Ancient Persia A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550}}}330 BCE [Paperback]

This is a succinct history of ancient Persia in the Achaemenid period, 550330 BCE.At the height of its territorial extent, the Achaemenid Persian Empire stretched from the Indus River to the Danube River and from the western Himalayas to the Sahara Desert. In its scope and durability, and in its ability to project and maintain its power, the Achaemenid Empire was unprecedented in world history. Its equal was not seen again until the height of the Roman Empire. In this concise history of ancient Persia under the Achaemenid dynasty rulers, Matt Waters examines how the empire retained its vitality for more than two hundred years (c. 550330 BCE) and left a massive imprint on subsequent Near Eastern and European history.At the height of its territorial extent, the Achaemenid Persian Empire stretched from the Indus River to the Danube River and from the western Himalayas to the Sahara Desert. In its scope and durability, and in its ability to project and maintain its power, the Achaemenid Empire was unprecedented in world history. Its equal was not seen again until the height of the Roman Empire. In this concise history of ancient Persia under the Achaemenid dynasty rulers, Matt Waters examines how the empire retained its vitality for more than two hundred years (c. 550330 BCE) and left a massive imprint on subsequent Near Eastern and European history.The Achaemenid Persian Empire, at its greatest territorial extent under Darius I (r. 522486 BCE), held sway over territory stretching from the Indus River Valley to southeastern Europe and from the western Himalayas to northeast Africa. In this book, Matt Waters gives a detailed historical overview of the Achaemenid period while considering the manifold interpretive problems historians face in constructing and understanding its history. This book offers a Persian perspective even when relying on Greek textual sources and archaeological evidence. Waters situates the story of the Achaemenid Persians in the context of theirl$