bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
World War II and empire
Authors: Jackson Ashley 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
World War II was a clash of empires because most of the earth's land surface was ruled by a tiny handful of colonial powers and because major belligerents fought either to extend empires or to defend them or, as in the case of the United States of America, assumed an imperial mantle as war transformed the international system. By the end of the war, the aggressive imperialism of the Axis powers had been quashed and they had been forced to disgorge their gains of conquest and colonization. This entry explains why the war was an imperial war and the ways in which different types of empire participated. Colonies contributed to the war efforts of their metropoles, endured wartime privations including forced labor, severe food shortages, and inflation, and often suffered enemy occupation. The war shattered the European colonial empires, saw the brief, violent rise of new imperial powers, and forged a world order dominated by two superpowers.
China, imperial: 2. Han dynasty, 206
bce
–220
ce
Authors: de Crespigny Rafe 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Han Empire ruled China from 202
bce
to 220
ce
, except for a brief interregnum from 9 to 23
ce
when the “usurper” Wang Mang held power. The emperor had a spiritual position, but ultimate authority was based upon military power, supported by a sophisticated civil service of well‐educated officials. The economy was based on peasant agriculture, aided by water control, with a network of canals and roads for communications and transport. The capital district and the north China plain provided a key economic region for expansion, notably into south China, where native peoples were incorporated into the empire, but also against the nomadic tribes of the north, and into central Asia. War on the steppe, however, strained the imperial economy and young emperors, often dominated by consort families or harem eunuchs, were a source of weakness. In 190 disorder at the capital ended the dynasty in civil war.
China, imperial: 4. Sui, Tang, and Five dynasties periods, c.581–960
Authors: Liao Yi‐fang 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThis period constituted roughly 20 regimes. However, the Tang dynasty formed a large part of it and played an important role not only in Chinese history as the second imperial age after the Han dynasty, but also in Asia and in world history for its political authority and cultural influence over surrounding countries. China fell into disunity after the collapse of the Han dynasty. The nomads migrated into northern China and mixed with the Han people. The Sui, based on an army made up of mixed ethnic origins, conquered southern China and ended the division. Then, the Tang succeeded the centralized policy of the Sui and successfully built a great empire of wealth and conquest. However, the Tang's decline also resulted in political disintegration. Although the situation deteriorated to the degree that many regimes co‐existed during the Five dynasties, it did not last long until the reunification of the Song dynasty.
Gupta Empire
Authors: Agrawal Ashvini 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe process of political disintegration in northern India set by the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd centurycegave rise to a large number of independent states. One of these was the Gupta Empire, which rose to imperial status within a period of 50 years from its inception and dominated the political, cultural, and economic horizons of India until the mid‐6th century. Chandragupta I, the third ruler of the dynasty, married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi, thus raising the prestige of the Guptas. Their son Samudragupta was the greatest conqueror of the family who brought under his control almost the entire Indian subcontinent. The rise of the empire continued through his successors, Chandragupta II Vikramaditya, Kumaragupta I, and Skandagupta, after which the process of decline started due to internal bickering, the growing power of its feudatory rulers, and external invasions until its collapse in c.550ce.
Railways and empire
Authors: Charney Michael W. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe railways were above all an economic enterprise important in forging informal and formal empire. Nevertheless, the railways were even more vital for their political and cultural impact, contributing to the emergence of the idea of the nation, nationalism, and ultimately independence. The vagaries of the colonial export economy and eventual challenges from cheap motor vehicle transportation meant that the railways faced the continual problem of how to derive a profit in the face of colonial regulations.
Burmese Empire
Authors: Charney Michael W. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
From the 11th century until the end of the 19th century, Burma (Myanmar) was home to a series of kingdoms that integrated the Irrawaddy Valley politically. The lasting legacy of these kingdoms was that they established political, religious, cultural, and linguistic standards and models that would prove durable and would survive the colonial period and help shape post‐independence Burma from 1948.
Colonies, variety of
Authors: MacKenzie John M. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Colonies have existed in a wide variety of forms. The origins of the Latin word imply a single building, farm, or estate, and the original colonies were indeed often trading establishments planted on sea lanes or in other landward regions. But the need for protection or the desire to exploit resources directly often led to such colonies spreading out into larger geographical units forming the modern concept of the colony as a territory under imperial control. It is debatable whether the great Middle Eastern and Asian land‐based empires should be placed in a different category from those empires which proceeded by the establishment of colonies, although some empires, such as the Macedonian of Alexander the Great, some Asian, and the Ottoman did establish colonies of retired soldiers. In modern times, European colonies ranged from the earlier trading establishments to strategic positions, islands, plantation colonies, colonies of settlement, to “dependent” colonies of “exploitation.” In the 20th century the League of Nations created a new category: “mandates” or colonies held under international trusteeship.
