bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Massina Empire
Authors: Brodnicka Monika
Published: January 2016

The Massina Empire was one of the most organized theocratic states of its time on the African continent. Founded by Seku Amadu (Cheikhou Amadou) in the early 19th century, the Massina Empire, and its capital Hamdallay, held sway in the surrounding regions for over 40 years. At its zenith, the empire spread from Timbuktu in the northeast to Segu in the southwest region and the territories surrounding the Diaka, Niger, and Bani rivers. The empire was organized as an Islamic state, with strong democratic tendencies. Seku Amadu, along with the executive, legislative, and judicial leadership of the Grand Council, developed a sophisticated social, political, economic, and military system in the empire that created stability and development in the region.
Shona empires
Authors: MacKenzie John M.
Published: January 2016

The Shona of Zimbabwe are a major people of south‐central Africa, inhabiting the plateau between the Rivers Limpopo and Zambezi as well as an area of northern South Africa, and parts of Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana. They are invariably divided into various subgroups and speak a variety of dialects collectively known as the Shona language. They may have occupied this region since the 10th century
ce
. Their complex social structure, their religious beliefs, and their cattle‐keeping, agricultural, and trading economy survived into modern times and over the centuries they have interacted with the Muslims of the East African coast, the Portuguese from the 16th century, the Ndebele people in the early 19th, and the British who established their colonial power over them from 1890. Their claim to have been an indigenous “empire” derives from the extensive nature of the territory they covered, and evidence of their centralized state systems and of the incorporation of other peoples.
Goryeo (Koryo) Kingdom
Authors: Hahn Lee Kang
Published: January 2016

Goryeo (Koryŏ, Koryo) (918–1392
ce
) was a country that was more open to the outside world than any other dynastic state that occupied the Korean Peninsula throughout the history of the Korean people. Politically, it was a period in which the unity of Korean society was significantly enhanced in terms of central leadership, local administration, and military organization. Economically, trade flourished, and for the first time, the Korean people experienced a surge in the arrival of foreign merchants and a constant flow of domestic merchants venturing into foreign markets. Culturally, its society exhibited a considerable level of equality between males and females, a beneficial result of welcoming foreign immigrants, Buddhist sincerity, and Confucian determination, and also a recognition of their own historical roots. Diplomatically, the people of Goryeo not only developed strategies to maintain peace with neighboring rivals, but also continued studying foreign cultures in order to modify and improve the Goryeo people's own condition while preserving the essence and characteristics of their Goryeo identity.
Russia: 1. Rus’ and the Riurikid dynasty (9th century to c.1240)
Authors: Shepard Jonathan
Published: January 2016

The dynamics the development of Rus’ differed from those of more conventional empires which enjoyed outbursts of expansion only to fragment once momentum slackened, or to overstretch the capabilities of any single ruler. The very haphazardness of Rus's emergence made possible its resilience long after its inception. At first, a loose superstructure under a grandly titled khagan co‐existed with kaleidoscopic enterprises of fur‐ and slave‐traffickers between the Gulf of Finland, the Middle Danube, and the Black Sea and Caspian. A tighter structure formed under Riurikid princes on the Middle Dnieper in the 10th century. Its frailties showed up after the passing of giants like Princes Vladimir and Iaroslav (instillers of Christianity on Rus’), with the ceaseless proliferation of their offspring. Yet dynastic squabbles usually played out within the “rules of the game,” in which kissing of the Cross and adherence to agreements sealed by this rite played an important role. A political culture promoting Saints Boris and Gleb as both universal models of Christian conduct and warrior‐princes set the Riurikids apart. This collective identity had resonance far beyond the level of elites. Many inhabitants of the urban networks engaged in long‐distance trade that hinged on exchanging furs from the north for deluxe goods and manufactures from the Byzantine world and Western Europe. This made them interdependent, and in need of princes to protect communications and maintain a modicum of order. Gradually, elites and entrepreneurs in forests remote from the main riverways were drawn into the trading nexus. The 12th and 13th centuries saw the consolidation of princely authority and spreading of Christianity far from the Middle Dnieper, notably in Galich to the southwest, and Vladimir‐Suzdal to the northeast. Unlike most empires, Rus’ enjoyed steady internal expansion.
China, People's Republic of
Authors: Belsky Richard
Published: January 2016

