Synopsis
This is the first in a trilogy of books to explore the Eurasian borderlands as contested 'shatter zones' which have generated some of the world's most significant conflicts. Analysing the struggles of the Habsburg, Russian, Ottoman, Iranian and Qing Empires, Alfred Rieber surveys the period from the rise of the great multicultural, conquest empires in the late medieval/early modern period to their collapse in the early twentieth century. He charts how these empires expanded along moving, military frontiers, competing with one another in war, diplomacy and cultural practices whilst the subjugated peoples of the borderlands strove to maintain their cultures and defend their autonomy. The gradual and fragmentary adaptation of western constitutional ideas, military reforms, cultural practices and economic penetration began to undermine these ruling ideologies and institutions leading to the collapse of all five empires in revolution and war within little more than a decade between 1911 and 1923.
