For thousands of years, strong men sought to become the Emperors of their realms. Many succeeded, and made history This is true today, by those calling themselves President or Chairman. We will explore fourteen Emperor-led states from all over the world, focusing on the role of the Emperors themselves and their effect on the empires over which they ruled. Our journey begins in the earliest Middle East, and takes us to China and India as well as to Europe and the New World. Some dynasties lasted for a very long time under succeeding emperors; some fell precipitously. The last dynasties fell only after World War 1. Therefore, we are the historical heirs of millennia of emperors. Meanwhile, many autocrats have aspired to similar status, and we shall consider them. Certain autocrats of our time aspire to act as emperors. We will make some comparisons and contrasts.,
1. Cradle of Empire: the Middle East; 2. The Persians and Alexander of Macedon; 3. Roman Imperial Monarchy; 4. Ashoka in India; 5. Origins of Chinese Emperorship; 6. The Tang and Song Dynasties; 7. The Islamic Caliphate; 8. Charles V and Philip II, the first global emperors; 9: The Ottomans; 10. Mughals, India's greatest dynasty. 11. China's last dynasties: the Ming and the Qing; 12: The Romanovs of Greater Russia; 13: Eve of Modernity: The Habsburgs and the Napoleon. 14. Emperors and Modernity, , 1815-1914.
Clieven, Dominic, IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS:The Emperor in World History, Viking New York, 2022
Bugeja, Alex, THE GREATEST EMPERORS;, privately published, Las Vegas, 2026,