Editing Empire (section)

== Fall of empires ==
The fall of an empire is typically associated with a change in the [[new world order (politics)|world order]], with a new [[hegemon]] replacing the former empire. There is typically a decline in [[soft power]] and [[hard power]]. During the fall, the empire typically retreats its expanded operations. [[Trade]] shrinks as the former empire shifts its priorities towards [[domestic policy]]. Living conditions may deteriorate as the economy shrinks. [[Balkanization]] or territorial divisions may occur. However, this process is not universal. Some empires are more resilient and fall gracefully while others experience complete chaos.

=== Roman Empire ===
{{Further|Fall of the Western Roman Empire}}
The fall of the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|western half of the Roman Empire]] is seen as one of the most pivotal points in all of human history. This event traditionally marks the transition from classical civilization to the birth of Europe. The Roman Empire started to decline at the end of the reign of the last of the [[Five Good Emperors]], Marcus Aurelius in 161–180 A.D. There is still a debate over the cause of the fall of one of the largest empires in history. Historian [[André Piganiol]] argues that the Roman Empire under its authority can be described as "a period of terror",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piganiol |first=André |year=1950 |title=The Causes of the Fall of the Roman Empire |journal=The Journal of General Education |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=62–69 |jstor=27795332}}</ref> holding its imperial system accountable for its failure. Another theory blames the rise of Christianity as the cause, arguing that the spread of certain Christian ideals caused internal weakness of the military and state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bury |first=John |title=History of the Later Roman Empire |publisher=Dover Publications |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-486-20398-0 |location=New York}}</ref> In his book ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'', historian [[Peter Heather]] contends that there were many factors, including issues of money and manpower, which produced military limitations and culminated in the Roman army's inability to effectively repel invading barbarians at the frontier.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heather |first=Peter |title=The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-532541-6 |location=New York, Oxford}}</ref> The Western Roman economy was already stretched to its limit in the 4th and 5th centuries C.E. due to continual conflict and loss of territory which, in turn, generated loss of revenue from the tax base. There was also the looming presence of the Persians which, at any time, took a large percentage of the fighting force's attention. At the same time the Huns, a nomadic warrior people from the steppes of Asia, are also putting extreme pressure on the German tribes outside of the Roman frontier, which gave the German tribes no other choice, geographically, but to move into Roman territory. At this point, without increased funding, the Roman army could no longer effectively defend its borders against major waves of Germanic tribes. This inability is illustrated by the crushing [[Battle of Adrianople|defeat at Adrianople]] in 378 C.E. and, later, the [[Crossing of the Rhine]] in 406 C.E.

An empire can [[Historiography of the fall of the Western Roman Empire|fall for many reasons]]. However, why the fall of the Roman Empire was fatal, and why the post-classical Europe never repeated its ancient unity, is a completely different question. [[Eurocentrism]] in the Roman case led to the theory of inevitable imperial fall and Western [[declinism]] in imperiology, which remains the only widely believed case of [[Historical determinism|historical inevitability]]. To describe any [[polity]] as an empire is usually to damn it as doomed to disappear,<ref>[[Dominic Lieven|Lieven, Dominic]] (2012). "Empire, history and the contemporary global order," ''Proceedings of the British Academy'', vol 131: p 130, https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/2012/pba131p127.pdf</ref> usually due to [[imperial overstretch]]. [[Comparative history]], however, alters the Eurocentric theory. The Chinese Empire rose synchronously with Rome and never fell. More precisely, China underwent several disintegrations but each time reunified. Asking why post-Roman Europe, contrary to China, never reunified reveals factors which the [[case study]] of the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|fall of Rome]] cannot reveal. The latter question was addressed in [[Comparative studies of the Roman and Han empires#Political_pattern|this comparative analysis]].

===Transition from empire===
In time, an empire may change from one political entity to another. For example, the Holy Roman Empire, a German re-constitution of the [[Roman Empire]], metamorphosed into various political structures (i.e., federalism), and eventually, under [[Habsburg]] rule, re-constituted itself in 1804 as the [[Austrian Empire]], an empire much different politics and scope, which in turn became the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] in 1867. The Roman Empire, perennially reborn, also lived on as the [[Byzantine Empire]] (Eastern Roman Empire) – temporarily splitting into the [[Latin Empire]], the [[Empire of Nicaea]] and the [[Empire of Trebizond]] before its remaining territory and centre became part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. A similarly persistent concept of empire saw the [[Mongol Empire]] become the Khanate of the [[Golden Horde]], the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] [[Empire of China]], and the [[Ilkhanate]] before resurrection as the [[Timurid Empire]] and as the [[Mughal Empire]].

An autocratic empire can become a republic with its imperial dominions reduced to a core territory (e.g., [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]] shorn of the German colonial empire im 1918–1919, the Ottoman Empire in 1918–1923, the Austro-Hungarian Empire after 1918, or the [[Russian Empire]] after 1918 and again in 1989–91). Or it can become a [[republic]] within the same borders (e.g., the Central African Empire in 1979). Alternatively, an empire can integrate the ruling metropole with the ruled periphery to become state. Originally imperial cores, [[Wessex]], [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Sardinia]], [[Prussia]] and [[Muskovy]] merged with their imperial peripheries to form the states of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and Russia respectively.

After 1945 the [[Empire of Japan]] retained its Emperor but lost its colonial possessions and became the State of [[Japan]]. Despite the semantic reference to imperial power, [[Japan]] is a ''[[de jure]]'' [[constitutional monarchy]], with a homogeneous population of 127 million people that is 98.5 percent ethnic Japanese, making it one of the largest nation-states.<ref>George Hicks, ''Japan's hidden apartheid: the Korean Minority and the Japanese'', (Aldershot, England; Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1998), 3.</ref> The deconstruction of European colonial empires also quickened and became commonly known as [[decolonisation]]. The British Empire evolved into a loose, multinational [[Commonwealth of Nations]], while the [[French colonial empire]] metamorphosed to a [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|Francophone commonwealth]]. The same process happened to the [[Portuguese Empire]], which evolved into a [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries|Lusophone commonwealth]], and to the former territories of the extinct [[Spanish Empire]], which alongside the Lusophone countries of [[Portugal]] and [[Brazil]], created an [[Organization of Ibero-American States|Ibero-American commonwealth]]. France returned the French territory of [[Kwang-Chou-Wan]] to China in 1946. The British gave [[Hong Kong]] back to China in 1997 after 150 years of rule. The Portuguese territory of [[Macau]] reverted to China in 1999. Macau and Hong Kong did not become part of the provincial structure of China; they have autonomous systems of government as [[Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China]].

France still governs [[Overseas France|overseas territories]] ([[French Guiana]], [[Martinique]], [[Réunion]], [[French Polynesia]], [[New Caledonia]], [[Collectivity of Saint Martin|Saint Martin]], [[Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[French Southern and Antarctic Lands]] (TAAF), [[Wallis and Futuna]], [[Saint Barthélemy]], and [[Mayotte]]), and exerts hegemony in [[Francafrique]] ("French Africa"; 29 francophone countries such as [[Chad]], [[Rwanda]], etc.). Fourteen [[British Overseas Territories]] remain under British sovereignty. Fifteen countries of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] share their head of state, King [[Charles III]], as [[Commonwealth realms]].