The borders of countries have changed a lot over a few thousand years.
After all, there was a time when Mali was the richest country on the planet and Mongolia
ruled most Europe and Asia.
Mali and Mongolia still exist - the same can’t be said for these empires and countries.
Here are ten massive countries that no longer exist.
#10.
Land of Punt
What happened to this ancient kingdom?
The scariest thing is, no one really knows.
What we do know is that it was a major trading partner of the Ancient Egyptians, and was
reportedly rather wealthy.
It specialized in trading luxury goods like gold, resins, valuable woods, ivory, and wild
animals.
The Ancient Egyptians would send trade envoys to it, and return with goods worthy of the
Pharaoh.
This would continue across the dynasties starting with the fourth dynasty, as the famous Pharaoh
Khufu had his castle adorned with gold from Punt.
But where was it exactly?
That’s the big mystery.
It’s believed that it was close to Egypt, maybe situated on the Horn of Africa, but
outside the sphere of influence of the Egyptian empire.
But actual evidence that the kingdom existed is few and far between, given that records
of it date back to well over four thousand years ago during the height of Ancient Egypt.
Expeditions continued for several hundred years, into the reign of Queen Hatshepsut,
who sent a five-ship voyage to Punt.
The stories of the expedition were carved on temple walls, referencing the kingdom being
rules by King Parahu and Queen Ati.
But little is known about the culture or people of this mysterious kingdom.
So what actually happened to this kingdom?
Much like its location, it’s largely a mystery!
While current-day Somalia is seen as the most likely location for this mysterious kingdom,
and today a small region called Puntland exists in the country.
Other theories point to the Arabian peninsula or even Sri Lanka as the location of this
ancient nation- which would have been made the voyage from Egypt much lengthier.
As for what happened to the Land of Punt, the odds are that it was overrun by one of
the many larger empires surrounding it, after which the Land of Punt faded into myth.
But some ancient countries left their mark on history.
#9.
Babylon
One of the earliest empires in the current-day Middle East, Babylon started in the most humble
of ways - a small provincial town in the middle of the larger Akkadian empire.
But by the 18th century BC, it was expanding rapidly - and it was partly due to one man.
King Hammurabi, the former ruler of Babylon, is one of the few ancient kings still known
today, mostly because of the complex system of laws he created and had engraved on towers.
As his power grew, so did Babylon’s - and soon the small town had grown into an empire
in its own right.
And soon, it would be a force to be reckoned with.
So how did Hammurabi transform the region?
He was one of the most effective bureaucratic leaders of the ancient world.
From 1792 BCE, he created a system of taxation and centralized government that built the
city of Babylon into a powerhouse.
And from there, he spread out - conquering much of southern Mesopotamia.
Soon the whole region would be known as Babylonia.
At its peak, it was the largest power in the Middle East and projected its cultural power
far beyond its borders.
But cultural power only goes so far.
Babylonia was undoubtedly a powerful nation, but it was surrounded by an even more powerful
one - the ancient Assyrian empire.
While Hammurabi’s empire spread far and wide, the area didn’t really have defensible
borders, leaving the city of Babylon vulnerable to attacks.
After Hammurabi, his successor quickly lost territory a lot of the empire’s territory,
and Babylon would eventually be sacked, bringing an end to the ancient civilization.
This included the loss of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon.
But no one is immune to the decline of empires.
#8.
Assyria
Empires rise and fall in a hurry sometimes, as Babylonia only lasted a little more than
a generation at its peak.
And then there are those which can span thousands of years and overrun everyone in their way.
That was the case with Assyria, a massive Mesopotamian civilization which first emerged
as a city-state in the 21st century BC.
It would exist as a regional power for seven hundred years before expanding massively and
becoming the most powerful empire in the region.
At its peak, its base in modern Iraq would expand in all directions, occupying parts
of modern-day Turkey and Egypt.
And it seemed unbeatable.
For a long while, the Assyrian period was the strongest military power in the world
and its largest empire.
While its city-state period was marked by frequent upheaval and colonial occupation,
once it rose as an empire in the 14th century BCE it seemed like no one could stop it.
The Assyrian army was known for its ruthless tactics, including making copious use of the
infamous torture of flaying.
But while it was known as a warrior society whose kings often led the army, it also developed
effective administrative systems that could manage its large territory better than its
rivals.
In many ways, it was the blueprint for the empires that came after like Rome.
So what went wrong?
