[Video] The Rulers of the 5 Largest Empires in History

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The Rulers of the 5 Largest Empires in History

Throughout history, a select group of rulers have stood at the helm of the world’s greatest and largest empires—territorial juggernauts that shaped geopolitics, culture, and commerce on a global scale. Their reigns, spanning centuries and continents, defined eras and left legacies that still reverberate today.

Napoleon Bonaparte, although ruling a relatively small empire of approximately 11.5 million square kilometers, exerted an outsized influence over early 19th-century Europe. By 1812, Napoleon controlled much of the continent through direct rule, alliances, and vassal states. His sweeping military campaigns redrawn the political map of Europe and ushered in legal reforms, most notably the Napoleonic Code, which continues to influence legal systems worldwide.

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, laid the foundation for the Spanish Empire’s global reach, which reached its peak in the 16th century under his descendants. Although he did not witness its territorial maximum firsthand, Charles V ruled over a vast transcontinental dominion in the 16th century that included Spain, the Low Countries, parts of Italy, and extensive areas of the Americas. His rule initiated an era in which Spanish holdings were so far-flung that daylight always touched some part of them, making Spain the first empire to achieve a true global reach, spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

Meanwhile, in the 19th century, Tsar Alexander II ruled the Russian Empire, which reached its maximum territorial size of approximately 22.8 million square kilometers. Known for modernizing reforms, including the emancipation of the serfs, Alexander II also oversaw the empire’s expansion deeper into Central Asia and the Far East. Russia’s vast landmass stretched from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean, covering eleven time zones and making it the third-largest empire in history by area.

Centuries earlier, Kublai Khan presided over the Mongol Empire at its height, becoming one of the most powerful rulers in world history. As the grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai not only completed the Mongol conquest of China but also founded the Yuan dynasty. By around 1279, the Mongol Empire stretched across roughly 24 million square kilometers, making it the largest contiguous land empire ever. Kublai’s rule marked a blend of Mongol military prowess with Chinese administrative sophistication, fostering trade, innovation, and cultural exchange across Eurasia.

At the pinnacle of global empire stood King George V, who reigned during the British Empire’s greatest territorial extent in 1920. Although Queen Victoria oversaw its vast expansion in the 19th century, it was under George V, following the conclusion of World War I, that the British Empire reached its peak, covering approximately 35.5 million square kilometers. Spanning every inhabited continent, from Canada to India to Australia, the empire encompassed nearly a quarter of the world’s population. George V’s rule symbolized Britain’s final moment as the preeminent global power before the winds of decolonization began to shift.

Together, these rulers represent the apex of imperial ambition. Whether by war, diplomacy, colonization, or reform, each played a central role in shaping the course of history. Their empires varied in structure and ideology, but all shared one thing: a moment when their domains stood larger, and arguably more powerful, than any other on Earth.