Расцвет и падение. Краткая история 10 великих империй

by Paul Strathern, Пол Стретерн

Известный британский историк и философ Пол Стретерн в своей книге "Расцвет и падение 10 мировых империй" рассказывает о зарождении и развитии 10 крупнейших империй мировой истории: от Междуречья Тигра и Евфрата до США, от Британских островов до средиземноморской колыбели нескольких могущественных государств. С помощью этой книги читатель может совершить экскурс в пятитысячелетнюю историю человечества всего в десяти лаконичных, емких и остроумных рассказах. В этот "избранный круг" великих попала и Российская империя, которую автор вслед за Уинстоном Черчиллем называет полной загадок вплоть до сегодняшних дней. Почему? Читатели узнают в книге. Каждая глава содержит неожиданные факты, которые позволят читателям лучше понять культуру описываемой страны и посмотреть на неё с новой точки зрения. Так, например, мало кто знает, что в 1290 году нашей эры китайский астроном Го Шоцзин вычислил земной год как 365,2425 дня, то есть в пределах 26 секунд от его нынешнего измерения.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Russia, Politics, Economics, World History

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2019

About the author

Paul Strathern (born 1940) is a English writer and academic. He was born in London, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, after which he served in the Merchant Navy over a period of two years. He then lived on a Greek island. In 1966 he travelled overland to India and the Himalayas. His novel A Season in Abyssinia won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1972.

Besides five novels, he has also written numerous books on science, philosophy, history, literature, medicine and economics.

Reviews

[Aleks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a general encyclopedia of empires throughout history. There isn't much new in here to a student of history but it is a good consolidation of knowledge. The one new thing I found helpful was his explanation of the Akkadian empire; it was a neat summary of a piece of history I didn't know about. The same goes for the Aztec chapter.

I think to say that this book looks at world history through the perspective of empire is off. I'm not sure that this book had a common thread found in each chapter, at least not one that the author intentionally wove. A good question would have been: why do empires form? What do empires, from Akkadia to Britain, have in common?

This book was more like a factoid sheet on the empires it examines.

It isn't a hard read at all; the only trouble I found was zoning out when I encountered something I was already deeply familiar with. This made me skip the final chapter on America (first of all, not an empire; second of all, we know about it's rise, there is no fall). I could have skipped several more.

Perhaps this book is useful as a display for readers to decide what area of history they will actually read about next. If you are really interested in any of the empires the book covers, you should find a more definitive, specific work.

[Horia Bura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, easy to read by anyone, even by non-specialists, slightly non-chronological within the chapters, but the author could have been more attentive to certain historical data that he mentioned incorrectly (e.g.: the beginning of the Roman Republic, the year of the independence of Greece, etc).

However, the author has a special merit, namely that of trying to analyze certain historical patterns in the "imperial" evolution of mankind, as he is not limited to a simple narrative exposition of the main moments that shaped the history of the 10 chosen empires.

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

overly simplistic and in places makes some extremely sweeping statements about cultures the author has discussed for perhaps three pages before going on another stupid tangent about pyramids

[Alina Stepan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesanta, informativa, utila, insa din cauza ca trateaza atat de multe lucruri in atat de putine pagini, poate parea superficiala.

[Dominique "Eerie" Sobieska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Strathern only writes of 10 empires that have lived and passed though out our long history, it shows some of the important impacts these empires have brought to us long ago and how their influence, good or bad (depending on your take), still reflects through the assimilation of the next empire that came after. Showing how they came to be, what were some of the aspects that gave them an edge over others and made them a force to be reckoned with and what slowly lead to their downfall in 20 pages or less, was informative. Yet it left me quenching for more. Since my knowledge is limited to my childhood favorites to Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, I was a bit perplexed that Ancient Egypt was not part of the 10 he wrote. But at the same time, it felt a bit refreshing to read of other than Macedonia, Egypt even Greece and Rome made the cut (yes those two left a true mark compared to the short lived empire that Alexander the Great had carved or Ancient Egypt and its wonders of god-kings and pyramids). Instead reading about the Ancient Mayans and Genghis Khan impact on the Eurasian world before and after his death as left me wondering what else I missed in history lessons that were never given to me...

