Ancient Persia in Western History

Download or read book Ancient Persia in Western History written by Sasan Samiei and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-24 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ancient Persia in Western History is a measured rejoinder to the dominant narrative that considers the Graeco-Persian Wars to be merely the first round of an oft-repeated battle between the despotic 'East' and the broadly enlightened 'West'. Sasan Samiei analyses the historiography which has skewed our understanding of this crucial era - contrasting the work of Edward Gibbon and Goethe, which venerated Classicism and Hellenistic history, with later writers such as John Linton Myres. Finally, Samiei explores the cross-cultural encounters which constituted the Achaemenid period itself, and repositions it as essential to the history of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.