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