bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Srivijaya, Kingdom of
Authors: Manguin Pierre‐Yves
Published: January 2016

The Kingdom of Srivijaya, at its peak, held sway over parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. After decades of controversies regarding its localization and power structure, archaeological and epigraphic research has now allowed for its history to be better apprehended. It was founded in the 670s at Palembang, in Malay‐speaking southeast Sumatra, after bringing together earlier autonomous proto‐historic polities under the control of this central city‐state. After capturing emerging markets for Sumatran aromatic resins and gold, its economy thrived for centuries on the control of long‐range Indian Ocean and South China Sea trading networks. It was renowned as a major center of Buddhist learning. After the shift of its capital to Jambi in the late 11th century, it progressively lost its stronghold on maritime trade to competition from unified Indian and Chinese dynasties, eventually disintegrating in the 13th century.
Karakhanid Khanate
Authors: Biran Michal
Published: January 2016

The first Muslim Turkic dynasty ruled in Central Asia, from the Tarim basin to the Oxus, from the mid–late 10th century until the beginning of the 13th. The multi‐cultural khanate took pride in its Turkic past, maintained cordial relations with the Song and Liao dynasties in China, and took an active part in the silk roads trade. The period saw the beginning of the Turkification of the Iranian population in Transoxania, Semirechye, and the Tarim basin, a major expansion of Islam eastwards, and the emergence of Muslim Turkic literature.
Kara‐Khitan Khanate (Western Liao)
Authors: Biran Michal
Published: January 2016

The Kara‐Khitan Khanate or Western Liao (1124–1218) ruled in Central Asia in the period that preceded the rise of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan. Founded by Khitan refugees who escaped from north China when the Jurchen Jin dynasty vanquished the Khitan Liao dynasty (907–1125), the sinicized Buddhist nomads ruled over a mostly Muslim and sedentary population in rare harmony. The Kara‐Khitan multicultural empire combined Chinese, Inner‐Asian, and Islamic elements, a blend that served as a precedent for Mongol rule.
French Empire: 2. First or Napoleonic Empire
Authors: Dwyer Philip
Published: January 2016

Twelve years after the execution of the King of France, Louis XVI, Napoleon was crowned emperor. Napoleon was not, however, solely responsible for this political turnaround. A number of influential men in his entourage encouraged Napoleon, who was at first reluctant, to embrace a monarchical system. A sizable proportion of the population supported the empire at its inception. In the first years of his rule, Napoleon was able to rally the nation around his person; many saw in him the possibility of peace and an end to the wars. It was the expansion of the empire across most of Western Europe, and the terrible toll brought about by continued warring, that tarnished his reputation. Ultimately, the empire failed, not because it was politically unworkable, but because Napoleon was unable to clearly define and limit his foreign political goals.
Aksum, Kingdom of
Authors: Phillips Jacke
Published: January 2016

The Kingdom of Aksum, centered in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, flourished in the first six centuriesad, with earlier roots in the last seven or eight centuriesbc. Its chronological parameters are variable and its greatest extent uncertain, but for several centuries the empire encompassed both sides of the southern Red Sea and so controlled all seaborne commerce between Rome/Byzantium and India/Indian Ocean. This likely was the ultimate basis of its supreme power, but it was underlined by control of an extensive network of inland commercial and/or political relationships with ancient Egypt, Nubia, and regions further south in Ethiopia. It boasted its own language and script, and minted its own coinage. The Persian historian/philosopher Mani (3rd centuryad) named Aksum as one of the four great empires of his day, the others being Persia, “Sileos” (location uncertain), and Rome, but this important empire is little known today. Most of what we do know is based on archaeology and external (mainly Classical) documents, together with its own religious and royal inscriptions. The empire declined but likely did not cease with the rise of Islam in Arabia and its subsequent dominance of the Red Sea. Much still remains obscure, but Aksum and its empire is becoming elucidated through ongoing archaeology and inscriptional research.
French Empire: 9. Indian Ocean
Authors: Allen Richard B.
Published: January 2016

Serious attempts to establish a French empire in the Indian Ocean date to the mid‐18th century when the Compagnie des Indes tried unsuccessfully to conquer parts of southern India. French occupation of the strategic Mascarene Islands of Réunion and Mauritius during the late 17th and early 18th centuries laid the foundations for the acquisition of the Comoros, Djibouti, and Madagascar as colonial possessions during the second half of the 19th century. These three colonies achieved independence during the 1960s and 1970s while Réunion remains an overseas administrative district of metropolitan France.
Nguni empires
Authors: Ndlovu‐Gatsheni Sabelo J.
Published: January 2016

