Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
List of maps, figures, and tables
Notes on contributors
Chronology
Maps
Walter Scheidel: Introduction
1.: Walter Scheidel: From the "Great Convergence" to the "First Great Divergence:" Roman and Qin Han State Formation and its Aftermath
2.: Nathan Rosenstein: War, State Formation, and the Evolution of Military Institutions in Ancient China and Rome
3.: Karen Turner: Law and Punishment in the Formation of Empire
4.: Maria Dettenhofer: Eunuchs, Women, and Imperial Courts
5.: Peter Fibiger Bang: Commanding and Consuming the World: Empire, Tribute, and Trade in Roman and Chinese History
6.: Mark Edward Lewis: Gift Circulation and Charity in the Han and Roman Empires
7.: Walter Scheidel: The Monetary Systems of the Han and Roman Empires
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Walter Scheidel is Professor of Classics and, by courtesy, History at Stanford University.

Reviews

"The book is an admmirable demonstration of the great potential that lies in comparative analysis of the Greco-Roman world and Ancient China. It is hoped that this book will form the basis for more, exciting, comparative research, which will surely broaden the horizons of Ancient history beyond its current compartmentalization and excessive departmentalization." --Bryn Mawr Classical Review