- [Voiceover] This is part two of our list
on the Ten Empires that Came the Closest to World Domination.
If you haven't seen the first part, we highly recommend that you check it out first.
If you've already seen part one, stay tuned for the second part
of the Ten Empires that Came the Closest to World Domination.
Number five is the "Ottoman Empire".
The Ottoman Empire was a Turkish empire that ruled over the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and the Balkans.
Throughout its life, the Ottoman Empire routinely conquered countless kingdoms and countries.
Perhaps their crowning achievement was the destruction of the Byzantine Empire in 1453
which finally brought an end to what remained of the once great Roman Empire.
What made the Ottoman Empire unique was its talent for managing and overcoming
the deep ethnic differences in the Middle East and the Balkans.
This in itself was a major achievement
as few Empires in history have maintained control over such a bitterly divided region.
Let alone for centuries, as the Ottomans did.
The Ottoman Empire was so powerful and so perfectly poised for world conquest
that it even came close to conquering the European city of Vienna in 1683,
which is located deep in the heart of Europe.
The Ottoman conquest of Vienna was only averted at the last second
when a Polish relief force arrived just before the city fell.
And the siege was broken after the Ottoman army was routed.
If the siege of Vienna had gone in the Ottoman's favour,
it is very likely that much of Europe could have fallen under their dominion
and as mentioned previously,
the Ottoman Empire was very talented in administering a multi-racial empire,
which would have proven very helpful if they have been able to expand into Europe.
Instead, at its greatest height, the Ottoman Empire only controlled
3.49% of the world's land mass and was finally dissolved in 1923.
Number four is the United States.
Many would argue that the United States is actually
the closest any country has ever come to world domination.
Today, the United States has military bases on every continent except Antarctica
along with countless puppet governments that take their orders from Washington.
In the comments section of part one of this video,
many of you disagreed on whether the United States qualified as an empire or not.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an empire
as "a group of countries or regions that are controlled by one ruler or government,
especially one ruled by an emperor or empress."
While the United States has never had an emperor,
it still does qualify under the first part of this definition
as the US over its lifetime has annexed numerous sovereign nations
such as the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, which were once part of the Spanish Empire,
and the sovereign kingdom of Hawaii.
What most people don't know, is that the United States reached its maximum extent
after the conclusion of the second World War in 1945
when US occupation forces controlled Western Europe, Japan, Korea, the Caribbean, as well as most of Africa.
The American occupation after World War two left the United States with a massive global empire
that controlled major population centers such as the Japanese home islands and Western Europe.
This control over billions of people,
a majority of the world's industrial days along with an already mobilized army
gave the United States a chance to embark on a path towards world domination.
But instead, the United States chose to release these nations from their direct control
and went on to become the global superpower we all know today.
And number three on our list is the British Empire.
While it probably goes without saying,
it's important to note that the British Empire was the largest in all of history.
In 1922, the British Empire controlled 22.6% of the world's land mass and 20% of the world's population.
What made the British Empire unique was its almost unassailable position of power.
The British Empire controlled nearly all of the world's trade routes
and simultaneously possessed a nearly unbeatable army
and the largest navy in the world.
While it's up for debate as to how exactly the British Empire could have achieved world domination
in the year 1922 when their empire was at its greatest extent
especially after it'd been nearly bankrupted by the first World War,
it cannot be denied that, had the British Empire had the will,
they could have extended their control over even more of the planet,
making the British Empire, one of the few empires to come within a breath of world domination.
Coming in at number two is the "Roman Empire".
The Roman Empire that we all know from history, actually came a lot closer to world domination
than most people would believe.
In fact, at the empire's absolute height in the year 117 A.D., the Roman Empire controlled 21% of the entire world's population.
During their height, the Romans incorporated most of Europe into their empire,
and also conquered North Africa, Turkey, and much of the Middle East.
Roman armies were the best equipped and the most disciplined armies in the world.
And boasted extensive experience fighting all the exotic armies that the world threw at them.
What brought the Roman Empire closest to world domination
was their campaign against the Parthian Empire
which was a Persian state located beyond the Roman Empire's borders.
But because the Romans never triumphed over their Persian rivals, despite attempting numerous times,
they never were able to achieve true world domination.
And number one is the Achaemenid Empire, more commonly known as the Persian Empire.
This empire actually came closer to our definition of world domination
than any other empire in human history.
In fact, they missed our minimum cut-off by just 6% of the world's population.
At the Persian Empire's absolute height,
their subjects counted for about 44.48% of the entire Earth's population.
Meaning, that in the year 480 B.C,
nearly one out of every two people in the planet was a Persian subject.
Unlike other empires on this list,
it was entirely feasible that the Persians could have surpassed this number.
Instead, however, the Persian Empire had a series of costly wars with the Greek city states
and suffered a string of crushing defeats at crucial moments during their conflicts with the Greeks.
Still, the Persian Empire was one of the earliest attempts
in human history and a truly multinational empire.
After the Persian Empire was dismantled by Alexander the Great,
no other Empire in history came as close as the Persians did to control
in a majority of the Earth's population.
Thank you all for watching. I hope you enjoy this video
and if you did, don't forget to leave a like and subscribe, if you haven't already.
And if we missed any, please let us know down in the comments section.
And we'll see you all next time.