The first hegemon : the great Persian empire from Cyrus to Alexander Tolerance in Rome's high empire : gladiators, togas, and imperial glue China's golden age : the mix-blooded Tang dynasty The great Mongol empire : cosmopolitan barbarians The "purification" of medieval Spain : inquisition, expulsion, and the price of intolerance The Dutch world empire : diamonds, damask, and every "mongrel sect in Christendom" Tolerance and intolerance in the East : the Ottoman, Ming, and Mughal empires The British empire : "rebel buggers" and the "white man's burden" The American hyperpower : tolerance and the microchip The rise and fall of the Axis Powers : the strategic price of intolerance The challengers : China, the European Union, and India in the twenty-first century The day of empire : lessons of history
