Empire ancient city-states of the Levant. Circa 1500 BC in China rose the Shang Empire which was succeeded by the Zhou Empire circa 1100 BC. Both surpassed in territory their contemporary Near Eastern empires. The Zhou Empire dissolved in 770 BC into feudal multi-state system which lasted for five and a half centuries until the universal conquest of Qin in 221 BC. The first empire comparable to Rome in organization was the Neo-Assyrian Empire (916–612 BC). The Median Empire was the first empire within the territory of Persia. By the 6th century BC, after having allied with the Babylonians to defeat
Empire of the Clouds Empire of the Clouds "Empire of the Clouds" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden from their sixteenth studio album, "The Book of Souls". The song was issued as a single on 16 April 2016, tying in with Record Store Day. It is the band's longest song to date, and the first single since 1996's "Virus" that has not been performed live by the band. "Empire of the Clouds", at 18 minutes in length, is Iron Maiden's longest song to date, overtaking "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" from their 1984 album, "Powerslave". The track tells the