Persia's Greek campaigns : kingship, war, and spectacle on the Achaemenid frontier / John O. Hyland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hyland, John O., 1977- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Achaemenid dynasty, 559-330 B.C.

Achaemenid dynasty.

Darius I, King of Persia, 548 B.C.-485 B.C.

Darius.

Xerxes I, King of Persia, 519 B.C.-465 B.C. or 464 B.C.

Xerxes.

Greece--History--Persian Wars, 500-449 B.C.

Greece.

Iran--History, Military--To 640.

Iran.

Physical Description:

xx, 453 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The wars between the Achaemenid Persian kings and the Greek city-states (c. 499-449 BCE)--especially Xerxes' invasion of Greece (480-479 BCE)--are often remembered as foundational events in Greek history, and therefore, we often hear about them through Greek accounts. While the Persians left no campaign narratives to compare with Herodotus and Aeschylus, their documents, artwork, and artifacts offer the foundations for an illuminating reassessment of these pivotal conflicts.Using seals and documents from Achaemenid Persepolis, as well as comparative evidence from Persia's Mesopotamian imperial predecessors, this book shows that these conflicts did not emerge from policies of infinite expansion or iterations of "East vs. West" struggle. Instead, the Persians drew on a long tradition of Near Eastern royal campaigns, in which kings traveled to distant frontiers to advertise their heroism, divine favor, and universal power. Xerxes' journey from Iran to Athens marked the pinnacle of this tradition, combining ideological spectacles with masterful logistical preparation. It achieved its principal goals through the seizure and burning of Athens but then stumbled into embarrassing defeats at Salamis and Plataia, which posed new ideological challenges by undermining the Persian image of royal invincibility. The resulting transition to an era of diplomatic consolidation marked a vital step in the evolution of history's first "world empire."" --Publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Persian wars and Persian perspectives

Ancient Near Eastern warfare and the royal campaign tradition

Darius' Pax Persica and the Aegean frontier

Darius' generals and the Ionian revolt

Restoring the Aegean frontier

Xerxes' Greek campaign as political spectacle

Xerxes' Greek campaign as manpower spectacle

Xerxes' Greek campaign as logistical performance

Xerxes' Greek campaign as heroic journey

Xerxes' royal image and the causes of failure at Salamis

Xerxes' Greece and Mardonios' campaign

Plataia and the anatomy of defeat

The aftermath of Xerxes' campaign

Epilogue: Persia's Greek campaigns and world history.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [381]-426) and index.

ISBN:

0197660487

9780197660485

OCLC:

1543002246