Product Description

Persia's Achaemenid Empire flourished between 550 and 331 BC, and encompassed a rich diversity of different peoples and cultures. It originated with Cyrus the Great (559 - 530 BC) and expanded under his successors - who ruled from the royal capitals of Susa and Persepolis - until at its peak it stretched from the Indus Valley to Greece and from the Caspian Sea to Egypt. The Achaemenids acted as a bridge between the earlier Near Eastern cultures and the later Classical world of the Mediterranean, and had a profound influence on Greece in political, military, economic and cultural fields. Even their conqueror, Alexander the Great, quickly succumbed to Persian culture. Famous Persian kings are known to us from Greek writers such as Herodotus and Xenophon. Later writers, artists and musicians since the sixteenth century have been inspired by the Achaemenids and the Persian Wars. This beautifully illustrated catalogue will provide a unique insight into the wealth and splendour of Persian society - its rich palaces, exquisite craftsmanship and sophisticated learning. Due to the centrality of the palace to imperial life, remains from the royal sites of Susa and Persepolis will provide a major focus, with objects grouped in themes within the palace context. Included will be sections on the expansion of the Persian Empire (including the Graeco-Persian Wars), arms and warfare, trade and commerce, writing, luxury dinner services, jewellery, religious and burial customs, and the rediscovery of Ancient Persia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #222868 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Times Higher Educational Supplement, 25 November 2005
Sir John Boardman: ‘the best available guide for everyman to the arts, and even history and religion, of Achaemenid Persia’.

About the Author
John Curtis is Keeper of the Department of the Ancient Near Eastern at the British Museum. He has written extensively on Iran, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and the ancient Near East. Nigel Tallis is Special Assistant in the Department of the Ancient Near Eastern at the British Museum.

Customer Reviews

A Catalogue of Treasures
In 2005 I visited The Forgotten Empire exhibition at the British Museum in London, where for a very brief time some of the treasures of the Achaemenid Persian Empire were put on display.
This book is essentially a full colour glossy catalogue of those items that were displayed in the museum.

The book opens up with a few short essays about the Persians by various scholars and experts. These topics cover everything from recent archaeological excavations to religion and burial customs, to Persian coinage and seal stamps. The book also finishes with a few short essays on Persia's Legacy and its relationship with Classical Greece.

The majority of the book consists of full colour photographs of Persian cups, bowls, coins, stone stele and statues, jewellery and tools.
As such it is an invaluable list of Archaeological remians, but it's of very little use to the amateur or layman who wishes to explore this remarkable ancient culture.

That said, some of the essays included made for fascinating reading, especially those covering Ancient Persia's Zoroastrian religion.
This book is an absolute must buy for dedicated fans of the Ancient Near East or the Greco-Persian Wars. Those who are looking for an introductory text on the Persians should look elsewhere.

A good book with many beautiful illustrations
In 2005, the British Museum in London presented a special exhibition about the Achaemenid dynasty of ancient Persia (ca. 530-330 BC). Some of the items on display came from the British Museum itself. Others came from the Louvre in Paris and the National Museum of Iran. In fact, the exhibition was a joint venture between the three museums. For the occasion the British Museum Press published a book entitled "Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia," edited by John Curtis and Nigel Tallis.

There are two sets of illustrations here. In the first, we have pictures of the items that were on display during the exhibition. They are marked "cat" for "catalogue." There are 473 pictures in this category. In the second set, we have pictures of other items. They are marked "fig" for "figure." There are 75 pictures in this category. At first, this is a bit confusing, but after a while you realise what is what, and it is not a problem.

Many illustrations are in colour, and many (but not all) are printed in a large size. Some items appear two times, first as a colour photo and then as a black-and-white drawing. This is a good idea, because it makes it easier to understand the details of the motive. A case in point is the rock relief of Darius I at Bisutun: figure 2 is a photo of this relief, while figure 6 is a drawing of the relief with small labels explaining who is who.

