metropole

thumb|right|300px|Roman Italy, the metropole of the [[Roman Empire. Roman provinces are marked in pink.]]

A metropole () is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire. From the 19th century, the English term metropole was mainly used in the scope of the British, Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, and Ottoman empires to designate those empires' home territories, as opposed to their colonial or overseas territories.