The Empire of Albion was founded by the Hero of Bowerstone, who became the ruler of Albion shortly after their defeat of Lucien. The Hero quickly became aware that Samarkand posed a threat to Albion, and so invaded the country. Samarkand was not an easy conquest. It took a decade to conquer the whole country and Albion's military and economy were severely weakened. To combat these two problems, the newly entitled Emperor of Albion introduced a policy of conscription. By this law, all men between the ages of eighteen and sixty were required to sign up for the army. Women were encouraged to run their own businesses and also the ones that their husbands had previously owned.