Empire

===Post-classical period===
{{Multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| header            = Empires of the Post-classical period
| header_background = #f8eaba
| image1            = Justinian555AD.png
| caption1          = [[Eastern Roman Empire]] in 555
| image2            = The Sasanian Empire at its apex under Khosrow II.svg
| caption2          = The [[Sasanian Empire]] at its greatest extent in c. 620
| image3            = Caliphate 740-en.svg
| caption3          = The extent of the [[Umayyad Empire]] in 740
| image4            = Tang Dynasty circa 700 CE.png
| caption4          = The territory directly held by the [[Tang dynasty|Tang Empire]] of China in 700 AD
| image5            = Chola dynasty map - Tamil.png
| caption5          = [[Chola empire]] in c. 1180
| image6            = Expansion of the Mongol Empire.svg
| caption6          = [[Mongol Empire]] in the 13th century
| image7            = Map of the Delhi Sultanate.png
| caption7          = The [[Delhi Sultanate]] in the [[Indian subcontinent]] at its greatest extent in 1335
| image8            = Map of the Serbian Empire, University of Belgrade, 1922.jpg
| caption8          = [[Serbian Empire]] in 1350
}}

In [[Western Asia]], the term "[[History of Iran|Persian Empire]]" came to denote the [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] imperial states established at different historical periods of pre–[[Islam]]ic and post–Islamic [[Persia]].{{Sfn|Stearns|2001}}

In [[East Asia]], various Chinese empires dominated the political, economic and cultural landscapes during this era, the most powerful of which was probably the [[Tang dynasty|Tang Empire]] (618–690, 705–907). Other influential Chinese empires during the post-classical period include the [[Sui dynasty|Sui Empire]] (581–618), the [[Liao dynasty|Great Liao Empire]], the [[Song dynasty|Song Empire]], the [[Western Xia|Western Xia Empire]] (1038–1227), the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Great Jin Empire]] (1115–1234), the [[Qara Khitai|Western Liao Empire]] (1124–1218), the [[Yuan dynasty|Great Yuan Empire]] (1271–1368), and the [[Ming dynasty|Great Ming Empire]] (1368–1644). During this period, Japan and Korea underwent voluntary [[Sinicization]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Ancient Japan |encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/japan/ |access-date=2018-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Ancient Japanese & Chinese Relations |encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1085/ancient-japanese--chinese-relations/ |access-date=2018-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Ancient Korean & Chinese Relations |encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/984/ancient-korean--chinese-relations/ |access-date=2018-07-31}}</ref> The Sui, Tang and Song empires had the world's largest economy and were the most technologically advanced during their time;<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8kfAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA264 Bulliet & Crossley & Headrick & Hirsch & Johnson 2014], p. 264.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lockard |first=Craig |date=1999 |title=Tang Civilization and the Chinese Centuries |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/ealac/moerman/fall2000/edit/pdfs/wk5/tangci.pdf |journal=Encarta Historical Essays}}</ref> the Great Yuan Empire was the world's [[List of largest empires#Empires at their greatest extent|ninth largest empire]] by total land area; while the Great Ming Empire is famous for the [[Ming treasure voyages|seven maritime expeditions]] led by [[Zheng He]].{{Sfn|Stearns|2001}}

