Top Ten Most Powerful Nations In The Wheel of Time

[@HikingPhalkawn]

Perhaps the Sea Folk could have made the list. For Economy, they have to be highly ranked, as their ability to trade with all the coastal nations of the Westlands, as well as trading at the port city of the Shara is going to significantly boost this. For Military, they have to have 1 of the 2 top naval forces in the world, rivaled only by the Seanchan. For Influence, their interactions with all the coastal nations, as well as the agreements worked out with Andor, Tar Valon, and the Dragon Reborn (or Coramoor) add significantly to their influence throughout the Westlands. For Technology, combine the fact that they have the most capably sea going vessels that are also manned by Windfinders capable of channeling to aid in navigation and defense, and their technology level should also be rated at least as high, if not more so, than many of the nations on your list.

[@michaelpeart3202]

I have to agree. Plus they must have their own lands somewhere that's full of trees to build ships. So it's possible that they have resources we don't know of

[@notjazz.]

@@michaelpeart3202 nah they buy and trade for all their resources. Except fish

[@ChristmasLore]

They also have the only way (not a system! Or debilitating traditions) to allow channeling women to truly live free. If I were a channeler in such a world, I wouldn't even consider living anywhere else. They're the most wholesome of all the cultures. I personally can't stand the Aiels.

[@rmarieshen862]

I don't see it mentioned in many places, but the description of the first person fall witness to the fall of Kandor is one of the scenes in the books that always brings me to tears on each re-read (I am on about 12 readings now). Glad to see them mentioned here, because it illustrates what was lost, and seems to me to be a minor nod to the tragedy of the Breaking and its series of losses.

[@MrDrProfessor4]

Before watching the video I pondered what I thought the top five were, and ended up mirroring your top five exactly. The Aiel are formidable but there was that alternate future Aviendha saw...

[@Violetsoul6]

Great video. The Seachan might be really freaking weird and have horrible ideologies when it comes to those who can channel, but they sure do know how to run a country. Every nation the Seachan took over, everyone was always so surprised at how smoothly it ran and how safe it was. I always found that so interesting. I still hate those guys, though. The cucumber beats the peach is the sword form I would have voted for. Who are the ones making these decisions? Who would reject that? smh

[@Jake-hw9kp]

Whilst I know what you mean, it has to be said the Seanchan owned nations run smooth and safe in the way North Korea runs smooth and safe.

[@sanmiguel3280]

Nice video. Thanks for you work. My three thoughts: 1) I would have bumped Tear a bit. 2) Where are you getting your military number references from? 3) How will Siansonea work in what a terrible character Mat is when commenting on this video?

[@ferransilves907]

I love this video. I think we all agree on the Seanchan being number one, even though we hate them😭 Hoping for a joint Black-White Tower Nation appearing in the Fourth Age which becomes way more powerful than them.

[@benhuether5474]

I always saw The Seanchan as an allegory for Imperial Japan 🇯🇵 and as Tuon being directly inspired by Emperor Hirohito/Showa, the only Axis leader to remain in power for 64 years without facing the war crimes he committed in WW2. I'm pretty sure Robert Jordan was thinking of UNIT 731 when writing scenes with the Damane and the scene were Rand contemplated destroying the entire Seanchan empire with Balefire as an obvious reference to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@benhuether5474]

Just like with Tuon people are very split on Hirohito; some calling him a war criminal who had the power to stop what was happening while others say the Japanese socialist party (like Semirhage) just used his divine image as a ploy and that he had no true position of power, because he wasn’t allowed to be scene in public in order to maintain the allusion of him being a divine descendant of the Sun Goddess (similar to how Tuon is called Daughter of the Nine Moons).

[@goodlight4113]

Here late, but I really enjoy your ranking system. I just found your channel and am burning though all your content. Only comment is the economic power of Shara is likely higher, but also, unknowable. It's almost as large as the rest of Randland but we don't know it's population density. Its like, rating the economic power of china before Marco Polo as low maybe technically true but they probably could just trade man power and likely crush the bottom 5 of your list economically.

[@jourdongirard]

Thanks for the content!

[@Jae20818]

I appreciate the creation and use of system, even if it is objective, as it helps to see the comparison.