British Empire: 12. Southeast Asia
Authors: Charney Michael W. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Although slowly built up from a number of fragments carved out of pre‐existing states in the region, Britain's possessions in Southeast Asia over the long haul left the colonial period as four independent states: Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. Despite the unique circumstances and separate evolution of these administrations, their history in the interim has much in common and has had similar effects. There is still a British military presence in the region, a lasting legacy of British rule there.
Diplomacy and empire
Authors: MacKenzie John M. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
All empires used diplomacy as a mechanism for survival and expansion. This might involve dynastic marriages with adjacent or rival states, the creation of client states, and the sending of envoys between one empire and another. These methods were firmly established in the ancient world, as well as in many other empires. Although royal secretaries in Europe dealt with foreign affairs from Renaissance times, France led the way with dedicated officials in the 16th century, with Britain following later in the 18th. But fully fledged ministries were only to appear in the 19th, with impressive buildings, large numbers of civil servants, and diplomatic and consular corps fanning out across the world. These were headed by ministers responsible to rulers or parliaments. Treaty making, sometimes as part of postwar settlements, sometimes to regulate international actions, became common and frequently involved the redistribution of territories and the establishment of “ground rules” in imperial affairs. European methods were then imposed upon the rest of the world, notably Oriental powers like China and Japan. Europeans started out as supplicants to the great Oriental empires, then became dominant, and returned to being clients in the late 20th century.
Popular imperialism
Authors: Mackenzie John M. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Popular imperialism refers to the ways in which imperial ideologies and events are transmitted to the public in metropolitan states and their capitals. The objectives are first, to enhance the power of rulers or, in modern times, of ruling parties, and second, to reconcile the common people to the policies of imperial expansion and rule, as well as to the sacrifices required in their achievement, for example by the military. Popular imperialism can be conveyed in a whole variety of ways, by visual spectacles, displays, and games, by sculptures, architecture, and coinage, or by the great range of entertainment and visual media of modern times.
Fortifications, imperial
Authors: Farrell Brian P. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractFortifications were the most universal physical expression of empire in world history. They expressed not only the determination to develop and defend imperial space, but also, usually, the need to do so. But fortifications were so ubiquitous in imperial history that it is better to analyze them by placing them in a broader context of imperial strategies for managing, as well as defending, space, frontier relationships, and the movement of things and people. This entry will examine the interplay between space, force, and strategy, as represented by fortification strategies ranging from imperial China to France in North America.
Tarascan (P'urhépecha) Empire
Authors: Roskamp Hans 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Tarascan or P'urhépecha Empire of West Mexico was founded in the late 14th or early 15th century by members of the Uacúsecha (“eagle”) lineage who resided in several settlements on the banks of Lake Pátzcuaro and took the city of Tzintzuntzan as their capital. By means of trade, military conquests, and matrimonial alliances, they managed to control a territory that roughly covers the present‐day Mexican state of Michoacán and some parts of the adjacent regions of Jalisco, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Mexico. Whereas the Tarascan culture and language were dominant in the core area of the empire, the periphery had a vast population of other ethnic groups. The western and southern borders of the empire were successfully defended against the military campaigns of the expanding Aztecs from central Mexico. In 1522 the Tarascans surrendered to the European conquerors and vowed obedience to the Spanish king and the Christian god.
Durrani Empire
Authors: Vogelsang Willem 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Durrani Empire was founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747
ce
. From the city of Kandahar in present‐day southern Afghanistan, it stretched from close to the Caspian Sea in the west, to past Delhi and Agra in North India in the east. By the late 19th century the Durrani Empire would develop, though much reduced in extent, into the state of Afghanistan.
Median Empire
Authors: Llewellyn‐Jones Lloyd 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

Much contention surrounds the question of whether the Median “empire” ever existed as a political and military force or whether it was simply the invention of Greek historiography that was routinely written into Western scholarship thereafter. There is little doubt, though, that the Medes were an influential north Iranian tribal society and that they exerted some significant influence within the region in the 9th to early 6th centuries
bce
. Nor can it be doubted that the Medes were in no small way responsible for the downfall of the Assyrian Empire, but whether the Medes filled a power vacuum in the post‐Assyrian world is difficult to assess. The archaeology of Media reveals some sizable settlements, but evidence for a cohesive architectural style or for palatial buildings is yet to emerge.