It’s a common cause for the end of empires - a change in leadership.
Sargon II and his son were the empire’s strongest leaders, but not long afterwards
in the 7th century BCE, the empire became preoccupied by the issue of Babylonian rebels.
Frequent revolts, along with the invasion of the Medes people from modern-day Iran,
led the empire to crumble.
Assyria soon ceased to exist as an independent state, but it left a legacy - its religion
and culture are among the most influential in ancient times, and many remnants of its
culture exist even today.
Assyria has many more artifacts left compared to other empires of the time, and they can
still be seen in museums around the world.
This next empire gave the world’s most powerful a run for its money.
#7.
Carthage
Few things are more important to an empire than access to the ocean, and an empire setting
up shop in the Mediterranean sea would have a big advantage.
So around the 9th century, colonists from the Phoenecian city-state of Tyre settled
in northern Africa.
The colony of Carthage would soon grow into the Mediterranean’s most powerful empire,
spreading across both sides of the sea as far as Iberia, and becoming the most powerful
trading empire around.
Their economy soon exploded, as they dominated the region’s supply of agricultural products
and luxury goods.
And with financial success came military success.
Carthage took a different approach to many other empires, instead of staffing its army
with its own soldiers.
It could pay handsomely, and its army was heavily composed of mercenaries and associates
from other kingdoms.
That meant they could continue to expand and turn each new conquest into a source of soldiers.
While they were undoubtedly an imperial power, their arrival was associated with prosperity
- which made it easier for them to occupy new territories.
But their expansion meant frequent conflict both with the Berbers of Africa, the Greeks
of Sicily, and various European empires that were rising to their north.
And one of them would ultimately spell their end.
Carthage met its biggest challenge yet in the up-and-coming Roman empire.
After six centuries of dominance in the region, Carthage was up against a power just as well-equipped
and imperialistic as it - and their eventual battles would be among the most brutal the
world had ever seen.
The Punic Wars saw some of the most advanced naval battles in history, and Carthage managed
to survive the first two wars.
In fact, they managed to successfully invade Rome during the Second Punic Wars thanks to
their famous General Hannibal Barca.
But they wouldn’t be so lucky the third time - Rome successfully sacked Carthage after
a three-year siege, and became yet another Roman colony.
Now let’s jump ahead - a lot.
#6.
Federal Republic of Central America
North America is a series of three huge countries - Canada, the United States, and Mexico - and
then you get down there and find a whole bunch of small countries connecting it to South
America.
But it didn’t always look like that - in fact, five of the countries of Central America
used to be a single entity.
And it all comes back to the days of the Spanish occupation of much of the country.
In the middle of the Mexican war of independence, the smaller countries of Central America decided
to take advantage - and only two weeks before Mexico gained its independence, they declared
their own and hoped the colonial power would be too busy to notice and bring them back
under its control!
The results were…mixed.
The royal governors of the five provinces of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica,
and El Salvador all voted to take their independence on September 15th, 1821 and became a unified
country - and it was a very short-lived entity.
The new federal government in Guatemala soon had trouble keeping the various states in
line, and ultimately decided to vote to be annexed by the newly formed Empire of Mexico.
However, Costa Rica decided not to join Mexico, and it seemed like civil war was imminent
- until Mexico established a Republic two years later and offered the Central American
region a chance to determine its own fate.
A rocky two decades were ahead.
The assembly elected Manuel Jose Arce as President in their first action as an independent nation
- and he quickly dissolved the assembly and began acting as a dictator.
A civil war soon broke out, with Honduran forces winning the day and installing their
own President.
Conflict continued between the provinces for the next seventeen years, but it was clear
the grand experiment wasn’t working.
While the colonies of the United States had enough in common to work as a unified nation
- at least for a while - the same wasn’t working out here.
So in 1840, four of the five states had declared independence, and El Salvador joined them
to officially bring an end to the Federal Republic of Central America.
And it wouldn’t be the only upheaval caused by Spain’s presence.
#5.
Republic of Texas
The year was 1836, and Texas had been an internal province of the Spanish empire since the 1700s.
But in 1810, the Mexican War of Independence broke out, and the region found itself under
a new ruler.
A brief attempt at independence by Texas failed and was crushed in 1813, but adventurers from
the United States found a new cause in the region and kicked off new rebellions.
When Mexico officially gained independence from Spain in 1821, they weren’t any friendlier
to an independent Texas than the previous colonial masters were - but they were too
busy to notice a large number of American settlers moving down south.
