bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
French Empire: 4. Third Republic
Authors: Osborne Thomas R. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
For reasons of national prestige, France created the second largest colonial empire in the world between 1870 and 1920. Colonies were often created by officials on the spot rather than the uninterested government in Paris. Algeria and Indochina were the most important colonies, the former being the only true settlement colony and the latter becoming the most economically important possession. West Africa and Equatorial Africa captured more popular interest but were far less significant. French colonialists believed in their civilizing mission, understood variously as assimilation or association of colonial peoples with France; what was actually experienced by the colonized was tutelage. After 1898, France accepted British control of Egypt in return for Morocco. After 1918 a new area of French rule opened up in Syria. Nationalism in the Maghreb and Syria and communism in Indochina began to threaten French rule in the interwar period, and by 1939 the French Empire was vulnerable to these forces.
French Empire: 3. Second Empire
Authors: Osborne Thomas R. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Second French Empire lasted from 1852 to 1870. Napoleon III used the legitimacy offered by universal manhood suffrage to create a Caesarean system resembling that of his uncle. The return of order produced significant economic and industrial growth in the first decade when the empire was highly authoritarian, but after 1860 growth slackened and opposition grew. Napoleon III moved toward a more liberal regime. Foreign embarrassments fueled growing opposition to the regime in the 1860s. In 1870 the emperor attempted to use a plebiscite once more to confirm the transition to a parliamentary style of government. He won, but the empire collapsed only a few months later when defeated militarily. Napoleon III blundered badly in dealing with both Italy and Germany. His colonial adventures were opportunistic. Mexico was a disaster, but initiatives in West Africa and Indochina laid the bases for much grander colonial efforts after 1870.
Benin (Edo city‐state)
Authors: Lawal Babatunde 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThis entry provides an overview of the dynamics that enabled the Edo city‐state of Ancient Benin to develop from a kingdom to an empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. It focuses on Ancient Benin's geographical location, origin, history, economic development and how the visual arts were used to document historical events as well as signify and publicize the political and divine powers of the king (oba). The empire collapsed in the 19th century partly because of internal conflicts and partly because of the British military expedition that sacked its capital (Benin City) in 1897.
Central Javanese Empire (Early Mataram)
Authors: Klokke Marijke J. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Central Java (c.732–928) was one of the great early historic powers in the Indian Ocean region. At a relatively early time its kings initiated huge building projects, such as Borobudur and Loro Jonggrang, and operated in the international world of their time. Intercultural contact existed with the Straits of Malacca region, the Pala kingdom in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent, South India, Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, the early Angkor kingdom in Cambodia and Campa in Central Vietnam. This period also saw, for the first time, a dramatic increase of ceramics imported from southern China for the Javanese market. Surprisingly, this early empire is rarely mentioned in a world historical context. One of the reasons may be the confusion about its name and history.
Lithuania, Grand Duchy of
Authors: Norkus Zenonas 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a regional empire, consisting mainly of ethnic Lithuanians around the capital Vilnius, and a broader Slavonic periphery. It was created by the pagan Gediminaiciai (Gediminaičiai) dynasty who contested with the declining Golden Horde for control over the territory of the Orthodox Kievan Rus’. Conversion to Catholicism in 1387 and union with the Kingdom of Poland helped to stabilize the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but made impossible the unification of all former Kievan Rus’ lands under the Lithuanians.
Mossi Empire
Authors: Djata Sundiata 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Mossi became a West African power that sought to control the economically rich Niger bend when seven states emerged as Malian power declined in the 15th century. The Mossi relied on a centralized administrative system and political unity. The continuity of the Mossi states was exemplified by the fact that some of the rulers that the French defeated were the descendants of those who had founded the states, centuries earlier.
Wassalou (Mandinka) Empire
Authors: Djata Sundiata 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
By the 1870s, Samori Turé had recruited a large, well‐armed, and loyal force which mounted a decade of victorious campaigns that made him the head of a powerful army and state, establishing a capital in Bisandugu in 1873. He possessed exceptional personal qualities, including the capacity to arouse intense devotion among his troops, a talent for exploiting divisions among his opponents, and the ability to recognize the need to maintain connections with both Muslims and non‐Muslims. He mounted a huge resistance against French colonial conquest in West Africa.
