A "brilliant feat of resurrection" (Tom Holland, author of
Dominion), offering a stunning portrait of the magnificent splendor
and enduring legacy of ancient Persia
The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity,
stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to
Pakistan. From the palace-city of Persepolis, Cyrus the Great, Darius,
Xerxes, and their heirs reigned supreme for centuries until the
conquests of Alexander of Macedon brought the empire to a swift and
unexpected end in the late 330s BCE.
In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of
this dynasty and the world it ruled. Drawing on Iranian inscriptions,
cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology, he shows how the Achaemenid
Persian Empire was the world's first superpower--one built, despite its
imperial ambition, on cooperation and tolerance. This is the definitive
history of the Achaemenid dynasty and its legacies in modern-day Iran, a
book that completely reshapes our understanding of the ancient world.
