What is an "empire"? The concept and characteristics of the empire

The loud word "empire" today is anything, up to chain stores - "Empire of Taste" or "Empire of Bags". It is not surprising that the meaning of this concept has blurred, and it is not clear to many why Russia is still considered an empire (despite the absence of an emperor), and whether this is good or bad for its inhabitants.

Although the Latin word "emperor" ("ruler") first called himself Julius Caesar, empires arose long before him. Historians define them as large states with a single political center, uniting many regions and peoples. These were Assyria, Rome, China, Arab Caliphate, Mongolian and Ottoman empires. At the same time, their rulers often did not have an imperial title, but it was boldly appropriated by the rulers of such small and weak states as Vietnam, Ethiopia and even Haiti (it was an empire twice). This confusion forces us to consider as an empire only those powers that have had a significant influence on world history. These, no doubt, include Russia-Rus, which, from its very inception in the 9th century, occupied a vast territory and included various nationalities and tribes. She had and single center, albeit constantly shifting: Novgorod - Kyiv - Vladimir - Moscow - St. Petersburg.

Although Russian tsar accepted the title of emperor only in 1721, the understanding of the "imperial" status has been going on in our country for a long time. As, however, in other large states that were part of the orbit of the Roman Empire and (or) the Christian civilization that arose on its ruins. Unlike the eastern empires, which quietly coexisted with each other, the Roman one claimed the status of the only one, considering the rest of the world "barbarian", waiting for conquest and cultivation. True, the empire now and then fell into instability, and in 395 it finally split, giving rise not just to two confessions of Christianity, but also to two incarnations of the imperial idea. In the West, Rome, having lost the role of a political center, remained the center of sacred power, where they were crowned at first. Charlemagne, and then the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. Wherein western empire and remained an idea that first crowned the feudal freemen, and then, at the end of the Middle Ages, the formation of new nation states.

In the East, events developed differently: the Second Rome, later called Byzantium, slowly retreating under the onslaught of the Gentiles, not only kept political and religious traditions, but also broadcast them to areas not affected by Roman influence, primarily to Russia, where in the X century Byzantine missionaries brought Christianity. And new faith helped unite the heterogeneous population of the Rurik empire into a single community that survived both fragmentation and the terrible Horde invasion, which was replaced by a long-term yoke. However, there is a version that it was the influence of the Mongol Empire, borrowing its traditions of a single centralized power that saved Russia from the split into small states that occurred in Western Europe. The Horde carelessly contributed to the unification of the Russian principalities (it was more convenient for them to collect tribute), not caring that this single state would inevitably destroy them. This is what happened during the reign. Ivan III when, in the words of Marx, "amazed Europe, barely noticing the existence of Muscovy ... was stunned by the sudden appearance of a huge state on its eastern borders."

Shortly before this, in 1453, Constantinople fell under the onslaught of the Muslim Turks, who by that time had captured all the Orthodox states, except for Russia, which began to be perceived as the legitimate heir of the Second, and therefore the First Rome. It is believed that the concept of "Moscow - the Third Rome" was first formulated in 1523 by a Pskov monk. Philotheus, however, it is known that similar thoughts were expressed 30 years before by the Moscow Metropolitan Zosima. The idea, as they say, was in the air. At the same time, legends arose that once the Byzantine emperor gave Kyiv prince royal regalia, including the famous Monomakh's cap (actually made somewhere in Central Asia), and that Rurik derived from Prusa- emperor's brother august. It should be noted that at that time the West, frightened to death by the onslaught of the Turks, fully approved of the claims of Russia to the Byzantine inheritance. But in our time, foreign historians (first of all, not surprisingly, the Poles) declare that the theory of Moscow as the Third Rome was invented only in the 19th century, and Filofei did not say anything like that.

A series of internal unrest and military defeats stopped the imperial ambitions of Muscovy for a while. However, in Ser. XVII century, she resumed the onslaught on all frontiers. In the east, having reached the borders of China, and in the West, having annexed the "mother of Russian cities" Kyiv, the power of the Romanovs loudly declared claims to a special role in world politics. The New Time has come, and the religious foundations of power again gave way to political ones, which Russian ideologists could not ignore.

