List of medieval great powers

This is a list of great powers during the medieval period. The term "great power" has only been used in historiography and political science since the Congress of Vienna in 1815.^[1] Lord Castlereagh, the British Foreign Secretary, first used the term in its diplomatic context in 1814. Use of the term in medieval historiography is therefore idiosyncratic to each author. In historiography of the pre-modern period, it is more typical to talk of empires (itself a poorly-defined term, see list of empires).

Muslim states

The Middle Ages proper begin with the collapse of the remnants of Late Antiquity in the 7th century due to the Islamic conquests. The Old World is largely dominated by Muslim caliphates during the mid-7th to 10th centuries.

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Rashidun Caliphate	632–661
Umayyad Caliphate	661–750
Abbasid Caliphate	750–1258
Fatimid Caliphate	909–1171
Ghaznavid Empire	10th c.	[2]
Ayyubid Sultanate	1171–1246
Great Seljuk Empire, Sultanate of Rûm	1040–1154	[3]
Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt	1250–1380
Ilkhanate/Timurid Empire	1250s–1526	[4]

Christian states

Eastern Christianity

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Roman Empire	4th.–12th c.	The Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire was the foremost Christian power in the early medieval period, but under pressure from the Islamic conquests and the Turkic expansion it declined in the high medieval period. It fell to Frankish conquest in 1204 and although restored in the 1260s it did not regain its former stature.
Bulgarian Empire	10th c.	[5]
Kievan Rus'	882-1240
Grand Duchy of Moscow	13th–16th c.
Ethiopian Empire	12th–16th c.

Latin Christianity

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Frankish Empire/Carolingian Empire	8th/9th c.
North Sea Empire	11th c.
Kingdom of Germany/Holy Roman Empire	10th-16th c.
Kingdom of Hungary	10th-13th c.
Kingdom of Jerusalem/Crusader states	12th c.
Kingdom of France	12th-16th c.
Angevin Empire/Kingdom of England	12th-16th c.
Republic of Genoa	1099–1380
Republic of Venice	1204–1489
Crown of Castile	1230–1480
Crown of Aragon	1340s – 1480s
Poland-Lithuania	1386–1572
Papal States	14th/15th c.
Kalmar Union	1397–1523

Medieval China

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Sui dynasty	581–618
Tang dynasty	7th–9th c.
Song dynasty	990s–1080s
Ming dynasty	1370s–1550s
Yuan dynasty	1271–1368

Medieval Korea

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Silla	57 BCE–935	Unified Silla 668–935
Goryeo	918–1392

Inner Asia and Mongolia

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Göktürk Turkic Khaganate	7th/8th c.
Uyghur Khaganate	8th c.
Mongol Empire	1206–1260s	The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Name	Duration	Notes and references
Ghana Empire	10th c.?
Kingdom of Zimbabwe	1220–1450
Mali Empire	1300–1450
Songhai Empire	15th/16th c.

South and Southeast Asia

• Chalukya Empire 543–753
• Rashtrakuta Empire 753–982
• Pala Empire 750–1174
• Chola Dynasty 300–1279
• Delhi Sultanate 1192-1506
• Bengal Sultanate 1352-1576
• Khmer Empire 802–1431
• Srivijaya

Pre-Columbian Americas

• Maya Civilization: Classic period (c. 250 to 900)
• Inca Empire 13th-16th c.
• Aztec Empire 13th-16th c.

See also

• Middle Ages
• List of ancient great powers
• List of modern great powers
• Great power
• Superpower
• Middle power
• List of largest empires
• List of historical countries and empires spanning more than one continent

References

1. Fueter, Eduard (1922). World history, 1815–1930. United States of America: Harcourt, Brace and Company. pp. 25–28, 36–44. ISBN 1-58477-077-5.
2. Meisami, Julie Scott, Persian Historiography to the End of the Twelfth Century, (Edinburgh University Press, 1999), 143. "Nizam al-Mulk also attempted to organise the Saljuq administration according to the Persianate Ghaznavid model." Encyclopaedia Iranica, Iran: Islamic Period – Ghaznavids, E. Yarshater
3. Jean Paul Roux:Historie des Turcs (Trans:Prof Dr.Aykut Kazancıgil - Lale Arslan Özcan) Kabalcı yayınevi, İstanbul, 2007, ISBN 975-997-091-0, p.205–205
4. Encyclopædia Britannica article: Consolidation & expansion of the Indo-Timurids, Online Edition, 2007.
5. "Bulgaria - The Slavs and the Bulgars". Retrieved 5 October 2014.

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