List of confederations

Includes confederations of confederations.

Name	Period	Type	Notes
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.
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 Leauges that was a confederation of twelve towns
Jin (Korean state)	4th–2nd cent. BC	Confederation of States
Ba (state)	? - 326 BC	Confederation of Cheifdoms
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[clarification needed] the Nushibi confederation.
Papal States	756–1870	Confederation of States
Muisca Confederation	c. 800-1540 AD	Confederation of States	A confederation of Muisca chiefdoms in South America.
Kimek–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.
Veronese League [it]	1164–1167	Defensive League	was merged into the Lombard League
Lombard League	1167–1250	Defensive League
Tuscan League	1197–?	Defensive League
Kingdom of Cusco	1200–1438	Confederation of Cheifdoms
Livonian Confederation	1207–1561	Confederation of States
First Rhenish League [de]	1254–1257	League of Cities
Old Swiss Confederacy	1291 – 1798	Confederation 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.
Thuringian Three-City League [de]	1304–1481	Leauge of Cities
Confederation 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
Halberstadt Three-City League [de]	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 Steppe
League of Lezhë	1444–1468	League	Albanian League of nobles revolting against the Ottoman empire
Aztec Empire	1428–1521	Confederation of States	Alliance between three city states in Central America
Menceyatos 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 Venice
League 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
United Provinces of the Midi [fr]	1573–1589	Confederation of communities	confederation of local communities in southern france during the French wars of religion
Catholic League (French)	1576–1595	Military Leauge
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 Kongo
Kingdom 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.
Bohemian Confederation [de]	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
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	1781–1789	Confederation 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.
United Provinces of New Granada	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	1815–1820	Confederation 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
Confederate States of America	1861–1865	Confederation of States	Confederation[citation needed] 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.
Austria-Hungary	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	1872–1876	Confederation 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
Soviet Union	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 Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Geledesha [zh] and the Tibetan People's Republic.
Western Galla Confederation	1936	Confederation of Cheifdoms
Netherlands-Indonesia Union	1949–1956	Union of States
Ethiopian Empire	1952–1962	Union of States	Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea, an attempt to merge Eritrea and Ethiopia. Dissolved after Emperor Haile Selassie I formally annexed Eritrea to Ethiopia.
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland	1953–1963	Union of States	Also known as the Central African Federation, consisting of the then British colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland (current Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi).
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.
United Arab Republic	1958–1961	Union of States	Union between Syria and Egypt. Dissolved after Syria's withdrawal following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état.
United Arab States	1958–1961	Union of States	Confederation between the United Arab Republic and North Yemen. Dissolved due to the breakup of the United Arab Republic.
Union of African States	1958–1961	Union of States	An attempt to merge Ghana, Guinea and Mali through the views of panafricanism. Dissolved due to rising tensions between the countries after the 1963 Togolese coup d'état.
Federation of Arab Republics	1972–1977	Union of States	An attempt to merge Libya, Egypt and Syria. Dissolved despite public approval in each of the countries due to disagreements among the governments on the terms of the merger.
Arab Islamic Republic	1974	Union of States	Short-lived proposed union of Libya and Tunisia.
Senegambia Confederation	1982–1989	Union of States	Confederation that included the present-day countries of Senegal and Gambia.
Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus	1989–2000	Confederal militarized Quasi-State	A militarized political organization in the Caucasus
Serbia and Montenegro	2003–2006	Union of States	Replaced the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Dissolved after the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum.
Novorossiya	2014–present	Confederation of States	A proposed and de facto confederation that emerged during the War in Donbas.

The Ancient Greeks formed many Leagues which often acted as confederations and alliances usually to combat a common enemy, These polities would often be known as symmachia and koinon.

A supranational union is a supranational polity which lies somewhere between a confederation that is an association of sovereign states and a federation that is a single sovereign state.