Empire

An empire is a realm of the fifth tier. Empires are the highest ranked playable realm. Empires are usually composed of 1 or more kingdoms, though, empires do not require kingdoms to exist(e.g. Byzantine Empire, HRE). The ruler of an empire is usually known as an emperor. Rulers of emperor rank are always independent.

One of the counties in each empire is the capital and is normally held by the ruler of that empire. If that county's capital is a city or temple then the realm is a republic or theocracy respectively.

To create a de jure empire, 2 kingdom titles and a minimum of 80% of the de jure territory of that empire is required. A certain amount of gold and piety is also required. For certain empires, there may also be cultural or other requirements.

Titles
Most empire-rank titles are known as the Empire of X (e.g. Empire of Abyssinia). However, some of the titles are known as X Empire (e.g. Byzantine Empire); in this case the word empire appears in the title of the article relating to that empire.

For rulers of Altaic cultures, empire-rank titles usually known as the Empire of X are instead known as the Khaganate of X (e.g. Khaganate of Tartaria).

For rulers of empire-rank theocracies, empire-rank titles usually known as the Empire of X are still known as this, but the variation for rulers of Altaic cultures still applies.

For rulers of empire-rank republics, empire-rank titles usually known as the Empire of X are instead known as the Principality of X.



List of Empires
As of patch 2.1, the game's 18 de jure empires are: (*) In Legacy of Rome DLC a decision is available to the leader of the Byzantine Empire which changes the Byzantine Empire into the Roman Empire.
 * Abyssinia
 * Arabian Empire
 * Bengal Empire
 * Britannia
 * Byzantine Empire*
 * Carpathia
 * Deccan Empire
 * Francia
 * Hispania
 * Holy Roman Empire
 * Italia
 * Mali
 * Persian Empire
 * Rajastan
 * Russia
 * Scandinavia
 * Tartaria
 * Wendish Empire

The titular empires are: (*) In Rajas of India DLC a decision is available to the leader of united Deccan, Bengal and Rajastani empires to create India.
 * Latin Empire
 * Golden Horde
 * Ilkhanate
 * Timurids
 * Aztec Empire
 * India *