From ancient times to our modern age, western empires have shaped societies around the world. Imperial powers have impacted all aspects of human experience as well as the natural world; from trade patterns and migration to sexuality, race and the environment. The rise of cultural history has brought to the fore new methods, archives and perspectives that shape how we think about histories of empire from the ancient world to the modern day. A Cultural History of Western Empires seeks to explore the role of culture in shaping how empire took root, took shape, was maintained and challenged.

This volume explores the cultural history of western empires in antiquity through eight carefully chosen themes; war, trade, natural worlds, labor, mobility, sexuality, resistance and race across eight chapters. Richly illustrated, it spans Persia, Egypt, Rome, Greece and beyond to better understand these ancient empires and their lively cultural histories. It shows how these powers shaped everything for their subjects, from how they literally navigated their world through migration and trade, to how they understood their place and experiences within it.

A Cultural History of Western Empires presents historians, and scholars and students of related fields, with the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the cultural history of empire from ancient times to modernity.