The Great Empires of Asia Contents
Introduction
The Distinctiveness of Asian Empires Jim Masselos
Elements of Empire • Emperors and Empires • Maintaining Empire • Advancing Empire
Chapter One
Central Asia: The Mongols 1206–1405 Timothy May
The Rise of Chinggis Khan • The Empire after Chinggis Khan • The Army of the Empire • Civil Government • The Rule of Law • Decline and Dissolution • The Greatness of the Mongol Empire
Chapter Two
China: The Ming 1368–1644 J.A.G. Roberts
The Establishment of the Ming Dynasty • The Reign of Hongwu, 1368–98 • The Reign of Yongle, 1403–24 • Military Defeat and the Great Wall • Ming Absolutism • The Economy under the Ming • Ming Society • Philosophy, Art and Literature in the Ming Period • Contacts with the West • The Decline and Fall of the Ming Dynasty
Chapter Three
South-East Asia: The Khmer 802–1566 Helen Ibbitson Jessup
Womb of Empire: The Early Centuries • Religion and Indian Cultural Influences • Chakravartin, the Universal Monarch • Hariharalaya: The Consolidation of Power • The Roots of Angkor • The Grandeur of Koh Ker • Return to the Heartland • Imperial Longings: The Ascent of Suryavarman • Power in the North • Suryavarman II and the Age of Angkor Wat • Buddhism as State Religion • The Waning Years?
Chapter Four
Asia Minor and Beyond: The Ottomans 1281–1922 Gábor Ágoston
The Significance of the Ottomans in World History • From Frontier Principality to Empire • Empire and its Challenges • Military Might • Ruling the Empire • Core Zones, Frontier Provinces and Vassals • The Long 19th Century and the Ottomans’ Staying Power • The Ottoman Achievement
Chapter Five
Persia: The Safavids 1501–1722 Sussan Babaie
The Boy Becomes King • Architecture and Art under Shah Ismail I • The Fall of Ismail and Reign of Shah Tahmasb • Architecture and Art under Shah Tahmasb • Civil War and the Accession of Shah Abbas I • Isfahan, the Safavid Capital 1598–1722 • Cosmopolitanism and Kingship • The Later Safavids • The Significance of the Safavids
Chapter Six
India: The Mughals 1526–1858 Catherine Asher
The Beginning of Mughal Rule • Akbar: Conquest and Consolidation • Akbar’s Concept of State • Akbar’s Patronage of the Arts • Jahangir and Shah Jahan • The Arts under Jahangir and Shah Jahan • Aurangzeb and the Later Mughals
Chapter Seven
Japan: The Meiji Restoration 1868–1945 Elise Kurashige Tipton
‘A Rich Country, Strong Army’ • Building the Nation through War • The Russo-Japanese War: The Start of Japanese Imperialism • Japan’s Colonial Project in Taiwan and Korea • The Informal Empire in China and the Road to War • Total War and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere • Defeat in War and the End of Empire
Conclusion
The End of Empire Jim Masselos
The Occidental’s Orient • The End of Empires • New Empires and Rulers •
Memory of Empire
Notes
Further reading
Contributors
Illustration sources
Index