Which nations/powers do you think can actually be classified as true “superpowers” throughout history and when?

Anonymous asked: Which nations/powers do you think can actually be classified as true "superpowers" throughout history and when?

Oh, man. This will take a while.

China, definitely, during the Han, Sui, Tang, Song, and later Ming dynasties. They were, at various times, expanding into or politically dominating neighboring nations. And of course, trade with China alone made many men and nations rich.
The Roman Empire. This doesn’t really require an explanation.
The Inca. They conquered the surrounding kingdoms, and many smaller cultures, uniting them in worship of the sun-god, Inka.
The Aztec. Many people forget that they were an empire, with uncountable numbers of weaker cultures and states paying tribute to them. In fact, one of the reasons Cortes was able to take on the Aztecs at all was many unhappy tribute states helped him to get back at their oppressors, the Aztecs. Before the Spanish’s technology changed the rules of warfare, no one could take on the Aztecs.
France, 1700s to 1815. The French Wars of Aggression and the Napoleonic Wars, which wrought so much destruction, were solely due to the ambitions of this one state. And it involved multiple continents, so I consider that grounds for superpower status.
England, 1815 - 1914. The sun never set on the British Empire, and it’s power was unquestionable.
America and USSR, 1945 to 1991. Another obvious one.

honorable mention: I wasn’t sure whether to count Spain or not. Certainly, they had a massive empire, and lots of power around the world. They also had serious issues with their economy, because they took so much gold from the new world that it flooded the European market. Spain never again reached the heights it had after that. It couldn’t even protect it’s gold ships, the most valuable things in their empire. So I suppose it counts as an almost-superpower.