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{{About|the political and historical term}}
{{copyedit|date=January 2014}}
{{more footnotes|date=June 2013}}
[[File:WorldEmpires.png|thumb|300px|Imperialism and colonization in 1900]]
{{Basic Forms of government}}
The term '''''empire''''' derives from the [[Latin]] ''[[imperium]]'' (power, authority). Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples ([[ethnic]] groups) united and ruled either by a [[monarch]] ([[emperor]], empress) or an [[oligarchy]].

Aside from the traditional usage, the term ''empire'' can be used, in an extended sense, to denote a large-scale business enterprise (e.g., a [[transnational corporation]]) or a political organisation of either national-, regional- or city scale, controlled either by a person (a [[political boss]]) or a group authority (political bosses).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/empire?view=uk|title=definition of empire from Oxford Dictionaries Online|work=Oxford Dictionary|accessdate=21 November 2008}}</ref>

An imperial [[political structure]] is established and maintained in two ways: (i) as a ''territorial empire'' of direct conquest and control with ''force'' (direct, physical action to compel the emperor's goals) or (ii) as a coercive, ''hegemonic empire'' of indirect conquest and control with ''power'' (the perception that the emperor ''can'' physically enforce his desired goals). The former provides greater tribute and direct political control, yet limits further expansion because it absorbs military forces to fixed garrisons. The latter provides less tribute and indirect control, but avails military forces for further expansion.<ref>Ross Hassig, ''Mexico and the Spanish Conquest'' (1994), pp. 23–24, ISBN 0-582-06829-0 (pbk)</ref> Territorial empires (e.g., the [[Mongol Empire]], the [[Median Empire]]) tended to be [[Connected space|contiguous]] areas. The term, on occasion, has been applied to [[shipping|maritime]] empires or ''[[thalassocracy|thalassocracies]]'', (e.g., the [[Delian League|Athenian]] and [[British Empire]]s) with looser structures and more scattered territories.

==Definition==
An ''empire'' is a state with politico-military dominion of populations who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial (ruling) ethnic group and its culture<ref>''The Oxford English Reference Dictionary'', Second Edition (2001), p. 461, ISBN 0-19-860046-1</ref>. This is unlike a [[''federation'']], which is an extensive state voluntarily composed of autonomous states and peoples.

What physically and politically constitutes an empire is variously defined. It might be a state effecting [[imperialism|imperial policies]] or a particular [[Structuralism|political structure]]. Empires are typically formed from separate components that come together. Some units include ethnic, national, cultural, and religious diversity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Stephen|title=Empire|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-280223-1|page=15}}</ref>

Sometimes an empire is a semantic construction, such as when a ruler assumes the title of "Emperor". The said ruler's nation logically becomes an "Empire", despite having no additional territory or hegemony. Examples include the [[Central African Empire]] or the [[Korean Empire]] proclaimed in 1897 when Korea, far from gaining new territory was on the verge of being annexed by the [[Empire of Japan]], the last to use the name officially. Amongst the last of these empires of the 20th century were the [[Central African Empire]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Vietnam]], [[Manchukuo]], the [[German Empire]], and [[Korea]].

The terrestrial empire's maritime analogue is the ''[[thalassocracy]]'', an empire comprising islands and coasts which are accessible to its terrestrial homeland, such as the Athenian-dominated [[Delian League]].

==Characteristics==
Empires accreted to different types of states, although they commonly originated as powerful monarchies. The [[Delian League|Athenian Empire]], the [[Roman Empire]] and the [[British Empire]] developed under [[Election|elective]] auspices. The [[Empire of Brazil]] declared itself an empire after breaking from the Portuguese Empire in 1822. France has twice transited from being called the [[republic|French Republic]] to being called the French Empire, while France remained an overseas empire.

Many empires resulted from military conquest, incorporating the vanquished states to its political union. A state could establish imperial hegemony in other ways. A weak state may seek annexation into the empire. For example, the bequest of [[Pergamon]] by [[Attalus III]], to the [[Roman Empire]]. The [[Unification of Germany]] as the empire accreted to the [[Prussia]]n [[metropole]] was less a military conquest of the German states than their political divorce from the [[Austrian Empire]]. Having convinced the other states of its military prowess — and having excluded the [[Austrians]] — Prussia dictated the terms of imperial membership.

Politically it was typical for either a monarchy or an [[oligarchy]], rooted in the original core territory of the empire, to continue to dominate. If government was maintained via control of water vital to the colonial subjects, such régimes were called [[''hydraulic empire'']]s.

Europeans began applying the name of "empire" to non-European [[Monarchy|monarchies]], such as the [[Qing Dynasty]] and the [[Mughal Empire]] as well as [[Maratha Empire]], and then leading, eventually, to the looser denotations applicable to any political structure meeting the criteria of ''imperium''.

