Above is a very cool video showing which empires held which territories in Europe from 1000ad to 2005ad.  While the video itself could be much better (no clock? no legend?), it provides a pretty great view of how empires rise and fall.

Take France.  A nice little territory with easy access to both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, which in addition to serving as ready access to foreign trade, provides relative protection as well.  It is also sheltered by the Alps to the east and the Pyrenees to the south (and also had Spain serving as a buffer to African powers).   All of this natural defense lets Paris go on a thousand year run where it was rarely disturbed.  Not bad for the butt of every joke about surrendering.

England was in a similar situation: well protected on all sides, it had a long history of foreign peace (internal strife is another matter).

Italy is just the opposite: it’s open from nearly all sides, and has consistently been fractured into numerous city-states.

Then you have the rapid expanders: the Mongols, who swallowed up almost all of eastern Europe (and nearly all of Asia) in a single lifetime, the Germans, who conquered basically all of western Europe during WWII, and countless smaller empires.  These all became huge behemoths by sweeping through, and, usually because of more advanced weaponry or military techniques, decimated opponents.  But, they didn’t build any lasting ties.  They were quickly dissected, usually when one or two key leaders died off, or when a major tribute decided it was better off on its own.  Spread too thin, they eventually failed.

The Ottoman Empire and Russia, who became behemoths in their own right, took a different path.  They started with decent strategic locations, not with the natural protections that England or France had, but good enough.  The Ottomans controlled the key trade and shipping lanes from the west to the east.  The Ottomans built their empire rather slowly, losing territory at times, but building much stronger ties to the local people than the Mongols or Germans ever did.  Russia had vast natural resources, and the winters could dissuade any would-be invaders.  They too slowly expanded outward, assimilating locals as they went (until they didn’t, and quickly lost most of their fast gains).

While a lot more goes into why some empires were so successful than simply the area they held and the speed at which they expanded, this plays a surprisingly large role.

We don’t get to choose where we’re born or who we’re born to, but we do more or less get to pick our “starting position”.  Pick one with lots of natural advantages, either one that’s easily defensible, or that’s rich in natural resources (preferably both).  Consolidate as you go: build deep alliances with those you work with.  Don’t expand too quickly or try to do too much too soon.  You’ll almost certainly fail.

Lastly, think about all of the people, from the peasants to the great kings and conquerors that made this map possible.  They’re all dead.  While they had a pretty tremendous impact on the world, nobody knows who 99.999% of them are.  So don’t bother worrying about your legacy.  Worry about the people around you today.