"Empires" are political structures which stretch beyond their home territory, reaching into outlying lands. They bring together a diverse mass of people who acknowledge an alien ruler, willingly or otherwise, as their permanent overlord. But it is not necessary that the word "empire" be explicitly used: Stalin was an emperor in all but name. The core territories will usually show a high degree of cultural and political unity but the outlying lands, which may or may not be contiguous with the metropolitan base, will include people of many cultures and polities, perhaps with a previous tradition of self-rule.
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