In popular discourse there is often a perception that empires and imperialism were primarily about the exploitation of dominated territories and the transfer of wealth to the imperial heartland, and that the legacy of these relationships of economic exploitation continue to structure the present world order. This idea that the empires were about extraction of wealth for the benefit of the heartland is also manifested in archaeological studies of empires, including many on Assyria. This notion – that imperial exploitation benefited the imperial heartland – is problematic, however.