Expanding Empires

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

Michael A. Polushin, Wendy Kasinec

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2002
• eBook ISBN: 9780742579408
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Acknowledgments
• About the Editors
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 J. N. Postgate, The Land of Assur and the Yoke of Assur
• 2 William Y. Adams, The First Colonial Empire
• Supplement 1: Hegemonic Images and Empire
• Supplement 2: Cultural Integrity and Change
• Supplement 3: Family, Property, and the Law
• Supplement 4: Four Faces of Islam
• Supplement 5: Boundaries and Barriers
• Supplement 6: Cultural Attrition and Imperial Expansion
• Supplement 7: Asian Rituals of Rule
• Supplement 8: The Cultural Marketplace
• Supplement 9: Civic Order, Status, and Legitimacy
• Suggested Readings