Of profound importance in late antiquity, the Sasanian Empire is virtually unknown today, except as a counterpoint to the Roman Empire. In this highly readable history, Touraj Daryaee fills a significant gap in our knowledge of world history. He examines the Sasanians' complex and colourful narrative and demonstrates their unique significance, not only for development of Iranian civilization but also for Roman and Islamic history. The Sasanians were the last of the ancient Persian dynasties and are best known as the pre-eminent practitioners of the Zoroastrian religion. Founded by Ardashir l in 224 CE, the Sasanian Empire was the dominant force in the Middle East for several centuries until its last king, Yazdgerd lll, was defeated by the Muslim Arabs in the seventh century. In this concise yet comprehensive book, Touraj Daryaee provides an unrivalled account of Sasanian Persia. Drawing on extensive new sources, he paints a vivid portrait of Sasanian life and unravels the divergent strands that contributed to the making of this great empire. This new edition includes updated economic and political histories as well as several inscriptions that have been found in recent years.

This Handbook is a current, comprehensive single-volume history of Iranian civilization. The authors, all leaders in their fields, emphasize the large-scale continuities of Iranian history while also describing the important patterns of transformation that have characterized Iran's past. Each of the chapters focuses on a specific epoch of Iranian history and surveys the general political, social, cultural, and economic issues of that era. The ancient period begins with chapters considering the anthropological evidence of the prehistoric era, through to the early settled civilizations of the Iranian plateau, and continuing to the rise of the ancient Persian empires. The medieval section first considers the Arab-Muslim conquest of the seventh century, and then moves on to discuss the growing Turkish influence filtering in from Central Asia beginning in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The last third of the book covers Iran in the modern era by considering the rise of the Safavid state and its accompanying policy of centralization, the introduction of Shi'ism, the problems of reform and modernization in the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, and the revolution of 1978-79 and its aftermath. The book is a collaborative exercise among scholars specializing in a variety of sub-fields, and across a number of disciplines, including history, art history, classics, literature, politics, and linguistics. Here, readers can find a reliable and accessible narrative that can serve as an authoritative guide to the field of Iranian studies.

I.B.Tauris in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation Of profound importance in late antiquity,the Sasanian Empire is almost completely unknown today,except as a counterpoint to the Roman Empire.What are the reasons for this ignorance and why does the Sasanian Empire matter? In this brilliant and highly readable new history Touraj Daryaee fills a huge gap in our knowledge of world history.He examines the Sasanians'complex and colourful narrative and demonstrates their unique significance,not only for the development of Iranian civilisation but also for Roman and Islamic history. The Sasanians were the last of the ancient Persian dynasties and are best known as the preeminent practitioners of the Zoroastrian religion.From its foundation by Ardashir I in 224 CE, the Sasanian Empire was the dominant force in the Middle East for several centuries until its last king, Yazdgerd III, was defeated by the Muslim Arabs,whose horsemen swept away his seemingly far more powerful empire in the 7th century.Theirs was the first post Hellenic civilisation in the Near East to operate on an imperial scale and its sphere of influence and contact was unparalleled-from India to the Levant and from the Arabian Peninsula to the Caspian Sea. In this concise yet comprehensive new book,Touraj Daryaee provides an unrivalled account of Sasanian Persia.Drawing on extensive new sources he paints a vivid portrait of Sasanian life and unravels the divergent strands that contributed to the making of this great Empire:religion-not just Zoroastrianism but also Manichaeaism;the economy;administration;the multiple languages and their literature as well as the Empire's often neglected social history. Daryaee also explores - for the first time in an integrated book on the Sasanians-their descendants'attempts for more than a century after their defeat to establish a second state and reveals how their values and traditions have endured,both in Iranian popular culture and in the literary tradition of the Persian language and literature,to the present day. Sasanian Persia is a unique examination of a period of history that still has great significance for a full understanding of modern Iran.

Of profound importance in late antiquity, the Sasanian Empire is virtually unknown today, except as a counterpoint to the Roman Empire. In this highly readable history, Touraj Daryaee fills a significant gap in our knowledge of world history. He examines the Sasanians' complex and colourful narrative and demonstrates their unique significance, not only for development of Iranian civilization but also for Roman and Islamic history. The Sasanians were the last of the ancient Persian dynasties and are best known as the pre-eminent practitioners of the Zoroastrian religion. Founded by Ardashir l in 224 CE, the Sasanian Empire was the dominant force in the Middle East for several centuries until its last king, Yazdgerd lll, was defeated by the Muslim Arabs in the seventh century. In this concise yet comprehensive book, Touraj Daryaee provides an unrivalled account of Sasanian Persia. Drawing on extensive new sources, he paints a vivid portrait of Sasanian life and unravels the divergent strands that contributed to the making of this great empire. This new edition includes updated economic and political histories as well as several inscriptions that have been found in recent years.