Some empires styled themselves as having greater size, scope and power than the territorial, politico-military and economic facts allow. As a consequence some monarchs assumed the title of "emperor" (or its corresponding translation: ''tsar'', ''empereur'', ''kaiser'', etc.) and renamed their states as "The Empire of ...".

When possible, empires used a common religion or culture to strengthen the political structure.

==History of imperialism==
===Early empires===
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File:Map achaemenid empire en.png|[[Achaemenid Empire]] of [[Persia]] at its zenith
File:Maurya Dynasty in 265 BCE.jpg|[[Maurya Empire]] of [[India]] at its greatest extent under [[Ashoka the Great]]
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The [[Akkadian Empire]] of [[Sargon the Great]] (24th century BC), was an early large empire. In the 15th century BC, the [[New Kingdom]] of [[Ancient Egypt]], ruled by [[Thutmose III]], was [[North Africa during Antiquity|ancient Africa]]'s major force upon incorporating [[Nubia]] and the [[City-state#Ancient city-states|ancient city-states]] of the [[Levant]]. The first empire comparable to Rome in organization was the [[Assyrian empire]] (2000–612 BC). The [[Median Empire]] was the first empire on the territory of [[Persia]]. By the 6th century BC, after having allied with the [[Neo-Babylonian empire|Babylonians]] to defeat the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], the Medes were able to establish their own empire. It was the largest of its day, lasting for about sixty years. The successful, extensive, and multicultural empire that was the Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]] (550–330 BC) absorbed [[Mesopotamia]], [[Egypt]], parts of [[Greece]], [[Thrace]], the [[Middle East]], and much of [[Central Asia]] and [[Pakistan]], until it was overthrown and replaced by the short-lived empire of [[Alexander the Great]].

The [[Maurya Empire]] was a geographically extensive and powerful empire in [[ancient India]], ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. The Empire was founded in 322 BC by [[Chandragupta Maurya]] who rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India, taking advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by Alexander the Great. By 320 BC, the empire had fully occupied past [[northwestern India]] as well as defeating and conquering the [[satrap]]s left by Alexander. It has been estimated that the Maurya Dynasty controlled an unprecedented one-third of the world's entire economy, was home to one-third of the world's population at the time (an estimated 50 million out of 150 million humans), contained the world's largest city of the time ([[Pataliputra]], estimated to be larger than Rome under [[Emperor Trajan]]) and according to [[Megasthenes]], the empire wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants.

===Classical period===
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File:Roman Empire-117AD.png|The [[Roman Empire]] under [[Trajan]] (98–117). This would be the Empire's peak territorial power.
File:Han map.jpg|[[Han Empire]] of China in 87 BC.
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In [[Western Asia]], the term ''[[History of Iran|Persian Empire]]'' denotes the [[Iranian people|Iranian]] imperial states established at different historical periods of pre–[[Islam]]ic and post–Islamic [[Persia]]. In [[East Asia]], various [[Names of China|Celestial Empires]] arose periodically between periods of war, civil war, and foreign conquests. In [[India]], [[Chandragupta I|Chandragupta]] expanded the [[Mauryan Empire]] to Northwest India (modern day [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]]). This also included the era of expansion of [[Buddhism]] under [[Ashoka the Great]]. In [[China]] the [[Han Empire]] became one of East Asia's most long lived dynasties, but was preceded by the short-lived [[Qin Dynasty|Qin Empire]]. The kingdom of Macedonia, under [[Alexander the Great]], became an empire that spanned from [[Greece]] to [[Northwestern India]]. After Alexander's death, his empire fractured into four discrete kingdoms ruled by the [[Diadochi]], which, despite being independent, are denoted as the "[[Hellenistic]] Empire" by virtue of their similarity in culture and administration. These successor empires were ultimately absorbed into the Roman Empire.

The [[Roman Empire]] was the most extensive Western empire until the [[early modern period]] and has left a lasting impact on the Western European nations to this day. Many of their languages, cultural values, religious institutions, political divisions, urban centers, and legal systems can trace their origins to the Roman Empire. The Latin word ''[[imperium]]'', referring to a magistrate's power to command, gradually assumed the meaning "The territory in which a magistrate can effectively enforce his commands," while the term ''imperator'', originally was an honorific given to those generals victorious in battle, meaning "commander." Thus, an "empire" may include regions that are not legally within the territory of a state, but are under direct or indirect control of that state, such as a [[colony]], [[client state]], or [[protectorate]]. Although historians refer to the "Republican period," and the "Imperial period" of Roman history to identify the periods before and after, absolute power was assumed by [[Augustus]], the Romans themselves continued to refer to their government as a "Republic," and during the Republican Period, the territories controlled by the Republic were referred to as "''Imperium Romanum''". The Emperor's actual legal power derived from holding the office of "consul," but he was traditionally honored with the titles of ''Imperator'' ("commander") and ''Princeps'' ("first man" / "chief"). Later, these terms came to have legal significance in their own right; an army acclaiming their general "''imperator''" was offering a direct challenge to the authority of the current Emperor.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Shaping of Western Civilization: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment|author=Michael Burger|page=115|year=2008|publisher=University of Toronto Press|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MQUs2QnC2F4C&lpg=PA115&ots=RNij6LEiWy&dq=imperator%20princeps%20%22commander%20in%20chief%22&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q=imperator%20princeps%20%22commander%20in%20chief%22&f=false}}</ref>

