To Rule the Earth... The 25 Largest States and Empires in History (now it is 27, which is also a cool odd number)

"No one person has ever achieved rulership over the whole planet. Which states have come closest to this measure? What follows is a table of the 25 largest states and empires to have held sway over the earth at one time or another. The figures for their sizes are approximations for the most part - many of these states held only vague or ill-defined frontiers. The figures given are also drawn from the period of maximum extent for the nation involved; thus, the Portuguese figures exclude Oman and Malacca (among numerous other Portuguese bases), since their occupation and withdrawal predated the later Portuguese holdings. Similar circumstances obtain for other empires, and are noted in the comments. As a comparison to the land surface that is available, note that the habitable portion of the globe (i.e. excluding Antarctica) extends over roughly 52, 677,000 square miles (136,433,400 sq. km.): so, the largest of these entities reached about one quarter of the whole. "

---

Number 27 is: The Ghaznavid Empire
A Mediaeval state within what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, portions of central Asia, and eastern Iran. It's greatest extent was in the early 11th century.

Never heard of it.

(global'd from Metafilter)
--