The People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded in 1949 and continues to be ruled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), which maintains control over the state, the military, and important social and economic institutions. Given the wealth of available information on a broad range of issues related to the PRC, this entry focuses on those aspects of the PRC and its history that can be usefully understood as imperial or as in some way related to empire. The PRC is indirectly, via the intervening Republic of China (1912–1949), the territorially coterminous successor of the earlier multinational empire ruled by the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644–1911). As such it possesses two important attributes characteristic of empire: administrative authority over an extensive territory and an ethnically diverse population comprising many “peoples.” PRC official ideology and policies have changed greatly over the course of its existence. At its founding the PRC might reasonably be judged to have been a multinational state. However, in the years since its founding and most notably in recent decades Chinese political and intellectual elites have promoted reconceptualization of the PRC as a nation‐state. China's evolution over the course of a century from empire to multinational state to nation‐state, and all within borders that have changed remarkably little over that time, is a process that is still incomplete and filled with contradictions. Although the PRC cannot be judged an empire in any narrow sense of the term, an appreciation for China's recent imperial roots and the shaping influences the territorial and demographic legacies of empire have had, and still have on that country, proves illuminating in several ways.
Bengal, Sultanate of
Authors: Mishra Patit Paban
Published: January 2016

In the medieval period, the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent had endeavored to carve out a separate entity free from the central rule of Delhi. In the struggle between centripetal and centrifugal forces, Bengal not only tried to assert its independence, but also created a distinct socioeconomic structure. The latter was not always similar to the general Indo‐Islamic culture pervading under the Delhi Sultanate. A unique
Bengali
culture developed, which continued later on. The interaction between Islam and Hinduism ushered in a new era in the history of Bengal.
Germany: 1. Colonialism, Early Modern period
Authors: Biskup Thomas
Published: January 2016

Although no German state maintained a continuous colonial presence outside Europe before the 1800s, Early Modern Germany formed an important part of European expansion on several levels, which had repercussions for German society and economy as well as for other colonial empires and extra‐European regions. Characteristic is the pattern of “mediated” German encounters, whereby merchants, sailors, missionaries, and scholars took part in colonial ventures under non‐German flags.
Akkadian Empire
Authors: Schrakamp Ingo
Published: January 2016

At the end of the 24th century, c.2300
±30
bce
, Sargon of Akkade (2324–2285
±30
bce
) defeated Lugalzagesi, king of Uruk, unified the whole of Babylonia proper in a single territorial state, and laid the foundation of the Akkadian Empire. Sargon, his sons Rimush and Manishtushu, and his grandson Naramsuen led their armies as far as the Mediterranean in the west, reached the springs of Euphrates and Tigris in the north, and campaigned as far as highland Iran in the east and the Arabian Gulf in the south, dominating the political landscape of Mesopotamia for more than a century (2300–2181
±30
bce
). Under Sharkalisharri, westerners and Guteans penetrated the empire, provinces defected, and Akkade was reduced to a petty state. After a short period of confusion, Dudu and Shudurul (2177–2142
±30
bce
) presided over an Akkadian resurgence, but the Guteans successively conquered central and northern Babylonia and thus eliminated Akkade from the political stage.
Anglo‐Norman Empire
Authors: Raich Susan
Published: January 2016

The Anglo‐Saxon Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy formed the territorial core of the Anglo‐Norman Empire (late 11th and 12th centuries). For a period of about 140 years after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, these distinct territories were linked by rule under the same individual or family. While administrative, financial, and legal systems maintained order in the king‐duke's absence, this empire was subject to internal discord and repeated succession crises and fell apart in the face of growing external threats. Historians have debated how workable such a vast cross‐Channel polity ever could have been, not to mention its status as an empire. Nevertheless, the Norman conquest and its aftermath created a fusion of English, Norman, British, Scandinavian, and French traditions unique to, and influential within, the rest of Europe.
Mughal Empire
Authors: MacKenzie John M.
Published: January 2016

The Mughal Empire was one of the most remarkable empires of the Early Modern period. Spanning the years between the early 16th and the early 18th centuries, it represented the imposition of power over large tracts of India by an Islamic Central Asian dynasty. At its height, it covered a vast extent of territory in the Indian subcontinent and it exhibited strikingly competent military, administrative, developmental, and revenue‐raising characteristics. It also created one of the richest and most celebrated of all imperial cultures, spanning architecture, town planning, garden design, the visual arts, music, literature, and jewelry. The dynasty produced six remarkable emperors, each exhibiting different qualities in the creation and maintenance of the empire. They ruled at the time that Europeans were beginning to make encroachments into Asia, but were initially able to cope with this threat. However, the dynasty ultimately broke down, partly because of internal tensions, partly because it failed to maintain the incorporative and liberal techniques on which its success was originally based, partly because of “overstretch” in its military ambitions, and also because of the rising power of Europeans. Theoretically it continued in an attenuated form until the mid‐19th century.
Islam and empire
Authors: Emiralioğlu Pınar
Published: January 2016

The study of Islamic empires presents an array of unique challenges for the historian and student. Misperceptions and misinformation abound, some of it dating all the way back to when the armies of the Ottoman sultan stood outside Vienna's walls. In this short historical overview it becomes apparent that rather than a monolithic force, Islamic empires comprised a complicated patchwork of influences, adaptations, and motives.
Carolingian Empire
Authors: Nelson Jinty
Published: January 2016