"World History" is a collection of important primary sources on the history of the ancient and medieval world. What makes this book important is that it is written by a historian who has been teaching ancient world history for the past 12 years in colleges and universities in the United States. The sources are selected to provide a complete overview of the social, political, economic, and religious history of ancient and medieval civilizations. The author has translated some of the primary sources and provides important comments and questions to bring a clearer understanding for the reader and to better frame the issues and lives of the pre-modern world.
Touraj Daryaee is the Howard C. Baskerville Professor in the History of Iran and the Persianate World at the University of California, Irvine. He was born in Tehran, Iran in 1967. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. Besides teaching ancient world history, Dr. Daryaee s research has focused on ancient and early medieval history of Iran and the Near East, specifically the Sasanian Empire. He has worked on Middle Persian literature, editing and translating several texts with commentary on geography, dinner speech, chess, and backgammon. He is also interested in the history of Zoroastrianism in Late Antiquity and its encounter with Islam. He is the editor of the "Name-ye Iran-e Bastan: The International Journal of Ancient Iranian Studies" and the director of "Sasanika: Late Antique Near East Project."

The Sasanians were the last of the ancient Persian dynasties, and the preeminent practitioners of the Zoroastrian religion. From its foundation by Ardashir I in 224 CE the Sasanian Empire was the dominant force in the region for several centuries until its last king, Yasdegerd III, was defeated by the Muslim Arabs in the 7th century. In this clear and comprehensive new book, Touraj Daryaee provides an unrivalled account of Sasanian Persia. Using new sources, he paints a vivid portrait of the empire's often neglected social history and examines the development of its political and administrative institutions. The author also explores, for the first time in an integrated book on the Sasanians, their descendants' attempts for more than a century after their defeat to establish a second state. "Sasanian Persia" is a unique examination of a period of history that still has great significance for a full understanding of modern Iran.

Although much of the primary information about the Parthian period comes from coins, there has been much new research undertaken over the past few decades into wider aspects of both the Parthian and Sasanian Empires including the Arsacid Parthians, and their material culture. Despite a change of ruling dynasty, the two empires were closely connected and cannot be regarded as totally separate entities. The continuation of Parthian influence particularly into the early Sasanian period cannot be disputed. An historic lack of detailed information arose partly through the relative lack of excavated archaeological sites dating to the Parthian period in Iran and western scholars' lack of knowledge of recent excavations and their results that are usually published in Persian, coupled with the inevitable difficulties for academic research engendered by the recent political situation in the region. Although an attempt has been made by several scholars in the west to place this important Iranian dynasty in its proper cultural context, the traditional GrecoRoman influenced approach is still prevalent. The present volume presents 15 papers covering various aspects of Parthian and early Sasanian history, material culture, linguistics and religion which demonstrate a rich surviving heritage and provide many new insights into ideology, royal genealogy, social organisation, military tactics, linguistic developments and trading contacts.

It will be immediately apparent to anyone familiar with the full-length or even so-called concise world history surveys currently on the market that this book stands alone: its interesting and recurrent themes--conceptual bridges that span the many centuries--give it a unique voice. Its format helps the reader see the larger picture, to conceptualize patterns over time by importing concepts from one unit to another. And while this book might not offer flashy four-color maps and illustrations, its price and length speak for themselves. Too often students are required to pay a great deal of money for books they have no hope of finishing, let alone comprehending or remembering much longer than a day after turning in the last exam. With decades of combined experience teaching World History--in community colleges and four-year institutions--our team of authors has witnessed firsthand the frustration instructors and students of world history experience with current survey textbooks. Deeming a new approach necessary, they have spent the last several years conceiving of and writing World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis. Whether you are new to the field of world history or have taught the subject for years, we think you will find this new approach both refreshing and effective, and that you will agree that a thematic analysis goes a long way toward making a complicated compendium of human numbers, economies, and cultures--the "one darn thing after another" phenomenon that gives World history a bad name--meaningful to student readers.

It will be immediately apparent to anyone familiar with the full-length or even so-called concise world history surveys currently on the market that this book stands alone: its interesting and recurrent themes--conceptual bridges that span the many centuries--give it a unique voice. Its format helps the reader see the larger picture, to conceptualize patterns over time by importing concepts from one unit to another. And while this book might not offer flashy four-color maps and illustrations, its price and length speak for themselves. Too often students are required to pay a great deal of money for books they have no hope of finishing, let alone comprehending or remembering much longer than a day after turning in the last exam. With decades of combined experience teaching World History--in community colleges and four-year institutions--our team of authors has witnessed firsthand the frustration instructors and students of world history experience with current survey textbooks. Deeming a new approach necessary, they have spent the last several years conceiving of and writing World History: A Concise Thematic Analysis. Whether you are new to the field of world history or have taught the subject for years, we think you will find this new approach both refreshing and effective, and that you will agree that a thematic analysis goes a long way toward making a complicated compendium of human numbers, economies, and cultures--the "one darn thing after another" phenomenon that gives World history a bad name--meaningful to student readers.