And the next rebellion would be much more effective.
By 1834, American settlers were the majority and conflict was increasing.
As the Mexicans increased their military presence, the settlers led by Sam Houston built their
own army and prepared for war.
By 1836, Texas had declared independence and established a provisional government.
While Mexico never acknowledged Texas as a legitimate country, it was a nation in all
other ways and became a key buffer zone between Mexico and the United States.
It even adopted its own flag, the Lone Star flag - which can still be seen today flying
over the Six Flags chain of amusement parks!
So what brought the Republic of Texas to an end?
Would you believe they chose to come to an end?
The Republic of Texas was always a side project of the United States, helping to weaken Mexico.
Its system of government strongly resembled its northern neighbor’s, and by 1845 the
United States voted to annex the region.
It was put to a vote in Texas, and they strongly approved of it - particularly its proposed
constitution which was very friendly to slavery.
So Texas switched from Spain, to Mexico, to an independent Republic, and then to the United
States - only for fifteen years, before it would join the failed Confederate states during
the Civil War.
And since then, it’s been back to the United States - but if you ask those Texans, they
still remember those halcyon days of independence.
Being in between empires was also the undoing of this next country.
#4.
Prussia
Surprisingly, Prussia was not next to Russia - it was a German state that had been a key
part of the region for a long time.
It was one of the wealthiest city-states in the region during the middle ages, and officially
became a Duchy during the 1500s.
From there, it was a power player in the region and the origin of many kings for the next
few centuries, but it would be most significant for the rise of one citizen from its borders
- Otto Von Bismarck.
The ambitious minister in Prussian politics worked with the local King to unify the various
German provinces, and for the first time in European history, Germany was a united nation.
A united, powerful, and ambitious Germany - what could go wrong?
The King was now the German emperor, and Von Bismarck was the most powerful man in Prussian
history.
This led to wars with Denmark over the incorporation of several German provinces, and later a larger
war with Austria.
Prussia sought to preserve its past alliance with Austria, so it didn’t annex its territory
after winning the war, but it massively expanded its territory into a larger German confederation.
From a small group of city-states to a powerful empire, Prussia was now the seat of power
in Germany, and would later go to war with France to expand its territory even further.
But the 20th century was looming, Germany had a new emperor in the young Kaiser Wilhelm
II, and there were rough waters ahead.
So what led to the end of Prussia?
No surprise, it was the World Wars.
Prussia was part of the losing side in World War I, and the monarchies were abolished in
a mostly bloodless revolution in the aftermath.
Prussia gained independence as a republic in the aftermath, but was only a shell of
its former self in a Europe where Germany’s influence had been diminished.
A German-engineered coup in Prussia in 1932 essentially turned over control of the country
to loyalists to Germany, turning it into a puppet state - and as the Nazis took over,
any attempt to reassert independence would not be tolerated.
So Prussia ended its run as an independent nation as a faint remnant of a once-powerful
empire, and its territory was eventually divided between multiple countries in Europe in 1947.
And no one is immune - not even the largest country in the world.
#3.
Soviet Union
Russia’s history was always one of expansion.
It grew into the largest country in Europe, and then its annexation of the massive Siberian
expanse in Asia turned it into the biggest country in the world.
Siberia was rich with resources and had strategic benefits, even though it was sparsely populated,
but even that wasn’t enough.
As imperial Russia fell and gave way to the Communist regime of the Soviet Union, one
leader after another would look at Europe and Asia and go “Nice country you’ve got
there - but I think it would look better as part of Russia”.
And with a nuclear-armed country and no world power willing to resist it in its sphere of
influence, most countries had no choice but to quietly surrender.
And so the Soviet Union became the biggest land-holder in not one but two continents.
At its peak, the Soviet Union reached as far west as Poland’s border, and as far south
as the borders of Turkey and Iran.
It had access to both the Baltic Sea in Europe and the Pacific Ocean.
And as massive as this territory, it wasn’t enough - the Soviet Union kept expanding,
launching wars against Finland in the north and Afghanistan in the south.
Both countries held their own and eventually maintained their independence, but not every
country that wasn’t conquered was free.
Many countries like Poland, East Germany, and Yugoslavia had Soviet-backed communist
governments that essentially functioned as annexes of the larger power.
But nothing lasts forever.
The Soviet Union’s international power was massive - holding the United States to a stalemate
and sponsoring communist takeovers as far as the Caribbean and Vietnam.