The Frankish kingdom under the Merovingian dynasty, c.500–751, inherited from the Roman Empire Christianity, Latinity, aspects of law, and government. It was weakened by intra‐dynastic conflicts linked to elite opposition. Eighth‐century geopolitical shifts created opportunities. A new Carolingian dynasty seized power in 751 and created the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne (768–814) focused the sights of dynasty and elites on conquest – Italy (774), Bavaria (788), Catalonia (801), Saxony, finally (804) – Christianizing pagan neighbors, internalizing a service ethic, and shaping a Christian culture shared by diverse peoples and provinces. The size of the kingdom had doubled by 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor. Devolution, and enlistment of ecclesiastical and lay elites in serving the dynasty, maintained the empire. Rivalries within the dynasty threatened it. The empire, divided, continued to field able rulers who generated loyalty. Lack of legitimate male heirs caused the empire's end in 888. Its cultural impacts were lasting.
Hoysala Empire
Authors: Dalziel Nigel R.
Published: January 2016

The Hoysala dynasty emerged in the area of Malnad in southwest India in the 10th centuryce. At its peak in the 13th century the Hoysala Empire was pre‐eminent in South India and covered much of modern‐day Karnataka, extending into Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The Hoysala rulers gained increasing power and territory as feudatory generals of the Chalukyas, but established their own fully independent empire under Ballala II (r.1173–1220). It was identified with a strongly Kannada‐speaking culture and Hindu Vaishnava faith. Religious tolerance was important and under Vinayaditya (r.1047–1098), who converted from Jainism, a rich tradition of temple‐building took hold. This encouraged social and economic development, but also represented and buttressed the power of the Hoysala dynasty. Their rule is associated with a flowering of architectural, artistic, literary, and religious culture. The dynasty came to an end following the onslaught of the Sultanate of Delhi in the early 14th century and was succeeded by Vijayanagar.
Timurid Empire
Authors: Kilic‐Schubel Nurten
Published: January 2016

The Timurids were a Muslim dynasty of Turco‐Mongol origin who ruled large parts of Persia and Central Asia from the late 14th to the early 16th century, until they were ultimately replaced by the Safavid dynasty in Iran and the Shibanid‐Uzbeks in southern Central Asia. The founder of the dynasty, Temür (r.1370–1405) was one of the last great nomadic conquerors of Eurasia who reshaped the political and cultural environment from the Caucasus to northern India. Despite his vast conquests and self‐conscious emulation of Chinggis Khan (Genghis Khan) (r.1206–1227), the core of his empire remained limited to the western part of the Mongol Empire, especially the settled areas of Persia and part of Central Asia. Temür's descendants, the Timurids, engaged in a series of destructive succession struggles and by the mid‐15th century had lost control of parts of their empire. Nevertheless, they presided over one of the most artistically brilliant periods in Islamicate history, often dubbed “the Timurid Renaissance.” Their broad cultural and artistic patronage led to the development of one of the most sophisticated courts in premodern Eurasia. Having emerged in the wake of the fragmentation of the unified Mongol Empire in the mid‐14th century, a crucial period of transition in Central Eurasia, the Timurid Empire lasted only a century and half. But the artistic and cultural legacy of the dynasty influenced the art, culture, and politics of its successor states as well as the great premodern Islamicate empires – the Ottomans in Anatolia, the Safavids in Iran, and especially the Mughals in northern India, where the descendants of Temür under Zahir al‐Din Muhammad Babur (d.1530), established a new and long‐lasting Timurid empire in South Asia.
Eastern Ganga and Gajapati empires
Authors: Mishra Patit Paban
Published: January 2016

The modern state of Odisha (earlier Orissa) in its heyday extended from the Ganga River in the north to the Godavari in the south, and from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the town of Amarakantaka in the west. During the imperial rule of the Eastern Gangas (1038–1434) and Gajapatis (1434–1539) the territorial and cultural unity of the region extended over a large part of eastern, central, and southern India. The kings established the cult of Jagannath to legitimize their rule over such a vast territory. It was a glorious epoch in the history of eastern India, when internal and overseas trade flourished, and art, architecture, and literature witnessed tremendous growth.
Hunting and empire
Authors: Gissibl Bernhard
Published: January 2016

The associations between empire and the pursuit, killing, or trapping of feral animals are manifold, complex, and ancient. As one of the oldest forms of human domination over animals and nature, hunting has been an important and persistent repertoire of empires across continents and for millennia. Egyptian pharaohs, Persian satraps, Mongolian khans, Mughal emperors, Ottoman sultans, European kings, colonial governors in imperial provinces, or Nazi leaders like Hermann Göring used hunting as a ritual assertion of political power within far‐flung, heterogeneous polities. Empire was a political ecology constellation in which animals were resources as well as agents, and their violent appropriation was a dominant and continuous theme in imperial history. Although essentially a performance and display of imperial hierarchies, hunting was more than a symbol or something that merely “stood in” for empire or colonialism. Rulers sought the potentially dangerous situation of the hunt to display courage and qualification for leadership. Hunting advanced imperial frontiers and procured forms of capital and resources indispensable for colonial rule. Settlers cleared the land of harmful animals in order to protect their crops; governors and administrators did so to engage in “predatory care” for imperial subjects. In all these cases, hunting was metaphorically or materially linked to colonialism and empire. At times, it was the very act and process, identical with colonization or imperialism itself. Perhaps the attractiveness of imperial hunting and its ultimate significance for the working and expansion of empire results from the fact that discourse and practice, event and process, individual action and structural condition collapsed in the act of hunting. Empire was performed every time imperial man the hunter confronted the animal embodiment of the wild at gunpoint.
Chalukya dynasty
Authors: Mahalakshmi R.
Published: January 2016

