The Ottoman Empire was such an empire that it actually outlasted the length of Rome's reign on their land. Beginning around the 1300's, the Turkish empire ended in 1922 after World War I. In its early years, the Ottoman state was just a small principality in north-west Anatolia. The state started to gain land around 1325, when it dominated Bursa, its new capital, and the whole of Anatolia by 1338. Up until the mid-1500s, the Ottomans kept taking land, expanding into areas including Bulgaria, Serbia, Constantinople (Istanbul), Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Belgrade, and Hungary. Expansion stopped, yet stayed stable, after their failed attempt to gain Vienna.

The early forces of the Ottoman Empire were made up of Turkish cavalry, known as sipahas, and Turkish Muslim horseman, known as ghazis. They were paid with government and land grants, meaning the more land they took, the more money they gained. However, the government, heavily swayed by the military, found them to be obsolete. During the mid-14th century, the military became made up of men from the outside. Salaried troops were recruited from mercenaries, slaves, prisoners of war, and later, Balkan Christian troops in the 1400s. These troops are known as janissaries. While the army became very successful, they certainly did not all share the same views that the sultan may have.

People were almost forced by the government to grow differently. The mixed population created different linguistics, culture and religion. Most people in the European regions were Christians. Around Thrace, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania Muslim settlements were heaviest. In Bosnia, Islamic believers made up the population. Asian provinces were mainly Muslim, however Christians also played a part in those regions. People were sorted economically and socially (religiously). They formed communities, and the people were mostly left alone to govern these communities on their own. It gave the people a higher sense of freedom from the government, allowing them to create culture, paintings, food, music, etc, rather than focusing on military and further expansion of the nation.

By the 1600s the decline of the empire started to become visible. Outside forces started to intrude upon their territory. The Ottomans suffered another loss attempting to take Vienna in 1683, and later lost grounds to the Austrians and Russians. All land was lost north of the Danube. Crimea and all land east of Dniester to Russia was abandoned. Land within their own territories was being lost by its own people. Within some of their European, Asian and African territories, autonomous rulers took control when the central government lost grip of it.

In an attempt to reform the army, Sultan Mahmud II, abolished the old army of janissaries. In 1826, he replaced them with a European-style fighting force, equipping them with new weapons and armor. This new army was heavily disciplined and trained. It was paid as well. It became the morale push to modernize the empire. This new, modern army became a very large expense to the government. Taxes had to be raised, and the bureaucracy collecting these taxes had to be improved. Better educational systems to supply officers of the army and state had to be built. Roads and bridges to support the army were built, and railway and telegraph lines were new technologies implemented into the empire's territories. These changes cost money and resources that had to be taken from non-governmental institutions. The new army devastated others, however the Ottomans had to rely on borrowing from abroad. Eventually, their debts could not be repaid and financial control was applied by the Europeans.

Liberalization, giving citizens more rights and freedoms, became a struggle worth fighting for from those living in Ottoman territories. Non-Muslims also asked for the same rights Muslims had. In the 1860s, the group known as the Young Ottomans wanted many reforms, one of them asking for a constitution. In 1876 , they were granted a constitution, however it was suspended in 1878. Revolutionist, the Young Turks, began to rebel and fight back. A military revolt by them brought the constitution back in 1908. By 1913, the Committee of Union and Progress took control leading to radical reforms in government and policy.

European powers did not want to allow the Ottomans to coerce the Christians living in the European territories to conciliate with them. Provinces started to become autonomous by the 1800s. Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria were lost. Territories in North Africa were lost to the French in 1830, and Tunisia in 1881. Britain took Egypt; Italy annexed Libya. The control of land became impossible as there was too much land making the spread of land to vast for the army to protect all sides. With the government already in large debt, there was no money to recruit more soldiers to protect its borders. The Ottoman Empire finally collapsed during World War I. They foolishly allied themselves with the Central Powers, and when Germany lost, the Ottomans fell. Resistance from the Greeks in remaining Anatolia was seen until the troops were defeated in 1922. On November 1, 1922 the Ottoman dynasty was abolished, and a year later Turkey was formed.

Germany's loss left not only the Ottoman's Empire in rubble, but their own empire as well. Three wars helped lead the Germans in their push to form an empire. Beginning in 1948, the mostly Prussian country fought and defeated Denmark, Austria and France. Germany became an empire after it unified the country and announced William I of Prussia to be the German Emperor. The German Empire is known as the German Reich, or the Second Reich following the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

The smaller states all exercised their own governments, however, the military was completely controlled by the Prussian government, which was the largest and most powerful state. Prussian land was three-fifths the size of all of Germany and contained three-fifths of the population. In total, the German Empire controlled a large portion of Europe, with colonies in Africa and Asia.