I did recommend this book to a friend as something to read for a bit of history, a bit of knowledge, to extent one's horizons to new topics and to pass the time when ridding the bus or train to and from work :)

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this were interesting and reasonably well written. However, I'd have to say that overall it was a bit disappointing for two reasons. Firstly, that factual errors that appear in it from time to time, for example on the nature and armaments of the Greek phalanx and the now discredited idea that syphillus was brought back to Europe from the Americas. Many will not notice these but if you have reasonable know of history you may find them annoying. Secondly, at times the book seems unsure of what its purpose is, having just finished it I'm not completely sure either. I was hoping for an interesting overview of those empires I know well and some more knowledge of those empires I know less well, but it the end it only partly delivered.

[Mircea Petcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mai degraba o istorie culturala a lumii in zece imperii.

[Flaminio Spinetti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Premessa: un libro che in 200 pagine deve fare una carrellata sui 10 imperi che hanno cambiato la storia del mondo non può essere né esaustivo né preciso. Ma un conto è la necessaria semplificazione, un altro è scrivere cose così banali da arrivare all'errore palese. Chiunque abbia avuto l'occasione di approfondire la storia di uno dei 10 imperi trattati può subito capire quanto questi riassunti siano inesatti, superficiali e dannosi. Inoltre, il testo è in certi tratti scritto peggio della ricerca di storia di un liceale svogliato, spesso con errori o parole mancanti nel testo (ma in questo caso credo sia responsabilità del traduttore e dell'editore e non dell'autore)

[Liviu Mihai Irimia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great title, for mediocre content. The book abounds in information, but is written rather in an informative style, which makes reading difficult and unattractive. It seems that the author dreamed of a great book, but he did not have the patience and determination to write it.

[P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inaccurate, incomplete or incorrect information to support opinions too biased.

[W. Derek Atkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I'm a lifelong student of history, and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about different empires in history. The concept is definitely an interesting one! I did learn some interesting things about different empires, such as the fact that one can still find the Roman initials SPQR, which originated during the Roman Empire, all over various public works in Rome, including present-day manholes.

However, the closer Strathern approached present-day times, the more biased his views became. For example, in his chapter on the Aztec Empire, he went off on what I considered a tangent and wrote a fairly lengthy meditation on evolution. Then, in the chapter on the British Empire, his bias began to become quite clear, with the author more or less bashing the British Empire throughout this chapter. But as this chapter progressed, the reader comes to discover that the author's father -- get ready for this -- greatly admired Vladimir Lenin. So, the author more or less revealed his leftist leanings. The author also takes both the British and Americans to task for the sin of slavery. Although he readily admits that every empire in this book used slaves, he nonetheless singles out Britian and America for chastisement. (This is understandable, given that both nations have historically stood for personal liberties, so the institution of slavery is obviously a very hypocritical institution for them to have. Still, both nations led the way in abolishing slavery, especially Great Britian, which Strathern does not give enough recognition to.)

But the reason why I gave this book such a low rating is because of several historical inaccuracies in the chapter on the American Empire. For example, he says that the Republic of Texas lasted 10 years after winning independence from Mexico -- the actual figure is 9 years, not 10. And then he writes that in 1836, the United States went to war against Mexico because Mexico threatened the new state of Texas -- this is wrong on two counts, because number one, Texas didn't become part of the Union until 1845, and number two, the Mexican-American War began in 1846, not in 1836. (As one who grew up in Texas, these mistakes really caught my eye!) And then, when writing about President John F. Kennedy, Strathern writes that the speech pledging to send Americans to the Moon was given by Kennedy in 1962 -- it was actually given in 1961.

As one who has not only studied but also taught history, historical accuracy is very important to me, so when a writer gets his or her historical facts wrong, that really upsets me, and this is why I gave this book only three stars.

[Mariam Farooq · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the author does a phenomenal job at keeping things unbiased majorly, which is something hard to find in non fictional works specially related to historical accounts. That being said, some facts need to be double checked since they aren’t correct (an example being calling Jinnah as the first PM of Pakistan which is incorrect. He was the first Governor General).
The chronological order of these accounts could’ve made better, or maybe it was just me. But I think I would recommend this now to all my friends who generally do not like non fictional works.

