ABSTRACT

This work suggests that empires do not have to be state-led by arguing that religious-political organizations can also create their own imperial demesnes. Moreover, it argues that there are additional ways for empires to expand other than conquest (through gift, purchase and lease), and that empires do not have to be large. By drawing attention to a variety of players and methods of expansion it re-thinks our understanding of what empires are. It focuses upon the history of the Medieval Knights of St John who formed autonomous states on Rhodes and Malta; yet to underscore the continuing significance of this religious-imperial nexus it also briefly draws attention to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the Middle East.

摘要

这项工作表明，帝国不必由宗教信仰组织也可以建立自己的帝国统治来由国家领导。此外，它认为，除了征服之外（通过礼物，购买和租赁），帝国还有其他扩展方式，并且帝国不必很大。通过吸引人们关注各种参与者和扩张方法，它重新思考了我们对帝国的理解。它着重介绍了在罗得岛和马耳他成立自治州的圣约翰中世纪骑士的历史。然而，这突显了这一宗教-帝国关系的持续意义，同时也短暂地引起了人们对中东伊斯兰国伊拉克和叙利亚的关注。