Download or read book The Rise and Fall of the Graeco Bactrian Kingdom written by H. Sidky and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Thundering Zeus written by Frank L. Holt and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-12-22 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thundering Zeus uses an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to resolve one of the greatest puzzles in all of Hellenistic history. This book explores the remarkable rise of a Greek-ruled kingdom in ancient Bactria (modern Afghanistan) during the third century B.C. Diodotus I and II, whose dynasty emblazoned its coins with the dynamic image of Thundering Zeus, led this historic movement by breaking free of the Seleucid Empire and building a strong independent state in Central Asia. The chronology and crises that defined their reigns have been established here for the first time, and Frank Holt sets this new history into the larger context of Hellenistic studies. The best sources for understanding Hellenistic Bactria are archaeological, and they include a magnificent trove of coins. In addition to giving a history of Bactria, Thundering Zeus provides a catalog of these coins, as well as an introduction to the study of numismatics itself. Holt presents this fascinating material with the precision and acuity of a specialist and with the delight of an admirer, providing an up-to-date full catalog of known Diodotid coinage, and illustrating twenty-three coins. This succinct, energetic narrative thunders across the history of Hellenistic Bactria, exhuming coins, kingdoms, and customs as it goes. The result is a book that is both a history and a history of discovery, with much to offer those interested in ancient texts, archaeology, and coins.
Download or read book Sasanian Persia written by Touraj Daryaee and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Lost World of the Golden King written by Frank L. Holt and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-10-18 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Delightful and learned, and written in a crisp and vigorous style, this book will be read with great interest and profit by both scholars and general readers." —Stanley Burstein, author of The Reign of Cleopatra
Download or read book The Graeco Bactrian and Indo Greek World written by Rachel Mairs and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-29 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a thorough conspectus of the field of Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek studies, mixing theoretical and historical surveys with critical and thought-provoking case studies in archaeology, history, literature and art. The chapters from this international group of experts showcase innovative methodologies, such as archaeological GIS, as well as providing accessible explanations of specialist techniques such as die studies of coins, and important theoretical perspectives, including postcolonial approaches to the Greeks in India. Chapters cover the region’s archaeology, written and numismatic sources, and a history of scholarship of the subject, as well as culture, identity and interactions with neighbouring empires, including India and China. The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World is the go-to reference work on the field, and fulfils a serious need for an accessible, but also thorough and critically-informed, volume on the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms. It provides an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the Hellenistic East.
Download or read book The Hellenistic Far East written by Rachel Mairs and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-08-05 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s conquests in the late fourth century B.C., Greek garrisons and settlements were established across Central Asia, through Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan) and into India. Over the next three hundred years, these settlements evolved into multiethnic, multilingual communities as much Greek as they were indigenous. To explore the lives and identities of the inhabitants of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms, Rachel Mairs marshals a variety of evidence, from archaeology, to coins, to documentary and historical texts. Looking particularly at the great city of Ai Khanoum, the only extensively excavated Hellenistic period urban site in Central Asia, Mairs explores how these ancient people lived, communicated, and understood themselves. Significant and original, The Hellenistic Far East will highlight Bactrian studies as an important part of our understanding of the ancient world.
Download or read book The Greek Prince of Afghanistan written by David Beck and published by . This book was released on 2020-12-03 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book On the Cusp of an Era written by Doris Srinivasan and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007-04-30 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: South Asian religious art became codified during the Kuṣāṇa Period (ca. beginning of the 2nd to the mid 3rd century). Yet, to date, neither the chronology nor nature of Kuṣāṇa Art, marked by great diversity, is well understood. The Kuṣāṇa Empire was huge, stretching from Uzbekistan through northern India, and its multicultural artistic expressions became the fountainhead for much of South Asian Art. The premise of this book is that Kuṣāṇa Art achieves greater clarity through analyses of the arts and cultures of the Pre- Kuṣāṇa World, those lands becoming the Empire. Fourteen papers in this book by leading experts on regional topography and connective pathways; interregional, multicultural comparisons; art historical, archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic and textual studies represent the first coordinated effort having this focus.
