What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the word empire? I think of the 2015 hit TV show of the same name featuring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard.1 After receiving a terminal medical diagnosis, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) must decide which of his three sons will inherit his media empire/company. Season after season, different characters weave in and out of the plot line to show the lengths to which someone is willing to go to have power – the ability to call the shots. Each son had his reason for wanting the company, but it all boiled down to one simple, yet ancient longing– a desire to have dominion.
Thank you to everyone who has filled out the audience survey and for all of your wonderful email responses. Many of you said you were interested in learning more about certain topics and concepts used throughout history.
Therefore, I am happy to launch the “What is …?” series where I tackle a topic or concept used today and throughout history in a micro-lesson format.
Introduction
When you hear the word “empire,” your response to it might be based on the adjective you are used to seeing before the word. One person may think of the Roman Empire and feel a sense of pride.2 Another person may think of the British Empire and feel a sense of anger and frustration.
So what exactly is an empire and why does it elicit such a spectrum of emotions?
Defining Empire
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has two relevant definitions for empire:
“Anything considered as or likened to a realm or domain having an absolute ruler, such as heaven, hell, the oceans, etc.”3
“An extensive territory under the control of a supreme ruler (typically an emperor) or an oligarchy, often consisting of an aggregate of many separate states or territories. In later use also: an extensive group of subject territories ultimately under the rule of a single sovereign state.”4
One definition focuses on the ruler and the other focuses on the ruled. Why is this important?
A key element of studying history is understanding perspectives. As a historian, it’s always important to ask from whose perspective are certain beliefs, actions, and events believed to be true.
An empire is defined both by who rules it and who is ruled by it. Here is how this works out in a practical sense. I am a historian of the British Empire which means two things.
I study how British monarchs, government officials, and companies ruled over its many territories [domains] over time.
I also study how the people living in British territories [domains, colonies, etc.] experienced life under the British Empire.
These two perspectives are crucial to writing a history of the British Empire.
Simply put, an empire is a realm in which power is concentrated at a center [sometimes multiple centers] with a ruler(s) and projected outwards (to varying degrees) towards, upon, and through the ruled.
Identifying an Empire
Often when my students first learn what an empire is, they want to know, well, is this state an empire? Was that state an empire? For them, it’s not enough to have a definition, they want to know how to apply it or further identify it.
Professor Charles Maier breaks it down this way – you can identify an empire based on how a particular political entity acts and how it is structured. He explains it further this way:
An empire in the classic sense is usually believed, first, to expand its control by conquest or coercion, and, second, to control the political loyalty of the territories it subjugates. It may rule these subject lands directly or it may install compliant native leaders who will govern on its behalf, but it is not just an alliance system among equal partners. Note that the first qualification for empire refers to the historical process by which it is formed, whereas the second describes its ongoing structure.5
So if you’re asking yourself whether this state or that political entity is an empire, you must look at how it acted in the past (the historical process of its formation) and how it’s structured to sustain itself well into the future.
The main takeaway is that world history has been shaped by all kinds of empires – political, industrial, commercial, monarchal, etc. What lies behind each empire is people and within each person is a desire to have dominion over something and/or someone. It’s unraveling how this desire manifests itself over time and geographies that make studying history a worthwhile endeavor for every human being.
We’ll look more into how an empire is formed and structured next time!
Take care,
Hi, my name is Shae and I am a PhD candidate in History at Harvard University. If there’s a topic you’re curious about and would like to know more–respond to this email and let me know!
If you are this person, check out my letter on “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” here.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/empire_n?tab=meaning_and_use&tl=true#5529743
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/empire_n?tab=meaning_and_use&tl=true#5529743
Charles S. Maier, "1. What Is an Empire?" In Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors, 24-77 (Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard University Press, 2007), 24-25.