Writing Ancient Persia

(Paperback)

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This is a critique of this new Achaemenid historiography, concentrating on the difficulties of using Greek sources for the writing of Persian history. The history of Achaemenid Persia the empire of Cyrus the Great, Darius and Xerxes has largely been rewritten in the last thirty years by an international group of scholars. Inspired by new sources of information, and by a determination to see Persia in its own terms, historians have created a powerful new image of the Persian Empire: tightly organised and resilient, tolerant towards the religions and cultures of its subject peoples, and with kings and queens whose concerns were pragmatic rather than whimsically despotic. It argues that excising Greek bias (if it is possible at all) should be seen to be a much more complex procedure. The book examines two themes in detail: the representation of the Kings and Queens (in Greek sources and in recent histories of Persia), and the accounts given of the Persian Wars and the conquests of Alexander. Persian evidence points to a significantly less rosy image of Persian imperialism. And past writers on Achaemenid Persia, far from rejecting it as the mirror image and enemy of the Greeks, frequently traced its influence on the classical Greco-Roman world, and identified strongly with Persia as a model.

Reviews

Writing Ancient Persia is an ideal book for those new to Achaemenid history as it presents major current academic arguments and scholarship with a full bibliography for those interested in learning more from both Achaemenid and Greek scholars. -- Kirsty Mason, University of Kent * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
For those already involved in this field, it offers sufficient material to contemplate, and its contents, therefore, deserves attention of every serious Achaemenid historian. -- Jan P. Stronk, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands * GNOMON *
[Harrison's] arguments are balanced and manifest appreciation for the overall advance of Achaemenid historiography. This book should inspire productive debate among all scholars concerned with ancient Persia. -- Eric Ross * Religious Studies Review *
Harrison examines how histories of the Achaemedid Persian empire have been, are being, and might be written. He is a historian of Greece not Persia, he explains, but most of the sources for the period are Greek, though he actually focuses here on the earlier part of the period, for which Persian sources are more plentiful and only Herodotus' provide a Greek perspective. -- Reference and Research Book News

Author Bio

Thomas Harrison is Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews, UK. His publications include Divinity and History: the religion of Herodotus (2000), The Emptiness of Asia: Aeschylus' Persians and the history of the fifth century (2000), and (as editor) Greeks and Barbarians (2002) and the Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome (2006).