In their writings, Moscow was more often compared not with Constantinople, but with the First Rome - the bearer of universal secular power. This idea was especially actively introduced into the board Peter the Great, which updated the ideological life of Russia no less significantly than the material one. It was formulated more clearly than others by the former Moldavian ruler Dmitry Kantemir, who outlined in the treatise "Monarchy Physical Reasoning" the theory of the change of four empires - eastern Persian, southern Macedonian, western Roman and northern Russian. He (however, far from being the first) called Peter the “new Constantine”, emphasizing his role as a defender of both imperial power and Christian faith. It is known that on the eve of the proclamation of Peter as emperor, they wanted to make his crown according to the model of Konstantinov, moreover, passing off the antiquity found miraculously.

As a result, the king refused the coronation and acted differently. On August 30, 1721, the Treaty of Nystadt was concluded with Sweden, which crowned the longest and most difficult of Peter's wars with victory. On this occasion, the Senate and the Synod presented the tsar with the title of Emperor of All Russia, again justifying this with Roman traditions:

"As usual, from the Roman Senate for the noble deeds of emperors, their titles are publicly presented to them as a gift."

October 22 (November 2) in the Trinity Cathedral of the new capital - St. Petersburg - another ideologue of the empire Feofan Prokopovich in his sermon, he substantiated the new title of Peter, which was immediately adopted by the newly-minted emperor under the thunder of hundreds of cannons of the Peter and Paul Fortress and warships that stood on the Neva. According to an eyewitness, "everything seemed to be on fire and one could think that the earth and sky were ready to collapse." As for the imperial crown, it was first made for Peter's wife Catherine; in 1724, she, a rootless laundress, was solemnly crowned in Moscow's Assumption Cathedral.

The new title of Peter was promptly recognized by the European powers, including the defeated Sweden. By that time, there was only one emperor in Europe - the Roman emperor, who was sitting in Vienna, although the monarchs of France, England and Spain, who captured vast colonies during overseas voyages, claimed this role. Having entered the family of great powers, Russia actively joined the colonial race, which it tried to justify with imperial traditions. If the Western powers sought - both then and later - to seize natural resources(and markets for products made from them), then Russia, where these riches were already enough, rushed to trade routes and seaports.

This expansion turned into a conscious policy during the reign Catherine II, which not only annexed the Crimea and Novorossiya, but also brought the “Greek project” to life, declaring through the mouths of its ideologists of the desire to return the Orthodox cross to the dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. The second grandson of the Empress, who received the symbolic name Constantine, was preparing to be the future rulers of Greece. Another direction of Catherine's policy was the collection of Slavic lands. Both projects - "Greek" and "Slavic" - firmly entered the political agenda of the empire, which caused reasonable fears in Western countries.

In the fight against external challenges, Russia needed internal unity. Into the reign Nicholas I the "theory of official nationality" tried to provide it. This apotheosis of official thought declared autocracy to be the “backbone” of the state, to which Orthodoxy and nationality, meaning “the historical identity of Russia”, were subordinate - by this the minister understood “boundless devotion to autocracy”. The trouble is not even that this theory replaced the power of a single law for all with the will of the monarch, but that, contrary to all the magnificent theories, the state undermined the inequality of peoples and religions, not to mention the rapidly growing social inequality. These problems eventually destroyed the power of the Romanovs, as well as the ancient empires of the East - the Ottoman and Chinese.

In the twentieth century, not only the “backward” Russian empire, but also its European "sisters" - the German and Austro-Hungarian empires. The reason was the onslaught of the revolutionary movement that had been growing for a long time, declaring monarchical power, along with religion, a relic of the past, a stronghold of reaction. Liberal ideology condemned some empires, having nothing against others who raised republican and democratic ideas to the shield.

