A01=Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee
Achaemenid historiography
Ardashir Cycle
Author_Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee
Category=NHAH
Category=NHC
Cyrus Sagas
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eq_nobargain
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Herodotus and Persia
Iranian myths and legends
Persian history
Shahnameh
Product details
- ISBN 9781399530989
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 30 Jun 2025
- Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This book fills an important gap in Achaemenid studies by using traditional Iranian narratives, such as those found in the famous Shahnameh, or 'Book of Kings', of Ferdowsi, to analyse the Greco-Roman accounts of Median and Persian royalty. The study shows that the classical authors derived their accounts from Iranian traditions, grounded in age-old myths and legends. This analysis serves many purposes. It refines the extent to which the classical sources may be used in historical reconstructions and sheds new light on the literary methods of authors, such as Herodotus, Ctesias, and Xenophon. Finally, the book offers insights into one of the thorniest enigmas in Iranian historiography, the apparent disappearance of Illustrious rulers like Cyrus II, Darius I, and Xerxes I from native historical traditions. Standing at the crossroads of Iranian studies and Classics, this book is an indispensable source for scholars of ancient Iran, Greek historiography, and the Shahnameh.
Dr Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee is a Post-doctoral Fellow in Ancient History at the University of St. Andrews, where he received his PhD from the School of Classics in 2022. His area of specialisation is the history of pre-Islamic and, more specifically, Achaemenid Iran. He is the author of Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World (Mage: 2013), a biographical account of Cyrus the Great, and various shorter publications on ancient Iranian history and myth, as well as Greek accounts of ancient Persia. In addition to his work as a historian, Mr. Zarghamee is a practising attorney.