Socioeconomic and political changes in the 19th century resulted in the rise of expansive political formations, namely the kingdoms of Zwide (Ndwandwe), Dingiswayo (Mthethwa), Shaka (Zulu), Sobhuza (Ngwane), the Soshangane (Gaza), Zwangendaba (Ngoni), Mzilikazi (Ndebele), and a few others. The emergence of these kingdoms may be said to be a new sociopolitical phenomenon associated with the so‐calledMfecane. TheMfecanewas a time of political, social, and economic turbulence involving increased intra‐and inter‐Nguni warfare, violence, disruptions, and migrations, resulting in the bursting‐asunder of some of the pre‐existing political formations and the rise of new centralized political formations that existed as empires. These enlarged, centralized political formations, such as the Zulu under Shaka, incorporated people of various ethnicities, and sovereignty was exercised by the monarch over various conquered chieftaincies.
Norway, Kingdom of (13th–14th centuries)
Authors: Thomas Sarah
Published: January 2016

The kingdom of Norway in the 13th and 14th centuries consisted of mainland Norway, plus the northeastern territory of Jemtland and the western island communities of the North Atlantic. The key trend of the period was the process by which these Norse communities became and remained part of the Norwegian kingdom, despite the increasingly distant rule from Sweden from the 1300s. The expansion of the Norwegian kingdom into the North Atlantic was achieved not by conquest, but through political maneuvering which led to the incorporation of territories with a similar Scandinavian culture and language. Ideologically the expansion was based on contemporary 13th‐century concepts of kingship current in Europe. This ideology argued that every territory, even those with more autonomy, should be firmly under the control of a king.
Imperialism, theories of
Authors: Etherington Norman
Published: January 2016

Imperialism is a word that has shifted its meaning many times since first entering international political discourse in the nineteenth century. Theories of imperialism must thus be understood in the context of the historical eras in which they originated. During the period 1900–1920 theorizing was primarily concerned with explaining aggressive and warlike policies pursued by developed nations. After World War I theoretical debates focused more narrowly on the reasons why European colonial empires expanded in the late 19th century and continued to be valued by metropolitan governments. Following World War II there was less emphasis on territorial empire and more interest in inequality among nations and purely economic instruments of domination. In every era theories of imperialism have been closely linked to the ideological positions taken by their progenitors.
Spanish Empire: 3. The Americas
Authors: Schwaller Robert C.
Published: January 2016

The Spanish Empire (1492–1898) was the first European empire to colonize the Americas. The empire would be built upon two of the largest American Indian empires in the Americas, the Aztec and Inca. At its maximal extent the empire would stretch from the Pacific Northwest of North America, through Central America and the Caribbean, and on to southern Chile and Argentina. The empire would encompass an amazing array of subjects including indigenous peoples of various ethnicities, Africans, Spaniards, and many individuals of mixed ancestry. The wealth produced by Spain's American colonies would fuel Spanish imperialism around the world and help foster the growth of the Early Modern global economy.
Migrants and migration
Authors: Harper Marjory
Published: January 2016

Migration is integral to the genesis and development of empires. Migrants moved within, into, and beyond empires, in complex patterns of single and multiple relocations, short‐distance and global movement, permanent settlement, and return. Quantification is difficult because of incomplete statistics, but for European empires trans‐Atlantic destinations always dominated. Migration was frequently controversial, the main debate being whether the phenomenon enhanced or undermined the security and well‐being of host countries and communities. While sponsors favored empire settlement for reasons of social or economic engineering, migrants themselves were generally attracted by promises of individual or family betterment. Passage assistance was always part of antipodean schemes, and from time to time landlords, parish guardians, and charities helped to fund the migration of the destitute, women, and children, particularly to Canada. Although decisions were shaped, and planning facilitated, by a host of recruitment agents, personal recommendations and private subsidies by far carried the greatest weight.
Disease and medicine
Authors: Peckham Robert
Published: January 2016

Since the sedentarization of human societies, interconnected pathways, linking disparate territories and peoples, have provided channels for disease to spread. Empire facilitated this globalization of infection, contributing to the transformation of disease ecologies. A shrinking world combined with environmental factors to shape imperial histories: from Antiquity to the contemporary world, where the legacy of imperialism continues to influence the global distribution of disease and access to healthcare. Particularly during the 19th century, empire was medicalized as Western biomedicine became intertwined with colonial rule and the assimilation of indigenous peoples into the institutions of the modern state. Empire also helped to foster trans‐national networks of disease surveillance, providing an incipient global system of disease prevention. Rethinking empire through the lens of disease and medicine serves to underscore the ecological dimension of empire and the constitutive interrelationship between politics, society, and the environment.
Nomads
Authors: Kradin Nikolay N.
Published: January 2016

Nomads, in the generally accepted meaning, are pastoralists who migrate together with their cattle. Nomadism is a specific type of economic activity and, at the same time, a specific pattern of culture. In total, there are around 40 million nomads around the world. Historically, the rise of nomadism is related to the emergence of the nomadic or steppe empires. In the period of modernization, pastoral nomadism failed to compete with the industrial economy. The emergence of firearms and artillery gradually eroded the military dominance of nomads over farmers, and nomads no longer played dominant roles in world history.
Cavalry and empires
Authors: Kradin Nikolay N.
Published: January 2016