The President was the first to speak about the United States as an "empire of freedom" James Monroe, the author of a well-known doctrine, but only a century later, Western political scientists became concerned about the difference between “good” and “bad” empires. Classics of geopolitics, German Carl Schmitt and American Halford Mackinder, divided all empires into "land" and "sea" (later they were called "tellurocratic" and "thalassocratic", or "Eurasian" and "Atlantic"). The former are characterized, as it were, by the seizure of large territories, despotic power, technical backwardness, and the "digestion" of conquered peoples. For the second - reliance on coastal trading posts, democracy, scientific and technological progress. In the list of "land" empires formulated by the ideologists " cold war”, along with the Assyrian and Mongolian powers, Russia occupies a prominent place.

It is clear that these theories are sucked out of thin air, and geopolitics as presented by many of its luminaries is not a science, but rather an occult teaching. It is also clear that Western geopoliticians do not see much difference between the tsarist and Soviet systems authorities. This propaganda canvas does not correspond to historical truth.

Vadim ERLIKHMAN

Empire(from lat. imperium - power) - a form of organization largest state. The fundamental difference between an empire and a nation state lies in the multinational nature of the empire or in the presence of an equally significant attribute - ideology - a system of ideas that reveal the supranational, universal essence of this form of state.

Empire is not necessarily multinational state; Thus, China and Germany for centuries were mainly one-national states, however, their rulers bore the title of emperor and both states had a developed system of ideas that positioned their universal character, exalting them above all other peoples and countries.

Geopolitical Forms of Empires

Classics of geopolitics Carl Schmitt and Halford Mackinder in their works distinguished two types of empires according to the form of expansion. Dividing all states according to their geopolitics into tellurocratic and thalassocratic, these thinkers also singled out their characteristic imperial forms.

Tellurocracy: Continental empires, when annexing neighboring lands and incorporating them into their borders, for security reasons, were forced to immediately turn them into their provinces, guarantee the operation of imperial laws and the circulation of imperial currency. This led to a relatively painless inclusion of elites and societies in empire building. The most important for such empires was the popularization of local heroes, literature, the translation of works into the imperial language, and often the development of graphics. written language for the included people (and very often on a chart different from that of the titular ethnic group of the empire). For such empires, the genocide of the local population was completely uncharacteristic. There are a huge number of examples of the voluntary inclusion of peoples in the boundaries of the empire:
Our two peoples (Dungans and Russians) from now on become one family, and we only want to unite (with you) together. All our hearts and thoughts, all our best qualities aimed at ensuring that by combined forces, having destroyed the rebels, live forever in peace and friendship, forever lean on each other, which will be a great happiness not for one person, but truly for the entire Universe "
- The Dungans of Xinjiang address Poltoratsky, an official of the Russian Empire

Thalassocracy: Another type of empire - colonial, maritime. Separated from their colonies by oceans and seas, they did not seek to export development, law and progressive forms of economic structure to the colonies. Their main goal is maximum production natural resources, exploiting the strategic position of the land-based colony. In such empires, cases of genocide, mass migrations, and cruel treatment of the autochthonous population were frequent. Punitive operations were a daily practice (Lord Protector Cromwell destroyed 4/5 of the population of Ireland, 95% of the Indians were slaughtered during the development North America white colonists).
When the economic viability of the colonies fell, the colonial empires abandoned the colonies. Naturally, to beginning of XXI century, almost all colonial, maritime empires collapsed.

The history of the concept of "empire"

ancient empires

In ancient times, there was the concept of empires, that is, the fullness of power. “The Romans have empires - the highest government, belonged to one people, manifesting it in legislation, supreme court, in resolving the issue of war and peace; temporarily, as the highest authority, was transferred to elected dignitaries. From the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus, emperors became its owners. Later, the Empire began to designate the territory over which the supreme power of the ruler extended. With the inclusion of the entire “civilized” world of antiquity into the Roman Empire, the concept of empire underwent a transformation and began to be understood as a state uniting numerous countries and peoples.

medieval empires

The model of the "worldwide" Roman Empire, supplemented by the Christian concept of a single church, formed the basis of the medieval concept of an empire - the unification of the entire Christian world under the rule of a single monarch, whose main duty was to protect the church. Under the conditions of a feudal society, the concept of empire did not and could not presuppose centralization and a bureaucratic system. empires medieval Europe- Frankish and Holy Roman - remained decentralized formations, whose unity was supported by the sacredness of imperial power.