Lydia, Kingdom of
Authors: Llewellyn‐Jones Lloyd 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Lydians occupied a central area of western Anatolia and although their origins are unknown, attested only in Greek mythical texts, in the 7th and 6th centuries
bce
evidence becomes more plentiful for Lydian expansion throughout much of Asia Minor. The leadership of aggressive military rulers such as Alyattes and Croesus quickly expanded Lydia's sphere of influence, making its capital, Sardis, one of the wealthiest and most beautiful cities of Antiquity.
Hittite Empire
Authors: Giusfredi Federico 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Hittites were an Indo‐European population of ancient Anatolia during the second millennium
bce
. After the phases of formation, the so‐called Old and Middle Hittite kingdoms, their state became an interregional empire in the last centuries of the Bronze Age (14th and 13th centuries
bce
). Their capital city, Hattusha, is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Ancient Near East, and in its archives several clay tablets with cuneiform texts have been unearthed that provide us with significant information about the history of Anatolia and neighboring countries. Even though the kingdom and the language of the Hittites disappeared at the end of the Bronze Age, they were one of the most culturally important and politically influential populations of the pre‐classic world.
Kalmyk Khanate
Authors: Lazzerini Edward J. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Kalmyk Khanate was created in 1630 by a coalition of western Mongol tribes that had migrated from their original homeland in Dzhungaria to the lower Volga along Russia's eastern frontier. It survived until 1771 when abolished by Catherine II, Empress of Russia, following the migration of the bulk of the Kalmyk population to its original homeland in a desperate attempt to retain its independence.
Astronomy and navigation
Authors: Winterburn Emily 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Astronomy and navigation are among the oldest of the sciences. All ancient cultures viewed the heavens, making up stories to remember star patterns and the relationship between their apparent movements, and the seasons. As people traveled, the stars became a useful way to work out direction. The relationship between astronomy and navigation and empire is more complex. At its simplest level, astronomy and navigation have helped empires to grow, helping them to travel beyond familiar landscapes, out into the unknown, without getting lost. They have helped with administration, too, underpinning calendars and time keeping. At a more complex level, astronomy and navigation have been used to demonstrate cultural and intellectual sophistication and power. At the same time, empires have brought cultures together, facilitating knowledge transfer and new developments in astronomy and navigation.
Cartography in the Russian Empire
Authors: Postnikov Alexey V. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractRussian and West European skills combined to produce skilled surveyors and a cartographic tradition which both recorded and documented the expansion of the Russian Empire. Tsar Peter I in the 1720s was the first ruler to recognize its significance as an important tool in securing Russian access to the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Pacific Ocean. New scientific bodies, and especially the military from the 1760s, were charged with the mapping of Russia and its new territories, and imperial expansion also brought new cartographic and surveying skills and information from able practitioners in Finland, Poland, and elsewhere. New thematic maps were created to assist in the exploitation of the empire's resources and in colonial settlement, especially in Siberia in the 19th century. Mapping and exploratory expeditions from the late 18th century, in the reign of another expansionary ruler, Katherine the Great, led to extensive fur‐trapping in the east and Russia's claim to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and the northwest coast of America.
Chera Kingdom
Authors: Majumdar Susmita Basu 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas were rival dynasties in Tamilakam, South India, first recorded from around the 3rd century
bce
. The Chera chiefdom was based on the Kerala coast where it prospered from growing South Asian maritime trade as well as agriculture. They expanded their domains by subjugating minor chiefs and entering marriage alliances. The major activity of the
ventars
(traditional chiefs) was accumulation of resources, by exaction or otherwise, and their redistribution following the determinate pattern of social relationships. This redistribution involved gifts of land, mainly to warrior chiefs which was in reality the transfer of predatory control and not simply land ownership. From this base the Cheras made extensive conquests along the Malabar coast, Coimbatore, and Tamil Nadu before the 3rd century
ce
, and the chiefdom transformed into a powerful kingdom although its full transformation into a sophisticated monarchical state, similar to that of the Cholas and Pandyas, only occurred later.
Maukhari Empire
Authors: Ghosh Suchandra 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

With the decline of the Gupta Empire, the growing political importance of the region of the Ganga‐Yamuna doab (the tongue of land between the two rivers) in North India was evident with the rise of the Maukhari dynasty of Kanauj and their evolving rivalry with Magadha (Later Gupta). From the early 6th century to early 7th century
ce
, there were two Maukhari houses, the first in Gaya in South Bihar, and the second in Kanauj in Uttar Pradesh. The main sources are inscriptions like the Haraha inscription of Ishanavarman and the Apshad inscription of Adityasena, as well as texts such as the
Harshacharita
of Banabhatta. The last Maukhari ruler was Grahavarman, the brother‐in‐law of Harshavardhan of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, founder of the Harsha Empire. Thus, an alliance between the Pushyabhutis and the Maukharis was formed, which changed the axis of power of North India. With the murder of Grahavarman in 605
ce
the dynasty came to an end.
