Studies In Ancient Persian History

Studies in Ancient Persian History

Studies in Ancient Persian History (RLE Iran A)

This volume lays the foundation of a “correct” view of ancient Persian history, which, in the author’s opinion, had hitherto been approached from a “biased standpoint.” It presents a survey of ancient and modern historians such as Gibbon, Malcolm and Rawlinson and critiques their work – either for having too much partiality for Greek and Latin writers, not being conversant with the literature of the East or not doing justice to the ancient Persians. Arab and Persian historians are also discussed and social, literary, legal, religious, economic and political questions examined.

Ancient Persia

The Achaemenid Persian Empire, at its greatest territorial extent under Darius I (r.522–486 BCE), held sway over territory stretching from the Indus River Valley to southeastern Europe and from the western Himalayas to northeast Africa. In this book, Matt Waters gives a detailed historical overview of the Achaemenid period while considering the manifold interpretive problems historians face in constructing and understanding its history. This book offers a Persian perspective even when relying on Greek textual sources and archaeological evidence. Waters situates the story of the Achaemenid Persians in the context of their predecessors in the mid-first millennium BCE and through their successors after the Macedonian conquest, constructing a compelling narrative of how the empire retained its vitality for more than two hundred years (c.550–330 BCE) and left a massive imprint on Middle Eastern as well as Greek and European history.