Empires & Civilizations

The great powers of history — how empires rose, ruled, and fell.

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History Empires & Civilizations

Genghis Khan may be the direct male-line ancestor of about 1 in 200 men alive today

65 sec read

History Empires & Civilizations

The British Empire was the largest in history

45 sec read

History Empires & Civilizations

The Inca ran a 24,000-mile road empire without writing or the wheel

40 sec read

History Empires & Civilizations

Mali's Mansa Musa gave away so much gold he wrecked Cairo's economy

40 sec read

History Empires & Civilizations

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire ever

45 sec read

History Empires & Civilizations

Persia's Royal Road carried a message 1,500 miles in nine days

45 sec read

◆ On this day

On this day in Empires & Civilizations

Browse all 7 by date →

7 Jun 1494

History Empires & Civilizations

Spain and Portugal split the unexplored world along a line

50 sec read

20 Jan 1841

History Empires & Civilizations

Britain takes control of Hong Kong island

50 sec read

13 Feb 1668

History Empires & Civilizations

Spain recognizes Portuguese independence

45 sec read

29 May 1453

History Empires & Civilizations

Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks, ending the Byzantine Empire

45 sec read

4 Sep 476

History Empires & Civilizations

The last Western Roman emperor was deposed

45 sec read

8 Nov 1519

History Empires & Civilizations

Cortés and Moctezuma met on a causeway into Tenochtitlan

40 sec read

16 Nov 1532

History Empires & Civilizations

Pizarro ambushed the Inca emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca

45 sec read