Binding: Hardback
Date Published: 22 Oct 2026
The history of our world is the history of empires
From the sprawling domains of the Achaemenid Empire, which spanned three continents and ruled over more than 40% of the world's population at its peak, through to the Ottoman Empire which dominated Eurasia for centuries, the rise and fall of empires have been central to shaping our world.
Historian and Sunday Times bestselling author Philip Parker examines the rise and fall of more than 60 empires, charting their growth and decline while examining the roots of their success and, ultimately, their demise and the legacies they left behind.
Their stories are accompanied by stunning mapping which offers a vivid new perspective on the forces that have shaped our history. Each story of empire is accompanied by a map that illustrates its extent and helps illuminate the historical phenomenon of imperialism and question whether the age of empires is truly at an end.
Empires featured include:
* The Roman Empire: The ancient world's greatest superpower, whose laws, language and legacy still shape our world today
* The Mongol Empire: The largest contiguous land empire in history, forged by Genghis Khan across an entire continent
* The Ottoman Empire: Six centuries of dominance across three continents, from the fall of Constantinople to the birth of modern Turkey
* The Aztec Empire: A breathtaking civilisation at the heart of Mesoamerica, brought to its knees by a handful of Spanish conquistadors
* The Mughal Empire: Rulers of the richest empire on earth, whose art, architecture and culture produced the Taj Mahal
* The Macedonian Empire: Alexander the Great's astonishing conquest stretched from Greece to the borders of India in just a decade