A fascinating study of competing empires as the engines of world history, offering fresh insights into today's geopolitical crises.

Did the Age of Empire ever truly end? While the late twentieth century promised a world beyond conquest and hegemony, the evidence of the twenty-first century suggests otherwise.

In this sweeping history, spanning the earliest human societies to contemporary struggles for global power, Thula Simpson traces the rise and fall of empires across time and space. From the British, Spanish, Ottoman, American, Russian and Chinese world orders to the Mongol khanates, Timur's conquests, Napoleon's imperium and regional powers such as the Aztecs, Ashanti, Zulus and modern Israel, he explores the diverse forms empire has taken?and why even the most formidable systems of power ultimately faded. Moving beyond conventional materialist explanations, Simpson argues that power has never depended on technological superiority alone. Again and again, weaker forces have overturned formidable opponents by weaponising ideas. Empires are built not only through military and economic strength but through their ability to shape how people understand the world.

This is a bold reinterpretation of world history that reveals enduring patterns in political struggle and human ambition. By uncovering the principles through which mastery of the Earth has been won and lost, Simpson offers a compelling guide to understanding our own turbulent age.