Empire
An empire is a set of lands, regions or countries that are ruled by an Emperor. An empire usually also has many different cultures. In history, many empires were usually formed when a country began to invade or colonise nearby countries.
Usually, an empire is ruled by one dominant country. For example, the British Empire was largely controlled by the United Kingdom's government.
Well-known empires include the Persian Empire, Roman Empire, Russian Empire, Greek Macedonian Empire, Holy Roman Empire and British Empire.
Sea empires grew mostly by sailing to distant places and conquering them. The Aztec Empire and the Mongol Empire were land empires. The Venetian Empire and the British Empire were sea empires. The largest empire was The British Empire.
Before Christopher Columbus, there were several American empires including Vikings (owned Greenland), the Aztec Empire, and the Inca Empire. The Spanish and the Portuguese were the first Europeans to discover America. Later came the English, later to be called the British Empire controlled most of North America, and the Spanish Empire controlled most of South America and Latin America.
The oldest empire was the Akkadian Empire, whose founder was Sargon of Akkad.
Modern empires
The newest created empire was The Soviet Union created in 1922, which included Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
Today, the only monarch to use the title "emperor" is the Emperor of Japan although his power is mostly ceremonial and the de facto head of government is the Prime Minister of Japan.
References
Empire Media
Roman Empire at its territorial greatest extent in 117 AD, the time of Trajan's death Roman *Vassal States
Map showing the four empires of Eurasia in the 2nd century AD
All areas of the world that were once part of the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese established in the early 16th century together with the Spanish Empire the first global empire and trade network.
