Hello I am a student in high school and i have to do a research project for my class where i have to pick any empire between 500 ad to the 1700s and I have no idea what i should pick and was looking for some guidance on what empires you history buffs find interesting! Any help is greatly appreciated! Also no im not looking to just copy what others say just looking for ideas :)
TLDR: i have a research project and im looking for an empire between 500 ad to the 1700s to research about
Well, a lot of ink has been spilled about the Ottomans so you'll probably find plenty of fantastic material about them.
If you move across the sea, though, the Inca were very interesting if you're willing to have fewer sources.
It depends on the definition of an Empire. Interesting nations that were identified as an empire as part of their titles include the Ottoman, Byzantine, Carolingian/Holy Roman Empire, Russian, and Mughal empires. Interesting nations, albeit more difficult to find research about, that claimed imperial titles but weren't recognized as such include the Catholic Latin Empire which ruled Constantinople for several decades before being overthrown, the Bulgarian Empire, who couldn't get the pope to grant it the title, and the many myriad rump states of Byzantium. Interesting nations which didn't have emperor in their titles but fit the definition include the Rashidun Caliphate and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.