Empires

Empires,thelargestpoliticalsystemsoftheancientandearlymodernworld,powerfullytransformedthelivesofpeoplewithinandevenbeyondtheirfrontiersinwaysquitedifferentfromother,non-imperialsocieties.Appearinginallpartsoftheglobe,andinmanydifferentepochs,empiresinvitecomparativeanalysis-yetfewattemptshavebeenmadetoplaceimperialsystemswithinsuchaframework.Thisbookbringstogetherstudiesbydistinguishedscholarsfromdiverseacademictraditions,includinganthropology,archaeology,historyandclassics.TheempiresdiscussedincludecasestudiesfromCentralandSouthAmerica,theMediterranean,Europe,theNearEast,SouthEastAsiaandChina,andrangeintimefromthefirstmillenniumBCtotheearlymodernera.Thebookorganisesthesedetailedstudiesintofivethematicsections:sources,approachesanddefinitions;empiresinawiderworld;imperialintegrationandimperialsubjects;imperialideologies;andtheafterlifeofempires.