ABSTRACT

Bringing together a wide variety of material in many different languages that exists from the substantial body of work left by this large empire, The Persian Empire presents annotated translations, together with introductions to the problems of using it in order to gain an understanding of the history and working os this remarkable political entity.

The Achaemenid empire developed in the region of modern Fars (Islam) and expanded to unite territories stretching from the Segean and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and north-west India, which it ruled for over 200 years until its conquest by Alexander of Macedon.

Although all these regions had long since been in contact with each other, they had never been linked under a single regime. The Persian empire represents an important phase of transformation for its subjects, such as the Jews, as well as those living on its edges, such as the European Greeks.

chapter |5 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|10 pages

The Sources

part I|161 pages

Prehistory and Formation of The Empire (c.750–520)

chapter 2|28 pages

The Medes

chapter 3|57 pages

Cyrus the Great

chapter 4|30 pages

The Reign of Cambyses

chapter 5|43 pages

From Cambyses to Darius I

part II|287 pages

Achaemenid History and its Problems

chapter 6|57 pages

The Empire Under Darius I

Expansion, Revolt, Consolidation

chapter 7|72 pages

The Reign of Xerxes

part III|198 pages

Kings and Kingship

chapter 12|44 pages

The Organisation of the Court

chapter 13|45 pages

The Mechanisms of Power

part IV|211 pages

Vachaemenid Imperial Organisation

chapter 14|61 pages

Tribute, Tax, Imposts

chapter 15|33 pages

Routes and Communication Networks

chapter 16|62 pages

Bureaucracy, Production, Settlement

chapter 17|52 pages

Unity and Diversity