Introduction: Empires and communities in the post-Roman and Islamic World

In this introductory chapter, the question is raised of how exactly the complex issue of “empire” has been tackled in recent scholarship and how this research fits into the broader trend of comparative history and the Global Middle Ages. The approach taken in this volume, based on a pragmatic, mid-level comparison, is also explained, together with a critical look at the use and abuse of a number of potentially controversial concepts (such as “ethnicity”, “religion”, but also “the Middle Ages”) which do not readily lend themselves to comparison. This introduction also includes a brief overview of the chapters in the collection, and how they fit together.