[Harry Cobbett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Good introduction to some of the most famous empires everyone has heard of - particularly enjoyed the chapter on Genghis Khan's Mongols as it's huge expansion is something I've never been able to wrap my head around. Some of the chapters are better than others - as an avid Roman reader the chapter on the Roman Empire is little more than a biography of Julius Caesar. The later European empires really just discuss colonialism in general rather than the specifics of each Nations expansion. Overall decent read, although the short length means this is never going to be anything other than a surface skim.

[Raul Filea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting book, lots of new information for me and an amazing way to learn history in comparison to the subject we are taught in school.

However, some things and information are thrown into the book without being scientifically proven and are considered as true.

All in all, a solid 4/5 for this book! 👌

[Manuel Do · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ao longo do livro são usados termos e expressões específicos das várias civilizações e da própria história, as quais não são explicadas e com p seu significado presente no livro
Penso que na transição de um império para outro poderia haver uma maior conexão e explicação para este estar no livro
A maneira que o autor apresenta os impérios é pouco esclarecedora e muito geral, podendo ele aporfundar se mais sobre o império e o contexto em que este surge

[Frank O'Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright at times frustrating at others. Author glosses over topics that could do with elaboration while spending pages on topics that didn't need it. Also whenever an author lets their whole audience know their disdain for a modern day political figure it kills the illusion that their mind and knowledge is superior.

[Ioana Corina Sava · Rating 3 out of 5]

o scurtă sumarizare a decăderii celor mai mari imperii care au existat vreodată. Pentru mine a fost mult prea scurtă și haotică. Autorul își împărățește opiniile personale pe diverse teme.

[Lefki Sarantinou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μετά από την πληθώρα των βιβλίων που εκδόθηκαν τα τελευταία χρόνια του τύπου Μικρή ιστορία του κόσμου, σύντομη ιστορία της ανθρωπότητας, Ιστορία του κόσμου σε δέκα κεφάλαια κτλ, ο Βρετανός συγγραφέας και πανεπιστημιακός Paul Strahern έρχεται να μας προτείνει κάτι εξίσου μικρό, ελκυστικό και ευκολοδιάβαστο: μια ιστορία του κόσμου μέσα από τη μελέτη δέκα αυτοκρατοριών.

Αυτό, φυσικά, δεν σημαίνει πως οι αυτοκρατορίες του κόσμου ήταν μόνο δέκα. Αντιθέτως πολλές είναι οι ηχηρές απουσίες από το παρόν πόνημα, όπως η αυτοκρατορία των Αιγυπτίων, των Βαβυλωνίων, του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου, η Βυζαντινή,η Αγία Ρωμαϊκή, των Αψβούργων κ.α. περισσότερο ή λιγότερο σημαντικές.

Σκοπός όμως του συγγραφέα δεν είναι να αφηγηθεί την ιστορία όλων των αυτοκρατοριών που πέρασαν από τον πλανήτη, αλλά να επικεντρωθεί σε αυτές με τη μεγαλύτερη διάρκεια και, καμιά φορά, επίδραση στις μεταγενέστερες εποχές.

Ο συγγραφέας παραδέχεται ευθέως ότι η αυτοκρατορία με τη μεγαλύτερη επίδραση ήταν η Ρωμαϊκή, μέσω της γλώσσας κυρίως, των μνημείων αλλά και των νόμων της. Εξίσου σημαντική αποδείχτηκε και η αυτοκρατορία των Γιουάν στην Κίνα τον 13ο και τον 14ο αιώνα, αφού τότε εφευρέθηκαν πολλές από τις εφευρέσεις που άσκησαν μέγιστη επιρροή στη ζωή μας, όπως η πυρίτιδα, η πυξίδα, η τυπογραφία κ.α.

Στα μάτια των Ελλήνων αναγνωστών αυτοκρατορίες όπως η Ακκαδική, η Μογγολική αλλά και εκείνη των Αζτέκων, παραμένουν, εν πολλοίς, άγνωστες. Είναι, επομένως, ευτύχημα το γεγονός ότι ο P.S. τις συμπεριλαμβάνει στο βιβλίο του, επιτρέποντάς μας να τις γνωρίσουμε.

Ακόμη όμως και για αυτοκρατορίες οι οποίες είναι περισσότερο γνωστές, όπως αυτές που άκμασαν στον 20ο αιώνα, δηλαδή η Βρετανική, η Ρωσική και η Αμερικανική, ο συγγραφέας βρίσκει να μας πει κάτι το οποίο, ενδεχομένως, ούτε οι πιο διαβασμένοι από εμάς να έχουν ακούσει. Οι δύο τελευταίες, οι οποίες συμπεριλαμβάνονται ανάμεσα στις δέκα, είναι οι μεγαλύτερες αυτοκρατορίες στον κόσμο του ισλάμ: η αυτοκρατορία των Αράβων και των Οθωμανών.

