How should one measure the size of an empire? By the amount of landmass accumulated? By the number of peoples subjugated? The British Empire, self-described as so expansive that the sun always shone on a portion of it, stretched around the world. But in contiguous landmass it never eclipsed the Russian Empire of the Tsars, nor the ancient Empire of the Mongols. Chinese imperial dynasties ruled over vast populations, but are little considered by most westerners when ranking history’s empires. When French Empires are considered that of Napoleon leaps to mind. Yet Napoleon’s realms were dwarfed by the Second French Colonial Empire, which reached its peak in 1920, controlling roughly 8.5 % of the world’s landmasses.

Arguably the most famous of all the Ancient Empires, the Roman Empire, at its peak controlled less than half of what the French Second Colonial Empire dominated. At its peak, Roman Emperor Hadrian ruled over about three and three quarters percent of the world. By comparison the United States of America covers over 6% of the world’s landmass. So, the great Roman Empire doesn’t qualify as one of the largest in the history of the world, though it qualifies as having perhaps the greatest influence on the history of Western Civilization. Its adoption of Christianity alone places it in that rank. Here are 15 of the largest Empires in history, though not included solely for their physical size.

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