Kong (Ouattara or Wattara) Empire
Authors: Djata Sundiata 
Published: January 2016

AbstractKong, also known as Ouattara or Wattara Empire, was situated in present‐day Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. At its height in the 1730s, the empire stretched from the fringes of Asante, nearly to Jenné in the north, and westward to the Bamana Kingdoms, becoming the largest kingdom thus far south of the Niger River. Kong became an Islamic center as well as a commercial center. The state prospered, with the various groups and classes living in relative harmony.
Polish–Lithuanian Empire
Authors: Nowak Andrzej 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Polish–Lithuanian state was formed through a series of unions from 1385 culminating with the Lublin Union of 1569 which created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It lasted until the final partition in 1795, and played an imperial role in the interstate system of Eastern and Central Europe, with Muscovy‐Russia, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburgs, and Sweden as its main rivals throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
It was a unique example of legal mechanisms regulating religious‐cultural and ethnic differences of the great realm, which is now considered the cradle, or “kindergarten,” of at least four modern nations: Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. A notable aspect of its initial success and decline (after the mid‐17th century crisis) was its internal political structure as a nobiliary republic, without any “emperor” or central authority other than the Seym (parliament) and the “Sarmatian” ideology of the common origins of the Commonwealth's nobility, irrespective of their ethnicity or religion. The paradox of an Early Modern “republican empire” makes interpretation of the Commonwealth‐Empire both attractive and difficult at the same time.
Bamana Empire of Segu
Authors: Djata Sundiata 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Out of the ashes of the fall of the Songhai Empire, in 1591, the Bamana states of Ségu and Kaarta rose to power in the Niger Valley, controlling the length of the Niger from Timbuktu to Jenné, the center of the nuclear Songhai state, which provided control over the trade from the forest to the desert. The Bamana state of Ségu emerged around 1712. The Bamana secured the trade routes and promoted economic activities, leaving no internal weaknesses for foreign aggressors to exploit.
Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) culture
Authors: Williams Patrick Ryan 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Tiwanaku was the earliest expansive state to arise in the highland plateau of the Andes mountains at 13,000 feet above sea level. The Tiwanaku invested in vast agricultural landscapes of raised field systems that used standing water canals to create micro environments for crop production in the unforgiving plateau. They were also great travelers and caravaners, driving llama trains over hundreds of kilometers to connect their distant colonies with the heartland. After thriving for over 500 years, the distinctive Tiwanaku lifestyle, and the ceremonial center that was its focus, ceded its former glory, perhaps as a result of climate change. A period of strife and turmoil succeeded Tiwanaku's hegemony in the south‐central Andes.
Magadha, Kingdom of
Authors: Majumdar Susmita Basu 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The period from the 6th century
bce
in the history of north India witnessed the transition into the early historic phase, marked by the formation of territorial states – both monarchical and non‐monarchical – the onset of the second urbanization, and the introduction of metallic currency and a more complex society. North India experienced the emergence of several territorial political entities, known as mahajanapadas. Among the 16 mahajanapadas the monarchical states of Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti, and Magadha, along with the non‐monarchical mahajanapada of the Vrijis or Vajjis, attained political prominence by eclipsing other contemporary powers. However, it was the mahajanapada of Magadha which ultimately rose to prominence. The factors that contributed to the rise of Magadha were the strategic locations of its two capitals Rajagriha and Pataliputra, very rich alluvial soil contributing to agricultural surplus production, and the availability of minerals, which resulted in the introduction of iron tools especially for warfare. During this period at Magadha we find three dynasties who contributed to the emergence of Magadha as a superpower: Haryanka, Saisunaga, and the Nanda dynasties.