[@leekelly2509]

“Banana steals the Cherry”

[@haterzrmymotivators3]

Love these vids, just finished all the books in a month. Helps to watch these to remember what I literally sprinted through. I’d love a video on worst characters of the books (like the one you did of the best) I know Gawyn will be the worst, but interested to know what you’d come up for the other 9!

[@michaelh9649]

Holy crap…you read all of them in a month?? That’s some serious speed reading.

[@ChristmasLore]

Two weeks and I'm halfway through, I get the feeling. It's good to solidify some of the overall knowledge while still fresh.

[@ChristmasLore]

@@michaelh9649 , disabled and bedridden, I had to fight hard sometimes against pain and physical fatigue. Lost track of time, eating korean ramen and sandwiches, whole grain cookies, cereals. I sometime realize I've been reading for 48h straight... Been in a reading slog for years, and despite how ...hard it's being on me, still very happy WOT brought me to love reading again 🍃

[@haterzrmymotivators3]

@@michaelh9649 haha yeah it was during the first lockdown, I’ve been meaning to read since I was a teen so decided to take advantage of the time

[@RedArmyMedic]

I think you did great with this list. Only little constructive criticism no disrespect at all. A mention of Shinar defensive capabilities would be good but not needed. I do think you scaled them correctly anyways. I don't remember what the walls defensive fortifications of the other nations are. Andors garden wall, could of been better. I would like to know what some of the other nations would rank. Like Cairhien and Seafolk. Maybe compare armies to Whiteclocks. Also possibly compare to a rank of civilizations we know about from our history for perspective. Anyways this was amazing regardless. Thank you!

[@RiseeRee]

I don’t feel like Channelers count as technology except maybe in special cases, like the Seanchan’s use of the a’dam. Also, I feel like it’s strange that the Sea Folk are not on this list. They’re super influential because of their trading, and I would count their raker ships as important technology (even if it’s revealed later that they’re powered by the OP). Plus they have hella Channelers and one or more is even stronger than Nynaeve

[@wasen_aeon]

Surprised to not see Cairhien on the list.

[@RyanReeder]

Yes, Cairhien and the Sea Folk were surprising omissions. Maybe they were 11 and 12.

[@HikingPhalkawn]

@@RyanReeder I would say that Cairhien may have qualified at one point, but by mid-way through the series their power level has seriously waned. Invaded multiple times, having to have their population fed by the generosity of other nations (Tear and Andor), and not even really having their own nobility in charge anymore. Plus the major boost to their economy had previously been that their traders were allowed to move through the Aiel Waste, but that permission was revoked after the act of cutting down the tree gifted to them by the Aiel as a sign of appreciation and debt (toh) for past assistance lead to the Aiel War. As for the Sea Folk, I posted a separate comment outlining why I did feel they should have made the list.

[@joberlin7387]

I would be curious what rating the Shadow would get. I kind of forgot about the Aiel 🤦 and expected the top two to be Shadow and Seanchan.

[@voodoochild1975az]

considering how things ended up, and how they were resurrected from the ashes beyond all hope... I think arguments could be made for Manatheren and Malkier. Nations that simply would not die and rose again against impossible odds. I would be terrified to piss off either of them if I were a rival nation.

[@adrianbundy3249]

I think Israel would like a word too, if you want an IRL example :)

[@pearse9116]

*cries in Mayene*

[@evilemuempire9550]

Honestly would rank number 1 in my top 10 places to live in WoT

[@matttonkthetank5619]

FYI, on Shara you said 1 out of 5 on influence, but it should be 1 out of 10. Mistakes happen. Keep up the good work!

[@Siansonea]

