Visions of Empire: How Five Imperial Regimes Shaped the World

598 Pages·2017·2.73 MB·english

by  Krishan Kumar

Visions of Empire

Visions of Empire
How Five Imperial Regimes
Shaped the World
Krishan Kumar
Princeton University Press
Princeton & Oxford
Copyright © 2017 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press .princeton .edu
Jacket art: Bernhard Strigel (1465– 1528), Portrait of Emperor Maximilian and His
Family, c. 1515, oil on lime, 72.8 × 60.4 cm. (28.7 × 23.8 in.)
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Kumar, Krishan, 1942– author.
Title: Visions of empire : how five imperial regimes shaped the world / Krishan Kumar.
Description: Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016044668 | ISBN 9780691153636 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Imperialism— Case studies. | World politics. | World history.
Classification: LCC D32 .K86 2017 | DDC 904— dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn .loc .gov /2016044668
British Library Cataloging-i n- Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Arno Pro
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my family, empire’s children,
in London, Geneva, Charlottesville, Port- of- Spain, Delhi

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
1 The Idea of Empire 1
2 The Roman Empire: Parent of Empire 37
3 The Ottoman Empire 74
4 The Habsburg Empire 145
5 The Russian and Soviet Empires 213
6 The British Empire 310
7 The French Empire: “Imperial Nation- State” 387
8 Epilogue: Nations after Empires 465
Notes 477
Bibliography 507
Index 553
vviiii

Illustrations
Maps
2.1 The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, 117 CE 38
3.1 The Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent, 1683 75
4.1 The Spanish Empire at its greatest extent, 1790 148
4.2 The Austrian dominions after 1815 167
5.1 The Russian Empire, 1886 215
5.2 The Soviet Union, 1989 289
6.1 The British Empire at its greatest extent, c. 1920 311
7.1 The French Empire at its greatest extent, c. 1920 388
7.2 The British and French empires compared, 1920 402
Figures
2.1 Mosaic of Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus 45
2.2 The Claudian Tables 62
2.3 Bust of the emperor Caracalla 63
3.1 Portrait of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (“the Conqueror”) 84
3.2 Greeks and other Europeans in Pera, Istanbul, 1912 101
3.3 Jews in Salonica, early twentieth century 103
3.4 Devshirme for Sultan Suleyman 107
3.5 Portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent 111
3.6 Portrait of Sultan Abdulmecid 129
4.1 Portrait of Emperor Charles V 153
4.2 Portrait of Empress Maria Theresa 172
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