The Chalukyas of Badami were an important power that ruled from the mid‐6th to the mid‐8th centuries
ce
in the western Deccan. The process of agrarian expansion and intensification is attested to in the numerous land grants they issued. They were strategically located along an important trade route in southern India, and hence declared themselves the lords of Daksinapatha. They were an important player in the geopolitical contestations for power and established a line of rulers in the eastern Deccan centered around Vengi by the 7th century. Despite being eclipsed by the Rashtrakutas in the 8th century, lineages claiming ancestry from the Badami Chalukyas emerged in the 9th century, with their center of influence now shifted to Kalyana.
Brazil, Empire of
Authors: O'Rourke Shane
Published: January 2016

The Empire of Brazil was proclaimed in October 1822 and lasted for 67 years until it was overthrown by a military coup in November 1889. It had two emperors: Dom Pedro I (1822–1831) and Dom Pedro II (1840–1889). The empire was an anomaly in a hemisphere of republics and a continent of nation‐states; and, unusually, it retained its huge territorial reach inherited from the Portuguese Empire. Independence brought new problems including the constitutional relationship between monarch and parliament, the central government relationship with its regions, and, above all, the problem of slavery. The empire had successes and failures which continue to affect Brazil to this day, but, largely due to the empire, Brazil remained a unified, consolidated state with a strong and growing sense of national identity.
Humanitarianism and empire
Authors: Paulmann Johannes
Published: January 2016

Colonial practices have long had a crucial yet complex relationship with modern humanitarianism. The concern for distant strangers originated in colonial and missionary encounters, its development depended on imperial infrastructures, and its justification was strongly imbued with imperial ideologies and civilizational hierarchies. In turn, humanitarianism strengthened imperial governance, even prolonging imperial ideas and practices beyond decolonization. Yet it also contributed to anti‐colonial sentiment and to support for liberation movements. It manifested itself in a broad field of activities encompassing campaigns for the abolition of slavery, the protection of indigenous populations, missionary work, famine relief, provision of shelter, health and rehabilitation for those suffering from war, humanitarian intervention by military force, and the advocacy of human rights and development. Religious and secular motivations often intermingled. Decolonization, the transformation of colonial missionary work, and the evolution of international organizations gradually carried humanitarianism beyond empire during the 20th century.
War, weaponry, and empire: 2. Modern
Authors: Pizzo David
Published: January 2016

This entry deals with the evolution of military technology as it applies to the building and maintenance of empires from 1000ceto the present. The period from 1000 – and particularly from 1800 – to the present has been one of tremendous technological change, and perhaps no area of technology has changed more rapidly than the technology of warfare. At the beginning of the period in question, warfare was still characterized by the use of swords, bows, and other human‐powered devices and in many ways did not differ significantly from warfare in the ancient world. Today, on the other hand, we are witnessing the rapid weaponization of outer space. The millennium that began in 1000ceencompassed three momentous changes that affected the relationship between war, weaponry, and empire: the gunpowder revolution of the Early Modern period, the rise of the modern bureaucratic state, and various phases of the ongoing Industrial Revolution.
Trade and commerce
Authors: Thomson Erik
Published: January 2016

Empire, the use of military, political, or economic power to deprive or abridge people's control over their own governance, sovereignty, resources, and even bodies, is inextricably linked to trade or commerce, the exchange of goods within and across the borders of a state. Imperial efforts to control trade and commerce have ranged from the brutal conquest and outright expropriation of land, resources, and labor to the mutually beneficial acceptance of shared norms, values, and laws. Trade and commerce became particularly important in the creation of European empires during the Early Modern and Modern periods. Debates over the ends and methods to govern commerce in an imperial context have played a pivotal role in political thought and contributed to the emergence of economics as a discipline. As a consequence, empire's relation to commerce sometimes appears coterminous with empire itself, as the relations between trade and dominion help define one another.
Spanish Empire: 1. Origins and organization
Authors: Schwaller Robert C.
Published: January 2016