Now this is the kind of content I come here for. Love these videos. I think your military scale tends to skew the numbers on everything. Why is that a 25 point scale, when everything else is 10 and 5? Do you think military might is two and a half times more significant than economy and influence? Do you think that technology is half as important? I guess I don't understand how these scales were devised. To me, influence should be rated much higher. If you can negotiate well, you don't even have to use your military might. The Grey Ajah can probably be credited with influencing how the nations of the Westlands formed and changed throughout the Third Age. The armies of Tar Valon are formidable, but they are mostly just a prop for the Grey Ajah. Regardless of any ranking system you can come up with, there can be no doubt that the Seanchan are at the top of the food chain. Empress Fortuona is arguably the most powerful person in the world at the end of the series. I would say that after her, the Amyrlins of the White Tower and Black Tower would be next in line as far as political power. And considering how high the military are valued in your rankings, I'm surprised that the Black Tower didn't make the list. Unless they're being considered part of Andor, which, they might take umbrage with that idea. I think that in the early decades of the Fourth Age, the Black Tower will quickly merge with the White Tower, or find a location more suited to establishing a power base that is independent of any nation. I think the Black Tower is going to race up the list very quickly, being a society of channelers. I also suspect that even if the two towers don't merge, they will both quickly become co-ed, increasing the power and influence of both societies exponentially. Obviously that can't really be considered in any rankings of the nations at the end of the Third Age, though. I think the Aiel are too high on the list. They're the equivalent of U.N. peacekeepers at the end of the story. And look at how the Asha'man mowed through the Aiel at the battle of Dumai's Wells. Yeah, they have a lot of warm bodies, and well-trained ones at that, but they're no match for the One Power. And I would argue that Shara is very rapidly going to tear itself apart in the power vacuum left by Demandred's death. He took a lot of the military and technological resources of Shara with him to the Fields of Merrilor, so what do they really have left in Shara proper? Something tells me the Seanchan are already eyeing Shara for conquest. I would also like to see the rankings for the nations that didn't make the list, like the Sea Folk, Tarabon, Arad Doman, Ghealdan, etc. I honestly thought the Sea Folk would be on this list, since they have a complete monopoly on seaborne trade in the Westlands. I was a little surprised that Cairhien didn't make the list, but then I remembered that the Aiel War and the Last Battle have basically turned Cairhien into East Andor at the end of the books.

[@oskarpalus2846]

Aiel not only have the best warriors, but also they were much better at finding those able to channel one power due to influence of the wise ones. They may not be as good in battle as trained damane, but there is alot of them and they can adapt quickly. They were butchered in Dumai's wells becouse it was the first battle since centuries that involved such mass use of one power, rivaled maybe by trolloc wars as the aes sedai were not restricted by their oaths, just as black tower isnt.

[@Siansonea]

@@oskarpalus2846 yeah, the Aiel have Wise Ones, but they are no match for Asha'man. All of the Aiel Wise Ones are female, and it is known that male channelers are stronger at the type of channeling that is employed in warfare. Sure, the Aiel can start incorporating male channelers into their ranks, but they're playing catch-up at this point. And if push comes to shove, you can best believe that the White Tower and the Black Tower would join forces against the Aiel if they ever decided to make a grab for power in the Westlands. The Aiel have not tried to create relationships among the 'wetlanders', if anything, they have always held themselves apart and continue to do so. That is not how you win in the long run.

[@bruceh9780]

Yeh in terms of nations, military isn't 2.5 times stronger than economy, also, a 5th category of 'Governance/stability' should probably be used. Real life, as well as TWoT history is peppered with great empires that tore themselves apart over succession. By the scale used here, Ghengis Khan's empire was one of the most powerful and influential the world has ever seen, and would have ranked near perfect in score but it barely outlasted it's founder by a few of decades - ie. not that great a nation.

[@joshuawatts6823]

I wanted #1 to be the Aiel so badly, but it's hard to argue against the Seanchan, even if "Randland" all combined it would be a hard fought war as seen by Aviendha

[@tonyc7623]

>channelers >objects Nae'Blis: Seanchan confirmed.

[@ananass8030]

I would've switch Kandor and Saldea in rank. It's true that Saldea has bigger military and unique goods to trade, but I'll bet that most of their resources are bought from them and traded throughout the Westlands by Ilian and Kandor. If Kandor moves the goods and bring the coin it would make her much richer than Saldea and on account of that, more influential.

[@LongShaynx]

First! *Edit* question on influence... are you only using Randland in your influence category? Some of my thoughts on rankings were off, but I was considering population as a main factor. I'd imagine Shara, for example, to have a fair bit of the population, and having had a higher influence on how a percentage of the globe lived their lives. Great video as always

[@NaeBlis]

Shara is a huge land but doesn’t have a huge population. Much of it isn’t inhabitable

[@LongShaynx]

@@NaeBlis dammit, I'm gonna need to rewatch your shara video

[@edmurphy7484]

Good list

[@ScottT248]

Loved your whiteboard. I laughed out loud.

