A dazzling account of the men (and occasional woman) who led the
world's empires, a book that probes the essence of leadership and
power through the centuries and around the world. From the rise of
Sargon of Akkad, who in the third millennium BCE ruled what is now
Iraq and Syria, to the collapse of the great European empires in
the twentieth century, the empire has been the dominant form of
power in history. Dominic Lieven's expansive book explores
strengths and failings of the human beings who held those empires
together (or let them crumble). He projects the power, terror,
magnificence, and confidence of imperial monarchy, tracking what
they had in common as well as what made some rise to glory and
others fail spectacularly, and at what price each destiny was
reached. Lieven's characters-Constantine, Chinggis Khan, Trajan,
Suleyman, Hadrian, Louis XIV, Maria Theresa, Peter the Great, Queen
Victoria, and dozens more-come alive with color, energy, and
detail: their upbringings, their loves, their crucial spouses,
their dreadful children. They illustrate how politics and
government are a gruelling business: a ruler needed stamina, mental
and physical toughness, and self-confidence. He or she needed the
sound judgement of problems and people which is partly innate but
also the product of education and experience. A good brain was
essential for setting priorities, weighing conflicting advice, and
matching ends to needs. A diplomatically astute marriage was often
even more essential. Emperors (and the rare empresses) could be
sacred symbols, warrior kings, political leaders, chief executive
officers of the government machine, heads of a family, and
impresarios directing the many elements of "soft power" essential
to any regime's survival. What was it like to live and work in such
an extraordinary role? What qualities did it take to perform this
role successfully? Lieven traces the shifting balance among these
elements across eras that encompass a staggering array of events
from the rise of the world's great religions to the scientific
revolution, the expansion of European empires across oceans, the
great twentieth century conflicts, and the triumph of nationalism
over imperialism. The rule of the emperor may be over, but Lieven
shows us how we live with its poltical and cultural legacies today.
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