Empires in Modern Times

The emergence of centralized nation-states in the modern era, combined with the aggravation of interstate relations and the need to build up military potential, as well as the beginning of colonial expansion, led to the emergence of a new type of empire: Spanish, Portuguese, French, British and others. Colonial empires lasted until the 1970s. 20th century

Empires in the modern world

Despite the popularity of nation-state concepts, empires continue to exist today in one form or another. As a rule, these are continental states that had no experience of colonialism. Among them, one can single out such states as Russia (with a formal national form- the nation of Russians), Indonesia, Iran (with numerous reservations), India.

Empires that seek to build a nation-state almost always fall apart into an ethnically compact state.

China long time was also an empire, but the CCP's policy of assimilation led to the disappearance of all forms of the socio-economic, ethnic and cultural structure alternative to the Han, led to the assimilation of the Mongols, Russians, Dungans, partly Tibetans and Uighurs. China is currently striving to build an ethnocratic nation-state.

The European Union and the United States in a figurative sense are also considered empires in accordance with the criteria of the "Signs of an Empire" section. However, from the point of view of the theory of the nation-state, the first is a commonwealth of nations with a special form of supranationality, and the second is a classical nation-state, where ethnic differences are forced out of the political plane, which is completely uncharacteristic of empires.

Signs of an empire

At present, a figurative interpretation of the word "empire" is also widely used. In this case, it means a large state in terms of territory and population, which has the following features:

Availability strong army and police;
great foreign policy influence;
powerful national idea(religion, ideology);
rigid, as a rule, individual, power;
high loyalty of the population;
an active foreign policy aimed at expansion, striving for regional or world domination.

A state that meets these criteria will be an empire. At the same time, the monarchy as a type state structure not required.

Many states, developing along the path "up and out", sooner or later become empires. For human history there were many empires. Most famous: Byzantine Empire, Roman Empire, Russian Empire, British Empire, Spanish Empire, France under Napoleon, Third Reich, Ottoman Empire.

Some states passed through the stage of empire several times (France, Germany, Russia).

Most famous empires

Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918)
Arab Caliphate (7th century)
Assyrian Empire (X-VI centuries BC)
British Empire (c. 1583-1960s)
Byzantine Empire (395-1453)
German Empire (1871-1918)
German colonial empire (1884-1918)
Third Reich (1933-1945)
Habsburg Empire (Austrian Empire) (1804-1867)
Chinese Empire (221 BC - 1912)
Macedonian Empire (c. 338 BC - 309 BC)
Mongol Empire (1206-1368)
Mughal Empire (1526-1857)
Ottoman Empire (1281-1923)
Persian Empire (c. 550-330 BC)
Roman Empire (27 BC - 476)
Russian Empire (1721-1917)
Holy Roman Empire (843-1806)
french empire
First French Empire (1804-1815)
Second French Empire (1853-1871)
French colonial empire (c. 1605-1960s)
Empire of Japan (1867-1945)

What is an empire? In historical circles, disputes periodically flare up regarding exact definition this concept. One way or another, the imperial form of government had a significant impact on the development of civilization.

Many ways of social interaction appeared thanks to empires. In fact, there are no more empires in the twenty-first century, and the first one appeared more than three thousand years ago.

Definition criteria

There are several criteria by which one can understand what an empire is. One of the most faithful is the area of ​​the state. The classical definition implies a state that unites many lands with different nationality population. All power is concentrated in the hands of one institution (most often the monarch). At the same time, the same rights and obligations apply to the territory of all controlled lands. The classical states of this type are the Ottoman and Russian empires. Such states arose as a result of the absorption of other entities that rallied around the center.

