Includes bibliographical references and index.

Building the realm of Islam -- Word and sword in the making of Christian Europe -- Spain and Catholic empire in the New World -- Islam in India -- Settler society and populist imperialism -- Nationalizing states and traitor peoples in the shatter zone of empires -- The contradictions of racial empire.

Print version record.

For centuries conquerors, missionaries, and political movements acting in the name of a single god, nation, or race have sought to remake human identities. Tracing the rise of exclusive forms of identity over the past 1500 years, this innovative book explores both the creation and destruction of exclusive identities. Benjamin Lieberman focuses on two critical phases of world history: the age of holy war and conversion, and the age of nationalism and racism. He convincingly shows that efforts to transplant and expand new identities have paradoxically generated long periods of.