The legal systems of [[France]], and her former colonies, are strongly influenced by Roman law<ref>{{cite web|title=France - Legal History|url=http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Law508/FranceLegalHistory.htm|author=Ken Pennington|publisher=Columbus School of Law and School of Canon Law, The Catholic University of America|accessdate=23 September 2013}}</ref> while the [[United States]] was expressly founded on a model inspired by the Roman Republic, with upper and lower legislative assemblies, and executive power invested in single individual. This being the person of the President, as "commander-in-chief" of the armed forces, reflecting the ancient Roman titles ''imperator princeps''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/february15/caroline-winterer-qanda-021910.html|publisher=Stanford Report|date=February 19, 2010|work=Stanford scholar links Rome and America in Philadelphia exhibition|author=Cynthia Haven|type=Interview with Caroline Winterer}}</ref> The [[Roman Catholic Church]], founded in the early Imperial period, spread across Europe, first by the activities of Christian evangelists, later by official Imperial promulgation.

===Post-classical period===
The 7th century saw the emergence of the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Islamic Empire]], also referred to as the [[Caliphate|Arab Empire]]. The Rashidun Caliphate expanded from the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and swiftly [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquered the Persian Empire]] and [[Byzantine-Arab Wars|much of the Byzantine Roman Empire]]. Its successor state, the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], expanded [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa|across North Africa]] and [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|into the Iberian Peninsula]]. By the beginning of the 8th century, it had become the largest empire in history at that point, until it was eventually surpassed in size by the [[Mongol Empire]] in the 13th century. The ally of the Caliphate, the [[history of Somalia|Somali]] [[Ajuuraan Empire]], ruled over the [[Horn of Africa]].<ref>I.M. Lewis, ''A modern history of Somalia: nation and state in the Horn of Africa'', 2nd edition, revised, illustrated, (Westview Press: 1988), p. 24.</ref> Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuuraan empire successfully resisted an [[Oromo people|Oromo]] invasion from the west and a [[Portugal|Portuguese]] incursion from the east during the Gaal Madow and the Ajuuraan-Portuguese wars.<ref>Virginia Luling, Somali Sultanate: the Geledi city-state over 150 years, p. 17</ref><ref>Luc Cambrézy, Populations réfugiées: de l'exil au retour, p.316</ref> Trading routes, dating from the ancient and early medieval periods, of [[Maritime history of Somalia|Somali maritime enterprise]] were strengthened, or re-established, and foreign trade and commerce in the coastal provinces flourished with ships sailing to and coming from a myriad of kingdoms and empires in [[East Asia]], [[South Asia]], Europe, the [[Near East]], [[North Africa]] and East Africa.<ref>''Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African Coast, 800–1900'' (African Studies) by Pouwels Randall L – pg 15</ref> In the 7th century, [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] witnessed the rise of a [[Buddhist]] thallasocracy—the [[Srivijaya Empire]]—which thrived for 600 years and was succeeded by the Hindu-Buddhist [[Majapahit Empire]] in the 13th to 15th century. In the Southeast Asian mainland, the Hindu-Buddhist [[Khmer Empire]] built an empire centered in the city of [[Angkor]] and which flourished from the 9th to 13th century. Followed by the sack of Khmer Empire, the Siamese Empire was flourished alongside the Burmese and Lan Chang Empire from 13th through to 18th century . In Eastern Europe the Byzantine Empire had to recognize the Imperial title of the Bulgarian rulers in 917 (through a Bulgarian [[Tsar]]). The [[Bulgarian Empire]] remained a major power in the Balkans until its fall in the late 14th century.
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File:Rashidun654wVassal.png|The expansion of the [[Rashidun Empire]].
File:Ajuuraan.png|The [[Ajuuraan Empire]] in the 15th century.
File:Mongols-map.png|[[Mongol Empire]] in the 13th century.
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At the time, in the [[Medieval period|Medieval West]], the title ''empire'' had a specific technical meaning that was exclusively applied to states that considered themselves the heirs and successors of the Roman Empire, e.g. the Byzantine Empire which was the actual continuation of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], and later the [[Carolingian Empire]], the largely Germanic [[Holy Roman Empire]], the [[Russian Empire]]. However, these states were not always technically geographic, political, military empires in the modern sense of the word. To legitimize their ''imperium'', these states directly claimed the title of ''Empire'' from Rome. The ''sacrum Romanum imperium'' (Holy Roman Empire), of 800 to 1806, claimed to have exclusively comprehended Christian principalities and was only nominally a discrete imperial state. The Holy Roman Empire was not always centrally-governed, as it had neither core nor peripheral territories and was not governed by a central politico-military élite. In this way, [[Voltaire]]'s remark that the Holy Roman Empire "was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire" is accurate to the degree that it ignores<ref>{{Citation|url=http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire|title=Voltaire|publisher=[[Wikiquote]], citing Essai sur l'histoire generale et sur les moeurs et l'espirit des nations, Chapter 70 (1756)|accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref> German rule over Italian, French, Provençal, Polish, Flemish, Dutch, and Bohemian populations, and the efforts of the ninth-century [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s (i.e., the [[Ottonians]]) to establish central control; thus, Voltaire's "... nor an empire" observation applies to its late period.

