Abstract
World-systems are intersocietal interaction networks in which culturally different peoples are strongly linked together by trade, political–military engagement and information flows. This chapter presents an overview of research on city and empire growth/decline phases and new evidence on the relationship between urban growth and the rise and fall of empires in six regions that once contained substantially separate world-systems. We find that empires and cities grow and decline together in some regions, but not others, and we examine the temporal correlations between growth/ decline phases of largest and second largest cities and empires within regions. Do large empires grow at the expense of other large states within a region or are there periods of regional growth in which states (and cities) are growing together?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alvarez, Alexis. 2003. “Cycles of Primacy in Afroeurasia: 200–1850 CE.” Department of Sociology University of California, Riverside <http://home.earthlink.net/~alexisalvarez/propaper.htm>.
Bairoch, Paul. 1988. Cities and Economic Development: From the Dawn of History to the Present. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Barfield, Thomas J. 1989. The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Bosworth, Andrew. 2000. “The Evolution of the World City System, 3000 B.C.E to A.D 2000.” In Robert A. Denemark et al. (eds.), World System History, pp. 273–284. London: Routledge.
Brown, Barton M. 1987. “Population Estimation from Floor Area.” Behavior Science Research 21: 1–49.
Chandler, Tertius. 1987. Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellon Press.
Chase-Dunn, Christopher. 1985. “The System of World Cities: A.D. 800–1975.” In Michael Timberlake (ed.), Urbanization in the World-Economy, pp. 269–292. New York: Academic Press.
—. 1992. “The Changing Role of Cities in World-Systems.” In Volker Bornschier and Peter Lengyel (eds.), Waves, Formations and Values in the World System, pp. 51–88. World Society Studies, volume 2, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
— and Alice Willard. 1993. “Systems of Cities and World-Systems: Settlement Size Hierarchies and Cycles of Political Centralization, 2000 B.C–1988 A.D.” A paper presented at the International Studies Association meeting, March 24–27, Acapulco. <http://www.irows.ucr.edu/papers/irows5/irows5.htm>.
— and Thomas D. Hall. 1997. Rise and Demise: Comparing World-Systems. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
— Susan Manning, and Thomas D. Hall. 2000. “Rise and Fall: East-West Synchrony and Indic Exceptionalism Reexamined.” Social Science History 24, 4: 727–754.
— Daniel Pasciuti, and Alexis Alvarez. 2005. “The Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian World-Systems.” Forthcoming in Barry Gills and William R. Thompson (eds.), The Evolution of Macrohistorical Systems. London: Routledge. <http://www.irows.ucr.edu/papers/irows14/irows14.htm>.
Kirch, Patrick V. 1984. The Evolution of Polynesian Chiefdoms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kowalewski, Stephen A. 1982. “The Evolution of Primate Regional Systems.” Comparative Urban Research 9, 1: 60–78.
Mann, Michael. 1986. The Sources of Social Power: A History of Power from the Beginning to A.D. 1760. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marfoe, Leon. 1987. “Cedar Forest and Silver Mountain: Social Change and the Development of Long-Distance Trade in Early Near Eastern Societies,” In M. Rowlands et al. Centre and Periphery in the Ancient World, pp. 25–35. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Modelski, George. 1999. “Ancient World Cities 4000–1000 B.C: Centre/Hinterland in the World System.” Global Society 13, 4: 383–392.
— 2003. World Cities, —3000 to 2000. Washington, DC: Faros, 2000.
Pasciuti, Daniel. 2003. “A Measurement Error Model for Estimating the Populations of Cities.” <http://irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/estcit/modpop/modcitpop.htm>.
Stein, Gil J. 1999. Rethinking World-Systems: Diasporas, Colonies and Interaction in Uruk Mesopotamia. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Taagepera, Rein. 1978a. “Size and Duration of Empires: Systematics of Size.” Social Science Research 7: 108–127.
—. 1978b. “Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 3000 to 600 B.C.” Social Science Research 7: 180–196.
—. 115–138.
— .1997. “Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia.” International Studies Quarterly 41, 3: 475–504.
Teggart, Frederick J. 1939. Rome and China: A Study of Correlations in Historical Events. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Turchin, Peter. 2003. Historical Dynamics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Walters, Pamela Barnhouse. 1985. “Systems of Cities and Urban Primacy: Problems of Definition and Measurement.” In Michael Timberlake (ed.), Urbanization in the World-Economy, pp. 63–86. New York: Academic Press.
Wilkinson, David. 1987. “Central Civilization.” Comparative Civilizations Review 17: 31–59.
—. 1992a. “Decline Phases in Civilizations, Regions and Oikumenes.” A paper presented at the annual meetings of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, GA. April 1–4.
— 1992b. “Cities, Civilizations and Oikumenes: I.” Comparative Civilizations Review 27: 51–87 (Fall).
—. 1993. “Cities, Civilizations and Oikumenes: II.” Comparative Civilizations Review 28.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2005 Christopher Chase-Dunn and E. N. Anderson
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chase-Dunn, C., Álvarez, A., Pasciuti, D. (2005). Power and Size: Urbanization and Empire Formation in World-Systems Since the Bronze Age. In: Chase-Dunn, C., Anderson, E.N. (eds) The Historical Evolution of World-Systems. The Evolutionary Processes in World Politics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403980526_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403980526_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-52926-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-8052-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)