Taking the figure of the obelisk as its focus, this talk explores the dynamic, performative, and commemorative dimensions of empire. Over time and across cultures, obelisks have come to anchor ceremonial practices across such broad centers as New Kingdom Egypt, Augustan Rome, Byzantine Constantinople (New Rome), and Ottoman Kostantiniyye (Istanbul). By considering the dynamic relationship between concrete and ephemeral performances of imperial ritual, this talk insists on a diachronic perspective for viewing the interactions of empires through their monuments, monuments that endure today as anchors for present politics.