
Persians
The Age of the Great Kings
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Narrated by:
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Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
About this listen
Persians is a definitive new history of the Persian Empire, the world's first superpower.
The great kings of Persia ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the empire was the fabled palace-city of Persepolis, where the Achaemenid monarchs held court in unparalleled grandeur. From here, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes and their heirs passed laws, raised armies and governed their multicultural empire of enormous diversity.
The Achaemenids, however, were one of the great dysfunctional families of history. Brothers fought brothers for power, wives and concubines plotted to promote their sons to the throne and eunuchs and courtiers vied for influence and prestige.
Our understanding of the Persian Empire has traditionally come from the histories of Greek writers such as Herodotus—and as such, over many centuries, our perspective has been skewed by ancient political and cultural agendas. Professor Llewellyn-Jones, however, calls upon original Achaemenid sources, including inscriptions, art and recent archaeological discoveries in Iran, to create an authentic 'Persian Version' of this remarkable first great empire of antiquity—the Age of the Great Kings.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (P)2022 Headline Publishing Group LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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