The core issue of the commission’s work are four international conferences that are partially held in cooperation with other ongoing major projects. Although the chronologic focus of these events lies on the ancient worlds of Afro-Eurasia, the comparison with later eras will be a central issue. This universal historical approach has proved to be successful concerning studies with respect to the historic phenomenon of “empire” which have been carried out so far. This aspect beyond the usual scope of Antiquity, i.e. later eras, is guaranteed by initial comparative presentations in order to offer transdisciplinary discussions.