In 1204, after the [[Fourth Crusade]] sacked [[Constantinople]], the [[Crusades|crusaders]] established a [[Latin Empire]] (1204–1261) in that city, while the defeated Byzantine Empire's descendants established two smaller, short-lived empires in [[Asia Minor]]. These were the [[Empire of Nicaea]] (1204–1261) and the [[Empire of Trebizond]] (1204–1461). Constantinople was retaken by the Byzantine successor state centred in [[Nicaea]] in 1261 This re-established the [[Byzantine Empire]] until 1453, by which time the [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]]-[[Muslim]] [[Ottoman Empire]] (ca. 1300–1918) had conquered most of the region. Moreover, Eastern Orthodox imperialism was not re-established until the coronation, in 1721, of [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]] as [[Tsar|Emperor of Russia]]. Like-wise, with the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (1803–1815), the [[Austrian Empire]] (1804–1867) emerged reconstituted as the Empire of [[Austria–Hungary]] (1867–1918), having "inherited" the imperium of Central and Western Europe from the losers of said wars.

The [[Mongol Empire]], under [[Genghis Khan]] in the thirteenth century, was forged as the largest contiguous empire in the world. Genghis Khan's grandson, [[Kublai Khan]], was proclaimed emperor, and established his imperial capital at [[Beijing]]. However, during his reign, the empire became fractured into four discrete khanates. Nevertheless, the emergence of the [[Pax Mongolica]] had significantly eased [[trade]] and [[commerce]] across Asia.<ref>Gregory G. Guzman, "Were the barbarians a negative or positive factor in ancient and medieval history?", ''The Historian'' 50 (1988), 568–70</ref><ref>Thomas T. Allsen, ''Culture and conquest in Mongol Eurasia'', 211</ref>

In [[Oceania]] [[Tu'i Tonga Empire|Tonga Empire]] was a lonely empire that existed many centuries since Medieval till Modern period.

===Colonial empires===
European landings in the so-called "[[New World]]" (first in the Americas and later Australia) in the 15th century, along with the Portuguese's travels around the Cape of Good Hope and along the southeast Indian Ocean coast of Africa, proved ripe opportunities for the continent's [[Renaissance]]-era monarchies to launch colonial empires like those of the ancient Romans and Greeks. In the Old World, colonial [[imperialism]] was attempted, effected and established upon the [[Canary Islands]] and [[Ireland]]. These conquered lands and peoples became ''[[de jure]]'' subordinates of the empire, rather than ''[[de facto]]'' imperial territory and subjects. Such subjugation often elicited "client-state" resentment that the empire unwisely ignored. This would lead to the collapse of the European colonial imperial system in the late-19th century and the early- and mid-20th century. Spanish discovery of the New World gave way to many expeditions led by [[England]], [[Portugal]], [[France]], the [[Dutch Republic]] and [[Spain]]. In the 18th century, the [[Spanish Empire]] was at its height because of the great mass of goods taken from conquered territory in the Americas ([[Mexico]], parts of the [[United States]], the [[Caribbean]], most of Central America and South America) and the [[Philippines]].

