Winner of the 2008 Wolfson History Prize for excellence in historical writing. Tamerlane, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Manchus, the British, the Japanese, the Nazis, and the Soviets: All built empires meant to last forever; all were to fail. But, as John Darwin shows in this magisterial book, their empire-building created the world we know today. From the death of Tamerlane in 1405, to America's rise to world "hyperpower, " to the resurgence of China and India as global economic powers, "After Tamerlane "is a grand historical narrative that offers a new perspective on the past, present, and future of empires.