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The Aztec Empire – A Civilization Lost in Two Years
The year 1519 marked the beginning of the end for one of the Americas’ most powerful empires. The Spanish campaign against the Aztec Empire had its final victory on 13 August 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Cortés captured the emperor Cuauhtémoc and Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, with the entire conquest taking place between 1519 and 1521. What makes this collapse particularly shocking is the speed at which it occurred. Tenochtitlán fell into decline after the siege and destruction of the city by the Spanish in 1521—less than two years after Hernándo Cortés and Spanish conquistadors first set foot in the Aztec capital on November 8, 1519.
The fall wasn’t just military prowess alone. Working in alliance with some 200,000 Indigenous warriors from city-states, particularly the Tlaxcala and Cempoala who had resented the Aztec/Mexicas, the Spanish conquistadors held Tenochtitlán under siege from May 22 through August 13, 1521—a total of 93 days. Disease played a crucial role too. Unbeknownst to the Spanish, some among their ranks had been infected with smallpox when they had departed Europe, and once these men arrived in the Americas, the virus began to spread—both among their indigenous allies and the Aztecs. During the siege, around 100 Spaniards lost their lives compared to as many as 100,000 Aztec.
The Inca Empire – When Gods Prove Mortal
In 1533 CE the Inca Empire was the largest in the world, extending across western South America from Quito in the north to Santiago in the south. But size meant nothing when facing the perfect storm of circumstances that would destroy it. The lack of integration of conquered peoples into that empire, combined with a civil war to claim the Inca throne and a devastating epidemic of European-brought diseases, meant that the Incas were ripe for the taking when Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru with an astonishingly small force of men whose only interest was treasure.
The key moment came at Cajamarca in 1532. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish soldiers under conquistador Francisco Pizarro, along with his brothers in arms and their indigenous allies, captured the last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa, at the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532. Atahualpa offered to fill a room with treasure as ransom for his release, and eventually, some 24 tons of gold and silver were brought to the Spanish from throughout the Inca empire, but although Atahualpa had provided the richest ransom in the history of the world, Pizarro treacherously put him on trial.
On August 29, 1533, the emperor was offered the choice of being burned alive or strangled by garrote if he converted to Christianity, and choosing the latter in hope of preserving his body for mummification, an iron collar was tightened around his neck until he died, after which Pizarro marched on Cuzco, and the Inca capital fell without a struggle in November 1533. While the Spanish Empire would take control of much of the empire in 1533, the Inca people were only completely defeated in 1572, with Francisco Pizarro leading a band of a few hundred soldiers to execute the Inca emperor and seize the capital of Cusco in 1533.
Napoleon’s Hundred Days – An Empire in Free Fall
Napoleon’s return from exile in 1815 read like a Hollywood script – except it lasted exactly 100 days. After escaping from Elba, the former emperor landed in France and began his march to Paris, gathering supporters along the way. His brief restoration seemed promising, but it was built on shaky foundations. The European powers had already declared him an outlaw, and the Seventh Coalition was rapidly forming against him.
The dramatic end came at Waterloo on June 18, 1815. This single battle didn’t just end Napoleon’s career – it obliterated what remained of his empire. The defeat was so complete that within weeks, Napoleon was forced to abdicate for the second time. By July, he was on his way to permanent exile on the remote island of Saint Helena, and the map of Europe was being redrawn once again. The speed of this collapse was breathtaking – from triumphant return to final defeat in just over three months.
The German Empire – Four Years of War, Weeks of Collapse
The German Empire of Kaiser Wilhelm II had seemed invincible at the start of World War I. By 1918, however, the “Great War” had become a grinding nightmare of attrition. The empire that had dominated central Europe for nearly five decades was about to crumble in a matter of weeks. Military defeats on the Western Front, combined with mutiny in the German Navy and revolution spreading through German cities, created a perfect storm.
The revolution began in earnest in early November 1918. Sailors in Kiel mutinied, workers’ councils sprouted up across Germany, and the authority of the Kaiser evaporated almost overnight. Within days, Bavaria had declared itself a republic, and by November 9, Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate. The German Empire officially ceased to exist, replaced by the fragile Weimar Republic. What had taken Bismarck decades to build had been destroyed in less than a month of internal upheaval.
Austria-Hungary – The Dual Monarchy’s Final Act
The Austro-Hungarian Empire entered World War I as one of Europe’s great powers, ruling over 50 million people across a vast territory. But this multi-ethnic empire was held together more by tradition and bureaucracy than by genuine unity. When the war began to go badly, the various ethnic groups within the empire – Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians, Croatians, and others – saw their chance for independence.
The collapse accelerated dramatically in the final months of 1918. Military defeats on multiple fronts combined with internal revolts to create chaos. By October 1918, the empire was disintegrating as ethnic groups declared independence one after another. Emperor Charles I tried desperately to reform the monarchy, but it was too late. By November 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had ceased to exist, replaced by the new nations of Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. A 400-year-old dynasty had vanished in a matter of weeks.
The Russian Empire – Three Centuries Undone in Days
The Romanov dynasty had ruled Russia for over 300 years when revolution erupted in February 1917. The empire that stretched from Poland to the Pacific, covering one-sixth of the world’s land surface, seemed too vast to collapse quickly. But that’s exactly what happened. Years of military disasters in World War I, combined with economic collapse and social unrest, had created a powder keg waiting to explode.
