Book contents
- More People, Fewer States
- More People, Fewer States
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 More People and Yet Fewer States
- Part I World Population Growth
- Part II Empire Growth
- 4 From Populations to Empires and the Role of Technology
- 5 Empires
- 6 Talkers, Doers, Regulators, and Followers
- 7 From Pecking Order to Political Order
- 8 Runner Empires (−3000 to −600)
- 9 Early Rider Empires (−600 to +600)
- 10 An Apparent Dead End
- 11 Stirrup Empires (600 to 1200)
- 12 The Last Rider Empires (1200 to 1800)
- 13 Engineer Empires (From 1800 Onward)
- Part III Trends and Interactions
- Book Appendix: Chronological Table of Major State Sizes, −3500 to +2025
- References
- Index
5 - Empires
Definitions, Measurements, and Growth–Decline Curves
from Part II - Empire Growth
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 June 2024
- More People, Fewer States
- More People, Fewer States
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 More People and Yet Fewer States
- Part I World Population Growth
- Part II Empire Growth
- 4 From Populations to Empires and the Role of Technology
- 5 Empires
- 6 Talkers, Doers, Regulators, and Followers
- 7 From Pecking Order to Political Order
- 8 Runner Empires (−3000 to −600)
- 9 Early Rider Empires (−600 to +600)
- 10 An Apparent Dead End
- 11 Stirrup Empires (600 to 1200)
- 12 The Last Rider Empires (1200 to 1800)
- 13 Engineer Empires (From 1800 Onward)
- Part III Trends and Interactions
- Book Appendix: Chronological Table of Major State Sizes, −3500 to +2025
- References
- Index
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).
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- More People, Fewer StatesThe Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizes, pp. 60 - 76Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024