Cavalry is the military branch which consists of armed cavaliers. The cavalry replaced the expensive and clumsy chariots. The role and place of cavalry changed in the history of ancient, medieval, and modern empires. It was a part of the dramatic rivalry between offensive and defensive armament in human history. A decline of the cavalry has actually coincided with the period of the collapse of empires and emancipation of colonies. It was related to the development of the quick‐firing gun and motorization of all armies in the 20th century.
Kyrgyz Khaganate
Authors: Kradin Nikolay N.
Published: January 2016

The Kyrgyz Khaganate was a polity that existed in the Minusinsk area and Tuva between the 6th and 13th centuries. The Kyrgyzes resided in the area of the upper Yenisei River in the southern Minusinsk Depression and in Tuva and the Sayan mountains. The prosperity of the Kyrgyz Khaganate was related to the wars of the mid‐9th century, when Kyrgyzes occupied and burnt the capital of the Uyghur Empire, Karabalghasun, and killed thechaganof the Uyghurs. Their control reached the Karluks in Zhetysu (“seven rivers”) and Eastern Turkistan in the west, and the Kurykans in the Baikal area to the east. To the southeast they controlled the Mongolian steppes.
Rouran (Juan Juan) Khaganate
Authors: Kradin Nikolay N.
Published: January 2016

The first evidence of the Rouran dates from the beginning of the 4th century
ce
. In 402 they established their empire of the steppe which, as the Rouran Khaganate, occupied a vast territory. In the west it extended to the River Ili and the Tarim depression, in the east to the boundaries of the Khitans and Koguryo, in the north to Lake Baikal and the upper reaches of the Amur, and in the south to the great Gobi Desert. After the crushing defeat of the Rouran Khaganate in 555, the surviving population migrated to Pannonia where they are known as the Avars.
Mitanni Kingdom
Authors: McMahon Augusta
Published: January 2016

The Mitanni Kingdom of the mid‐2nd millennium
bce
encompassed much of northern Mesopotamia from around 1540 to 1340
bce
. Mitanni kings maintained diplomatic relations with the Hittite kings of Anatolia and the pharaohs of Egypt. Their kingdom's population encompassed a variety of ethnicities, or language groups. Archaeological excavations have explored towns with provincial palaces, temples, and houses, but the Mitanni capital, Washshukanni, has not yet been located.
Lombard Kingdom
Authors: Gasparri Stefano
Published: January 2016

The Lombards arrived in Italy in 569ce. The progress of the invasion was slow, and the territorial framework was only established in the first half of the 7th century. After the conquest, there was a sharp decline in the quality of life as Roman cities were transformed to adapt to the standards of a simpler society. But the merging of Lombards and Romans proceeded rapidly, and was completed after the conversion of the Lombards to Catholicism (between 650 and 700). In the 8th century the kingdom faced papal opposition in a conflict that was political, not religious, in nature. This papal policy met with the energetic support of the kings of the Franks, and in 774 their king Charlemagne deposed Desiderius and became King of the Lombards.
Genoese Republic
Authors: Skinner Patricia
Published: January 2016

The history of the expansion of Genoese interests in the medieval period is richly documented through the city's annals, originating in the late 11th century, and through the registers of transactions kept by notaries within the city and in its colonies in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. These, and various treaties, demonstrate that Genoese settlements and commercial ventures were often initiated and dominated as quasi‐private enterprises by ambitious individuals and family groups, some of whom can also be traced as the leading figures in the factional Genoese politics at home. The Genoese colonial adventure arguably offered an alternative to political exile for some, replicating the laws and customs of the home city. Genoa's empire developed from a relatively local, Tyrrhenian base (in intense rivalry with Pisa) to an international network spanning the Mediterranean and Black Sea, necessitating cooperation, if not friendship, with the rival Venetians.
Umayyad Caliphate
Authors: Judd Steven C.
Published: January 2016

The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) was the first Islamic dynasty. Muʿawiya ibn Abi Sufyan established himself as caliph in Damascus after his victory over ʿAli ibn Abi Talib in the civil war that followed the murder of ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan in Medina. Muʿawiya and his successors expanded the territory under Muslim rule dramatically. At their peak, the Umayyads ruled an empire stretching from Spain to the frontiers of China and India. The Umayyads made significant contributions to the development of the Islamic faith and to the spread of the Arabic language throughout the region. Dynastic crises, revenue shortfalls, and the limitations of an empire based on conquest ultimately led to their demise at the hands of the Abbasids in 750.
Byzantine Empire: 1. 330–650
Authors: Kaldellis Anthony
Published: January 2016

The early Byzantine Empire is the same as the later Roman Empire in the east, the part that did not fall. As a phase of Roman history, it begins with the foundation of Constantinople in 330
ce
and ends with the Arab conquests of the 7th century. It is defined by an intensive degree of bureaucratic, fiscal, and legal regulation of many aspects of life; the gradual acceptance by most of the population of a Roman identity and the normative values of a common culture; and Christianization, which gradually drove paganism to extinction. The early Byzantine Empire was not driven by conquest, except during the ambitious reign of Justinian, who recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarian kings.
Science, imperial
Authors: Goss Andrew
Published: January 2016

