Book excerpt: In search of an explanation of how a sense of ethnic identity evolves to create the concept of nation, Armstrong analyzes Islamic and Christian cultures from antiquity to the nineteenth century. He explores the effects of institutions--the city, imperial polity, bureaucratic imperatives of centralization, and language divisions--on the development of ethnicity. Political science furnishes the focus, anthropology and sociology provide the conceptual framework, and history affords the evidence. Originally published 1982. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.