Expanding Empires

Cultural Interaction and Exchange in World Societies from Ancient to Early Modern Times

Edited by Michael A. Polushin, Wendy Kasinec

Publication date:

01 May 2002

Length of book:

243 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780842027304

This new volume examines the processes of cultural exchange as they occurred in 'empire building,' looking at Early Mesopotamia, Africa, Greece, Japan, India, the Arab world, and empires in other parts of the globe. The articles draw upon a variety of disciplines from the social sciences and the humanities, a feature not often found in other readers. Unlike other books on world civilizations, this text strives to develop a consistent theme as it focuses on the manner in which imperial authority and cultural interaction worked through different bureaucracies in various empires. The articles also help students understand the cross-cultural interactions and historical events that have laid the foundation for our modern global society.

This book also contains useful maps and supplements consisting of images to assist students in visualizing and understanding the textual material. This new text is ideal for courses in world history prior to 1650.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Assyria: The Land of Assur and the Yoke of Assur
Chapter 3 Egypt: The First Colonial Empire
Chapter 4 Supplement 1: Hegemonic Images and Empire
Chapter 5 Macedonian Empire: Alexander and the Successor Kingdoms
Chapter 6 Seleucid Babylonia: hellenism in Seleucid Babylonia
Chapter 7 Mauryan Empire: India's First Imperial Unification
Chapter 8 Supplement 2: Cultural Integrity and Change
Chapter 9 Eastern Germanic "Kings": Rome and the German "Kings"
Chapter 10 Carolingian Empire: Integration and Social Reproduction
Chapter 11 Supplement 3: Family, Property, and the Law
Chapter 12 Africa: Islam in West Africa
Chapter 13 Spain: Muslims and Christians in Spain
Chapter 14 Supplement 4: Four Faces of Islam
Chapter 15 Han Dynasty: Nomads and Han China, 221 B.C.-220 A.D.
Chapter 16 T'ang Dynasty: China's Northern Frontier during the T'ang Dynasty
Chapter 17 Supplement 5: Boundaries and Barriers
Chapter 18 Yamato Dynasty: The Creation of the Imperial State System
Chapter 19 Supplement 6: Cultural Attrition and Imperial Expansion
Chapter 20 Mongolia: Mongol Imperial Government after Cinggis Qan
Chapter 21 Supplement 7: Asian Rituals of Rule
Chapter 22 Russia: Russia and the Mongols
Chapter 23 Supplement 8: The Cultural Marketplace
Chapter 24 Aztecs: Aztecs adn the Valley of Mexico
Chapter 25 Inca: Andean Peoples and the Spanish Empire
Chapter 26 Supplement 9: Civic Order, Status, and Legitimacy

Bold, innovative, and refreshing. . . . This is a truly global and non-hegemonic perspective.