The [[Ajuran Sultanate]] was a [[Somalis|Somali]] empire in the medieval times that dominated the [[Indian Ocean]] trade. It was a [[Somali people|Somali]] [[Muslim]] [[sultanate]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Luling |first=Virginia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0Y_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA17 |title=Somali Sultanate: the Geledi city-state over 150 years |publisher=Transaction Publishers |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-874209-98-0 |page=17}}</ref><ref>Luc Cambrézy, Populations réfugiées: de l'exil au retour, p.316</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mukhtar |first=Mohamed Haji |year=1989 |title=The Emergence and Role of Political Parties in the Inter-River Region of Somalia from 1947–1960 |url=http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7h11k656 |journal=[[Ufahamu]] |volume=17 |issue=2 |page=98|doi=10.5070/F7172016882 |doi-access=free }}</ref> that ruled over large parts of the [[Horn of Africa]] in the [[Medieval|Middle Ages]]. Through a strong centralized administration and an aggressive military stance towards invaders, the Ajuran Sultanate successfully resisted an [[Oromo people|Oromo]] [[Ajuran Sultanate#Ajuran-Oromo battles|invasion]] from the west and a [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] incursion from the east during the Gaal Madow and the [[Ajuran Sultanate#Ajuran-Portuguese battles|Ajuran-Portuguese wars]]. Trading routes dating from the ancient and early medieval periods of [[Maritime history of Somalia|Somali maritime enterprise]] were strengthened or re-established, and foreign trade and commerce in the coastal provinces flourished with ships sailing to and coming from many kingdoms and empires in [[East Asia]], [[South Asia]], [[Southeast Asia]], [[Europe]], [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]] and [[East Africa]].<ref name="Shapes">{{Cite book |last=Shelley |first=Fred M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qlXatHRJtMC&pg=PA358 |title=Nation Shapes: The Story behind the World's Borders |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61069-106-2 |page=358}}</ref>

In the 7th century, [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] witnessed the rise of a [[Buddhist]] thallasocracy, the [[Srivijaya Empire]], which thrived for 600 years and was succeeded by the Hindu-Buddhist [[Majapahit Empire]] that ruled from the 13th to 15th centuries. In the Southeast Asian mainland, the Hindu-Buddhist [[Khmer Empire]] was centered in the city of [[Angkor]] and flourished from the 9th to 13th centuries. Following the demise of the Khmer Empire, the Siamese Empire flourished alongside the Burmese and Lan Chang Empires from the 13th through the 18th centuries.

In [[Southeastern Europe|Southeastern]] and [[Eastern Europe]], during 917, the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], sometimes called the Byzantine Empire, was forced to recognize the Imperial title of [[Bulgaria]]n ruler [[Simeon I of Bulgaria|Simeon the Great]], who were then called [[Tsar]], the first ruler to hold that precise imperial title. The [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]], established in the region in 680-681, remained a major power in [[Southeast Europe]] until its fall in the late 14th century. Bulgaria gradually reached its cultural and territorial apogee in the 9th century and early 10th century under [[Boris I of Bulgaria|Prince Boris I]] and Simeon I, when its early [[Christianization of Bulgaria|Christianization]] in 864 allowed it to develop into the cultural and literary center of [[Slavic Europe]], as well as one of the largest states in Europe, thus the period is considered the [[Golden Age of medieval Bulgarian culture]]. Major events included the development of the [[Cyrillic script]] at the [[Preslav Literary School]], declared official in 893, and the establishment of the liturgy in [[Old Church Slavonic]], also called [[Old Bulgarian]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dvornik |first=Francis |title=The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |year=1956 |location=Boston |page=179 |quote=The Psalter and the Book of Prophets were adapted or "modernized" with special regard to their use in Bulgarian churches, and it was in this school that [[Glagolitic script|glagolitic writing]] was replaced by the so-called [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic writing]], which was more akin to the Greek [[uncial]], which simplified matters considerably and is still used by the Orthodox Slavs.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Florin Curta |url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-81539-0 |series=Cambridge Medieval Textbooks |pages=[https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/221 221]–222 |quote=Cyrillic preslav. |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=J. M. Hussey, Andrew Louth |title=Oxford History of the Christian Church |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-161488-0 |page=100 |chapter=The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-H9BTVHKRMC&q=The+Orthodox+Church+in+the+Byzantine+Empire+Cyrillic+preslav+eastern&pg=PR3-IA34}}</ref>