===Modern period===
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File:Map of territorial growth 1775.svg|Red shows self-governing North American British colonies and pink shows claimed and largely indirectly controlled territories in 1775.
File:India in 1700 Joppen.jpg|In the year 1690, the [[realm]]s of the [[Mughal Empire]] spanned from [[Kabul]] to [[Cape Comorin]].<ref name="WilburCompany">{{cite book|last1=Wilbur|first1=Marguerite Eyer|last2=Company|first2=The East India|title=The East India Company: And the British Empire in the Far East|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HTCsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA175|accessdate=16 February 2014|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804728645|pages=175–178}}</ref>
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File:Ottoman empire.svg|Ottoman territories acquired between 1481 and 1683 ([[List of Ottoman Empire dominated territories|See: list of territories]])
File:Spanish Empire.png|The [[Spain|Spanish]]–[[Portugal|Portuguese]] Empire of the [[Iberian Union]] (1580–1640) was the first global imperial entity.
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File:The Russian Empire-en.svg|The [[Russian Empire]] in 1866 became the second largest contiguous empire to have ever existed. [[Russia|The Russian Federation]] is currently the largest state on the planet.
File:BritishEmpire1919.png|In 1920, the [[British Empire]] was [[List of largest empires|the largest empire in history]].
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File:French Empire 17th century-20th century.png|The evolution of the [[French colonial empire|French Empire]] in the 18th to the 20th century.
File:Japanese Empire (orthographic projection).svg|The 19th to 20th century [[Japanese Empire]] at its maximum extent, 1942.</gallery>
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The French emperors [[Napoleon I]] and [[Napoleon III]] (See: [[Premier Empire]], [[Second French Empire]] and [[French colonial empire]]) each attempted establishing a western imperial hegemony based in France. The [[German Empire]] (1871–1918), another "heir to the Holy Roman Empire" arose in 1871.

The Ashanti Empire (or Confederacy), also Asanteman (1701–1896) was a [[West African|West Africa]] state of the [[The Ashanti|Ashanti]], the [[Akan people]] of the [[Ashanti Region]], Akanland in modern day Ghana. The Ashanti (or Asante) were a powerful, militaristic and highly disciplined people in West Africa. Their military power, which came from effective strategy and an early adoption of European [[firearm]]s, created an empire that stretched from central Akanland (in modern-day Ghana) to present day [[Benin]] and [[Côte d'Ivoire]], bordered by the [[Dagomba people|Dagomba]] kingdom to the north and [[Dahomey]] to the east. Due to the empire's military prowess, sophisticated hierarchy, social stratification and culture, the Ashanti empire had one of the largest [[historiographies]] of any indigenous [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]n political entity.

The [[Sikh Empire]] (1799–1846) was established in the Punjab. It collapsed when the founder, Ranjit Singh, died and their army fell to the British. During the same period, [[Maratha Empire]] or the Maratha Confederacy was a Hindu state located in present-day India. It existed from 1674 to 1818 and at its peak the empire's territories covered much of South Asia. The empire was founded and consolidated by Shivaji. After the death of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor Aurangzeb it expanded greatly under the rule of the Peshwas. In 1761, the Maratha army lost the Third Battle of Panipat which halted the expansion of the empire. Later, the empire was divided into a confederacy of Maratha states which eventually were lost to the British in the Anglo-Maratha wars by 1818.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=UVFuAAAAMAAJ|title=Shivaji|first=Setumadhavarao R.|last=Pagadi|publisher=National Book Trust, India|year=1983|isbn=81-237-0647-2|page=21}}</ref>

The British established their [[British Empire#First British Empire (1583–1783)|first empire]] (1583–1783) in North America by colonizing lands that included parts of [[History of Canada#Canada under British rule (1763–1867)|Canada]] and the [[Thirteen Colonies]]. In 1776, the [[Continental Congress]] of the Thirteen Colonies declared itself independent from the British Empire thus beginning the [[American Revolution]]. Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the [[British Empire#Rise of the Second British Empire (1783–1815)|second British Empire]] (1783–1815). This was followed by the [[industrial revolution]] and [[British Empire#Britain's imperial century (1815–1914)|Britain's imperial century]] (1815–1914).<ref>[[British Empire]]</ref>

===Transition from empire===
In time, an empire may metamorphose to another form of [[Body politic|polity]]. To wit, the Holy Roman Empire, a German re-constitution of the [[Roman Empire]], metamorphosed into various political structures (i.e., federalism), and eventually, under [[Habsburg]] rule, re-constituted itself as the [[Austrian Empire]]—an empire of much different politics and vaster extension.

An autocratic empire can become a [[republic]] (e.g., the Central African Empire in 1979); or it can become a republic with its imperial dominions reduced to a core territory (e.g., [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]], 1918–1919 and the Ottoman Empire, 1918–1923). The dissolution of the [[Austro–Hungarian Empire]], after 1918, is an example of a multi-ethnic [[superstate]] broken into its constituent states: the republics, kingdoms, and provinces of [[Austria]], [[Hungary]], [[Transylvania]], [[Croatia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Ruthenia]], [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]], ''et al''.

After the Second World War (1939–1945) the process was commonly known as [[decolonisation]]. The British Empire evolved into a loose, multi-national [[Commonwealth of Nations]]; while the [[French colonial empire]] metamorphosed to a [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|Francophone commonwealth]]. The French territory of [[Kwang-Chou-Wan]] was handed back to China in 1946. The British handed [[Hong Kong]] back to China in 1997 after 150 years of rule. The Portuguese territory of [[Macau]] was handed back to China in 1999. Macau and Hong Kong were not organised into the provincial structure of China, they have an autonomous system of government as [[Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China]].