Titled leader at the head

A more obvious, but less correct criterion - the form of government, will also help to understand what an empire is. If the person who is at the head of the state bears the title of emperor, then such a state can be considered an empire. History proves that almost all monarchs who endowed themselves with such a title led the imperial powers. But there are also exceptions. Some extravagant African dictators often assumed the titles of emperors. At the same time, leading small country and without geopolitical weight. This "fashion" appeared in the second half of the twentieth century.

Continental view of the empire

One type of empire is continental. Such states appear as a result of an aggressive foreign policy. Military expansion leads to the annexation of new lands. Therefore, a powerful state must have a strong regular army. Based on this, it follows that in such a state the army occupies an important place in public and political life.

And the military influences all government decisions. The empire acts in the interests of a narrow circle of people. Any political figure must have the support of the highest military ranks. Therefore, the imperial system is very often identified with the dictatorial one.

Political structure

The continental empire has the same political system throughout the territory. Representatives of different nationalities live in the state. Imperial nationality is identified either as civil (a resident of the Ottoman Empire is an Ottoman, but ethnically it can be an Arab, Ethiopian, and so on), or as a supranational one (for example, in the Macedonian Empire, all residents were considered Hellenes by nationality, regardless of ethnicity). When new territories are included in the state, the government has to introduce a single currency, language, and so on. This was necessary to unify the population and prevent the emergence of separatist sentiments.

colonial empire

And for its own interests, it conquers territories with which it does not border. The conquered lands come under the authority or protectorate of the center (metropolis), but at the same time they have different rights and obligations from it. The colony (or protectorate) is obliged to give a significant part of the resources of the mother country. Most often, native armies are used during the war, but this is not necessary. For example, in the Russian Empire, representatives of a non-titular nation (non-Russian) were rarely used during wars. But the inhabitants of the colonies were drafted into the royal troops of the British Empire.

The colonial empire has several institutions of power. In the colonies, the governors represent the state. At the same time, the organs local government who are accountable to them. It is necessary to keep other lands in obedience to the metropolis through despotism. American natives felt for themselves what an empire is when they were almost completely destroyed.

In history

The first powerful state that became an empire is Akkad. It did not last long and rested solely on a military dictatorship. After that, there were several entities with a strong monarch at the head. Babylon has become a unifying center for many lands. Under King Hammurabi, the unification of the population was carried out. At the same time, primitive logistics appeared. The most important cities of the state were connected by roads. And for communication, mail with messengers was used. The Roman Empire appeared in the first century BC.

This is one of the most powerful states in the history of mankind. It had a significant impact on the development of civilization. After the collapse of the empire, for many centuries people could not achieve such cultural and technological progress.

Rise to power

The Roman Empire came about as a result of the seizure of power by Julius Caesar. He managed to create a powerful centralized state. Huge territories were controlled from Rome. At the same time, there were local self-government bodies with broad powers. The political system helped to control the entire Mediterranean coast, part of Asia and Africa. All territories were equal in rights. Therefore, local elites quickly went to cooperate with the state. Also formed a civil nation - Roman. But the growth of national consciousness and the conflicts of local elites ultimately led to the collapse of the state.

Ancient Rome considered a classic example of imperial statehood. At the same time, he combined different types empires - continental and colonial. In many ways, future empires copied the Roman experience. But to achieve such power on long period nobody succeeded.

Empire: definition

So, based on the above, we can clearly define the criteria for an imperial state:

• centralized power.
• At the head is a monarch who bears the title of emperor.
• A vast territory that includes lands inhabited by different national groups.
• Presence of colonies or protectorates.

Some historians and political scientists also rank countries that are waging an aggressive foreign policy to empires. Most often in leftist circles, governments refer to geopolitically strong countries as imperialist. This means armed expansion or any other methods of aggressive pressure on the governments of sovereign states. AT Soviet period similar views on the definition were in the textbooks on history and political science.

The most famous empires: Russian, Ottoman, German (Reich), Austro-Hungarian, French, British, Roman.

All of them had a different political structure and their own characteristics. Only Great Britain has survived practically unchanged to this day. National revolutions and the growing popularity of leftist ideas in Europe led to the gradual disintegration of empires and the independence of their former colonies.

