ABSTRACT
The notion of “empire” can account for more than two dozen cases of ancient, medieval, modern, and current experiences of human government. The ancient Chinese and Persian empires, the classical Roman Empire, the colonial empires of Spain, Britain and France, the modern Russia, and the present configurations of the United States of America and of the European Union, among others that are listed in Table 1.1 at the end of this chapter, share important defining characteristics. These can be summarized as follows:
• Very large size, in terms of both territory and population. • Absence of fixed or permanent boundaries. Empires tend to expand over
the territory, up to the point of conflict with other empires, and when in decline theymay also contract. When an empire is organized on the basis of a large island or archipelago (like present-day Japan, for instance) its territorial borders may remain stable for relatively long periods. But, in general, “territory” should not be considered a strong defining element of empire.
