History of Ancient Persia

Maria Brosius is a former Associate Professor in Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, and Lecturer at The Queen's College, Oxford University. Now retired, Professor Brosius' research focuses on the history of pre-Islamic Persia, especially on the Achaemenid period, as well as on the cultural, intellectual, and religious connections between Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. She is the author of The Persians: An Introduction, The Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I, and Women in Ancient Persia.

• List of Illustrations ixList of Maps xvList of Special Topics xviiList of Sources in Translation xixList of Boxed Texts xxiList of Abbreviations xxiiiThe Achaemenid Dynasty xxviiPreface xxixAcknowledgements xxxiAuthor’s Note xxxiii1 Introduction 12 The Arrival of the Persians on the Iranian Plateau 52.1 The Persians 52.1.1 Parsua and Parsumash 62.1.2 Kurash of Parsumash 82.2 The Indigenous Population of the Iranian Plateau: The Elamites 82.3 The Neighbours in the North: The Medes 102.3.1 Media in Herodotus 112.3.2 Near Eastern Sources on the Medes 113 The Establishment of Empire: Cyrus the Great 173.1 Cyrus II and Media 173.1.1 A Folktale or a Tool for Legitimacy? 183.2 The Conquest of the Lydian Kingdom 193.3 Cyrus and the Ionian Greeks 203.4 The First Royal City of the Persians: Pasargadae 203.5 The Conquest of Babylon 243.5.1 A Peaceful Conquest? 273.5.2 Political Astuteness 283.6 The Scythian Campaign 303.7 Cyrus II, Conqueror and Empire‐Builder 304 A Worthy Successor: Cambyses II 334.1 The Succession of Cambyses II 334.2 The Power of Propaganda 364.2.1 The Demotic Papyrus 394.3 Cambyses’s Depiction in Herodotus 394.4 The Apis Bull 414.4.1 The Apis Bull and the Death of Cambyses 434.4.2 The Killing of His Sister‐Wife 434.4.3 Fratricide 445 From Bardiya to Darius I 475.1 The Succession of Darius I 475.1.1 Herodotus’s Version of Events 475.1.2 Darius’s Version: The Inscription of Bisitun 485.2 The Death of Bardiya 495.2.1 Herodotus and the Bisitun Inscription: A Comparison 605.2.2 A Murder Mystery 615.2.3 Darius the Achaemenid 615.2.4 Teispes 635.2.5 The Royal Line of Kings 635.2.6 Dynastic Marriages 645.3 The Consolidation of Empire 645.3.1 Royal Cities 675.3.1.1 Pasargadae 675.3.1.2 Susa 675.3.2 Parsa – City of the Persians 685.4 Foreign Policy 735.4.1 The Scythian Campaign 755.4.2 The Athenian‐Persian Alliance of 508/7 765.4.3 The Ionian Revolt 775.4.4 The Sequence of Events 785.4.5 Problems in the Historical Account 805.4.6 The Punitive Campaign of 490 816 The Face of Empire 856.1 Achaemenid Kingship 856.1.1 The Power of Royal Imagery 876.2 Royal Ideology 906.3 Persian Religion 936.3.1 Funerary Customs 956.4 Persepolis: The Microcosm of Empire 986.4.1 The Royal Court 996.4.2 Gift‐Giving 1006.4.3 Rhyta 1016.4.4 The Women of the Court 1026.4.5 The King’s Friends and Benefactors 1056.4.6 Courtiers 1056.4.7 Refugees and Foreigners 1067 The Organisation of Power 1137.1 The Satraps 1137.1.1 The Satrapies 1147.1.2 The Great Satrapy of Bactria 1157.1.3 The Status of the Caucasus Region and Thrace 1167.2 Administering the Empire 1227.2.1 Royal Correspondence 1227.2.2 Taxes and Tribute 1257.2.3 The Administration of Persepolis 1267.2.4 Royal Roads 1278 Taking up the Baton: Diplomacy and Foreign Policy from Xerxes I to Artaxerxes II 1378.1 The Reign of Xerxes 1378.1.1 Xerxes’s Succession 1378.1.2 Quashing Rebellions in Egypt and Babylonia 1398.2 The War in Greece 1398.2.1 The State of Play in Greece 1408.2.2 The Persian Army on the March 1408.2.3 Thermopylae and Artemisium 1408.2.4 The Fall of Athens and the Battle of Salamis 1418.2.5 Attempts at Diplomacy 1418.2.6 The Battle of Plataea 1428.2.7 Xerxes in Asia Minor 1428.2.8 The Story of Xerxes and the Wife of Masistes 1438.2.9 … And a Story Retold 1438.2.10 The Beginning of the Myth 1488.2.11 Medising 1498.2.12 Perserie 1498.2.13 After the War 1508.3 Artaxerxes I 1528.3.1 The Death of Xerxes I and the Succession of Artaxerxes I 1528.3.2 Revolts in Bactria and Egypt 1538.3.3 Rebellion in Egypt 464–454 1538.3.4 The Revolt of Megabyxus 1548.3.5 The Peace of Callias 1578.3.6 Judaea Under Artaxerxes I 1588.3.7 Continuity in Persepolis 1588.4 Succession Trouble in 424 1588.4.1 Rebellions in the Empire 1618.4.2 The Royal Building Programme Continued 1618.4.3 Persia Re‐enters Greek Politics 1618.4.4 The Bilateral Treaty of 411 1638.5 Artaxerxes II 1668.5.1 The War of the Brothers 1668.5.2 Persian Affairs in Asia Minor 1688.5.3 Evagoras of Salamis 1728.5.4 Revolt in Egypt 404/400–343/2 1748.6 The Winds of Change 1758.6.1 City‐Rulers and Local Dynasts of the Western Empire 1758.6.2 The Hecatomnids 1768.6.3 Perikle of Limyra 1808.6.4 The Political Level 1818.6.4.1 The kings of Sidon 1818.6.5 Stele of the King of Byblos/Gubal 1838.6.6 Rebellions in Western Asia Minor 366–359/8 1878.6.7 Datames 1878.6.8 Ariobarzanes 1888.6.9 Orontes 1898.6.10 The Death of Artaxerxes II 1899 A Whole New Ballgame: The Reign of Artaxerxes III and Artaxerxes IV 1999.1 The Succession of Artaxerxes III 1999.2 Egypt 2009.3 Athenian–Persian Relations 349–342 2009.4 The Death of Artaxerxes III and the Reign of Artaxerxes IV 20410 A Good King in the End: Darius III 20710.1 The Succession of Darius III 20710.1.1 Battling Negative Propaganda 20710.2 External Threat 20910.2.1 The Macedonian Invasion 20910.2.2 Granicus 20910.2.3 Issus 21010.2.4 Gaugamela 21110.2.5 The Royal Cities 21210.2.6 The Death of Darius III 21610.3 In the Footsteps of the Persian Kings? 21711 Epilogue 221Bibliography 225Index 233

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