List of longest empires

This is a list of empires according to their length of existence.

Less than a decade in existence

Empire	Origin	Existence	align=center nowrap\|From	align=center nowrap\|To	align=center nowrap\|Demise
Serbian	Modern-day northern Vojvodina, Serbia	1 year	1526	1527	state of a mercenary, Jovan Nenad
First Mexican Empire	Modern-day Mexico	1 year	1822	1823	Preceded the Second Mexican Empire* which was short lived (1864-1867). See also Mexican Imperial Orders*
Haitian	North America	2 years	1804	1806	Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared himself Emperor
Central African	Central African Republic	2 years	1977	1979	Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared himself Emperor Bokassa in 1977
Second Mexican Empire	Modern-day Mexico	3 years	1864	1867	Succeeded the First Mexican Empire* which was short lived (1822-1823). See also Mexican Imperial Orders*
Irish	Ireland	9 years	1005	1014

More than a decade in existence

Empire	Origin	Existence	align=center nowrap\|From	align=center nowrap\|To	align=center nowrap\|Demise	align=center nowrap\|Note
First French Empire	France	10 years	1804	1814
Colombian	Colombia	12 years	1819	1831	see Gran Colombia
Third Reich	Germany	12 years	1933	1945	Destroyed by invasion of Allied forces in WWII	[...] Germany signed a treaty (Tripartite Pact) with the Japanese and Italian Empires
Palmyrene	Syria (Roman province)	13 years	260	273	broke off the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century
Korean	Korean Peninsula	13 years	1897	1910	See also Goryeo
Gallic	Rhineland-Palatinate	14 years	260	274	In Latin, Imperium Galliarum
Second French Empire	France	18 years	1852	1870
Macedonian	Greece	29 years	338 BC	309 BC	Founded by Alexander the Great
Rashidun	Saudi Arabia	29 years	632	661
Armenian	modern day Armenia	35 years	95 BC	60 BC		Tigranes was named as the king of kings.
Harsha	India	41 years	606	647
Athenian	Ancient Greece	46 years	477 BC	431 BC		Also known as Delian League. It was an association of Greek city-states
German	Germany	47 years	1871	1918
Sikh	Punjab region	48 years	1801	1849	Preceded the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent
Austro-Hungarian	Central Europe	51 years	1867	1918		Replaced the Austrian Empire
Nicaean	Anatolia	57 years	1204	1261
Latin	Asia Minor	57 years	1204	1261	See also Crusader states
Belgian	Belgium	61 years	1901	1962		overseas possessions were referred to as "the colonies" rather than as an empire
Zulu	South Africa	62 years	1817	1879	Powerful bantu kingdom founded by Shaka
Austrian	Modern day Austria	63 years	1804	1867		Replaced the Holy Roman Empire
Great Moravia	Mitteleuropa/Central Europe	67 years	833	900	The word "Moravia" did not refer only to present-day Moravia
Brazilian	Brazil	67 years	1822	1889		Established by the Portuguese royal family went into exile in Brazil after Napoleonic occupation of Portugal
Soviet	Russia	69 years	1922	1991	Not a de jure empire. It referred to economic and cultural influence
Almoravid	Morocco	74 years	1073	1147		See also Almohads
Japanese	Japan	74 years	1871	1945	See also Meiji Era, Taisho Era and Showa Era
American Empire	The United States of America	75 years	1932	Present	Currently only World superpower	Not a de jure empire. It referred to economic and cultural influence
Incan	Peru	95 years	1438	1533