[@carolbriscoe9337]

Was a little disappointed by not seeing Aiel. Seanchan and Andor on the map. You showed the other 7 locations and I was keen to see the last 3.

[@Kmart929292]

I'm always looking for a spoiler warning of RED, Nae'Blis!

[@christianefiorito3204]

Tear feels like the old kingdom of Naples and Sicily.

[@nearzero12]

Least used sword form: Tickling the taint. It's a shame really its really effective.

[@evilemuempire9550]

Rand is an expert in it

[@shanelegendre6314]

Rejected sword from. The dodo greats his preditor.

[@ryanabate1981]

I loved this video, but I think you way underrated the first 5 on military, 17 out of 25 for the borderlands?

[@AnitreaSadi]

The only thing I see really missing is the black tower.

[@adamdrew1143]

It’s not a nation, I don’t consider tar valon a nation either, a city state at most.

[@AnitreaSadi]

@@adamdrew1143 that is very true, for some reason in my mind I saw it as one. Like the land was taken for them.

[@Siansonea]

@@AnitreaSadi Land isn't what makes a nation a nation. The Aiel have all but abandoned the Waste, and yet they made the list. The Black Tower is a bona fide nation in every sense that truly matters, and their influence will only grow with the passage of time. Andor may regret letting them camp on the doorstep of Caemlyn.

[@AnitreaSadi]

@@Siansonea I agree with all of this!

[@adamdrew1143]

The aiel are a people though, and they always planned on going back to the three fold land. The black and white tower are a gathering of different peoples.

[@djangoelliott615]

When talking about Tear you left out Tearian horses, which are supposedly the best in the world, I think that should factor into either their economy or technology score. With Andor you left out Two Rivers tobacco, which while Two Rivers is only technically part of Andor it does have to go through at least Whitebridge which is under the crowns influence and the tobacco is probably taxed there before leaving, which should factor into their economy score.

[@thegoondockswarcouncil9543]

Love your channel, and great video. But one nit pick: a 7/10 for Aiel economy?!? Really?!? That seems so unreasonable that I wonder if you were doing some massaging of the numbers to reach a predetermined outcome. I know that they had allowed the silk trade for a while, but that primarily benefited Cairhien, not the Aiel. And that was over and done at the time of the books anyway. Their “economy” is described as almost entirely subsistence agriculture, with no cash crops, no exports, no service economy (taverns, inns, restaurants, etc), and minimal crafts. The only valuables they have of substantial value are the loot they stole from the Westlands during the Aiel war, but I question how substantial that loot really is in terms of national scale economy. They only looted one country, and only took the fifth, plus only 3 of the clans crossed the dragon wall so it could hardly have been enough loot to wildly boost the whole Aiel nation. And even if the loot where much much more substantial than what I thing, I still question whether that loot constitutes a serious economy (much less 7/10)-a one time infusion of cash, even if large, does not a national economy make and sustain. Perhaps if they were crossing the dragon wall every couple years in an ongoing basis for large raids, then that would become a “Viking” style economy, but that is not what we have. The Aiel are about as backwards as you can get when it comes to economics (perhaps only Shara would be worse, except for their massive silk trade). Frankly, this one baffles me.

[@nearzero12]

They most likely taxed any and all trade going through there land. And they are known to trade with Shara. 7 out of 10 sounds about right. And not to mention when they allow ppl through they probably trade gold for food and protection as well as guides. Being a middle man in any commerce is usually very lucrative. And the last thing is they live in the dessert. It's not said in the books, but digging wells and looking for water I'm sure they came across iron ore copper ore, and most likely gold. All of the historic gold rushes have been in Hot dessert valleys. Just saying.

[@kylefisher5138]

@@nearzero12 being a middle man was extremly lucrative to Persia until the explosion of European maritime trade around the horn of africa

[@stevenroetzel4470]

@@nearzero12 not strictly true, what about the Klondike/Yukon?

[@joshmurry8125]

Huh, I think Tar Valon should be higher solely because of the white tower. BUT since Aes Sedai operate behind the scenes mostly and are not aggressive with their military I get why they scored lower than most. Top three are spot on!