What is an empire? In historical circles, disputes periodically flare up regarding the exact definition of this concept. One way or another, the imperial form of government had a significant impact on the development of civilization.

Many ways of social interaction appeared thanks to empires. In fact, there are no more empires in the twenty-first century, and the first one appeared more than three thousand years ago.

Definition criteria

There are several criteria by which one can understand what an empire is. One of the most faithful is the area of ​​the state. The classical definition implies a state that unites many lands with a population of various nationalities. All power is concentrated in the hands of one institution (most often the monarch). At the same time, the same rights and obligations apply to the territory of all controlled lands. The classical states of this type are the Ottoman and Russian empires. Such states arose as a result of the absorption of other entities that rallied around the center.

Titled leader at the head

A more obvious, but less correct criterion - the form of government, will also help to understand what an empire is. If the person who is at the head of the state bears the title of emperor, then such a state can be considered an empire. History proves that almost all monarchs who endowed themselves with such a title led the imperial powers. But there are also exceptions. Some extravagant African dictators often assumed the titles of emperors. At the same time leading a small country and not having geopolitical weight. This "fashion" appeared in the second half of the twentieth century.

Continental view of the empire

One type of empire is continental. Such states appear as a result of an aggressive foreign policy. Military expansion leads to the annexation of new lands. Therefore, a powerful state must have a strong regular army. Based on this, it follows that in such a state the army occupies an important place in public and political life.

And the military influences all government decisions. The empire acts in the interests of a narrow circle of people. Any politician must have the support of the highest military officials. Therefore, the imperial system is very often identified with the dictatorial one.

Political structure

The continental empire has the same political system throughout the territory. Representatives of different nationalities live in the state. Imperial nationality is identified either as civil (a resident of the Ottoman Empire is an Ottoman, but ethnically it can be an Arab, Ethiopian, and so on), or as a supranational one (for example, in the Macedonian Empire, all residents were considered Hellenes by nationality, regardless of ethnicity). When new territories are included in the state, the government has to introduce a single currency, language, and so on. This was necessary to unify the population and prevent the emergence of separatist sentiments.

colonial empire

And for its own interests, it conquers territories with which it does not border. The conquered lands come under the authority or protectorate of the center (metropolis), but at the same time they have different rights and obligations from it. The colony (or protectorate) is obliged to give a significant part of the resources of the mother country. Most often, native armies are used during the war, but this is not necessary. For example, in the Russian Empire, representatives of a non-titular nation (non-Russian) were rarely used during wars. But the inhabitants of the colonies were drafted into the royal troops of the British Empire.

The colonial empire has several institutions of power. In the colonies, the governors represent the state. At the same time, there are local self-government bodies that are accountable to them. It is necessary to keep other lands in obedience to the metropolis through despotism. American natives felt for themselves what an empire is when they were almost completely destroyed.

In history

The first powerful state that became an empire is Akkad. It did not last long and rested solely on a military dictatorship. After that, there were several entities with a strong monarch at the head. Babylon has become a unifying center for many lands. Under King Hammurabi, the unification of the population was carried out. At the same time, primitive logistics appeared. The most important cities of the state were connected by roads. And for communication, mail with messengers was used. The Roman Empire appeared in the first century BC.

This is one of the most powerful states in the history of mankind. It had a significant impact on the development of civilization. After the collapse of the empire, for many centuries people could not achieve such cultural and technological progress.

Rise to power

The Roman Empire came about as a result of the seizure of power by Julius Caesar. He managed to create a powerful centralized state. Huge territories were controlled from Rome. At the same time, there were local self-government bodies with broad powers. The political system helped to control the entire Mediterranean coast, part of Asia and Africa. All territories were equal in rights. Therefore, local elites quickly went to cooperate with the state. Also formed a civil nation - Roman. But the growth of national consciousness and the conflicts of local elites ultimately led to the collapse of the state.

Ancient Rome is considered a classic example of imperial statehood. At the same time, he combined different types of empires - continental and colonial. In many ways, future empires copied the Roman experience. But no one managed to achieve such power for a long period.

