Introduction: If the end were near, what would you do?
The Persian empire: today a shell of its great past
The Roman empires: yes, it really burned
The Byzantine empire: officially Christian
The Arab empire: Muhammad's followers
The Spanish empire: how the mighty doth fall
The Ottoman empire: winners and losers
The British empire: where the sun never sets
The Russian empire: from orthodoxy to communism
The United States: 1776-?
Appendix 2: A prophet ignored
Appendix 3: The prophet's second warning.