In and around a former empire (4)
I believe the answer is:
inca
'former empire' is the definition.
(historical South American empire)
'in and around a' is the wordplay.
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'around' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa').
'in'+'c'+'a'='INCA'
(Other definitions for inca that I've seen before include "Member of old South American Indian people of Peru" , "Ancient Peruvian like Cain" , "Early Peruvian" , "Pre-conquest South American people" , "Member of old Peruvian Indian race" .)