The empires of the past were far-flung experiments in multinationalism and multiculturalism, and have much to teach us about navigating our own increasingly globalized and interconnected world. Until now, most recent scholarship on empires has focused on their subject peoples. Visions of Empire looks at their rulers, shedding critical new light on who they were, how they justified their empires, how they viewed themselves, and the styles of rule they adopted toward their subjects.
Krishan Kumar provides panoramic and multifaceted portraits of five major European empires--Ottoman, Habsburg, Russian/Soviet, British, and French--showing how each, like ancient Rome, saw itself as the carrier of universal civilization to the rest of the world. Sometimes these aims were couched in religious terms, as with Islam for the Ottomans or Catholicism for the Habsburgs. Later, the imperial missions took more secular forms, as with British political traditions or the world communism of the Soviets.
Visions of Empire offers new insights into the interactions between rulers and ruled, revealing how empire was as much a shared enterprise as a clash of oppositional interests. It explores how these empires differed from nation-states, particularly in how the ruling peoples of empires were forced to downplay or suppress their own national or ethnic identities in the interests of the long-term preservation of their rule. This compelling and in-depth book demonstrates how the rulers of empire, in their quest for a universal world order, left behind a legacy of multiculturalism and diversity that is uniquely relevant for us today.

The empires of the past were far-flung experiments in multinationalism and multiculturalism, and they have much to teach us about navigating our own increasingly globalized world. Visions of Empire sheds critical new light on their rulers—who they were, how they justified their empires, how they viewed themselves, and the styles of rule they adopted toward their subjects. Krishan Kumar provides panoramic and multifaceted portraits of five major European empires—Ottoman, Habsburg, Russian/Soviet, British, and French—showing how each, like ancient Rome, saw itself as the carrier of civilization to the rest of the world. This compelling book demonstrates how the rulers of empire, in their quest for a universal world order, left behind a legacy of multiculturalism and diversity that is uniquely relevant for us today.
"Kumar . . . argues persuasively that studying historical empires, with their diverse subject populations, far-flung networks, and complex political hierarchies, can provide insight into our globalized present. . . . A judiciously argued and useful survey for any student of empire."
—Publishers Weekly
"In this excellent book, Kumar compares the histories of the Ottoman, Russian/Soviet, Habsburg, British, and French empires."
—Choice
"[An] eloquent, even-handed, engaging and tremendously well-informed account of empires."
—Jennifer Pitts, Times Literary Supplement
"An excellent and thought-provoking work that is based on great erudition and is cast in a very readable style."
—Kees Boterbloem, Russian Review
"[T]his book is an important contribution to the new trend in the history of empires, and should become part of the reading list in many advanced courses inmodern history."
—Alexey Miller, Slavic Review
"Anyone researching how monarchs, proconsuls, administrative and social elites, artists, and intellectuals legitimized these empires (at least among themselves) and contemporary legacies for these state-bearing peoples could do no better than start with this book."
—Luke Gibbon, H-Net Reviews
“Kumar . . . argues persuasively that studying historical empires, with their diverse subject populations, far-flung networks, and complex political hierarchies, can provide insight into our globalized present. . . . A judiciously argued and useful survey for any student of empire.”—Publishers Weekly
“[An] excellent book.”—Choice
“[An] eloquent, even-handed, engaging and tremendously well-informed account of empires.”—Jennifer Pitts, Times Literary Supplement
“An excellent and thought-provoking work that is based on great erudition and is cast in a very readable style.”—Kees Boterbloem, Russian Review
“There is no doubt that this is a masterly piece of scholarship. The book utilises the most up-to-date studies of individual empires to develop a unique, sociologically grounded, synthesis that is full of new insights and critical analyses of existing historical accounts. . . . Krishan Kumar has written an outstanding contribution that will appeal to a wide range of audiences.”—Siniša Malešević, Thesis Eleven