[@PurpleOpinionM]

Uh id love to believe that seanchan isnt totally in civil war mode, cause semiraghe basically destabilized the entire region. So they might have to be lower on the list. Andor also after the destruction of Caemlyn might warrant a lower spot. But other than that this was funnn to watch ❤

[@dandyjohnson]

I would agree with your list even though I would agree with your weight scale you used. I still think it would probably come out the same.

[@ZubinMadon]

Kander tech should be higher with their super fancy towers.

[@Delfontes]

Yeah number one was obvious... I think I'd give the one power more consideration... Tar valon has so much influence it doesn't need a military to have leaders bow in their presence.

[@bjornsundstrom4915]

I haven’t watched the whole video but I feel like Illian has to be ranked to low, however that’s just based on how people talk about it throughout a book. I got the impression that illian was one of the most powerful countries there is

[@mishiara5499]

No mention of the saldean women adding to their score for military ?

[@jacksongould4263]

I really liked the video but some of the rankings seemed off to me. I think the Aiel should be a lot lower on the list, while their soldiers are undeniably the best trained they lack diversity/flexibility (cavalry, raken, and other beasts) and they can easily be torn apart by channelers as their own don't actively fight. I would have dropped their economy down as well, maybe I'm forgetting stuff but their economy must have nearly disappeared after the Aiel war as they wouldn't let traders except peddlers cross the waste. Tear should be a bit higher on the list as well I'd say. Loved the video though and would echo some of the other comments about how you think the Black Tower stacks up and the Shadow as well.

[@errtu123]

Considering how MoL ended, there is no stoping the Seanchan. They lost the least amount of soldiers and channelers, while all the other nations very literally decimated.

[@twig8523]

... I'm pretty sure the rest of the "wetlands" armies lost more than a tenth of their forces. 😶

[@errtu123]

@@twig8523 Well, killing 1 in 10 is an outdated, historical meaning.

[@kelvinmatson9906]

That's because seanchan wasn't fighting for most of the battle they came in fresh towards the end and wrapped things up

[@nearzero12]

I think it's crazy that Andor can gather 200,000 thousand man while the Aiel can gather at least a million all of who are superb warriors.

[@evilemuempire9550]

To be fair that’s probably like 5-10% of the Andoran population whereas the Aiel are probably more like 50-75%

[@adamdrew1143]

The blight vs seanchan is tough, I don’t think they’d be able to take the aiel.

[@elishagraus8513]

(Spoilers) In aviendha's vision in rhuidean we see that if the Aiel and seanchan went to war the seanchan would win

[@captainwilhelm9657]

RJ has said that Illianers have a Dutch accent.

[@LibertyWolf1]

Actually. If we're going about the surviving nations post last battle. Which means post The Dragons Peace treaty. Than I'm going to go with Aiel as #1. They are completely autonomous. They're also the enforcers of the treaty. Every other nation is signatory to the treaty. Which means the Aiel also have a top tier amount of influence. The Aiel are also 1 of 2 nations able to trade with the Sharans. Which means a strong economic influence. Militarily? Umm... Hello Aiel. Tech? Aviendha is able know what Age of Legends ter'angle are useful. Which means they are able know about useful highly advanced ancient tech.

[@H4rg]

Its a little weird to rank the aiels as #1 when they lost against the Seanchan tho

[@phlatbrim2732]

Dude top of white board is cut off! NOOOOOOO!!!!!

[@TheStudHog]

I think maybe you meant Cairhien when you said Kandor!?!?

[@fredcole6844]

If you're counting all of the Aiel as "one nation", I think you have to count all of the borderlands as one nation as well in fairness. Also, I think you vastly underestimate how valuable the One Power is during a battle. Lastly, you didn't mention the Black Tower or any of the great generals :(.

[@milosmaksimovic6103]

Why Andor is not on the list ?

[@NaeBlis]

It is?

[@milosmaksimovic6103]

@@NaeBlis i somehow missed number three, sorry😅

[@alexsantos-hc4io]

Spoiler!!! In my opinion, after aMoL, Andor is set up to be an beast of a nation. The agreement with the Kin grants Elaine the healthiest nation and the agreement with the seafolk gives Andors economy the strength of none other. Other point none other nation has, is the fact that Andor will have an strong and beloved lider that will reign for centuries. That grants stability and military power through the production of angreal, ter'angreal and even san'angreal eventually. All this without mentioning Aludra's ingenuity and the possibles ties to various Nations and institutions like Cairhein, Saldea, Aiel, White and Black Tower...

