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| | Empire |
 | | For many centuries, the term "Empire" in the West applied exclusively to states which considered themselves to be successors to the Roman Empire, such as the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, or, later, the Russian Empire. |
 | | In 1204, when Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade, the Crusaders created a Latin Empire in Constantinople, while the descendents of the Byzantine Empire went to Asia Minor and established two smaller empires: the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond. |
 | | The Mongol Empire was governed by kurultai, and there was freedom of religion, tax exemption and extensive trade routes that were nurtured by the Khan. |
| www.brainyencyclopedia.com /encyclopedia/e/em/empire.html (1789 words) |
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