Germanization, a term coined with the unification of Germany, is responsible for much of the resistance people had towards the unifying. Germanization was the elimination of non-German language from social life and schools with the intent to pressure the non-Germans into leaving their self-identity behind. More pressure was put on the Polish ethnic groups than others. Poles were restricted from speaking Polish in public, and they were denied permission to build homes in what was previously Poland's territory. As a result, Poles began to fight for freedom from this suppression. Over 20 Polish men were elected into the German legislature, which gave them a place to fight for minority rights.

After the death of William I, and the resignation of Chancellor Bismark, Germany was left under the control of William II. William II led to the decline of Germany, bringing political and strategic blunders with him.

Prussian aristocrats began to challenge the demands of the unified Germany. Rebellion within the common people occurred as well. Opposing the military education in German-state schools, individual liberal schools were set-up. Artist began experimenting, despite demands for traditional art. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD, which supported Marxism, formed. The government fought them by giving perks, such as welfare, to those who weren't labeled as socialists. Big companies also followed suit to reduce social ease.

In 1912, however the SPD dominated German polls, winning one-third of the seats. Militarism came on the rise. In order to avoid military service, many people fled the country, most to the United States.

Following the British Empire's example, the Germans began to colonize. The Baghdad Railway, being built in conjunction with the Ottomans, began to build in 1900's. However, the British saw that the Germans were just using this as a tool to expand within the Middle East. They argued them, telling Germany to stop building, and they did so in 1911.

They also set up colonies in Asia and Africa. The Asian ports were nothing more than to spread German power. The African colonies did bring in resources; however it was at the cost of non-German people. Several tribes people were uses as slave laborers, and a two tribes, the Herero and Nama, were put through stages of genocide. Within these African colonies, troops were being recruited as well. These people were known as Askaris.

Outside relations collapsed. Germany's fighting with France and Germany's support for Austria-Hungary occupation caused relations with Russia to fail. Britain allied with Russia, shunning the Germans, and became allies with France despite their tensions. Italy, while allied with Germany, was only for show.

Germany backed Austria to enter a battle with Serbia, thinking nothing serious would come of it, and Russia would stay out of it. However, their plan backfired. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary, allied with Germany. The German Empire faced more trouble when Britain and France entered the battle allied with Russia. Large scale battle broke out, and World War I had started. Fighting against the French had failed, while in the east, Germany actually gained land from Russia, stating Russia's political unrest created a weakness for them to attack. Some colonial forces made up of Askaris were successful, employing guerilla war tactics.

Due to the war, the distance of troops from resources, and the bankrupting economy, rations for the citizens and military were low. Nearly 750,000 civilians died alone from the harsh conditions, especially prevailing during the winter months. German citizens were against the war, and political parties like the SPD capitalized upon this. With the entry of the United States in the war, German forces could no longer hold up, and the government could no longer let its people suffer. With the ending of the war in 1918, came the end of the German Empire. World War I would be one reason another empire, the British Empire, fell as well.

Since the age of exploration in Britain's story, it had always been a super power. In the early 17th century, they really began to take shape. British expanded hugely and rapidly, taking the Americas and Carribeans. They opened trade routes with Asia, forming the English East India Company. With the trade in India and the Americas, the English had gained massive amounts of funds. The slave trade became a source of profit as well as an opportunity to gain lands. Forts were set up in East Africa to supply the people for slave labor. After the loss of the American colonies in 1776, the British Empire focused more on Asia, the Pacific and Africa. However, trade with the Americans proved profitable. Britain also gained control of the lands in Canada. With America no longer a source to place convicts and criminals after their revolution, the English turned to Australia colonizing those lands in 1829.

A large source of capitol was lost when abolitionists made the push to end slavery. The United Kingdom eventually started to push the world into ending slavery. Another shock to their economics was a war with Napoleonic France. Britain was on the "world stage," and with Napoleons threats to invade, the British felt they could not afford to lose this battle. They flowed cash into the military and eventually Napoleon was wiped out.

