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Empires

Empires

Empires

Perspectives from Archaeology and History
Susan E. Alcock, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Terence N. D'Altroy, Columbia University, New York
Kathleen D. Morrison, University of Chicago
Carla M. Sinopoli, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
June 2009
Paperback
9780521112345
£49.00
GBP
Paperback

    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.

    • Up-to-date analyses by recognized specialists in their fields
    • Representation and integration of multiple disciplines: anthropology, classics, history, art history
    • Comparative analysis over a large breadth of case studies

    Product details

    June 2009
    Paperback
    9780521112345
    548 pages
    246 × 189 × 28 mm
    0.97kg
    38 b/w illus. 30 maps 17 tables
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 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.
      Contributors
    • Susan E. Alcock, Carla M. Sinopoli, Terence N. D'Altroy, Kathleen D. Morrison, Thomas J. Barfield, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Katharina Schreiber, Amelie Kuhrt, Michael E. Smith, Kathleen Deagan, Robert Morkot, Elizabeth M. Brumfiel, Greg Woolf, Robin Yates, Mario Liverani, John Moreland, Sabine MacCormack

    • Editors
    • Susan E. Alcock , University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
    • Terence N. D'Altroy , Columbia University, New York
    • Kathleen D. Morrison , University of Chicago
    • Carla M. Sinopoli , University of Michigan, Ann Arbor