Imperial rulers have expanded, stabilized, and controlled empires by means of knowledge. Detailed and precise knowledge of the imperial territories have allowed imperial rulers to master the complexity, scale, and diversity of empires. This knowledge – initially in the form of cosmologies and geographies of the empire's cosmos, its nature, and its people – took up a position on a continuum of official and esoteric information, created by priests, scribes, historians, philosophers, and other scholars, that was valued by imperial elites. The value of empirical science lay in its ability to order the empire, creating maps and calculations that would guide rulers in handling future political and social problems. Institutions of imperial science date back to the early Babylonian Empire and the Han dynasty, and reached their zenith during the time of European territorial empires between 1700 and 1900.
Music and empire
Authors: Irving David R. M.
Published: January 2016

Music and empire have an entangled relationship: just as empires have influenced the development and practice of music throughout much of the world, music has performed vital functions in empires throughout history. Music is deeply embedded within the political, religious, and economic processes of empires, symbolizing power across large distances and shaping ideas, practices, and beliefs. Music is a potent vehicle for the spread of ideology: it has been used to exert political and social control, but also as a tool for resistance. Within empires incorporating multiple ethnic groups, the performance, study, and teaching of music has been used to highlight cultural differences, or to enforce assimilation and standardization. Networks of transport, trade, and communication within and between empires have facilitated and precipitated the movement and circulation of musicians, instruments, ideas, and practices; the cross‐cultural adoption, adaptation, and/or mixing of these elements is a typical consequence of empire.
Xianbei Empire
Authors: Miller Bryan K.
Published: January 2016

During the 2nd to 3rd centuries
ce
, nomadic groups under the name Xianbei grew dramatically in power in the wake of the collapsing Xiongnu Empire along the northern frontier of the Chinese Han Empire. Historians have traditionally considered these Xianbei groups as forming a polity that became the successor state of the Xiongnu in the steppes. However, close analyses of written and material records reveal drastically different iterations and spreads of Xianbei power during the last centuries of the Han dynasty that call into question the existence of an early Xianbei Empire of the steppes. Instead, this early era of the Xianbei may be seen not as constituting an empire but as laying the foundations for subsequent Xianbei states of northern China during the 4th to 6th centuries.
Algiers, Ottoman Regency of
Authors: Naylor Phillip C.
Published: January 2016

The Regency of Algiers maintained an Ottoman presence in the western Mediterranean for over 300 years. At its height during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Regency's leaders and corsairs possessed significant autonomous power protecting and promoting Ottoman interests and their own, while preying on European (and later American) shipping. The Regency also constructed numerous public works beautifying Algiers. Infamous for its privateers, captives, and ransoms, the Regency also exported grain, a transaction of which became a source of contention that led to the French conquest of the Regency in 1830.
Bulgarian Medieval Empire (First and Second)
Authors: Angelov Alexander
Published: January 2016

The First and Second Bulgarian Empires emerged on the Danube in the eastern Balkans. The process commenced in 680/681 when Bulgar warriors crossed the Danube and settled in the former Roman province of Moesia (modern northern Bulgaria). The First Bulgarian Empire fell in 1018 when Byzantium annexed its territory. The successful rebellion of the Asenevtsi family in 1185 established the Second Bulgarian Empire with its capital at Turnovo. Weakened by internal strife and foreign attack, it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1371–1422. Having adopted Eastern Christianity, both polities sought to secure independent patriarchates. Medieval Bulgaria served as an important cultural conduit between the Byzantine and Slavic worlds. The development and establishment of Old Church Slavonic and the Cyrillic script are among the major contributions of the medieval Bulgarians to the Eastern Orthodox liturgy and to Slavic philology and writing.
Counterinsurgency
Authors: Farrell Brian P.
Published: January 2016

Empires tended to invite counterinsurgency by their very nature, imposing as they did control by one group over others. But until the 19th century insurgency remained very local, confined by factors such as distance, terrain, climate, and the difficulty of spreading people and ideas across space. That made it difficult to draw any clear distinction between the practice of governing an empire and any specific measures we might call counterinsurgency. Imperial counterinsurgency leaned towards military coercion. The Industrial Revolution and the rise of such ideologies as nationalism and communism changed the problem, connecting insurgencies to the wider world. But empires tended still to fight back by methods that revolved around military coercion. Popular opinion notwithstanding, imperial counterinsurgency rarely strayed far beyond whatever degree of coercion was required to maintain control over people and territory.
Parthian Empire
Authors: Gregoratti Leonardo
Published: January 2016

From the mid‐1st centurybce, when Crassus’ legions suffered a disastrous defeat on the open steppes of northern Mesopotamia, until the early decades of the 3rd centuryce, Rome's expansionist goals in the East were fiercely opposed by the Parthians. Established a few decades after Alexander's death, in Central Asia, close to the remotest borders of the Seleucid Empire, the Parthian kingdom was able to exploit the disintegration of that huge Hellenistic state by conquering the Iranian plateau, Babylonia, and Mesopotamia as far as the Euphrates river, which constituted the dividing line between the two superpowers struggling for supremacy in Western Asia: Rome and Parthia.
British Empire: 5. Caribbean, 1624–1838
Authors: Hamilton Douglas
Published: January 2016

