This chapter deals with “empires”, a highly centralized form of social organization capable of making large-scale investments in infrastructure and of maintaining a standing army. Thus, empires had to rely on efficient taxation and bureaucracy. Despite the central role of the emperor, personal rule was largely replaced by the impersonal rule of law and bureaucracy. A new bureaucratic elite emerged, which was often recruited on the basis of meritocratic principles. Empires do not possess clear-cut borders but are defined through the distinction between a center and its periphery. Ancient empires were relatively inclusive with high degrees of social mobility, in part by attracting people from the periphery to its center. The impersonal rule of law corresponds to the axial-age distinction between the transcendent and the mundane emerging in the age of empires. In terms of circulation, capital cities and extended transportation networks facilitated the circulation of people, goods and ideas. At the same time, an increased vertical mobility allowed citizens of an empire to move through the social ranks. Finally, literature and theatre emerged as new forms of artistic representation, while political representation was justified in terms of a transcendental order or in the name of the people.