| Contents |
Prologue: Persepolis 488 BCE -- Part one: establishing empire -- the Medes and the Persians -- See, the conqu'ring hero comes -- The many deaths-and births-of Cyrus the Great -- The sceptre of Egypt -- The truth and the lie -- Part Two: being Persian -- When bureaucrats ruled the world -- A court under canvas -- Constructing majesty -- Slavery by another name -- Crowns and concubines -- The politics of etiquette -- Also sprach Zarathustra -- Part three: High Empire -- Exit Darius -- Ruling over heroes -- Let slip the dogs of war -- Les liasons dangereuses -- The times they are a-changin' -- (Un)happy families -- Blood brothers -- Women beware women -- Violent delights have violent ends -- some talk of Alexander -- Epilogue: Persian past; Iranian present. |
| Abstract |
"The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. From the palace-city of Persepolis, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs reigned supreme for centuries until the conquests of Alexander of Macedon brought the empire to a swift and unexpected end in the late 330s BCE. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the world's first superpower--one built, despite its imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran, a book that completely reshapes our understanding of the ancient world."--Amazon. |
| General note | "First published in 2022 by Wildfire an imprint of Headline Publishing Group, an Hachette UK company"--Title page verso. |
| General note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 408-414) and index. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Biographies. |
| ISBN | 9781541600348 |
| ISBN | 1541600347 (hardcover) |
| Stock number | Perseus Books Group, C/O Hachette Book Group USA 53 State st 9th Fl, Boston, MA, USA, 02109 SAN 200-2205 |
