Can You Name These Ancient Empires?
This empire featured one of history’s most famous kings, Nebuchadnezzar II, and existed from 626 BC to 539 BC. It was located in Mesopotamia or modern-day Iraq and archaeological finds continue to surface. What was it called?
- The Babylonian Empire was a powerful entity that held great political and cultural influence during its prominence and was also featured in both the Old and New Testaments.
As the longest-lasting period of rule in Chinese history, this empire held control for 790 years and produced some of the best bronzeware items, as well as founding famous philosophies that included Confucianism and Taoism. What was its name?
- The Zhou Dynasty existed between the previous Shang Dynasty and later Qin Dynasty and operated on a feudal basis.
During the Hellenistic Period from 312 BC to 63 BC, this empire was very much the center of culture, art, and militarism in the area, as an offshoot of Alexander the Great’s Macedonia. Can you identify it?
- The Seleucid Empire was essentially a large Greek state but functioned as its own entity under Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus III the Great. Seleucid territorial expanses included land in modern-day Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
As a superpower that swept across Asia from 370 AD and conquered various Germanic and Scythian groups and even infringed on the Roman Empire’s holdings, can you name this empire that flourished under a man named Atilla?
- The Huns are widely credited with being the cause of the Western Roman Empire’s fall and the entire Hunnic Empire dominated Barbarian Europe during the height of its influence.
This empire was first founded by the Phoenicians in Northern Africa during the 9th century BC. One hint that might help you identify it includes a famous queen named Dido who was featured in Virgil’s epic work “The Aeneid”— can you name that empire?
- At the height of its power, the Carthaginian Empire was an independent political and economic entity that spanned Northwestern Africa, Iberia, and several islands around the Mediterranean.
As an ancient military superpower, this empire existed between 2025 BC and 609 BC and was only felled by the Babylonians. And if you were to look at a map, this empire would have stretched from Iran to Egypt, today— what’s it called?
- The Assyrians were known for their brilliant military tactics, cultural advances, and skilled workers in many fields, including medicine, art, and engineering.
Beginning in 1428 AD, this South American dominion looked up to the warrior and leader Montezuma I as the father of the empire that eventually included between 5 and 6 million people and was economically, religiously, and militaristically significant. What is its name?
- The religious aspects of the Aztec Empire are some of the most impactful in terms of the history of worship, including rites of human sacrifice, opulent temples, and a wide pantheon of gods including Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca.
This Iron Age empire was found in South Asia and India, established in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya. The military might of this empire controlled vast parts of the Indian subcontinent, but do you know its name?
- The Mauryan Empire dissolved in 185 BC after King Brihadratha was assassinated during the Shunga coup, and historic writings of “The Arthashastra” and “The Edicts of Ashoka” give us a good idea of life during its reign.
As the earliest empire in modern-day Iran, this entity dominated the continent and was a primary enemy of the ancient Greeks, with many important political and military leaders including Cyrus the Great, Darius I, and Xerxes— what’s it called?
- Also known as the First Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire conquered surrounding areas like Media and Lydia, going on to become one of the first superpowers of the time, including expansion attempts into Greece with battles like Thermopylae in 480 BC.
Once this empire took over vassal states in Anatolia and Syria, it became one of the largest dominions in the area, with kings Suppiluliuma I and Mursili II ruling a vast portion of the continent as the ancestor to the Ottoman Empire. Do you know its name?
- During its greatest reach, the Hittite Empire clashed with other powers in the region, including the Assyrians, Persians, and even the Chinese, with many vassal states within those territories.
