IMPERIAL CITY

The term 'Imperial City' can refer to several cities:

★ An Imperial Free City of the Holy Roman Empire, a city formally responsible to the emperor only

★ Imperial City (Beijing), usually refers to the central section of the city of Bejing that is known for its collections of gardens, palaces, shrines, and other areas, such as the Forbidden City and the Beihai Park

★ Coruscant (during the reign of the Galactic Empire), a fictional planet in the center of the Star Wars galaxy

★ Imperial City, Cyrodiil, the fictional capital of the Empire of Tamriel featured in the Elder Scrolls role-playing game series
It can also be a generic term for a major city that dominates the economic activities of a large region and which also builds impressive public and private structures and cultural institutions, even if it possesses a democratic government within the framework of a larger republic (for example, as described in the book ''Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin'' by Gray Brechin),