This collection, co-edited by CUNY professor Anna Lucille Boozer, demonstrates how archaeological research can contribute to our conceptualization of empires across disciplinary boundaries. Throughout history, a large portion of the world’s population has lived under imperial rule. Although scholars do not always agree on when and where the roots of imperialism lie, most would agree that imperial configurations have affected human history profoundly and continue to structure the modern world in many ways. This collection introduces work of the “next generation” of empire scholars in order to foster new theoretical and methodological perspectives that are of relevance within and beyond archaeology and to foreground empires as a cross-cultural category.