>From J.M. Roberts's _Twentieth Century_: "It is the essence of empire that it rules over many peoples..." He points out that Queen Victoria assumed the title of Empress in reference to India. The Dragaeran Empire includes a few islands but nothing comparable to a distant, larger, more populous country. Anyway, to me the Empire seems more like a big Kingdom under this definition, given the ethnic cleansing of the Serioli and perhaps the cat-centaurs.