After Tamerlane : The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000

Tamerlane, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Manchus, the British, the Soviets, the Japanese and the Nazis.All built empires they hoped would last forever: all were destined to fail. But, as John Darwin shows in his magnificent book, their empire building created the world we know today.From the death of Tamerlane in 1405, last of the ‘world conquerors’, to the rise and fall of European empires, and from America’s growing colonial presence to the resurgence of India and China as global economic powers, After Tamerlane provides a wonderfully intriguing perspective on the past, present and future of empires.

A Rise and Fall of the Great Powers for the post–Cold War era—a brilliantly written, sweeping new history of how empires have ebbed and flowed over the past six centuries.

The death of the great Tatar emperor Tamerlane in 1405, writes historian John Darwin, was a turning point in world history. Never again would a single warlord, raiding across the steppes, be able to unite Eurasia under his rule. After Tamerlane, a series of huge, stable empires were founded and consolidated— Chinese, Mughal, Persian, and Ottoman—realms of such grandeur, sophistication, and dynamism that they outclassed the fragmentary, quarrelsome nations of Europe in every respect. The nineteenth century saw these empires fall vulnerable to European conquest, creating an age of anarchy and exploitation, but this had largely ended by the twenty-first century, with new Chinese and Indian super-states and successful independent states in Turkey and Iran.

This elegantly written, magisterial account challenges the conventional narrative of the “Rise of the West,” showing that European ascendancy was neither foreordained nor a linear process. Indeed, it is likely to be a transitory phase. After Tamerlane is a vivid, bold, and innovative history of how empires rise and fall, from one of Britain’s leading scholars. It will take its place beside other provocative works of “large history,” from Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers to David Landes’s The Wealth and Poverty of Nations or Niall Ferguson’s Empire.

The Barnes & Noble Review

Most histories of empire in modern times make the assumption that empires were European creations, and that they were comprehensively dominant. In this remarkable conspectus of world history since the 15th century, John Darwin shows that things were not quite as they are often made to seem by self-regarding, Eurocentric history writing. For example: the Asian empires, particularly that of China, were trenchantly resilient in the face of what was, in effect, not much more than European nibbling at their marine fringes right from the beginning of European imperialist expansion onward. So resilient, indeed, that the vast territorial imperium of the Chinese across Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet survived the fall of the Qing in 1911 and still exists today.

Rise and Fall of the Great Powers for the postCold War eraa brilliantly written, sweeping new history of how empires have ebbed and flowed over the past six centuries. The death of the great Tatar emperor Tamerlane in 1405, writes historian John Darwin, was a turning point in world history. Never again would a single warlord, raiding across the steppes, be able to unite Eurasia under his rule. After Tamerlane, a series of huge, stable empires were founded and consolidated; Chinese, Mughal, Persian, and Ottomanrealms of such grandeur, sophistication, and dynamism that they outclassed the fragmentary, quarrelsome nations of Europe in every respect. The nineteenth century saw these empires fall vulnerable to European conquest, creating an age of anarchy and exploitation, but this had largely ended by the twenty-first century, with new Chinese and Indian super-states and successful independent states in Turkey and Iran. This elegantly written, magisterial account challenges the conventional narrative of the Rise of the West, showing that European ascendancy was neither foreordained nor a linear process. Indeed, it is likely to be a transitory phase. After Tamerlane is a vivid, bold, and innovative history of how empires rise and fall, from one of Britains leading scholars. It will take its place beside other provocative works of large history, from Paul Kennedys The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers to David Landess The Wealth and Poverty of Nations or Niall Fergusons Empire . Tamerlane was the last of the "world conquerors". His armies marauded from the shores of the Mediterranean to the frontier of China. Nomad horsemen from the steppes had been the terror of Europe and Asia for centuries, but with Tamerlane's death in 1405 an epoch of history came to an end. After Tamerlane takes a sweeping new look at our global past. John Darwin's account shows that the ascent of the West was neither foreordained nor a linear process. Indeed, it is likely to be a transitory phase, as we witness the great resurgence of Asia, the central feature of our modern "globalized" world. If we are to make sense of our future, we need also to make sense of our Eurasian past. - Jacket.

Winner of the 2008 Wolfson History Prize for excellence in historical writing.

Tamerlane, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Manchus, the British, the Japanese, the Nazis, and the Soviets: All built empires meant to last forever; all were to fail. But, as John Darwin shows in this magisterial book, their empire-building created the world we know today.

From the death of Tamerlane in 1405, to America’s rise to world “hyperpower,” to the resurgence of China and India as global economic powers, After Tamerlane is a grand historical narrative that offers a new perspective on the past, present, and future of empires.

"The Hapsburgs, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Manchus, the British, the Japanese, the Nazis, and the Soviets: All built empires meant to last forever: all were to fail. But, as John Darwin shows in this magisterial book, their empire-building created the world we know today. From the death of Eurasian emperor Tamerlane in 1405, to America's rise to world "hyperpower," to the resurgence of China and India as global economic forces, After Tamerlane is a grand historical narrative that offers a new perspective on the past, present, and future empires."--Back of book "After Tamerlane takes a sweeping new look at our global past. John Darwin's account shows that the ascent of the West was neither foreordained nor a linear process. Indeed, it is likely to be a transitory phase, as we witness the great resurgence of Asia, the central feature of our modern "globalized" world. If we are to make sense of our future, we need also to make sense of our Eurasian past."--Book jacke of hardcover edition Orientations Eurasia and the age of discovery The early modern equilibrium The Eurasian revolution The race against time The limits of empire Towards the crisis of the world, 1914-1942 Empire denied Tamerlane's shadow Traces the rise and fall of large-scale empires since 1405, in an account that challenges conventional beliefs about the rise of the Western world and contends that European ascendancy may be a transitory event.