But inside the country, trouble was brewing.
The oppressive nature of the government wore on the people, economic problems and starvation
were common, and the various factions of the communist party were increasingly in conflict.
When the hard-line communists tried for a coup against moderate leader Mikhail Gorbachev,
they were stopped by democratic forces - and the Soviet Union fell.
In the aftermath, countries including Ukraine, Belarus, central-Asian republics like Kazakhstan
declared independence, and cut the Soviet Union’s territory down massively.
Now renamed Russia, it’s a shadow of its former self - but still the largest country
in the world.
And it’s looking awfully hungry…
When a superpower wants to take over, there’s often little that can be done.
#2.
Tibet
Tibet is one of the highest regions in the world, covering much of the Himalayas including
the massive Mount Everest.
Home to the Tibetan people and other ethnic groups, it was often used as a bargaining
chip between empires - but in the 7th century it was an empire in its own right.
By the 9th century it was a powerful empire reaching all the way from northwest China
to Bengal in India.
However, it eventually splintered and a central Tibetan government emerged in Lhasa.
But even today, many Tibetans look back at the era of Greater Tibet and dream of the
day it will be restored to its former glory.
But they have to do that in exile.
Because today, Tibet isn’t a country at all.
The history of countries is often very interrupted, and Tibet is no exception.
Tibet often had conflict with China, and its leader the Dalai Lama was seen as a threat
to China’s power.
By the 20th century, a deal between China and the British government led to Tibet being
protected, and neither would interfere with or annex Tibet.
When a Qing leader violated this and expelled the Dalai Lama, his actions were so unpopular
that he would eventually be toppled in a revolution and Tibet restored.
The Dalai Lama declared himself leader of an independent Tibet, and ruled the country
for the next thirty-six years, as border skirmishes with China sought to restore much of Tibet’s
lost territory.
The government of China was in frequent upheaval of the time - but that wouldn’t continue.
Because the end was near.
When the People’s Republic of China brought communist rule to China in 1950, the new government
at first seemed reasonable.
They guaranteed Tibet autonomy, but wanted it to acknowledge itself as part of China.
Being annexed by China left the Dalai Lama little choice and he signed - only for China
to largely run roughshod over every part of the agreement.
The Dalai Lama found himself in exile once again, the practice of Buddhism was oppressed
by the atheist state, and the ethnic citizens of Tibet were forced to integrate into greater
China or face imprisonment or worse.
So Tibet’s time as an independent nation came to an abrupt end, and the world condemned
these oppressive actions - but no one was willing to go to war for Tibet, so the Free
Tibet movement continues to this day.
But no country had a more complicated end than this one.
#1.
Yugoslavia
One of the largest countries in Europe for most of the 20th century, Yugoslavia was formed
in the aftermath of World War I - but it was facing trouble from the start.
As part of a massive restructuring of the continent after the war, it combined several
independent nations with multiple ethnic groups into one entity.
All were former territories of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and it included the Serbs, Croats,
Slovenes, Bosnians, as well as the regions of Macedonia and Montenegro.
If that sounds like a mess…it was!
These groups had many long-standing rivalries, including religious and territorial conflicts.
And they barely had time to figure things out, because just over twenty years after
founding it was invaded by the Axis Powers.
So how do you keep a country like this together?
The answer seemed to be…through constant oppression!
The Nazi occupation lasted several years, and was restored to independence after the
war.
They briefly restored their monarchy - only for a Communist government to take over the
same year and take several territories from the defeated Italy.
They had one leader, Josip Broz Tito, for the next twenty-five years until his death,
and he kept a tight grip on the combative country.
But much like in the Soviet Union, trouble was brewing.
Economic issues would lead to the collapse of the country in the 1980s, and all the long-simmering
ethnic tensions would boil over.
And Yugoslavia’s divorce would be one of the world’s ugliest.
With six republics within its borders, it soon broke up into the independent nations
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia - with the
fates of Kosovo and another province undetermined.
And it wasn’t long before the former member states of Yugoslavia went to war, with Serbia
being the main aggressor and its leader, Slobodan Milosevic eventually being tried for genocide
at the Hague.
Today, Kosovo is independent as well - although not officially a member of the United Nations,
due to Russia’s interference - and tensions between these fractious family members are
far from over.
Want to know about the collapse of one of the biggest empires of all time?
Check out “What Caused the Roman Empire to Collapse?”
or watch this video instead.