Also Mauryan Empire, Kushan Empire, Mogul Empire, Inca Empire,
Assyrian Empire, Sargonic Empire, Empire of the Huns,
and Empire of the Netherlands ( Indonesia, western half of Australia,
New Amsterdam & territories from Connecticutt to eastern Pennsylvania,
various Antilles islands, South Africa / Transvaal, parts of Brazil /
Surinam,
and so forth ).....
Feature in
Real Clear Politics / Real Clear History
Largest Empires in History
Empire Size (Square Kilometers) _British Empire_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/1/British-Empire)
33.7
Million
_Mongol Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/2/Mongol-Empire)
33.0
Million
_Russian Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/5/Russian-Empire)
23.7
Million
_Spanish Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/6/Spanish-Empire)
20.0
Million
_Qing Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/7/Qing-Empire)
14.7
Million
_Umayyad Caliphate_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/30/Umayyad-Caliphate)
13.0
Million
_Second French Colonial Empire_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/31/Second-French-Colonial-Empire)
12.3
Million
_Ottoman Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/32/Ottoman-Empire)
10.5
Million
_Portuguese Empire_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/33/Portuguese-Empire)
10.4
Million
_American Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/34/American-Empire)
9.80
Million
_Achaemenid Empire_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/35/Achaemenid-Empire)
8.00
Million
_Japanese Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/36/Japanese-Empire)
7.40
Million
_Han Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/37/Han-Empire)
6.50
Million
_Roman Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/38/Roman-Empire)
6.50
Million
_Ming Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/39/Ming-Empire)
6.50
Million
_Göktürk Khaganate_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/42/G-kt-rk-Khaganate)
6.00
Million
_Golden Horde Khanate_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/43/Golden-Horde-Khanate)
6.00
Million
_Uyghur Khaganate_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/44/Uyghur-Khaganate)
5.50
Million
_Tang Empire_ (http://empires.findthedata.org/l/45/Tang-Empire)
5.40
Million
_Macedonian Empire_
(http://empires.findthedata.org/l/189/Macedonian-Empire)
5.20
Million
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
>From Wikipedia
(http://www.reformation.org/en-1648-poland.jpg)
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th
century_[1]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-Baranauskas-1)
until 1795._[2]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-2) It was
founded by the _Lithuanians_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanians) , one of the _polytheistic_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_mythology) _Baltic tribes_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_tribes) from _Aukštaitija_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aukštaitija)
._[3]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-3)
_[4]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-4)
_[5]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-5)
The duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former _Kievan
Rus'_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus') and other Slavic lands,
covering the territory of present-day _Belarus_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus) , _Latvia_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia) , _Lithuania_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania) and parts of _Estonia_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia) , _Moldova_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova) ,
_Poland_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland) , _Russia_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia) and _Ukraine_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine) . At
its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in
Europe._[6]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-6)
It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in
languages, religion, and cultural heritage.
Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century.
_Mindaugas_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindaugas) , the first ruler of the
Grand Duchy, was crowned as _Catholic_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism) _King of Lithuania_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Lithuania)
in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the _religious crusade_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Crusade) by the _Teutonic Knights_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Knights) and the _Livonian Order_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livonian_Order) . The multi-ethnic and
multi-confessional
state emerged only at the late reign of _Gediminas_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gediminas) _[7]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-7) and
continued to expand under his son _Algirdas_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algirdas) ._[8]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-8)
Algirdas's successor _Jogaila_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogaila) signed the _Union of Krewo_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Krewo) in 1386, bringing two major
changes in the
history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: _conversion into Catholicism_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania) and establishment
of a
_dynastic union_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_union) between the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the _Crown of the Kingdom of Poland_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland) ._[9]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-9)
The reign of _Vytautas the Great_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vytautas_the_Great) marked both the greatest
territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy
and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the _Battle of Grunwald_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald) in 1410. It also marked the
rise of the _Lithuanian nobility_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_nobility) . After Vytautas's death,
Lithuania's relationship with the _Kingdom
of Poland_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Poland_(1385–1569))
greatly deteriorated._[10]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-palikimas-10)
Lithuanian noblemen, including the _Radziwiłł
s_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radziwiłł) , attempted to break the
personal union with Poland._[11]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-11) However,
the unsuccessful _Muscovite–Lithuanian
Wars_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovite–Lithuanian_Wars) with the
_Grand Duchy of Moscow_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow)
forced the union to remain intact.
Eventually, the _Union of Lublin_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Lublin) of 1569 created a new state,
the _Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth) . In this
_federation_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation) , the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had a separate
government, laws, army, and treasury _[12]_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania#cite_note-12) This
federation was terminated by the passing
of the _Constitution of May 3, 1791_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3,_1791) , and since then
there was supposed to be but a single
country — Respublica Poloniae — under one monarch and one parliament. The
newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792, and partitioned
between the neighbours, with a truncated state (principal cities being
_Kraków_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraków) , _Warsaw_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw) and _Vilnius_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius) )
remaining only nominally independent; and after the _Kościuszko Uprising_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kościuszko_Uprising) , _partitioned_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland) among the _Russian
Empire_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire) , the _Kingdom of Prussia_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia) and _Austria_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_Monarchy) in 1795.
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