Athenian Empire
Authors: Hirsch Steven W. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Athenian Empire (5th centurybce) arose from naval power acquired to face the Persian invasion of Greece in 480bce. An originally voluntary alliance – the Delian League – metamorphosed over several decades into an Athenian empire comprising several hundred Greek states. League forces liberated Greek communities from Persian control and dominated the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Most subjects paid an annual tribute, with Athens using the monies to build and man warships. Under Pericles’ leadership, surplus funds subsidized monumental building at Athens, and the power, wealth, glory, and employment opportunities brought by the empire enhanced the popularity of democratic government. Athens sometimes interfered in the internal politics, economic affairs, and judicial practices of its subjects. Ultimately, fear of Athens’ growing power sparked the Peloponnesian War with Sparta and its allies, a long and costly war of attrition. Athens’ defeat in 404 led to the loss of the empire.
Kaabu Kingdom
Authors: Fall Mamadou 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Senegambia region of West Africa, centered on modern northwestern Guinea‐Bissau, was conquered in the 13th century by Tirmakhan Traore on behalf of the Mali Empire. From the 16th century these western provinces formed a powerful independent and expansionist Mandingo empire in its own right located along the Gambia and Casamance rivers. It was ruled by an ethnic‐ and social‐elite military aristocracy which dominated various indigenous peoples including the Balantes, Felupes, and Fula. It was fueled by war and the financial gains of the Saharan and Atlantic slave trade until finally defeated by the Islamic jihadist forces of Futa Jalon in 1867.
Drugs and empire
Authors: Laamann Lars Peter 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Opium has been used for medicinal purposes since Antiquity and constituted a trade item exported to China over two millennia. It was only from 1800 onwards that the opium was smoked for recreational use, initially smuggled into the Qing Empire against state regulations. The ensuing hostilities between the empires contending for control of the eastern Pacific were, though insignificant at the time, later regarded as a turning point in the modern history of China. While the opium‐fueled quest for supremacy by Europe's empires came to a conclusion after the turn of the 20th century, Japan filled this void during the 1920s and 1930s. The history of drugs in modern East Asia is thus one of imperial hegemony.
Visigoths, Kingdom of the
Authors: Rawls Richard S. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Goths formed two kingdoms after centuries of contact with the Roman Empire which included living along its frontiers and inside it. One of these, the Visigothic Kingdom, formed in Gaul and later Hispania from approximately 418 to 711. It became one of the longest‐lasting of the post‐Roman Germanic successor kingdoms. Its claims to fame included law codes, the conversion of some from Arianism to Orthodox or Catholic Christianity, and the literary, religious, and philosophical contributions of individuals such as Isidore of Seville.
Steppe empires
Authors: Cribb Robert , Narangoa Li 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Nomadic pastoralism in the steppe lands of Eurasia provided the ecological basis for a succession of steppe empires. These empires periodically conquered larger settled civilizations by virtue of the nomads’ superior mobility, communications, and battle tactics. Steppe empires were seldom able to establish a durable hegemony over settled zones, because the demands of routine government commonly undermined the nomads’ military advantage. More successful were hybrid empires which retained strong nomadic features while collecting institutionalized tribute from neighboring settled civilizations and feeding this income into lucrative trans‐continental trade routes. The Mongol empire of the 13th century and after was the largest and most successful steppe empire, partly because its size enabled it to sponsor trade on an unprecedented scale and to avoid rapid absorption by conquered civilizations.
Mali Empire
Authors: Sapong Nana Yaw B. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
By the 13th century, Mali was a vassal kingdom to a moribund Ghana Empire. Internal power struggles left Ghana open to rebellions and invasions. Sumanguru, the king of Kaniaga, gained the upper hand in the ensuing scramble for power. Eventually, Mali under Sundiata defeated Sumanguru at the Battle of Krina in 1235, ushering in a new epoch in the history of Mali. Thus, from a modest beginning, Mali under Sundiata went on to become one of the most prosperous and enduring empires in medieval Africa. Indeed, the griots of Siguiri compared Sundiata to Alexander the Great. Again, the wealth of Mali was made memorable by Mansa Musa's famed pilgrimage to Mecca in the 14th century. Like the Ghana Empire before it and the Songhai Empire which succeeded it, the Mali Empire was plagued with succession disputes at certain critical stages, eventually reducing it to a state of vassalage by the latter part of the 15th century.