Το βιβλίο περιλαμβάνει, ακόμη, έναν διαφωτιστικό πρόλογο, ο οποίος μας δίνει, μεταξύ άλλων, και τον ορισμό της αυτοκρατορίας και, αντί επιλόγου, τις προοπτικές για το μέλλον σχέση με την ύπαρξη κάποιας αυτοκρατορίας στον πλανήτη. Περιέχει έτσι και μία γεωπολιτική διάσταση.

Εν ολίγοις, πρόκειται για ένα πόνημα το οποίο μπορεί άνετα να διαβαστεί ακόμη και από μεγάλα παιδιά και νέους, αφού ο συγγραφέας, αν και προβαίνει που και που σε έξοχες κρίσεις των γεγονότων, δεν απομακρύνεται, εντούτοις πολύ από τον γεγονοτολογικό κορμό, με αποτέλεσμα να μην πλατειάζει με τον λόγο του.

[Amarjeet Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, there were chapters which were tremendously intriguing. The profoundness of the research and the clarity of the prose in these chapters was engaging as well as informative to say the least.

But for a book which deals with a subject as diverse and dynamic as history, Strathern's inability to stick to the topic at hand makes it more or less a child's read. Take for example his chapter on the Roman empire, it devolves into a reflection on proto-European/non-Roman society. The chapter on the Aztecs meanders off into abstract art with a slight essaying of how the Olmecs might had ended.

Needless to say, I was confounded as to what Strathern was trying to convey. For me, concluding the book was a relief. The only comprehensive chapter might be the conclusive chapter on modern USA.

Is this book readable? Maybe if your mind wanders helter-skelter even while reading. Otherwise, suffice to say that this book should only be utilized for skim reading and not serious research.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the basic premiss of this book - in fact my bookcase is filled with "Rise and Fall" books - but I was a bit wary how you would fit 10 empires into barely 250 pages. Indeed, Stathern barely scratches the surface each time he tackles a time period in this book and is generally all over the place in his musings. Nice try, but could have done with a longer preparation and an additional 200 pages.

[Andreea Borz · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reason I am giving this book 1 star is the deceitful title, otherwise it would have been a mediocre and extremly chaotic history book. I had the feeling that the author wanted to impress the readers with some very specific and useless history facts that had nothing to do with the subject of the book. I expected to discover at least the writer's perspective about the rise and fall of ten random empires. Instead of that, I didn't find any information that could justify the book's name.

[Muhammad Rizwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without going into too much depth, it gives you a cursory knowledge of at least 10 books all encapsulated into one place.

[Jim Athanas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice cohesive history book. I recommend it. Very nice writing.

[Gauthier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout the world, history was made by the rise and fall of empires. From the earliest recorded empire, the Akkadian Empire, to the last one, the American Empire, the author takes us through each one, explaining how they came to be, and how they came to cease to exist. The author points out the specificities of each empire, emphasizing achievements that could be qualified as positive or negative.

An interesting approach that is taken by the author is to provide us with a history of empires with relatively little emphasis on the military dimension. Empires were mostly made by military conquest, and military defeat often played a big role in their downfall. Yet, the author chose not to explore this in detail.
Another interesting choice is the fact that some famous empires were omitted. Alexander the Great's empire is not mentioned. Nor is the French empire, and neither is the Austro-Hungarian empire. Some of those were more short-lived than others, but they still had an impact on the world. I would be curious to know what led the author to come up with the list of empires he ended up with.

I like that the author did not attempt to sugar-coat his depiction of each empire. While he very much put forward the scientific, economic, and social achievements of each one, he also ensured to talk about the downside that often accompanied those achievements. When he talks about the British Empire, he certainly does not ignore its role in slavery. While doing so, he also gives us valuable insight that is very much relevant in our modern society. For example, one passage was of particular importance considering many heated debates nowadays on the history of colonial empires. The author reminds us that at the height of its power, the British Empire benefited only a minority of rich and influential people. The vast majority of British citizens did not collect any benefit from it. Their existence was mostly affected by the Industrial Revolution, where they would work in horrendous conditions. It is a reality that should not be forgotten today when we tend to take shortcuts with history.

