Note 347 — ACT II.
Reading edition
Imperium, or command.
"My noble husbands (more than noble souls) Already wander under your commands."—S. P.
The word also occurs in "Henry V.," act i. sc. 2—
"Or there we'll sit, Ruling, in large and ample empery."
"This word," says Mr Steevens, "which signifies dominion, is now obsolete, though formerly in general use." So in "Claudius Tiberius Nero," 1607—
"Within the circuit of our empery."