France still governs colonies ([[French Guyana]], [[Martinique]], [[Réunion]], [[French Polynesia]], [[New Caledonia]], [[Collectivity of Saint Martin|St Martin]], [[St pierre et miquelon]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[TAAF]], [[Wallis and Futuna]], [[Saint Barthélemy]], [[Mayotte]]) and exerts an hegemony in [[Francophone]] Africa (29 francophone countries such as [[Chad]], [[Rwanda]], ''et cetera''). Fourteen [[British Overseas Territories]] remain under British sovereignty. Sixteen countries of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] share their head of state, [[Queen Elizabeth II]], as [[Commonwealth realms]].

==Contemporary usage==
Contemporaneously, the concept of ''Empire'' is politically valid, yet is not always used in the traditional sense; for example Japan is considered the world's sole remaining empire because of the continued presence of the Japanese Emperor in national politics. Despite the semantic reference to Imperial power, Japan is a [[de jure]] [[constitutional monarchy]], with a homogeneous population of 127 million people that is 98.5 per cent ethnic Japanese, making it one of the largest nation-states.<ref>George Hicks, ''Japan's hidden apartheid: the Korean Minority and the Japanese'', (Aldershot, England; Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1998), 3.</ref>

Characterizing some aspects of American foreign policy and international behavior "[[American imperialism|American Empire]]" is controversial but not uncommon. [[Stuart Creighton Miller]] posits that the public's sense of innocence about Realpolitik (cf. [[American Exceptionalism]]) impairs popular recognition of US imperial conduct. Since it governed other countries via surrogates—domestically-weak, right-wing governments that collapse without US support.<ref>Johnson, Chalmers, ''Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire'' (2000), pp.72–9</ref><!--Try http://books.google.com/books ei=JzuaSMaYGIKgswPl2pT2CQ&q=%22sense+of+innocence%22+power+empire+stuart+miller&btnG=Search+Books{{ndash}} I haven't access to a copy, to confirm how its results might satisfy this matter.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} tag--> G.W. Bush's Secretary of Defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] said: "We don't seek empires. We're not imperialistic; we never have been"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://booksellers.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143034797,00.html|title=Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire|author=Niall Ferguson}}</ref>—directly contradicts Thomas Jefferson, in the 1780s, awaiting the fall of the Spanish empire: "...till our population can be sufficiently advanced to gain it from them piece by piece".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Sidney Lens|author2=Howard Zinn|title=The forging of the American empire: from the revolution to Vietnam, a history of U.S. imperialism|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qvLfIHqkOOAC|year=2003|publisher=Pluto Press|isbn=978-0-7453-2100-4|pages=[http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=qvLfIHqkOOAC&pg=PA63 63–64]}}</ref><ref>LaFeber, Walter, ''Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America'' (1993) 2nd edition, p. 19</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication.html?id=5934|title=American Imperialism? No Need to Run Away from Label|authorlink=Max Boot|first=Max|last=Boot|date=May 6, 2003|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations op-ed, quoting ''USA Today''|accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref> In turn, historian [[Sidney Lens]] argues that from its inception the US has used every means to dominate other nations.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lens|Zinn|2003|p=[http://books.google.com/books?id=qvLfIHqkOOAC&printsec=backcover Back cover]}}</ref>

Since the [[European Union]] began, in 1993, as a west European [[trade bloc]], it established its own currency, the [[Euro]], in 1999, established discrete military forces, and exercised its limited hegemony in parts of eastern Europe and Asia. This behaviour, the political scientist [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~polf0040/ Jan Zielonka] suggests, is imperial, because it coerces its neighbour countries to adopt its ''European'' economic, legal, and political structures.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,863888,00.html|title=Living in a euro wonderland|author=Ian Black|date=December 20, 2002|work=Guardian|accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2574625.stm|title=EU gets its military fist|date=December 13, 2002|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a777076388~db=all|title=EU's region-building and boundary-drawing policies: the European approach to the Southern Mediterranean and the Western Balkans 1|author=Nikolaos Tzifakis|journal=Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans|volume=9|issue=1|date=April 2007|pages=47–64|publisher=informaworld|doi=10.1080/14613190701217001|accessdate=2007-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/index/HNG8A7X4G9BWAM84.pdf|title=Co-operation and coercion? The Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and acp states and the end of the Lomé Convention|author=Stephen R. Hurt|doi=10.1080/713701373|publisher=informaworld|accessdate=2007-01-06|year=2003|journal=Third World Quarterly|volume=24|pages=161–176}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belspo.be/belspo/home/publ/pub_ostc/WM/rS10303_en.pdf|title=Europeanisation and Conflict Resolution: Case Studies from the European Periphery|authors=Bruno Coppieters, Michael Emerson, Michel Huysseune, Tamara Kovziridze, Nathalie Tocci, Gergana Noutcheva and Marius Vahl|publisher=Belgian Science Policy|accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~polf0040/IAReview.pdf|title=Europe as Empire: The Nature of the Enlarged European Union|author=Jan Zielonka|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|isbn=0-19-929221-3|accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref>