Between 1624 and 1838, the Caribbean islands were transformed from small tropical islands of little imperial importance to the economic powerhouses of the British Empire. Originally intended as colonies of settlement, they quickly emerged as producers of lucrative staple products – most notably sugar – made possible only by the labor of millions of Africans. By the end of the period, slavery had become regarded as anathema to British sensitivities and the enslaved were emancipated.
Vandals, Kingdom of the
Authors: Merrills A. H.
Published: January 2016

The Vandal Kingdom dominated the western Mediterranean in the middle decades of the 5th century
ce
. Following the capture of the Roman city of Carthage in 439
ce
, the Vandal kings were able to exert considerable political and military pressure throughout the region until their influence faded at the end of the century. The kingdom itself lasted until its defeat in the Byzantine “reconquest” of 533/534.
Nanda Empire
Authors: Ghosh Suchandra
Published: January 2016

The Nanda dynasty was a formidable power in Magadha prior to the Mauryas. It came to power by supplanting the Saisunaga dynasty. There is no contemporary source of information throwing light on this power. The founder of the line Mahapadma (also known as Ugrasena) figures in the
Puranas
as the son of a sudra woman. There were perhaps nine rulers in the dynasty, the last being Dhanananda who was supplanted by Chandragupta Maurya in approximately 324
bce
. Considering the date of ascendancy of Chandragupta Maurya, the period of their rule would be from c.344 to 324
bce
. A factor assisting the consolidation of the Nanda kingdom was that taxes were given importance as revenue. The methodical collection of taxes by regularly appointed officials became a part of the administrative system. With all the military might and mastery of a large empire, Dhanananda was not popular among his subjects. Much of his unpopularity was due to his avarice and love of wealth, which he accumulated at the expense of his people by means of excessive taxation and exactions. We have very little information as to the way in which the vast dominions of the Nandas were administered. If tradition is to be believed, the founder of this line aimed at establishing centralized control throughout his empire. Greek observers of the 4th century
bce
allude to a system of provincial government under officials styled nomarchs and hyparchs. For the first time with the Nandas, we had an empire which transcended the boundaries of the Gangetic basin.
Sibir’, Khanate of
Authors: Ostrowski Don
Published: January 2016

Our evidence concerning the Khanate of Sibir’ is sparse. The origin of the term is murky, its origins in the northeastern part of the Ulus of Jochi unclear, and most of its history unaccounted for. Arabic sources provide testimony that groupings of people coalesced in the area under the Taybughids (a non‐Chingissid ruling clan), in the late 14th century and that Ibak, a Shibanid (descendants of Batu's fifth son), ousted the Taybughid ruler in the 15th century. Ibak, in turn, was ousted and killed by Muhammad, a Taybughid. Russian chronicles begin referring to Sibir’ as the Khanate of Tiumen in the late 15th century and provide more testimony about its relations with Muscovy until its demise a hundred years later. By the mid‐16th century, Khan Kuchum, the grandson of Ibak, had apparently overthrown the Taybughid ruler of Sibir’ and was dealing on an equal footing more or less directly with Tsar Ivan IV. Disputes concerning subject peoples are reported in the Russian sources, and a Cossack band under Ermak, who was hired by the Stroganovs, defeated Kuchum's forces in 1582. Subsequently, in 1585, Kuchum's forces ambushed Ermak's group and killed Ermak. Thirteen years later, in 1598, Kuchum was defeated by Russian forces, and, according to a 17th‐century Chagatai source, he fled to the Noghays. Thus, 1598 is considered to be the official end of the Khanate of Sibir’, although reports of Kuchum's descendants contesting Russian control continued until the 1680s.
Chimu Empire
Authors: Pillsbury Joanne
Published: January 2016

One of the largest and most successful pre‐Hispanic states in the Americas, the Chimu Empire flourished on the north coast of Peru between the 10th and 15th centuries. From the imperial capital of Chan Chan in the Moche Valley, the Chimu expanded both north and south, pursuing strategic territories and resources. Administration of conquered territories varied according to region, from a strong, intrusive presence in some valleys to a strategy of indirect control in others. Conquered by the Inca around 1470, aspects of Chimu statecraft were ultimately integrated into that rapidly expanding highland empire.
Shunga Kingdom
Authors: Ghosh Suchandra
Published: January 2016

The Shunga dynasty was founded by Pushyamitra Shunga after he overthrew the last Maurya ruler Brihadratha around 187
bce
. Magadha was the nucleus of the kingdom. The usurpation of the throne by Pushyamitra is referred to in the
Puranas
and the
Harshacharita
, a much later text (early 7th century
ce)
written by Banabhatta, the court poet of king Harshavardhan of Kanauj. The Shungas were
Brahmanas
. The Shunga rule with its center at Pataliputra, seems to have embraced territories in the middle Ganga plain, the upper Ganga valley and eastern Malwa. According to the
Divyavadana
and Taranatha's account, it also included Jalandhara and Sakala in the Punjab. Pushyamitra performed two horse sacrifices, which symbolized his military success. The Kanvas, who perhaps began their political career as subordinates of the Shungas (
Puranas
call them
shungabhrityas
), brought to an end the Shunga kingdom.
Turkoman confederations, the (Aqqoyunlu and Qaraqoyunlu)
Authors: Lane George
Published: January 2016

