In the mid-third century BCE, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka conquered most of India and Pakistan. When his conquests were done, he erected a series of large pillars. The inscriptions on these pillars declared that Ashoka’s empire was now one of peace. The warfare used to create the empire was in the past.

Yet, these texts were not just about peace. They were also statements of Ashoka’s total control. He certainly never shrank his mighty 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 convince their subjects that they had a right to rule. Empires are always run this way. Below are just a few examples.

Dynastic legitimacy

For an empire to work, its people must accept that a particular family line, or 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 mostly 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 have political 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 other cases, empresses were the real rulers, even if they were not officially recognized as such. 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 a man. In art she is shown as a male figure.

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 at a time, and this ruler has the blessing of the gods. As long as a dynasty ruled, it was believed to have the gods’ support.

Religion was often used to help control conquered people living in an empire’s periphery, or outer area. For example, the Neo-Assyrian Empire made sure the people in the peripheries 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. Cyrus the Great of Persia (died 530 BCE) claimed he was the rightful ruler of Babylon because that city’s god, Marduk, had personally selected him. The Hittites of ancient Anatolia had a more direct approach. They stole conquered people’s idols² and brought them back to their capital city.

Death and taxes: Controlling the periphery

Keeping the periphery loyal was no easy task. 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 things to keep their periphery loyal. In its early period, the Roman Empire preferred to have peripheral areas run by local kings. These kings were officially recognized as independent rulers. However, they did whatever the Romans wanted. Later, the periphery was placed in the hands of Roman government officials.

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 in revolt 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 and controlled them through force. A few rich peripherals were granted citizen rights. However, most were not so lucky. They could be punished harshly for any reason.

Conclusion

Families, gods, and force are the means by which empires control their subjects. It is remarkable how long these approaches were used. Even in the 1800s, many European empires still had dynastic rulers. Religion played a central role in controlling British colonies, where 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 with its cannons.

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.
2 An idol is a physical object that represents a god.