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Largest Empires in History Quiz

How well do you know the largest empires in history? Floored turns the ranking into a building: floor 1 is the top of the list. We name a floor, you guess what's on it, and the lift rides to whatever you picked so you know to go higher or lower.

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Free, no sign-up · 5 lists, a few minutes

How it works

You get a few guesses per floor. Land it on your first guess for 10 points; a near miss still scores. After the empires round, four more lists keep the ride going.

Show the full ranking (26)
  1. British Empire 35.5M km² (1920)
    It was called 'the empire on which the sun never sets'.
  2. Mongol Empire 24.0M km² (1270 or 1309)
    It was the largest contiguous empire in history.
  3. Russian Empire 22.8M km² (1895)
    It sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars.
  4. Qing dynasty 14.7M km² (1790)
    It was China's last imperial dynasty, ending with the last emperor's abdication in 1912.
  5. Spanish Empire 13.7M km² (1810)
    Its last garrison in the Philippines, besieged at Baler, pulled out in 1899.
  6. French colonial empire 11.5M km² (1920)
    French rule in Algeria lasted from the 1830 invasion of Algiers until 1962.
  7. Abbasid Caliphate 11.1M km² (750)
    It hosted Baghdad's House of Wisdom, a center of learning in the Islamic Golden Age.
  8. Umayyad Caliphate 11.1M km² (720)
    Its capital was Damascus for most of its rule.
  9. Yuan dynasty 11.0M km² (1310)
    It was founded by Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan.
  10. United States 9.5M km² (1900)
    It gained Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines from Spain after the 1898 war.
  11. Xiongnu 9.0M km² (176 BC)
    Genetic studies suggest they may have been related to the Huns.
  12. Empire of Brazil 8.337M km² (1889)
    It had only two emperors: Pedro I and his son Pedro II.
  13. Empire of Japan 7.4-8.5M km² (1942)
    It ended when the Constitution of Japan took effect on 3 May 1947.
  14. Eastern Han 6.5M km² (100)
    Court official Cai Lun improved papermaking under this dynasty.
  15. Ming dynasty 6.5M km² (1450)
    It connected and fortified the Great Wall into its modern form.
  16. Rashidun Caliphate 6.4M km² (655)
    It was ruled by the first four caliphs after the Prophet Muhammad.
  17. First Turkic Khaganate 6.0M km² (557)
    It was founded by Bumin Qaghan of the Ashina clan of the Gokturks.
  18. Golden Horde 6.0M km² (1310)
    Moscow formally threw off its rule, the 'Tatar yoke', in 1480.
  19. Western Han 6.0M km² (50 BC)
    Zhang Qian's journeys west for this dynasty helped create the Silk Road.
  20. Achaemenid Empire 5.5M km² (500 BC)
    It was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC.
  21. Portuguese Empire 5.5M km² (1820)
    It ended after nearly 600 years when Portugal returned Macau to China in 1999.
  22. Tang dynasty 5.4M km² (715)
    Its capital, Chang'an, was the world's most populous city for much of its rule.
  23. Macedonian Empire 5.2M km² (323 BC)
    Alexander the Great built it as king from 336 BC until his death in 323 BC.
  24. Ottoman Empire 5.2M km² (1683)
    Constantinople, which it took in 1453, became its capital, now Istanbul.
  25. Northern Yuan 5.0M km² (1368)
    It was the Mongol rump state left after the Yuan dynasty collapsed in 1368.
  26. Roman Empire 5.0M km² (117)
    It reached its greatest extent under the emperor Trajan.

Source: Wikipedia: List of largest empires (Empires at their greatest extent) · as of 2026-10

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