More than a century in existence

Empire	Origin	Existence	align=center nowrap\|From	align=center nowrap\|To	align=center nowrap\|Demise	align=center nowrap\|Note
Abbasid	Modern-day Iraq	767 years	750	1517		See also Umayyad Empire
Achaemenid	Persia (Iran)	980 years	650 BC	330 BC		aka Persian Empire
Akkadian	Sumer	200 years	2350 BC	2150 BC
Almohad	Morocco	115 years	1147	1262		See also Almoravids
Axumite	Ethiopia	850 years	c. 100	c. 950
Aztec	Mesoamerica	146 years	1375	1521	Destroyed by invasion of Spanish Empire	The capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.
Babylonian	Mesopotamia	300 years	1900 BC	1600 BC		See also Neo-Babylonian Empire
Bornu	Niger	497 years	1396	1893		Second empire of the Sayfawa Dynasty
British	Britain	414 years	1583	present		It refers to economic and cultural influence, and holds many overseas territories. Largest Empire in world history
First Bulgarian Empire	Danube delta	337 years	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
Second Bulgarian Empire	Veliko Tarnovo	211 years	1185	1396	Destroyed by invasion of Ottoman Empire	Successor of the First Bulgarian Empire. Under the Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II became the most powerful state on the Balkans
Chalukya	India	600 years	600	1200	see Chalukya dynasty
Chera	Southern India	600 years	c. 300 BC	c. 300	A Tamil empire
Chola	Southern India	429 years	c. 850	1279	''A Tamil empire
Dutch	Netherlands	352 years	1602	1954	See also Dutch East India Company
Ethiopian	Ethiopia	705 years	1270	1975
Egyptian Empire	Egypt, Africa	500 years	1570 BC	1070 BC
First Colonial	France	198 years	1605	1803
Fatimid	Egypt	261 years	910	1171
Second Colonial French	France	130 years	1830	1960
Frankish	Gaul	500 years	5th century	10th century
Ghana	Mauritania	326 years	750	1076	See also Wagadou Empire
Ghaznavid Empire	Greater Iran	224 years	963	1187	See also Persian Empire
Golden Horde	Central Asia	124 years	1378	1502	Broke up of the Mongol Empire
Gupta Empire	Indian subcontinent	310 years	240	550
Han	China	426 years	206 BC	220
Hebrew	Israel	130 years	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.
Hittite	Anatolia	280 years	1460 BC	1180 BC	See also Neo-Hittite
Hoysala	India	400 years	1000	1400
Hungarian	Central Europe	918 years	1000	1918
Italian	Modern day Italy	56 years	1885	1941
Kanem	Chad	676 years	700	1376		First empire in one of the longest dynasties in African history
Khmer	Nowadays Cambodia	660 years	802	1462	seceded from the kingdom of Chenla
Kongo	Southwest Africa	488 years	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
Khwar	Afghanistan	200 years	11th Century	1220
Magadhan	Ancient India	658 years	684 BC	26 BC	See also Mahajanapadas and Maurya Empire
Mali	West Africa	375 years	1235	1610	A Mandinka empire founded by Sundiata Keita
Maratha	Indian subcontinent	144 years	1674	1818	Also known as the Maratha Confederacy.