The Spanish Empire (1492–1898) was the second European empire to engage in major overseas expansion in the Early Modern period. In the space of less than a century, the empire would grow from several small kingdoms to encompass huge swaths of Europe, most of the Americas, and parts of Africa and Asia. This growth was built upon earlier models of conquest and expansion. Dynastic politics played a large role helping to link the ruling dynasty of Castile and Aragon to some of the most powerful houses in Europe. Through these unions, the patrimonial holdings of Spanish monarchs joined that of the Habsburg dynasty. Yet, the rapid growth of the empire and its vast human and geographic diversity created significant problems of governance. Although new innovative solutions helped the kings of Spain govern their global empire, problems of defense and finance would perpetually loom large.
Settler empires
Authors: MacKenzie John M.
Published: January 2016

A distinction is often made between empires of rule and empires of settlement. In the former, the dominant people established their authority through the presence of administrators supported by the military. They were usually temporary sojourners who returned at the end of their service. In the latter, settlers from the imperial society moved into the colony and imposed themselves as traders or landholders, often dispossessing indigenous people as they did so. Various forms of coercion were imposed on native peoples, generally to provide labor or even to be employed as mercenaries in the imperial army. The movement of slaves, particularly across the Atlantic and Indian oceans, constituted a form of forced settlement. White settlers, however, became restless with regard to the controls imposed upon them by the parent empire and such restlessness could lead to efforts to assert independence or at least the devolution of powers. This often resulted in the establishment of what were, in effect, subsidiary empires.
Egypt: 3. Early medieval (Tulunid to Fatimid)
Authors: MacKenzie John M.
Published: January 2016

Three characteristics of Egypt ensured that it would be fought over by a succession of empires in the ancient and medieval periods. The first was the great agricultural riches resulting from the Nile floods and the deposits of silts, providing opportunities for trade and taxation, thus ensuring support for major armies. The second was its strategic position as the pivot connecting the Mediterranean world with the Middle East and North Africa as well as routes to the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and the interior of northeast Africa. The third was its long tradition of attracting many different ethnicities to its cities. These attributes led to repeated efforts by local governors to break away and form an independent empire of their own. This period saw two brief attempts by the Tulunids and Iqshidids, but they were followed by the more significant extension of the empire of the Fatimids from the west.
Pallavas of Kanchi
Authors: Mishra Patit Paban
Published: January 2016

The southeastern region of the Indian subcontinent witnessed a plethora of activity and development in ancient times. Empires rose and fell and their legacies have contributed greatly to the heritage of India, including the empire of the Pallavas, who extended their territory up to the Kaveri River during the course of their rule, based on Kanchi (Kancipura) in modern‐day Tamil Nadu, between the early 4th and late 9th centuries
ce
. Economic activities multiplied and agricultural as well as commercial expansion occurred. Hinduism was deeply entrenched in society, but other religions flourished. Evidence of a cultural efflorescence can be seen in the rock‐cut temples of the Pallavas near Mahabalipuram, which were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Pallava Empire has left a deep imprint on the social and cultural landscape of South India.
Rashtrakuta Empire
Authors: Mishra Patit Paban
Published: January 2016

The Rashtrakutas dominated parts of western, central, and northern India between the 8th and 10th centuries
ce
. Under capable rulers, the realm of the Rashtrakutas at its peak extended from the Ganga River in the north to Cape Comorin in the south. For most of the time they emerged victorious from their confrontations with the Eastern Chalukyas, Pallavas, Pratiharas, and Palas. Well known in the Arab world, the rulers were patrons of art and architecture, and the splendid Kailasanatha temple was constructed by them. There was religious amity in the empire among followers of different faiths. There was a remarkable development of the Kannada language and a flourishing literature. Commercial activities proliferated. The Rashtrakuta Empire left a deep imprint on Indian history.
Persian Empire, early medieval (Saffarid to Buyid)
Authors: Morgan David O.
Published: January 2016

Less than a century after the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in Iraq in 750, outlying parts of that empire began to fall away, becoming, in effect, independent political entities, while mostly still acknowledging the theoretical supremacy of the Caliph. In Persia, the most notable of such regimes were those of the Saffarids, the Samanids, the Ghaznavids, and finally the Buyids who succumbed to the arrival of the Seljuks in the 11th century.
Pandyan Empire
Authors: Dalziel Nigel R.
Published: January 2016

The early Pandyan kingdom of south India emerged from around 600
bce
to become one of the major Tamil kingdoms, alongside the Cheras and Cholas. Their rivalry was a spur to the Pandyan Empire, with its capital at Madurai, over a long duration. It passed through two periods of imperial dominance, between the 6th and 10th centuries
ce
, and under the later Pandyas, beginning with Sundara Pandya I (r.1216–1238), when they controlled much of south India before succumbing to the onslaught of the Delhi Sultanate from 1311. Its weakness was partly brought about by a civil war over the succession between the sons of Kulesakaran and partly by inadequate military technology. It was an important center of Tamil culture and (especially Hindu temple) architecture, which developed greatly during the periods of imperial dominance, assisted by the wealth that came with conquest as well as the long‐established maritime trade and the exploitation of the coastal pearl banks. Religion and state involvement in it were an important buttress to the Pandyan dynasty.
Japanese Empire
Authors: Cribb Robert
Published: January 2016