Ports, imperial
Authors: Hyslop Jonathan 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
While ports are often presented as places of openness and exchange, empires have frequently sought to regulate the flows of people and goods through them. Early modern empires sought to centralize control of trade through restricting port participation in empire; late modern empires imposed increasingly strong migration controls. The 19th century saw a remarkable age of imperial port building, in both metropolitan and colonial cities. This was given a further impetus by the development of steamships and railways. In the period of the end of the European empires and the rise of American power, older forms of port were replaced by container facilities, separated from the city.
British Empire: 3. Africa
Authors: MacKenzie John M. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Africa has sometimes been depicted as a sideshow to British ambitions elsewhere, but this is only partly true. The slave trade, in which the British emerged as the most important slavers on the West African coast, was vital to the development of plantations in the West Indies and the southern colonies of North America. The take‐over of the Cape, at the southern tip of Africa, from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars was based on its key strategic position on the route to India. Similarly the British established their “veiled protectorate” in Egypt in 1882 because of its vital strategic role as a pivotal point between the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, African, and Asian worlds, particularly after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Even British interest in East Africa was considered to be a by‐product of the British desire to maintain their dominant position on the entire Nile system as well as in India and the Indian Ocean. But African colonies later developed importance for their own sake with the emergence of significant economic interests in West, Central, and southern Africa while complex commitments arose from the presence of white settlers in South, Central, and East Africa. All of this ensured a particularly messy decolonization of African colonies.
Mandates, League of Nations'
Authors: Sinanoglou Penny 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Mandates system of the League of Nations was established at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and provided international oversight for the former Ottoman provinces and German colonies in the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific that had been conquered by Allied powers in the course of World War I. Rather than annex these territories, Belgium, Britain, the British dominions, France, and Japan agreed, with some reluctance, to hold them under “mandate” from the League of Nations.
Agriculture and empire
Authors: Tauger Mark B. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractEmpires relied on agriculture for foods, taxation, soldiers, and laborers, but most empires also aided farmers during crises. Earlier contiguous empires such as China and Russia were based on pre‐existing peasant societies and often employed serfdom. Later overseas empires such as Spanish America and British and French “new imperialism” employed early versions of globalization through forced migrations to supply slaves for plantations, taxation to encourage market production, and European settlers who expropriated native peoples. Struggles between large landlords and small peasant farmers were basic themes in all empires, with extremely varied results. China's Song dynasty set a precedent of government aid to peasants, but later reforms, while sometimes successful, often failed catastrophically, such as Communist China's people's communes or the Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme in the late British Empire.
Dutch Empire: 4. East Indies
Authors: Borschberg Peter 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Dutch East Indian Empire spans two periods: the first, between c.1602 and 1795, coincides with the life span of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and covers the territories and settlements across Asia controlled by the company. The second period, between c.1815 and 1949, focuses on the Dutch East Indies, which emerged after World War II substantially as the Republic of Indonesia.
Rashidun Caliphate
Authors: Urban Elizabeth 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) is the period in Islamic history immediately following the death of the Prophet Muhammad. While Muhammad led a small religious polity in Medina under his charismatic prophetic leadership, he did not create anything that might be called an empire. The situation changed under the four caliphs of the Rashidun period – Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali – who oversaw the rapid expansion of the Islamic polity throughout the Near East. They elaborated important military, legal, and economic structures and developed a nascent imperial apparatus that helped ensure the success of the Islamic state. The Rashidun Caliphate is often considered a religio‐political golden age, but it also witnessed many fierce debates about the nature of authority, the role of the caliph, and the relationship between religion and politics. In fact, the Rashidun Caliphate ended with a calamitous civil war that permanently divided the young Muslim community, revealing the incredible difficulty of simultaneously ruling a huge empire and maintaining religious unity.
Dutch Empire: 1. Origins and organization
Authors: Raben Remco 
Published: January 2016

AbstractAmong the European colonial powers, the Dutch Empire stands out as a peculiar example of a consistently commercial undertaking. The history of Dutch colonialism is characterized by a remarkable but short‐lived dominance in Asia in the 17th century, the concentration on a limited number of areas around 1800, a late and reluctant shift to modern imperialism, and a strong developmental character in its last decades.