Power in Stone: Cities as Symbols of Empire [Hardcover]

From ancient Persia to the Third Reich, imperial powers have built cities in their image, seeking to reflect their power and influence through a show of magnificence and a reflection of their values. Statues, pictures, temples, palacesall combine to produce the necessary justification for the wielding of power while intimidating opponents. In?Power in Stone, Geoffrey Parker traces the very nature of power through history by exploring the structural symbolism of these cities.
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Traveling from Persepolis to Constantinople, Saint Petersburg to Beijing and Delhi, Parker considers how these structures and monuments were brought together to make the most powerful statement and how that power was wielded to the greatest advantage. He examines imperial leaders, their architects, and their engineers to create a new understanding of the relationship among buildings, design, and power. He concludes with a look at the changing nature of power in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries and the way this is reflected symbolically in contemporary buildings and urban plans. With illuminating images,?Power in Stone?is a fascinating history of some of the worlds most intriguing cities, past and present.

Geoffrey Parkeris an honorary senior research fellow in the Institute of Advanced Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. He is the author ofGeopolitics: Past, Present and Futureand ReaktionsSovereign City.?

Note on Spelling
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Prologue: Symbols of Power
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1. Persepolis and the Persian Empire
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2. Three Romes: City-state,Imperiumand Christian Capital
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3. Constantinople and the New Lords of the Golden Horn
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4. From Karakorum to Shakhrisabz: Centres of Power of the Imperial Nomads
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5. Power over East Asia: The Forbidden City and the Middle Kingdom
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6. Power over South Asia: The Seven Cities of Delhi and theSaptuslc9