In his book review of ''Empire'' (2000) by [[Michael Hardt]] and [[Antonio Negri]], Mehmet Akif Okur posits that, since the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., the international relations determining the world's balance of power (political, economic, military) have been altered. These alterations include the intellectual (political science) trends that perceive the contemporary world's order via the re-territorrialisation of ''political space'', the re-emergence of ''classical imperialist practices'' (the "inside" vs. "outside" duality, cf. the [[Other]]), the deliberate weakening of international organisations, the restructured international economy, economic nationalism, the expanded arming of most countries, the proliferation of nuclear weapon capabilities and the [[politics of identity]] emphasizing a state's ''subjective'' perception of its place in the world, as a nation and as a civilisation. The United States is in many ways a new kind of entity in the geopolitical bestiary: a destabilizing hegemon, a [[revolutionary empire]].<ref name="Mathewes2010">{{cite book|author=Charles T. Mathewes|title=The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_J_462ZI0RUC&pg=PA91|accessdate=10 July 2013|year=2010|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-6508-3|page=91}}</ref> These changes constitute the "Age of Nation Empires"; as imperial usage, ''nation-empire'' denotes the return of geopolitical power from ''global'' power blocs to ''regional'' power blocs (i.e., centred upon a "regional power" state [China, Russia, U.S., et al.]) and regional multi-state power alliances (i.e., Europe, Latin America, South East Asia). Nation-empire regionalism claims sovereignty over their respective (regional) political (social, economic, ideologic), cultural and military spheres.<ref>For the Okur's thesis about "nation empires", look at the article: Mehmet Akif Okur, [http://www.sam.gov.tr/perceptions/volume12/winter/winter-004-PERCEPTION(mehmetakifokur)%5B4%5D.pdf Rethinking Empire After 9/11: Towards A New Ontological Image of World Order] Perceptions, Journal of International Affairs, Volume XII, Winter 2007, pp. 61–93</ref>

== Timeline of empires ==
The chart below shows a timeline of polities which have been called empires. Dynastic changes are marked with a white line.
* The [[Roman Empire]]'s timeline listed below is only up to the timeline of the Western part.
* The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine continuation of the Roman Empire]] is listed separately.
* The Empires of [[Empire of Nicaea|Nicaea]] and [[Empire of Trebizond|Trebizond]] were Byzantine successor states.

<timeline>
ImageSize = width:1000 height:550
PlotArea = width:850 height:450 left:50 bottom:50

DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:-336 till:2009
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:-300

# there is no automatic collision detection,
# so shift texts up or down manually to avoid overlap

Colors=
id:red value:red

Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar
Define $dy = -5 # adjust height

PlotData=
bar:Alexandrian color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7
from:-336 till:-323 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Mauryan color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7
from:-321 till:-185 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar: China color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize: 7
from:-221 till: 1911 shift:($dx,-2) color: red
at:206 mark:(line,white)
at:220 mark:(line,white)
at:265 mark:(line,white)
at:280 mark:(line,white)
at:420 mark:(line,white)
at:589 mark:(line,white)
at:618 mark:(line,white)
at:907 mark:(line,white)
at:960 mark:(line,white)
at:907 mark:(line,white)
at:1125 mark:(line,white)
at:1279 mark:(line,white)
at:1271 mark:(line,white)
at:1368 mark:(line,white)
at:1644 mark:(line,white)

bar:Roman color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:-27 till:476 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
at:68 mark:(line,white)
at:69 mark:(line,white)
at:96 mark:(line,white)
at:192 mark:(line,white)
at:235 mark:(line,white)
at:284 mark:(line,white)
at:364 mark:(line,white)
at:392 mark:(line,white)
at:455 mark:(line,white)

bar:Byzantine color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:306 till:1204 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
at:363 mark:(line,white)
at:364 mark:(line,white)
at:457 mark:(line,white)
at:518 mark:(line,white)
at:602 mark:(line,white)
at:610 mark:(line,white)
at:711 mark:(line,white)
at:717 mark:(line,white)
at:803 mark:(line,white)
at:813 mark:(line,white)
at:820 mark:(line,white)
at:867 mark:(line,white)
at:1056 mark:(line,white)
at:1057 mark:(line,white)
at:1059 mark:(line,white)
at:1081 mark:(line,white)
at:1185 mark:(line,white)
from:1261 till:1453 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red

