{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.empire","code":"thing-q48349","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q48349/","name":"empire","alternateNames":["Empire of France","bureaucratic empire","colonial empire","global empire","Club of great powers","Bulgarian Empire","Soviet empire","nomadic empire","democratic empire","evil empire","Republican empire","Romanov Empire"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.PLC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A large political unit ruling over multiple peoples, territories or states under a single supreme authority, historically an emperor, and by extension any extensive dominion including colonial and maritime empires; empires have shaped world history through conquest, trade, administration and culture, and their legacies remain contested.","purpose":"Let an agent describe empires as historical and political entities with attributed scholarship, present the perspectives of ruling and ruled peoples, and handle legacies and comparisons neutrally.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Multi-ethnic dominion","Central authority","Expansion and administration","Contested legacy"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"describe","name":"Describe","description":"A specific empire.","layers":[{"id":"facts","name":"Facts","description":"Extent and organisation.","findings":[{"id":"facts-finding","name":"Facts","description":"Facts.","questions":[{"text":"When did this empire exist, what did it rule, and how was it organised, according to historians?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How did it expand and decline?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"perspectives","name":"Perspectives","description":"Ruling and ruled.","findings":[{"id":"perspectives-finding","name":"Perspectives","description":"Perspectives.","questions":[{"text":"How do descendants of subject peoples and of the imperial centre describe this empire?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Are both attributed rather than one treated as neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"What makes an empire.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Defining empire.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"How do scholars define empire, and how does it differ from a kingdom or nation-state?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the label applied to this polity contested?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"types","name":"Types","description":"Kinds of empire.","findings":[{"id":"types-finding","name":"Types","description":"Types.","questions":[{"text":"Was this a land, maritime, colonial or informal empire?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How did its type shape its rule?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"legacy","name":"Legacy","description":"After empire.","layers":[{"id":"effects","name":"Effects","description":"Lasting effects.","findings":[{"id":"effects-finding","name":"Effects","description":"Effects.","questions":[{"text":"What legacies in borders, languages, institutions and inequalities does this empire leave, according to research?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How are they debated?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"memory","name":"Memory","description":"Memory and museums.","findings":[{"id":"memory-finding","name":"Memory","description":"Memory.","questions":[{"text":"How is the empire remembered in different countries, and how do museums address its collections?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Are restitution debates attributed neutrally?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"senses","name":"Senses","description":"Other uses.","layers":[{"id":"metaphor","name":"Metaphor","description":"Business and media empires.","findings":[{"id":"metaphor-finding","name":"Metaphor","description":"Metaphor.","questions":[{"text":"Is empire used metaphorically for a business or media group?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which entry fits?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can empires be taught with multiple perspectives and sources?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which resources are balanced?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe empires and their history from scholarly sources, including the views of colonised peoples.","Report territorial extents and dates with their sources and uncertainty."],"mustNot":["Glorify conquest, slavery or genocide carried out by an empire.","Present imperial claims or maps as current borders.","Erase the perspective of subject peoples when describing an empire.","Produce propaganda for restoring an empire's territory."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing material on contested imperial legacies, such as reparations or restitution."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Empires shaped present borders, wealth and injustice; their legacies are still felt.","Descendants of colonised peoples are owed accurate accounts."],"affectedParties":["Descendants of colonised peoples","Former imperial nations","Students"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the past; historians and the communities affected hold its memory.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q1250464","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q3624078","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"realm","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"sovereign state","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"emperor","type":"related","note":"head"},{"target":"colony","type":"related","note":"component"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.empire","Wikidata: Q48349 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48349)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Rule over many peoples and territories","Central supreme authority","A nation-state claims to govern one people","Not physical; polities shown on historical maps."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["describe a specific empire with sources","explain how empires were organised","present perspectives of subject peoples","describe legacies and debates neutrally"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Glorifying or demonising empires without attribution","Erasing subject peoples","Anachronistic comparisons"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; international law on decolonisation applies to legacies"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Understanding large historical polities and their legacies.","ancient empires","land empires","colonial and maritime empires","modern empires","informal empires and spheres of influence"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q48349: empire","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48349","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Empire","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each empire be a separate entry?","How should historical sources be linked?","How should perspectives be attributed?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q48349/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q48349/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T20:05:18Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:31+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"An empire is a political entity rather than a physical object with intrinsic material properties, although its territories can be measured for a specified date."},"score":1.0}}