The Cause of an Empire

We know empires lead to vast political change, expansive trade networks, complex social classes and extravagant legends. But what is it that causes an empire? Why do empires form? Let's take a look at some examples from China, India and Rome to see how empires in history have formed.

The first thing that allows an empire to be able to be formed is the lack of a strong political system and the vulnerabilities these leave open in who controls the region. In India, the withdraw of Alexander the Great from the Punjab gave an opportunity to Chandragupta Maurya to expand and conquer India and parts of Bactria. In China, the fall of the Zhou dynasty left China in "the warring states," a time of political limbo until the Qin dynasty asserted itself and began taking over other Chinese states in order to bring China under a unified rule. Finally, in Rome, unrest in the cities and a huge gap between the social classes caused urban poor to join armies with generals who held their own agendas. It was in this way that Julius Caesar came to power and established a centeralized government.

That is not why empires form though. Empires form because of centralized rule and conquest. In India, Chandragupta Maurya brought much of India into a centralized rule, and the Mauryan empire later took and controlled even more of India. Both centralized rule and conquest were present in the development of the Mauryan empire. In China, Qin Shihuangdi declared himself first emperor of the Qin dynasty after he brought Chinese states into a strict centralized government built on legalist fundamentals by conquering them. Finally, in Rome, the Roman empire grew to include all the land around the Mediterranean sea. Julius Caesar brought Rome on the path to a strong centralized government, and the Roman empire was finally brought together as an empire under Augustus, who also conquered land in Anatolia and northern Africa.

It is centralized rule and conquest that cause an empire to form, but the lack of a strong political or military force is what helps the rulers who engineer these empire come to power.