Most empires don't start out that way. In many cases those nations were abused prior, or invaded. Usually while maintaining a shell of a military. What they lea

Most empires don't start out that way. In many cases those nations were abused prior, or invaded. Usually while maintaining a shell of a military. What they learned by experience is...If you don't want someone to take a shot at you, kill you, pillage the village, and rape your women, more or less hell on earth, you have to crush everyone. This is axiomatic because of human nature. Someone somewhere will not play ball and be civil. Someone somewhere will cause massive damage to you and your livelihood if you give them the chance. You may not have met them, but they certainly exist. There is wisdom in this laconic phrase: Si vis pacem, para bellum