Download or read book Lost World of the Golden King written by Frank L. Holt and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-10-18 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on ancient historical writings, the vast array of information gleaned in recent years from the study of Hellenistic coins, and startling archaeological evidence newly unearthed in Afghanistan, Frank L. Holt sets out to rediscover the ancient civilization of Bactria. In a gripping narrative informed by the author’s deep knowledge of his subject, this book covers two centuries of Bactria’s history, from its colonization by remnants of Alexander the Great’s army to the kingdom’s collapse at the time of a devastating series of nomadic invasions. Beginning with the few tantalizing traces left behind when the ‘empire of a thousand cities’ vanished, Holt takes up that trail and follows the remarkable and sometimes perilous journey of rediscovery. Lost World of the Ancient King describes how a single bit of evidence—a Greek coin—launched a search that drew explorers to the region occupied by the tumultuous warring tribes of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Afghanistan. Coin by coin, king by king, the history of Bactria was reconstructed using the emerging methodologies of numismatics. In the twentieth century, extraordinary ancient texts added to the evidence. Finally, one of the ‘thousand cities’ was discovered and excavated, revealing an opulent palace, treasury, temple, and other buildings. Though these great discoveries soon fell victim to the Afghan political crisis that continues today, this book provides a thrilling chronicle of the search for one of the world’s most enigmatic empires.
Download or read book Ancient India Rise and Fall written by A.J. Carmichael and published by . This book was released on with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In ancient Indian history, there were four significant eras as highlighted below, a quick introduction is important in order to digest the material in this book. Prehistoric era: From 500,000 BCE to 11,000 BCE, South Asian hunter-gatherers made stone tools and painted cave paintings at Bhimbetka during the Old and Middle Stone Ages. Merhgarh, in Baluchistan, was where South Asian farming began between 11,000 and 3000 years ago. From 2500 BCE to 1900 BCE, the great Indian cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa provide us with much archaeological evidence. Eras of India: Vedic and post-Vedic, No Aryan invasion took place, but a nomadic group of Indo-European speakers migrated from Iran and Afghanistan, calling themselves Arya, or the noble. Over the past four millennia, Indo-Aryan culture has developed uniquely within India, blending the values and heritages of the Arya and indigenous peoples. In the Indo-European language family, the Rig Veda is the oldest text. Among the three Vedas and other complementary Vedic literature, it is a crucial text in Vedic Hinduism. We have today's vast agricultural infrastructure in north India due to the expansion of the Indo-Aryans from Punjab to the Ganga basin. Mahajanapadas (great states) were formed from the Vedic polity, which Magadha dominated. Northwest India was invaded by both the Persians and the Greeks later in this period. Ajivakas, Buddhists, and Jains objected to the caste system, animal sacrifices, brahman dominance, and the Vedas in Vedic Hinduism. The Great Empires lasted from about 300 BCE to c. AD 500. From Chandragupta Maurya's Arthashastra, an excellent manual of political economy, we can understand the principles of the Mauryan Empire, founded from Magadha in 321 BCE. With the help of many rock and pillar inscriptions, Ashoka humanized the empire and propagated Buddha's principles. The smaller Shaka, Kushan, and Satavahana kingdoms followed the Mauryan Empire. A flourishing agricultural industry and trade, both domestic and international, contributed significantly to Indian prosperity during this period. China and Rome dominated trade between India and China. According to the Samanta philosophy of tolerant neighborliness, the Gupta Empire followed a model of decentralized power. The Hindu-Buddhist-Jain civilization reached its peak of elitism under the Guptas. Classical Indian culture refers to that. Throughout history, Buddhism has remained popular but has evolved into Mahayana Buddhism, which emphasizes the Bodhisattva. Buddhism, Sanskrit literature, and mathematics flourished in this era, as at Ajanta. The feudal era lasted from 500 AD to 1200 AD (and beyond). Among the most prominent post-Gupta regional and feudal kingdoms were those of King Harsha, the early Chalukyas, and the Pallavas. The kings maintained their power through large land grants, feudatory power, and patronage systems. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the aggressive and iconoclastic Turco-Afghans quickly invaded India due to the inter-Indian wars waged by the Gurjara-Pratihara, Pala, and Rashtrakuta kingdoms. The deep south remained highly dynamic and Hindu under the Pallavas and Cholas. The Vedic and Puranic forms of Hinduism gradually replaced Buddhism in India, while the holy and puranic forms of Hinduism stayed. Muslim power, embodied in the slave dynasty of Qutb-ud-Din Aybak, entrenched itself in north India from 1206 onward, paving the way for Indo-Islamic culture to flourish.