Empire: definition

So, based on the above, we can clearly define the criteria for an imperial state:

• centralized power.
• At the head is a monarch who bears the title of emperor.
• A vast territory that includes lands inhabited by different national groups.
• Presence of colonies or protectorates.

Some historians and political scientists also classify countries that pursue an aggressive foreign policy as empires. Most often in leftist circles, governments refer to geopolitically strong countries as imperialist. This means armed expansion or any other methods of aggressive pressure on the governments of sovereign states. In the Soviet period, similar views on the definition were in the textbooks on history and political science.

The most famous empires: Russian, Ottoman, German (Reich), Austro-Hungarian, French, British, Roman.

All of them had a different political structure and their own characteristics. Only Great Britain has survived practically unchanged to this day. National revolutions and the growing popularity of leftist ideas in Europe led to the gradual disintegration of empires and the independence of their former colonies.

Empire- when one person (monarch) has power over a vast territory inhabited by numerous peoples of different nationalities. This ranking is based on the influence, longevity and power of various empires. The list was compiled on the basis that the empire should, most time, is under the control of an emperor or king, this excludes the modern so-called empires - the United States and the Soviet Union. Below is a ranking of the ten greatest empires in the world.

At the height of its power (XVI-XVII), the Ottoman Empire was located on three continents at once, controlling most of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. It consisted of 29 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later absorbed by the empire. The Ottoman Empire has been at the center of interaction between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. In 1922, the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist.

The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four Islamic Caliphates (system of government) established after the death of Muhammad. The empire under the rule of the Umayyad dynasty covered more than five million square kilometers, making it one of the largest in the world, as well as the largest Arab-Muslim empire ever established in history.

Persian Empire (Achaemenid)

The Persian Empire basically united all of Central Asia, which consisted of many different cultures, kingdoms, empires and tribes. It was the largest empire in ancient history. At the peak of its power, the empire covered about 8 million square kilometers.

The Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire was part of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Permanent capital and civilizational center Byzantine Empire was Constantinople. During its existence (more than a thousand years), the empire remained one of the most powerful economic, cultural and military forces in Europe despite setbacks and loss of territory, especially during the Roman-Persian and Byzantine-Arab wars. The empire received a mortal blow in 1204 on the fourth Crusade.

The Han Dynasty is regarded as a golden age in Chinese history in terms of scientific advancement, technological progress, economic, cultural and political stability. Even to this day, most Chinese call themselves the Han people. Today, the Han people are considered the largest ethnic group in the world. The dynasty ruled China for nearly 400 years.

The British Empire covered more than 13 million square kilometers, which is about a quarter of the earth's landmass of our planet. The population of the empire was approximately 480 million people (approximately one-fourth of humanity). The British Empire is by far one of the most powerful empires that has ever existed in human history.

In the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire was considered the "superpower" of its time. It consisted of eastern France, all of Germany, northern Italy, and part western Poland. It was officially dissolved on August 6, 1806, after which there appeared: Switzerland, Holland, the Austrian Empire, Belgium, the Prussian Empire, the Principalities of Liechtenstein, the Confederation of the Rhine and the first French Empire.

The Russian Empire existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution in 1917. She was the heir to the kingdom of Russia, and the predecessor Soviet Union. The Russian Empire was the third largest of the ever-existing states, second only to the British and Mongolian empires.

It all started when Temujin (later known as Genghis Khan, considered one of the most brutal rulers in history) vowed in his youth to bring the world to its knees. The Mongol Empire was the largest adjacent empire in human history. The capital of the state was the city of Karakoram. The Mongols were fearless and ruthless warriors, but they had little experience in managing such a vast territory, which caused the Mongol Empire to quickly fall.

Ancient Rome made a great contribution to the development of law, art, literature, architecture, technology, religion and language in the Western world. In fact, many historians consider the Roman Empire to be the "ideal empire" because it was powerful, fair, long-lived, large, well-defended, and economically advanced. The calculation showed that from its foundation to the fall, a whopping 2214 years passed. It follows from this that the Roman Empire is the most great empire ancient world.

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