Mauryan	Ancient India	136 years	321 BC	185 BC	Founded by Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka the Great transformed it into the first Buddhist empire
Ming	China	276 years	1368	1644
Mitanni	Southern Asia	300 years	c. 1500 BC	c. 1200 BC	Founded by Indo-Aryans
Mongol	Mongolia	162 years	1206	1368	split into four parts (Yuan Dynasty, Il-Khanate, Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde)
Mughal	India,Pakistan	331 years	1526	1857	Founded by Babur. "Mughal" is a Persian word for the Mongols
Neo-Assyrian	Mesopotamia	334 years	943 BC	609 BC		Exact origin at Upper Tigris river
Ottoman	Anatolia	624 years	1299	1923	''Capitals were Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne and lastly Istanbul
Pala	Bengal	424 years	750	1174
First Pandyan	India	360 years	560	920	Considered by contemporary historians as being the richest country in the world
Second Pandyan	India	95 years	1250	1345	During revival period
Parthian	Persia	424 years	200 BC	224	See Persian Empire
Portuguese	Portugal	584 years	1415	1999	Was the earliest and longest lived of the colonial Western European empires
Qing	China	276 years	1636	1912	Last dynasty of the Imperial Period
Holy Roman	Central Europe	963 years	843	1806	Also known as The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. See also Roman Empire
Roman	Modern Italy	985 years	509 BC	476	See also Roman Republic and Imperium
Russian	Russia	196 years	1721	1917	formed from the powerful medieval state of Muscovy
Sassanid	Persia (Iran)	418 years	224	642	Second Persian Empire
Satavahana	India	429 years	230 BC	199	Indian Middle Kingdoms Middle kingdoms of India
Seleucid	Persia (Iran)	263 years	323 BC	60 BC
Seljuk	Aral Sea, Asia Minor	157 years	1037	1194
Serbian	Serbian Kingdom	26 years	1345	1371	fell into feudal disarray
Siam	Thailand	564 years	1345	1909
Song	China	319 years	960	1279
Songhai	West Africa	216 years	1375	1591	Former vassal of the Mali Empire which became one of the largest African empires in history.
Spanish	Iberian peninsula	483 years	1492	1975	Was the first truly global empire
Swedish	Scandinavia	107 years	1611	1718
Tang	China	289 years	618	907
Tibetan	Tibet	400 years	7th century	11th century
Timurid	Persia and Central Asia	104 years	1401	1505		Persianized form of the Mongolian word kürügän
Trebizond	Black Sea	257 years	1204	1461		Successor state of the Byzantine Empire
Tu'i Tongan	Tonga, Pacific Ocean	550 years	950 AD	1500 AD		See History of Tonga
Umayyad	Syria	831 years	661	1492	Descendants of Prophet Muhammad
Ur III	Sumer	100 years	2100 BC	2000 BC	The dynasty/empire is also known as the Sumerian Renaissance
Vedic	India	600 years	600 BC	1200	''See Kingdoms of ancient India and Mahajanapadas
Vijayanagara	South India	324 years	1336	1660	The founding of the original kingdom was based on the principality of Anegondi

