Showing results for "Empires" in Politics & Activism

In 1526, when the nomadic Timurid warrior-scholar Babur rode into Hindustan, his wives, sisters, daughters, aunts and distant female relatives travelled with him. These women would help establish a dynasty and empire that would rule India for the next 200 years and become a byword for opulence and grandeur. In Daughters of the Sun, we meet remarkable characters like Khanzada Begum who, at 65, rode on horseback through 750 kilometres of icy passes and unforgiving terrain to parley on behalf of her nephew, Humayun....

Alexander the Great-one of the most renowned figures in antiquity-has inspired everything from medieval romances to blockbuster movies, and military leaders from Julius Caesar to Napoleon to the U.S. general Norman Schwarzkopf. But who was this great king of Macedon? And why is he so legendary? These 36 spellbinding lectures take you deep inside the world of Alexander to witness the astonishing feats of military genius that made his name renowned for millennia after his death.

Few families can boast of not one but two saints among their ancestors, a great-aunt who was the last tsarina of Russia, a father who was Grace Kelly's pinup, and a grandmother who was not only a princess but could also argue the finer points of naval law. Pamela Mountbatten entered a remarkable family when she was born at the very end of the Roaring Twenties.

The Mongol queens of the thirteenth century ruled the greatest empire the world has ever known. Yet sometime near the end of the century, censors cut a section from The Secret History of the Mongols, leaving a single tantalizing quote from Genghis Khan: “Let us reward our female offspring.”...

Were World Wars I and II–which can now be seen as a thirty-year paroxysm of slaughter and destruction–inevitable? Were they necessary wars? Were the bloodiest and most devastating conflicts ever suffered by mankind fated by forces beyond man’s control? Or were they products of calamitous...

One of our finest narrative historians, and journalist for the Sunday Times and Literary Review, Lawrence James, has written a genuinely new biography of Winston Churchill, set within a fully detailed historical context, but solely focusing on his relationship with the British Empire. As a young army officer in the late 19th century, Churchill's first experience of the Empire was serving in conflicts in India, South Africa and the Sudan.

Wright's long imperial career delicately balanced dual loyalties to Crown and colony and offers a new perspective on loyalism and the American Revolution. Through this lens, Greg Brooking connects several important contexts in recent early American and British scholarship, including imperial and Atlantic history, Indigenous borderlands, race and slavery, and popular politics.

The Kennedys in the World tells a new, rich, fascinating, and consequential story about Jack, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy. From an early age the brothers developed a deep understanding of the different peoples, cultures, and ideologies around the world; a keen appreciation for the challenges that such differences created for the United States; and a strong desire to reshape America's response to them.

When Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558, England was the laughing stock of Europe. Economic, political, and religious calamities were numerous, and Elizabeth endured constant criticism. But by the end of her 45-year reign, England was one of the world's mightiest nations. Axelrod uses the legendary Queen's life as a model for modern leadership, and a powerful example of how one person can make an extraordinary difference. Elizabeth I CEO is an indispensable guide for today's business managers and leaders. It is also an inspiring listen for those taking their first steps up the corporate ladder, or those who simply love history. Nelson Runger's narration gives a renewed energy to Elizabeth's lessons, which are as relevant today as they were four centuries ago.

Two-time New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly opens up about his remarkable life, taking us inside fifty years of law enforcement leadership, offering chilling stories of terrorist plots after 9/11, and sharing his candid insights into the challenges and controversies cops face today. The...

A striking, nuanced biography of Nero—the controversial populist ruler and last of the Caesars—and a vivid portrait of ancient Rome “Exciting and provocative . . . Nero is a pleasure to read.”—Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian...

Les Presses Universitaires de France et Frémeaux & Associés proposent cette biographie de Napoléon III, par Xavier Mauduit, chroniqueur radio et docteur en histoire spécialiste du Second Empire. Napoléon III, empereur des Français, est un personnage complexe dont la postérité est entachée par la violence de ses détracteurs ; "Napoléon le Petit", "nain immonde" viennent sous la plume de Victor Hugo marquer à jamais les esprits. Pourtant, à la tête d'un bonapartisme réfléchi et populaire, Louis-Napoléon conquiert le cœur des Français, et entame une politique forte de modernisation, de grands travaux et d'essor de la France sur la scène internationale.

Pocos nacimientos reales fueron tan esperados como el de este poderoso rey español. Hijo de la famosa Juana "la Loca" y de Felipe "el Hermoso", su llegada al poder marcó un hecho sin precedentes, ya que unió los territorios de Borgoña, el Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico, el Tiro, los estados de Austria, Bohemia y Hungría. España y, posteriormente las Indias occidentales.

The Russian Empire was the third-largest empire in world history, stretching over three continents. It played a major role in 1812-1814 in defeating Napoleon's ambitions to control Europe and expanded to the west and south. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea in the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean, and (until 1867) into Alaska in North America in the east. Its wide disparities bred dissidence and rebellions; along with its enormous size, this made it a challenge to govern.

Felipe IV de Austria, llamado el Grande o Rey Planeta fue el rey de España hasta su muerte en diciembre de 1640. Su reinado de 44 años y 170 días fue el más largo de la casa de Austria. Al igual que su padre, cedió los asuntos de Estado a validos, entre los que destacó Gaspar de Guzmán, conde Luque de Olivares, quien realizó una enérgica política exterior que buscaba mantener la hegemonía española en Europa.

Felipe IV de Austria fue rey de España entre 1605 y 1665, quien tras su ascensión al trono con escasos dieciséis años, hizo todo lo posible por rodearse de hombres muy capaces, como su aliado, el famoso conde-duque de Olivares. Sin embargo, la decisión de conferirle el poder a un solo cortesano acarrearía terribles consecuencias tanto para el monarca como para sus dominios, en una época de desconcierto y grandes conflictos en el Viejo Mundo.

Alexander II was Emperor of Russia from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. He is remembered as Alexander the Liberator, as he led the emancipation of Russia's serfs; during his reign, he kept seeking peace, although the context of the surrounding countries was proving more and more difficult. Although he went down in history as a reformer, his actions were too little too late for the revolutionaries of late imperial Russia, who managed to assassinate him in 1881.

Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état when her husband, Peter III, was assassinated. Under her reign, Russia was revitalised; it grew larger and stronger, and was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe. Discover the life and struggles of one of the most influential rulers through this precise, clear and thorough presentation.

Ivan IV the Terrible was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, then Tsar of All Russia until his death in 1584. He transformed Russia from a medieval state into an empire, though at immense cost to its people, and its broader, long-term economy. He was described as intelligent and devout, yet given to rages and prone to episodic outbreaks of mental instability that increased with his age. In one such outburst, he killed his son and heir Ivan Ivanovich, which left his younger son, pious but politically ineffectual, to inherit the throne.

Alexander III was Emperor of Russia from 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly conservative and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II. He was a pacifist, focused on the protection of his people; mostly seen as lacking refinement and elegance, he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his subjects. Discover the life and struggles of this influential ruler through this precise, clear and thorough presentation.