It's a story-concept that spoke to me very personally. But it is also the experience of many, many people right now, who either choose or are forced into assimilation into a larger, more dominant and oppressive culture - and how that assimilation is never total, always conditional, never complete. barbarian concept that Teixcalaan is based on is from Rome, and Byzantium (which is still Rome, according to Byzantines). Unavoidable, like McDonald's and Hollywood movies.Īnd my development of the civilized vs. It's not just a military power - it's a pervasive cultural one. Some Mongol steppe empire, certainly - the Emperor's Sworn Band concept is straight from Central Asian modes of political governance - but more importantly, there's a lot of American cultural imperialism in how Teixcalaan spreads itself across the galaxy. What other cultures are in the mix? The way the Teixcalaanli treat outsiders seems like it has some real world resonances. And also I wanted to pull away from the elements of Christian theology which are deeply embedded into Byzantine imperialism, and one of the ways I did that was to design a religion that was based on blood sacrifice (though, in the period of this book, Teixcalaan is a long way away from any actual human sacrifice practices, though they're drifting around in the background.)'

'The world of Teixcalaan isn't Byzantium, and it isn't the Mexica, and it isn't any of the other cultures I added in, but I wanted to look outside of what I knew best, see what other imperial structures with a universalizing we-are-the-center-of-the-world ideology could add to my conceptions of empire and its functions. 'I wanted to think about empires that were conquest-oriented, that were war-and-sacrifice oriented, and that led me to the Mexica - the Triple Alliance of the Aztecs,' she tells me in an email conversation. Martine's Teixcalaanli Empire has overtones of Byzantium and the Aztecs, among other cultures.

It's the story of an ambassador from a small, independent space station on the edge of a huge, devouring galactic empire, who arrives in the imperial capital and is almost immediately launched on a wild ride of intrigue, courtly manners, poetry and plotting.

How?īefore she was a novelist (and occasional NPR contributor), Arkady Martine was a Byzantine historian and an apprentice city planner - and that expertise is on display in her new book A Memory Called Empire. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title A Memory Called Empire Author Arkady Martine

A memory called empire arkady martine