A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire

A comprehensive review of the political, cultural, social, economic, and religious history of the Achaemenid Empire.

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Often called the first world empire, the Achaemenid Empire is rooted in older Near Eastern traditions. A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire offers a perspective in which the history of the empire is embedded in the preceding and subsequent epochs. In this way, the traditions that shaped the Achaemenid Empire become as visible as the powerful impact it had on further historical development. The work not only breaks new ground in this respect, but also in the fact that, in addition to written testimonies of all kinds, it also considers material tradition as an equal factor in historical reconstruction. This comprehensive two-volume set features contributions by internationally-recognized experts that offer balanced coverage of the whole of the empire from Anatolia and Egypt, and across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia.

Comprehensive in scope, the Companion provides readers with a panoramic view of the diversity, richness, and complexity of the Achaemenid Empire, dealing with all the many aspects of history, event history, administration, economy, society, communication, art, science, and religion while illustrating the multifaceted nature of the first true empire in world history.

This unique historical account presents multiregional dimensions. This important resource:

• deals with all the many aspects of history, event history, administration, economy, society, communication, art, science, and religion
• investigates recently discovered or accessible issues such as court life, written communication, leisure activities, gender roles, etc.
• examines all kinds of available sources to consider those predecessors who influenced Achaemenid structure, ideology, and self-expression
• contains the study of Nachleben and the history of perception up to the present day
• offers a spectrum of opinions in disputed fields of research, such as in the interpretation of the imagery of Achaemenid art or in questions of religion
• provides a detailed overview of the history of research
• includes extensive bibliographies in each chapter for use as starting points for further research

Part of the acclaimed Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series, A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire is an indispensable work for students, instructors, and scholars of Persian and ancient world history, particularly the First Persian Empire.