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Abstract
Throughout history the creation of empires has been a driving force in human interaction. The quest for empire has obsessed individuals and nations alike, from Assyria to Rome and Napoleon to Hitler. Indeed, the creation of an empire through direct conquest has occupied a significant amount of time and resources for some of the greatest civilizations throughout human history. The reasons for this are many and varied, yet it is clear that whatever the motivations for conquest, be they materially based or psychological in nature, the outcome is generally the same: the exertion of one territory's military and political will over another. Yet, not all conquests are equivalent and distinct differences can exist within the overall framework of empire creation. For instance, the Roman Empire accrued territory gradually over a period that spanned centuries, whereas the empire of Alexander the Great took just nine years to reach its maximum territorial extent. History is likewise full of examples of attempts at large scale conquest which ended in failure; Hannibal's bid for Italy during the Second Punic War is one such instance. It is apparent that different factors constitute differing cases of conquest and empire creation.
One group of societies stands apart from others in the rapidity and the overwhelming completeness of its conquests. Rapid conquest societies are defined in this work as societies that create empires by establishing political control over other states or nations through direct conquest over large territorial areas. For example, the Mongols under Genghis Khan took seventeen years to acquire a vast amount of territory, while the First Crusaders carved out kingdoms, principalities and counties in the Levantine area in a matter of three years. Relatively speaking, these conquests were astonishingly quick, although the completeness of the process varied and hence also the durability of each empire. The subjugation of opposing government authorities is one of the primary concerns of the conquest societies under examination and the actions taken to do so will likewise form a smaller focus of the study. After all, those actions are part of what sets conquest societies apart from the bulk of other societal interactions particular to the human experience. It is important to remember that campaigns against cultural or racial groups within a society, such as the Nazi persecution of Jews and gypsies, is not considered conquest although those campaigns do share much in common with conquest factors. The focus is on analyzing the differing factors that can lead a society to conquer other societies who are subject to a completely different governing system and authority.
The intent of this thesis is to demonstrate that certain societies were more likely than others to engage in rapid and large-scale conquest and that those societies passed through what will be termed a "conquest phase" that led to aggressive military actions against neighbouring territories. There are numerous factors that contributed to the likelihood a society would engage in such aggressive behaviour and an examination of those factors in a thematic manner will constitute the bulk of the study. The focus is on the pre-gunpowder era, that is, the timeframe before gunpowder weapons became the primary arm in military engagements, and five specific cultures and societies from that time. The Neo-Assyrian Empire, Alexander the Great and the Macedonians, the First Crusaders, Genghis Khan and the Mongols, and the Spanish Conquistadors will be used to impart the bulk of the evidence and provide support for the arguments within the study. Though most of these conquests occurred in different geographical areas and historical timeframes, all of them encountered similar issues and displayed related characteristics. To that end, the primary themes are: (1) Motivations for rapid conquest and empire creation; (2) Facilitation of Conquest; (3) Aftermath of Conquest.
I have not attempted to suggest that all of the societies share every one of the common features of what is considered a conquest society and the characteristics they exhibit. Rather, it is my intention to show that there are common characteristics shared by most of the societies and that there are significant commonalities that makes it possible to draw conclusions from a comparative nature.
