“I hope the book further chips away at the deep-seated eurocentrism and Roman-triumphalism that continues to treat Iranian empires as backwards and primitive, employing different strategies of rule based on their lesser governing capabilities.”
Read MoreExhibition Review | Elephantine: Island of the Millennia
Aramaic marriage document from Elephantine, dated 3 July, 449 BCE, currently at the Brooklyn Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Aramaic marriage document from Elephantine, dated 3 July, 449 BCE, currently at the Brooklyn Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The desire to construct harmonious pasts selectively highlights only those aspects of ancient identities and experiences that align with current ideals, conveniently omitting the less contemporarily palatable. This selective narrative fosters the belief that coexistence is inherent and natural, rather than a hard-fought process.
Read MoreBook Note | ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity
"Where others might be deterred by the paucity of evidence, the range of languages and disciplines required to make heads or tails of the area, or the lack of any preceding comparable work, Rezakhani refreshingly admits these difficulties and treks on despite – and perhaps even because of – them."
Read MorePearce and Wunsch, Documents of Judean Exiles and West Semites in Babylonia
Tribute Bearers, the Apadana Relief, Persepolis
Tribute Bearers, the Apadana Relief, Persepolis
In their new book, Pearce and Wunsch publish 103 tablets from Babylonia for the first time, dating from roughly the years 572-477 BCE, but mostly from the 6th century BCE
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