CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The Distinctiveness of Asian Empires JIM MASSELOS 1 Central AsiaiThe Mongols 1206-1405 TIMOTHY MAY 20 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 2 China:The Ming 1368-1644 46 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 3 South-East Asia:The Khmer 802-1566 HELEN IBBITSON JESSUP 72 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? 4 Asia Minor and Beyond: The Ottomans 1281-1922 GABOR AGOSTON 104 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 5 Persia:The Safavids 1501-1722 SUSSAN BABAIE 136 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 6 India.TheMughals 1526-1858 CATHERINE ASHER 166 The Beginning of Mughal Rule Akbar (r.1556-1605): Conquest and Consolidation Akbar's Concept of State Akbar's Patronage of the Arts Jahangir (r.1605-27) and Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) The Arts under Jahangir and Shah Jahan Aurangzeb (r.1658-1707) and the Later Mughals (1707-1858) 7 JapanrThe Meiji Restoration 1868-1945 ELISE KURASHIGE TIPTON 192 '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 218 The Occidental's Orient The End of Empires New Empires and Rulers Memory of Empire NOTES 228 FURTHER READING 234 CONTRIBUTORS 236 ILLUSTRATION SOURCES 237 INDEX 238