Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:23:21.341Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Empires

Definitions, Measurements, and Growth–Decline Curves

from Part II - Empire Growth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2024

Rein Taagepera
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Miroslav Nemčok
Affiliation:
University of Oslo, Norway
Get access

Summary

The size of states, including empires, is measured by two crude measures: their area and their population. Areas graphed over time represent the growth–decline curves of empires. These are the basic portraits of empires, showing at a glance how rapidly they formed, how large they became, and how long they lasted. Measuring areas in historical atlases supplies most data. Rome, Ottoman, and Manchu Qing offer examples of completed life cycles. Russia and the USA show curves still incomplete. The beginnings of these curves often approximate the “simple logistic” pattern typical of growth of bacteria colonies when they have plenty of food but space is limited. A table lists the following characteristic of 98 major empires during the last 5000 years: maximum size, duration at least at one-half of maximum size, and rise time from 20−80% of maximum size. Of these, 20 are Runner Empires (3000 to 600 BCE), 66 are Rider Empires (600 BCE to 1800 CE), and 12 are Engineer Empires (from 1800 on).

Type
Chapter
Information
More People, Fewer States
The Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizes
, pp. 60 - 76
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×