Why Are There No Empires in Age of Empires? (2019)

# Summary An empire is defined as a state where a core ruling population exercises control and extracts resources from a culturally or ethnically distinct periphery—not simply a form of government or the presence of certain civilizations. The author argues that games like Age of Empires and Civilization fail to capture the actual mechanics of empires because they don't reflect this fundamental dynamic of resource extraction from subjugated populations. The article clarifies that empires don't require monarchies and can exist within republics or democracies, as historical examples like the Roman Republic and Athenian democracy demonstrate.