DBWI/RP: The Greatest Empires that NEVER were

Which historical empires do you think could be considered among the greatest in history?

I'd have to go with the Hawaiian Empire. Everybody knew that Hawaii would grow to be a formidable power when King Kamehameha III introduced Western Industrial and Naval technology to his people but who would have predicted that in a hundred years time, it would unite all of the island nations in the Pacific and eventually snatch New Zealand and the Southern parts of Australia from the British. Although they only managed to do the latter two tasks under the tyrannical and militaristic dictatorship of Emperor Kalakua V, it was still an impressive feat for the Hawaiian people to pull off. However, the proud, daring, expansionistic attitude of the 19th and early 20th centuries soon faded away and by the 60's, the Hawiian Empire, faced with economic difficulties in managing their Pacific satellites and maintaining their vast Navy collapsed on its own weight. It ended officially when on September 23, 1967, a palace coup deposed the royal family and declared the empire defunct. Out of its ashes, however would rise the modern Oceanic Federation, the new political entity that would lead the Pacific peoples into a new and more prosperous century.

Another good choice would be the Hazaraspid Empire. They are credited with turning the tide in the Sunni dominated Islamic world when they launched a series of massive incursions into the Arabian lands under the Shi'ite banner. It spanned four bloody wars over the span of two and a half centuries but the end result was the hegemony of Shi'ite Islam from the Afghan mountains to the Arabian Peninsula and into the Eastern half of the Maghreb. Even long after their slow decline and ultimate defeat at the hands of British and Russian colonizers, their legacy lives on in the religious, social and cultural fabric of the modern Middle East. An eternal testament to their achievements could be seen to this day in their ancient capital, Idjal where the magnificent, towering "Shah Mozaffar III Mosque", named after one of its greatest shahs, reminds the world of the glory and splendor that were the Hazaraspids.

OOC: None of the empires have to be from the same TL.
 
The Haida Empire founded on the Queen charlottes island could have expanded and taken control most of the outer coast from Vancouver island to southern Alaska...now that would be a cool TL
 
The Adary Empire was an unusual one indeed. It is little known what encouraged so many Malay sailors to journey to Africa, and even less known why they became increasingly piratical and conquest-minded. Much like the Viking invasions in Europe, they carved kingdoms in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But the conquest of the lands of the Khoisan people and the rise of the Malay agricultural civilisation in Southern Africa had a great effect on the world. The Adary were doubly blessed in the rule of Radameirenia the Great, the curious and sophisticated king who blessed the Adary with a road system equal to that of the ancient Romans and Incas, who helped with the establishment of literacy and with the enthusiastic absorption of the innovations of the Portugese. With galleons, cannon and organisation the Adary expansion into Africa, displacing of the Ottomans from the Indian Ocean and control of the new southern route of trade from East to West, they changed the face of the world.
 
My ancestors were among the first to greet their new Swiss Overlords and that include family line from Scotland, Asia Minor and Muscovy. would any of you be interested in opening a bank account in my bank?
 
The Frankish Empire obviously came to dominante western and central Europe after the rule of Charlemagne II, the eldest grandson of the orignial one, had ended - Fastening the Empire's grip from Catalonia to the Memel, from the Shores of Scandinavia unto Sicily.

Sadly though, Charlemagnes the Second's son was not able to uphold his power over the papacy and was even excommunicated in 1193, while the pope appointed the Duke of Catalonia Emperor. This lead to a series of civil wars which ultimately ended in Charlemagne II falling down to the Pope's knees in 1201, fearing eternal damnation in hell.

However, the next Emperor, Henry, enviously watched to the other Emperor existend at that point of time - Vincent the third, ruler of the Byzantine Empire to the east. Henry especially envied that after the shism of the Catholic and the Orthodox faith, the Emperor of Byzantine was the actual head of the Orthodox faith. While Charlemagnes II crusades against pagans in Scandinavia and eastern Europe made him a faithful Catholic again, Henry wanted absolut control over the Church, even more so than his great-great-great grandfather Charlemagne I had.

In the end, this all led to the exilation of the Pope in 1278, and the setting up of the "Francish Church", under direct control of the Frankish Emperor. This confession was everything Henry ever dreamt of, and this is the reason why today, 60% of all Christians are Frankish Catholic. Even the few the Frankish Empire converted in southern Africa, which then adopted a mixed-confession also based on their traditional believes, were brought back into the Empire's Church in 1683 during the "Purging of New Charlais".
 
The Empire of Poyais is certainly up there among the most memorable, even if it was short-lived. Just think about it: a small country, originally founded and settled by a ragtag band of mercenaries, rose in just a few decades to become an empire ruling all of Central America and projecting power to control great swathes of both the Atlantic and the Pacific, naturally helped in this by that major poyaisian feat of engineering, the Gregorio Canal (1870).

Even as historians still marvel at the ability of Gregorio I to turn almost every adverse situation to his benefit, especially during the Mexican Uprising in midst of the Third Caribbean War, it is also true that his lieutenant, General Francis Maceroni was a stunningly capable military leader and an awe-inspiring inventor and industrialist to boot. While the Empire finally succumbed in what became known as the Grand Bankrupsy in 1899 and was duly dismembered by the Great Powers, it was still a marvel of its own time and truly great for its unlikeliness, tenacity and flamboyance.
 

Jomazi

Banned
The Kroe/Gatzag empire from central asia rose from the words of their prophet in the year 1008. A mere century later they ruled Persia, Mesopotamia, Asia minor, Syria, Palestine, the Arabic peninsula as well as Egypt, Armenia and khorasan with an iron fist.

The fourteenth century saw their conquest of India as well as Ethiopia, the fifteenth that of north Africa and south east Asia and up to and including the khmer empire.

The sixteenth century began in earnest with their first incursion into Europe, leveling Constantinople but then abruptly retreating. Europe was safe for now, but in the east the rivers ran red with the blood of the Chinese, ending with the conquest of korea and first attempted invasion of japan in 1603.

Almost a century later, in the year 1701, came the first invasion of Europe, drenching the Iberian peninsula in blood.

Well, eventually they conquered four fifths of the world and then eventually got exterminated by nuclear fire from the fifth.

I AM assuming by "great" you mean "size".
 
Great isn't solely a function of size, really, but whichever way you slice it I think the Joseon should qualify. Admittedly, technically they were a vassal to Song and Wu, but they built their oceanic empire all on their own. The conquest of Wa alone is an epic, but when you consider they not only managed to vassalise the Mao Li, but also establish effective control over the Sandalwood archipelago and the entire Gaosen coast, keep a lid on the Haida and bitchslap the Mechica from a position of numerical inferiority, all the while running a profit for Pyongyang you can see how unique they were. They don't make them like that any more.
 
All North America TREMBLES before the might of the Virginian Empire!

After the Glorious People's Revolution of 1776, (called the American Revolution in some places) Virginia, the mightiest of the newly freed 13 colonies, claimed all of the land from the Alleghenies to the Mississippi. And no one dared to stop her! Now our kingdom stretches from Sea to Shining Sea! Sic Semper Tyrannis! Hail King metalstar316, may his reign be long, and his wisdom and mercy be just and everlasting! :cool::):cool:

OOC: for the uninitiated, Virginia, the most powerful of the 13 states, really DID claim all that land after the war. Unfortunately, so did several other states.
 
The Nea-Basileia ton Rhomaion. In 1800, who would've thought that within two decades, the Greek subjects of the Ottomans would manage to reforge the Roman Empire, sending revived Legions even to the dark forests of Germany and the shores of the Tigris for the first time in 1400 years, even if it only lasted for two generations?
 
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