Bureaucracy: Did you mean...?

The Asuka Period (Asuka Jidai) of ancient Japan covers the period from 538 CE to 710 CE and, following on from the Kofun Period (c. 250-538 CE), so constitutes the latter part of the Yamato Period (c. 250-710 CE). For some scholars...

The Supreme August Jade Emperor is the supreme deity of Chinese tradition and is otherwise known as Yuhuang Shangdi (Yu-huang Shang-ti), Yudi (Yu Ti) or Mr. Heaven (Lao-t'ien ye). He governs the cosmos and resides in a magnificent...

The Kikuyu people (aka Gikuyu or Agikuyu) are a Bantu-speaking people who occupied territory in what is today central Kenya in East Africa from the 17th century onwards. They established themselves primarily as agriculturalists...

Gustavus Adolphus (l. 1594-1632; r. 1611-1632) was the King of Sweden who elevated his country to a major power in the 17th century. He also is traditionally recognized as the "Father of Modern Warfare" for his military innovations...

Mahmud II was one of the most influential sultans of the Ottoman Empire. As a radical reformer, he strove to implement military and governmental reforms to prevent the empire from collapsing. His removal...

The Achaemenid Persian Empire functioned as well as it did because of the efficient bureaucracy established by its founder Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530 BCE) which was administered through the satrapy system. A Persian...

Chinese literature is among the most imaginative and interesting in the world. The precision of the language results in perfectly realized images whether in poetry or prose and, as with all great literature, the themes are timeless...

Heiankyo (Kyoto), located in the centre of Honshu island, was the capital of Japan for over a thousand years and gave its name to one of the golden ages of Japanese history, the Heian Period (794-1185 CE). Built according to Chinese...

The quaestor ("the one who asks questions") was the oldest and lowest office on the cursus honorum, or "path of honor" in ancient Rome. Considered a stepping stone to higher office in the Roman government, the duties of the quaestor...

An audiencia began as a judicial institution in medieval Spain, but in the 16th century, it was applied as the highest form of local government in key cities of the Spanish Empire. An audiencia had a panel of judges made responsible...