In the mid-third century BCE, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka conquered most of India and Pakistan. When his conquests were done, he built a series of large pillars around his empire. These had written messages carved into them. They declared that Ashoka’s empire was now peaceful. The warfare used to create the empire was a thing of the past.

Yet, these pillars were not just about peace. They also were reminders of Ashoka’s control over the empire. He certainly never got rid of his army. In any case, most of his people couldn’t read. All they saw were monuments to Ashoka’s greatness.

Ashoka and his descendants needed to hold on to their power to keep their people in line. They also had to make sure their subjects believed they had a right to rule. Empires are always run this way. Below are just a few examples.

Dynastic legitimacy

A dynasty is a family line of rulers. For an empire to work, its people must accept that a dynasty has the right to rule.¹ In many areas, dynasties were based on real blood relations. For example, all emperors of the Chinese Han Empire (c. 202 BCE–220 CE) were directly related to the first Han ruler, Gaozu.

Some empires did not pick their rulers based on family ties. The rulers of the Roman Empire (60 BCE–476 CE) were chosen based on their leadership qualities. Yet even there, the idea of a dynasty was important. New emperors were often adopted into the previous emperor’s family. This created the appearance of family ties.

Emperors and empresses

Most empires were controlled by male emperors, and rule was passed down through the male line. Generally, empresses had no real power. Their main role was to give birth to a son who would later become emperor. But some empresses did hold power. The Eastern Roman Empress Theodora (ca. 497-548 CE) is one example. Her husband, the emperor, often asked for her advice. She played an important role in running the empire.

In some other cases, empresses ruled on their own. The empress Lü was married to Gaozu (256-195 BCE), first emperor of the Han. When Gaozu died, their son was too young to take over. Lü became the empire’s ruler, even though she never took the title of emperor.

Something similar happened in Egypt. Queen Hatshepsut (1507-1458 BCE) was the real power behind the child emperor Thutmose III. By 1478 she had taken the title of king. She then openly ruled over Egypt for the next 20 years. However, to rule, Hatshepsut had to present herself as male. In art of the time she is shown as a man.

Religion and control

Many emperors based their right to rule on the supposed support of the gods. In China, the Zhou Dynasty (1046-226 BCE) introduced the idea of a Mandate of Heaven. According to this idea, there could be only one rightful ruler of China. This ruler has the blessing of the gods. His Mandate of Heaven was passed down through his family line.

The outer areas of an empire are known as the periphery. They can be difficult to control. Religion was often used to help control conquered people living in the periphery. For example, the Neo- Assyrian Empire made sure peripheral people worshipped the Assyrian god Assur. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka used Buddhism to unite the people of his empire.

Some emperors used the gods of their peripheral territories. Take Cyrus the Great of Persia (died 530 BCE). He claimed he was the rightful ruler of Babylon because its god, Marduk, had personally selected him.

Death and taxes: Controlling the periphery

Keeping the periphery loyal was no easy job. Loyalty was important for two reasons: collecting taxes and preventing revolts. One way to keep a conquered people loyal was to have its young men serve in the empire’s army. Making someone a loyal soldier was a great way to keep rebellion off their mind.

Empires have done many different things to keep their periphery loyal. At first, the Roman Empire preferred to have peripheral areas run by local kings. These kings were supposedly independent rulers. However, they did whatever the Romans wanted. Later, Roman governors ruled the periphery.

As mentioned, empires love taxes and hate rebellion. However, the first often leads to the second. For example, in 66 CE, Jews in Judea rose up against their Roman rulers. Jews were being heavily taxed by the Romans. To make things worse, the Romans were not protecting them from being mistreated by Greeks. A series of riots broke out that soon turned into rebellion. The revolt lasted until 73 CE. By then, at least a million Jews had been killed.

Control through toleration and violence

The Persian Emperor believed it was his duty to protect his empire. He allowed peripheral states great freedom as long as they at least pretended to respect him. The Romans, on the other hand, treated their peripheral people as lesser beings. They controlled them through force. A few rich peripherals were given citizen rights. However, most were not so lucky. They could be punished harshly for any reason.

Conclusion

Families, gods, and force. These are the means by which empires control their subjects. It is amazing how long these means were used. Even in the 1800s, many European empires still had dynastic rulers. Religion played a key role in controlling British colonies. Many local people became Christian. Colonial governments collected taxes and took natural wealth from Britain’s colonies. When locals resisted, there was always the British navy. If necessary, Britain could take what it wanted by force.

1 A few empires were not run by emperors. For example, the Athenian Empire was controlled by democratic Athens. The early Roman Empire was run by the Senate during the Republic period.