King and Court in Ancient Persia 559 to 331 Bce
DEBATES AND DOCUMENTS IN ANCIENT HISTORY DEBATES AND DOCUMENTS IN ANCIENT HISTORY Ancient Persia 559 to 331 Ancient Persia Series Editors: Emma Stafford and Shaun Tougher King and Court in ‘This is a very important contribution not only to Achaemenid studies but also to the wider King and Court in literature on royal courts in general. It is very well written and ably supported by source material which will render it invaluable for students and scholars alike.’ St John Simpson, Curator, The British Museum Ancient Persia An exploration of monarchy and elite society at the political and cultural hub of the vast Persian Empire 559 to 331 BCE The Persians established the biggest land empire the world had seen, and seated at the heart of its vast dominions, in the south of modern-day Iran, was the person of the Achaemenid Great King, immortalised in Greek literature as a despotic tyrant. However, a new vision of Persian kingship is now emerging from Iranian and other Near Eastern sources – literary, visual, and archaeological – which shows the monarchs BCE in a very different light. Inscriptions of Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs, present a propagandistic image of Persian rulers as liberators, peace-makers, valiant warriors, righteous god-fearing judges, and law-makers. Around about them, the kings established a lavish and sophisticated court, the centre of political decision-making and the hub of cultural achievements in which the image of monarchy was endorsed and advanced by an almost theatrical display of grandeur and power. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones explores the representation of Persian monarchy and the court of the LLEWELLYN-JONES LLOYD Achaemenid Great Kings from the point of view of the ancient Iranians themselves (as well as other Near Eastern peoples) and through the sometimes distorted prism of Classical and Biblical sources.
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