The empire on which the sun never sets

The phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" has been used to describe some empires that were so territorially extensive that it seemed as though it was always daytime in at least one part of their territories. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the concept was used to describe the British Empire. Previously, it referred to the Spanish Empire under Philip II and his successors in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The phrase originated to describe the empire of Charles V, and derived from similar ancient claims of universal rule referring to the Roman and Persian empires.