[@roberttonner354]

Technology can be far more important than the size of your army, just look at the first gulf war. Sotechnology should gain more points.

[@bjornsundstrom4915]

You ranked kandor and saldea too high, I think both illian and tear should rank higher, you especially screwed Tear over, for example the stone should have given tear some extra points in either technology or military imo

[@fenixchief7]

300 Aiel took the stone lmao

[@siddhanm710]

Watching in 2022..

[@mavrick1992]

tai'shar manetheren

[@michaelnielson3978]

Not in full agreement with some of your assessments in this but the one thing i really dont know if i agree with is tar valon as a nation. I dont know if i think it should count as a nation. I think at best its a citystate, kinda like DC. It isnt a state, but doesnt belong to any state.

[@EricBentleyEB5minus2]

Lol cucumber beats the peach 😂😂 😂. Shout out to everyone that catches the white board😂😂😂

[@sidious76]

Well yes. Just as long as The Blight/Shadowlands is not considered a nation I guess. In which case they would be No.1 unfortunately lol

[@adamlewitt788]

I think you're rating Andor too low. Especially at the end of the books it's going to be in the place of greatest strength and will have passed up tarValen on influence. They have access to the two rivers long bow men and a built-in alliance with Sadeia. Not to mention the black tower is going to have to make deals with them regarding the common defense. I see Andor as the second strongest nation after the seanchan. And I think they will likely be the leaders of whatever resistance the west lands put up against the Seanchan.

[@Einungbrekke]

I agree on your list.as an honorably mention, you should have had Rands combined force and compared it to the top spot. PS. The next time, have your phone on sleep mode. We could hear it vibrate a lot... I was looking over to my phone constantly! :D

[@kelvinmatson9906]

Berelain disapproves

[@pearse9116]

Calling Andor a *king*dom? That's a paddling.

[@Siansonea]

Funny how we don't have the word "queendom" in our language, isn't it? It's literally unheard of. I guess we would call Andor a 'matriarchal monarchy'.

[@pearse9116]

@@Siansonea "Matriarchal Monarchy" has a really fun flow to it.

[@phlatbrim2732]

Also Love RED SPOILERS!!!!

[@christianefiorito3204]

Shara is ancient India

[@dragonsorcerer1615]

What about Satan's army?

[@Andrew-tz2wv]

Missed some of Andor's assets. didn't mention the Black Tower as an asset of Andor nor the addition of Cairhein and its university. its arguable that the Black tower would respond to any threats to Andor, but due to its youth and location I cannot imagine that the Black Tower would allow a foreign nation to erode the territory of Andor if for no other reason than tax breaks. Also didn't mention The Prince of Ravens, literally the greatest general to ever live, as a Seanchan asset

[@fernandogarcia3957]

Cucumber beats the peach?? Hahahahahaha

[@bruceh9780]

Interesting video, but you didn't add in any type of allowance for Government Stability, which is often the real test of a nation. Strong succession and the power of the government, as well as social cohesiveness are all necessary for a nation to be stable and survive, and a lack of this stability is far more likely to destroy a nation than wars with other nations. Take the empire of Ghengis Khan for example, it would have ranked very highly on the scale used here, near perfect scores in Military, Economy, Influence, and Tech, and it didn't last 1 generation after his death, for a WoT example, the empire of Artur Hawkwing may have been the largest, most influential, and most powerful since the breaking, but it literally fell apart months after Hawkwings death. Any nation that will pull itself apart after 1 death isn't particularly powerful.

[@DavidLee-eh4dw]

I love the wheel of time, but dang, that music is so annoying

[@milawick300]

Too many ads. I'm out of here.

[@kyleoflaherty6359]

Arad Doman should be on here. It's the home of one of the 5 great captains. Same goes for Amador with pedron Nail, Great captain and the power of the Children of the light aka whitecloaks.

[@NaeBlis]

It was number 11 haha. I ranked all of the nations. Just showed the top 10

[@kyleoflaherty6359]

Nae'Blis thanks for responding. I love your channel