Beginning in the sixth century BCE, Persian kings ruled a vast, culturally diverse empire that stretched from northern Libya to central Asia. The regime and its rich multicultural traditions prospered for 250 years until its invasion, and eventual defeat, by Alexander the Great's army in 331 BCE. Yet until the British Museum's exhibition in the summer of 2005, the Persian perspective of this landmark event in world history will have been largely neglected. In one of the few accounts available, The Persian Empire provides a comprehensive and accessible portrayal of one of the world's first land-based dynastic kingdom. In her cultural and political history of the development of this power, Lindsay Allen-whose posts in the Ancient Near East departments of the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art make her one of the leading authorities on Persia-surveys written sources, art objects, warfare, politics, archaeological sites, and daily life during Persian rule. She traces the evolution of the monarchy, showing how it fostered unprecedented international communication and cultural exchange, and describes how the Persian expedition into Greece in the early fifth century BCE became a defining moment that established a European identity apart from an Asian one. Throughout, lavish illustrations bring to life the traditions of this ancient Middle Eastern civilization and finally place Alexander's invasion within a Persian context. As the subject experiences renewed interest, The Persian Empire promises to be the definitive work on one of the most powerful dynasties in ancient history.

The Persian Empire

History

Allen, Lindsay

Ancient Civilizations

The University of Chicago Press

From the mid 6th century BC, Persian kings ruled over peoples and territory stretching from Northern Libya to Central Asia. Incorporating the ancient civilizations and former imperial centres of Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia, Persian rule created the first land-based world empire. This great diversity of subject peoples and historical traditions became a key theme of imperial ideology. For 250 years, the empire fostered international communication and cultural exchange to an unprecedented degree. The Persian expedition into Greece in the early 5th century BC became one of the most influential events in defining a European identity set apart from Asia. Dynastic rule was brought to an end by Alexander the Great's lengthy invasion of the empire from 331 BC during which nearly all the territory allied to the Persians was brought under Macedonian rule. In the continuing conflict the empire broke up, but it bequeathed a rich store of cultural and historical traditions to its Hellenistic and Roman successors. After providing a simple introduction to the kinds of written sources containing information about the Persian empire, the author gives a survey of the cultural and political history underlying the birth of Persian power. The chapters that follow trace the evolution of the monarchy and describe the invasion of Greece and later political intrigues from the Persian point of view. The historical framework is supplemented with a description of the palace architecture and luxury culture characteristic of Persian rule, as well as accounts of individual ways of life within the empire. The book closes by placing Alexander's invasion in a Persian context and provides a unique survey of surviving traditions of the empire and the rediscovery of its royal capitals at Persepolis and Susa.

The Persian Empire A History /anglais

BRITISH MUSEUM

Attacking the Double Burden of Malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific [Hardcover] [Dec 01, 2001] Gillespie, Stuart; Haddad, Lawrence James; Allen, Lindsay; Asian Development Bank and International Food Policy Research Institute 9715613667

Attacking the Double Burden of Malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific

Politics & Social Sciences

Gillespie, Stuart

Haddad, Lawrence James

Social Sciences

Asian Development Bank

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