The Turkoman confederations rose in the aftermath of the Timurid invasions, providing continuity with the preceding Il‐Khanate with whom they shared spiritual connections in the developing Safavid Sufi order. After Jahanshah over‐extended his Qaraqoyunlu forces, Uzun Hasan defeated and then absorbed his empire and established a capital in Tabriz. After he too suffered military defeat, the Aqqoyunlu descended into civil war until they succumbed to the military forces of their onetime spiritual guardians.
Wars of religion
Authors: Wilkes George R.
Published: January 2016

This entry presents the historical connections between religious warfare and empire. It first examines contextual factors which frame the changing relationship between the two. Secondly, it presents divergent maximalist and minimalist historiographies focused on arguments about the role of religion in causing the wars which affected imperial histories across the ages, giving careful attention to the challenges presented by minimalists who dismiss religion as a cause of these wars. Finally, it describes developments in the role of religion in the conduct of wars, from ancient to contemporary times, exploring the political and social factors which have led recent trends in imperial histories which again emphasize religious warfare.
Thai Kingdom
Authors: Peleggi Maurizio
Published: January 2016

From the foundation of the Sukhothai kingdom in c.1250 that marked emancipation from Khmer domination to the avoidance of colonial conquest in the 19th century and communist contagion in the 20th, Thailand's master historical narrative asserts eight centuries of unbroken independence. In fact, though never formally colonized, Thailand (Siam until 1939) was exposed to external influences and interferences as much as the rest of Southeast Asia. Since the 14th century the Central Thai kingdoms participated in a network of trade and diplomatic relations with world empires. Thai rulers, in turn, subjected to their authority local tributary polities, and later on competed with Britain and France in incorporating such polities within the newly demarcated national territory. Thai state formation thus bore considerable analogies to colonial states', even as Siam was forced into a relation of economic and diplomatic dependence. But having escaped direct colonization, Thailand did not share the region's experience of anti‐colonialism and decolonization, and during the Cold War entertained a neo‐colonial relationship with the United States.
Shipping, imperial
Authors: Steel Frances
Published: January 2016

Imperial maritime power depended upon shipping infrastructure and expertise. A strong merchant marine was a vital strategic resource facilitating the integration of imperial trade and communications, moving people, goods and information, as well as when required troops and war supplies, between dispersed sites. It was also a vital symbolic resource central to the maintenance of state prestige, authority, and control. The advance of steam shipping from the late 19th century represented significant advantages to empire‐builders, improving the speed and regularity of global exchange. The needs and interests of the imperial center and those of shipping companies as well as transport users did not always align, however, and this could lead to conflicts and unexpected outcomes.
Economics of empire
Authors: Tomlinson B. R.
Published: January 2016

Economic change and the creation and destruction of empires have been powerful forces in the history of the modern world. Many historians and other commentators have seen these two historical processes as linked together intimately. An analytical economic history of European imperialism, especially the building of overseas empires, shows how close these interactions were, and how the pattern of European involvement in imperial activities developed and changed as the circumstances of the world economy shifted over the period from the 1600s to the end of the 20th century.
Russia: 2. Moscow, Grand Duchy of (13th century to 1547)
Authors: Langer Lawrence N.
Published: January 2016

Moscow in the late 13th and early 14th centuries was a minor principality but in the late 14th and 15th centuries emerged as the political and religious center of northeastern Rus’. During the reigns of Ivan III “the Great” (r.1462–1505) and Vasilii III (r.1505–1533) Moscow absorbed the independent principalities and territories of northeastern Rus’ and the republics of Novgorod and Pskov. At the same time, Ivan and Vasilii initiated a series of reforms that laid the foundations for a powerful military‐fiscal state. Orthodox clerics and bookmen also fashioned a religious ideology that stressed the autocratic powers of the prince, although he was also enjoined to govern within Christian precepts. Muscovy had become the “Kingdom of Christ on Earth” and Moscow the New Jerusalem. Despite the murderous conflicts among the elite families of Ivan IV “the Terrible's” minority, Muscovy was poised for further reforms and territorial expansion when Ivan was crowned tsar (Caesar or emperor) in 1547.
Administration and bureaucracy
Authors: Ramsey Gillian
Published: January 2016

An administration system is commonly regarded as a key criterion for identifying an empire, since it bonds periphery to center by imposing certain bureaucratic obligations and routes for advancement in state service. The definition of empire as formal or informal will affect the paradigm for describing imperial administration. Modernist understandings, seen both in the bureaucracies of modern empires and in 20th‐century scholarship of empire, prioritize a centralized, hierarchical, literate, and rule‐bound bureaucracy as the fullest development of administrative effectiveness. Postmodern views of empire make room for a broader definition, wherein decentralized organization, non‐written methods of data collection, and bargaining may be observed as part of an effective administration, and this invites comparisons between many ancient and premodern empires. One common aim within most, if not all, imperial administrative systems was the revenue extraction.
Slave armies
Authors: Urban Elizabeth
Published: January 2016