During Britain's "Imperial Century," from 1815 to 1914, is when the empire really saw its possessions grow. After Britain's defeat of France, it left them with virtually no enemy, and they bestowed upon themselves a title of "world police" to all other countries. Britain continued to gain lands in Asia, from Egypt, Malaysia, and the defeated Burmese. The creation of the First Opium War allowed them to gain Hong Kong as a base. The tip of Africa, Cape Colony, became theirs. As more colonized here, the local population of Boers grew a great feeling of resentment towards the British. The Suez Canal, a point for travel from Britain to India was purchased from Egypt.

As other countries started to rush to colonize other lands, Britain attempted to avoid the scramble early on. However, they soon realized to maintain power in Africa they would have to take control of it. In 1882, Great Britain occupied Egypt, moving to the Nile River valley and eventually to Sudan. In 1902, the British finalized its dominance over South Africa. They continued to take control of African countries and in 1914 they controlled nearly 30% of Africa's population.

Beginning to form a Commonwealth, Great Britain declared several of their territories as self-governing dominions. Originally, Britain would still be in charge for all military moves in the dominions. When Great Britain joined World War I, so did the Dominions. However, Great Britain found the task of sustaining a naval fleet over such a massive amount of area impossible. They later agreed that the Dominions should have their own navies.

After Germany's fall in World War I, Britain saw its last climb gaining several new territories that Germany had lost. On the other hand, Britain had lost a huge amount of men and financial assets. Markets and manpower was flipped upside down in all its territories. Nationalism saw a rise, fueled by their people's participation in the war. Britain's Dominions began to question their leader's authority on whose call it was to declare war. They even refused to help Great Britain's military actions against Turkey. Irish staged nationalist uprisings and rebellions. In 1931, the Dominions would start to gain their full independence, free of British rule and seen as an equal.

"The Empire that would never see the sun set" eventually did see it set with the coming of World War II. It brought with it an economic burden that could not be settled. Britain had to rely on others, mainly the United States. Much of the country was bombed, bringing terror to the people and wallets of the government. This brought on an extra rise of anti-colonial nationalist movement. With their dominions becoming independent, many chose not to enter the war. Economics changed and Great Britain was no longer able to be the empire it once was.

We can clearly see the three points listed in these three empires. All empires expanded greatly, adding a vast amount of people to their land. They eventually lost control, and trying to control them would just add to an ever increasing debt they suffered. They all ended in war as well, (with the exception of the British Empire) being invaded upon by several other countries. So can these links be seen within these empires, and those of America, Russia and China?

History has dictated that all empires fall. We certainly see patterns of this in America's Empire. Its ability to produce has increased tenfold yearly, and is the economic center point of the world, despite being in dept well above our knees. However, this economic power has been outsourcing to places that can do it cheaper. This may be one step in its fall. While there are no more lands to colonize, America has colonized its pop culture on the world. I don't see an end to this soon, but I wouldn't say that it is impossible. America people have been less helping towards the government, and we have been pursuing our own goals and dreams. People dream of being rich and owning a fast car, but you can't do that being a private in the Army. The Army has started to allow immigrants from other countries to be recruited into the Army. Americans also don't support our "War on Terror" anymore. So when will this rise come to an end? It is probably already happening. With tensions around the world on edge, especially with the issue of nuclear power, it is more likely America will end in a fiery explosion than end with economical, political, and social failure.

China is one spot our economic activities are being outsourced to. And it is feeding a massive military empire. If there is anyone the United States really needs to be careful of, it is the Chinese. They are an empire made up of several different ethnic groups and the country itself is huge. However, they work under a communist structure, making it very difficult for democratic struggles to take place without bloodshed. Remember Tiananmen Square? There are over 1 billion Chinese, and an army of over 2 million troops makes it the largest in the world. For those that are being oppressed, America is doing exactly what it did before World War II. Ignoring them. Millions died before we took a stand and defended freedom and democracy. That took months, years even. With today's weapons, that damage could be done in hours. When one empire falls, another will normally take its place, and if America falls, China will be the one to do so.

Russia crawled out of the ashes of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 with the goal to reestablish itself as a superpower of the world. It is now the economic leader of that part of the world. In the future it may be seen as a counter balance to America's overextended power. It also partners itself with the other superpower, China. Russia is a bit of a wild card. It may become its own superpower, or ally with the Chinese to become a Sino-Russo superpower (that could eventually dominate the world), or support the United States. The last would be very unlikely especially with China's interests in mind. The country is wholeheartedly retreating from facing democratic reformation that could cause a stir amongst its people. Its natural resources and dying population may be one thing that could cause others to invade upon the country, jealous of what they have.