A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action.
Confederations of states
Includes confederations of confederations:
Name Period Type NotesArzawa 1700–1300 BC Confederation of States Philistia 1450–604 BC Confederation of States A confederation of city states in the Gaza Strip.Assuwa 1400-14th century BC Confederation of States Confederation of 22 states in Anatolia formed to fight the Hittite Empire.Xu (state) ? - 512 BC Confederation of States Sea Peoples 1200 BC Hypothesised seafaring confederation that initiated the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East.Latin League 8th cent. BC - 338 BC A confederation of Latin towns in central western Italy.Three Crowned Kings 600 BC–300 AD Confederation of States Three Tamil dynasties which ruled in a triumvirate in Tamilakam, South Asia.Etruscan dodecapolis 6th Cent. BC Confederation of cities one of many Etruscan Leagues that was a confederation of twelve townsJin (Korean state) 4th–2nd cent. BC Confederation of States Ba (state) ? - 326 BC Confederation of Chiefdoms Mahan confederacy 194 BC–?th cent. AD Confederation of States Gaya Confederacy 42–532 AD Confederation of States A Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period.Xianbei confederacy 93–234 AD Confederation of tribal confederations Nomadic empire in Eastern Asia.Quda'a 4th cent.-12th cent. AD Confederations or tribes and tribal confederations Confederation of Arab tribes.Toltec Empire 496–1122 AD Confederation of States Existed as a confederation between the Toltecs and the Chichimeca, simultaneously as an empire exerting control over places like Cholula.First Turkic Khaganate 552–603 AD Confederation of tribal confederations Göktürk confederation in Eurasia (unsure if actually a confederation)Oqun/Western Turkic Khaganate 603-657/742 AD Confederation of tribal confederations Split from the First Turkic Khaganate. Bore the Nushibi confederation. Papal States 756–1870 Confederation of States Muisca Confederation -1540 AD Confederation of States A confederation of Muisca chiefdoms in South America.Five Boroughs of the Danelaw 870s - 918 Confederation of Towns A confederation of towns in Danish MerciaKimek–Kipchak confederation 880-1035 AD Confederation of tribal confederations Turkic state formed by seven peoples, including the Yemek and Kipchaks, in the area between the Ob and Irtysh rivers. League of Mayapan 987–1461 AD Confederation of States Pre-Hispanic state in Yucatan.Cuman-Kipchak Confederation 10th cent.–1241 AD Confederation of tribal confederations Confederation dominated by two Turkic nomadic tribes: the Cumans (also known as the Polovtsians or Folban) and the Kipchaks in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe. Cinque Ports 11th cent.–present Confederation of Towns A confederation of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex, England that formerly existed for military and trade purposes but continues for ceremonial reasons.Aymara kingdoms 1151–1477 Confederation of States Alliance of native polities in South America, later conquered by the Inca Empire. 1164–1167 Defensive League was merged into the Lombard LeagueLombard League 1167–1250 Defensive League Tuscan League 1197–? Defensive League Kingdom of Cusco 1200–1438 Confederation of Chiefdoms Livonian Confederation 1207–1561 Confederation of States 1254–1257 League of Cities Old Swiss Confederacy 1291 – 1798Confederation of States Hanseatic League 13th Century - 1669 Trade Confederation Jolof Empire 13th century–1549 Confederation of States Confederacy of Wolof and Serer kingdoms in modern-day Senegambia. 1304–1481 League of CitiesConfederation of Madya-as 13th cent.–1569 Confederal Monarchy A pre-Hispanic state that was located in the Philippines. Chalco (altépetl) 13th cent.–1521 Confederation of States 1326–1486 League of Cities Swabian League of Cities 1331–1389 League of Cities Confederacy of Tlaxcala 1348–1520 Confederation of States Lusatian League 1346–1815 League Décapole 1354–1679 Defensive League League of God's House 1367–1799 Confederation of States Confederation of Cologne 1367–1385 Military Confederation Aq Qoyunlu 1378–1503 Confederation of States Grey League 1395–1799 League Lizard League (medieval) 1397–1411 League Oirat Confederation 1399–1634 Confederation of tribal federations Confederation of four Oirat tribes League of the Ten Jurisdictions 1436 – 1799 League Prussian Confederation 1440–1466 Confederation of States Nogai Horde 1440s–1634 Confederations of tribal federations Confederation formed by the Nogais in the Pontic-Caspian SteppeLeague of Lezhë 1444–1468 League Albanian League of nobles revolting against the Ottoman EmpireAnlo (Anlo-Ewe) 1468–present Confederation of States Aztec Empire 1428–1521 Confederation of States Alliance between three city states in Central AmericaMenceyatos Confederation pre-15th cent. Confederation of States Confederation on Tenerife prior to Spanish conquest of the Canary Islands. Taoro was primus inter pares. Three Leagues 1471-1799 League Swabian League 1488 - 1534 League Kwararafa Confederacy 1500-1840 Confederation of States Multi-ethnic confederation in central Nigeria.League of Cambrai 1508–1511 Military League a military coalition league against the Republic of VeniceLeague of Cognac 1526 - 1530 Military League Confederation of Shan States 1527–1550s Confederation of States Confederation in Myanmar that conquered the Ava Kingdom.Schmalkaldic League 1531–1550s League A league of Germanic Lutheran princes that sought to create a protestant replacement for the Holy Roman Empire 1573–1589 Confederation of communities confederation of local communities in Southern France during the French wars of religion Catholic League (French) 1576–1595 Military League Dutch Republic 1579–1795 Confederal Republic Chaubisi Rajya 16th cent.