By the 15th century, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople was the jewel in the Ottoman crown. From a minor principality in Anatolia, the first sultan, Osman I, saw the Ottomans' emergence as the regionвЂ™s main power within a generation. In A Nutshell:В The Osmans were the ruling family of the Ottoman Empire, one of historyвЂ™s most dominant and durable world powers. Pros: Owning Constantinople, trade, science, and gigantic cannonsД¬ons:В Dangerous succession laws, powerful rivals Notable Members: Mehmed II, Suleiman the Magnificent The strain of those pressures, along with a cycle of ill-bodedВ floods of the Yellow River, culminatedВ in the Ming's 17th-century collapse. The Ming also restored the Great Wall of China to its former glory as a bulwark against raiders at the empire's fringes.Д«eing top dog meant no shortage of enemies, and the empire's gigantic populace was always perilously close to famine. Under Ming rule, the written word came to the masses, as books were affordable and widely available. Only those with the emperor's permission were permitted to enter theВ Forbidden City.В The Ming's strength wasn't simply in its military or grand architecture, but in the empire's gigantic agricultural and economic base. The nearly 10,000 rooms of the complex containedВ priceless art and furniture. The Ming rulers enjoyed lives of unfathomable luxury in the Forbidden City, a huge complex in Beijing built during the reign of Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor. Vast riches and exotic foodsВ flowed into the ports of medieval China. Although great treasure fleets sailedВ the world under Zheng He, a eunuchВ admiral in the service of the third Ming emperor, later emperors soon realized there wasn't a pressing need to go out into the world, as the world was more than happy to come to them.

In A Nutshell: There'sВ a pretty credible argument to make for early Ming China being the world's foremost power. Pros: All the books you can read, luxury trade goods, the world's greatest palaceД¬ons:В Endless enemies at the borders, internal strife only a flood away Notable Members: Zhu YuanzhangВ (HongwuВ Emperor), Zhu Di (Yongle Emperor) The run of successful Roman rulers came to an ignoble end with the ascension of Commodus and the chaos of his despotic rule.Дespite its unfortunate end, the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty remains perhaps the most successful of all Roman dynasties and ushered in an unusually stable period of Roman history. Nerva was the voice of reason Trajan expanded the empire Hadrian consolidated Trajan's gains Antonius Pius built up the economy В and Marcus Aurelius was noted for his philosophy. Sometimes referred to as the ' five good emperors,' the era represented a high point of Roman territorial and economic expansion. His chaotic reign interrupted an unusually successful run of Roman emperors. Commodus was the first natural-born heir of the dynasty to actually become emperor. In A Nutshell:В One of the interesting features of this distinguished Roman dynasty is that succession passed by adoption rather than birth due to a lack of male heirs. Pros:В Being the master of Rome during its peakД¬ons:В Barbarians, watching Commodus ruin it all Notable Members:В Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus There are still surviving members of the Habsburg line in public life in Austria. Intermarriage led to inbreeding, and members of the house were prone to having the Habsburg jaw, a prominent jutting jawline stemming from so much shared ancestry.Д«y the 18th century, the houseвЂ™s dominant position had slipped, but the Habsburgs still maintained a powerful presence in central Europe that wasnвЂ™t fully eroded until the 20th century. To prevent their numerous titles from falling into the hands of rival houses through marriage, the Habsburgs increasingly kept their weddings in-house from the 16th century onward. Charles V (pictured) had the key Habsburg traits -В many royal titles and a prominent chin. One Habsburger was a king of England while another briefly ruled Mexico in the mid-19th century. At the height of their power, the Habsburgs ruled Austria, Bohemia, Naples, the Netherlands, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as expansive overseas territories and part of the Spanish empire. The house had a stranglehold on the title of Holy Roman Emperor for 300 years. From this fortress, Habsburg influence grew steadily across Europe in the Middle Ages. In A Nutshell:В The Habsburg name comes from an 11th-century castle in Switzerland. Notable Members: Maximillian I, Charles V, Philip II, Maria Theresa, Franz Ferdinand, Karl IД¬ons:В An unfortunate jawline, the Ottomans

Titles Held: Holy Roman Emperor KingdomsВ of Austria, Bohemia, England, Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, Sardinia, Sicily, Naples В various holdings in Germany, France, and Northern Italy В Emperor of Mexico

Ottoman empire total war