The February Revolution began with bread riots in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) on February 23, 1917. Within days, the protests had spread throughout the capital. The crucial moment came when the military units sent to suppress the uprising instead joined the protesters. By March 2, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, ending three centuries of Romanov rule. The speed of the collapse shocked even the revolutionaries themselves – they had expected months or years of struggle, not days.
The Ottoman Empire – The Sick Man’s Final Breath
The Ottoman Empire had been called the “sick man of Europe” for decades before its final collapse. By the early 20th century, this once-mighty empire that had threatened Vienna and controlled much of southeastern Europe, western Asia, and North Africa was struggling to survive. World War I would prove to be its death blow.
The empire’s defeat in WWI led to its dismemberment by the victorious Allies. The Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 reduced the Ottoman Empire to a small rump state in central Anatolia. But even this didn’t last long. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the Turkish War of Independence, and by 1922, the Ottoman Empire was formally abolished. The last sultan, Mehmed VI, fled Constantinople in November 1922. A 600-year-old empire that had once been the terror of Christian Europe had vanished, replaced by the modern Republic of Turkey.
The Soviet Union – Seventy Years Gone in a Week
The Soviet Union collapsed with dramatic speed in the last quarter of 1991, with 10 republics seceding from the union between August and December, largely out of fear of another coup, and by the end of September, Gorbachev no longer had the ability to influence events outside of Moscow. What makes this collapse so remarkable is how quickly the world’s other superpower simply ceased to exist. The dissolution of the Soviet Union, which formally occurred on December 25, 1991, marked the end of the world’s first communist state and a significant geopolitical shift.
The final act began with the failed August 1991 coup. On 19 August 1991, Gorbachev’s vice president and other senior officials formed the “General Committee on the State Emergency” to prevent the union treaty from being signed, but after three days, on 21 August 1991, the coup collapsed, and the organizers were detained while Gorbachev was reinstated as president, albeit with his power much depleted. The final round of the Soviet Union’s collapse began on 1 December 1991, when a Ukrainian popular referendum resulted in 91 percent voting to affirm independence, and the secession of Ukraine, long second only to Russia in economic and political power, ended any realistic chance of Gorbachev keeping the Soviet Union together.
The Soviet Union officially collapsed on December 25, 1991, and split into several independent nations, with the Soviet flag flying over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time on December 25, 1991. In the ensuing months, the fifteen national republics that made up the Soviet Union declared their independence and became separate countries, and on December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the leader of a Soviet Union that no longer existed as the Soviet flag with its hammer and sickle came down.
The Kingdom of Hawaii – Paradise Lost in Days
The Kingdom of Hawaii had been an independent nation for nearly a century when American business interests decided its fate in 1893. Queen Liliʻuokalani, who had ascended to the throne in 1891, was determined to restore power to the Hawaiian monarchy and reduce American influence. This put her on a collision course with the powerful American sugar planters who had grown wealthy under previous monarchs.
The overthrow was swift and devastating. On January 17, 1893, a group of American and European businessmen, supported by the U.S. Minister to Hawaii and backed by American marines, staged a coup. Queen Liliʻuokalani was forced to surrender to avoid bloodshed, and the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a matter of hours. The queen’s attempt to restore the monarchy’s authority had backfired spectacularly, and within days, the independent Kingdom of Hawaii was no more, replaced by a provisional government controlled by American interests.
The Khmer Rouge – Terror’s Swift End
The Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot had terrorized Cambodia for nearly four years, creating one of the 20th century’s most brutal genocides. By 1978, however, the regime’s aggressive policies had made it enemies on all sides. Border clashes with Vietnam intensified, and the Vietnamese government decided that the Khmer Rouge had to go. The regime that had killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians was about to meet its match.
The Vietnamese invasion began on December 25, 1978, and the collapse was startlingly rapid. Vietnamese forces, supported by Cambodian rebels, swept through the country with minimal resistance. The Khmer Rouge army, which had been effective at terrorizing civilians, proved no match for a professional military force. By January 7, 1979, Vietnamese troops had captured Phnom Penh, and Pol Pot’s government had fled to the Thai border. A regime that had ruled through absolute terror for nearly four years had been destroyed in just two weeks.
When Empires Crumble – The Common Thread
Looking at these rapid collapses, certain patterns emerge that seem to predict when even the mightiest empires become vulnerable. Internal division appears to be the most crucial factor – whether it’s the civil war that weakened the Incas, the ethnic tensions that tore apart Austria-Hungary, or the power struggles that paralyzed the Soviet Union. External pressure alone rarely destroys empires overnight, but when combined with internal weakness, the results can be catastrophic.
Disease and economic collapse also play recurring roles. The smallpox that devastated the Aztecs and Incas, the economic stagnation that plagued the Soviet Union, and the financial strain of World War I that broke the German and Ottoman empires all demonstrate how empires can become brittle when their foundations are undermined. Perhaps most importantly, these collapses show that legitimacy – the belief that a government has the right to rule – can evaporate with shocking speed.
The speed of these collapses reminds us that even the most powerful institutions are more fragile than they appear. Empires that seemed eternal one day can be historical footnotes the next. In our interconnected world, this lesson feels more relevant than ever – power that seems unshakeable today might vanish tomorrow, leaving only ruins and memories behind.
What would you have guessed about the speed at which these mighty empires fell?
Besides founding Festivaltopia, Luca is the co founder of trib, an art and fashion collectiv you find on several regional events and online. Also he is part of the management board at HORiZONTE, a group travel provider in Germany.
