Consisting of a centre of power and a number of subordinate territories, empires are almost as old as human civilization. Powerful empires flourished in Asia and Africa in the Bronze Age, thousands of years ago: among them, the
Empire in Mesopotamia, the
in Egypt, and the
Empire in present-day Turkey.
Not all empires were long-lived. Some of the largest empires in history did not survive the death of their founders: this is the case of the
Empire, which lasted a mere 11 years before splintering into separate kingdoms following Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC. The
Empire, history's largest contiguous empire, which stretched from Central Europe to the Pacific coast of Asia, lasted only 162 years, though its influence lingered for much longer.
Whether terrestrial or maritime, empires were built on conquest and military power. Not all of them, however, had the same approach. Though certainly not eschewing the use of brute force, the
Empire often showed respect and consideration for the laws and customs of the peoples they conquered. Centuries earlier, the
Empire - founded in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great - had also been a highly organized, multicultural polity that practiced religious tolerance.
The colonial empires of relatively recent history comprised territories that were often very distant from both the homeland and each other. By 1920, the
Empire covered an extent of over 35 million kmē (22 million sq mi): to emphasize its vastness, it was described as the empire over which the sun never set. However, in a modern context this phrase was first applied in the 16th century to the
Empire under Charles V and Philip II. The Second
colonial empire was only slightly smaller, including large parts of North, West and Central Africa.
A number of historical political units consisting of several aggregate territories are not considered empires - mainly because they were not ruled by a monarchy. The
, which at the peak of its power held sway over large areas of the eastern Mediterranean, was ruled by an oligarchy with an elected head of state. The
, while nominally a federation of states, was highly centralized, and many of its constituent republics had formerly been part of the
Empire.
The first two decades of the 20th century saw the collapse of most of the world's remaining empires. The only country still ruled by an Emperor,
is an empire in name only, as it is an ethnically homogeneous nation-state without any colonies.