Overall, this book is a great way to discover many of the most important empires that existed throughout history. Each chapter is well written and fairly short, containing a sufficiently detailed summary of the major characteristics of each empire. For experts, the book might not bring much added value. However, for the common mortal, it is a fun and fascinating read.

[Susan Brunner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book’s full title is Rise and Fall, A History of the World in Ten Empires. The most interesting comment I found was that empires based solely on power and domination, while allowing their subjects to do as they will, can last for centuries. Those that try to control the everyday lives of their people are much harder to sustain.

This book was a very easy read and does not bring up much in the way of new information for me, but then I have read a lot of history books. Why he includes the USA, I cannot say. Perhaps because a lot of people say it is decline, but only the future can really tell you this. I know that China desperately wants to replace US as the world power. But things do not always work out how you want. And, there is also that thing of being careful what you wish for.

Like it is said that the Holy Roman Empire was not Holy or Roman or an Empire, he said that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was not a union, not socialist, not ruled by soviets (worker’s committees) and was not a republic. It the Russian Empire in a different disguise and it was under autocratic rule just as it was under the Czars. Actually, you can say the same thing about Russian today with Putin in charge. He is the new Czar.

When he talks about American, he talks about the period of the Robber Barons like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, and Henry Ford. We seem to be in the same situation today and the Robber Barons are the owners of FAANGs.

It is interesting that there are only reviews on Amazon and Good Reads. I can find no reviews in any magazine or newspaper, although there are podcast reviews. Reviews on Amazon is here. The Good Reads reviews are here. A podcast is on Mixcloud.

There are no videos about this book or Paul Strathern that I can find.

[Bacchantetriste · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that gives you a taste of the history of each empire. Strathern masterfully focuses back and forth from the empire and era to its broader context in the course of human history. He doesn't make the common mistake of history books by assuming that you are already familiar with the topic. He explains each empire in detail, while still offering interesting anecdotes. I never once felt confused or bored while reading this book.

Strathern covers the "traditional" history of each empire, which those more knowledgable of the specifics may find issue with. For example, he states that syphilis was brought to Europe by Colombus, when the origin of the disease is debatable. Of course, this is going to be a problem with any book that attempts to explain a wide swath of cultures and time periods so we can forgive him for these oversights.

Overall, it's a great foundation for understanding the main concepts of each empire, and will inspire the reader to engage in future exploration.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Rise and Fall: The History of the World in Ten Empires” is a readable overview of what Strathern deems as the most influential empires in the history of the world. Strathern outlines major events in the history of each empire and links them to geographical, economic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds for each era. He describes how each empire differed from its predecessor and its effects on how future empires would conduct their domestic and international matters. I enjoyed seeing how Strathern organized the empires so that their stories flowed and supplemented each other. There were plenty of facts that I didn’t know that gripped my interest from the start and I appreciated the dry humour that was peppered in throughout the book.

[Riley C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Strathern’s story-telling voice though thought the book wandered at times too far from the central narrative. Strathern also would jump around by centuries sometimes, which made the historical development of an empire difficult to follow.

That said, his exploration of the ancient world, the Mongol Empire and the ancient Meso-american civilisations expanded my knowledge of history and were fascinating to read. His inclusion also of the USA and Britain as great world empires worth discussing connected today’s modern world to yesterday’s ancient one - a world characterised by the growth and decay, hubris and undoing, dreams and aspirations of different peoples around the globe, who sometimes founded great empires.

[Jason Pemberton · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some inaccurate information and some interesting opinions not backed by evidence littered throughout, however all in all not a bad book and gives a good comparison of imperial development.

However the most frustrating thing is the non chronological examinations for example it's jumps between dates like no tomorrow. My subject expertise lies around the British empire and it was hard for me to follow the development of the empire let alone someone new to the subject . This alone stops it from being 3 stars.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating but brief look at empires throughout history, from the Akkadians and Romans all the way to the British Empire and the modern dominance of America (an empire in all but name). The different forms of empires are explored; territorial, military, economic and political. The bite-sized chapters are there to whet the appetite and a good references and further reading section at the end allow for a more detailed exploration of the subject.