Modern reconstruction of a Roman legion’s eagle or aquila standard, photographed by Matthias Kabel in Wikipedia “Aquila” under license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

TOP 10 TYPES OF EMPIRE

Given my interest in military history, it’s not surprising that I’ve also always found empires a fascinating subject of history, again from the fortunate perspective of being well removed from the sharp end of them. Empires are typically creatures of military conquest or power and rise and fall by war.

Hence, I’ve ranked my Top 10 Empires of history, but similarly to my Top 10 Wars, it doesn’t end there. No, indeed, just as I had my Top 10 Types of War, I also have my Top 10 Types of Empire, albeit the latter is not as distinctive or varied as the former in history. While empires do have broad types, or perhaps more precisely features, empires tend to be general practitioners rather than specialists and often are of overlapping types.