Slave armies were a prominent feature of many Islamic empires throughout history. The creation of these armies reflected the need for a professional military force in an imperial context, coupled with manpower shortages often caused by the fact that the Muslim ruling elite formed a small minority of the total population. Muslim rulers imported non‐Muslim slaves living outside the Abode of Islam, converted these slaves to Islam, and trained them in the military arts. This article examines the relationship between the Islamic religion and military slavery, but it also examines other political and demographic factors that contributed to the prominence of military slavery in the Islamic world.
Khmer Empire
Authors: Jacobsen Trude
Published: January 2016

The Khmer Empire lasted from the 9th to the 14th centuriesceand at its height ruled most of mainland Southeast Asia from the coast of modern‐day Vietnam to the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar (Burma). Famous for its temples, the capital at Yasodharapura – better known as Angkor – was a cosmopolitan metropolis of diverse religious beliefs, literary scholarship, multicultural traders, and hydraulic engineering.
Tangut Empire of the Great Xixia
Authors: Solonin Kirill
Published: January 2016

The Tangut Empire, known as the Great Xia (or Daxia), or Western Xia (Xixia), existed in the steppes of northwestern China from late 1038 to 1227, when it was crushed by the overwhelming military might of the Mongols. During 200 years of history, the Tangut Empire created a unique civilization and won its place in the Inner Asian balance of power among powerful rivals such as the Song, the Liao, and the Jin. Tangut culture combined native Tangut elements with the borrowings from the Song, Liao, and Tibet.
World War I and empire
Authors: Mulvey Paul
Published: January 2016

World War I, while mainly fought in Europe, was also a global war with military action in Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. It involved the three largest colonial empires of the time. Germany's colonial empire was dismembered, while Berlin attempted to disrupt the British Empire. France recruited significant numbers of colonial troops to serve on the Western Front, while Britain not only used Canadian, Australian, Indian, New Zealander, and South African troops in Europe, but also conquered Iraq and Palestine with a mostly Indian army. As well as men, the colonial empires of Britain and France also contributed money and material to the war effort. The French and British empires grew in size as a result of the war, but were left weaker than before due to the costs of the war on the home countries and growing nationalism in the colonies.
Collaborators and empire
Authors: Fisher Michael H.
Published: January 2016

The term “collaborator” when associated with empire has come to mean someone from a subordinated or conquered society who traitorously supports the dominating enemy state instead of resisting it. This meaning has only been in use from World War II onward, originally referring to collaborators with Nazi‐led Germany, Fascist‐led Italy, or imperial Japan. But practices now called collaboration have occurred within every empire in history: in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and in land and overseas colonial empires. Over time, the roles of collaborators have varied by gender, class, and race, and in different imperial contexts. The motivations of collaborators have ranged from willing to coerced. Even among slaves and indentured laborers there are collaborators. The attitudes of imperial elites and of people from the collaborators’ own community toward them often conflict. Particular types of collaborators include “Fifth Columnists” and “Comprador Bourgeoisie,” originally used in Spain and Asia respectively.
Asante Kingdom
Authors: Sapong Nana Yaw B.
Published: January 2016

By the 19th century, the Asante Kingdom had become a major player in the Atlantic economy. At its height, Asante influence extended throughout present‐day Ghana and eastern Côte d'Ivoire. European visitors to the heart of the Asante Kingdom reported a structured and bureaucratic polity ruled by an Asantehene (Asante king), who paid particular attention to public displays of wealth and power. On the other hand, the Asantehene was mindful of his position as first‐among‐equals, and of his relationship with the rulers and aristocracy of key city‐states, who were instrumental in founding the kingdom. The Asante Kingdom still exists within the present‐day Republic of Ghana.
Avar Khaganate
Authors: Pohl Walter
Published: January 2016

The Avar khaganate dominated parts of central and eastern Europe from 568 to 796ce. Its center lay in the Carpathian basin along the middle Danube. Its rulers bore the title “khagan,” well known from the Eurasian steppes. We have no written sources from the Avars themselves (apart from a few brief inscriptions in runes or Greek characters on excavated objects), but can reconstruct some of their history on the basis of Greek and Latin chronicles and texts. Furthermore, tens of thousands of graves from the Avar period, many of them with substantial grave goods, have been excavated.
Morocco: 1. Medieval empires
Authors: Bennison Amira K.
Published: January 2016