bar:Bulgarian color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:913 till:1018 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
at:997 mark:(line,white)
at:1280 mark:(line,white)
at:1292 mark:(line,white)
at:1299 mark:(line,white)
at:1300 mark:(line,white)
at:1323 mark:(line,white)
from:1185 till:1422 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red

bar:Holy-Rоman color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:962 till:1024 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
from:1027 till:1125 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1133 till:1137 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1155 till:1197 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1209 till:1215 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1220 till:1250 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1312 till:1313 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1328 till:1347 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1355 till:1378 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1433 till:1437 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1452 till:1740 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
from:1742 till:1806 shift:($dx,$dy) color:red
at:1745 mark:(line,white)
at:1765 mark:(line,white)

bar:Nicaea color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1204 till:1261 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Latin color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1204 till:1261 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Trebizond color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1204 till:1461 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Ajuuraan color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1300 till:1700 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Ottoman color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1299 till:1922 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Spanish color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1402 till:1976 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Russian color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1480 till:1917 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
at:1598 mark:(line,white)
at:1605 mark:(line,white)
at:1606 mark:(line,white)
at:1610 mark:(line,white)
at:1612 mark:(line,white)

bar:Swedish color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1611 till:1718 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar: Maratha color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7
from:1647 till:1818 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:French color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1804 till:1814 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
at:1815 mark:(line,red)
from:1852 till:1870 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:Austrian color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1804 till:1918 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:German color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1871 till:1918 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

bar:British color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1677 till:1998 shift:($dx,-2) color:red
at:1677 mark:(line,white)
at:1998 mark:(line,white)

bar:Brazilian color:red width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:7

from:1822 till:1889 shift:($dx,-2) color:red

</timeline>

==See also==
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
* [[Empire-building]]
* [[Imperialism]]
* [[Colonialism]]
* [[Democratic empire]]
* [[Linguistic imperialism]] {{nb10}}
* [[Historical powers]]
{{col-break}}

'''Lists:'''
* [[List of empires]]
* [[List of largest empires]]
* [[List of extinct countries, empires, etc.]]
* [[List of countries spanning more than one continent]]
{{col-end}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|2}}

===Bibliography===
* Gilpin, Robert ''[http://books.google.it/books?id=2iKL7zr3kl0C War and Change in World Politics]'' pp.&nbsp;110–116
* {{cite book|author=Geiss, Imanuel|title=War and Empire in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Aberdeen University Press|year=1983|isbn=0-08-030387-0}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.transcend.org/galt.htm|title=The Decline and Fall of Empires: A Theory of De-Development|author=Johan Galtung|location=Honolulu|date=January 1996|accessdate=2008-01-06|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071013085302/http://transcend.org/galt.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archivedate=2007-10-13|unused_data=month-January}} Written for the United Nations Research Institute on Development, UNRISD, Geneva.
* {{cite book|last1=Lens|first1=Sidney|last2=Zinn|first2=Howard|title=The Forging of the American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of American Imperialism|publisher=Plkuto press|year=2003|isbn=0-7453-2100-3|url=http://books.google.com/?id=qvLfIHqkOOAC}}
* {{cite book|author=Bowden, Brett|title=The Empire of Civilization: The Evolution of an Imperial Idea|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-226-06814-5}}

===Further reading===
* Innis, Harold (1950, rev. 1972). ''Empire and Communications''. Rev. by Mary Q. Innis; foreword by Marshall McLuhan. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press. xii, 184 p. ''N.B''.: "Here he [i.e., Innis] develops his theory that the history of empires is determined to a large extent by their means of communication."—From the back cover of the book's pbk. ed. ISBN 0-8020-6119-2 pbk

==External links==
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/COLONIES.html Index of Colonies and Possessions]
* [http://ru.wikipedia.org/?oldid=48502217 Gavrov, Sergey] [http://books.google.ru/books?printsec=frontcover&id=Xk_2XdutUVcC#v=onepage&q=&f=true; Modernization of the Empire. Social and Cultural Aspects of Modernization Processes in Russia] ISBN 978-5-354-00915-2
* [http://www.sam.gov.tr/perceptions/volume12/winter/winter-004-PERCEPTION(mehmetakifokur)%5B4%5D.pdf Mehmet Akif Okur, Rethinking Empire After 9/11: Towards A New Ontological Image of World Order, Perceptions, Journal of International Affairs, Volume XII, Winter 2007, pp.61-93]

<!--spacing-->

{{Authoritarian types of rule}}
{{Empires}}

[[Category:Empires| ]]
[[Category:Former empires| ]]
[[Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines]]
[[Category:Constitutional state types]]

Latest revision as of 19:27, 15 February 2016

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