Early expansion by the Japanese state incorporated adjacent island regions fully into the national territory. From the middle of the 19th century, Japan began to see a colonial empire on the Western model as one of the attributes of state power and political modernity. Though in competition with Western powers, it was able to seize Taiwan (1895) and Korea (1910) as colonies. Japanese colonial policy was generally more assimilationist and developmentalist than many Western colonial policies, but sharp policy changes, internal contradictions, and a willingness to resort to violence made Japanese policies appear capricious and insincere. After a brief attempt to create a colonial empire in Siberia, Japan focused its attention on China, expanding its control incrementally over two decades. It was unable to prevail, however, in full‐scale war against China from 1937, and its attempts to control the situation led it into catastrophic conflict with the United States, though it was briefly able to establish an empire encompassing most of Southeast Asia.
British Empire: 2. From 1914
Authors: Nasson Bill
Published: January 2016

World War I presented the British Empire with a major challenge, but it survived this global cataclysm largely intact. The interwar years brought mixed fortunes, for while the imperial order escaped decisive crises, its self‐governing white dominions gradually assumed more independent airs, while in African colonies and especially in India, there was simmering nationalist discontent. In addition, Britain's imperial interests were also coming under the gaze of a predatory Germany and Japan. Plunged into an early crisis of survival in World War II, for Britain its empire functioned as a source of strength for its war effort. Yet, although it contributed much, it brought heavy costs and liabilities. In 1945, its rulers even basked in the illusion that it could be revived for a new phase of life as a multi‐racial Commonwealth, following the eventual end of formal colonial rule. But too much had been damaged by the war for this vision to be realized. Britain's reach increasingly exceeded its grasp, and the growing tide of nationalist movements could not be stemmed. Its empire had effectively been dismantled by the 1970s.
French Empire: 5. Decolonization
Authors: Shipway Martin
Published: January 2016

French decolonization after 1945 is usually interpreted according to a narrative which emphasizes the newly liberated French Republic's sustained refusal to grant the same liberation to its colonies and to acknowledge worldwide decolonization; and which insists on the violence of the process. In order to understand the French end of empire more fully, we need to examine the motivations of French policy‐makers, including the impetus for imperial reform after 1945, which was often self‐serving but which nonetheless framed policy and conditioned the responses of colonized actors. The impact of reformist initiatives on post‐war policy and on eventual decolonization may be traced in three parallel developments: in Indochina, where France never regained sufficient initiative to implement reforms; in sub‐Saharan Africa, where reformist policies were taken in hand by African politicians and trades unionists able to turn Republican rhetoric to African advantage; and in Algeria, where postwar reform was largely stillborn, and was largely forgotten once the war started in November 1954.
British Empire: 9. Indian Ocean
Authors: Chowdhury Amitava
Published: January 2016

Between the 17th and the 20th centuries, Britain wove together a massive maritime empire in the Indian Ocean World. What was initially a commercial venture under the aegis of the English East India Company ultimately became an empire of conquest that was fiercely guarded and carefully policed. The empire, in its prime, spanned from the eastern coast of Africa in the west to Australia in the east, and in effect, the entire range of the oceanic rim in between. From the beginning, the British Indian Ocean Empire played a central role in Britain's global empire and served as one of the primary theaters for European imperial contests.
Boer War and Great Power relations
Authors: Lowry Donal
Published: January 2016

The Anglo‐Boer War of 1899–1902 was quintessentially an imperial war, a conflict between the most powerful empire of the age and independent white‐run states on its periphery which had, in effect, established a local mini‐empire that threatened (from the British point of view) the stability of the region. Moreover, it was thought that the command of key gold reserves by the Transvaal might threaten both the financial supremacy of the City of London and the international currency system. Beyond this, the war aroused diplomatic anxieties in all the rival empires of the United Kingdom, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, the United States, and to a lesser extent, Russia and Austro‐Hungary – because of the potential effects of the war on the balance of power, worries about the fall‐out upon relationships with Britain, and not least because of the fears of the various governments in respect of passionate public opinion, often in favor of the Boers, within their own states.
Dutch Empire: 3. America and the Caribbean
Authors: MacKenzie John M.
Published: January 2016

Emerging as latecomers in the race for empire in the Americas, the Dutch created a scattered seaborne empire forged in intermittent war and created as a by‐product of rebellion against Habsburg Spain. The Dutch were experienced traders and fishermen with a significant maritime tradition in the fisheries and commerce of northwest Europe and the Baltic, which provided them with capital required for overseas activities. In the first few decades of the 17th century, they used their naval power to acquire territory in North and South America as well as islands in the Caribbean. Dutch demographics dictated that they could never transplant and sustain a sufficiently large settler population to support extensive landholdings, while concerns over the considerable financial outlays needed to ensure defense and governance for a settler population militated against a large Dutch colonial presence. Instead they concentrated on commerce and on their more important territories in Asia. The English, Portuguese, and French reduced the Dutch to their Caribbean possessions, more of which were lost in 1815. Nevertheless, the Dutch have retained a presence there into modern times.
Delhi Sultanate
Authors: Dalziel Nigel R.
Published: January 2016

