Empires and diversity: on the crossroads of archaeology, anthropology, and history

Synopsis

For More Than Four Thousand Years, Empires Have Been Geographically The Largest Polities On Earth, Shaping In Many Respects The Human Past And Present In Different Epochs And On Different Continents. Covering The Time Span From The Second Millennium Bce To The Sixteenth Century Ce, And Geographic Areas From China To South America, The Case Studies Included In This Volume Demonstrate The Necessity To Combine Perspectives From The Longue Durée And Global Comparativism With The Theory Of Agency And An Understanding Of Specific Contexts For Human Actions. Contributions From Leading Scholars Examine Salient Aspects Of The Hittite, Assyrian, Ancient Egyptian, Achaemenid And Sasanian Iranian, Zhou To Han Dynasty Chinese, Inka, And Mughal Empires.-- Introduction : Variability And Complexity In Multidisciplinary Studies Of Empires / Gregory E. Areshian -- Negotiating Empire : A Comparative Investigation Into The Responses To Hittite Imperialism By The Vassal State Of Ugarit And The Kaaka Peoples Of Pontic Anatolia / Claudia Glatz -- Monuments Of Resistance : Gurgum And The Assyrian Conquest / Lynn Swartz Dodd -- Revenge Of The Kushites : Assimilation And Resistance In Egyp's New Kingdom Empire And Nubian Ascendancy Over Egypt / Stuart Tyson Smith -- An Archaeology Of Hegemony : The Achaemenid Empire And The Remaking Of The Fortress In The Armenian Highlands / Lori Khatchadourian -- Sasanian Imperialism And The Shaping Of Armenian Identity : Interdisciplinary Verification And Ambivalence Of Empire-nation Relationship / Gregory E. Areshian -- Expansion Of The Chinese Empire Into Its Northern Frontier (ca 500 Bce-0 Ce) : A Case Study From South Central Inner Mongolia / Gregory G. Indrisano And Katheryn M. Linduff -- Binding The Imperial Whole : The Transition From Capital To Province In The Inka Imperial Heartland / R. Alan Covey -- In The Shadow Of The Khan / Naindeep Chann. Edited By Gregory E. Areshian. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.