The Persians
Lost Civilizations
Geoffrey Parker, Brenda ParkerThe captivating story of an advanced ancient civilization, the Persians.
Now available in paperback, The Persians tells the story of this cultured ancient civilization, tracing the unique features of Persian life as well as their influence down the centuries. This book describes the difficulties early Persians encountered and how such challenges contributed to their unique character and the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire. It recounts the keenly fought conflicts with the Greeks for mastery of the Eastern Mediterranean, a contest which was to dominate the geopolitics of the ancient world, and it paints a vivid picture of the many great Persian cities and the civilization's spectacular achievements: an efficient road system that linked an empire together; respect for subject peoples; and advances in irrigation techniques that created a ‘paradise’ envied by its neighbours.
The captivating story of an advanced ancient civilization, the Persians.
Now available in paperback, The Persians tells the story of this cultured ancient civilization, tracing the unique features of Persian life as well as their influence down the centuries. This book describes the difficulties early Persians encountered and how such challenges contributed to their unique character and the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire. It recounts the keenly fought conflicts with the Greeks for mastery of the Eastern Mediterranean, a contest which was to dominate the geopolitics of the ancient world, and it paints a vivid picture of the many great Persian cities and the civilization's spectacular achievements: an efficient road system that linked an empire together; respect for subject peoples; and advances in irrigation techniques that created a ‘paradise’ envied by its neighbours.
The captivating story of an advanced ancient civilization, the Persians.
Now available in paperback, The Persians tells the story of this cultured ancient civilization, tracing the unique features of Persian life as well as their influence down the centuries. This book describes the difficulties early Persians encountered and how such challenges contributed to their unique character and the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire. It recounts the keenly fought conflicts with the Greeks for mastery of the Eastern Mediterranean, a contest which was to dominate the geopolitics of the ancient world, and it paints a vivid picture of the many great Persian cities and the civilization's spectacular achievements: an efficient road system that linked an empire together; respect for subject peoples; and advances in irrigation techniques that created a ‘paradise’ envied by its neighbours.
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The second in the Lost Civilizations series, The Persians is also a compact, concise history of a whole civilisation – from its nomadic origins in the 1st and 2nd millennia BC to its new role as a tourist destination as modern-day Iran . . . Tellingly, the book’s useful chronology ends in 2001 with the destruction of the Twin Towers. Today, Iran’s power and influence is far from waning
'Minerva Magazine
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Anyone looking for a concise overview of Iranian history from pre-Islamic times to the present could do worse than consult this elegantly written volume
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Chronology
Preface: lost and found
Origins: the land and the people
The achaemenid dynasty
The achievements of the achaemenids
Cyrus the Great in history and legend
Persepolis: city, throne and power
Thus Spake Zarathustra: religion and empire
Paradise gained
Alexander of Macedon and the Hellenistic interlude
Empire revived: the Sasanids
Islamic Persia and Persian Islam
From Persepolis to Samarkand: the Persian legacy in central Asia
Paradise if Bliss: the Persian Legacy in India from the Timurids to the Mughals
Cyrus with Golden Caviar: the Last dynasty salutes the first
From Shahyad to Azadi: the Islamic Republic and the Ancient Legacy
Lost in Translation?
The first superpower?
Conclusion: power and paradise
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Photo acknowledgements
Index
Geoffrey Parker was Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. His many books include Sovereign City (2004), Power in Stone (2014), and The Persians (2016), all published by Reaktion Books.
