ABSTRACT
To shed light on the relationship between cities and empires, this chapter proposes a new conceptualization of the term “imperial city.” In existing historiography, the term “imperial city” has been used with several different and often contradictory meanings. Often it is understood as the metropolitan counterpart of the so-called colonial city. This chapter, however, questions the sharp distinction between colonial and imperial cities by identifying many cases in which these categories overlapped or shared common characteristics. In the specific context of the Tsarist, Ottoman, and Habsburg Empires and their cities, the dichotomy of “colonial” and “imperial cities” is even less useful, as continental empires do not have a clear border between metropolis and colonies. This chapter, therefore, suggests a new convention that understands the imperial city rather as a research perspective that can be applied to all towns and cities that are shaped by the imperial character of the state or contribute to the latter’s imperial form, regardless of their size and location. It demonstrates how this proposed perspective can help to unveil neglected aspects of the relationship between Eastern Europe’s empires and their cities.
