The Encyclopedia of Empire

The Encyclopedia of Empire presents exceptional in-depth, comparative coverage of empires throughout human history and across the globe. This reference work covers empire in ancient, medieval, and modern periods, including European as well as non-European experiences of empire. Comprising over 400 entries and over one million words,The Encyclopedia of Empire reflects a recent resurgence of interest in this dynamic and inclusive field.Entries in this work are written by a team of international, interdisciplinary scholars from fields including history, geography, literature, architecture, urban planning, gender studies, linguistics, anthropology and more. All the contributions have been peer-reviewed and are written in an accessible style for readers new to the field. The work includes some 50 illustrations and 75 maps. The entries cover the full range of individual empires, from the Assyrians of the ancient Near East to the Zapotecs of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and from the Asante Kingdom of West Africa to the Dutch East Indian empire.Attention is also given to the ideas that shaped the imperial experience, and to diverse, comparative themes from environment and slavery to law and weaponry. The work also includes a detailed introduction by John M. MacKenzie drawing many of the themes and theoretical approaches of empire together.