–1810 Confederation of States A confederation of 24 states. One of these, Gorkha, later conquered the others to form the Kingdom of Nepal.Baise Rajya ?–1810 Confederation of States A confederation of 22 states, later conquered by Gorkha in the unification of Nepal.Seven Kingdoms of Kongo dia Nlaza 16th cent. Confederation of States Confederation of seven kingdoms that were conquered by the Kingdom of KongoKingdom of Lunda 1600-1887 Confederation of States Confederation of states in the Upemba Depression in modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Protestant Union 1608–1621 Military League Catholic League (German) 1609–1635 Military League Confederate States of Lanao 1616–1904 Confederation of States Confederation on Mindanao, Philippines. 1619–1620 Confederation of Estates Heilbronn League 1633–1635 League Confederate Ireland 1642–1652 Confederal Monarchy New England Confederation 1643–1684 Confederation of States British colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Maratha Confederacy 1671-1818 Confederation of States League of Augsburg 1686 - ? Military League Aro Confederacy 1690–1902 Confederation of States One of the two largest precolonial and colonial empires of the Igbo (Ibo) people of West Africa. (The other is the Kingdom of Nri.)Dzików Confederation 1734–1736 Military Confederation Sikh Confederacy 1748–1799 Confederation of States Confederation of 12 Sikh states.Heshun Confederation 1776–1839 Confederation of States Confederation of Kongsi republics in Borneo. United States of America 1781–1789Confederation of States In its first steps, the United States was a confederation of thirteen states (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) organized under the Articles of Confederation. Superseded by the new government under the U.S. Constitution. United Belgian States 1790 Confederation of States Ekiti Confederacy 1800s–1893/1914 Confederation of States Formed by the Ekiti people, a subset of Yoruba, in Nigeria. Sokoto Caliphate 1804 – 1903 Confederation of Emirates Confederation of the Rhine 1806–1813 Confederation of States Client state of the First French Empire. Dissolved after the Battle of Leipzig in the War of the Sixth Coalition. 1811–1816 Confederation of States Secessionist state in South America later reconquered by Spain American Confederation of Venezuela 1811 - 1819 confederal republic Sweden-Norway 1814–1905 Union of kingdoms Personal union between Sweden and Norway. Dissolved after the 1905 Norwegian plebiscite. German Confederation 1815–1866 Confederation of States Created as loose confederation of German states by the Congress of Vienna to replace the Holy Roman Empire. Weakened by the Austro-Prussian rivalry and the German Revolutions of 1848 before its final dissolution after Prussia's victory in the Austro-Prussian War. League of the Free Peoples 1815–1820Confederation of States Confederation of the Equator 1824 Argentine Confederation 1831–1861 Confederation of States First political organization of Argentina. Highly decentralized and without a head of state. Peru-Bolivian Confederation 1836–1839 Union of States Sonderbund 1845–1847 AD Confederation of States A rival confederation of cantons in Switzerland during the Sonderbund War Granadine Confederation 1858–1863 Confederation of States 1861–1865 Confederation of States Confederation established by several southern slave states that seceded from the Union. It comprised 11 states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Kentucky and Missouri were both claimed by the Confederacy but never officially seceded. The Confederation was never officially recognized as a nation, although the United Kingdom and France recognized it as a belligerent power. Was reabsorbed by the United States after the American Civil War. North German Confederation 1867–1871 Confederation of States Military alliance of 22 states of Germany with the Kingdom of Prussia formed by the Augustbündnis. Superseded by the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. Fante Confederacy 1867–1873 Confederation of States Formed by the Fante people, a subset of Akan, in Ghana. 1867–1918 Union of Kingdoms Personal union between the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (Austria) and the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Hungary). Dissolved by the Treaties of Trianon and Saint-Germain-en-Laye after World War I. Carlist States 1872–1876Confederation of States Established by the Carlists in Basque provinces and Navarre during the war. Confederated Republic of Altai 1918–1922 Confederal Republic Attempt at creating an independent Altai, but was annexed by the Soviet Union. Republic of the Rif 1921–1926 Confederal Republic 1922–1936 Confederation of States Originally it was a confederation between four soviet socialist republics (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic). As a confederation of member states, Soviet constitutions formally defined each member republic as a sovereign state, whose membership was voluntary, and who could secede at any time. Soviet constitutions of 1936 onward defined the state as a federation. Dissolved in 1991. Northwest Chinese Soviet Federation 1935–1936 Confederation of States included the and the Tibetan People's Republic.Western Galla Confederation 1936 Confederation of Chiefdoms Netherlands-Indonesia Union 1949–1956 Union of States Arab Federation 1958 Union of States Ephemeral union of Jordan and Iraq. Dissolved after the overthrow of King Faisal II of Iraq in the July 14 Revolution. 1958–1961 Union of States Union between Syria and Egypt. Dissolved after Syria's withdrawal following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. United Ar