Download or read book The Graeco Bactrian and Indo Greek World written by Rachel Mairs and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-29 with total page 653 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a thorough conspectus of the field of Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek studies, mixing theoretical and historical surveys with critical and thought-provoking case studies in archaeology, history, literature and art. The chapters from this international group of experts showcase innovative methodologies, such as archaeological GIS, as well as providing accessible explanations of specialist techniques such as die studies of coins, and important theoretical perspectives, including postcolonial approaches to the Greeks in India. Chapters cover the region’s archaeology, written and numismatic sources, and a history of scholarship of the subject, as well as culture, identity and interactions with neighbouring empires, including India and China. The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World is the go-to reference work on the field, and fulfils a serious need for an accessible, but also thorough and critically-informed, volume on the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms. It provides an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the Hellenistic East. The Introduction and Chapter 17 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license
Download or read book Handbook of Ancient Afro Eurasian Economies written by Sitta von Reden and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2023-10-24 with total page 950 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies offers in three volumes the first comprehensive discussion of economic development in the empires of the Afro-Eurasian world region to elucidate the conditions under which large quantities of goods and people moved across continents and between empires. Volume 3: Frontier-Zone Processes and Transimperial Exchange analyzes frontier zones as particular landscapes of encounter, economic development, and transimperial network formation. The chapters offer problematizing approaches to frontier zone processes as part of and in between empires, with the goal of better understanding how and why goods and resources moved across the Afro-Eurasian region. Key frontiers in mountains and steppes, along coasts, rivers, and deserts are investigated in depth, demonstrating how local landscapes, politics, and pathways explain network practices and participation in long-distance trade. The chapters seek to retrieve local knowledge ignored in popular Silk Road models and to show the potential of frontier-zone research for understanding the Afro-Eurasian region as a connected space.
Download or read book Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia written by G. Frumkin and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-07-11 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Parthians written by Uwe Ellerbrock and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-25 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the history and culture of the Parthian Empire, which existed for almost 500 years from 247 BC to 224 AD. The Parthians were Rome’s great opponents in the east, but comparatively little is known about them. The Parthians focuses on the rise, expansion, flowering and decline of the Parthian Empire and covers both the wars with the Romans in the west and the nomads in the east. Sources include the small amount from the Empire itself, as well as those from outside the Parthian world, such as Greek, Roman and Chinese documents. Ellerbrock also explores the Parthian military, social history, religions, art, architecture and numismatics, all supported by a great number of images and maps. The Parthians is an invaluable resource for those studying the Ancient Near East during the period of the Parthian Empire, as well as for more general readers interested in this era.
Download or read book Age of Conquests written by Angelos Chaniotis and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2018-02-05 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world that Alexander remade in his lifetime was transformed once more by his death in 323 BCE. His successors reorganized Persian lands to create a new empire stretching from the eastern Mediterranean as far as present-day Afghanistan, while in Greece and Macedonia a fragile balance of power repeatedly dissolved into war. Then, from the late third century BCE to the end of the first, Rome’s military and diplomatic might successively dismantled these post-Alexandrian political structures, one by one. During the Hellenistic period (c. 323–30 BCE), small polities struggled to retain the illusion of their identity and independence, in the face of violent antagonism among large states. With time, trade growth resumed and centers of intellectual and artistic achievement sprang up across a vast network, from Italy to Afghanistan and Russia to Ethiopia. But the death of Cleopatra in 30 BCE brought this Hellenistic moment to a close—or so the story goes. In Angelos Chaniotis’s view, however, the Hellenistic world continued to Hadrian’s death in 138 CE. Not only did Hellenistic social structures survive the coming of Rome, Chaniotis shows, but social, economic, and cultural trends that were set in motion between the deaths of Alexander and Cleopatra intensified during this extended period. Age of Conquests provides a compelling narrative of the main events that shaped ancient civilization during five crucial centuries. Many of these developments—globalization, the rise of megacities, technological progress, religious diversity, and rational governance—have parallels in our world today.
Download or read book The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires written by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2016-08-30 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 Sassanian 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 organization, military tactics, linguistic developments and trading contacts.
Download or read book Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia written by Grégoire Frumkin and published by Brill Archive. This book was released on 1970 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