Vakataka Kingdom
Authors: Majumdar Susmita Basu 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe Vakatakas rose to power in Deccan from the mid‐3rd to the beginning of the 6th centuryce. There is controversy among scholars regarding their original homeland, based on linguistic grounds, with some assigning it to the Vindhyan region and others further to the south. The founder of the Vakatas dynasty was Vindhyasakti I. There were two branches of the family, one eastern known as the Nandivardhana branch and the other western, the Vatsagulma branch.The Nandivardhana branch formed an alliance with the leading power of the north, the Gupta Dynasty, and the Bharasiva Nagas, thus consolidating their position in the trans‐Vindhyan region. The Vatsagulma branch was a lesser one and their most significant contribution tohistory was the patronage they extended to the creators of rock‐cut caves, sculptures, and paintings at Ajanta. In the Nandivardhana branch the economy centered on agrarian activities and in the Vastsagulma branch trade was the prime focus of the economy.
Barbarians and barbarism
Authors: Boucher David 
Published: January 2016

Abstract”Barbarian” and “barbarism” are terms that convey a predominantly negative connotation, and are used not only as descriptions, but also to convey a pejorative evaluation. They strongly convey difference, and also disapproval on grounds of language, cultural practices, habits of thought, and intellect, measured in relation to the ideal of civilization, as represented from one's own vantage point. There is one concept of barbarism, but many conceptions. Bartolomé de Las Casas identified four meanings, which included barbaric acts by civilized societies. Characterizations of barbarians and barbarism have the effect of dehumanization and demonization, often exaggerated in mythical or imaginary accounts of repulsive or primitive practices, such as blood rituals, sacrifice, cannibalism, bestiality, and brutal slaughter.
Adal Sultanate
Authors: Mukhtar Mohamed Haji 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Adal Sultanate is one of the oldest Islamic sultanates in the Horn of Africa. The sultanate was founded by Sa'duddin in the early days of Islam, around the late 9th or early 10th century, based at Zayla or Zeila on the Gulf of Aden. Zayla gave access to the caravan routes in the Horn of Africa as far as Bali in the Upper Juba valley, and connected the trade routes across the Red Sea to southern Arabia and Southeast Asia. Ibn Battuta visited Zayla in 1330 and described it as a large town with an important market. The Adalite imams played a significant role in the spread of Islam in East Africa. Their epic story took place during the imamate of Ahmad Gurey “the left‐handed” (1506–1543), who conquered three‐quarters of Abyssinia in the mid‐15th century. However, Abyssinia recovered with the support of Portugal and in 1543 killed Imam Ahmad. Thus, the Adalite army retreated and the sultanate was eclipsed.
Ajuran Sultanate
Authors: Mukhtar Mohamed Haji 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
The Ajuran Sultanate is an imamate that emerged in south‐central Somalia from the mid‐13th century, a theocratic Islamic state based on Marka or Merca about 75 miles south of Mogadishu. The imamate was subdivided into regions administered by amirs (governors). Ajuran developed efficient communications as well as a disciplined military system, including a standing army of infantrymen accompanied by cavalry. One factor in Ajuran's effectiveness was its use of terror tactics as an instrument of warfare. The Ajuran are remembered for their public works: many of the deep stone‐lined wells and fortifications still standing in southern Somalia are attributed to Ajuran engineering skills. The Ajuran Sultanate declined reputedly because it abandoned Sharia law, and because of its tyranny and arrogance.
Kushan Empire
Authors: Chakravarti Ranabir 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Kushans, originating out of the Central Asian nomadic Yuezhi group, established a mighty empire during the early centuries
ce
, thanks to formidable rulers like Kujula Kadphises, V'ima Kadphises, Kanishka I, Huvishka, and Vasudeva. Known primarily from Chinese texts, inscriptions, and coins, the Kushan Empire at its zenith had its stronghold in Bactria and embraced major areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, extensive areas of the north Indian plains, and regions of the southern Silk Road. The Kushan Empire collapsed around the mid‐3rd century
ce
.