At the time, in the [[Medieval period|Medieval West]], the title "empire" had a specific technical meaning that was exclusively applied to states that considered themselves the heirs and successors of the Roman Empire. Among these were the "Byzantine Empire", which was the actual continuation of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern portion of the Roman Empire]], the [[Carolingian Empire]], the largely Germanic [[Holy Roman Empire]], and the [[Russian Empire]]. Yet, these states did not always fit the geographic, political, or military profiles of empires in the modern sense of the word. To legitimise their ''imperium'', these states directly claimed the title of ''Empire'' from Rome. The ''sacrum Romanum imperium'' (Holy Roman Empire), which lasted from 800 to 1806, claimed to have exclusively comprehended Christian principalities, and was only nominally a discrete imperial state. The Holy Roman Empire was not always centrally-governed, as it had neither core nor peripheral territories, and was not governed by a central, politico-military elite. Hence, [[Voltaire]]'s remark that the Holy Roman Empire "was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire" is accurate to the degree that it ignores<ref>{{Citation |title=Voltaire |url=http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltaire |publisher=[[Wikiquote]], citing Essai sur l'histoire generale et sur les moeurs et l'espirit des nations, Chapter 70 (1756) |access-date=2008-01-06}}</ref> German rule over Italian, French, Provençal, Polish, Flemish, Dutch, and Bohemian populations, and the efforts of the ninth-century [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s (i.e., the [[Ottonians]]) to establish central control. Voltaire's "nor an empire" observation applies to its late period.

In 1204, after the [[Fourth Crusade]] conquered [[Constantinople]], the [[Crusades|crusaders]] established a [[Latin Empire]] (1204–1261) in that city, while the defeated Byzantine Empire's descendants established two smaller, short-lived empires in [[Asia Minor]]: the [[Empire of Nicaea]] (1204–1261) and the [[Empire of Trebizond]] (1204–1461).
Constantinople was retaken in 1261 by the Byzantine successor state centered in [[Nicaea]], re-establishing the [[Byzantine Empire]] until 1453, by which time the [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]]-[[Muslim]] [[Ottoman Empire]] (ca. 1300–1918), had conquered most of the region. The Ottoman Empire was a successor of the Abbasid Empire and it was the most powerful empire to succeed the Abbasi empires at the time, as well as one of the most powerful empires in the world.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=46}} They became the successors after the Abbasid Empire fell from the Mongols (Hülegü Khan). The Ottoman Empire centered on modern day Turkey, dominated the eastern Mediterranean, overthrew the Byzantine Empire to claim Constantinople and it would start battering at Austria and Malta, which were countries that were key to central and to south-west Europe respectively — mainly for their geographical location.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=46}} The reason these occurrences of batterings were so important was because the Ottomans were Muslim, and the rest of Europe was Christian, so there was a sense of religious fighting going on.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=46}} This was not just a rivalry of East and West but a rivalry between Christians and Muslims.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=46}} Both the Christians and Muslims had alliances with other countries, and they had problems in them as well.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=46}} The flows of trade and of cultural influences across the supposed great divide never ceased, so the countries never stopped bartering with each other.{{Sfn|Howe|2002}} These epochal clashes between civilizations profoundly shaped many people's thinking back then, and continues to do so in the present day.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=30}} Modern hatred against Muslim communities in South-Eastern Europe, mainly in Bosnia and Kosovo, has often been articulated in terms of seeing them as unwelcome residues of this imperialism: in short, as Turks.{{Sfn|Howe|2002|page=47}} Moreover, Eastern Orthodox imperialism was not re-established until the coronation of [[Ivan the Terrible]] as [[Tsar|Emperor of Russia]] in 1547. Likewise, with the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (1803–1815), the [[Austrian Empire]] (1804–1867) emerged reconstituted as the Empire of [[Austria-Hungary]] (1867–1918), having "inherited" the imperium of Central and Western Europe from the losers of said wars.

In the thirteenth century, [[Genghis Khan]] expanded the [[Mongol Empire]] to be the largest contiguous empire in the world. However, within two generations, the empire was separated into four discrete khanates under Genghis Khan's grandsons. One of them, [[Kublai Khan]], conquered China and established the [[Yuan dynasty]] with the imperial capital at [[Beijing]]. One family ruled the whole Eurasian land mass from the Pacific to the Adriatic and Baltic Seas. The emergence of the [[Pax Mongolica]] had significantly eased [[trade]] and [[commerce]] across Asia. The [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid Empire]] of [[Iran]] was also founded.
<ref>Gregory G. Guzman, "Were the barbarians a negative or positive factor in ancient and medieval history?", ''The Historian'' 50 (1988), 568–570</ref><ref>[[Thomas T. Allsen]], ''Culture and conquest in Mongol Eurasia'', 211</ref>
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