Empires, the largest political systems of the ancient and early modern world, powerfully transformed the lives of people within and even beyond their frontiers in ways quite different from other, non-imperial societies. Appearing in all parts of the globe, and in many different epochs, empires invite comparative analysis - yet few attempts have been made to place imperial systems within such a framework. This book brings together studies by distinguished scholars from diverse academic traditions, including anthropology, archaeology, history and classics. The empires discussed include case studies from Central and South America, the Mediterranean, Europe, the Near East, South East Asia and China, and range in time from the first millennium BC to the early modern era. The book organises these detailed studies into five thematic sections: sources, approaches and definitions; empires in a wider world; imperial integration and imperial subjects; imperial ideologies; and the afterlife of empires.
Preface Carla M. Sinopoli and Terence N. D'Altroy; Part I. Sources, Approaches, Definitions Kathleen D. Morrison: 1. The shadow empires: imperial state formation along the Chinese-Nomad frontier Thomas J. Barfield; 2. Written on water: designs and dynamics in the Portuguese Estado de India Sanjay Subrahmanyam; 3. The Wari empire of Middle Horizon Peru: the epistemological challenge of documenting an empire without documentary evidence Katharina Schreiber; 4. The Achaemenid Persian empire (c. 550-c. 330 BCE): continuities, adaptations, transformations Amelie Kuhrt; Part II. Empires in a Wider World Terence N. D'Altroy: 5. The Aztec Empire and the Meso-American world system Michael E. Smith; 6. On the edge of empire: form and substance in the Satavahana dynasty Carla M. Sinopoli; 7. Dynamics of imperial adjustment in Spanish America: ideology and social integration Kathleen Deagan; Part III. Imperial Integration and Imperial Subjects Carla M. Sinopoli: 8. Politics, resources, and blood in the Inka Empire Terence N. D'Altroy; 9. Egypt and Nubia Robert Morkot; 10. Coercion, resistance, and hierarchy: local processes and imperial strategies in the Vijayanagara Empire Kathleen D. Morrison; Part IV. Imperial Ideologies Susan E. Alcock and Kathleen D. Morrison: 11. Aztec hearts and minds: religion and the state in the Aztec empire Elizabeth M. Brumfiel; 12. Inventing empire in ancient Rome Greg Woolf; 13. The reconfiguration of memory in the eastern Roman empire Susan E. Alcock; 14. Cosmos, central authority, and communities in the early Chinese empire Robin Yates; Part V. The Afterlife of Empires Susan E. Alcock: 15. The fall of the Assyrian empire: ancient and modern interpretations Mario Liverani; 16. The Carolingian empire: Rome reborn? John Moreland; 17. Cuzco, another Rome? Sabine MacCormack.
