I asked Gemini to compile a list of all the major empires that have risen and fallen since the beginning of the common era, and she threw back around 40 names! She pointed out that “historians often claim that major empires stick around for about 250 years on average, but let’s not forget the Eastern Romans (Byzantines) who crashed that party by hanging in there for over a millennium, constantly reshaping their borders and governance.” So, here’s a thought: are we already living in a post-American reality?

“A complete list of every single empire that rose and fell in the Common Era (CE) would include hundreds of regional powers, nomadic confederations, and short-lived dynasties. To make this digestible, here is a chronological mapping of the major global empires that shaped history from 1 CE onward, organized by the eras in which they reached their peak or collapsed.