Ottoman territory extend across three continents over nearly 2.3 million square kilometers. Its military was powerful… and feared. The economy was strong and the treasury plentiful.

But in time that changed. Subsequent Ottoman rulers became complacent. The government became bureaucratic. The military became softer. Society became decadent.

As a whole, they lost the elements that made them strong and powerful to begin with, and the empire began to dwindle.

Over time, France ascended as the dominant superpower; Paris became the global center of politics, commerce, and the arts. And no other European power could come close to France's wealth or military capabilities.

But eventually the French, too, lost their way, and were eventually displaced by the British Empire as the world's leading superpower.

To this day the British Empire is still the largest ever in the history of the world, totaling more than a quarter of the world's land mass. They dominated global trade and oversaw a period of relative peace now called the Pax Britannica.

Yet they too eventually declined, and the British Empire was ultimately displaced by the United States, which has now been the world's leading superpower for decades.