nearly doubled China's territory, annexing Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia.
Description: A Hindu confederacy that challenged the Mughals and the British
Notable: The Marathas introduced a unique tax system for conquered territories, called chauth.
Another fact: The confederacy of Maratha princes nominally recognized the supremacy of a single Peshwa (chief minister).
Description: A German kingdom that became the core of unified Germany
Notable: It grew out of the modest Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Teutonic Order.
Another fact: It led the unification of Germany under Chancellor Bismarck.
Description: The last of the three Uzbek khanates of Central Asia
Notable: It controlled the Fergana Valley, one of the most fertile regions of Central Asia.
Another fact: It was abolished and annexed to the Russian Empire in 1876.
Description: From Peter the Great to the February Revolution
Notable: The Russian Empire became the largest land state that had existed in the world up to that point.
Another fact: The empire bordered Europe, Asia, and North America simultaneously (before the sale of Alaska).
Description: The largest and wealthiest princely state of colonial India
Notable: Its ruler, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was considered one of the richest men in the world.
Another fact: It was forcibly integrated into independent India in 1948.
Description: A South Indian princely state in present-day Kerala
Notable: It was among the first Indian princely states to introduce universal schooling.
Another fact: It was known for a literacy rate far higher than the rest of colonial India.
Description: Nader Shah's Persian power, briefly uniting Iran and part of India
Notable: Nader Shah sacked Delhi and carried off the legendary Peacock Throne.
Another fact: The empire fell apart almost immediately after its founder was assassinated.
Description: The first alliance of the House of Saud with the Wahhabi movement
Notable: It arose from the alliance of religious reformer al-Wahhab and ruler Ibn Saud.
Another fact: It was destroyed by an Egyptian army acting on the Ottoman sultan's orders.
Description: A Persian dynasty between the Afsharids and Qajars
Notable: It is considered one of the most stable and enlightened periods of Persian history.
Another fact: Its founder Karim Khan pointedly refused to adopt the title of Shah.
Description: A Himalayan kingdom unified by the Shah dynasty
Notable: It was the only Hindu kingdom to retain that status into the 21st century.
Another fact: It became a federal republic after the monarchy was abolished in 2008.
Description: A Persian monarchy, forerunner of modern Iran
Notable: It lost significant Caucasian territory in wars with the Russian Empire.
Another fact: It was overthrown in Reza Khan's 1925 coup.
Description: Maharaja Ranjit Singh's state in Punjab
Notable: It united Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule.
Another fact: It collapsed after two Anglo-Sikh Wars and was annexed to British India.
Description: Vietnam's last imperial dynasty
Notable: It built a new imperial capital in the city of Hue.
Another fact: It gradually fell under French colonial protectorate status.
Description: Napoleon's continental power at the height of European expansion
Notable: At its peak it controlled or dominated most of continental Europe.
Another fact: It collapsed after the defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
Description: A unified kingdom of southern Italy before joining unified Italy
Notable: Formed by the union of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily.
Another fact: It ceased to exist after being annexed to unified Italy by Garibaldi.
Description: The restored Saudi state in Najd after its earlier defeat
Notable: It restored the House of Saud's rule after its first defeat.
Another fact: It collapsed due to internal feuding with the rival Rashidi clan.
Description: A rebel quasi-state in southern China during the Taiping Rebellion
Notable: It was led by a man who declared himself the younger brother of Jesus Christ.
Another fact: The rebellion killed an estimated 20 to 30 million people.
Description: Direct colonial rule by the British crown
Notable: British India was administered by a relatively small number of officials given the subcontinent's vast population.
Another fact: It was governed from London through the India Office and a viceroy on the ground.
Description: The unified Italian state before the republic was declared
Notable: Formed by the Risorgimento movement for national unification.
Another fact: It ended after the 1946 referendum that established the republic.
Description: The multinational Habsburg power
Notable: The empire united more than a dozen officially recognized nationalities and languages.
Another fact: The dual monarchy united more than a dozen officially recognized nationalities.
Description: From the Meiji Restoration to defeat in World War II
Notable: The Empire of Japan industrialized faster than any other non-Western power of its time.
Another fact: The empire's military expansion covered Korea, Taiwan, and part of mainland China.
Description: Bismarck's unified power, one of the world's leading states
Notable: The empire was proclaimed not in Berlin but at the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, France.
Another fact: The empire united 25 previously independent German states under Prussian leadership.
Description: The last independent Korean state before Japanese annexation
Notable: It was proclaimed in an attempt to assert Korea's full sovereignty among the powers.
Another fact: It was annexed by Japan, ending Korean independence for 35 years.
Description: An Arabian kingdom that preceded the founding of Saudi Arabia
Notable: It controlled the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Another fact: It was conquered by the forces of the House of Saud, who founded modern Saudi Arabia.
Description: A brief form of government between the fall of the monarchy and the October Revolution
Notable: It was proclaimed by the Provisional Government after the abdication of Nicholas II.
Another fact: It lasted only a few months before the Bolshevik seizure of power.
Description: The Soviet republic that became the core of the future Soviet Union
Notable: It was the largest by territory of the Soviet republics that formed the Union.
Another fact: It remained formally a separate state until 1922.
Description: A multinational South Slavic state in the Balkans
Notable: It united Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and other South Slavic peoples.
Another fact: It broke apart in a series of bloody wars in the 1990s.
Description: A Central European state that split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
Notable: It formed after the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918.
Another fact: It peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
Description: A buffer state in the Far East during the Civil War
Notable: It was created as a buffer between Soviet Russia and Japan.
Another fact: It was formally absorbed into the RSFSR after the withdrawal of Japanese troops.
Description: A Hashemite monarchy created after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
Notable: It was created by the British under a Hashemite dynasty.
Another fact: It fell in a 1958 military coup.
Description: The largest state by area of the 20th century
Notable: At its peak, Soviet territory spanned eleven time zones.
Another fact: The state united fifteen union republics under the leadership of a single ruling party.
Description: Nazi Germany — the most destructive regime of the 20th century
Notable: By death toll, the most destructive power of the 20th century lasted just over 12 years.
Another fact: The regime lasted under 13 years but caused the most destructive war in human history.