Chaghadai Khanate
Authors: Lane George 
Published: January 2016

AbstractDuring the life of his father, Chinggis Khan (c.1162–1227), and the reigns of the Ogodaid khans, Chaghadai (1183–1241/2) remained the role of steadfast loyalist and supporter of the throne. However, after his death and the split in the Great Mongol Empire the Chaghadaids confined themselves to Turkestan in Central Asia and the continuation of theirulus, or royal appanage, against external threats. Though nominally the mainstay of Amir Timur, the Chaghadai Khanate disappeared with Tughluq Temur in 1363.
Xiongnu Empire
Authors: Brosseder Ursula 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

The Xiongnu Empire (3rd century
bce
to 2nd century
ce
) was the earliest and longest lasting of the so‐called steppe empires of Inner Asia. It extended from the Ordos to Lake Baikal and from Manchuria to eastern Kazakhstan with its heartland in Mongolia. Information on the Xiongnu Empire relies on Chinese chronicles and archaeological evidence. Although discussion revolves around the question of whether this empire can be called a state or a super‐complex chiefdom, it is beyond question that this polity extended far beyond its original territory and integrated a variety of people in a complex political and administrational system.
Egypt: 2. Ptolemaic
Authors: Fischer‐Bovet Christelle 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

Ptolemaic Egypt is the name given to the so‐called Hellenistic period of Egyptian history, when Ptolemy, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, and his dynasty ruled over Egypt and some neighboring territories from 323 to 30
bce
. The Ptolemies and parts of the Egyptian priestly elite formed alliances, as can be seen on the Memphis decree engraved on the Rosetta stone. The kings adapted administrative and legal structures so that their institutions were neither Greek nor Egyptian but a hybrid. Yet dynastic conflicts precipitated Roman intervention. Octavian, the future Augustus, defeated Cleopatra VII and her ally Mark Antony at Actium in 31
bce
and included Egypt as a province of the Roman Empire the following year.
Chartered companies
Authors: Hodacs Hanna 
Published: January 2016

Abstract
Chartered companies were key organizations in the European development of Early Modern long‐distance trade. Some of the Atlantic trade was conducted by chartered companies, but it was particularly in the maritime trade between Europe and Asia that they took center stage. Formed to diffuse the risk associated with overseas trading and to pool capital in resource‐demanding trades, chartered companies also became part of Europe's colonial venture. The most prominent example of this is the English East India Company's role in governing the Indian subcontinent. The English Company was, however, only one among many chartered companies which, in different and complementary ways, came to shape European influence in the Atlantic and Asian worlds.
Dong Hu tribal confederation
Authors: Miller Bryan K. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractNomadic groups of late1st‐millenniumbcenortheastern China are often collectively referred to as the Dong Hu. Although some scholars have treated them as a singular entity and even a tribal confederation, no historical or archaeological evidence has yet been brought to bear that could equate these groups to any form of political conglomerate. Instead of treating the Dong Hu as a singular political or ethnic entity, they may be discussed as a general cultural phenomenon of nomadic groups that occupied territories between the Mongolian steppes and the Great Xing'an Mountains of China.
Lan Xang Kingdom (early Laos)
Authors: Lockhart Bruce M. 
Published: January 2016

Abstract

Lan Xang (also spelled “Lan Sang” and “Lane Xang”), meaning “a million elephants,” was the name for the polity seen as the “ancestor” of the modern nation‐state of Laos. Much of its history cannot be told with any certainty, and almost everything before roughly 1400
ce
is largely the stuff of myth and legend. If the later chronicles are to be believed, Lan Xang was founded from a congeries of small Lao polities in the late 14th century, and it survived until roughly 1700, when it fragmented into several pieces, each of which survived until their colonization by France in the 1890s.