The Delhi Sultanate emerged following the invasion of northern India by Muhammad Ghori of Afghanistan between 1175 and 1206. One of his military slaves, Qutb al‐Din Aibak, was created the first sultan of Delhi and was the founder of the Mamluk dynasty (1206–1290). It was followed by other Turkic dynasties – the Khalji (1290–1320), Tughlaq (1320–1414), and Sayyid (1414–1451) – and the Afghan Lodi dynasty (from 1451), which gave way to the invading Mughals in 1526. ‘Ala’ ud‐Din Khalji is notable for his economic reforms, for his expansionism, and particularly for repelling Mongol attacks, but many rulers were inadequate and weak in the face of a powerful aristocracy and a majority Hindu population over whom Muslims formed a distinct, often oppressive, ruling caste. Foreign threats were also significant, from both the Mongols and the Timurids, and led to massive dislocation and disruption. Political instability resulting from a culture of personal government was compounded by the problems of governing a huge empire with inadequate communications and strong regional governors. Hindu–Muslim co‐existence always remained fragile but produced some cultural fusion, including “Indo‐Muslim” architectural development.
Vijayanagara Empire
Authors: Bridges Elizabeth J.
Published: January 2016

The Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1664ce) ruled in South India from the early 14th to mid‐17th centuries. At the peak of its power, the Vijayanagara Empire dominated the South Indian landscape, comprising a majority of the territory of modern‐day Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, as well parts of Kerala. Vijayanagara was ruled by four dynasties: Sangama (1336–1485), Saluva (1485–1505), Tuluva (1505–1565), and Aravidu (1565–1664). The empire was founded and flourished at its eponymous first capital in Karnataka, and also occupied two later capitals at Penukonda and Chandragiri, in Andhra Pradesh. Vijayanagara economic prosperity was supported by agricultural intensification, organized taxation, and domestic and international trade. Elite patronage supported an elaborate courtly culture, including religious and secular architecture, sculpture and painting, literary and musical works, and shared modes of dress and communication. As Vijayanagara waned, it was supplanted by successor states and early European colonial powers.
Russia: 3. Tsardom of Muscovy (1547–1721)
Authors: Monahan Erika
Published: January 2016

From 1547 to 1721 the Slavic princes of the Pontic steppe consolidated their princedom into a state that conquered or incorporated surrounding principalities and emerged as a powerful land empire. In this period the principality of Muscovy endured virtual state collapse in the Time of Troubles (1598–1613), yet succeeded in extending authority through a system of administrative eclecticism or “separate deals” with its constituents, integrating into the expanding world economy, and beginning to modernize such that it emerged as one of the most powerful European empires in the 18th and 19th centuries. By the time of Peter the Great, Russia had already expanded into the Far East and Central Asia, developing important trade links. Under Peter, the empire also turned westwards, both literally and culturally.
Aristocracies and kingship
Authors: Engels David
Published: January 2016

The foundation, rise, and fall of states, empires, and even “high cultures” can be mainly described as a result of the interactions between central powers and elite particularisms, the first often assuming the guise of monarchic absolutism, the latter of a hereditary aristocracy. This entry first proposes an overview of terminological and methodological questions and then presents some selected case studies (Ancient Egypt, pre‐imperial China, Classical Greece, Republican and imperial Rome, medieval and modern Europe) before finally outlining some overall structural analogies.
Fulani Empire (Sokoto)
Authors: Pizzo David
Published: January 2016

This entry discusses the rise and expansion of the Sokoto Caliphate in western Sudan. The Islamic religious scholar Usman (Uthman) dan Fodio led a revival movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that ultimately overwhelmed the local Hausa aristocracies, replacing them with new Fulani dynasties committed to Usman's vision of a society governed by the principles of a purified Islam. The state came to be the largest on the African continent, stretching over 1000 miles from east to west. Later religiously motivated empire‐builders explicitly followed the example set by Usman dan Fodio and his caliphate, leading some scholars to speak of a “Sokoto model of jihad.” These developments contributed a great deal to the long‐term Islamization of the region. The Sokoto Caliphate remained the most important state in the region until its conquest in the early 20th century by the British, who built their system of “Indirect Rule” on the caliphate's foundations.
War, weaponry, and empire: 1. Ancient
Authors: Serrati John
Published: January 2016

