Persians: An Introduction

241 Pages·2006·5.84 MB·English

by  Maria Brosius

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THE PERSIANS
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3 European history describes the Persian empires mainly through the
4 history of the Greeks and Romans who regarded them as politically,
5 culturally, and socially inferior. In short, to them the Persians were
6 barbarians. Yet this Indo-European civilisation was one of the most
7 highly developed of the ancient world. Its society, with its many
8 different languages, cultures, and religions, had a profound and
9 continuing influence on the West.
20111 This study vividly introduces the reader to the history of Persia
1 in its own right; from the heights of the Achaemenid dynasty
2 (559–330BC), the first monarchy to create a world empire, to the
3 heterogeneous empire of the Parthians (247BC–AD224), and the
4 powerful Sasanian empire (AD224–651), epitomised in the rule of
5 Khosrow Anushirvan, ‘Of the Immortal Soul’.
6 The only book of its kind to cover both the history of the
7 Achaemenid period and of the thousand years following Alexander’s
8 conquest, and including chapters on a wide range of separate issues
9 such as society, economy, gender, power, and defence, this book is
30111 the essential beginner’s guide to ancient Persia and ideal for students
1 and general readers alike.
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3 Maria Brosius is a Reader in Ancient History at the University of
4 Newcastle. She has worked and travelled in Iran and has published
5 several books on Persian history, including The Persian Empire from
6 Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I (2000) and Women in Ancient Persia (559–
7 331BC) (1996, reprinted 1998, 2001).
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51 PEOPLES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
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311 This series stands as the first port of call for anyone who wants to
4 know more about the historically important peoples of the ancient
5 world and the early middle ages.
6 Reliable, up-to-date and with special attention paid to the
7 peoples’ enduring legacy and influence, Peoples of the Ancient World
8 will ensure the continuing prominence of these crucial figures in
9 modern-day study and research.
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1 THE PERSIANS
2 An Introduction
3 Maria Brosius
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5 THE TROJANS AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS
6 Trevor Bryce
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8 MYCENAEANS
9 Rodney Castleden
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1 THE EGYPTIANS
2 An Introduction
3 Robert Morkot
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5 THE BABYLONIANS
6 An Introduction
7 Gwendolyn Leick
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4 THE PERSIANS
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An Introduction
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Maria Brosius
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311 First published 2006
4 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
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6 Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
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© 2006 Maria Brosius
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1 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
2 “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
3 collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
5 reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
6 or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
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retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
30111
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
1 A catalog record for this book has been requested
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ISBN10: 0–415–32089–5 (hbk)
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ISBN10: 0–415–32090–9 (pbk)
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ISBN10: 0–203–06815–7 (ebk)
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6 ISBN13: 978–0–415–32089–4 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–32090–0 (pbk)
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ISBN13: 978–0–203–06815–1 (ebk)
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3 FÜR FINI
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CONTENTS
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3 List of figures ix
4 List of maps xi
5 Foreword xii
6 Acknowledgements xiii
7 List of abbreviations xiv
8 Month names in the Achaemenid calendar xvii
9 Month names in Parthian and Pahlavi xviii
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1 Introduction 1
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2 2 The Achaemenids 6
3 Historical survey 6
4 King and court 32
5 Organisation and administration of the empire 47
6 Religion 63
7 Art and architecture 72
8 Excursus I: The creation of ‘the Other’: The Persians and
9 the Greek–Persian wars 76
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3 The Parthians (Arsacids) 79
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Preliminary remarks 79
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Historical survey 81
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King and court 101
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Organisation of the empire 113
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Religion 125
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Art and architecture 126
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Excursus II: The Parthians in the eyes of the Romans 136
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CONTENTS
1111 4 The Sasanians 139
2 Historical survey 139
3 King and court 159
4 Organisation of the empire 179
51 Religion 187
6 Art and architecture 196
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Appendices
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The Achaemenid dynasty 201
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The Arsacid dynasty 201
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The Sasanian dynasty 202
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2 Notes 204
311 Select bibliography 206
4 Index 211
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LIST OF FIGURES
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2 1 Seal of Cyrus I (PFS 93) 7
3 2 Plan of Pasargadae 10
4 3a Mount Bisitun 18
5 3b The relief and inscription of Darius I at Bisitun 19
6 4 Plan of Persepolis 21
7 5 Seal of Artaxerxes III (The Hermitage Museum,
8 St Petersburg 19499) 30
9 6 Audience relief of Persepolis 35
20111 7 Shield of a Persian soldier on the Alexander
1 sarcophagus 36
2 8 North staircase of the Apadana, Persepolis 38
3 9 Seal of a female audience scene (PFS 77*) 42
4 10 Seal of Darius I from Egypt (BM 89132) 44
5 11 Persian seal depicting an ostrich hunt (Louvre
6 AO20115) 45
7 12 Persian banquet scene on an ivory from Demetrias,
8 Greece (Athens 27993) 46
9 13 The royal hero on a doorway at Persepolis 61
30111 14 Seal from Persepolis (PFS 75) 64
1 15 The royal khvarrah in the winged disc, Persepolis 67
2 16 The tomb of Cyrus II at Pasargadae 72
3 17 Achaemenid royal tomb at Naqsh-i Rustam 73
4 18 Persian nobles on the staircase, Persepolis 75
5 19 Tetradrachme of Mithridates I, Seleucia (Bibliothèque
6 Nationale de France, Paris) 87
7 20 Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta (Vatican
8 Museum, Braccio Nuovo, Rome, Inv.2290) 98
9 21 Denarius of Augustus depicting a kneeling Parthian 98
folio ix