The most interesting political character of the ending 19th century was undoubtedly the young man who filled the throne of the German Empire. Americans are so used to seeing young men filling important positions and administering great trusts that the mere question of age seems less important than it might be to members of other nationalities. But a man in his thirty-third year was unquestionably young to fill one of the highest yet almost irresponsible positions in the world. His opinions and actions were of vital significance to not merely his own subjects, but to the general interests of mankind, especially when it is remembered that he was the commander-in-chief of the most powerful of European armies, in discipline and organisation if not in mere numbers, and that his will and order could have set the world on fire. Hitherto he has, moreover, shown himself to be a man of no mean ability, very different from the non-entities that usually fill thrones, and his vast political power was enhanced by intellectual capacity of no mean order, backed by an imperious will. He seemed, in fact, on one side of his character at least, to be an ideal ruler. The present work is intended to give its readers a rapid view of the young Emperor's character and public action, with so much of history and political review as may be needed to a full sketch of a personage of such weight and value, and of the conditions in which he himself and his great empire were placed.

India during the reign of the Great Mogul.

In this book, McEvoy explodes the myth that the remarkable phenomenon of the late Roman child-emperor reflected mere dynastic sentiment or historical accident. Tracing the course of the frequently tumultuous, but nevertheless lengthy, reigns of young western emperors in the years AD 367-455, she looks at the way in which the sophistication of the Roman system made their accessions and survival possible. The book highlights how these reigns allowed for individual generals to dominate the Roman state and in what manner the crucial role of Christianity, together with the vested interests of various factions within the imperial elite, contributed to a transformation of the imperial image - enabling and facilitating the adaptation of existing imperial ideology to portray boys as young as six as viable rulers. It also analyses the struggles which ensued upon a child-emperor reaching adulthood and seeking to take up functions which had long been delegated during his childhood. Through the phenomenon of child-emperor rule, McEvoy demonstrates the major changes taking place in the nature of the imperial office in late antiquity, which had significant long-term impacts upon the way the Roman state came to be ruled and, in turn, the nature of rulership in the early medieval and Byzantine worlds to follow.

The most interesting political character of the ending 19th century was undoubtedly the young man who filled the throne of the German Empire. Americans are so used to seeing young men filling important positions and administering great trusts that the mere question of age seems less important than it might be to members of other nationalities. But a man in his thirty-third year was unquestionably young to fill one of the highest yet almost irresponsible positions in the world. His opinions and actions were of vital significance to not merely his own subjects, but to the general interests of mankind, especially when it is remembered that he was the commander-in-chief of the most powerful of European armies, in discipline and organisation if not in mere numbers, and that his will and order could have set the world on fire. Hitherto he has, moreover, shown himself to be a man of no mean ability, very different from the non-entities that usually fill thrones, and his vast political power was enhanced by intellectual capacity of no mean order, backed by an imperious will. He seemed, in fact, on one side of his character at least, to be an ideal ruler. The present work is intended to give its readers a rapid view of the young Emperor's character and public action, with so much of history and political review as may be needed to a full sketch of a personage of such weight and value, and of the conditions in which he himself and his great empire were placed.

A rescue mission becomes a quest for survival. At the turn of the century nature became man's greatest enemy and threatened the survival of mankind and especially of the Emperor's bloodline. Earth became inhabitable at night. Scientists discovered a membrane above earth.