Armed forces in the ancient world evolved through various reorganizations which were designed to lead to greater levels of efficiency. Various Greek states, the Macedonians, and finally Rome proved successful because of their ability to muster and marshal personnel into coordinated military units with defined command structures. Over time, they also mastered logistics, came to utilize command and control strategies, and introduced standardized training. Such structures allowed these states to project their power over long distances and eventually to establish either mega‐states or lasting empires. Nevertheless, no ancient imperial state truly embraced technology and scientific innovation, and thus none were able to bring about the weaponry necessary to create a truly lasting advantage over their more numerous foes.
Old Babylonian period
Authors: Doumanis Nick
Published: January 2016

The Old Babylonian period refers to Mesopotamia in the first half of the second millenniumbce, or more specifically, the years 2000 to 1595bce. In political terms the era was characterized by the revival of city‐states that followed the demise of the Ur III Empire, although the latter half of the period (c.1810–1595) witnessed a revival of empires. Of particular note were the conquests of Shamshi‐Adad and Hammurabi. Although many prefer to describe their empires as territorial states, these rulers subjugated previously sovereign polities and appear to have been driven by imperial ideology. Indeed, the latter half of this era contributed to a longer‐term, albeit protracted, trend in Mesopotamian history from the city‐state as the dominant political form toward more expansive, imperial state forms.
Türk Khaganate
Authors: Stark Sören
Published: January 2016

The Khaganate (or Qaghanate) of the Türk, centered in the Central Eurasian steppes, was one of the hegemonic powers in Eurasia during the second half of the 6th and the first part of the 7th centuries
ce
, exerting suzerainty over large parts of the Eurasian continent. The constituent hallmark of the empire of the Türk was the principle of collective sovereignty, vesting legitimate rule over the Türkic realm in the Ashinas lineage. This tradition – like other ideological as well as structural key features of their polity – the Türk inherited from their various predecessors in the steppes, notably the Xiongnu and the Rouran. Türk rule had a long‐lasting impact on imperial ideologies and structures of governance in Eurasia down to the time of the Mongol Empire. Like the
pax Mongolica
in the 13th century, the unification of territories under Türk rule, from Manchuria in the east to Crimea in the west, resulted in a considerable increase of trans‐cultural economic and diplomatic exchanges across Eurasia.
Cartography and empire
Authors: Seed Patricia , MacKenzie John M.
Published: January 2016

Cartography and empires are inseparably intertwined. Since empires necessarily involve a combination of spatial awareness, conceptualization of the known world, as well as the supposed location and identity of the specific culture, mapping has always been an essential requirement of imperial organization for military and administrative reasons, as well as for resource exploitation. Such mapping began in the ancient empires of the Mediterranean region. The Islamic world and the empires of Asia also set about accumulating geographical knowledge that could be transferred into maps, locating their cultures and power in respect of rival polities and trading networks of the wider world. Mapping techniques took a great leap forward with the voyages of European discovery in the Renaissance era, particularly with regard to oceanic navigation and coastal survey. Land‐surveying techniques and the scientific accumulation of geographical information developed considerably between the 18th and 20th centuries producing modern styles of maps, vital tools of imperial rule.
Türgesh Khaganate
Authors: Stark Sören
Published: January 2016

The Türgesh – one of the 10 “tribes” of the On Oq federation of the Western Türk – succeeded the Western Ashinas‐Türk as an imperial power in the Western Central Asian steppes. Although the Türgesh Empire was relatively short‐lived – it thrived for only about 20 years under their energetic khagan Sulu – it played an important role in the concert of great powers during the first half of the 8th century, largely on a par with Tang China, the Umayyad Caliphate, Tibet, and the Eastern Türks. The Türgesh are particularly known for having posed a serious threat to Umayyad rule in Mawarannahr and Eastern Khorasan/Tokharestan, inflicting several major defeats on Muslim armies in the 720s and 730sce. After the death of Sulu the Türgesh Empire quickly disintegrated, giving way to the immigrating Qarluq as the new dominant power in the steppes north of the Tianshan.
Portuguese Empire: 1. Origins and development
Authors: Curto Diogo Ramada
Published: January 2016

The history of the origins and organization of the Portuguese Empire has been bedeviled by some of the myths created in the past, of noble pioneers and Christian martyr evangelists carrying civilization to the outer regions of the globe. The other great myth has been of the Portuguese openness toward other cultures, not least in the form of miscegenation creating hybrid populations. A modern historiography has produced much more complex analyses involving the reorientation of the Portuguese economy toward the Atlantic coasts sparking explorations and trading opportunities stimulated by royal power, but usually breaking down into a sequence of more individual enterprises. In the process Portuguese political, social, economic, and religious institutions were invariably modified by interactions with local circumstances and peoples. Forms of exploitative violence, both in conflicts with other European empires and in respect of indigenous societies, are now emphasized, particularly regarding the growing significance of slavery and the slave trade. The decline (though far from complete) of the initial Portuguese enterprise in Asia was balanced by the shift in the center of gravity toward the West where slaving in Angola was crucial to the plantation economy of Brazil.