The structure of the book is not chronological but thematic. The book is divided into 12 chapters, with each chapter covering one aspect of ancient Persia:

1 - History of the Persian empire, 550-330 BC
2 - Achaemenid languages and inscriptions
3 - The decipherment of Achaemenid cuneiform
4 - The archaeology of the Achaemenid period
5 - The palace
6 - The royal table
7 - Jewellery and personal ornaments
8 - Religion and burial customs
9 - The administration of the Achaemenid empire
10 - Transport and warfare
11 - Persia and Greece
12 - The legacy of ancient Persia

The book ends with a bibliography, a glossary and a list of Achaemenid kings. Sadly, there is no index. The bibliography is quite extensive. The huge number of titles listed (around 500) seems to contradict the title of the book: "The Forgotten Empire." Clearly, ancient Persia is not forgotten at all. Many authors, editors and publishers love to use the word "forgotten" or "untold" in a book title, but it is not always justified.

Chapter 8 contains several references to ancient Persian texts. The author (Shahrokh Razmjou) uses some abbreviations which are quite common, but sadly they are never explained anywhere in the book. Therefore I want to explain them here:

DB = Darius I inscription from Bisutun
DNa = Darius I inscription from Naqsh-i Rustam # a
DPd = Darius I inscription from Persepolis # d
PF = Persepolis Fortification Texts published by R. T. Hallock (1969)
PF-NN = Persepolis Fortification Texts, Manuscript Hallock
XPh = Xerxes I inscription from Persepolis # h

This book is written by experts, but even for experts something can go wrong. Let me explain: In the beginning of chapter 12, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis mentions the Sasanian kings Shapur I and II. On two occasions she says Shapur I ruled AD 240-271, which is wrong. He was a co-ruler with his father from 240, and he was the sole ruler from 241 until his death in 272. On two occasions she says Shapur II ruled AD 309-379, which is right, but the third time she gives the date as AD 309-373.

A caption on page 251 says Shapur I defeated "the Roman emperors Valerian and Philip the Arab," which is correct. But in the text she says (two times) that Shapur I fought against "the Roman kings Valerian and Philip the Arab." The last Roman king was expelled around 510 BC. Since that time there were no kings in Rome. Why use the word "kings," when the Romans had emperors?

On page 252, she says in AD 311 Shapur II "visited Persepolis and had a Pahlavi inscription carved inside the ruins of the Palace of Darius." The date of the inscription is correct. But she fails to mention that this king was born in 309. At the time of "the visit" he was an infant, only two years old! Is it right to say an infant "visited" some place? Would it not be more correct to say that somebody brought him there and made a carving in his name?

The famous relief known as "the treasury relief" or "the audience scene" from Persepolis appears two times: the king is sitting on the throne and the crown prince is standing behind him. But who is the king? And who is the crown prince? Most observers believe the king is Darius I and the crown prince is Xerxes. What do Curtis and Tallis say?

On page 36, the caption for figure 21 reads: "Stone relief showing King Xerxes and the crown prince standing behind him." Probably not quite right.

On page 257, the caption for figure 75 reads: "Iranian 100-rial banknote ... showing ... the 'audience scene' from Persepolis featuring Xerxes, the crown prince Darius and officials." Here the names are correct, but notice how the punctuation (the comma) changes the meaning: Darius becomes the crown prince and Xerxes the king! It should, of course, be the other way around: Xerxes, the crown prince, is standing behind the throne, and Darius, the king, is sitting on the throne.

Even experts are only human, even experts can make a mistake.

This is a good book with many beautiful illustrations. But the title is misleading, and there is no index. Therefore I can only give this book four stars.

persia
This excellent book from the British Museum is the catalogue that accompanied the 2005 exhibition.It deals with the Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330bc)which covered the whole of the Middle East stretching into North Africa,Europe and Asia.Exhibits from the National Museum of Iran,the Louvre and the British Museum are included but the Oriental Institute of Tha University Of Chicago did not participate.
The book details the history,language,cuneforms,archeology,palace,royal table,jewellery,religion,administration,transport, warfare and relations with Greece of the Empire.
The pictures,diagrams,and maps are generally good but quite a number require enhancing particularly those of Persepolis.