This entry explains the development of a series of states, commonly called “empires” that were centered in the area covered by the modern state of Morocco in the period from the Islamic conquest in the late 7th to early 8th centuries until 1500. Using a combination of Arabic primary sources and secondary works in European languages, it looks first at the conquest itself and the first Islamic states created in the area, the 8th–9th‐century Kharijite and Idrisid city states. It then moves on to the 10th century during which Morocco became a zone competed over by two universal caliphal regimes: the Umayyads of Cordoba and the Fatimids, based in modern Tunisia. When the Fatimids turned east and the Umayyad regime went into decline, local Zanata Berber chieftains created a loose network of principalities until, in the 11th century, Morocco became the heartland of a genuine empire, the Almoravid Empire founded by Sanhaja Berbers, which also included much of Iberia. The entry compares and contrasts the Almoravid Empire with the Masmuda Berber Almohad Empire that succeeded it in the 12th century and ruled not only Morocco and Islamic Iberia but also what is now Algeria and Tunisia. The entry concludes with an assessment of the Zanata Berber Marinid dynasty, one of several Almohad successor states, which ruled an area roughly coterminous with modern Morocco.
Tukulor Empire
Authors: Robinson David W.
Published: January 2016

The “Tukulor Empire” was not really an empire but a series of garrisons presided over by Ahmad al‐Kabir, the eldest son of al‐hajj Umar Tall. It was a useful formulation for the French conquerors of West Africa in the late 19th century and became a fixture of “Umarian” and French thinking in the 20th century.
America, United States of: 3. 20th century to the present
Authors: Berg Manfred
Published: January 2016

Many Americans emphatically deny that their country has ever been an empire. In contrast, scholars have incessantly discussed whether American power during the 20th and early 21st centuries warrants the term empire or even the pejorative attribute of imperialism. Although the United States quickly abandoned its embrace of imperial expansion around the turn of the 20th century, many historians insist that American global political, military, economic, and cultural power nevertheless constitutes an empire. At the beginning of the 21st century, both critics and advocates of American power have revived the concept of empire. However, exuberant visions of a benevolent American empire ensuring global freedom and democracy have quickly faded in recent years.
Portuguese Empire: 3. America
Authors: Schultz Kirsten
Published: January 2016

The Portuguese American Empire included much of South America's eastern coast and its hinterland extending into the Amazon River basin. Although initial 16th‐century Portuguese settlement of the territory, also called Brazil, was modest, by the turn of the 17th century a sugar plantation economy based on African slave labor had transformed the territory into a lucrative colony. The discovery of gold at the end of the 17th century led to increased settlement of the hinterland and consolidated Brazil's importance within the empire as a whole, an importance affirmed when the Portuguese transferred the royal court there during the early 19th‐century Napoleonic Wars.
Wolof Empire
Authors: von Hesse Hermann W.
Published: January 2016

The emergence of the Wolof Empire by the 15th century coincided with the rise of Atlantic commerce and subsequently the slave trade in the 17th century. Local resistance to the trade led to wars between Islamic cleric reformers and the Wolof kings who succeeded in maintaining the trade with the help of the French. French abolition of the slave trade in 1848 led to the French imperial expansion into the interior of Senegal. Consequently, the Wolof Empire was incorporated into the French colony of Senegal.
Gender and empire
Authors: Pickles Katie
Published: January 2016

The examination of gender and empire emerged as a perspective that first acknowledged women's presence and relevance in imperial history, and then complexified understandings of that place. It then turned to reconsider the place and impact of both men and women in imperial history. Gender construction explored the social composition of femininity and masculinity, while gender relations and then gender performativity moved well beyond fixed biologically grounded sex categories. Influences of anthropology and literary studies led to a focus on race and culture, rather than on class and work. The rapid proliferation of scholarship in the area demonstrates that women, as well as a diversity of men, are a vital part of imperial history. Overall, previous dominant understandings of history that rendered gender invisible are challenged.
Bahmani Sultanate
Authors: Fischel Roy S.
Published: January 2016

The Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1538) was a Muslim‐ruled state in central India that emerged out of the Delhi Sultanate. The Bahmani Sultanate was facing challenges from its expansionist neighbors, which facilitated the incorporation of local Muslim and non‐Muslim elites. Military pressure encouraged the recruitment of foreign Muslims, who created a distinct elite group increasingly at odds with local elites; this hostility became endemic to the sultanate. During the middle of the 15th century, the sultanate became an important intellectual and cultural center and reached its largest extent. From the 1480s, internal conflicts and controversial centralizing policies led to rebellions and fast disintegration.
Ghurid Sultanate
Authors: Thomas David C.
Published: January 2016

The Ghurid Sultanate rose to prominence in Central Asia during the middle of the 12th century. For a short period, the seasonally nomadic Ghurids filled the void between the declining Ghaznavids and Seljuks, and the ascendant Khwarazm‐Shahs and Mongols. At their peak, they held sway over a large empire, stretching over 3000 km. During this period, they aggrandized their summer capital of Firuzkuh (modern Jam, in the province of Ghur in central Afghanistan) and built magnificent, isolated religious structures. The Ghurids’ florescence, however, was short‐lived – soon after the death of their charismatic sultan, Ghiyath al‐Din, disunity, the overstretched nature of their military resources, and the lack of a robust, coherent imperial administrative structure resulted in the demise of the dynasty and their empire. Their Mamluk successors in India, however, went on to form the Delhi Sultanate.