More than a millenium in existence

Empire	Origin	Existence	align=center nowrap\|From	align=center nowrap\|To	align=center nowrap\|Demise	align=center nowrap\|Note
Venetian	Northeast Italy	1100 years	697	1797	''More a republic than an empire. Also known as The Most Serene Republic of Venice
Byzantine	Asia Minor	1123 years	330	1453	Destroyed by invasion of Ottoman Empire	Term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages
Elamite	Ilam Province, Persia (Iran)	1600 years	2700 BC	1100 BC

1050 BC1070 BC1100 BC1180 BC1250127913451460 BC1500 AD1570 BC1600 BC185 BC1900 BC1932200 BC2000 BC206 BC2100 BC2150 BC220230 BC2350 BC26 BC2700 BC300300 BC309 BC321 BC323 BC330 BC338 BC431 BC477 BC509 BC56060 BC600 BC609 BC618650 BC684 BC850907920920 BC943 BC95 BC950 ADAbbasid EmpireAchaemenid EmpireAfghanistanAkkadian EmpireAlexander the GreatAlmohadAlmohadsAlmoravidAlmoravidsAmerican EmpireAnatoliaAncient GreeceAnegondiAngolaAral SeaArmeniaArmenian EmpireAshokaAsia MinorAsparukh of BulgariaAthenian EmpireAustriaAustria-HungaryAustrian EmpireAxumite EmpireAztecBaburBabylonian EmpireBaKongoBalkansBasil IIBelgian colonial empireBelgiumBengalBlack SeaBornu EmpireBrazilBrazilian EmpireBrian BoruBritish EmpireBuddhismBulgarsBursa, TurkeyByzantine EmpireCambodiaCentral African EmpireCentral African RepublicCentral AsiaCentral EuropeChadChagatai KhanateChalukyaChalukya dynastyChandragupta MauryaChenlaChera EmpireChinaChola EmpireColombiaColonialCrisis of the Third CenturyCrusader statesDanubeDemocratic Republic of the CongoDutch East India CompanyDutch EmpireEarly Modern BritainEdirneEgyptElamite EmpireEmpire of Haiti (1804-1806)Empire of JapanEmpire of TrebizondEthiopiaEthiopian EmpireFatimidFirst Bulgarian EmpireFirst French EmpireFirst Mexican EmpireFranceFrankish EmpireFrench colonial empiresGallic EmpireGaulGerman EmpireGermanyGhana EmpireGhaznavid EmpireGlobal empireGolden HordeGoryeoGran ColombiaGreat MoraviaGreater IranGreeceGreek languageGupta EmpireHan EmpireHarshaHistory of SerbiaHistory of TibetHistory of TongaHittite EmpireHoly Roman EmpireHouse of BraganzaHoysalaIberian peninsulaIl-KhanateIlam ProvinceImperiumIncan EmpireIndiaIndian subcontinentIndo-AryansIranIraqIrelandIsraelIstanbulItalian EmpireItalyIvan Asen II of BulgariaJapanJean-Bédel BokassaJean-Jacques DessalinesJovan NenadKaloyan of BulgariaKanem EmpireKhmer EmpireKhwarezmid EmpireKingdom of HungaryKingdom of IsraelKingdom of JudahKingdoms of Ancient IndiaKongo EmpireKorean EmpireKorean PeninsulaLatin EmpireLatin languageList of empiresList of extinct statesList of largest empiresMacedonMagadhanMahajanapadasMali EmpireMandinkaMaratha EmpireMauritaniaMaurya EmpireMeiji EraMesoamericaMesopotamiaMexican Imperial OrdersMexicoMexico CityMiddle AgesMiddle kingdoms of IndiaMing DynastyMitanniMitteleuropaMongol EmpireMongoliaMongolsMoraviaMoroccoMughal EmpireMuhammadMuscovyNapoleonNazi GermanyNeo-Assyrian EmpireNeo-Babylonian EmpireNeo-HittiteNetherlandsNew KingdomNicaean EmpireNigerNortheast ItalyOttoman EmpirePacific OceanPakistanPala EmpirePalmyrene EmpirePandyan EmpireParthian EmpirePersiaPersian EmpirePersian languagePeruPortugalPortuguese EmpirePresentPunjab regionQingRashidunRepublic of the CongoRepublic of VeniceRhineland-PalatinateRoman EmpireRoman RepublicRussiaRussian EmpireSassanian EmpireSatavahanaSaudi ArabiaSayfawa DynastyScandinaviaSecond Bulgarian EmpireSecond French EmpireSecond Mexican EmpireSeleucid EmpireSeljuk EmpireSerbiaSerbian EmpireShakaShowa EraSiam EmpireSikh EmpireSimeon I of BulgariaSlavic peoplesSöğütSong EmpireSonghai EmpireSouth AfricaSouth AsiaSouth IndiaSouthern IndiaSoviet UnionSpanish EmpireSumerSundiata KeitaSwedish EmpireSyriaSyria (Roman province)Taisho EraTamil NaduTang EmpireThailandThe United States of AmericaTibetTigrisTimurid EmpireTongaTsarTu'i Tonga EmpireUmayyad EmpireUnited MonarchyUr III EmpireVedic periodVeliko TarnovoVijayanagara EmpireVojvodinaWagadou EmpireWest AfricaWestern EuropeYuan DynastyZulu Empire

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Captured: May 8, 2026 4:40 PM

List of longest empires

Less than a decade in existence

More than a decade in existence

More than a century in existence

More than a millenium in existence

See also

See Also

European empires

List of foreign residents in Japan (December 1941)

List of British personal unions

List of Soviet Union-related topics

List of Byzantine Empire-related topics